Traveling to another world and becoming a local owner

"Uncle, I'm serious. I had a very long dream last night. I dreamed of an old immortal. He had a wine gourd, and the wine inside was so fragrant!" Seeing Liu Huaiyuan impatiently driving him away, Zhang Ling hurriedly made up an excuse.

People these days may not necessarily listen to you if you tell them some great truths, but if you bring up some gods or ghosts, they will definitely believe most of it.

It's not that these people are stupid, they are just too poor and afraid of poverty. Without any hope, they can only rely on their spirit. It can be said that in today's world, apart from the emperor, the people who are most revered by the people are gods.

"Really? Did you really dream of an old immortal?" Liu Huaiyuan heard this without any doubt. Although his nephew was a bit of a mess, in his eyes, he would never dare to joke with gods.

"Of course it's true. The immortal has a kind face and even taught me how to brew immortal wine!" Zhang Ling said hurriedly while the iron was hot.

"Is this true? Don't lie to me in broad daylight. Did the old immortal really teach you how to make wine in your dream?" Liu Huaiyuan asked uncertainly with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"Well, that wine is so fragrant, crystal clear, and as colorless and transparent as a mountain spring. Just by smelling it lightly, I feel a little drunk." Zhang Ling nodded to himself, with an intoxicated expression on his face.

"Really? Have you tried it? Is it delicious?" Liu Huaiyuan asked hurriedly after hearing this, obviously having forgotten that the other party was just talking about a dream.

"Not only have I tasted it, the old immortal taught me how to brew this wine! I was tempted by the wine, so I came here to see if I can brew it according to the method taught by the old immortal."

"This... Can you make wine?"

"You'll know if you try it. It won't waste much. What if it works?"

"Well, okay then, what are you going to do? I'll get someone to help you. No! I'll help you, let's go to the innermost room and talk." Liu Huaiyuan said, but then he felt something was wrong. If he really managed to make the fairy wine that Zhang Ling mentioned, then this matter had to be kept secret and must not be allowed to be learned by outsiders.

"Okay, sure!" Knowing his uncle's thoughts, Zhang Ling didn't say much and followed him directly to the smallest room in the innermost part of the winery.

"Xiao Ling, if you need anything, your uncle will go get it for you right away. Do you need to make the koji on the spot? What kind of grains are needed? How many times should it be steamed? Do you need anything else?" Liu Huaiyuan asked a lot of questions as soon as he entered the door, and it was obvious that he took it seriously.

"No need, uncle. Just ask Daniu to bring over a jar of brewed wine, a bowl of paste, a few clean rags, and a few more clay jars and pots for me. Oh, and a few green bamboos, thinner ones." Zhang Ling squatted in front of the wood stove in the inner room, thinking carefully about what tools he needed.

After Liu Huaiyuan left in a hurry, Zhang Ling picked up a wooden stick and drew a sketch of a simple distillation and condensation equipment on the ground.

At the bottom is a clay jar, on which is placed an inverted clay pot of the same size. A bamboo tube is inserted into the spout of the pot, which is covered with a wet cloth. A small wine jar is placed at the outlet.

"Well, although it's a bit crude, as long as the temperature and sealing are controlled well, the effect should not be too bad." After drawing the sketch, Zhang Ling sat aside and waited patiently.

Soon, Liu Huaiyuan and Daniu came back, with Liu Jie limping behind them. Judging from his appearance and resentful eyes, he must have been beaten a lot.

He suppressed his smile and pointed at the sketch on the ground and said to Liu Huaiyuan: "Uncle, this is the method that the old immortal taught me, but we don't have many things here, so we can only make do with other things instead."

"What is missing? Tell me, can I find it?"

"Um, a sealed iron barrel and a hollow iron pipe..."

"..."

"Temporarily use clay pots and clay kettles instead, the effect should be similar." Seeing that he was embarrassed and silent, Zhang Ling immediately changed the topic.

"Well, let's try it first. Not only is ironware too expensive, but it's also impossible for us ordinary people to get the kind of things you mentioned." Liu Huaiyuan was a little speechless. After all, the Dayi Dynasty had strict control over ironware.

Several people put the pottery jars and pots together according to the sketch, applied thick paste on the fitting places, fixed them with rags, and sealed the outside of the rags with mud to ensure that there would be no leakage.

A thumb-thick green bamboo was punched through the pot and fixed at the mouth of the pot, which was then sealed with cloth and glue. Then an egg-sized hole was chiseled at the bottom of the pot facing upwards, half of the wine was poured in, and the hole was sealed.

"Okay, light the fire and boil some wine!" It took several people more than an hour to make this simple condensation device. Zhang Ling waved his hand, signaling that work should officially begin.

Several people fixed the finished pottery jars on the stove, and the fire rose slightly. Zhang Ling waited for steam to start coming out of the bamboo tube. He quickly soaked a large piece of rag and covered the bamboo tube with it. Then he took an empty wine jar and placed it on the mouth of the bamboo tube.

"Tick... Tick..." As the temperature inside the pottery jar continued to rise, a large amount of steam came out along the bamboo tube. When it passed the bamboo tube covered with wet cloth, it condensed when it encountered cold air and turned into crystal wine, dripping into the wine jar.

The aroma of wine filled the entire cabin in an instant.

"This, is this the fairy wine? Good, great. Just smelling it makes people drool. It's crystal clear and so fragrant." Liu Huaiyuan looked at the drops of wine gathered in the jar and couldn't help but praise.

Zhang Ling took off the slightly hot rag and threw it into the basin. Then he immediately replaced it with a new one and walked to the wine jar to take a look.

Although the wine in the jar was much clearer than before, it was not transparent at all.

"Uncle, this wine can only be considered a semi-finished product, but the taste is definitely several times better than before. Repeat the steaming two or three times, and it should be almost done. These wines are not fragrant enough, nor strong enough."

"Lingzi, can I have a taste? It smells strange, haha." Liu Huaiyuan was so greedy that he pointed at the distilled liquor in the jar and said.

"Well, just have a taste. This wine is still a semi-finished product. You can enjoy it when the finished product comes out." Zhang Ling couldn't help laughing when he saw his saliva dripping.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhongping immediately picked up the wooden spoon, scooped up half a bowl of wine, and swallowed it in two gulps. Feeling the spicy sensation of the fragrant liquid flowing into his throat, he suddenly felt dizzy.

"Okay, this wine is really good, with a mellow taste, soft on the palate and sweet aftertaste. It's a good wine, really a good wine!" Just after he finished speaking, he felt a blur in front of his eyes, and he was so drunk that he could hardly stand.

Fortunately, Liu Jie, who was standing by, was quick-witted and caught him, preventing him from falling to the ground.

"Get out of the way! Your father can drink a lot! He doesn't need your help, you bastard!" Liu Huaiyuan looked embarrassed and pushed Liu Jie away angrily. It was obvious that he had a lisp when speaking.

"Uncle, you are probably tired from working. Let Brother Jie help you to have a rest. The wine needs to be brewed several times like this to achieve the best quality. It will probably take a while. When the wine is ready, I will let Brother Jie call you." Zhang Ling persuaded him while giving the other party a way out. After all, there were several juniors present, and it would be embarrassing to get drunk with such a small amount of wine.

"Well, I got up at five in the morning. I must be a little tired after a busy day. Then I'll do as you say. I'm going to take a rest first. Remember to call me when the wine is ready!" Liu Huaiyuan suppressed the rising drunkenness, kicked away Liu Jie who was trying to support him, and staggered out of the inner room.

"Great, Lingzi. I didn't expect you could make wine. You're amazing. Look how happy my dad is. He has a big smile on his face." After Liu Huaiyuan left, Liu Jie immediately turned from a frost-bitten eggplant into full of energy. He slapped Zhang Ling on the shoulder and couldn't help laughing.

"It's just luck. The method I dreamed of might actually work. Brother Jie, great guy, let's continue. Once this wine is ready, we'll probably make a lot of money." Zhang Ling kept changing the wet cloth in his hand while he was talking.

"Earn money? Daniu, you light the fire, I'll change the wet cloth, Lingzi, you take a rest, let us do the rough work..." When Liu Jie heard that he could make money, his eyes lit up. People outside said that he was a playboy who knew nothing and could only eat and wait for death, so his father didn't like him so much. Now he had a way to prove himself without any effort, so he was willing to contribute a little.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Ling didn't want to discourage Liu Jie's enthusiasm, so he stepped aside and checked the air tightness and fire size of the distillation device.

The three of them worked for a while, and when one jar of wine was cooked, only half a jar of distilled liquor was left. Zhang Ling took a small sip and found that it was only about 20 degrees, so he poured it into a ceramic jar and continued the secondary distillation.

After the second distillation, only half a jar was left. The quality of the wine was also improved. It tasted at least around 30 degrees. Zhang Ling was not annoyed. The patience of a scientific researcher was fully demonstrated at this time, but it made the two people working on the side suffer.

By the time the distillation was finished, it was already dark and most of the workers had left. Zhang Ling looked at the pitiful amount of wine at the bottom of the jar with a smile on his face.

"This should be about right now, probably at least 40 degrees!" Zhang Ling thought to himself, picking up a wooden spoon and scooping up a little to taste.

"Okay, Brother Jie, Danniu, we succeeded!" Zhang Ling's eyes lit up and he said loudly with some excitement.

"Really?" Liu Jie, who was waiting anxiously at the side, immediately became excited when he heard him say that.

"Well, it's done. Go and call my uncle over."

"Okay, I'll go right away!"