Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

On either side of the main building, eight chairs stood in neat rows, four on the left and four on the right, as if they were lined up for inspection.

"Wow!" Liu Dong was shocked. "This setup is like the Hall of Righteousness at Liangshan Marsh...how impressive!"

"An eight-immortal table, made of huanghuali!" The old man perked up, pointing to the table in the middle. "These eight chairs on the side are also huanghuali; that long table behind it, and that carved cabinet over there, are all made of small-leaf sandalwood!"

"There's also a canopy bed hidden deep inside—made of Phoebe zhennan wood! In the Qing Dynasty, that was a luxury item only officials and wealthy families could afford!"

"Liu Dong, take a look, do you think you can take it? With the current market conditions, some people want to buy, but don't dare; those who dare to buy, can't afford it!"

Liu Dong casually tapped the table, listening to the solid "thump-thump" sound.

He couldn't actually tell the difference between genuine and fake timber, but with Master Niu standing there, it was like having a living encyclopedia—the authenticity of the goods was unmistakable. The key was still the price.

"How much?" he asked directly.

The old man held up two fingers: "The whole thing, two thousand yuan, take it!"

"Hey, my goodness!" Old Niu immediately straightened his face. "Brother, wake up! This isn't before liberation, and it's not like when money was a drop in the ocean—two thousand dollars? In new dollars!"

"Oh, oh, oh..." Pian'er slapped his forehead and took a deep breath: "Oops, slip of the tongue! Two thousand yuan—it's two thousand yuan!"

Liu Dong didn't say anything. He took out a cigarette, struck a match with a "snap," lit it slowly, took a deep drag, and then slowly exhaled a ring of white smoke.

That expression clearly said: not very satisfied.

"Brother Pian'er," he said, holding the cigarette between his fingers, "I'm really sorry... I don't have that much cash in my pocket, so I'm afraid this deal can't go through."

Are you kidding me? Two thousand yuan?

That could be exchanged for over 800 jin of Guandong sugar, or bought over 600 grams of gold!

Do you think I'm a sucker?

"No, no, no! Don't go!" Old Man Pian grabbed his sleeve. "The price is negotiable! We can really lower it!"

Liu Dong took another drag of his cigarette, then turned to look at Boss Niu: "Boss Niu, give me the truth, and I'll listen to you!"

This sounds polite, but it actually carries a hidden tension—

If what Uncle Niu said was unreliable, or if he sided with Uncle Pian, he would turn around and leave without listening to a single word.

Old Niu frowned: "To be honest, this price from Master Pian is indeed too high. You're thinking about the market a few years ago, but things are different now—nobody dares to buy it, and nobody wants to touch it, afraid of getting into trouble!"

"To put it bluntly, it's a case of high demand but low supply, right?"

Pian'er scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, "Well...that's true."

"Then how about this!" He simply changed his mind, "1200, take them all, okay?"

A thought struck Liu Dong—

1200 is definitely the right amount.

Two tables, a large cabinet, eight chairs, a canopy bed... all together, a large and generous portion.

Decades later, it might not be worth a hundred million, but it'll definitely be in the tens of millions.

Master Niu nodded, "This price is reasonable! Liu Dong, it's not expensive—if I weren't completely broke, I would have snatched it from him!"

"I used to be rich, no, I was always rich—but I poured all my money into collecting. Once I bought something, I wouldn't let go of it. Now, my pockets are emptier than my face!" He laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Okay!" Liu Dong agreed immediately. "Twelve hundred it is! I'll bring the money over tomorrow night, and you can put your things away in advance."

"I'll make several trips; I really can't transport it all at once."

"Hey... um..." Uncle Pian rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed. "Liu Dong, could you give me some money first? Your aunt and I... are really struggling to make ends meet lately."

We have no shortage of grain and oil coupons, but we lack cash.

"Okay." Liu Dong pulled out a brand new ten-yuan note from his pocket, thought for a moment, then counted out nine more, folded them neatly, and handed them over: "Take one hundred yuan for now, just in case."

"Hey, thanks a lot!"

Liu Dong left that same day.

The next day, he arrived on time and paid the remaining balance in full.

For the next five nights, he rode an old-fashioned tricycle back and forth to Grandpa Pian'er's house.

Sometimes they would pull out two chairs, sometimes they would carry half a large cabinet, and sometimes they would just move a few carved panels.

There were too many things to fit into the wine cellar—Master Pian was watching over us, and if the secrets were revealed, we'd be in big trouble.

After the final cleanup, all the items were his.

The small-leaf sandalwood table and large gift cabinet were locked directly into the wine cellar;

The huanghuali wood eight-immortal table and canopy bed were carried into their own house and used as proper furniture;

Of the eight official hat chairs, he only dared to take out four and arrange them properly—no one in the compound would even look closely if someone added a few more pieces of old furniture.

"Wow! That's so sturdy!" Chen Xueru exclaimed, her eyes shining as she touched the edge of the octagonal table. "This bed is incredibly stable!"

"That's right!" Liu Dong laughed. "You can do whatever you want tonight, I guarantee it won't make any creaking noises."

Chen Xueru's face flushed red instantly. She bit her lip, her eyes sparkling, and flames of anger leaped up.

Several months pregnant, and having already been a "recluse" for almost half a year, how could she possibly restrain herself now?

"Stop, stop!" Liu Dong quickly reached out and pressed down, "Shh—our baby's still in my belly, baby, can we wait a few more days?"

"Hmph..." She pouted and turned her head away, looking aggrieved.

But knowing the gravity of the situation, he immediately changed the subject, trying to distract the conversation: "Hey, have you noticed Fan Jinyou from our little tavern?"

"He's been staring at Huizhen a lot lately, and there's something off about his gaze—I think they're a good match!"

Huh? Take a ride?

What a load of rubbish, Fan Jinyou!

and many more……

I think... it's been a long time since I've mixed "cursed wine"?

It's the weekend again!

Liu Dongtian got up before dawn and went into the side room to brew medicine.

"What are you doing?" Chen Xueru peeked in sleepily, wrinkling her nose. "This smell... a bitter, overpowering fragrance, it's making my eyes water!"

As Liu Dong stirred the clay pot, he chuckled, "This is called 'Rejuvenating Soup,' it's specially made to replenish depleted vital energy!"

"You made this for me?" Her eyes lit up, her face full of gratitude.

Liu Dong didn't even look up, replying indifferently, "No, this soup isn't worthy of you." "Who's this stuff for?"

"Foreign friend!"

Liu Dong grinned and told Chen Xueru the whole story about Ambassador Viktor from Langwei.

Chen Xueru blinked: "Oh, you actually earn foreign exchange?"

"Ahem..." Liu Dong nodded, then pointed to the corner of the wall, "Quick, bring me a big jar!"

An empty jar, weighing a full 100 pounds, sat steadily at Liu Dong's feet.

He rinsed the inside of the jar twice with a hose, then poured in all the freshly brewed herbal decoction.

—Too little? It looks too shabby!

Add more water!

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Tap water was poured straight in, bubbling and gurgling.

He scooped up a spoonful and tasted it: this mixture of "ninety-eight parts plain water and one part medicinal soup" was euphemistically called "a highly nourishing soup".