Chapter 37: About to Stir Up Trouble Again

January 8th, Wednesday. The sky was still overcast, and the snow wasn't heavy, but it was still falling.

A north wind had blown all night, whistling through the cracks in the back door. Who knew what had been blown away, and the courtyard was making *pitter-patter* sounds from time to time, quite a commotion.

In the second half of the night, Zhou Andong was frozen awake. Shivering, he got up to light the stove, filled it with coal, and then slept until after eight o'clock before getting up.

"Achoo!"

Zhou Andong was brushing his teeth when he suddenly felt his nose itch. A sneeze came out, and the foam in his mouth sprayed everywhere.

"Damn it, who's cursing me."

At this moment, *creak*, the door opened. The thick cotton door curtain was lifted, and Jiang Yuyue entered the room, braving the wind and snow, carrying steamed buns and soy milk in her hands.

"I knew a lazybones like you wouldn't have left." Jiang Yuyue placed the buns and soy milk on the stove with a smile. "I bought them on the side of the road in front of your house. They're still hot, eat quickly."

Zhou Andong rinsed his mouth, washed his face, and wiped it messily with a towel: "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean why am I here?" Jiang Yuyue was immediately unhappy. "Ah, if you have something for me to do, I can come, but if the matter is finished, I can't come? This is typical of killing the donkey after it's done... no, that's not right, crossing the river and tearing down the bridge."

Zhou Andong smiled: "I meant, with such a big north wind and snow, aren't you afraid of the cold?"

Jiang Yuyue took off her gloves and squatted by the stove to warm herself: "Staying at home is really boring, so I came to find you to play."

Zhou Andong picked up the plastic bag, which contained six buns and two bags of soy milk: "You haven't eaten either, right?"

Jiang Yuyue said: "With such a big wind, how can I eat on the side of the road."

Zhou Andong poured the soy milk into a bowl, grabbed a bun, and squatted by the stove to start eating.

Jiang Yuyue wasn't picky either, took a bun, and took a bite: "Mmm, mmm, mmm, this is my first time eating buns from their place, they're quite delicious."

After eating, Zhou Andong put on his cotton coat and buttoned his cotton hat: "Let's go!"

The north wind made people's faces ache. Zhou Andong walked forward with his head down, and Jiang Yuyue chased behind, running in small steps: "Slow down."

Zhou Andong slowed his pace helplessly. It was simply too cold and the wind was too strong; he just wanted to get to the factory as quickly as possible.

Jiang Yuyue held her ears with her gloved hands, her pretty face frozen red: "Where are we going?"

Zhou Andong then noticed that Jiang Yuyue wasn't wearing a hat, and he scolded angrily: "Are you stupid? It's so cold and you're not even wearing a hat."

After saying that, he took off his own hat and put it on Jiang Yuyue's head: "And this broken down jacket, it doesn't even have a hood. Why did you buy it? It looks good but is useless."

Jiang Yuyue felt the warmth of the hat, along with the faint smell of tobacco and sweat. A smile that was hard to detect curled up at the corners of her mouth, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Zhou Andong became inexplicably soft.

"Broken hat, it stinks." Jiang Yuyue said with a sharp tongue.

"Give it back." Zhou Andong raised his hand to grab it back.

Jiang Yuyue pressed the hat on her head and ran away laughing loudly: "In your dreams."

In the Jiangzhou Distillery sales department, twenty or thirty people were squeezed inside at this moment, among them Jiang Aimin, the owner of Aimin Store.

"Chang Kezhang Yan, look at this calendar. The advertisement is printed on it, Jiangzhou Winery. How could there not be this liquor?"

"That's right, Chang Kezhang Yan. We know this is tribute liquor, and we don't expect the ex-factory price. Isn't it okay to give it to us at the retail price?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I don't need much."

"Give me two cases, no, one case is enough."

The office was noisy, making Yan Guohai's brain ache.

"Everyone, everyone, everyone be quiet and listen to me."

The noisy sound quieted down. Yan Guohai said helplessly: "I really don't know what's going on with this so-called Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Liquor. You all think about it, you know the situation of our winery. We can't even pay the employees' wages. If this liquor were produced by our factory, could we not sell it?"

Can't say... ===== CHAPTER 38 =====