Chapter 122: Where There Is Joy, There Is Sorrow

Outside the restaurant, two hundred members of the Su clan sat along both sides of the street, waiting anxiously for the outcome from within.

Time had never felt so slow. It seemed as though they had been waiting for an eternity, yet there was still no movement from inside.

"Could it have fallen through?" a younger man of the 'Shui' generation couldn't help but mutter.

"Don't talk nonsense!" an elder of the 'Da' generation scolded. "Didn't you see how stunned all the guests were? How could it have fallen through?"

"Don't get worked up, Eighteenth Uncle, the child is just anxious," the other clansmen quickly intervened.

The naming generations for the Su family were 'Yong, Da, You, Shui, Chang.' While this generation poem sounded a bit plain, it had been passed down in the legitimate family register and held a beautiful meaning. 'Yong' meant 'a long-flowing stream,' and the entire phrase signified long-lasting greatness and a heritage stretching far into the distance. That was why the younger man had to address the elder as "Uncle."

"It's bad luck, do you understand?" The Eighteenth Uncle wasn't very old, but as long as his seniority was high, he could still put on airs. "The hope of the entire clan rests on what's happening in there. You must speak auspicious words!"

The younger men of the 'Shui' and 'Chang' generations secretly rolled their eyes. They were told to speak auspicious words every day, yet they never saw any wages...

Just like that, they waited anxiously until noon, when they finally saw Su Tai stride out of the restaurant.

In a flurry, everyone stood up and rushed forward, asking in a cacophony of voices, "Second Manager, how much has been booked?"

"Follow me!" Su Tai suppressed his excitement and gave a sharp wave of his hand.

The clansmen were momentarily stunned, but Brother Xia had been the Second Manager for several months now, and his words still carried weight.

"What about the liquor?" the Eighteenth Uncle asked.

"It's fine, my eldest uncle's people will look after it," Su Tai said, striding forward without looking back.

The two hundred clansmen had no choice but to follow him in confusion. It wasn't until they were out of the town that they couldn't help but ask, "Second Manager, what exactly are we going to do?"

"Go back and fetch the liquor," Su Tai finally replied in a low, steady voice.

"Fetch more liquor?" The clansmen were first startled, then their voices rose sharply. "Could it be that all twenty thousand catties have been booked?"

"Of course," the corners of Su Tai's mouth finally betrayed him, and he grinned.

"Really? That's great! That's wonderful! Hurrah!" The clansmen were instantly ecstatic. Many of the young men jumped three feet high, shouting and hollering so loudly they startled the wild geese flying south in the sky!

This was the reason Su Tai had refrained from saying anything earlier—if he had let them cheer like this outside the restaurant, wouldn't the surprise have been spoiled?

Our Brother Xia was truly a man who looked rough on the outside but was meticulous on the inside...

~~

Filled with vigor and leaving dust in their wake, the clansmen rushed back to Erlang Beach in less than forty-five minutes.

Upon hearing the good news that the twenty thousand catties of liquor were sold out, the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children naturally erupted into another round of unrestrained cheers!

Even the children understood that how well the liquor sold this time determined whether they would continue to attend the school or drop out to carry salt.

Not wanting to waste a single moment, everyone grabbed their dry rations and shoulder poles, loaded up the liquor jars, and headed back toward Taiping Town!

On the mountainside, at the home of Scholar Cheng.

Cheng Xianggong, now a retired teacher, stood at his doorway leaning on his cane. Watching the Su clansmen moving like a colony of ants, his expression was very grim.

Behind him, Elder Master Cheng and Cheng Chengcheng looked even worse. Especially the latter; after twenty years of waiting, this was his first year taking over as the head manager of the Cheng Family Distillery, and he had been dealt a heavy blow right out of the gate. He was beyond frustrated.

"They transported twenty thousand catties to town before dawn; why are they going back to fetch more?"

"They must have sold out that first batch. Do they think hauling liquor back and forth is fun?" Elder Master Cheng also darkened his face. "The Su family used to struggle to sell twenty thousand catties in an entire year, and now it's all gone in just one morning! This 'Erlang Liquor' really is effective!"

"But it shouldn't sell that quickly. Could they be selling at a loss?" Cheng Chengcheng speculated.

"Nonsense! People will take the risk for a life-or-death job, but no one does business at a loss!" Elder Master Cheng said decisively.

"Enough, stop guessing blindly!" Scholar Cheng snapped impatiently. "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Eldest, you haven't even figured out what price they're selling at; why aren't you hurrying to town to find out?!"

"I've already sent someone..." Cheng Chengcheng said softly.

"Do you not have legs of your own? Go yourself!" Scholar Cheng suddenly raised his voice. "Is what you see with your own eyes the same as what you hear from others?"

"Yes, yes, I'm going, I'm going." Cheng Chengcheng hurriedly scurried down the mountain, heading toward Taiping Town.

~~

Inside Hongyun Restaurant, colorful balls hung from the beams like mist-veiled pearls, and potted chrysanthemums in the courtyard vied for beauty.

The hosts had prepared a grand feast, treating all the merchants as honored guests. On stage, the music of strings and flutes drifted softly, and dancers in flowing sleeves sang and danced. Below the stage, the room was buzzing with noise; guests were cracking crab shells and drinking heartily, feeling so intoxicated that it felt as if they were attending a banquet in the celestial palace, blurring the line between heaven and earth.

The proprietress and Su Youcai walked through the banquet tables with wine pots, smiling and expressing their gratitude to each guest.

These merchants were people they had personally visited, door-to-door, speaking every sweet word they could to invite them. Although the merchants had accepted the invitations, before today, their general impression of the couple was that they were just two people who sold sweet water and had managed to get an introduction to Battalion Commander Ma; they hadn't really taken them seriously.

But after this unprecedented 'Grand Gathering,' the merchants completely changed their view of the pair!

These two were no ordinary people! Just look at this event—from the decorations to the flow, from the overall arrangement to the tiniest details, not to mention Ningyong Garrison, even in Hejiang County, no one could pull this off!

The merchants, who had traveled far and wide, all had a knack for judging people. They unanimously concluded that this 'couple' was destined to achieve great things and carve out a path for themselves! They would definitely not be confined to the small town of Taiping, nor would they be easily contained by a mere Battalion Commander Ma...

Therefore, becoming friends with them was truly necessary.

Thinking this way, the merchants became even more enthusiastic. Everyone wanted to chat with the couple, praising them with 'sincere words' and expressing their desire for a long-term partnership.

How to express the intent for a long-term partnership? Naturally, by placing additional orders. As a result, after the couple toasted the entire room, they ended up with orders for another forty thousand catties...

"But there really isn't any more this time. Even if you pressure the Head Manager, he can't conjure up more liquor..." The proprietress's voice was a bit strained. Although Su Youcai had been blocking the toasts for her, taking half a cup each time still left her cheeks flushed, making her look even more radiant and captivating.

It was a pity the flower already had an owner; the merchants could only swallow their saliva and laugh:

"No matter, we can wait! This current batch should be enough for before the New Year!"

In truth, the additional orders they placed during the banquet were entirely risk-free—if the first batch didn't sell well, they would simply return the goods, and they wouldn't take the second batch at all.

After all, the proprietress had promised a full refund of the deposit, so they stood to lose nothing.

But if the first batch sold like hotcakes, the subsequent liquor would not only be in high demand, but the price might also rise, making their orders valuable.

How shrewd were these merchants? For something that only brought benefits and no harm, they would, of course, go all out!

Seeing that there were so many orders that they could no longer fit on the folding screen, Battalion Commander Ma was completely reassured. He stood up to toast the guests, said a few words for the coming New Year, and then took the old man away from the banquet to return to his residence to continue drinking and reminiscing.

He was determined to renew their old friendship...

~~

The guests enjoyed the banquet immensely. Aside from the hosts' impressive and thoughtful arrangements, they could catch up with colleagues, take the opportunity to network, and discuss other business.

Don't let it fool you that they came to Taiping Town several times a year; usually, it was impossible to get them all together like this.

The proprietress was also very sensible. Once the banquet ended, she ordered the remnants of the meal to be cleared and replaced with fragrant tea and snacks, allowing the merchants to chat to their heart's content.

"I understand now," Su Youma finally had a sudden realization. "So 'Admiring Chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth' wasn't just a decoration for the 'Erlang Grand Gathering,' but a separate theme altogether!"

"You're not slow after all, urgh..." Su Youcai, looking pale, continued to bend over in the backyard, vomiting.

As Su Youma helped him, he laughed, "Brother, are you for real?"

"Gurgle, gurgle..." Su Youcai took the bowl of water he was handed, rinsed his mouth vigorously, and said, "Nonsense, do you think I'm you?"

"But are you really for real?" Su Youma lowered his voice and asked cheekily.

"Nonsense, do you think I'm you?" Su Youcai used the same sentence to answer, but the meaning could not have been clearer.

"Huh? I saw you two flirting, like dry wood catching fire; how could you hold back?" Su Youma was shocked.

"Nonsense, do you think I'm you?" Drunken Su Youcai touched upon the very essence of humanity.

"Brother, can we talk about something else?" Su Youma was completely helpless.

"Talk about what?" Su Youcai finally changed his vocabulary.

"Find me a job, too. Anything will do. I can't keep floating around out there," Su Youma said with a fawning smile. "If I don't make a contribution soon, I'll be an outsider."

"You live in the county seat; even if you wanted to help, you couldn't," Su Youcai said.

"Then I'll be responsible for opening up the market in the county seat?" The uncle had a sudden inspiration, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became. "The market in the county seat is much bigger than Erlang Town; we must conquer it!"

"It's no use telling me, I don't manage things," Su Youcai shook his head decisively.

"Then I'll go ask the Second Sister-in-law," Su Youma laughed.

"No, this is a critical period, don't go bothering your Second... the proprietress," Su Youcai still refused. "If you can't help, don't cause trouble, Third!"

"Sigh..." Su Youma sighed helplessly and had to stop.

~~

It wasn't until dusk that the merchants began to take their leave one after another.

Su Youcai, having regained his composure, stood at the door with the proprietress to see the guests off, presenting them with exquisite gifts—two canisters of 'Grape Dew Fragrance,' the Double Ninth special from Sweet Water Records.

As for the goods ordered by the customers, the Su clansmen, now full of energy, had already helped them transport the goods onto the boats. For those customers who hadn't brought boats, the goods were temporarily stored in the Sweet Water Records warehouse, ready to be picked up at any time with their receipts.

Seeing the last guest off, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. This arduous battle had finally come to a triumphant end!

As for those merchants, once they returned to their boats and were blown by the river breeze, their drunkenness began to dissipate, and some started to mutter... Had they been too impulsive, ordering too much?

When they normally prepared for the New Year, they had to balance many things—yellow wine, white spirits, high-end, and mid-range options. Yet today, they didn't know what had come over them, having spent all that money on Erlang Liquor.

Betting everything on one type of liquor was, after all, a bit risky... What if it didn't sell?

But no one had the nerve to cancel their order now—didn't they see Battalion Commander Ma presiding over the whole event? Canceling an order right after purchasing would be making a fool of him, right? Did they still want to do business in Taiping Town in the future?

Fortunately, the contract stated in black and white that as long as the liquor jars with the Su family label remained unopened, they could be returned at the original price, so the merchants weren't too panicked.

"Forget it, forget it, let's just sell it and see..." On the boat ride back, they consoled themselves this way.

At the same time, they were reminiscing that the 'Grand Gathering' was actually quite good, and they hoped to have the chance to attend again next year.

But that required Erlang Liquor to survive until then...

'Sigh, I'll put in more effort to promote it when I get back and see how much I can sell.' The merchants couldn't help but rack their brains. Now it was their turn to calculate how to market Erlang Liquor.