Chapter 66

Four large jars of wine sat squarely on the oxcart, with a basket-sized pot in the center. The pot was tightly sealed, and when I weighed it, it was much lighter than the wine. There was also a small bag of hops. Naturally, they were sun-dried; fresh hops were unlikely to be available in this season. Hops, later known as hops, are the primary ingredient in beer.

"Boss, where should we put this wine?" Previously, the wine was naturally placed in the cellar, but Ye Jia seemed to have other plans, so Old Man Sun naturally had to ask clearly before sending it over.

"Still put it in the cellar." Ye Jia took down the koji and hops. "If it's too heavy for one person to move, call for help."

Old Man Sun sighed and drove the ox cart towards the cellar.

With the koji already prepared, Ye Jia didn't have to wait for it to be made. She'd put the hops aside for now, and she'd see if she could make some beer next spring. Ye Jia carried the jar of koji into the house and sat down across from Zhou Jingchen. He had already finished writing the letter and was lighting the oil lamp to heat the wax and apply sealing wax to the envelope.

The clay pot was set down with a clatter, and Ye Jia carefully removed the cork. Inside was a small jar of koji, each cut into cubes half the size of a palm. A rich aroma filled his nose.

"What is this?" Zhou Jingchen put the letter away, leaned over and gently blew out the oil lamp, feeling a little curious.

"Jiuqu." Ye Jia was a little excited, "Let's see if we can make some wine."

Zhou Jingchen raised his eyebrows. Ye Jia always loved to tinker with new and interesting things. He really didn't know what was wrong with her brain. Zhou Jingchen began to wonder who taught Ye Jia and how she could know so much.

Ye Jia didn't care to care about what he was thinking. She was always decisive and quick to act. Now that she had the yeast, she set about brewing the wine. She tried to recall a documentary she'd seen, remembering how steaming glutinous rice to make rice wine was just a matter of adding a piece of yeast. Ye Jia fetched a small dipping saucer, took out a piece of yeast, and resealed the jar, placing it under the dresser.

Just as she put it down, she saw Zhou Jingchen staring at her from behind. She pursed her lips and took out the jar, then tiptoed to the top of the cabinet. Then she poked the belly of the jar with a stick and pushed it in little by little.

Looking at the cabinet that only reached his eyebrows and the jar that he could reach with just a raise of his hand, Zhou Jingchen said: "...I won't move."

Ye Jia: “…”

...Forget it, she turned around and left without being bothered.

With grain stored in a cellar, the process of making baijiu is simple. Simply steam or boil starchy grains like sorghum, corn, barley, wheat, rice, and peas, sprinkle them with powdered koji (drinking yeast), and add water to break down the starch into sugars. The liquor is then stored in a cellar or other suitable fermentation area, and the sugars are allowed to ferment to produce alcohol.

Wine brewed from different grains naturally tastes different. Sorghum is the most abundant grain in the cellar right now. Naturally, sorghum is still the best choice for brewing. As for the white rice that Yu had bought specifically for her, Ye Jia naturally couldn't bear to use it to brew wine.

She walked over to the cellar, where a crowd of people gathered. Fifth Sister Ye, along with a few random people who had escaped, was standing at the entrance, while Lin Zeyu was sprawled on the ground, doing something unknown. Fourth Sister Ye, though she hadn't come over, was also craning her neck to look over. Ye Jia looked down and saw Old Man Sun holding the ladder.

He lowered the ladder down, with Lin Zeyu holding it. He had to make sure the ladder was steady before he dared to carry anything down.

Ye Jia turned his head and saw that the ox cart was still parked not far away, with several jars of wine still on it.

"Uncle Sun, don't move. I'll go get someone to move them." These large jars of wine looked quite heavy. It would be too dangerous for Old Man Sun to climb down the ladder and carry them. Ye Jia handed the bowl to Ye Wumei, asking her to hold it, while he returned to the front room.

As soon as she reached the door, she bumped into Zhou Jingchen, who was leaving the house to mail a letter. Ye Jia's eyes lit up when she saw him. She quickly stepped forward, grasped his wrist, and whispered softly, "Husband, come over and help me."

When Zhou Jingchen heard these slightly sweet words, he felt a little flattered.

He had a few letters in his arms that he wasn't in a hurry to mail, so he didn't struggle and let Ye Jia pull him away. He thought it was something good, but she pulled him to the cellar. He knew it was manual labor at first glance, and he immediately looked at Ye Jia with displeasure.

Ye Jia grinned and said to the old man Sun below, "Uncle Sun, please move aside first. Ask my husband to move this thing."

Old man Sun was also obedient and moved aside as soon as Ye Jiayi said so.

Zhou Jingchen glanced at Ye Jia helplessly, then let go of her hand and walked over to the cellar to peer down. Ancient cellars weren't very deep, and they were pitch black inside. While the height wasn't clear, seeing Old Man Sun almost reaching the top of the cellar, he guessed that Zhou Jingchen, a man of his stature, would have to hunch over to get down.

He glanced around but didn't go down immediately. He caught a glimpse of the rope and carrying pole in Ye Jia's hand and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Ye Jia's hair. This girl was really smart, but she didn't use her mind on him. "Okay, I'll do it. Tell these kids to stand aside."

Zhou Jingchen used the rope and the shoulder pole to make a pulley, tied the wine jars to one end, and asked Old Man Sun to catch it from below. He lowered the wine down like this. After the four large jars of wine were placed, Old Man Sun, at Ye Jia's request, wanted to carry a few bags of sorghum rice up. Zhou Jingchen told him not to bother and tied the three large bags to the bottom, which he then pulled up with ease.

Ye Jia didn't know how much three bags of sorghum rice weighed, but didn't Zhou Jingchen seem a bit strong for his skinny frame? Oh, no, this guy wasn't skinny at all. He just looked thin in his clothes, and his muscles were very beautiful.

"Is there anything else you want me to move?" Zhou Jingchen patted his sleeves. "Nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Ye Jia threw it away after using it, and waved her hand without looking back: "Fifth sister, come over and help me move this to the back kitchen."

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

The sorghum rice was brought back to the kitchen and naturally needed to be soaked first. The grain needed to be soaked for a sufficient amount of time to absorb the water before being steamed on the stove. Unable to find anything convenient, Ye Jia went to the back and retrieved the large vats where Yu's family had previously pickled vegetables. He casually pointed to Lin Zeyu, who was to wash them carefully.

Worried that he hadn't washed them clean enough, after Lin Zeyu had scrubbed them, Ye Jia turned the large jars upside down on the stove and steamed them again with hot water.

Zhou Jingchen watched as the kitchen staff bustled about, Ye Jia having no time to bother with him. He could only give a helpless laugh and walk out.

He went alone to West Street and walked straight into Lihua Lane. He went to a familiar house and knocked on the door. A yawning eunuch came out and opened the door: "Who is it? Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the day and knocking on our door?"

When I opened the door and saw Zhou Jingchen, I was stunned.

After a while, a girl came out and politely welcomed Zhou Jingchen in.

Not to mention Zhou Jingchen was busy delivering messages outside, Ye Jia's clamoring was so loud that even Yu Shi couldn't stay in the room anymore and ran over to join in the fun: "Jia Niang, are you really planning to make wine?"

"Brew it," Ye Jia asked Lin Zeyu to turn the steamed jar upside down on the table, "but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next year to drink it."

Winemaking takes time, and the longer it ages, the more fragrant and mellow it becomes. That's why they say good wine needs age. Yu nodded, looking at the several large jars upside down on the table, curious: "What are these for?"

"Sterilize it." Ye Jia didn't have time to explain. After the pottery jar was sterilized, she asked Ye Wumei to steam the washed sorghum rice.

The kitchen wasn't very big, and with so many people crammed in, it was hard to move around. Fourth Sister Ye, holding her child, wanted to watch the fun, but Yu shooed her away: "Send those two kids back home right now. If they get bumped or bruised, you'll be so sad!"

Ye Simei blushed and wanted to go back embarrassedly.

Seeing that it was inconvenient for her to carry two children alone, Yu asked Lin Zeyu to take her back.

As soon as the two children left, the kitchen immediately became spacious. Old Man Sun sat behind the stove, lighting a fire, while the children chattered loudly. Yu's beautiful eyes swept through the crowd, but when she didn't see Zhou Jingchen, her brows furrowed. "Where's Yun'an? It's a rare day off in the heavy snow, but why is he hiding in the house? He doesn't even help you with anything?"

"He's not here. He went out." Ye Jia took a break from his busy schedule. "It seems like something happened."

"Why is there something going on again?! Every day, every day! He's busy with everything under the sun, and can't he even stop for a bit even on a snowy day?" Yu thought about what she had seen on her son that morning, and her beautiful eyes, like a bee chasing a flower, kept darting to Ye Jia's cheeks and neck. It was also Ye Jia's carelessness. She had gotten too warm from all the work, and the scarf wasn't comfortable, so she yanked it off. Now her slender neck was exposed, and Yu could see the bright red kiss marks behind her earlobes and the back of her neck.

Yu's heart skipped a beat when she saw this, and then a faint smile appeared in her eyes: "I must talk to him when he comes back! It's a rare day off, so he should rest at home, spend more time with you, and help you with more work!"

Ye Jia noticed her gaze and turned back in confusion. Seeing that Yu was smiling at her, she didn't react at first. Only when Yu came over with the scarf in hand did she react.

Ye Jia: “…”

Yu's face was full of smiles. She put the scarf around Ye Jia's neck, thinking it would be better to cover up these things. "Put on the scarf. This scarf is quite nice. I'll make you another one tomorrow."

After putting on the scarf, Yu turned around and dragged Rui Jie'er back.

Ye Jia: “…” Never mind, it’s good to make her happy.

Zhou Jingchen returned a short while later. By the time he returned, Ye Jia's sorghum rice had already been soaked. Since this was her first attempt, Ye Jia was afraid of wasting the food, so she only opened one bag. She'd give it a try. If it worked, she could naturally brew the rest using the same method. She wiped her hands and was about to stand when she suddenly noticed someone squatting down in front of her.

Ye Jia raised her eyes and saw Zhou Jingchen squatting one step away from her. He suddenly reached into his sleeve and pulled out a palm-sized wooden box and handed it to her. Ye Jia was stunned and looked at him: "What is it?"

"Open it and take a look."

Ye Jia took it suspiciously and opened it. It was a box of bright-colored lip balm.

"I really can't pull out the eyelashes for you. But the lip color is okay, I can try it out." Zhou Jingchen squinted his eyes, and Ye Jia's figure was reflected in his eyes. "Jia Niang, take this back to the room and try it on to see if it's the color of my lips?"

Ye Jia pursed her lips and looked at him, feeling a strange feeling in her heart... That, asking for the color number was actually nonsense she said after getting drunk.