Shipin Dalizheng

The first time, seven or eight people worked for half an hour to assemble the entire set of equipment, and the meal was also ready.

After dinner, it was already the end of the afternoon. Seeing that it was still early, Rong Tang decided to give it a try first.

Everyone was waiting outside the door, feeling very nervous, as this was related to whether the village would have any income other than farming in the future.

Rong Tang wasn't worried. Purifying the liquor was a simple matter, so he only needed one set of equipment. To make his own liquor, besides sufficient grain, liquor yeast was also crucial. Stealing wouldn't last long; he had to learn how to make it himself. He'd been turning the yeast recipe over in his head for a while, and it was almost there, but it was just a little off, and he couldn't quite grasp it.

Soon, the air was thick with the smell of alcohol. The men sniffed, surprised and delighted. "Did it work? Really? This alcohol smells so strong, better than Shopkeeper Lu's, no, better than the one sold in Yang Lianye's liquor store."

As for men, there is no one who doesn't like to drink. In the past, the wine that cost ten cents per pound was so bland and tasteless. I only drank a sip or two during the New Year or at banquets. Now that I see that my family can make wine, I am very happy.

Rong Dashan went in and scooped a spoonful into a bowl, then carried it out of the house reverently. A group of men gathered around and watched.

Clean and clear, without any impurities, with a very intoxicating aroma, this is wine!

Rong Dashan asked in surprise, "Prince Tang, what's going on? I poured the wine into the pot over here, lit the fire, and the wine came out of the barrel over there?"

Rong An quickly stopped him from talking, "Uncle Dashan, don't ask."

Rong Dashan was shocked to realize that he had asked about the core secrets of winemaking and had violated a taboo. He said in panic, "Prince Tang, I was just excited and curious, not asking for the secret recipe."

Rong Tang waved his hand, "What kind of secret recipe is this? Come, I'll reveal it to you. Ergou, keep the fire going and don't drink the wine."

Gui Ergou responded with a smile and decided to wait until no one was around and then steal some to try.

In the main hall, Rong Tang explained to them, "Normally, the quality of wine shouldn't be this bad. This is because Shopkeeper Lu's winemaking process or technique has gone awry, so the wine he produces is inferior."

Rong An nodded, "Yes, the people who sell good wines are much better than Shopkeeper Lu's, so it's obviously his problem. But good wine is really expensive. Not to mention in the capital, even in the county wine shops, the best wine can be sold for one tael of silver per catty. I heard that in some luxury restaurants, the most famous Hua Diao, Nv'erhong, and Zhuangyuanhong all sell for several taels, sometimes even dozens of taels."

The men in the village gasped, thinking that the rich and powerful were enjoying themselves so much that one pound of wine could consume several acres of land.

"That's it. It's not as clean and clear as our wine. It's pleasing to the eye."

Rong Tang held his forehead. No matter how much he boasted, he wouldn't completely deny the wisdom of the ancients. Great China had countless brands of fine wines passed down from ancient times, and their quality was unparalleled. He could only brew some of his own, and as for the quality, let alone how bad it was, it couldn't even compare to the best of the best.

"How about you try it first?"

A few people took a sip and savored the taste. How could anyone who had never tasted good wine appreciate it? Of course, they were full of praise.

"Okay, I took a sip and it went down warm. It was satisfying and refreshing. What I drank before was just water mixed with wine."

Rong San and his companions had also been rewarded with fine wine when they were with their previous master, but they felt that the wine was too fragrant and pure, not spicy enough, and lacked a bit of heroic spirit.

This is just right.

"In the county town, wine of this quality can be sold for about a hundred coins per pound."

Rong San sighed. He liked drinking. In the past, he had earned some bounties from completing missions, and most of them were used to buy wine. A pot of wine cost only ten cents, but he could not enjoy it at all.

Rong Qi seemed to be thinking about it. "More than that. You are talking about selling it loose in the jar. If it is paired with a good wine bottle or wine jar, it can be sold at a higher price."

Hearing that it was worth a fortune, the men in the village were furious. "Prince Tang, you haven't explained how second-rate wine can be turned into good wine. It's okay if you don't tell us. We can just make money without any explanation."

"Things aren't what you think. You think it's a one-to-one exchange from inferior liquor to fine liquor? That's completely wrong. The purpose of purification is to remove the water and impurities from the inferior liquor. The result is a relatively clean liquor with a higher alcohol content, which is what we often call strong liquor. Of course, we can control how strong the liquor is."

Next, the alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, so when it is heated, it rises and flows through the pipe into another barrel. After cooling, high-purity wine flows out.

"So there will be a lot of loss during purification. Of course, compared to the price, the loss is within an acceptable profit range."

Rong Dazhu said, "What the prince means is that if we pour in ten kilograms of wine, maybe only five kilograms will come out, or even less?"

Rong Tang nodded, "That's what I mean."

Wang Youcai silently calculated that although he lost money in weight, the price would increase even more, so this business was worth doing.

"Let's do it. Prince Tang, we all trust you, just lead us and do it."

Rong Tang nodded. "The purification process has been successful. At the very least, we can buy the wine and reprocess it, making a profit from the difference. Next is the issue of sales. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them."

The men started talking at once, some of them said they had done small business before and setting up a stall and selling things was no problem.

Some said they knew the owner of a certain restaurant in the county and could go there to promote their business.

In a short while, he came up with seven or eight plans, all of which were quite reliable.

Rong Wu, who usually kept to himself, suddenly asked, "What's wrong with you? Don't we have a shop?"

Rong Tang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes. Finally, someone seemed to understand.

The men in the village came to their senses, but they didn't dare to think, "The one in town? Will Yang Lianye return it to the prince?"

After being oppressed for so long, they didn't even dare to think about taking back their own things. However, for Rong Tang, if he couldn't get his shop back even if he became the prince, then he wouldn't be the prince at all.

It is not easy to attack Jin Shizhao at the moment, but can we not defeat the guy named Yang?

Third brother, you and fourth brother go to the uncle's house and get the shop deeds back to the town and the county. I want to take back these two shops within a few days."

Rong San agreed and went out with Rong Si.

He then said to Rong Dashan and the others, "Let's purify the inferior wine in the warehouse these days. Tomorrow I will study how to make wine with sorghum."

As they were talking, Li Shiwa called out "Brother Ergou" in an anxious voice and led them to the wine room at the back.

Gui Ergou's face was red, and he was laughing mischievously. He touched Li Shiwa's face and said, "Taohua, do you miss me? Come on, give me a kiss..."

Bang, he fell to the ground and passed out drunk.

The Third Master was heartbroken, not because he felt sorry for Gui Ergou, but because he felt sorry for the wine.

"You idiot boy, you've wasted so much wine."

Rong Wu went up to pick up Gui Ergou and threw him back into the house. Rong Dazhu sat in Gui Ergou's place and said, "I'll light the fire. Hey, there's not much firewood left."

Purifying the Lingjiu requires burning firewood, and there is obviously not much firewood in the courtyard. Everyone said that they would go up the mountain to pick firewood immediately, and they could still pick up a lot before dark.

Rong Tang taught Rong Dazhu to pay close attention to his drinking and to change the drink at the right level. He explained everything that needed to be said in detail. Suddenly, he felt very sleepy and wanted to take a nap.