Time flies, and more than a year has passed.
Pèi City seems to have not changed at all, yet everything feels different. The bustling merchant hub is still teeming with people—an endless stream of townsfolk traveling back and forth.
Poet: Mr. Shěn, it's been a while. You seem to be in good spirits.
Poet: Would you care to have a drink?
Old Drinker: The tavern on East Street has some new arrivals.
Old Drinker: It's festival time now. Why don't we get together with some old friends?
Old Drinker: Theirs isn't as good as Ms. Xǔ's liquor, but it's good enough and has its own flavor, I suppose.
Poet: sighs It's so far from here. I miss Ms. Xǔ's tavern. It was closer, and the liquor tasted better.
Poet: Now it's been taken over by someone, and the liquor tastes awful.
Old Drinker shakes his head and sighs.
Old Drinker: We average folk may not drink the finest of liquor, but we're certainly able to discern a good liquor.
Old Drinker: After one sip, we can tell when the liquor is brewed carefully and when it isn't.
Old Drinker: It's such a pity that Ms. Xǔ has left the city, and there's been no news of her return since. I fear I'll never get to taste the liquor as fine as hers again.
Poet: Heh heh, personally, I miss the liquor made of rice buns more.
Poet: Since the lifting of the liquor ban, there are more taverns than ever in the city, but not one of them knows how to make those buns.
Poet: Maybe the technique is lost forever, along with Ms. Xǔ.
Old Drinker: Hmm ... I remember Ms. Xǔ mentioning that she taught it to Jiǔ Niángzǐ.
Poet: By the way, it seems no one has seen Jiǔ Niángzǐ for quite some time either.
Poet: It's all thanks to her that the liquor ban was lifted in the first place. It was she who allowed Ms. Xǔ to leave to fulfill her dream of being a merchant with no concerns.
Poet: Since that time, Jiǔ Niángzǐ's whereabouts have continued to be a mystery. Is she even still in Pèi City?
Old Drinker: Let it go, old friend. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and all that.
Old Drinker: There will always be a bowl of liquor waiting for us drinkers to get together over. Let's cherish this moment, eh? Come on, let's drink.
Poet: Go, go.
Poet: We better not keep it waiting. Let's go.
As they walk and talk, they turn a corner, gradually making their way down the long street toward the east and disappearing into the distance.
A figure emerges from around the corner, she had been listening to the entire conversation.
Jiu Niangzi: ...
The eavesdropper is none other than Jiǔ Niángzǐ. She has grown a touch taller than before and has shed some of her youthful naivety for a few strands of grace. Yet her every move remains as endearing as ever.
Jiǔ Niángzǐ follows the familiar path to the tavern and spots a man, the current tavern owner, standing behind the counter. There is not a single patron in the deserted front hall.
It is clear that those scenes of merriment are but a distant memory now. A thin layer of dust covers the tables and footrests, and cobwebs adorn the overhead beams. There is no trace of this tavern's former glory.
Tavern Owner: Another day and still no customers. Should I just sell this place ...?
Jiu Niangzi: Excuse me, sir, one bowl of Great Mister, please!
Jiu Niangzi: The newly made one. Scooped from the middle of the jar.
Tavern Owner: Of course. Come, take a seat.
Welcoming the tavern's first bit of business in over half a day, the tavern owner quickly taps a jar, pours a bowl of liquor, and brings it forth.
A cloudy bowl of liquor with rice dregs floating within it is presented before her. Its color is dull, and the aroma is surprisingly faint.
Jiu Niangzi: Hmm, are you sure this is Great Mister?
Jiu Niangzi: It doesn't smell like before.
Tavern Owner: The previous owner left. I brewed this using my secret formula. It tastes even better and has a lasting aftertaste.
Tavern Owner: I can't pour the liquor back into the jar, so just have a taste first. You'll see.
Jiǔ Niángzǐ hesitates for a moment, then lifts the bowl and drinks it all in one gulp.
She immediately spits the liquor back out. The taste is so awful that it is not even worth drinking.
Jiu Niangzi: Ew, it's awful. You haven't fermented it nearly long enough, and the rice you used is stale.
Jiu Niangzi: Worst of all, you didn't seal the jar after you first opened it, and the water in the air has affected the liquor.
Tavern Owner: Ah, you must be a professional taster. You're right, but this is our cheapest liquor. Our best liquor tastes totally different.
Tavern Owner: Try it. I guarantee you'll love it.
Jiu Niangzi: No need. I'm leaving.
Jiu Niangzi: Ms. Xǔ brewed every jar with her heart, no matter how cheap it was.
Her gaze grows increasingly forlorn. Finding no reason to linger any longer, Jiǔ Niángzǐ pays for the liquor and gets up to leave.
As she makes her way to the door, she hears the tavern owner behind the counter let out a sigh of lamentation, followed by a murmured monologue.
Tavern Owner: sighs Everyone says I'm not as good an owner as the previous one, and business is just getting worse.
Tavern Owner: I've been losing money for weeks. If something doesn't improve soon, I'll have to let someone else take over the tavern.
Tavern Owner: Or maybe I should just leave this place as soon as possible.
Jiǔ Niángzǐ stops in her tracks and, as if spellbound, promptly turns around.
The girl's eyes are filled with distress and confusion as she mumbles.
Jiu Niangzi: Leave? Like, what Ms. Xǔ did? Of course, everyone will eventually leave to fulfill another wish ...
Jiu Niangzi: And I will help them if that wish is something I can help with.
Ignoring the man's astonishment, Jiǔ Niángzǐ heads straight behind the counter and, after rummaging around for a moment, pulls out an unopened jar of liquor from a hidden compartment beneath it.
Jiu Niangzi: Amazing! You're still here! This is the fine liquor that Ms. Xǔ hid here before she left. Come, let's have a taste of it.
Jiu Niangzi: Oh, I forgot. You're the owner of this jar now.
Tavern Owner: I am, but I had no idea that it was there! You must have worked here before, yes?
Tavern Owner: Go ahead. Without you, I would've had no clue that there was a jar of liquor there in the first place.
With an ease that comes from extensive practice, Jiǔ Niángzǐ breaks the clay seal, and a unique fragrance fills the room. For a moment, she can almost hear the clinking of cups and the cheerful din of patrons, as if the tavern were alive once more.
A sharp, splashing sound brings Jiǔ Niángzǐ back to reality. She looks down at the mouth of the liquor jar to see a few tiny wooden dolls swimming merrily in the brew.
Wooden Dolls: Fine liquor! Tastes great!
Jiu Niangzi: Hey, how did you—
These mischievous wooden figures have chosen this precise moment to appear. Fortunately, the tavern owner is so enraptured by the fragrance of the liquor that he remains oblivious to the oddity before him.
Tavern Owner: This scent ... This is indeed one of Ms. Xǔ's creations.
Tavern Owner: There's no way I could make liquor as fine as hers.
Jiu Niangzi: I don't think I could, either. Ms. Xǔ always selected the best rice in the grain store herself.
Jiu Niangzi: And she strictly followed the fermentation process. Even if the liquor ran out and the patrons begged her for more, she wouldn't open a new jar even a day early.
As Jiǔ Niángzǐ speaks, she blocks the man's view of the jar with her body and deftly lifts the wooden dolls out one by one, concealing them within her sleeves.
"One, two ..." she counts in her head, in silent astonishment. The last wooden doll, as if it has dissolved into the liquor itself, is nowhere to be found.
Tavern Owner: Well, it seems we were destined to meet this day.
Tavern Owner: So that I can learn what good liquor is and so you can relive past memories. Come, let's drink it together.
With this said, the tavern owner sets out two large bowls, and, after a gentle trickling of liquor, they are both filled to the brim and emitting a pleasant fragrance.
Jiu Niangzi: Wait, this is the fine liquor made by Ms. Xǔ.
Jiu Niangzi: I should use my own bowl to drink it.
Continuing her journey into the past, Jiǔ Niángzǐ heads into the back. Her former room remains unchanged, save for a few scattered items. After searching for a while, she retrieves the bowl Ms. Xǔ gifted her on that memorable day.
She returns to the front hall, only to find the tavern suddenly devoid of any human presence.
Jiu Niangzi: That's weird. Where did he go?
Jiu Niangzi: The jar is still on the counter, but one bowl has been emptied.
There is a rustling sound from behind the counter, and a striped horse timidly finds its way out into the open.
Visibly anxious, the striped horse paces around the room, its hooves clopping rhythmically.
Jiǔ Niángzǐ steps forward, caresses the horse's neck, and gently strokes its mane.
Jiu Niangzi: Where did you come from?
Jiu Niangzi: Hmm ... have I seen you somewhere before, striped horse? Did the owner just leave?
Jiu Niangzi: He did say that he wanted someone else to take over. If he has left, then I will be that someone.
Jiu Niangzi: And in doing so, I'll help him fulfill his wish.
Jiu Niangzi: That's exactly what a Xiángruì should do for people.
A figure pokes his head in the doorway.
Citizen IV: Hello, miss, is the tavern still open?
Jiu Niangzi: Oh, the tavern's not—
Jiu Niangzi: ...
Jiu Niangzi: I just took over it. Brewing takes another two weeks.
Jiu Niangzi: You can come by then.
Within a few days, the whole neighborhood has heard that the tavern owner has sold the tavern and returned to his hometown, and that the previous serving girl, Jiǔ Niángzǐ, has become the new owner.
The liquor she brews is indistinguishable from that of Ms. Xǔ's original creations, and in no time, the scattered patrons once again have a place to gather.
The tavern is bustling all day long, almost identical to how it was before.
Poet: This is the authentic Great Mister. It's the best in the city!
Poet: Jiǔ Niángzǐ, two bowls more!
Jiu Niangzi: Coming, coming!
Jiu Niangzi: Don't rush me! My hands are full!
Old Drinker: Hahaha! Feels like the old days, when Ms. Xǔ worked here alone.
Old Drinker: After you came, things finally got easier for her. And now you're the one running the tavern all by yourself.
Old Drinker: I wonder if there will be another little lady to come help you, just as you helped Ms. Xǔ.
Poet: Don't forget to make rice buns when you're not so busy!
Poet: By the way, where did that striped horse of yours go? The one that used to stay in the courtyard.
Jiu Niangzi: Oh, the horse. I have no idea. It escaped days ago. If you see it, let me know.
Jiu Niangzi: But let's not worry about that for now. It's time for a drink!
Jiǔ Niángzǐ, now the new owner of the tavern, weaves through the crowd, her eyes gleaming with joy. She skillfully attends to the guests, each cup of liquor making the crowd momentarily forget their worries.
Indeed, she follows the Daoist's words, to become a Xiángruì, to do what she should do.
In Pèi City, there are many worries waiting to be dispelled and, naturally, many wishes to be fulfilled.
On the night of the year's beginning, the main street of Pèi City is at its liveliest. Crowds throng the thoroughfare, the cries of vendors ring out, silks drape high over the streets, and piles of red pomegranates and walnuts rise in little towers on the market stalls ...
