The Little Lucky Girl

Lord Tao looked at her and asked, "Did your grandfather come up with this idea as well?"

Ming Youyou blinked. Of course, it was the people from the research institute who taught her that. They even improved it based on the ancient method so that it wouldn’t look too awkward when she took it out.

"I want to say that it's all in my head and has nothing to do with Grandpa. Do you believe me?"

Magistrate Tao naturally didn't believe it, and in his heart he admired Grandpa Yang even more for his indifference to fame and fortune.

He said with emotion: "Your family has made another great contribution."

He had sent the alcohol he had made earlier to the barracks, and the feedback from military doctors was particularly good. The number of people suffering from high fever due to wound infection dropped sharply.

He also sent someone to deliver the strong liquor to Jinxiufang in the capital and handed it over to Ming Youyou's father to operate.

Ming Dalang lived up to expectations and organized an event to give back to major customers, giving a small jar to each of the princes and ministers who were not short of money.

At first, no one took it seriously. But after tasting the wine, those wine-loving gentlemen could no longer sit still. For a glass of wine, they sent people to the store to buy things every day, which increased the sales a lot.

Later on, it had evolved to the point where if you hadn't tasted the fine wine from Jinxiufang, you would feel embarrassed to sit at a table with others and brag about it when you go out.

The courage of these people to spend money surprised even Magistrate Tao, who was mentally prepared.

Well, well, well, if I don't make some money from them, I will be letting down the sincerity of those masters.

Originally he was not willing to do more. After all, brewing wine requires grain, and strong liquor is purified by ordinary rice wine, which only costs more.

But if he treated it as a luxury and only made money from that group of people, County Magistrate Tao would still be able to live with it.

At that time, it can be sold to other countries, and the profits earned can support the production of more alcohol.

The biggest problem now is confidentiality. The smell of purified wine is too strong and it is not suitable to be carried out in the county government office. They need to choose a new place.

Fortunately, there are many deep mountains and old forests in Yuqing County. After choosing and choosing, County Magistrate Tao chose the valley where Ming Youyou and his team grew mosquito repellent grass.

It is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one cave entrance and exit. I have been selling mosquito repellent sachets for such a long time that many spies from all sides have come, but until now, no one has been able to reach the edge of the valley.

"We will brew rice wine in the village, assign more people to guard it, and patrol it day and night. This will also be a smoke screen for the outside world. We will only purify it in the valley, so don't make too much noise."

Master He said he understood. He sniffed and said, "Sir, the roasted lamb is probably ready. Everyone is looking at it eagerly. How about..."

Magistrate Tao said with a smile: "Then let's give everyone an extra meal. It's the master's birthday, isn't it?"

Master He nodded helplessly. He could hardly remember his birthday. Anyway, the adults would only celebrate it when needed, and the time was different every year.

"Have you given instructions to the bailiff?"

"Don't worry, sir. These children are very smart. They know what to say."

After more than half a year of screening, the county government is now staffed by trustworthy people, so there is no need to worry about the risk of leaks.

Thanks to Ming Youyou and He Shiye, the yamen runners spent an afternoon eating and drinking well. The aroma of roasted lamb overwhelmed the smell of alcohol. People who were interested saw the yamen runners coming out of the county government burping and thought there was nothing unusual, so they didn't pay any attention to it.

Ming Youyou and the others also got a lot of meat. Magistrate Tao watched as the kids quickly finished a large leg of lamb, then ate a whole lamb chop without any burden, and stared at the lamb pie that had just been served with great interest. He couldn't help but shake his head and said to his wife, "These little brats are really eating me out of money. Ask Chef Zhang to bring up two more dishes."

Mrs. Tao smiled and said, "I've already given the order." She handed the untouched dish to Ming Youyou, "It's a good thing to be able to eat it. If you like it, eat more."

Ming Youyou couldn't eat anymore, so she pushed the food to Zheng Huan and the others, and watched with envy as the three of them continued to devour the food.

It really costs a lot of food to feed the three of them.

Ming Youyou thought about it, then turned to look at Magistrate Tao, "Sir, can I get another reward this time?"

"That's right," Magistrate Tao said straightforwardly, "Do you want a one-time reward or a share of each shipment?"

Ming Youyou was stunned. In the past, they always gave it to her directly, but why did they let her choose this time? She asked in confusion, "Is there a big difference between the two?"

However, Zheng Huan and Lu Tai understood the implication of his words. The profit from wine was not the same as before. It was probably so high that even Magistrate Tao could not make the decision directly.

"Let's choose a one-time reward," Zheng Huan suggested.

Lu Tai explained to her: "The profit from wine is too huge. Each share will be a lot of money. After a long time, it is inevitable that people will be concerned about it. Your family has a shallow foundation, so it is better not to cause these troubles."

Ming Youyou thought about it and it made sense. Anyway, the wine business was controlled by the imperial court and ordinary people couldn't do it at all. It would be useless even if she had the recipe.

But I just feel like a lot of small amounts of money have slipped away from me.

"Then I'll choose disposable ones," she added to Magistrate Tao with a sad look on her face, "but you'll have to help me get more."

Magistrate Tao was amused by her money-grubbing behavior and said, "Don't worry, I will never let you suffer any loss."

Ming Youyou was satisfied. She rubbed her stomach and felt that there seemed to be some space in her stomach after talking for a while, so she happily picked up another piece of food with her chopsticks.

Feng Xu couldn't help but wink at her, and when he saw that the person opposite him didn't even raise her head, he kicked her with his leg.

Ming Youyou just remembered it, and said incoherently with a meat pie in his mouth: "By the way, sir, can we give more of the first batch of alcohol to the Northwest Army?"

Feng Xu immediately followed suit and said in a flattering tone: "My father said that the price is negotiable, but he hopes it can be done quickly. The Tartars have been restless recently and have robbed several of our border towns. My father plans to have a big battle to teach them a lesson."

Magistrate Tao tightened his grip on the wine glass and said, "There have been two consecutive cold waves this winter. The Khans have lost a lot of cattle and sheep. They are colluding with the sand bandits. I'm afraid there will be a big war tomorrow spring."

Ming Youyou said: "Why can't we cooperate with them or subdue them like we did in the grassland?"

Feng Xu shook his head. "The Tartars are unruly by nature. Unless we defeat them, they will not be able to return. But if they can't win, they will run away and hide in the vast desert. It's really hard to find them. Now they have the help of the sand bandits, and they have the advantage of terrain. Our army is attacked from both sides, so it's very frustrating to fight them."

Ming Youyou: "I heard that when the wind blew over in the desert, the sky turned yellow?"

Feng Xu: "That's right. After a gust of wind, there will be sand in your hair and nostrils. If you stand there for a while longer, the sand will bury you. That's why the soldiers' wounds are always dirty. If they have alcohol, they can heal faster."

Mrs. Tao laughed when she saw the two of them talking in unison. She pushed Magistrate Tao and said, "That's enough. It's not easy for the children either."