A Cigarette and a Drink: The True Purpose Behind Chinese Hospitality Customs

If you're really buying a drink or offering a cigarette, there's only one reason: you want to subtly fish for information from them. Truth or fiction doesn't matter. No one is so cheap that a single cigarette gets their heart poured out or major secrets spilled. Don't expect that. What you can count on isn't even the other person telling the truth—it's simply them being willing to pause for a moment, burn two minutes for you, and chat.

Whether what they say is true or false doesn't matter. A single cigarette and a drink in exchange for them opening up is already a steal.

As for how you assemble the 360-degree, from-all-angles intelligence you've gathered into a clear picture, that's your core job.

You're the one gathering intel, and you're the one piecing together the full picture. You do all this to position yourself on the high ground of information.

When you hold that information advantage, unless you're deliberately choosing to lose or willingly giving it up, it's nearly impossible to lose. The world, at its core, is just about fast fish eating slow fish. How do you become fast? Knowledge is speed. If you know and he doesn't, he's destined to be the meal.