After Fang Bai finished the donation ceremony, he went to the County Office in the afternoon to hold the tax payment ceremony.
The tax payment ceremony was held in the County Office, and all the County Leaders in the county seat participated, as well as the responsible leaders from relevant departments.
The County Leader personally presented Fang Bai with two honors: "Wen City Yongjia County 1990 Major Taxpayer" and "Yongjia County Advanced Enterprise."
After the ceremony, Fang Bai went to handle the tax payment procedures and pay the two million yuan land fee.
The relevant land procedures were personally handled by the relevant departments for Xinghai Company, with a green channel throughout. The County Leader demanded that they be completed within seven days and would personally hold departments accountable for any delays in processing.
Fang Bai not only had connections with various County Leaders but also had a good relationship with the responsible leaders of various departments, reaching directly to the grassroots.
It can be said that Xinghai Company would not face any obstruction from any department when handling future procedures in the county seat.
In fact, the biggest gain for Fang Bai today was his connections.
A surge of 13 people!
Two leaders from the Education Bureau, Zhou Jianshe and Luo Yuan, connections +2;
Six County Leaders, including Chen Xiaoying, Li Qiang, Chen Tao, Dong Lei, Zhou Qingyang, and Luo Aiguo, connections +7, with Li Qiang, who also served as the head of the Public Security Department, getting connections +2;
Other departmental heads, such as those from Finance, Land Resources, Power Construction, and Investment Promotion, connections +4.
When Fang Bai returned home and opened his Golden Finger screen to see a series of notifications, he couldn't help but smack his lips, "Holy cow, so many all at once!"
"Hoo hoo, damn it, my ring finger just leveled up!"
Fang Bai quickly walked back to his bedroom and couldn't help but roll around on the bed a few times.
After getting excited for a while, he rubbed his hands together, preparing to upgrade.
[Prompt: Ring finger can be upgraded. Do you want to upgrade?]
Fang Bai silently thought "Confirm," and his ring finger Golden Finger directly upgraded to Level 3.
Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his right ring finger.
After a while, the warmth subsided, and he saw that his swollen ring finger had returned to normal, which was no different from his middle finger upgrading to LV3; they were both the same.
After the upgrade, the function became even more powerful.
[LV3: Can know the other party's information from the past week and current inner thoughts, limited to 5 people per day, alcohol tolerance +5]
[Prompt: No handshake required, physical contact is enough to detect the other party's information]
[Prompt: LV4 requires a connection count of 80]
The detection time changed from two days to one week, and the daily limit increased to 5 people.
Moreover, he no longer needed to shake hands to detect the other party's information; a touch was enough, which was even more abnormal!
Equally abnormal was that his alcohol tolerance increased to 5 jin!
Similarly, it didn't harm his body or fill his stomach; it directly converted into energy, as if poured into a subspace.
In other words, Fang Bai's alcohol tolerance directly increased from 1.5 jin to 6.5 jin!
This alcohol tolerance was simply invincible!
To verify this alcohol tolerance, seeing that it was only a little past four in the afternoon, Fang Bai called Chen Shi, Mo Yang, Ye Fan, and Luo Gang from the mall. He was hosting a drinking session to return favors, as he had been busy with activities before and hadn't had time to host the promised banquet.
These individuals knew that Fang Bai had held a tax payment ceremony today and was now a favorite of the County Leaders, so it was hard to refuse.
Ye Fan, on the other hand, had to support Fang Bai and intended to increase the loan amount to Xinghai Company. He needed to report to his superiors, and perhaps he would have a chance for promotion this year.
The drinking venue was still the same place where they had eaten wild game last time, and all the dishes were authentic local cuisine.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, when Chen Shi and the others saw eight bottles of liquor on the table, everyone was puzzled, "Mr. Fang, how many people are there tonight, eight bottles of liquor?"
Fang Bai chuckled and first tore open the caps of three bottles of liquor, "Just the five of us!"
"Eight bottles of liquor, isn't that a bit much?"
"Drink as much as you can, everyone just be at ease, besides, it's just a few bottles of liquor," Fang Bai chuckled.
"I'm afraid I'll get you drunk later, and you won't be able to get up tomorrow, affecting your studies," Chen Shi said playfully, energized by the smell of Maotai, which made the others at the scene burst into laughter.
"Director Chen, when it comes to drinking, I'm not afraid of you. I used to let you win because you were my elder, but this time I won't," Fang Bai said provocatively. He was no longer afraid of drinking and would definitely confront anyone who dared to bully him with alcohol.
Chen Shi's face lit up with a smile, "Tsk tsk, I'm still afraid of your provocative tactics. We'll see when we try later."
The other three watched the two provoke each other into drinking, feeling a good show was about to begin.
Mo Yang knew Chen Shi, the old drunkard's alcohol tolerance; he could easily drink one jin, but would definitely collapse at two jin.
A few minutes later, the waiter served the dishes.
Everyone ate some food to fill their stomachs. As the host, Fang Bai first poured himself a full glass of wine, a glass that could hold nearly 2 liang of wine. He raised it with both hands and toasted the four, "It's rare to have the opportunity to meet all the leaders. As a junior, I toast everyone! I'll down this first glass."
He downed it in one gulp, then poured himself another glass, raised it again, and said, "For this second glass, I want to thank all the leaders for your support during this period. I am very grateful.
In a few months, I will be taking the college entrance examination. After I go to university, I will still rely on everyone to take care of Xinghai Company. I'll also down this glass!"
Everyone saw Fang Bai being so straightforward, drinking two glasses down, and advised him to take it easy and not be so polite, as the drinking contest was just a joke.
Fang Bai smiled, indicating he was fine. He still felt his stomach was empty. This Golden Finger was just abnormal. After finishing, he poured another glass, raised it again, and said, "For this third glass, I thank all the leaders for coming tonight. I am very happy and hope our friendship lasts long, becoming more fragrant with time, just like this wine!"
After three glasses, Fang Bai's face wasn't red at all, and he was completely sober. Everyone applauded.
Inside the room, the aroma of wine filled the entire space, and a slightly tipsy atmosphere permeated the air.
Everyone ate and chatted, with laughter and joy echoing endlessly.
Fang Bai finishing three glasses didn't mean he was done; he still had a rotation, toasting everyone present.
After one round, Fang Bai had already drunk more than a jin, yet his face remained unreddened and his ears unstained.
Mo Yang saw Fang Bai's drinking performance and said admiringly, "Putting everything else aside, when it comes to young people drinking, Mr. Fang is the most capable I've ever seen."
"Indeed, I underestimated Mr. Fang," even Chen Shi, who could drink a lot, had to admit.
An hour later, Chen Shi had drunk one and a half jin, Fang Bai had drunk two or three jin, and the others only half a jin.
Fang Bai poured himself another drink and toasted Chen Shi, "Director Chen, I'll down this glass. How about you drink half?"
Chen Shi quickly waved his hand, "No more, if I drink more, I'll have to crawl home. I give up, I surrender. You can accompany Captain Luo, he can definitely drink."
"I can't drink much either. I need to stay sober tonight, what if there's a mission?" Luo also waved his hand, refusing.
Fang Bai nodded in understanding and didn't pour Luo Gang any more wine. It would be truly unlucky if it caused a delay.
The others, seeing Fang Bai holding the wine bottle, didn't dare to compete with him anymore. This young man had drunk two or three jin and seemed perfectly fine, bottomless.
Fang Bai also stopped urging them to drink, simply poured himself more wine, and drank another half jin. He felt a bit bored, as no one was competing with him.
After the banquet dispersed, Fang Bai took a car home, sat at his desk to read, and hummed a tune:
"Oh, how invincible / how lonely;
How invincible / how empty..."
After drinking, it didn't affect his revision and reading at all.
While drinking, he subtly touched Chen Shi to see if he could detect the other party's information, and surprisingly, it worked.
However, he felt he was still used to shaking hands. Was he just being a cheapskate?
The next day,
After the second class in the morning, Fang Bai came to school for class again; he was now back to studying.
As soon as he entered the classroom, his classmates' gazes at him changed again, with seven parts admiration and three parts envy. Several students came up to him like they were watching a monkey, trying to strike up a friendship.
"Fang Laoda, you're amazing, donating 300,000 yuan!"
"Fang Laoda, you're my idol. I'm also poor, can you donate a little to me? Not 300,000 yuan, just 30 yuan would be fine."
"Yesterday, he was still fooling us, saying Xinghai Company wasn't his family's."
"Fang Bai didn't say anything wrong, Xinghai Company isn't his family's, it could just be his."
"Fang Shao likes to keep a low profile, but his strength doesn't allow it."
Fang Bai sat down with a calm expression, put down his schoolbag, and looked up at the few classmates who had gathered around, "You guys are so gossipy. Can't you put your energy into studying? The city-wide mock exam is in a few days."
"If I don't get into university, Fang Laoda, can I follow you?" Li Feiyu leaned by Fang Bai's desk, a fawning smile on his face.
Fang Bai rolled his eyes at him, "Your family makes shoes, and your future is bright. Go back and take over your dad's business."
Li Feiyu said, "My family's a small business, not as promising as following you, Fang Laoda."
"Brother Li, Fang Laoda is destined for a key university. Are you also going to a key university?"
"Heh, I can't get into university, but I can be Fang Laoda's page boy, help carry his schoolbag and stuff, and by the way, help block girls who harass him," Li Feiyu pouted. "Fang Laoda, you seem to have a love letter in your drawer. I saw Zhang Xiaoai put it in there. Could it be that our classmate Xiaoai has a crush on Fang Laoda?"
Li Feiyu was just teasing, as Zhang Xiaoai was plump, probably not Fang Bai's type.
However, as soon as he said that, the surrounding classmates all glanced at Zhang Xiaoai, feeling it was unlikely.
Could it be unrequited love?
Zhang Xiaoai heard this, slapped the table, and glared fiercely at Li Feiyu, "Li Feiyu, if you spout nonsense one more time, I'll stuff your stinky shoes in your stinky mouth!"
After saying that, she gently said to Fang Bai, "It was entrusted to me by a little beauty from the next class, and also a second-year high school girl from the liberal arts class. To be honest, she's very pretty and seems quite famous in second year. She asked Zheng Ran to pass it on.
Fang Bai, I put it in your drawer. You can deal with it as you see fit."
"Wow, Fang Laoda, I'm so envious! You're being targeted by girls and they're throwing themselves at you, and two little beauties at that! Most girls wouldn't even have the confidence to write Fang Bai a love letter."
A male student said with a lewd smile, "Speaking of pretty girls in second year, I remember one named Shen Youchu, 170 tall, pretty face, just some parts haven't developed well yet."
"You boys are disgusting!" Zhang Xiaoai wrinkled her little nose in disdain, then glanced at Fang Bai, "Except for Fang Bai."
"Haha, Xiaoai has a prejudice against boys."
Fang Bai waved his hand, telling everyone to return to their seats. The students were sensible, knowing that Fang Bai wanted to read the love letters.
Once the students dispersed and returned to their seats, Fang Bai lowered his head and saw two letters in his drawer. He casually opened one; it was only one page, with elegant handwriting and smooth lines, a poem:
"The circuit is very complex, and you are also very complex;
Understanding the circuit takes a week, but understanding you takes a lifetime - Shen Youchu, Class 7, Second Year High School."
Fang Bai finished reading this one, found it quite interesting, and shook his head with a smile.
The other letter was more straightforward, filling two full pages. The handwriting was very neat, showing great care in writing. The words were plain but very sincere, and Fang Bai could feel it. One passage read: "Every time I see you quietly walk past our classroom, your smile is my reason to keep striving. I want to get into a university in the same city as you;
Sometimes, waiting for many days but not seeing you arrive, a day feels like a year, it's really agonizing. After class, I like to look at your name at the top of the monthly exam rankings, as if you had been here... Hong Yan."
Fang Bai was not interested in these two girls and pondered how best to handle the matter.
Directly refusing was not because he feared hurting the two girls, but because he was afraid they might take it too hard, especially the girl named Hong Yan.
Not refusing or being ambiguous was definitely not an option.
Fang Bai thought for a moment and decided not to reply at all, letting it be like a stone sinking into the sea. This was the best way to respond.
Every student has experienced the stirrings of youth, having a crush on someone, only to realize years later how childish they were back then.
Of course, if they hadn't confessed back then, there would also be regrets, and there were quite a few high school romances that eventually worked out.
Fang Bai tapped the front row with his pen and whispered, "Zhang Xiaoai, Zheng Ran, if any girls send love letters in the future, please help me refuse them. Just say I'm focusing on my exams.
Those two letters just now, I don't have time to read them. If those two classmates ask, just say I received them but don't want to read them for now."
"Oh, okay," the two girls nodded in understanding, knowing they had to help Fang Bai block those troublesome girls.
Fang Bai lowered his head and quietly read his book. Class would start soon.
As soon as the class ended, the pager in his schoolbag rang. All the classmates and the teacher, who were about to leave, looked at him: This guy brought a pager to class!
Shouldn't he have brought a big brother phone?
So low-key!
Some students fantasized that if they were as rich as Fang Bai, they would definitely bring a big brother phone to class to show off in front of their classmates.
Fang Bai smiled. It seemed the call was from Ye Fan's landline. He wondered why he was looking for him.
After telling the teacher, he simply took his schoolbag and left school.