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

Liu Dong said slowly, "One team, two businesses, just stagger the times!"

He paused, took a sip of water, and continued, "You see, isn't the tavern only busy at night? Who comes here to drink so early in the morning? Right?"

Chen Xueru nodded: "Yes, yes, yes."

Liu Dong continued, "Then we'll sell breakfast in the morning! Steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, anything will do. We'll close up shop at noon, then immediately tidy up the place and prepare the dishes and drinks for dinner in the afternoon."

"Using these people on both sides means one shop can serve two purposes, saving time and effort while making more money!"

"Oh my god!" Chen Xueru slammed her hand on the table, her voice trembling with excitement, "Husband, you're such a genius! I love you so much... Waaah!" She then pounced on him and hugged him tightly.

Liu Dong smiled, but he knew in his heart that this kind of idea would have been standard practice for small shops on the street in his time.

Chen Xueru said excitedly, "I'll bring this up with Fan Jinyou tomorrow!"

"No!" Liu Dong stopped her. "Don't you know that person? I was the one who persuaded Xu Huizhen to come to the party. She was the first to support the public-private partnership, but he turned around and said it was because of his merits."

"If you bring this up now, he might not listen. Even if he uses it, the credit will be his!"

"Honey, don't rush, let's wait for the right opportunity."

Chen Xueru sighed, looking at him expectantly, "Honey...you're so amazing, I really admire you so much..." Before she finished speaking, she straddled Liu Dong's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered, "Honey...I want to have a baby with you..."

Liu Dong's head buzzed.

I rely on!

No, that won't work!

I just lent the "seed" to Qin Huairu a few days ago as an emergency...

"Don't rush!" He shook his head decisively.

Early the next morning.

In the tavern.

Xu Huizhen suddenly stood up, glaring at Fan Jinyou: "Chen Xueru is capable at work, has good client relationships, and is doing a great job. Why should we fire her?"

"Exactly!" Chen Xueru, standing behind the counter, frowned. "Why did they fire me?"

She was completely stunned.

Last night, Liu Dong gave her a great idea, and she was thinking about how to help Fan Jinyou revitalize his business.

I never expected that someone would have such a good long-term vision—Fan Jinyou is the kind of person who would betray you after you've served your purpose.

The first thing I said at the meeting this morning was: lay off people, starting with Chen Xueru.

"It's not dismissal, it's termination," Fan Jinyou said with a forced smile. "We have too many people, we can't pay salaries, so we have to downsize. Is there a problem with that?"

"She's not one of your employees, so of course I can fire her."

Xu Huizhen said coldly, "She's not one of your people, nor is she officially employed by us. She only came in because Aunt Zhang from the neighborhood committee gave her permission!"

"It doesn't matter who agrees!" Fan Jinyou waved his hand. "Aunt Zhang can't control this. Chen Xueru has to leave today!"

"That won't do!" Xu Huizhen made up her mind. "If she gets kicked out, you might as well fire me too!"

"You think I wouldn't dare?" Fan Jinyou laughed. "Xu Huizhen, don't try to play tough with me. You're the highest-paid person in the whole store!"

"Perfect! By firing you, we'll immediately save a lot of money!"

"Ha...very good! Very good!" His face beamed with joy. "Xu Huizhen, you're the one who wanted to quit, remember, you have to write a resignation letter!"

The tavern has seven employees, and Xu Huizhen's monthly salary is equivalent to that of three ordinary employees.

Kicking her and Chen Xueru out now is equivalent to cutting the cost of four people at once.

What's left?

Don't worry, a few people can still manage.

"Thank you so much, Manager Xu!" Fan Jinyou stepped forward with a beaming smile to shake hands. "Thank you for your contributions to the tavern. Goodbye!"

"You..." Xu Huizhen originally just retorted in anger, but she didn't expect the other party to take advantage of the situation and leave no way out.

"Fine! You win!" She took a deep breath, turned around, and snapped, "Fine, I quit! Remember, you can't skimp on my share of the profits every month!"

"Let's go!" She slammed the rag onto the counter, turned around, locked the back door, grabbed Chen Xueru's hand, and pulled her outside.

"Huizhen, are you really quitting?" Chen Xueru asked, a little flustered.

Xu Huizhen tossed her short hair: "Look at my new hairstyle, what do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

"He's quite handsome... but are you really planning to just give up and leave him alone?"

"I quit!" she grinned. "Neither of us is short of money. Come on, I'll take you on a shopping spree at Wangfujing!"

"Alright! Let's go!"

The two immediately cast aside their worries and ran side by side into the bustling market.

Wangfujing, located south of Nanluoguxiang and next to the east wall of the Forbidden City, is lined with shops and bustling with people.

Steel rolling mill, publicity department.

Liu Dong carried a large, loudspeaker-like device out of the equipment room and placed it next to the microphone.

"Brother, what's this treasure?" Xu Damao leaned closer, looking curious.

"You'll see in a bit," Liu Dong chuckled. "Go get a towel and wipe the dust off."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Xu Damao quickly did as he was told, and in no time he had wiped the machine until it was shiny.

Liu Dong unplugged the original speaker and connected an external player.

"What song should I play?" Xu Damao asked.

"Unity is strength," Liu Dong said, then pressed the switch.

In an instant, a powerful song resounded throughout the factory area, heard everywhere—in the workshops, canteen, and office buildings:

"Unity is strength, unity is strength..."

"This power is iron, this power is steel, harder than iron, stronger than steel..."

Xu Damao gave him a thumbs up: "Brother Liu Dong, you can do everything! You're amazing!"

Liu Dong picked up his teacup and took a satisfying sip.

Just as I put down my cup, a tall man walked in through the door, looking anxious.

He recognized him; he was Qi Baishi's son, named Qi Zhengyuan.

"Comrade Xiao Liu! I've finally found you!" Qi Zhengyuan was extremely excited as soon as he entered the door.

"What's wrong?" Liu Dong quickly stood up. "How is Mr. Qi's health?"

"Still in good shape!" Qi Zhengyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Yesterday, my dad and Mr. Mei went to your old tavern, wanting to drink some pure brew, but you weren't there, and they were out of wine!"

"The two old gentlemen were so eager to find out, they insisted I do so. I searched all day before finally finding my way here!"

Liu Dong quickly made a cup of tea and handed it over: "Brother Zhengyuan, sit down. Don't use all those formalities. You're older than me, just call me Xiao Liu."

"Sigh..." Qi Zhengyuan was around fifty years old, and his hair was already somewhat gray.

Liu Dong explained, "The wine in our family is made using a recipe passed down from our ancestors. It was actually brewed by my grandfather, and very little of it is still in stock."

"We sold a batch at the tavern last time, and now we're almost out."

There's a little bit left at home, but it's only enough for me to have a couple of sips. It's really not much.

Qi Zhengyuan smiled wryly: "Could you spare me a little bit? My dad's really craving it..."

Not only Qi Baishi, but Mei Lanfang also became addicted, talking about it all the time.