Chapter 2

"Come on, call me Yi Ge, and leave out that 'er' at the end..."

After placing the rabbit over the fire pit, Fang Yi sat in his master's rocking chair, twitched his nose, and said contentedly, "If you call me nicely, I'll bring out that precious monkey wine for you to taste. If you don't do it sincerely, I'll enjoy it all by myself..."

"Monkey wine? Fang Yi, you actually still have monkey wine?"

Upon hearing Fang Yi's words, the fat man immediately stood up, his massive body lunging at Fang Yi, his face filled with indignation as he shouted, "Three years ago, you told me the wine was gone. It turns out you were hiding it, you little brat?"

"Heh, want to get rough? How many times have you beaten me since we were kids?"

Despite the fat man weighing about 200 pounds, he was no match for Fang Yi. Without even standing up, Fang Yi easily twisted the fat man's arm behind his back, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Yi Ge, I... I was wrong, okay?"

Knowing Fang Yi's temper, the fat man forced a smile on his chubby face and said, "From now on, you're my big brother. If you say go east, I won't go west. If you say chase a dog, I won't chase a chicken. Is that good enough?"

"That's more like it..." Fang Yi released his grip and said, "The monkey wine I have is what I've been brewing these past few years. The old wine is long gone. If you dare to accuse me again, you won't get to taste this wine either..."

Speaking of monkey wine, it was a secret between Fang Yi, the fat man, and his master.

When Fang Yi was around seven or eight years old, the development of Fang Mountain was still in its early stages. Not far from the Taoist temple, there was a group of monkeys, about fifty to sixty of them. Fang Yi grew up watching these monkeys, so they were not very wary of him.

Fang Yi's master, fearing that the monkeys might harm him, rarely allowed him to interact with them. However, children at that age are often mischievous. One day, the old Taoist didn't notice, and Fang Yi sneaked off to play with the monkeys.

Although the old Taoist knew about this, he didn't intervene when he saw that the monkeys didn't harm Fang Yi.

One day, Fang Yi went to play with the monkeys but didn't return until late at night. The old Taoist, worried, forcibly entered the monkeys' area and dispersed them. He found Fang Yi, who was then about eight or nine years old, unconscious under a large tree, and he was reeking of alcohol.

The old Taoist, born in the Qing Tongzhi era and over a hundred years old, had seen almost everything in his life. He quickly realized that the monkeys had actually brewed monkey wine.

Monkey wine is made when monkeys gather various fruits in tree hollows, initially to store food for the winter. If there is no shortage of winter food, the monkeys might forget about the stored fruits, which then ferment and turn into fruit wine.

The conditions for making monkey wine are very strict. The tree hollows must be able to keep the fruits from rotting during the winter, and they must be hollow and sealed. Therefore, monkey wine is extremely rare.

This wild brew is a rare find, and the old Taoist, who had traveled extensively, had only tasted genuine monkey wine on Mount Emei. He never expected to find it on Fang Mountain.

When carrying Fang Yi back to the temple, the old Taoist also brought a bottle of monkey wine. Understanding the principle of not over-harvesting, he only took a small amount and then covered the tree hollow.

The alcohol content of monkey wine is not very high, and it is a fruit wine, so Fang Yi and the fat man would occasionally steal some to drink. The old Taoist turned a blind eye, as even the monkey wine he drank was stolen by Fang Yi.

However, with the development of the city below, the once peaceful area of Fang Mountain was affected. The monkey group that had lived there for years disappeared within five years, and the monkey wine was also gone. The last bit was consumed by the old Taoist before he died.

In the years since his master's death, Fang Yi, with nothing to do, started using the abandoned tree hollows to make his own monkey wine. Every time the fruit trees ripened, he would throw some fruits into the hollows. By chance, he managed to brew a similar-tasting monkey wine.

"Hey, even if it's homemade, it's fine. Yi Ge, you sit and rest, I'll go roast the rabbit first..." Upon hearing about the monkey wine, the fat man's face lit up with a flattering smile. He eagerly ran into the house and came out with oil, salt, and vinegar.

The fat man had always loved eating, even though they didn't have much money when they were young. Back then, Fang Yi would set traps to catch game, and the fat man would cook it. They always ate until their mouths were greasy.

In no time, the rabbit, weighing about four to five pounds, was roasted, and the smell of meat filled the entire backyard. The fat man tore off the fattest hind leg and offered it to Fang Yi with a flattering smile, saying, "Try it, does it taste good? If it does, bring out the monkey wine..."

"Wait, I'll go get it..."

Fang Yi, not minding the heat, tore off a piece of rabbit meat and put it in his mouth. He then jumped up and went into the room. When he came out, he was holding a small gourd, and the smell of the wine was already wafting through the air.

"It really smells like monkey wine..." The fat man's face lit up with joy. He snatched the gourd, opened it, and took a sip, his small eyes narrowing.

"Good wine, good wine..."

The fat man smacked his lips, wanting to take another sip, but Fang Yi snatched the gourd back, saying irritably, "I've only brewed this much in three years. Today, each of us gets three sips, no more..."

Brewing wine requires fermentation. The monkey wine made by the monkeys had been fermenting for many years, leaving only a small amount. Fang Yi had to start from scratch, and this small gourd of wine had cost him a lot of effort, so he was unwilling to let the fat man drink too much.

"Three sips, then three sips..."

The fat man tore off half a rabbit and took a bite, then extended his hand to Fang Yi, mumbling, "I've traveled a lot and tasted many good wines. That Moutai and Wuliangye are nothing compared to this monkey wine..."

"Moutai?" Fang Yi asked, "You've tasted Moutai? Master said it's the best wine, what does it taste like? I want to try it when I go down the mountain..."

Growing up with a wine-loving master, Fang Yi had developed a good drinking capacity, but he never smoked. He usually drank the grain wine made by the old Taoist, which was at least 50% alcohol. He had also heard his master list the best wines, with Moutai being the top.

"I... I've smelled it, but I haven't tasted it..."

When Fang Yi asked about the taste of Moutai, the fat man's face turned red. He had been working as a security guard in Shanghai for the past six months, earning only a thousand or so yuan a month, which was not enough to buy Moutai.

However, the fat man had indeed smelled Moutai recently. Three days ago, he had tried to be helpful by carrying something for a resident in the neighborhood where he worked. Unfortunately, he accidentally dropped two bottles of Moutai on the ground, and although he smelled the wine, he lost his job because of it.

"Tsk, so you were just boasting..."

Fang Yi, who had grown up with the fat man, knew him well. Seeing the fat man's expression, he realized that he had never actually tasted Moutai, and probably only smelled it.

"It's just Moutai, what's so great about it? When I have money, I'll buy two bottles and drink one, pour the other..."

The fat man's face showed a hint of resentment, clearly still upset about losing his job over the two bottles of wine.

"You're right, in the future, we'll drink Moutai every day. And we'll eat rabbit meat every day..."

As the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father poor. The rabbit was barely enough for the fat man and Fang Yi to satisfy their hunger. In a few minutes, they were left with only a few bones, stripped clean of any meat. If it weren't for the five or six steamed buns the fat man had brought, they would have gone hungry.

"Fang Yi, the outside world isn't easy to navigate. I've been out for a few years, and I can only afford four-yuan cigarettes..."

The fat man's eyes reluctantly moved from the wine gourd in Fang Yi's hand to the side. He took out a pack of Hongmei cigarettes, lit one, and lay back in Fang Yi's rocking chair, taking a satisfying puff.

"You drink, but why did you start smoking?" Fang Yi gave the fat man a light slap, disapprovingly. He liked drinking but never smoked, and he remembered that the fat man didn't smoke before.

"I was feeling down, so I started smoking..."

The fat man sighed, "Fang Yi, someone like me, with only a military service record to my name, has no other strengths. In the big city, I can only be a security guard. Do you know, people call us 'security boys,' and no one respects us..."

The fat man was a unique case. At fifteen, his father, who was the village party secretary, had him sent to the military through connections. They hoped he would become an officer and bring glory to the family. However, the fat man ended up as a cook in the military.

Although all jobs are equal, the fat man's love for food was a problem. During his three years in the military, he made up for the food he had lacked as a child, and his body grew from slightly chubby to extremely fat, gaining about fifty to sixty pounds.

Being a cook didn't depend on physical appearance, and the fat man had a chance to become a volunteer soldier. However, after secretly stewing and eating the new regimental political commissar's old hen, his hopes were dashed, and he had to leave the military.

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PS: From now on, updates will be at 9 AM and 8 PM every day, with two chapters each day. I'll add extra chapters at irregular times. Please give me your enthusiastic recommendations, ha ha.