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

Xu Damao immediately sat down next to him.

Liu Dong lowered his voice: "Dongxu's mother has been squatting outside your house yelling at you lately, are you really going to put up with it?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Damao's face flushed a deep purplish-red: "I curse her ancestors for eighteen generations! Why didn't that old bastard die at the door?"

"But she's an old lady, you can't just lay a hand on her..."

"No, no, no," Liu Dong waved his hand, "I'll give you a suggestion—"

"What trick?"

"Go find Yi Zhonghai!" Liu Dong raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he the top person in charge of the institute now? After something like this happened, does he dare to pretend to be blind?"

"If he dares to pretend, head straight to the neighborhood committee! Report him for dereliction of duty!"

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Xu Damao gave a thumbs up. "Brother, that move was absolutely brilliant!"

"Hehe..." Liu Dong chuckled, "From now on, when the three old men in the courtyard take power, the first ones they'll deal with are us youngsters. So, we have to stick together and stand up for each other when necessary!"

"Don't worry!" Xu Damao patted his chest. "Brother, from now on, wherever you point, I'll go! Following your lead... what's up?"

"Follow the horse's lead without question!"

In the workshop! Jia Dongxu had only slept for sixty minutes when his stomach started clenching and waking him up.

"Master... I'm so hungry my heart is pounding! I can't take it anymore!"

The sensation of your chest pressing against your spine, and feeling like a hand is twisting your stomach—you have to try it to know what it's like!

Jia Dongxu has never gone hungry since he was a child, so his stomach is very delicate.

But Yi Zhonghai was different. He had eaten tree bark and swallowed clay since he was a child, and he survived even when he was so hungry that his eyes turned green.

"This little bit of hunger? It's nothing!" Yi Zhonghai waved his hand dismissively. "Back then, I went four days and three nights without eating a single grain of rice; I survived entirely on cold water!"

"Dongxu, remember this: hunger is an illusion; if you just endure it, it will wilt away."

"Don't worry, this afternoon will be over in the blink of an eye!"

"You're not a kid anymore, you're a man! A man needs to have resilience!"

"No drive? Absolutely not! You can't get anything done!"

"Okay! I'm got the energy!" Jia Dongxu took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, picked up his tools, and got back to work.

That feeling—it really wasn't right.

Do not……

This is really dangerous!

But Yi Zhonghai kept patting him on the shoulder and saying things like that, and he managed to finish the job.

My legs were trembling from exhaustion, I was so hungry I was seeing stars, and my head was buzzing.

But he didn't stop for a moment.

At exactly six o'clock in the afternoon, the workday bell rang.

"Waaah..." Jia Dongxu's nose stung, and he almost burst into tears: "Master! Thank God! We can eat now!!"

As soon as he stepped out of the factory gate with Yi Zhonghai, he froze—

Five kilometers!

The snowdrifts were all ankle-deep!

It usually takes me more than an hour to walk here, but with this terrible road today, it might take me two hours to move around.

"Wow--!!!"

Jia Dongxu, who had held back his tears all afternoon, finally burst into tears this time.

"Dongxu? Why are you crying?" Yi Zhonghai quickly patted him on the back: "Don't cry, don't cry... we have a way!"

"You can rest here for a bit and wait for Liu Dong! Doesn't he have a bicycle?"

"Once he comes out, I'll ask him to give you a ride—so you won't have to walk in the snow and freeze!"

Jia Dongxu immediately wiped his face, his eyes lighting up: "Master, does he... listen to you?"

"Hmph!" Yi Zhonghai raised an eyebrow. "I'm the 'boss' of this courtyard! If a neighbor is in trouble, who dares to turn a blind eye? Anyone who doesn't help is defying the entire courtyard!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jia Dongxu nodded repeatedly. "That's right! You're the head steward of the courtyard house now, how dare he disobey?"

The two of them stood guard at the factory gate.

Liu Dong came out in just two minutes.

He Yuzhu and Xu Damao followed behind, the three of them walking side by side, chatting and laughing.

But when Jia Dongxu took a look, his heart sank to the ground:

Liu Dong's hands were empty; he hadn't ridden a bike at all!

"Brother Liu Dong! Where's your bike? Why aren't you riding it?" Jia Dongxu was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"Are you crazy?" Liu Dong laughed. "With this much snow, riding a bike? You'd be rolling on the ground like a duster! Walking is much safer!"

"But...but..." Jia Dongxu's lips trembled, and tears welled up again.

I was so angry I almost vomited blood.

"Ugh, this awful weather, it's freezing!" Liu Dong rubbed his hands together, turned around, and said, "I need to run around a bit to warm up before I feel comfortable!"

With a few quick "bangs," the figure darted away—

He was broad-shouldered and agile, and disappeared in a flash.

Once Jia Dongxu's figure was out of sight, Liu Dongcai turned into the wine cellar, pushed out the bicycle he had hidden, and slowly rode away.

Two hours later, it was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Jia Dongxu practically climbed into the courtyard house.

"Whoa—!"

Upon seeing the courtyard gate, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud: "Mom—! Steamed buns! Quickly, get me some steamed buns! No, ten! I want to stuff my belly full, stuff myself into a dumpling!!"

The front yard, Yan Bugui's house.

He was sitting on a small stool, legs crossed, smoking a cigarette.

The three women gave a thumbs-up: "Honey, you're amazing! Did you know yesterday they forgot their food coupons?"

"Hehehe..." Yan Bugui laughed, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. "Those people are all roughnecks, their brains are just a scale, they don't know how to calculate. We cultured people have our own little ledgers in our minds!"

"Oh, right, there's something important I need to discuss with you!"

The three women were now filled with utter admiration: "Please speak! I'm listening!"

"Our family has six people—four children and two adults—and a monthly ration of 144 catties of grain. Sounds like a lot? Actually, it's a tight squeeze! When Liberation got 28 catties, it was alright, but for Liberation, Jie Kuang, and Jie Di, each of them only got 20 catties!"

"Thirty whole days! Every single day was spent scrimping and saving, not a single bite more than necessary!"

"At most, I'll need four and a half jin of grain coupons each day!"

"Understood!" The three women nodded vigorously, "Four pounds and eight ounces! Not a day more, not a penny less!"

The backyard, Liu Dong's house.

Chen Xueru was lying down reading a book after dinner, while her mother-in-law was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Liu Dong lazily sprawled in the rattan chair, closing his eyes to rest.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door—

Yi Zhonghai burst in, breathless: "Liu Dong! Is Liu Dong here?!"

"What's wrong?" Liu Dong sat up straight.

"Lend me a car! Dongxu's eaten too much, his stomach's so full he's rolling his eyes, he needs to be taken to the hospital!"

Liu Dong: "..."

Good grief, this thing managed to eat itself into the emergency room?

"The car? It's going into town today; it's locked up at the factory!"

"I'm talking about tricycles!"

"Oh... a tricycle?" Liu Dong shrugged. "What bad luck, my older brother went to haul goods!"

Before he could finish speaking, two more people squeezed into the courtyard gate—

Uncle Liu Haizhong (second uncle) and Uncle Yan Bugui (third uncle) arrived together.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "Liu Dong! This is a matter of life and death, and you're still trying to dodge the question? The car is clearly in your shed, are you not going to lend it to me?!"