Shipin Dalizheng

Making his own wine was much cheaper than having it processed by other vendors, so Rong An temporarily put aside his other tasks to focus on the recipe. First, of course, the sorghum was cleaned and soaked, then steamed and fermented with baijiu koji. The rest of the process was similar to that of distilling city liquor, except the fermented sorghum was placed in a special steamer, where the alcohol, mixed with moisture, would cool and transform into wine in another barrel.

This was not something that could be done overnight. After Rong Tang told them the method, he asked Chuncao to fill a jar with sweet wine and seal it, pick up a hundred or so koji balls and pack them up, and asked Chuncao to take dozens of kilograms of glutinous rice and load them into the carriage.

"Master, are you leaving again?"

"Go to Fuxinzhuang. Rong Wanli, leave."

It is now basically agreed that Rong Wanli will follow up on the affairs of Fuxinzhuang. Now the guards can no longer do the work of guards, they have to act as managers.

He went straight to Fuxinzhuang and found Rong Dashan, who had just settled down and didn't know what to do for a while.

Rong Tang asked Rong Wanli to call Wei Wu and Rong Xian. They sat down in the room reserved for the meeting and talked about long-term plans.

"Uncle Wei Wu, Uncle Rong Xian, the sugar workshop is seasonal and only operates for less than a month a year. I have a long-term business here, which is rice wine. Rongjia Village and Fuxinzhuang can both do the same business. As for profit distribution, the sugar workshop is mine, and the uncles in the village only get wages. But the wine workshop is the same as Rongjia Village. I only want 30% of the recipe share, and the rest will all belong to the public property of Fuxinzhuang. But my point is, if you want a business to continue to develop and no one will find fault, a cooperative background is very important. Personally, I think it's better to have one guest than to have two hosts. I should go to the Duguo Mansion. What do you think, uncles?"

Wei Wu and Rong Xian had no objection at all. This was simply giving them money for free, so how could they have the nerve to say anything else?

Rong Xian even felt that Fu Xinzhuang was taking too much and wanted to give Rong Tang an extra 20%. Rong Tang waved his hand and said, "Uncle, listen to me. The 30% I take is the gross profit from sales. That means for every 100 taels sold, I get 30 taels. The remaining 70%, after deducting the money given to the Du family, may only be 50% or 60%. The workers' wages have to come from this, and there may not be much public property left after the wages are distributed. This part will be used for the daily injuries or other expenses of the uncles, so that they will not be short of money. Do you think it is feasible?"

Wei Wu and Rong Xian were both very excited. Not only would those who worked get paid, but those who couldn't work could also get certain protection from public property. How could they not understand that the so-called "other expenses" meant that when someone died, the money could be used to buy a coffin for burial.

Seeing that the two had no objections, Rong Tang went on to explain his arrangements for Rong Dashan. "Uncle Dashan, you'll be primarily responsible for the distillery here. Whether it's white wine or rice wine, you'll be the general manager, plus the chief accountant. You don't have to do any hard work, but everything must be handled properly. Is there any pressure?"

There was pressure, but Rong Dashan did not refuse. He now truly believed that Prince Tang really needed him, not just out of pity for him.

"I can do it."

Rong Tang nodded with satisfaction. Without the Third Lady holding him back and putting pressure on him, Rong Dashan was still very capable of handling things.

"Once the village winery and compound are built, we won't need so many people. Draw up a list and transfer a dozen people over to work alongside the wounded soldiers from Fuxinzhuang. After all, the wounded soldiers each have their own difficulties, so the villagers can do the work they can't do, and correspondingly, their wages will be 20% higher."

Rong Dashan immediately thought about who would be suitable to come, like himself, and it would be best if the whole family could come. After a few breaths, he got the answer.

"Prince Tang, I have a few families in mind. Do you think this matter can be left to me?"

"Of course." Rong Tang was very pleased. As a big leader, he only needed to give an order, and it was normal for the people below to do their job and find ways to meet his requirements. It would be very tiring if he had to do everything by himself like he did now.

So Rong Dashan, who had just settled down, went to borrow an animal to ride back to the village to call for help. The person he wanted to borrow the animal from was Doctor Zhang, who rode a donkey here every day to treat the wounded soldiers in Fu Xinzhuang these past two days.

When Doctor Zhang heard Rong Tang was here, he was surprised and delighted. He immediately gave the donkey to Rong Dashan and ran over to him affectionately, calling out, "Tang, I haven't seen you for two days. I miss you so much. Come, come, let me show you the clinic I've renovated."

The clinic was actually two small rooms originally located in a corner of the manor. Now, at his request, an outer door was opened, two beds were installed, and cabinets were set up against the wall to store some medicines he collected himself. His own examination table was placed at the door, and it looked like a proper clinic.

The only drawback is that there are no medicinal herbs.

Rong Tang asked, "Old man, have you prepared the list of medicinal herbs?"

Doctor Zhang took out a large paper roll from the drawer of his examination table and handed it to him, "Here, add the herbs according to the instructions!"

Looking at the unfolded paper scroll that was several times longer than his body, Rong Tang couldn't help but pinch the one thousand taels of silver he had just received from Chuncao. Is this enough?

Doctor Zhang suddenly became happy. "The herbs have been ordered. The drug dealer in Beijing will deliver them tomorrow. However, I can't pay for them myself!"

Rong Tang asked stubbornly, "How much silver?"

Doctor Zhang quickly pulled out a piece of paper with the following inscription: "Repayment Agreement: Rong Tang voluntarily lends Zhang Pojun 10,000 taels of silver to open a clinic, with an interest rate of 9%. Unable to repay, he is willing to live out his life in his old age. He also promises to prepare delicious food for Zhang Pojun, to care for him until he dies, and to wear mourning clothes as his own grandson..."

Rong Tang's face darkened. This retribution had come so quickly. But seeing Doctor Zhang's smug and happy expression, he didn't say anything. After all, he was just an old man who needed love. If he wanted peace of mind, then give it to him.

Seeing Rong Tang press the fingerprint without hesitation, Doctor Zhang's eyes welled up.

At noon, Mr. Xue came with two large carts of ready-made clothes and one cart of cloth to deliver the goods.

She was very careful in her work. All the ready-made clothes were divided into different sizes to make it easier for the wounded soldiers to choose. At the bottom of the cart, there were also Jiangnan snacks she made herself to express her gratitude to Prince Rong for taking care of her business.

"It's not a good thing, please don't despise it, Rong Shizi."

It was not until this time that Rong Tang remembered that he had not eaten yet and was hungry.

Rong Xiu asked him to eat, but he didn't have time. When he returned to Rongjia Village, everyone thought he had eaten. When he came to Fuxinzhuang again, it was neither early nor late, and no one could remember whether he had eaten or not. This person who worried about whether others had food to eat all day long was now starving.

He quickly ate up all the snacks given by Xue Dongjia, one by one. He still felt a little unsatisfied after finishing, which left Xue Dongjia stunned.

Before she came, she just thought it was a courtesy and didn't think that Prince Rong would really want to eat it.

"Well, if Prince Rong likes this taste, I can give you the recipe and ask the cook in the house to make it. This is just a snack recipe, not worth much."

Rong Tang thanked him. He didn't really have a sweet tooth; he was just hungry. To show his appreciation, he personally poured some sweet rice wine for Xue Dongjia to try.

Xue Dongjia was very satisfied and happy after eating. "This is sweet rice wine from the south. I used to eat it when I was a child. In our area, women also eat it to nourish their bodies and increase milk production after giving birth. Unfortunately, I only like to eat it, but I don't know how to make it. I wonder where did Rong Shizi buy it?"