Elder Yang lifted the old clothes on top of the contents of the chest and took out a small jar from underneath. He returned to the kang table, placed the small jar on the edge of the kang, then went to a nearby shelf and took down two small bowls.
Once he was back by the kang, Elder Yang untied the hemp rope sealing the jar's mouth, peeled back the oil-paper cover, and poured a full bowl of the wine into each of the small bowls.
The wine was very murky, as if it had something mixed in it.
"Come on, boys!" Elder Yang called out to Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng, who were lying on the kang, as exhausted as dead dogs. "Have a drink. It'll take the edge off."
"Wine..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuefeng struggled to get up from the kang, but as he tried to lift his body, he flopped right back down.
Zhang Xuefeng let out a groan and said, "Uncle, I can't get up."
