My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 236 Anton Horse Racing

"Hello, sir." The portly Andrei politely extended his large hand. "Welcome to Abalensk."

Hu Yi wanted to shake hands with him, but unfortunately his hands weren't long enough to grasp the fat man Andrei's broad, thick paws. He could only hold Andrei's hands between his own and shake them: "Thank you, but I'm in a hurry, let's start now!"

"No problem." The fat man slowly sat down by the sink, lightly ran two fingers across a plate on the nearby table, grabbed a dozen or so slices of ham and cheese, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed them with pleasure. "What challenge would you like to choose?"

"Arm wrestling!" "Wrestling!" the onlookers shouted impatiently.

The fat man gently placed a hand on Hu Yi's shoulder: "You're a guest, please choose whatever you like."

Hu Yi felt a weight on his shoulder, and leaned to the side, giving a wry smile to those around him: "Arm wrestling with him? What's the point?"

"Interesting!" The audience burst into laughter. "That's hilarious!"

"You really love making things worse." Hu Yi rolled up his sleeves and placed his arm next to the fat man's, making it look like a match and a chopstick placed side by side. "What's the suspense in this kind of competition?"

"Stop arguing, let's get started." A hunchbacked old woman with only a few teeth left stepped closer, her face full of excitement as she scrutinized him closely. "I've lived for seventy years, and I've never seen such an unequal challenge! The thought of Fatty publicly humiliating you, this little thing, excites me so much! Hurry up, I can't wait!"

Hu Yi chuckled, annoyed. "Grandma, what time is it? Aren't you going home to sleep? Can your old bones hold out until tomorrow morning?"

"Never mind that." The old lady licked her dry lips. "Grandma, I still have to remind you that all the clinics in town are closed. Take care, kid."

Hu Yi rolled his eyes, then turned to look at the chubby Andrei, who was yawning listlessly: "Hey, Fatty, do you have any... activities that don't require physical contact?"

"Yes! I'm really thirsty." The fat man looked up and grinned, clapping his hands at the people next to him: "Please prepare a beer challenge for us!"

Some spectators sighed in disappointment, but most remained enthusiastic. Hu Yi felt a sense of relief: drinking beer wasn't his forte, but compared to arm wrestling, he still had a chance of winning and wasn't guaranteed to lose.

Someone deftly brought over a long table and two chairs. Hu Yi loosened his belt, fastened a belt, and swaggered down into a chair: "So, how do we compete?"

"Both sides start at the same time, and the first to finish drinking is the winner," the round-faced man announced loudly.

"Alright, come on!" Hu Yi slapped the table impatiently. "Where's the wine? Bring it here quickly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there were a few "thumps" and six foamy beer glasses were placed on the table. Three glasses were placed in front of him and Andrei. Each glass was twice the size of the one they had used when they were drinking outside. They could probably hold at least a liter and a half of beer.

"Three beers, all you can drink." The round-faced man smiled slightly at him. "Fatty, you can start anytime. Let me know when you're ready."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Hu Yi exclaimed in disbelief, "This is way too much! I definitely can't finish it all!"

"Can't finish it? Then you're admitting defeat?" The round-faced man's eyes shone brightly. "Admitting defeat is still a loss, and losers have to be punished."

"Punishment? What punishment?"

"That's for me, the victor, to decide!" Fat Andrei looked at him with a mocking expression. "If you admit defeat, I can punish you by making you drink all three glasses of wine."

A burst of merciless laughter erupted around him. Hu Yi awkwardly turned the cup in front of him: "Well... my size is too much of a disadvantage. How about we just have a one-cup contest?"

"No, the three cups are part of the competition process, a required procedure." The round-faced man shook his head firmly.

"It's alright, it's the last challenge, a little excitement won't hurt." The fat man casually brushed aside the round face. "How about this, since there are more of you, pick two more people. Each of you will have a drink contest with me, and if even one of you wins, you win. Is that alright?"

"Sure!" Hu Yi agreed without hesitation, then turned to look at Yabalov and the others behind him: "Who among you has the best alcohol tolerance? How about you join me for a drinking challenge?"

Long-faced Bachya hesitated for a moment, then stroked his chin: "It's not just about having a high alcohol tolerance, but also about drinking fast." After a brief discussion, the five of them finally selected Yabalov and the tall Bachya to come to the table.

Tall Bacha smiled down at Hu Yi and said, "Boss, tonight's work not only went overtime, but also exceeded the scope of the task. Shouldn't we give you a raise?"

"Does drinking count as work?" Hu Yi chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "We'll talk about it when we get back. I promise you won't be treated unfairly."

"I don't want extra money." Yabalov rubbed his hands together, eager to try. "Anton, let me go first!"

"No, no," Hu Yi reached out to stop him, "I'll go first."

"You?" Yabalov tried his best not to show his contempt on his face. "Can you do it?"

"Precisely because I'm not up to it, I should go first and fill his belly. That's called Tian Ji... um, Andong's horse race... no, Andong's wine race, the weak drink first." Hu Yi turned around, held the wine glass to his lips with both hands, and nodded to the round-faced man: "I'm ready!"

"Alright, everyone to your positions..." The round-faced man stretched out a hand between the two and began a serious countdown: "Three, two, one, go!"

Hu Yi buried his head in his drink and tilted the glass slightly after only two sips when thunderous cheers erupted around him. Ignoring his surroundings, he held the glass tightly with his eyes closed, focusing solely on gulping down the wine.

Suddenly, with a loud "smash," the fat man slammed his empty glass down on the table, raised his round face, and shouted, "It's over! The winner of the first round is: Fatty Andrei!"

Hu Yi was startled. He opened his eyes and saw that he had only drunk less than a third of the beer in his glass, while the fat man opposite him had already drunk every last drop.

"Useless. Who's the second one?" The fat man let out a long burp and casually pointed at Hu Yi: "You, you have to finish the rest of the wine."

"What happened... so fast?" Hu Yi looked bewildered and awkwardly left his seat with his wine glass in hand.

"I'll go." Tall Bacha looked a little nervous but also excited. "This guy is really something. I might not be his match."

"No, let me do it." Yabalov stepped in front of him: "Anton said, the weak drink first, you go last!"

"Three, two, one, begin!" With a command from the round-faced man, Yabalov raised his glass and gulped it down. Hu Yi looked at the fat man, Andrei, and saw him lower his head and take a deep sip, then tilt his head back, grab the glass with one hand, and pour it into his mouth without the rim touching his lips.

Hu Yi had never seen anyone drink like this before, and he was stunned for a moment. The fat man's movements were very skillful, and the stream of beer poured down was rapid and even. He seemed to not need to use his mouth to swallow at all; his Adam's apple moved up and down like a sluice gate controlling the flow of water, and in an instant, he poured a whole glass of beer into his mouth.

(End of this chapter)