Holding a Maotai liquor bottle that shimmered with a dark golden glow, Jiang Tao returned home.
He locked the front door from the inside with a backhand motion.
After passing through the courtyard, he entered the living room.
He plopped down onto the sofa and placed the Maotai bottle on the coffee table in front of him.
[Ownership of the Maotai liquor bottle has been acquired. Would you like to bind and activate it immediately?]
"Yes!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Tao chose to bind the bottle and activate it.
[No third-party observers detected in the vicinity. Binding can proceed…]
Seeing the prompt on his retina, Jiang Tao knew it was time to draw blood again.
He opened the back cover of his phone and took out the needle that had pricked him time and time again.
First, he heated it with a lighter to sterilize it.
Once it cooled down, he gritted his teeth and jabbed it into his left thumb.
After piercing it, he squeezed his right hand, producing a bead of bright red blood.
With practiced ease, Jiang Tao let the blood drip onto the Maotai bottle in front of him.
Drip!
As the blood fell, a thin red veil enveloped the entire bottle.
[Item successfully bound. Activating attributes, please wait…]
[Item attributes activated. Please refresh.]
Seeing the two consecutive prompts on his retina, Jiang Tao's gaze shifted to the bottle in front of him.
[Item Name]: Nectar of Immortality Bottle
[Attribute]: Prolongs life.
[Output]: 1000 mL/day!
[Note 1]: Drinking 10 mL of the Nectar of Immortality daily will achieve the life-prolonging effect, increasing lifespan by 1 hour.
[Note 2]: The life-prolonging effect can only be triggered once per person per day.
"Nectar of Immortality that can prolong life!"
Reading the system's description of the Nectar of Immortality, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up at first, then darkened.
This life-prolonging effect was just too…
Only one hour?
This effect was far inferior to his Wintergreen Tree!
However, the Wintergreen Tree's life-prolonging effect only worked on Jiang Tao himself.
The Nectar of Immortality, on the other hand, could work on anyone, which made it slightly better than the Wintergreen Tree in that regard.
"One hour per day, ten days for ten hours, and 365 days for 365 hours, which comes to just over 15 days?"
"So, drinking this Nectar of Immortality continuously for a year only increases your lifespan by 15 days?"
"This effect…"
"It's still pretty good!"
"After all, time is money."
"If something like this that can extend life were exposed, it would absolutely cause a global sensation."
"Forget increasing lifespan by 15 days after a year of drinking; even if it only added one day, tons of people would buy it."
Jiang Tao picked up the bottle and shook it. The bottle, which had been empty moments ago, now made a sloshing sound as liquid collided inside.
"There's liquor in it!"
Hearing the sound from the bottle, Jiang Tao brought his nose to the bottle's mouth and took a long sniff.
A peculiar fragrance shot straight from his nostrils to his brain.
"So fragrant!"
The liquor's aroma was elegant yet subtle, rich and mellow, with a haunting depth that left a lingering aftertaste just from a single whiff.
"It smells a bit like the Daughter's Red wine I sold to Old Lü before?"
Sniffing the scent of the Nectar of Immortality, Jiang Tao suddenly recalled the jars of Daughter's Red wine he had dug up from a courtyard in Xiaosha River.
The two had seven or eight parts similarity in their aroma, but the Nectar of Immortality was clearly superior.
"Let me have a taste to see how it is!"
Jiang Tao grabbed a transparent glass from a tray on the coffee table and poured himself a cup with a sloshing sound.
Golden liquid poured from the bottle's mouth, looking thick and viscous.
Once poured, the fragrance Jiang Tao had smelled grew even more intense, filling the entire room with the scent of liquor.
"Fragrant, too fragrant—it's almost intoxicating!"
Carefully examining the glass in his hand, Jiang Tao marveled at the golden, viscous liquid that looked like liquid gold, swallowing hard in excitement.
This stuff looked delicious just by sight—it had to taste amazing!
Sip~
Jiang Tao brought his lips to the glass and took a small sip.
As the Nectar of Immortality entered his mouth, his eyes lit up again!
"Delicious! This stuff is just too delicious!"
He held the Nectar of Immortality in his mouth for a while before reluctantly swallowing it.
With just one sip, he was hooked on the flavor!
Even Maotai, the king of liquors, was nothing compared to this Nectar of Immortality—it was leagues behind in taste!
"Treasure, what a treasure!"
"This stuff…"
After looking, smelling, and tasting, Jiang Tao gained a more intuitive understanding of the Nectar of Immortality's quality.
As expected, anything produced by the system was top-notch!
This stuff's quality left Maotai in the dust by miles!
It was the crème de la crème of liquors!
And it even had the "life-prolonging" effect.
Selling a bottle of this for 10,000 yuan would be a steal in Jiang Tao's eyes!
"The system says drinking just 10 mL a day is enough to achieve the life-prolonging effect."
"So, if I package it in 10 mL mini-bottles, wouldn't that make it easier to sell?"
Looking at the golden liquid in his glass, Jiang Tao's mind raced with ideas.
He was already thinking about sales strategies for the Nectar of Immortality.
As for the price…
He hadn't decided yet.
And he couldn't discuss this with anyone—he had to make the decision himself.
The secret of the [Nectar of Immortality Bottle] was something he guarded fiercely.
Naturally, he wouldn't reveal it to anyone else.
Moreover, the life-prolonging effect of the Nectar of Immortality wasn't immediately obvious.
Even if he told the truth, people might not believe him.
The market was full of health supplement sellers, each boasting about how amazing their products were and how great their effects were.
So, Jiang Tao didn't plan to make a big fuss about promoting the Nectar of Immortality.
If people mistook it for just another health supplement, that would be awkward.
"It's better not to mention the life-prolonging effect."
"For pricing, I'll just base it on its taste and quality."
"For positioning, I'll go for the high-end market. It's only 1000 mL a day, which is just two regular 500 mL bottles."
"With such a small quantity, there's no need to make a big deal out of it."
After some quick thinking, Jiang Tao had a rough plan in mind.
In the end, he abandoned the idea of small 10 mL bottles and decided to go for the high-end route.
10 mL was too little—barely enough for a single gulp. How could anyone taste anything properly?
With a plan in mind, Jiang Tao found a clean plastic bucket at home.
Glug, glug, glug~
He poured all the liquor from the [Nectar of Immortality Bottle] into the plastic bucket, filling it about halfway!
"This thing is pretty magical—it could be used as a magic trick prop!"
Seeing that a 500 mL bottle poured out nearly 1000 mL, about a kilogram's worth, Jiang Tao was amazed.
After pouring, he looked at the golden liquid in the plastic bucket, which resembled peanut oil.
Jiang Tao resisted the urge to take a few more sips.
As delicious as it was, now wasn't the time.
He still had to drive to his mother-in-law's house for lunch later.
After some thought, Jiang Tao found another plastic bucket and split the Nectar of Immortality into two portions.
With the liquor divided, he carried the two buckets out the door.
He placed one bucket in the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz G-Class, intending to bring it to his mother-in-law's house to share with Xu Li and the others.
Carrying the other bucket, Jiang Tao headed toward his parents' house.
"Huh? Xiao Tao, why are you here? Where are Lily and Little Xue?"
His mother, Du Yongmei, saw Jiang Tao arrive alone and immediately looked behind him, puzzled.
"They're out shopping with Little Xue's grandma. I came back to drop off something for you and Dad."
"Auntie's here too."
Jiang Tao greeted his mother while also nodding to Tian Mingrong, who stood beside her.
"Good morning, Xiao Tao."
Tian Mingrong smiled warmly and greeted Jiang Tao, her attitude friendly.
"What's that you're carrying?"
After the greetings, Du Yongmei looked curiously at the plastic bucket in Jiang Tao's hand and asked.
"Some good stuff I got from a friend—aged liquor."
"My friend said drinking this regularly is good for your health. From now on, you and Dad should have a small glass each day."
"But it's good stuff, so don't overdo it. Too much isn't good either."
As Jiang Tao spoke, he handed the plastic bucket to his mother.
"Aged liquor? This is liquor? I thought it was cooking oil."
Du Yongmei took the bucket from Jiang Tao and gave it a gentle shake.
Looking at the viscous liquid inside, it didn't look like liquor at all—more like cooking oil.
"Where's Dad and Uncle? Why don't I see them?"
Jiang Tao scanned the room and, not seeing his father or uncle, asked curiously.
"They went to the old house."
"Last year's big rain caused part of the old house to collapse, and several sections of the wall fell too."
"Your uncle's planning to rebuild the old house so we'll have a place to stay when we come back."
Mentioning the old house, Du Yongmei let out a sigh.
Though rundown, the old house held too many memories for her and her brother, Tian Xiaoguang.
In the past, looking at their dilapidated old house, she and her brother wanted to rebuild but lacked the means.
After all, building a house these days was nothing like it was a decade or two ago.
Back then, when someone built a house, relatives and friends from the village would pitch in to help.
It was all about camaraderie, not money—just provide two meals a day, and no one asked for a cent in wages.
Bricks and cement were dirt cheap too.
A small courtyard could be built for thirty or forty thousand yuan, and you could move in.
Nowadays, forget buying a condo in the county.
Even building a house in the countryside costs one or two hundred thousand yuan.
And that's with cutting corners everywhere.
If you wanted to use high-quality materials for everything, the cost would multiply several times over!
"It's about time it was rebuilt. No matter how nice a city house is, it's just a house. The village house is home."
"You and Auntie keep chatting, Mom. I'll go check on Dad and Uncle."
With that, Jiang Tao didn't linger with his mother and aunt, turning to leave and driving toward Tianjiazhuang.
He was very familiar with the road to Tianjiazhuang.
When he was a kid and his grandparents were still alive, his mother often took him and his two brothers to visit.
Back then, forget cars—motorcycles weren't even common.
The three of them would walk there.
When the youngest got tired, the older brothers took turns carrying him on their backs.
Those were tough times—everyone was poor, but the bond between siblings was pure.
Later, after his grandparents passed away one after another, and his uncle moved to the cattle farm for work, Jiang Tao and his brothers rarely visited their grandparents' house anymore.
Without Grandma, the taste of home changed.
The old house gradually fell into disrepair, eventually becoming a hazardous structure that the village marked as uninhabitable.
Before meeting Tian Mingrong, Tian Xiaoguang had resigned himself to being a lifelong bachelor.
Naturally, he couldn't bear to spend one or two hundred thousand yuan to rebuild the old house.
And truth be told, he didn't have that kind of money.
By a twist of fate, Tian Xiaoguang and Tian Mingrong, brought together by Jiang Tao's matchmaking, rekindled their romance and quickly fell in love.
Now, Tian Xiaoguang was planning for himself, Tian Mingrong, and their soon-to-be-born child.
From a carefree bachelor to a man about to marry and become a father, giving his wife and child a home was his top priority.
After much discussion, Tian Xiaoguang and Tian Mingrong decided to sell the small, rundown apartment Tian Mingrong owned in the county.
With that money, they planned to build a new house on the original site of the old house in Tianjiazhuang.
When Jiang Tao drove into Tianjiazhuang, it caused a stir among the village's "intelligence team" at the entrance.
"Another Mercedes—don't tell me it's going to Tian Xiaoguang's place again?"
"Why not? Look, it's heading straight for Tian Xiaoguang's house."
"That old guy Tian Xiaoguang's really made it now. Who would've thought he'd have this kind of luck at his age!"
"I've seen his wife—she's real pretty. None of the women in Tianjiazhuang can compare to her."
"I heard it's thanks to his sister's nephew. After the holidays, they're heading to Beijing for work."
"That's fate for you! People used to laugh at him, but now the ones laughing are the biggest joke!"
"If I had a nephew that capable, maybe I could've gotten some of that luck too!"
The group of old men and women at the village entrance watched Jiang Tao's car disappear, their words filled with envy for Tian Xiaoguang.
Screech~
Jiang Tao parked his car at the entrance to the alley by his mother's old house, got out, and walked in.
It took less than a minute to reach a dilapidated, low-roofed house.
Compared to the newly built concrete houses of the neighbors, his grandparents' old house looked even more rundown.
Seeing the wooden door wide open, Jiang Tao stepped into the courtyard.
As he entered, he caught sight of his father and uncle standing in the yard, pointing at the main house as if planning something.
"Dad, Uncle."
Hearing Jiang Tao's voice, Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaoguang turned to look at him, smiling and greeting him.
"Son, you're here."
"Jiang Tao's here."
Jiang Tao walked up, grinning, and said:
"Uncle, you're finally rebuilding the old house. If you're short on cash, let me know—I'll help out."
Tian Xiaoguang waved his hand with a smile and said:
"No need, no need. We've got enough. Tian Mingrong and I are planning a simple rebuild."
"After all, we'll be heading to Beijing with you for work, so we won't be back here much."
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