Lü Qian had been drinking for most of his life. From a few yuan's worth of loose liquor at street-side shops to hundred-thousand-yuan bottles of fine red wine, he had tasted every kind—white, beer, red, yellow, you name it. But the rich, mellow, and aged nü'erhong (daughter red wine) that Jiang Tao brought out today was a first for him!
"Xiao Jiang, your old man really knows how to store wine!" Lü Qian exclaimed. "As the saying goes, good wine is three parts brewing and seven parts storing. For a nü'erhong aged over 20 years to not only stay unspoiled but taste this amazing—it's truly rare!"
Lü Qian downed the nü'erhong from his enamel bowl in one gulp, giving Jiang Tao a thumbs-up and a few words of praise. "Xiao Jiang, how much are you selling this wine for? If the price is fair, I know plenty of wine-loving buddies and could introduce you to some customers."
At this moment, Lü Qian was practically hooked on Jiang Tao's nü'erhong, his eyes gleaming as he inquired about the price. For a wine enthusiast like him, encountering a jar of fine wine was like a wolf spotting a beautiful woman—his eyes were practically glowing as he stared at the wine jar!
"Uncle, this wine isn't mine. I'm just selling it for someone else, so I really can't set the price," Jiang Tao said with a helpless smile, calmly spinning a story. "My dad sold two jars back in our hometown to a real estate developer for 70,000 yuan total."
"Two jars for 70,000?" Lü Qian gasped, the price far exceeding his expectations.
"Yup, two jars for 70,000! My dad got lucky and met someone who loves wine and isn't short on cash," Jiang Tao continued. "But this time, we're selling more, and the family needs money urgently to build a house. So, the price is much lower than what we sold to that developer. Just 20,000 per jar, and you can take one home. Whether it's for yourself or to impress guests, one sip and they'll be speechless."
"Xiao Jiang, this is indeed fine wine, but that price is steep!" Lü Qian replied. Despite Jiang Tao's half-true pitch, he didn't immediately decide to buy. "I'll think it over," he said, reluctantly glancing at the opened wine jar on the table before standing up from his stool.
"Sure thing, Uncle. Take your time. I brought 15 jars total, and so far, I've only sold five," Jiang Tao said with a cheerful smile, subtly applying pressure as he walked his landlord out. "This stuff is pricey, so it sells slowly—maybe a few jars a day."
Sure enough, hearing that five jars had already been sold gave Lü Qian a sense of urgency, as if he might miss out if he didn't act fast. Plus, if others were buying at this price, it meant the price was widely accepted, which gave him a sense of validation. Though he'd only taken a couple of sips, the unique, rich flavor and lingering taste of the nü'erhong still danced in his mouth. Its delicate texture was like a young woman's smooth skin, its fragrant aroma like the subtle scent of a maiden, and its long, lingering aftertaste like the reluctant parting after an intimate moment.
Lü Qian nearly gave in to the impulse to scan Jiang Tao's QR code and buy the jar on the spot! But in the end, reason triumphed over impulse. He decided to hold off and see if he could negotiate a better price.
"Take care, Uncle. I won't see you out," Jiang Tao said as he escorted Lü Qian to the door, watching him disappear around the corner of the hallway stairs before returning to his room.
Back inside, Jiang Tao's gaze instinctively drifted to the opened jar of nü'erhong on the table. He felt the urge to drink just a tiny bit more! But with immense willpower, he resisted the temptation.
"Besides Uncle Landlord, who else can afford such expensive wine?" Jiang Tao mused. "Maybe I should try those shops that buy vintage liquor?"
Sitting on his single bed, cigarette in hand, Jiang Tao brainstormed ways to sell the wine. Having drifted in Beijing for years, his life revolved around his rented room and the secondhand furniture market. Aside from close contacts like Wang Lianming and Liu Zhiyuan, he didn't have many friends or acquaintances in the city. For a moment, he was stumped about who to sell the ten jars of nü'erhong to. He couldn't pin all his hopes on the landlord.
Never one to dawdle, Jiang Tao grabbed a black backpack, lined it with a few old clothes, and pulled a jar of nü'erhong from under the bed, carefully placing the 2.2-pound jar inside. He also took a thermos, pouring a cup of the opened nü'erhong to bring along as a sample for potential buyers. It was just past 6 PM. The tenement building was dimly lit, but outside, the sky still held a bit of light, not yet fully dark.
Jiang Tao slung the backpack over his shoulder, carrying it like a precious child, and headed straight for a tobacco and liquor shop on Xiaoshahe Street. But his high hopes were met with disappointment. The shop's owner was outrageously stingy! The intelligence system valued the wine at 20,000 yuan per jar, but the shop offered a measly 800 yuan!
Cursing the shop owner's ignorance in his mind, Jiang Tao moved on to the next place. From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, he visited twelve tobacco and liquor shops, big and small. The highest offer he got was 5,000 yuan per jar! Without the intelligence system's valuation as a guide, he might have started to waver. "None of them know quality when they see it. No way I'm selling for 5,000!" he thought. "This is like that rare banknote I sold before—only the right buyer will pay the right price."
On his way home, a sudden idea struck him, inspired by his experience selling that rare banknote. "If it's tough to sell, I could try the antique street." A quick phone search revealed shops on the antique street that specialized in vintage liquor. One news article even mentioned a bottle of 40-year-old erguotou sold at a vintage liquor shop for 40,000 yuan!
The news lifted Jiang Tao's spirits, wiping away the gloom from his string of rejections that evening. The intelligence system's 20,000-yuan valuation surely had its basis, and Jiang Tao trusted it completely. Like the rare banknote he'd sold before—if it weren't for the system's guidance, he would've settled for 4,000 yuan instead of the 40,000 he got!
He took the last bus back to Xiaoshahe, arriving after 10 PM. Back at his rented room, he carefully stowed the backpack with the nü'erhong under the bed. After a quick wash, he lay on his bed, listening to an audiobook while waiting for the intelligence system's midnight refresh.
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