"You’re a real capitalist now, aren’t you!" Shen Yibin shot him a contemptuous look. He glanced around. The forest stretched for at least several hundred acres. How many trees were out there? ’Even if only one in a thousand has a hollow suitable for brewing Monkey Wine,’ he thought, ’across this whole forest, that’s still a massive number.’
If Xiaoliu were to actually lease this mountain to brew Monkey Wine, he’d be worked to death. With Xu Ye’s wealth, he could definitely afford enough fruit to fill every single hollow. Shen Yibin couldn’t bear to make Xiaoliu work that hard.
"Sigh, you have a point. This kind of incredible wine can probably only be handcrafted on a small scale. If it were mass-produced, it would likely lose its rich flavor," Xu Ye said with a regretful sigh. He knew that whether it was cooking or brewing, achieving excellence demanded immense time and effort, and Xiaoliu’s energy was limited. If Xiaoliu were forced to painstakingly stuff fruit into every hollow in the forest, the resulting wine probably wouldn’t be as delicious as what they were drinking now.
"You’re already incredibly lucky to be drinking wine this good. Do you really expect to have it every day? You should be grateful you get to have it at all!" Xia Shixuan chimed in with her own scornful look. "Keep whining and I’ll drink your glass for you!"
"I was wrong, I was wrong, alright?" Xu Ye threw his hands up in surrender. He raised his glass to Xiaoliu. "My sincerest thanks to Sixth Master for this exquisite wine. May you eat and play to your heart’s content today!" And just like that, Xiaoliu had been promoted a generation.
A gentle breeze blew in from the lake as they sipped the fragrant, intoxicating Monkey Wine and nibbled on side dishes masterfully prepared by Shen Yibin, all while admiring the gorgeous mountain scenery. The group felt as if they had entered a paradise. Life couldn’t get any better than this.
The only downside was the extremely limited supply of Monkey Wine. Before anyone had their fill, the few jugs were already empty. Xu Ye quickly had someone bring out the fine wines he kept stored at the mountain villa, but neither the aged Moutai nor the ’82 Lafite could satisfy Shen Yibin and his friends.
In Xia Shixuan’s words, after drinking the Monkey Wine, it was like they had been with timeless beauties like Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Lin. Trying these other wines now was like looking at plain, powdered faces; they couldn’t even be bothered to take a sip.
"Sigh, I’ve tried to quit drinking several times, but I could never manage it because of all the business events. But this is great! Now, I have no interest in drinking any other wine, even if you put it right in front of me!" Xu Ye sighed along with them. He never thought Monkey Wine would have the added benefit of helping people quit drinking. He clapped Shen Yibin on the shoulder. "Bin, you have to let me know the moment the next batch of Monkey Wine is ready. I don’t care what time it is or what I’m doing, I’ll be at your shop in a heartbeat."
"Sounds good. I figure the next batch will be ready soon. We can set up two tables at the shop: one for us, and one for a customer appreciation event. We’ll see which lucky few get to buy our Monkey Wine," Shen Yibin replied. Of course, before all that, he had to mail some to Sun Qian, Sakai Kaori, and Sylvie. ’Hmm, I should probably send a small bottle to Hong Mian, too. I wonder how Shi Gaofei is doing at her place. I’ll have to make time to visit them soon.’
With the Monkey Wine gone, no one had any interest in lingering around the table. They all went back to their rooms to change, then went to the lake for a swim and some fishing, having the time of their lives. Hah’Er jumped into the water with a SPLASH, while Xiaoliu dashed into the woods to burn off some energy. Only Maphario remained with Shen Yibin, perched on his shoulder, watching him fish.
After two fun-filled days at Xu Ye’s mountain villa, Shen Yibin returned to the shop with the girls. By then, Li Zhen had completed the renovation of the adjacent storefront. The dividing wall had been knocked down, the new pool was filled with water, planted with lotuses, and stocked with plenty of fish, shrimp, and turtles. From now on, Hah’Er could soak comfortably in the water without having to fear the summer heat. Maphario, meanwhile, planted seeds one by one in the new plot of land. Shen Yibin believed it wouldn’t be long before he could eat fruit grown by Maphario, and Xiaoliu would have fresh ingredients for brewing.
Once the inspection was complete, the little critters began playing happily in the new space. Shen Yibin and Xia Shixuan, meanwhile, started preparing for the upcoming raffle. They wrote up the ad copy and sent it to Xu Ye, asking his designers to create some graphics. After approving the final draft, they posted it on Weibo and their Moments feeds.
They also printed out a few posters to display in the store. The gist of it was: to thank their loyal customers, new and old, the shop was holding a special raffle. Any customer who purchased a pet before the coming Friday would be eligible to enter, and the winner would receive a mystery gift.
When customers asked Xia Shixuan what the mystery gift was, she would just smile mysteriously. "You’ll find out when we announce the winner," she’d reply.
Zhongyuan Five Hundred was a web novel author. He had recently finished his last book, but writing the new one wasn’t going well. He was suffering from a bout of writer’s block so severe it felt like torture. He decided to go for a walk to see if he could find some inspiration. After wandering the streets aimlessly for a while, his attention was captured by Shen Yibin’s pet shop.
’Huh, I’m always cooped up at home by myself. It’s too quiet,’ he thought. ’Maybe I should get a pet?’ With that, Zhongyuan Five Hundred walked into Shen Yibin’s shop. He glanced at the poster on his way in but dismissed it as the typical marketing gimmick of some unscrupulous business and paid it no mind.
’Whoa, the girl working here is gorgeous.’ His attention was immediately drawn to Li Shiqing. She, in turn, greeted him warmly and began introducing the various pets in the shop.
The pets in Shen Yibin’s shop were genuinely top-notch, and with Li Shiqing’s expert sales pitch, Zhongyuan Five Hundred soon found the pet he wanted. "This husky looks as smart as me. I’ll take him. Do you guys take mobile payments?" ’Hopefully, she says no,’ he thought. ’Then I can say I don’t have cash and need to use WeChat Pay, and then I can get her contact info.’
"Yes, we do, sir." Unfortunately, Li Shiqing mercilessly shattered Zhongyuan Five Hundred’s daydream. She led him to the counter to complete the payment, handed over the complimentary gifts and ownership certificate, and after the whole process was finished, the "smart" husky now belonged to Zhongyuan Five Hundred.
Now, there was just one last problem: what to name the dog? Zhongyuan Five Hundred, being a web novel author, had a sudden flash of inspiration. He was infamous for ending his Chapters abruptly. So...
"From now on, your name is Cliffhanger!" he declared, pointing at the husky. ’Heh, I’m a genius at naming things.’