Yu Dongdong left three lottery-winning bottle caps behind.
He found three wooden stoppers for Jiang Tao and re-corked the bottles.
"See you, Boss Yu."
Jiang Tao grinned, waved goodbye to Yu Dongdong, and walked out of the supermarket with three boxes of liquor.
He'd barely made it ten meters out the door when he saw a familiar face heading his way.
"Yo, Xiao Jiang, not out driving today? Buying booze instead? Got guests at home?"
The speaker was a tall, big old man with a full head of silver-gray curls and a healthy, ruddy face.
His name was Lü Qian, Jiang Tao's landlord.
Don't let his age fool you—Uncle Lü was already seventy, but he was in great shape and good spirits.
His monthly pension was sixteen or seventeen thousand yuan.
He owned an old tube-shaped apartment building, raking in over thirty grand a month in rent.
One seventy-year-old old-timer's income, enough to beat seven or eight young guys.
Beijing's average income is sky-high, but retirees like Uncle Lü really do put in their share.
The old man had nothing much to do most days—smoke, drink, perm his hair, walk his pet birds, get into cricket fights—living way better than the kids.
"No guests at my place, just bought a few bottles while I was picking up cigarettes. Heading off to work in a minute."
Jiang Tao flashed a smile and greeted his landlord, ready to be on his way.
"Hey, isn't that Qinghualang? Wow, Xiao Jiang, business must be booming for you lately! Moving up to top-shelf drinks!"
The old landlord spotted the glimpses of fancy liquor boxes in Jiang Tao's bag. Sure enough, his favorite Qinghualang!
Jiang Tao perked up at his words.
Everyone who's rented from him over the years knows the landlord loves a drink.
Plus, he's never short on cash—never settles for anything less than a few hundred yuan per bottle.
As he says himself, he's seventy already, how many good years does he have left?
From now on, he's eating well, drinking well, playing well—making the most of the rest!
Not that he doesn't have the means to enjoy it, either.
Jiang Tao's parents are over sixty now, too.
The old couple get up at four or five every morning to pile into the foreman's van for day labor, home only after dark.
Working themselves to the bone, they make maybe five grand a month—still less than the landlord's pension alone.
Some people are born in Rome, some are born draft animals.
Even among "village folks," the difference between a Beijing village and Jiang Tao's rural hometown is massive.
"Uncle Lü, let's step over there, I got something to tell ya."
Jiang Tao gestured as he spoke, signaling the old man to chat off to the side.
"Why so mysterious?"
The old fellow was confused but followed Jiang Tao a few steps, stopping at an alley entrance.
"Uncle Lü, these three boxes of Qinghualang I just bought from Boss Yu. You can go ask him if you don't believe me."
"Only thing I did was scan the bottle cap QR codes to claim the prizes—didn't touch the booze at all."
"The QR codes are all cashed out, so now you've just got three regular bottles of liquor."
"If you don't mind that they're already opened, I'll sell 'em to you cheap."
No beating around the bush, Jiang Tao went straight to the point with his landlord.
"Oh? Cheap how?"
The old man looked genuinely interested.
For true Qinghualang fans, QR code promos are just a little extra thrill.
Even without the prize draws, if you love the stuff, you're still shelling out for it.
And with that miserable winning rate—
The average person could buy ten bottles and still not grab a second prize.
99.99% are third prize, just a 100ML sample bottle.
Only lucky jerks like Jiang Tao can snag three first prizes in a row.
Instead of wasting money on odds, a real discount is way better!
As for the bottles being opened, for real aficionados, that's no biggie.
Even loose liquor commands hundreds a kilo!
Jiang Tao thought a moment and said, "All three for 2,700—about 40% off!"
The landlord's eyes lit up at Jiang Tao's asking price.
If he could nab three bottles of Qinghualang for 40% off, that'd save him over two grand!
The old man mulled it for a few seconds, held up two fingers at Jiang Tao: "Two thousand, I'll take 'em."
"Uncle Lü, can't haggle me to death! You're straight up cutting me in half!"
"I paid 4,500 for three bottles! That's a total slash!"
Jiang Tao clutched his bag, putting on a wounded look—a real dramatic display.
The old man backed off: "2,100, final offer."
"2,600, not a penny less!"
Jiang Tao countered, knowing exactly where to draw the line.
"How about we both budge a little? You add some, I subtract some—final price 2,300!"
"Come on, you've got plenty. Let me give you my bottom line—2,400!"
"Alright, alright, 2,400 it is. Let me check the goods first."
The old man didn't bother quibbling over a hundred sign, cheerfully took the bag and started inspecting the boxes.
He just likes the fun of bargaining with Jiang Tao.
But for Jiang Tao, it's all about survival.
Four hundred yuan's just enough for a decent winter jacket for his daughter.
Three bottles of Qinghualang sold for 2,400—a whole double the price Boss Yu offered in the store. Jiang Tao's more than happy with that.
Originally, he was planning to keep one for himself to drink.
But then he remembered the eighty, ninety grand's worth of debt the family's carrying… and he wavered.
Come on, what kind of family do we have, slamming thousand-plus bottles of booze?
Letting loose isn't for now—gotta pay off the family debt first!
"Liquor checks out! All good, Xiao Jiang, let me scan you."
The old man's been drinking Qinghualang for years—just a sniff and he can tell it's legit.
Besides, he's known Jiang Tao for over six years and trusts he wouldn't pass off fake goods to an old-timer like him.
"Alright, scan me here."
Jiang Tao grinned, dug out his phone, and flipped it over so the landlord could scan the WeChat payment code taped to his case.
"By the way, Xiao Jiang, what prizes did you win with these three bottles?"
The old man asked as he tapped his phone, scanning Jiang Tao's code and entering 2,400 yuan.
[WeChat payment received: 2,400 yuan!]
Jiang Tao beamed at the sound of incoming payment—much better than Ah Xin's ten beats on the E6!
"Just three first prizes, that's all," Jiang Tao replied with a smile.
"Three first prizes? You dreamer!"
The old man laughed and shook his head.
No way he believed Jiang Tao bagged three first prizes.
He just asked casually—if Jiang Tao didn't want to say, no need to press it.
Doesn't matter what level of prize anyway—makes no difference to him.
He got three bottles of Qinghualang from Jiang Tao for 2,400, saving over two grand.
For a true fan like him, a real bargain!
"Haha, don't believe me, it's fine. I'm off to work, bye now!"
Jiang Tao waved goodbye, heading out of the village.
"Young people these days, daydreaming again—first prize, as if it's that easy to hit!"
"I've drunk dozens of bottles, only ever scored a second prize once."
The old landlord watched Jiang Tao walk away, chuckling and shaking his head, convinced the young man was kidding around.
...
Not far off, inside Pang Dongdong Supermarket.
Yu Dongdong, seeing how lucky Jiang Tao was today bagging three first prizes, felt his hands itch with curiosity.
He cracked open a fresh case of Qinghualang, picked out two bottles, and started scanning.
[Congratulations, you win third prize!]
[Congratulations, you win third prize!]
No surprise.
Yu Dongdong scanned two bottles and got a guaranteed third prize on both.
Scored two 100ML sample bottles of Qinghualang.
"How can there be such a difference between people…"
Yu Dongdong slumped in his chair, swearing never to mess with prize draws again!