Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 595 - 341: Han Mocheng’s Grand Gesture

Having come to terms with this, Zhang Yang's tense nerves quickly relaxed again. He took out his phone, glanced at the messages on WeChat, and soon leaned back against his seat, pretending to nap.

Zhang Yang invited Han Mocheng to have a drink together in the evening. Naturally, Zhang Yang was the host this time. It was sort of returning the favor since Han Mocheng had been covering the costs before.

The car first drove back to the hotel where Zhang Yang was staying. After parking the car, Zhang Yang casually strolled to Han Mocheng's car window behind.

"Did you bring a change of clothes in the car? Come upstairs and take a shower, change clothes! We've been fishing under the hot sun all day, all sweaty and bait-smelling, we're going to stink!"

Han Mocheng shook his head: "No need, I'm not particular about these things. We're all guys here, no ladies, we can just deal with it! My luggage is at the place I'm staying, nothing in the car!"

"Wang's clothes are about your size; if you like, I can grab you a set to wear for now?"

Han Mocheng waved it off: "Really, no need. You guys go ahead! I'll stay in the car for a bit, meanwhile dealing with the issue concerning Qiu Wu!"

"Alright, call me if anything comes up!" Seeing his firm attitude, Zhang Yang waved his hand and turned upstairs.

After taking a shower and changing into a fresh T-shirt, Zhang Yang led his teammates downstairs casually.

"Take it easy with the drinks tonight, don't drive too much, alright? Everyone squeeze in!"

"Bringing out the good stuff? No problem squeezing in!" Wang Yan grinned wide upon hearing about having drinks in the evening.

"Returning gesture of kindness! Can't keep having others foot the bill, we need to reciprocate somehow. Let's not go overboard with drinking tonight, be moderate, don't mess up tomorrow's competition, okay?" Zhang Yang explained with a smile.

"Don't worry, everyone knows their limits!"

...

While walking and murmuring reminders quietly, soon everyone got on board the big van that could carry the most people.

Zhang Yang's team currently consisted of seven anglers, and one big van was enough.

"Let's go! I've sent you the address!" Zhang Yang sat in the driver's seat, honking at Han Mocheng, and yelled out after lowering the window.

Han Mocheng nodded, gestured an OK to Zhang Yang, soon driving off. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

One big van and one Land Cruiser, two cars turned onto the main road, heading toward the restaurant Zhang Yang had reserved.

Ah Qing's Private Cuisine.

A restaurant with a seemingly simple name, situated in edge shops away from the bustling main road, beside residential areas.

This place was highly recommended in Wang Yan's fan group by local anglers. Though not large, with only six small private rooms, it often attracted food enthusiasts, a hidden gem among city diners.

When Zhang Yang called to reserve a room, it was not yet five in the afternoon, and only the smallest private room was left.

When it comes to gourmet, Zhang Yang's taste isn't as picky as Zhao Bingguang and others, but since Zhang Yang's circumstances are better now, occasionally spending a bit more on a nicer restaurant isn't a problem, not to mention tonight was about reciprocating, inviting Han Mocheng for dinner.

Parking the car, Zhang Yang led his group out casually.

"Nice! You managed to reserve a table here! I've come here with friends before, and several times they were fully booked and couldn't accommodate anyone! The eight treasure duck and the secret recipe pork trotters here are really delicious!"

Han Mocheng looked up at the sign of the unassuming hotel, his expression subtly excited.

"Let's order what's famous here! Tonight's expenses are on Mr. Zhang!" Zhang Yang thumped his chest, full of bravado.

"Then we won't hold back! The dishes here aren't cheap!"

"How expensive could it be? Not pricier than seafood feasts!"

Zhang Yang had the air of a country bumpkin coming to the city, in his mind, a seafood feast worth tens of thousands of dollars was a top-tier extravagance.

"Well, pretty close!" Han Mocheng chuckled upon hearing this, but didn't respond further.

Upon seeing the menu, Zhang Yang realized he had underestimated.

A palace eight treasure duck, 688; a private crystal pork knuckle, 888…

Slightly expensive dishes were manageable, but paired with meats and vegetables, mains and sides, for eight people, ten dishes would be more than enough.

What frustrated Zhang Yang more were the drinks; damn, craft beers started at a minimum of dozens per bottle, not to mention the exorbitant white wine, with Maotai spanning 15 years listed on the last page of the drinks menu...

Fortunately, these guys weren't too picky, just ordering some beer for decency's sake, with no one touching the high-priced white wine.

Once everyone finished ordering dishes in the hall, the waiter guided them into the private room.

Han Mocheng stumbled deliberately, not entering with everyone, lagging a little.

When he caught up, he was holding two bottles of Maotai, their cardboard packaging even yellowing.

"Whoa! Han, aren't you going all out? Bringing out the Maotai from the bottom of the drinks list?"

Zhang Yang frowned instinctively upon seeing the Maotai packaging; damn, this stuff is exorbitantly expensive, this isn't just drinking, it's practically drinking your life!

With Zhang Yang's remark, the others' focus shifted to the wine in Han Mocheng's hands.

Everyone here had tasted Maotai, but no one among them drank the kind in yellowed cardboard. While that's true, it seems quite wasteful drinking aged Maotai, akin to cows munching peonies. Zhou Chu, who almost never drinks, understood a bit about wine tasting. Others, including Zhang Yang and Meng Fan, were naïve.

Han Mocheng smiled slightly, putting the wine on the table, casually opening one of the boxes.

The bottle inside had already been opened, the mouth thickly sealed with cling film, likely opened before, not finished, and saved up again.

"This wine was stored here when I came with friends earlier to eat! Didn't expect it here today, one unopened bottle, one opened, combined still left with around a pound and eight ounces! Enjoy, just try a bit!"

Upon this explanation, the crowd's mood lightly eased.

The fact that it was stored before was somewhat acceptable.

Since a single bottle of aged Maotai could easily cost six figures if bought from the store, drinking away the price of a compact car with a casual meal would be beyond Zhang Yang's means, however moderately wealthy he became.

"Try this first, if not enough I still have some sauce wine in the car, can fetch it later! There's a competition tomorrow too, everyone might not be used to craft beer here, and beer with Chinese food often feels mismatched, better have some white wine instead!"

With words like that, the crowd didn't agonize over it, Zhang Yang nodded in acceptance.

Aged drinks indeed; once the seal was opened, despite pouring only half a cup, the fragrance already filled the room.

Han Mocheng asked the waiter for small tael-sized cups, skillfully filling Maotai for everyone.

Things felt slightly amiss tonight, with just a meal, everyone seemed noticeably constrained.

A notion even passed through Zhang Yang's mind.

What business was Han Mocheng's family in? Driving a Land Cruiser to competitions was understandable, but keeping aged Maotai stored at a restaurant Zhang Yang randomly picked… this background outclassed even Xiao Meng Fan in their team.