Chapter 635: Chapter 635: Mountain Ghost Liquor _1
Li Qing clinked glasses with Lü Zong and Gong Ge.
Shangguan Yu, with her keen eyesight, immediately passed over a tea cup, then delicately filled Li Qing’s glass with wine.
She truly only attended to Li Qing, not even glancing at the glasses of Lü Zong or Gong Ge.
"Qingzi, this batch of wine now has all the procedures completed, except it still lacks a name, and that, I think, should be up to you."
After the third round of drinks, Lü Zong brought up the main topic.
"Why not let Lü Zong choose, I’m just a supplier, haha," Li Qing chuckled, "Besides, naming is really not my strong suit. No matter how hard I rack my brain, I probably won’t come up with anything reliable."
This issue was genuinely a headache for him.
"That won’t do!" said Lü Zong emphatically, "This wine is bound to be marketed far and wide, to become well-known to everyone. The name is its brand, and if this were ancient times, it would be recorded in the history books—it must be you who names it."
"Moreover, you’re the deputy manager, not just some supplier, so get on with it, don’t dawdle, start thinking."
Unable to refuse any longer, Li Qing said, "Then I’ll just throw out some ideas: Tongcheng Liquor, Tongcheng Fine Liquor, Solidifying Spirit Liquor, that’s about all I can think of."
Lü Zong was stunned and after a long pause, he said with a hint of speechlessness, "Qingzi, could you possibly make more of an effort?"
"Coming up with names is a major challenge for me, I’ve already tried my best," Li Qing said with a smile.
"Then pick one, I’ve been mulling over this with others at the company for several days," Lü Zong said as he pulled out a list from his pocket and handed it to Li Qing.
"If you had preparations all along, why go to all this trouble asking me!" Li Qing took the list and said.
Although this was also a way for Lü Zong to show respect.
But the process, in Li Qing’s view, was truly unnecessary.
"Who came up with this Mountain Ghost Liquor? Very imaginative!" Li Qing laughed.
"That was Gong Ge’s idea," explained Lü Zong. "He said we need a gimmick, to promote this wine as being brewed by mountain ghosts, or to say it’s made following a recipe given by mountain spirits, to cover up its real origin."
Li Qing nodded, "This has a bit of the same ingenuity as Monkey Liquor. Genuine Monkey Liquor is worth its weight in gold, and in terms of value, our wine is roughly comparable. Mountain ghosts, as spirits of the hills, are elusive and not something one can expect to encounter, and no one would be foolish enough to actually go and verify it."
"Alright, then let’s go with that. When it comes to the promotional copy, leave it to those pen-pushers at the company to figure out. They’re absolute professionals at this kind of thing, they can turn even the most outrageous falsehood into truth," Lü Zong said with a hearty laugh.
Gong Ge laughed sheepishly on the side, "After all is said and done, the nice job of naming it somehow landed on me."
"Though it was your idea, it was Qingzi who gave the final approval. Don’t you claim all the credit," Lü Zong stated.
"Of course, if it’s said that Qingzi came up with it, I won’t object," Gong Ge replied.
"Let’s not be so formal, the name was Gong Ge’s idea, and that’s that," Li Qing laughed, "It’s just a name, after all."
Shangguan Yu leaned slightly forward and filled Li Qing’s glass with wine.
After sitting down, she deliberately leaned closer to Li Qing, and once she had garnered his attention, she quietly lifted her skirt, revealing her thigh as delicate and white as mutton-fat jade.
Li Qing’s gaze shifted slightly, and his right hand stealthily moved downwards, aiming straight for the dragon gate.
"Hmm..." Shangguan Yu gently moaned, pulling her chair closer to Li Qing.
In such a crowded setting, she was also worried about being seen.
Lü Zong and Brother Gong didn’t even turn their heads, oblivious to the goings-on by Li Qing’s side.
The three clinked their glasses again when Brother Gong suddenly asked with an air of mystery, "Qingzi, do you have some kind of secret identity or something?"
Before Li Qing could respond, Brother Gong quickly covered himself with another remark, "It’s okay if it’s not convenient to say, I’m just purely curious. I noticed that Wang Baichuan is somewhat treating you like a superior, and Old Gong told me a bit about other stuff after he returned."
Li Qing knew such things couldn’t be completely hidden, so he had to vaguely answer, "I really can’t talk about it openly due to something called a confidentiality agreement that binds me quite a bit. However, I do have another identity, though it’s not so mysterious—it mostly involves fighting and killing."
"That’s something you know enough about, no need to spread it around. I’m not worried about causing any trouble by talking about it, but I’m mainly concerned it could draw unwanted attention to you guys, leading to inspections or other unnecessary issues."
As far as how the Ninth Bureau operates in this regard, even now Li Qing wasn’t entirely clear.
But out of friendship, Li Qing felt he still needed to give them a heads-up.
"We definitely won’t talk about it, we don’t want to bring that trouble on ourselves, we were just curious," Lü Zong said.
He glanced at Shangguan Yu, her cheeks flushed from Li Qing’s teasing, and then lowered his voice again, "Qingzi, can the rest of us get involved in that kind of thing too? Like, train to strengthen our bodies and all that."
Powerful strength, indeed, was something no man could resist.
"Drink more of our Monkey Liquor in the future, it’s good stuff. Although it can’t perform Essence Cleansing Marrow Refining, strengthening the body is a piece of cake," Li Qing said with a smile, "As for the rest, once the liquor gets your body’s foundations right, I’ll think of a way for you."
"Really? There’s a way? Holy shit!" Lü Zong exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise as he lifted his glass, "First, I’ll toast to you, Qingzi. We’ll make up for the mentor’s tea later. When the time comes, I’ll kowtow in devotion to repay you."
Li Qing smiled helplessly and said, "Lü Zong, don’t be so dramatic. I’ll help out wherever I can."
"No, no, no, you have to listen to me on this. A master leads you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual. Whoever brings you into the fold is a master," Lü Zong insisted with a serious face as he raised his glass, "I can’t do something so ungrateful."
"Qingzi, you really have to listen to us on this," Brother Gong added, "Even though we’re older and may not be able to care for you in your old age, we can still take a blade to the ribs for you while we’re young."
"Moreover, the secrets you’re talking about are unknown to ninety-nine percent of the people in the world. We have to acknowledge you as our master; it would be inexcusable not to."
Li Qing suddenly felt his face lined with black. What was this mess?
The more they talked, the more chaotic it became.
Talking nonsense about caring for him in his old age.
"Don’t get too excited too soon. Let’s drink first. Once we’ve built up your foundations with alcohol, then we can see where to go from there," Li Qing said.
"Alright, alright, let’s drink, let’s drink!" Lü Zong laughed heartily.
