Chapter 31: The Urge to Have Just a Little More to Drink! (Please keep reading!)

Lu Qian had been drinking for most of his life. From the cheap, loose spirits sold at street-corner kiosks for a few yuan, to high-end red wines costing over a hundred thousand per bottle. He had tasted them all—white spirits, beers, reds, and yellows. But never in his life had he encountered a Nuerhong (Daughter Wine) like the one Jiang Tao brought out today, with its mellow, fragrant flavor and such impressive age.

"Little Jiang, your old man really has a knack for storing wine!" Lu Qian exclaimed. "There’s a saying: good wine is thirty percent brewing and seventy percent storage. It’s rare enough that a 20-year-old Nuerhong hasn't spoiled, but to have aged it into such a magnificent flavor is truly extraordinary!"

Lu Qian finished the Nuerhong in his enamel bowl in one go and gave Jiang Tao a thumbs-up. "Little Jiang, how much do you plan to sell this for? If the price is fair, I know plenty of fellow drinkers I could introduce to you."

Lu Qian was practically hooked by the aroma of Jiang Tao’s wine, and after heaping on the praise, he took the initiative to ask for a price. For a connoisseur like him, stumbling upon a fine jar of wine was like a lecher catching sight of a beauty; his eyes were practically gleaming as he stared at the jar.

"Grandpa, this wine isn’t mine; I’m just selling it on behalf of someone else, so I really can't call the shots on the price," Jiang Tao said with a helpless smile, spinning a tall tale without missing a beat. "My old man sold two jars to a real estate developer back in our hometown for 70,000 in total."

"70,000 for two jars?" Lu Qian gasped. This price was well beyond his expectations.

"That's right! My dad was just lucky to run into someone who truly loved the drink and had money to burn," Jiang Tao continued. "But since we’re selling more this time—and we need the money urgently to build a house back home—the price is much cheaper than what we sold to that developer. You can take a jar home for just 20,000. Whether you drink it yourself or serve it to honored guests, it’s guaranteed to leave everyone speechless."

"Little Jiang, this is truly a fine wine, but the price is also truly steep!" After hearing the price—which was a mix of truth and fabrication—Lu Qian didn't make a decision immediately. "Let me go back and think about it."

As he spoke, Lu Qian lingered with an infatuated look at the wine jar on the table before finally rising from his stool.

"Sure! Take your time, Grandpa. I brought 15 jars in total, and I've only sold five so far," Jiang Tao said with a chuckle as he stood up to see his landlord out, applying a little pressure with his words.

Sure enough, once Lu Qian heard that five jars had already been sold, he felt a sudden sense of urgency, as if the Nuerhong would be gone if he didn't act fast. Moreover, the fact that others had bought it meant the price was acceptable to many, which gave Lu Qian a sense of validation. Although he had only taken a couple of small sips, the unique, mellow fragrance and flavor still lingered on his palate. The texture was as smooth as a young girl’s skin, the rich bouquet as subtle as a maiden’s scent, and the long, lingering aftertaste like the lingering sweetness of an intimate encounter.

Lu Qian almost couldn't resist scanning the QR code to transfer the money right then and there to claim the jar on the table. In the end, however, reason triumphed over impulse. He decided to let Jiang Tao stew for a bit longer to see if he could negotiate a better deal.

"Take care, Grandpa. I won't see you all the way out," Jiang Tao said after escorting him to the door and watching him head down the stairs.

Back inside, Jiang Tao’s gaze drifted involuntarily toward the opened jar of Nuerhong. He wanted another drink! But with great willpower, he suppressed the urge to have "just a little bit more."

"Besides the landlord, who else could afford such expensive wine?" he wondered. "Maybe I should try those old wine buy-back shops?"

Sitting on his single bed, Jiang Tao smoked a cigarette and brainstormed distribution channels. Having drifted in Beijing for years, his life was a simple line between his rented room and the second-hand furniture market. Other than a few close acquaintances, he didn't have many friends in the city. He couldn't pin all his hopes on his landlord.

Setting his plan in motion, Jiang Tao grabbed a black backpack, lined it with some old clothes, and fished a jar of Nuerhong from under the bed to tuck inside. He also took a thermos and poured some of the opened wine into it to bring along. That sample would serve as proof for potential buyers.

It was just past 6:00 PM. The tenement building was already pitch black, but outside, the sky hadn't fully darkened. Jiang Tao carried the backpack like a child and headed straight for a liquor store on Xiaoshahe Street.

He entered full of anticipation, but left full of disappointment. Damn it, these wine buyers were truly greedy! The intelligence system valued the old wine at 20,000 a jar, but the unscrupulous merchant at the store only offered 800!

Jiang Tao complained silently about the merchant’s lack of taste and moved on to the next shop. From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, he visited 12 different liquor stores, and the highest offer he received was only 5,000 per jar!

If not for the valuation from his intelligence system, Jiang Tao might have started to waver.

"None of them have any taste. I definitely can't sell for 5,000!" he muttered. "I feel like this is just like the collectible banknotes I sold before; you only get the right price when you meet the right person. Right, if it's really that hard to sell, I could try the antique street."

On his way home, a lightbulb went off in his head. He searched on his phone and found that there were indeed shops on the antique street that specialized in buying and selling old wine. He even found a news article about a bottle of 40-year-old Erguotou selling for a high price of 40,000 at an old liquor store!

Seeing this, Jiang Tao felt a surge of energy, and the frustration from the night's setbacks vanished. The system's valuation of 20,000 surely had its reasons. He still had great confidence in the system's assessment. Just like with those banknotes—if he hadn't had the system's valuation, he would have happily sold them for 4,000 instead of the much higher price he eventually got.

By the time he caught the last bus back to Xiaoshahe, it was past 10:00 PM. Back in his room, he carefully tucked the backpack containing the Nuerhong under his bed. After a quick wash, he lay in bed, listening to the radio and waiting for the intelligence system to refresh at midnight.