The brigade leader originally planned to harvest the new sorghum this autumn, and after distributing it to the commune members, store the rest to start brewing wine next year when the weather is warmer. However, he is now having second thoughts.

Because the quality of the wine brewed by Luo Jingyan far exceeded his expectations, he seemed to have already seen the sales prospects of these wines, which would surely bring a considerable fortune to their brigade.

Therefore, he plans to start brewing wine this year and reap the benefits as soon as possible.

He went over to ask Luo Jingyan first, because Luo Jingyan was the technical advisor for the entire brewing process, and he had to discuss it with her first.

“Luo, I’m thinking of starting to brew wine this year. What do you think? I’ll figure out the sorghum. You just need to focus on brewing the wine.”

"Of course I have no problem."

The brigade leader then looked at the commune members, carefully considered his words, and said, "Since everyone has tasted the wine and thinks that the wine brewed by Luo Zhiqing tastes very good, I originally planned to store the sorghum harvested this year for brewing next year. But I don't want to waste this year's time. What do you all think?"

The commune members then discussed among themselves, and someone raised their hand and said, "I can spread out some of the sorghum from my home to use for brewing wine, but I can't take out too much. I have to leave enough for my family to eat."

Others also said they could spare a little, but the amount was so small that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference.

The brigade leader said, "Having enough to eat is the most important thing. Just bringing sorghum from home won't solve anything. I'm thinking that once we get the collective distillery approved, we can go to the grain station and buy some sorghum. What do you guys think?"

A discussion immediately broke out in the crowd, because buying grain required money, meaning they were asked to raise the money for the grain in advance.

The brigade leader continued, "I understand your concerns. We'll pool our money to buy grain, and once the first batch of sorghum liquor is brewed and sold, we'll return a portion of it to you, and possibly all of it. The more we sell in the future, the more dividends you'll receive, and the more dividends you'll get. Of course, if you feel there's a risk, you can disagree."

After a few minutes of debate, the members expressed their opinions one by one.

"Captain, I know you're just thinking about the people in the brigade and want everyone to live a better life. I can't help with big things, but I can still contribute some money."

"Yes, that's all we can do. The rest is up to the brigade leader and Luo, the educated youth. They don't mind the trouble at all. They just ask us to put up some money in advance, and they'll give us a share of the profits after they buy the wine. Isn't that great?"

All the other members who were reasonable felt that the brigade leader made sense, and in the end they all agreed with his statement.

When all the other members had left, Uncle Li was still standing at the door.

The villagers all knew about Uncle Li Jiu's previous doubts about Luo Jingyan. Seeing him lingering at the door, someone asked, "Uncle Jiu, what are you doing standing here? Either go in or go home. You're like a doorman, standing guard here."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Uncle Li glared at him irritably: "I'm happy standing here, what's it to you?"

"Uncle Jiu, the vinegar that Luo Zhiqing brewed is really delicious. Would you like to try some?"

"Me." He had wanted to try it for a long time, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

The others stopped joking with him and left.

The captain then called out to him, "Uncle Jiu, would you like to try some?"

Uncle Li glanced over here, but was too embarrassed to come over.

Luo Jingyan could tell that this guy was very arrogant. If he didn't want to drink the wine in the wooden barrel, he would have already turned his arm and left.

She walked over and asked, "Uncle Wine, you are the most experienced winemaker in this village. I'd like to ask you, how is my wine? Can you tell if it's vinegar?"

There was no one else around at this point. Uncle Li wasn't afraid of being laughed at by the other members, but he didn't want to lose face in front of the brigade leader and Luo Jingyan.

He stubbornly replied, "Fine, I'll see if what you're brewing is vinegar."

He walked over, snatched the wine jar from the brigade leader's hand, scooped up half of it without any politeness, then grabbed the bowl from the brigade leader's hand, poured the wine into it, and put the bowl to his lips. He originally intended to tilt his head back and drink it all down, but after taking a sip, he found that the wine was really delicious, so he turned his head to the side and savored the wine in the bowl.

Neither Luo Jingyan nor the captain disturbed him until he carefully licked the bowl clean.

Luo Jingyan said, "Uncle Jiu, I didn't expect you to love vinegar so much. It must be because my vinegar is so delicious, isn't it even better than wine?"

Uncle Li returned the bowl to the brigade leader, still looking slightly resentful.

"It's alright. I underestimated you, girl. At least what you brewed wasn't vinegar, but wine."

The captain said, "Uncle Jiu finished all the wine in his bowl, which proves that the wine is very delicious."

Uncle Li nodded, still stubbornly insisting, "It's alright, I didn't expect this young educated youth to have some skills."

Upon hearing this, the captain thought that being praised was already quite good, which showed that he had already affirmed Luo Jingyan's abilities, but was still embarrassed to admit that others had done better than him.

The captain gave him face and didn't expose him, and Luo Jingyan didn't say anything either.

The brigade leader put the lid back on the barrel. Now that the experiment was a success, they needed to prepare to submit an application to the commune to establish a collective economy. Of course, to get the leaders' approval, they couldn't just talk about it; they also had to bring the product over so that the leaders could see the quality of the product in person, which would make it easier to get their approval.

After the three left the distillery, Uncle Li quietly followed Luo Jingyan. When Luo Jingyan realized that she was being followed by the old man, she stopped.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!