This is going to kill us!

At this time, Jia Zhangshi could not yet be called a "dead old woman"; she was only in her early forties and not far from old age.

"A tricycle..."

As soon as he left the hospital, Liu Dong waved to the roadside and flagged down a tricycle.

"Sir, how much is the fare on Qianmen Street?"

The driver wiped his sweat: "Five hundred yuan."

Back then, China was still using the first set of Renminbi, and the banknotes had shockingly large denominations—ten thousand yuan today would be roughly equivalent to one yuan fifty-five years later.

So, while five hundred dollars sounds scary, it's actually only about five cents when converted to real money.

Without saying a word, Liu Dong got into the car and drove off.

More than half an hour later, the car stopped near the Qianmen Arrow Tower. Following the address given by Director Zhang, he turned into a small alley and found the tavern.

It was just past dawn, and there weren't many customers in the shop yet, but the door was already open.

Liu Dong pushed open the door and went in.

The room was old and even a bit shabby, but it was kept very clean, giving one a sense of security. A faint aroma of wine wafted in the air, which smelled quite pleasant.

"What would you like to drink?" A girl around eighteen years old came up to greet us. Her face was a little pale, but she smiled politely.

Liu Dong recognized her at a glance: Xu Huizhen.

At this time, she had indeed married He Yongqiang.

But here's the problem—He Yongqiang originally chose Xu Huizhi, but ended up marrying her younger sister, Xu Huizhen, and was so angry he turned pale. They'd been married for almost half a month, and hadn't even shared a bed.

Xu Huizhen was also feeling aggrieved, and her complexion was rather pale, which was not surprising.

"Heh, I'm not here for a meal." Liu Dong smiled. "My name is Liu Dong. I was introduced by Director Zhang of the Beiheyan Subdistrict Office. I'm here to work as a temporary worker for three months."

"Oh..." Xu Huizhen nodded, "Wait a moment."

He turned and shouted towards the backyard, "Dad! Someone's come to work as a temporary worker!"

A short while later, a shrewd-looking old man strolled out from behind.

Liu Dong recognized him at a glance: this was He Yongqiang's father, who was also Xu Huizhen's father-in-law—Old Man He.

He was also in charge of this tavern.

Old He sized Liu Dong up and down a few times, then slowly said, "Hmm, the young man looks quite decent. Let me make this clear first, you'll only be working for me for a maximum of three months!"

"180,000 a month, that's a lot, isn't it? But you still have to work hard. If I find you slacking off, you're fired on the spot, and you won't get a single penny of your wages!"

"Yes, I understand!" Liu Dong nodded quickly.

"Alright, then you're officially on the job starting today!" Old Man He waved his hand. "Huizhen, teach him how to do things."

After saying that, he wandered back to the backyard.

"Ding-dong—"

The familiar system notification tone sounded on time:

"Congratulations, host, on completing the mission!"

"A reward of 888 million RMB has been credited to your account!"

"Acquired one [Strengthening Wine Jar]!"

"The item has been stored in the Super Wine Cellar. Please check your mail!"

Liu Dong, of course, didn't have time to look and followed Xu Huizhen to the front hall.

Xu Huizhen glanced at him and said in a flat tone, "You'll be in charge of all the odd jobs at the tavern from now on. You'll have to do everything: washing dishes, sweeping, wiping tables, mopping, chopping and pickling vegetables, washing and preparing vegetables."

"Oh right—the heaviest task is purchasing inventory."

"Our liquor is hauled from Niulanshan, and we have to make that trip every few days. It's tiring work; can you handle the load?"

Niulanshan is located northeast of Beijing, about 50 kilometers away as the crow flies, and 100 kilometers round trip.

"The wine over there comes in jars of 100 jin each. We buy five jars each time, for a total of 500 jin."

"Two days round trip, is that enough time?" Xu Huizhen asked, staring at him.

Liu Dong nodded and asked, "Then... do you have any tools? Like a bicycle or a tricycle?"

Xu Huizhen shook her head: "Nothing else, just a handcart."

Liu Dong almost broke down upon hearing this.

You want me to pull a cart to buy goods within two days? It's fine going there, but coming back I have to drag 500 jin of liquor?

This is going to kill people!

But even if I didn't want to, I had to go.

Why?

Because he brews wine himself! As long as he puts the finished wine into his own vat, it becomes divine wine. Moreover, he has a system wine cellar to store things, making the transportation of goods half as easy.

The problem is that relying on a handcart is too slow and too much trouble.

If only I had a pedal tricycle.

Never mind, no rush.

I'll buy one myself later; I can use it in the future anyway.

"Um..." he asked tentatively, "Do we have to go get the goods now?"

"Yes, the sooner the better, it would be best to leave immediately."

Liu Dong: ...

……

Bicycle repair shop.

Liu Dong took out 1.8 million yuan and bought a second-hand tricycle.

Back then, there wasn't a system of purchase restrictions based on receipts; as long as you had receipts, you could buy any car you wanted.

The price is just outrageous.

A new tricycle costs at least six million.

Liu Dong came from the future, and unlike people of this era, he has no obsession with bicycles at all.

In his eyes, it was just an ordinary means of transportation.

There's not much difference in riding a new bike or an old bike.

Besides, this thing is very sturdy; even if it breaks, you can just replace a small part and fix it.

There's no need to waste money buying a new one.

"Apply a couple more coats of oil to the chain," Liu Dong specifically instructed as he pushed the bike out.

The mechanic happily agreed. Engine oil is cheap; it's a freebie.

Once the tricycle was shiny and gleaming, Liu Dong mounted it, turned around, and rode northeast towards Niulanshan.

Fifty kilometers!

It takes ten hours to walk there.

If you're cycling, four hours should be enough.

Liu Dong looked up at the sky. It was just past noon; at this speed, he should arrive before noon. Just after 1 p.m., Liu Dong pedaled his old tricycle and finally turned into the Niulanshan area.

Niulanshan is not far from the Chaobai River. It is not a high mountain or steep ridge at all. It is actually just a small town.

The most famous thing about this place isn't its scenery, but its wine. There are more than a dozen wineries of all sizes in the town, one after another, and the aroma of wine wafts through half the street.

Liu Dong came here with a mission, and his objective was very clear.

Before leaving, Old Man He slipped him a note with four characters scrawled on it: Shunyi Distillery.

The meaning is clear—they specifically requested this restaurant's wine.

He followed the directions he had been given, making several turns and finally found the place, then pushed open the door and went inside.

The shopkeeper was a short man in his fifties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and was rapidly working on his abacus. Hearing the noise, he looked up and immediately stopped.

"Are you Manager Liu?" Liu Dong quickly asked. "I came from the Qianmen Tavern. The owner is He Shouyi. This is a letter from him to you."

He handed the letter over, and the old man took it, glanced at it, and nodded: "Oh, I understand."

He turned and shouted towards the back room, "Tiger! Bring out five jars!"

After saying that, he looked at Liu Dong and said, "Old He already gave the word that there's money in the account, so you don't need to pay a penny. Just take the wine and leave."

This makes perfect sense—how could Old Man He let him travel so far with a pile of cash? It's too dangerous.

As for how the two of them would settle the bill, that was none of Liu Dong's concern.