Chapter 329: Xu Jie Sells Wine [Taking a Leave of Absence]

It was snowing outside.

The room was warm and cozy.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, people gathered for a lively gathering.

If Wu Xian and Qin Li were both here, they would recognize that the people present were either from the Tianhai family or important figures under Wu Xian's command; a quick glance revealed more than twenty people. The group enjoyed the delicious food arranged by Xu Jie, accompanied by the sounds of string and wind instruments and graceful dances.

Everyone appeared absorbed, but in reality, they were distracted.

The music ended, and the dancers and musicians bowed and withdrew.

The person closest to Xu Jie was the first to lose his composure and randomly picked a topic as a starting point to get to the point.

"The entire Tianhai Forum is still about enjoying the CPA exam."

Xu Jie was also distracted.

Upon hearing this, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The man smiled and said, "Who doesn't know that Wen Zhu's household dancers are the best? If it's not a good day, Wen Zhu will hide them from everyone. Seeing them today is even more wonderful than the rumors suggest."

Xu Jie was quite unhappy. He pretended to be slightly drunk, propped his cheeks with his knuckles, and moved his eyes to see who was speaking.

He asked indifferently, "What's wrong? Have you found someone you like?"

That person is also opportunistic.

Sensing the displeasure in Xu Jie's words, he quickly waved his hand: "Hahaha, I didn't mean that. A gentleman doesn't take what others like."

The others present quietly ate tea and drank alcohol.

That's really bringing up the very thing you shouldn't be talking about.

It was common for wealthy families to hire several dancers and musicians. Entertainment was also needed to liven up the atmosphere at banquets. If the host wanted to win over guests or if the guests were of high status, the host might even have dancers and musicians serve them overnight.

However, this is not the case for every household.

People who are even slightly particular would disdain this.

The Xu family ancestors may have done things to gain a foothold in Tianhai, but Xu Jie did not. The dancers and musicians only performed for festivals and banquets. Moreover, Xu Jie particularly disliked this custom of entertaining guests with dancers and musicians.

The person who spoke up really knew how to bring up the most sensitive topics.

Who doesn't know that the beautiful and talented Lady Mi in Lord Wu Xian's harem was bought by Xu Jie at a high price, only to be taken away by Lord Wu Xian the next day? Because of this, Xu Jie is openly and secretly despised, as if he, the dignified head of the Xu family, actually used the means of offering a woman to exchange for power and benefits. The common people even speculated about a melodramatic scene of "two men fighting for one woman" and "the lord snatching the concubine of his subject".

They all thought the two were going to have a fight.

Who knows what to do?

Consort Mi was unaffected by the gossip and was well-liked by Wu Xian, even giving birth to two sons in succession. In recent years, few people have mentioned this matter anymore, but in this situation, and with the coldness in Xu Jie's words, it inevitably comes to mind.

Some people below rolled their eyes inwardly.

Of all the answers, "A gentleman does not take what others cherish" sounds like a veiled criticism, and even Lord Wu Xian gets dragged into it. The atmosphere at the party suddenly became awkward. Fortunately, a family head who had a good personal relationship with Xu Jie stepped in to smooth things over, shifting the topic to Xu Jie's experiences in Heyin.

Xu Jie's complexion improved slightly.

The others also tacitly steered the conversation toward He Yin, digressing about this and that until they finally got to the wine.

They didn't care about Shen Tang's situation or how much the River Governor had changed under Shen Tang's rule; they only wanted to know if the wine was truly effective! Besides Shen Tang, only Xu Jie possessed this wine.

They were also aware of Xu Jie's temperament.

They cherish their reputation most, especially in business.

Back then, they jokingly said they would send Wu Xian the grain reserves of twenty granaries, and they actually did send it, in full, without missing a single cent.

If Xu's explanation has a clever use, then it really does.

“Of course, I’ve had several people try it, it can’t be faked.” Seeing that everyone’s appetite had been whetted enough, Xu Jie clapped his hands, and two rows of maids filed in. Each of them carried a gleaming bronze wine pot, every part of the pot smooth and exquisite.

This group of people had no interest in fine wine and food, nor in music and dance. If they weren't mindful of their manners, they would have been sitting there long ago.

Continuing to keep people in suspense will only backfire.

Despite their eagerness, no one rushed to buy them.

Instead, he held up the small wine glass and took a sniff of the wine's aroma.

The aroma of the wine is refreshing and invigorating; it is indeed of excellent quality.

But besides its excellent aroma, the wine is also crystal clear...

There doesn't seem to be anything special about it.

This wine is quite different from what they imagined.

Seeing the varying expressions on their faces, Xu Jie smiled and raised his cup, saying, "Such fine wine is rare indeed. Even I only have one hundred and fifty jars left, and Mr. Shen has none at all... Today, I invite you all to taste it together. Please—"

Then everyone toasted Xu Jie, who was in the main seat.

"please!"

The mellow liquor glides down the throat and into the internal organs.

First thought—

This wine is indeed of the highest quality.

Among those present were many connoisseurs of fine wines; only they themselves knew the sheer number of wines they had tasted. Even they, with their discerning palates, had to admit that this was indeed a good wine.

However, they weren't there for the taste of the alcohol.

A second thought immediately followed—

wonderful!

Those who came to this party, drawn by its reputation, were either martial arts masters or scholars. As the wine slid down their throats, they focused their attention on their dantian. To their surprise, they discovered that a warm sensation was emanating from their dantian, spreading along their meridians to their limbs and bones.

It was an extremely subtle and comfortable feeling.

It was as if his entire body had been completely opened up, absorbing the surrounding energy of heaven and earth into his own, and the circulation of his literary and martial energy accelerated. Although the effect was not very obvious, it was already terrifying enough! Immediately, someone slammed down their wine glass.

He asked, "Does Wenzhu still have one hundred and fifty jars?"

Xu Jie smiled and said, "Yes."

The man asked, "Could you please prepare thirty jars?"

He didn't ask for more.

After all, there were so many big shots eyeing the scene, but the fact that he asked for thirty jars made many people anxious – their financial resources and family backgrounds were lacking, and they were no match for the other giants. How many jars would they end up getting?

Xu Jie laughed and said, "That won't do."

Upon hearing this, the man took another step back: "Twenty-five jars!"

Xu Jie could only explain with a wry smile, "It's not a matter of how many jars there are. Lord Shen's abilities are limited, and he has devoted a lot of effort to rebuilding Heyin. Last year, he didn't have much energy to brew wine, and he was also short of money, so the output was low. This is all we have. If we distribute it all at once, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to Lord Shen. If Lord Shen gets angry, he won't sell me this year's batch of wine."

Upon hearing this, the man couldn't help but agree with Qin Li.

Qin Li's words made sense.

Since they possessed the excellent brewing recipe, they might as well seize it. How much they brewed would be entirely up to them. With all their frugality and tight budgets, even 150 jars wouldn't be enough for their family. But this idea could only remain in their minds. Not only would their lord, Wu Xian, not agree to it, but even if he did, who knew what restrictions might be placed on brewing this wine? Such a divine wine couldn't be produced without limit.

If that's the case, there's no point in stealing it.

The others said, "How can there be so little?"

Another person asked, "Could it be that Shen Jun tricked Wen Zhu?"

Xu Jie couldn't help but sneer inwardly at this question.

Deceive him?

He has been in charge of the Xu family business for many years. He has always been the one to scheme against others. When it comes to planning and strategizing, he is not as good as other literary scholars, but when it comes to the ways of the business world, who can be more skilled than him?

Xu Jie naturally knew that Shen Tang had more than just these wines.

He said this to increase the value of the wine he possessed. It's well known that scarcity increases value; even the finest things lose their appeal once they become abundant. There's a difference between earning 100 taels of silver from 100 jars of wine and earning 100 taels from just one jar!

Tianhai is not like Heyin, that poor place.

Of course, each of these families is far more powerful than those few poor households who only know how to exploit others, and they can afford to pay this amount.

Xu Jie had already calculated the bottom line of each party.

However, his face also betrayed regret and embarrassment.

"Can't it be divided all at once?"

Someone noticed Xu Jie's words.

Are we going to sell them in batches?

Xu Jie said, "I discussed it with Mr. Shen, and Mr. Shen's idea was to sell ten jars at once. However, it was difficult to determine the price—after all, those that had this effect before were all rare and precious materials. After thinking it over, we set a base price of ten taels."

"Ten jars and ten taels?"

This is practically a free gift.

Everyone wondered to themselves why Xu Jie would do business this way.

This guy is not the kind of person who is charitable.

As expected—

"No, no, the starting price is ten taels, but the final price depends on how the buyers bid; the highest bidder wins." This bidding method is not unusual; the highest bidder wins, and the lowest bidder loses.

The group looked at each other, then around.

Those who initially planned to operate under the guise of family connections and personal relationships are now hesitant. If it's purely about financial resources... what's the point of this game? Those with the ability can swallow it all.

At this point, someone from a family with a weaker foundation asked in a low voice, "How much of this wine... can be produced this year?"

With other competitors around, it will be difficult to secure this batch.

But if this year's output is high—

Perhaps I'll have the chance to buy some.

Xu Jie said ambiguously, "That's hard to say. After all, Shen Jun is the governor of Heyin County. He has to deal with stacks of official documents that are as tall as a person every day. In addition, Heyin County is short of various materials, so he won't pay too much attention to this matter... I guess there won't be many?"

Everyone: "..."

Why can't Shen Jun just stay home and brew wine properly?

The spirit wine brewed by Shen Jun benefits both brave warriors and learned scholars, indirectly benefiting countless ordinary people as well.

What kind of prefecture governor would he be appointed to?

As long as I don't die from exhaustion, I'll stay at the winery!

For a moment, everyone's expressions were a variety of interesting.

Xu Jie, seemingly understanding, advised everyone: "Although this wine has some helpful effects, it is not a panacea after all, and its effect is only slightly better than nothing. On the path of cultivation, hard work is the right way. It is best to have such external things, but it will not affect anything if you don't have them."

The price should be high, but not too high.

It's too high, after all; Lord Wu Xian will probably have objections.

This inevitably made Wu Xian wary, thinking that he was betraying and colluding with the enemy, using the guise of alcohol to make money for Shen Tang, and that Qin Li was still watching him. Xu Jie only wanted to make money, not risk his life, and knew his limits, so he wouldn't easily get into trouble.

Upon hearing this, everyone's minds cooled down slightly.

Xu Jie's words were not without reason.

only--

Running is the same as running; it's always less strenuous to have a breeze pushing you from behind than to run against the wind. This wine is that "wind".

For people with exceptional or exceptional talent, this wine is of little use—for the former, it's just a way to enjoy their taste buds and nourish their bodies, while for the latter, it's utterly useless. But for people with mediocre talent who are just one step away from achieving a qualitative leap, who wouldn't be tempted?

No one could resist being tempted.

——————

"Ten jars, bought for four hundred and sixty taels?"

The next evening, after finishing his work, Wu Xian went back to the backyard to sit with his wife and soak his feet. Not long after he sat down, he received news of the day's big event—the ten jars of wine that day had been sold for 460 taels after several rounds of bidding.

The first wife was looking down at the accounts of the backyard when she heard this and asked in surprise, "What kind of wine is forty-six ounces a jar?"

*Sob*... I wonder if I'm in heat.

It kept barking at me all day...

(End of this chapter)