"Hush!" Tang Shiyue put the venison back into the house, closed the wooden door, washed her hands in the basin, and pulled the worried little brother in: "Don't worry, it's a villager. We hunted a deer together in the mountains today. We agreed to take half each. We were afraid that there would be too many people during the day and something might get out, so they sent it to me at night."

Tang Shirong still looked serious: "What's his name? How did you know him?"

"I don't know," Tang Shiyue said innocently, "I think his last name is Qi?"

When Tang Shirong heard that she didn't even know her name, his expression eased a little and he didn't ask any more questions.

Tang Shiyue walked around behind him and used a gauze towel to help him dry his hair, while asking: "Brother, how have you been these days? Why did you ask Tang Junchen to bring back money? I don't need it at all!"

Tang Shirong just smiled and didn't answer. Tang Shiyue then casually said, "I think Fourth Uncle Tang's family are all pretty good. Are you close to Tang Junchen?"

Tang Shirong hesitated for a moment. Tang Shiyue tilted her body to look at him: "Brother? Brother?"

He was amused by her odd posture, and gently tapped her forehead, saying, "The relationship is pretty good... At first the relationship wasn't very good, but later on we became friends, and I felt like we were getting along..."

He spoke vaguely for a long time, and Tang Shiyue finally understood.

In fact, what he meant was that the reason why Tang Junchen took the initiative to make friends with him was not because they shared the same interests, but because he felt that he would achieve something in the future, that is, he thought he was a potential stock.

...

...

On the one hand, he did not like such utilitarian friendships, and on the other hand, he was afraid of disappointing such high hopes, so he had never associated with him until the night they were kicked out. He had no other choice but to turn to him for help, which was equivalent to accepting his olive branch. The two of them began to associate with each other. Although they felt that they had a common goal after communicating, she still minded his original purpose.

After all, Tang Shiyue was someone who had experienced the world of fame and fortune, so she quickly understood what he meant.

She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brother, you are a little too scholarly to think like that."

Tang Shirong was startled. He did not ignore the words because they came from his younger sister. Instead, he asked seriously, "Why do you say that?"

"Let me put it this way. Among the wealthy people in the world, at least half of them build bridges and roads out of a desire for fame and reputation. How many people are truly dedicated to doing good deeds? But at this moment, if you were a local official, and building bridges and roads would benefit the people, would you reject it just because the person who paid for it was seeking fame and reputation?"

Tang Shirong was suddenly speechless.

She continued, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. In fact, I think seeking fame and reputation is not a big mistake. People are selfish. Those who harm others to benefit themselves are bad people. Those who harm others without harming themselves are very bad people. Those who benefit themselves without harming others are actually good people. I think most of those who harm themselves to benefit others are fools."

These words were indeed awakening to the young scholar, but she still felt that he should have been taught this truth as early as possible.

A person who is good at learning may not necessarily be a good person or an official. She only hopes that even if Tang Shirong is not a good official, he is at least a good person. After all, he is not a child of aristocratic family and has no family behind him. Even if he really wins the first prize one day, he can only rely on himself. High emotional intelligence is more useful in the workplace than strong ability.

Tang Shirong fell into deep thought.

Seeing the young boy sitting under the moon with his hair loose, wearing only an undershirt with his thin arms exposed, she felt that he looked even more pitifully thin. The three children of the third wife, including herself, were not in good health. Once she had money, she would have to take good care of them.

The next day, the brother and sister worked together to cut the venison into pieces and made it into venison jerky using the same method as beef jerky.

In addition to sugar, salt, wine, plums, and sauce, Dayanchao also has ginger, onion, garlic, pepper, Sichuan pepper, etc. The seasonings are quite complete. When she went to the town last time, she bought a variety of them. The bowl of dried venison was extremely tasty.

Tang Shiyue was busy all morning and finally had some time to go to a small wine shop to buy a few wine jars to use as meat bowls.

As soon as she walked out of the door, she saw a brand new carriage parked in front of the Tang family mansion, surrounded by several children. Madam Zhou from the wine shop was also leaning against the door and watching. When she saw her coming, she smiled and said, "Yuer."

Tang Shiyue told her the purpose of her visit, and Madam Zhou said with a smile, "A few wine jars will just gather dust if they are left there. Why do you want money? You are such a polite child."

"Thank you, Auntie." Tang Shiyue did not refuse, "Then I will make it later and bring a jar for you to eat."

She didn't ask, but Madam Zhou couldn't help but said with a smile, "Your fourth uncle's new daughter-in-law is here. I just took a glimpse and she's such a plump girl."

She acted very interested: "Oh? Is he handsome?"

"How should I put it?" Madam Zhou said vaguely, "She is a bit like the Camellia of the Chen family in height and stature. She is fair and pretty, with a big butt. She looks blessed. She is dressed in luxurious clothes, and the gold and silver she wears dazzles my eyes!"

She smacked her lips and lowered her voice, "I heard that she is the only daughter of some important person in town, and she grew up pampered. If she can marry such a noble daughter-in-law, your whole family will benefit from it."

Chen Chahua? Tang Shiyue thought hard for a long time and finally remembered what she looked like.

Basically, he is about 1.6 meters tall and weighs about 160 kilograms... Tang Yongming has never liked this kind of thing, but it seems that he is doing it for the sake of wealth.

The two walked in while chatting. As soon as they entered, Tang Shiyue smelled the smell of wine dregs.

Madam Zhou went in and brought out a few jars for her. Tang Shiyue saw some sealed wine against the wall and said casually, "There are so many, haven't you sold them yet?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou's cheerful face darkened. "It's not easy to sell. Now all the restaurants in town are closed. Our boss carries a load on his shoulder every day to sell it in small quantities in various villages. We can only sell the sake as muddy wine, and we can't even sell it for the cost."

Tang Shiyue was stunned and suddenly remembered the last time he went to Yunlai Restaurant in town.

Madam Zhou came out with the jar, scrubbed it briefly beside the water tank, and then tied it up with a straw rope.

Tang Shiyue paced casually, glanced at the utensils in the yard, and suddenly something moved.

In this era, winemaking technology was actually still very underdeveloped. Generally, koji, rice, and water were put into wine jars in proportion, and then the jars were sealed. They would usually be opened after three months. Before opening the jars, a small amount of lime and wood ash would be added to prevent excessive fermentation.

Then it is filtered, the clear part is sake, and the remaining part full of lees is turbid wine.

But in order to sell it, you have to "cook the wine", that is, cook it slowly over low heat to heat it up, and then the resulting wine is ready to be sold, which is called Shaochun, also known as Shaojiu.

It turns out that the Great Yan Dynasty didn't have distillation technology yet...

This ordinary winemaking technology only produces wine with an alcohol content of about 10 degrees. Using a distiller, it can reach at least 50 or 60 degrees, which is a qualitative leap.

However, a village winery definitely cannot afford such epoch-making progress. Instead, it can make some small improvements first so that everyone can make money together.

Tang Shiyue took this matter to heart, thanked Madam Zhou, and went out carrying the jar.