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

The meat is ready, next up are the eggs.

Eggs can be bought on the street, but for large quantities, you have to go to the vegetable market to buy them wholesale.

"Hey, Little Liu's here again?" The egg vendor grinned as soon as he saw him. "Still buying?"

"Of course!" Liu Dong asked, "How many today?"

"Fifty pounds ready-made," the shopkeeper held up five fingers. "We can get another three hundred pounds of fresh ones tomorrow. If you want, we'll deliver them right to your door!"

"Okay!" Liu Dong bought the fifty jin in front of him, left his address, and turned to leave.

Then he completely let loose, running around the market like a headless fly.

Buy whatever you see!

Two crucian carp, please!

Grab a few bunches of bok choy!

Let's hug a watermelon!

Peanuts, soybeans, sesame seeds... anything that won't spoil quickly was loaded onto the truck.

By the time we got home, the sun was practically overhead.

He Yuzhu had been waiting eagerly in the yard for a long time.

"Brother Dong! You're finally back!" As soon as he saw the figure appear, he immediately went to greet him.

Liu Dong jumped off the tricycle and pointed to the mountain of ingredients piled on it: "Look, is this enough for a meal?"

He Yuzhu leaned over to take a look: eggplant, carp, pork belly, eggs, green peppers... everything was there.

"That's enough!" He nodded repeatedly. "Brother, shall we cook at your place or mine?"

"My home!" Liu Dong said simply.

"Okay!" He Yuzhu happily carried the vegetables and went into the house.

Just as I was busy, I heard the sound of wheels rolling outside again.

A pedicab wobbled to a stop at the entrance.

"Liu Dong! Is Liu Dong here?"

It turned out that the egg seller had delivered the eggs ahead of schedule.

The truck bed contained a full three hundred pounds of eggs, ten eggs per pound, three thousand white-shelled eggs neatly stacked.

The goods were supposed to arrive tomorrow, but they arrived early, so the boss just delivered them on his way.

Without saying a word, Liu Dong paid the full amount.

This scene caused quite a stir.

Hearing the commotion, all the neighbors in the courtyard opened their doors and peered out.

"What are you doing?"

"Liu Dong bought three thousand eggs in one go?"

"My goodness, has he gone mad?"

"Eggs go bad after two days, how can we possibly finish them?"

"Are you perhaps planning to engage in some kind of business resale?"

Discussions rose and fell.

Jia Dongxu stood at the door and sneered, "Pure idiot! Even if you want to speculate on goods, you can't do it like this—you spendthrift, you'll never get married in this lifetime!"

He then spat on the ground.

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and scoffed, "Having money doesn't mean you can waste it like this! Getting rich makes you arrogant, you've forgotten who you are, haven't you?"

Old Jia chimed in, "Sixty million is nothing! At this rate, it'll all be gone in a year, not a single penny left!" Liu Dong unloaded the eggs from the tricycle and casually carried them into the side room, saying he was storing them, but in reality, he stuffed them into that mysterious time vat in the blink of an eye.

Back to the main house!

Sha Zhu was already washing vegetables by the sink, the vegetable leaves rustling loudly.

Liu Dong wasn't idle either; he squatted down to sort the seasonings and arrange the oil and salt jars. The two worked together, quick and efficient.

Before long, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen, making people's mouths water.

"Wow...that smells amazing!" Liu Dong sniffed and grinned, "Zhu Zi, your cooking skills are truly top-notch!"

"Hehehe..." He Yuzhu scratched his head and replied with a simple smile, "My master also praised me for having decent comprehension, but I'm still far behind him. I need to practice harder!"

"That's ambitious!"

Liu Dongchong gave him a thumbs up and continued, "The wine is on the table in the main room, pour yourself some, don't be stingy. I'm going out for a bit to buy a roast duck, let's have a good meal together today!"

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

Actually, He Yuzhu is not a bad person.

Back then, he was manipulated by Yi Zhonghai in the factory and became the third uncle's mouthpiece, simply because he was slow-witted but not malicious.

Of course, he does tend to be a bit too friendly and easily led astray.

But now, four little red hearts are floating above his head, clearly telling Liu Dong that this guy is on his side and has no hostility.

In that case, why not try to get closer to each other?

It's just a roast duck, it's not a big deal.

"Hey, Liu Dong, you're really something these days! Buying roast duck from Quanjude?" Yan Bugui bumped into him as he came back carrying a printed paper bag, his eyes practically glued to the bag.

Liu Dong chuckled and replied, "It's the weekend, so I'm getting some snacks with Zhu Zi to have some fun with the drinks."

"That's great!" Yan Bugui smacked his lips twice, his heart itching with anticipation, hoping to be invited for a drink.

The results of it?

They didn't mention it at all.

"Hey!" Watching him push the door open and go in, Yan Bugui's smile gradually faded: He didn't even say hello? This kid has no manners at all!

In the blink of an eye, the two small axes on his head turned into three.

When he got home, he plopped down, took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and lit it with a "pop".

"Jiecheng!" he called out to his son.

"Oh, Father!"

"Did you hear that? Sha Zhu and Liu Dong are cooking and drinking. The whole yard smells amazing, they even bought roast duck!"

"We can't just sit here. Young people need to get out and about. Why don't you take a couple of cabbages and go visiting someone's place, grab a meal while you're at it, and maybe even get to know them better?"

He lowered his voice and added, "That kid Liu Dong is a real spendthrift. He spends money like water. If you get to know him well, you'll get plenty of benefits in the future."

He was working so hard, the sound of abacus beads clicking away filled his mind.

"Understood, Dad! I'll go right now!"

Sixteen-year-old Yan Jie immediately picked up two large cabbages and ran outside.

The aroma also wafted from Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard.

"Wow...whose cooking smells so good?" Guangtian's mother sniffed. "Could it be Shazhu? When did that kid suddenly become so clever?"

"Mom!" Liu Guangqi peeked out and replied, "I saw Liu Dong bring back a roast duck; I guess he's treating us!"

"What are you standing there for?" His mother slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Don't we still have a few eggs? Take a few over; it's a small gift but a token of our appreciation. It's a good opportunity to get to know each other and make friends!"

"Oh, right, Yan Jiecheng went there too!"

"Okay!" Liu Guangqi quickly put on his pants, stuffed a few eggs into his pocket, and hurried out the door.

And across the street, Xu Fugui's house—

Old Xu was swatting flies around the house with a fly swatter, making a big fuss about it.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng, one carrying an egg and the other carrying vegetables, both heading into Liu Dong's room.

"Hmm?" His eyes flickered, and he immediately called out, "Da Mao! Da Mao, come here!"

"Dad, what's up?" Fifteen-year-old Xu Damao ran over in response. Although he was young, he had already grown tall, and a long face was beginning to take shape.

Xu Fugui put down his racket and said earnestly, "We've just moved in and we don't know anyone here. You should go out and walk around, and get to know your neighbors better."