"Grav, I want to know what you're going to do. This is a station and as long as you're here, you have to abide by our agreement and do your job well!" Mr. Krien loosened his tie and placed a cup of coffee in front of Grav.

During this time, Krien found that Grav's performance had been declining rapidly, not even one-third of what it used to be. There were even instances of absenteeism during the busiest hours in the afternoon!

This is something no capitalist can tolerate. They give you money so that you work hard, not for charity. The station provides these workers with enough food and almost enough rest time every day, and they can take several days off each month when work isn't busy. Mr. Krien felt he had been patient enough with these bottom-of-the-society trash; they should weep with gratitude for being given the power to live by him instead of thinking about slacking off like miners!

If it weren't for Grav's high prestige and status at the station, Mr. Krien might have used some clauses in their contract to punish this damn guy.

Grav lifted up the coffee cup blankly like a cow drinking water before downing it all in one gulp then putting down the cup while smacking his lips saying something that made Mr.Krien almost jump out of his skin: "This stuff is really bitter! It tastes just like burnt pot bottoms mixed with water - even its color!"

Thirty dollars per pound from Empire's unique sunshine coffee beans ended up tasting like burnt pot bottoms mixed with water when consumed by this guy?

Mr.Krien frowned but hid his displeasure inside himself; coarse rural people are always coarse rural people who cannot escape their stupidity or ignorance even if they now live in cities.Thinking about this made him feel less unhappy; Grav before him was just like a gorilla he saw while accompanying children to the zoo, that sense of superiority arising from his own species.

"Am I discussing coffee with a gorilla?" He even chuckled contemptuously.

He turned and sat in a comfortable chair inside the table, tasted a sip of coffee with bitterness mixed with rich aroma. The bitterness quickly turned into warmth as if he was basking under the sun. The long aftertaste made every cell seem to stretch out freely, breathing air freely and greedily craving for sunlight and the next sip. He nodded satisfactorily; thirty dollars per pound of coffee was indeed so charming that one could unconsciously immerse themselves in its beauty.

He took a deep breath and said seriously: "Grav, I know you have more than a month left on your contract but you must understand that even if you're free tomorrow, today you're still an employee at this station. You can't ignore our work system and doing so will set a bad example for others. Do you understand?"

Grav nodded his head while holding his cup then walked over to the coffee pot hesitantly before choosing an even bigger cup -a square glass used for drinking alcohol-then pouring all of it from the pot into it saying,"I understand sir! Don't worry about me; I'll follow regulations when working here.I won't slack off again." Looking at how Grav poured all of what looked like "muddy water" from the coffee pot into his square glass then sniffed it before downing it all once again.

"He still feels so bitter, and it doesn't quench thirst. I really don't understand why anyone would like to drink this stuff!" He lifted the empty square cup and ignored Mr. Krien's reddening face. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. If there is nothing else, I will go back to work."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

After leaving Mr. Krien's office, he looked at the empty coffee pot and clenched his fingers tightly on the desk while sliding down in frustration.

"Did Mr. Krien give you any trouble?" As soon as Grav came out of Mr. Krien's office, Dulin immediately greeted him. During this time they had mixed various kinds of berry juice into distilled high-proof alcohol and after repeated attempts finally decided on two flavors: one was a puree made from sandthorn berries which were cheap and common wild fruits found almost everywhere in suburban wastelands that grew rapidly without being picky about their environment.

The fruit of sandthorn berries was only the size of a thumb tip with a yellowish-brown color covered with black spots on its skin; it tasted sour and unpleasant except for some self-proclaimed mediums who occasionally used these fruits to refine inexplicable things; hardly anyone wanted to eat them as fruit even poor people didn't want to treat them as such.

However, when mixed with "original liquor," the reaction produced far exceeded Dulin's expectations - alcohol seemed able to neutralize the bitterness leaving only a slight acidity behind which differed from that left by fermented wine; it was light with a fragrant acid taste combined with the original flavor of alcohol itself along with its mild bitterness forming an entirely different special taste unlike most other fruit wines available in markets making it unforgettable.

The other type of fruit came from snow elves in northern empire whose price was slightly higher requiring thirty-five cents per pound but very sweet according to inspiration received by Dulin during his dream state where liquids containing higher sugar content were less likely to freeze in cold places; this was a way of self-protection for plants, such as maple syrup. The sweet taste of snow elves with fruit flavor could neutralize the bitterness in "original liquor" and make the wine taste sweeter while creating a special sensation - from spicy to icy coolness, just like crossing over a volcano into an ice cave. Dulin had full confidence in it and believed that it would win many people's favor.

Grav chuckled, "He told me not to skip work without reason but didn't say anything else." As he spoke, he became somewhat dissatisfied. "Why did he only give me trouble instead of you?"

Dulin shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe because I'm not very noticeable?"

"After all, does it matter whether the station has you or not?" Grav felt much better after saying this, but he didn't know why he still felt something was off. "We've already filled two boxes, should we try to sell them?"

The two boxes of 24 bottles of Height liquor were hidden under their rented bed. This was their harvest during this period. One box contained "First Love," a sour-tasting fruit wine, and the other box contained "Snow Elf." According to Dulin's words, both types of liquor had the same price. Dulin's target price was ten yuan per bottle with each bottle containing about one and a half pints or roughly 750 milliliters.

After calculating the cost at around two and a half to three yuan per bottle, if they sold each for ten yuan then profits would be guaranteed between six to seven yuan per bottle. When Dulin calculated this profit margin, Grav's eyes turned red with excitement. He never thought that selling Height liquor could bring such high profits! Selling one box of twelve bottles would yield almost eighty yuan in pure profit; according to his forty percent share calculation method - if they sold out both boxes - he could earn thirty yuan from one box and sixty from two.

In other words... as long as these two boxes can be sold out, he can buy out his contract and have more time with Dulin making more Height fruit wine while earning even more money.

So Mr. Krien’s words were just like farting loudly!

The pair walked into a corner of the station where Dulin lowered his voice: “I need your help on this matter since I'm not familiar with bars in town. Remember to sell them separately so that no single person buys too many bottles; let more people know about our product.”

"I understand!" Grav nodded quickly while waving his arms excitedly asking: "When do we go?"

Dulin looked back at the clock hanging in the station warehouse, "Now, before the peak hours of bar business tonight!"