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

"Xu Huizhen!" Fan Jinyou cried out anxiously, "I was wrong! I truly admit my mistake this time! Come back, and continue being the private sector manager!"

"I'll listen to whatever you say, and I'll never go against you again!"

"Heh..." Xu Huizhen tilted her head and chuckled, "Fan Jinyou, do you think I'm your house key? You think I can just throw it away or pick it up whenever you want?"

Who do you think you are?

Why should I listen to you?

"Am I, Xu Huizhen, really that thin-skinned?"

"You—" Fan Jin was furious, but he held back his anger.

Finally, with a thud, he knelt on the ground.

"Xu Huizhen, I beg you, please forgive me this time, please come back?"

"I've lost my position now; Director Li has demoted me to a clerk!"

"From now on, if you say east, I will never go west; I will never dare to argue again!"

Xu Huizhen shook her head: "Don't kneel before me, and don't beg me."

"I've said it before, if Xue Ru doesn't agree, I will never go back."

"You have to beg her! Only if she forgives you will I consider letting you go."

thump!

Fan Jinyou immediately turned to Chen Xueru, bent his knees and knelt down again.

"Sister Chen, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have fired you; I was blind!"

"How about... you hit me a few times to vent your anger?"

"No, no, no... I know, hitting me will dirty your hands, I'll do it myself! I'll do it myself!"

Clap clap clap!

This guy is really ruthless; he swung his hand and started slapping himself, each slap louder than the last.

"Stop hitting him!" Chen Xueru said coldly, "Fan Jinyou, a man like you deserves to die ten times over!"

"If you leave now, whether you can go back to the tavern tomorrow is another matter. I need to think about it!"

"Boss Xu, please eat more!" Liu Dong politely urged.

Xu Huizhen shook her head, her short, ear-length hair swaying like an open black umbrella, and laughed out loud:

"Don't be so formal, Liu Dong. Just call me by my name from now on. Calling me 'Boss Xu' is too formal!"

"Alright, then I'll call you Xu Huizhen!"

"Hahaha……"

The three ate and chatted, their conversation meandering, and somehow the topic turned to the young man who had cooked earlier.

"Liu Dong," Xu Huizhen suddenly spoke up, "that young man who cooked for you just now, he looks kind of familiar..."

Liu Dong laughed: "What, you've got your eye on her? Want me to set you up?"

"Get lost!" Xu Huizhen glared at him. "I mean, we ran into a young man when we came in, and those two look so alike! They're practically identical!"

Liu Dong: ? ? ?

What do you mean?

Does he look like He Yuzhu?

Are there really people like this?

Could it be a replica of He Daqing in his youth?

Xu Huizhen, is there something wrong with your eyes?

"She's talking about Jia Dongxu," Chen Xueru replied with a smile.

Liu Dong's eyes narrowed sharply—

Something is wrong!

Are Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu similar?

They have absolutely no connection!

Wait a minute...

Two faces suddenly appeared in his mind: He Daqing's appearance when he was young, and Jia Dongxu's appearance.

Think about it again... He Yuzhu's face...

looks like?

It does look...quite similar!

They don't seem like brothers, but there's a certain blood connection between them.

Cousins?

cousin?

Holy crap!!!

A glint of light flashed in Liu Dong's eyes—

Could it be... that there's some secret hidden between Jia Zhangshi and He Daqing that no one knows about?

It's broken...

That's amazing!

I'll have to set a fire tomorrow and see how they react.

Chen Xueru suddenly slammed her hand on the table: "Hey, what's the point of just eating? Honey, where's the wine? Get some out, let's have a couple of drinks and have some fun!"

"No!" Xu Huizhen grabbed her wrist. "Are you out of your mind? You just got married, shouldn't you be trying to conceive? Take my advice, don't touch a drop of alcohol for a while!"

"Hey, you don't understand!" Chen Xueru waved her hand with a grin. "My man's wine is really precious; it's a health-preserving wine infused with medicinal herbs. Drinking it strengthens the body, how can it compare to ordinary white wine?"

"Come on, pour it all in!"

"Alright then." Liu Dong took out a jar of his homemade pure grain liquor.

The three of them started drinking, one cup after another.

Don't let Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru's age fool you; they're both heavy drinkers, each one capable of holding their liquor like they've been drinking since childhood.

After consuming two whole pounds, the two of them, though not paralyzed, began to have unfocused eyes, flushed faces, and staggered steps, completely drunk.

Chen Xueru hooked her arm around Xu Huizhen's shoulder: "Huizhen, don't leave today, stay at my place, we can share a bed!"

"Okay... squeeze into one bed!" Xu Huizhen's tongue was almost slurred.

Liu Dong gave a wry smile: "You two are sleeping soundly in one bed, so where am I supposed to sleep? Never mind, the sofa is mine."

Once the two girls were completely asleep, he tiptoed into the living room, pushed the two tables together, and lay down on them.

A hard, unyielding "bed" was enough for one night's rest.

But it's alright, I'm physically strong and can handle it.

The next day happened to be Saturday.

As soon as it was light, Liu Dong got up to make breakfast for the two women.

It was almost seven o'clock when Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru slowly opened their eyes, looking dazed from a hangover.

After washing her face, Xu Huizhen looked at Liu Dong and asked, "Hey, we slept like that last night, you...didn't do anything bad, did you?"

Liu Dong's face darkened: "Who do you think I am? Would I do something like that?"

"Your thoughts are so filthy!"

"Pfft—" Xu Huizhen couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Just kidding, thanks..."

Watching his busy figure, I felt a strange mix of emotions.

If only I had acted sooner...

Unfortunately, when it comes to fate, once it's missed, it's missed forever.

While eating breakfast, Liu Dong said, "Mr. Mei gave me a bicycle voucher a couple of days ago. Xue Ru, why don't we go pick one up together today? You must be tired from walking all day."

"No way!" Chen Xueru grinned, her face beaming with happiness. "We'll talk about it another day. Today I'm going to the tavern to see if Fan Jin is making any moves, hahaha!"

Although it was the weekend, the pub was open as usual.

After all, they're not a government agency, so where would they get so many weekends off?

But as soon as the three of them stepped inside, they immediately sensed something was wrong—

The shop was completely empty; there wasn't a single person in sight!

Accountant Zhao Yali slumped behind the counter, her eyelids drooping, almost falling asleep.

Waitresses Kong Yuqin and He Yumei were lying face to face on the table, staring at each other like two idiots.

Fan Jinyou simply started snoring.

"Huizhen's here!" Zhao Yali suddenly screamed, and everyone in the room jumped up. Fan Jin was so excited he almost fell off his chair: "Wait! I'll call someone right away!"

Soon after, Aunt Zhang from the neighborhood committee arrived at the scene.

"Huizhen!" Aunt Zhang grabbed Xu Huizhen's hand. "Don't be like that scoundrel Fan Jinyou! He's been fired! From today onwards, he's no longer a manager, just a cook who tends the fire and chops vegetables!"

"You can order him around however you want!"

"From now on, the management rights of the tavern are still yours!"

To keep the people here, Aunt Zhang went to great lengths.