The making of vermicelli has been handed over to the villagers, and Zhang Hulan later focused on brewing wine.
The process of making wine with lotus roots is similar to that of making wine with grains. Cut the lotus roots into pieces and steam them in a pot. Then let them cool and mix them with koji for fermentation and distillation. The only difference is the fermentation time and the koji used.
In mid-February, Wang Xingren took Zhang Dahua back to Changning County, and Xiang Chunhua also followed them back.
After Xiang Chunhua came back, Zhang Hubing held a full-month banquet for his youngest son, and the Zhang family became lively again.
Wang Xingren found Zhang Hulan and said to her somewhat embarrassedly, "Aunt, can I discuss something with you?"
Zhang Hulan asked: "What's the matter?"
Wang Xingren said, "Aunt, I want Dahua to stay with me and help me with business matters."
Zhang Hulan smiled and said, "If I don't agree, you will definitely scold me in your heart, right? Forget it, I won't be the bad guy anymore. It just so happens that I can save dozens of taels of silver a year."
Both Wang Xingren and Zhang Dahua felt a little embarrassed by Zhang Hulan's gaze.
Then Zhang Hulan said to Wang Xingren, "Now that you are here, I have something to ask you. I am making wine now. Do you want to start a wine business?"
"How's Auntie's wine? Is it brewed?"
“The wine hasn’t been brewed yet, but it will be ready soon, and it will be ready by the end of the month.
The quality of the wine is definitely better than those on the market. If you are interested, I will sell you all the wine I brew.
Anyway, you have businesses in various places, so you can open a wine shop in various places and do business at the same time."
Wang Xingren immediately said, "No problem, I'll buy all the wine that Auntie brews."
Zhang Hulan said, "Don't agree too quickly. My wine is not cheap. It is much more expensive than the wine on the market."
Nowadays, the cheapest wine on the market costs thirty cents per pound, and the most expensive is four or five hundred cents per pound.
Of course there are more expensive ones. The wine drunk by dignitaries is the best, costing several taels of silver per pound.
Wang Xingren said, "Then we can discuss the price when my aunt's wine is ready."
Zhang Hulan nodded, "Okay."
By the end of February, the mash had been fermenting for twenty days and could be used to steam the wine.
If you want the wine to taste better, Zhang Hulan doesn't have high requirements for the first batch of wine, so she brews a batch first to see how it goes.
When the first stream of wine came out, Old Man Zhang, Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing were already drooling at the aroma of the wine.
The wine smelled better than any they had drunk before.
For Wang Xingren too, this was comparable to the best wine he had ever tasted.
But Zhang Hulan poured out the first sip of wine. Zhang Hubing asked anxiously, "Sister, why did you pour out the wine?"
Zhang Hulan said: "Don't drink the first wine, it's harmful to your body."
Zhang Hulan didn't say it was poisonous, otherwise they wouldn't have dared to drink it.
When the wine came out, Zhang Hulan took some in a bowl and gave it to Old Man Zhang. "Dad, how about this wine?"
Old man Zhang took the bowl and drank it in one gulp.
"Dad, please slow down..."
But it was too late for Zhang Hulan to speak. After Old Man Zhang took a gulp of the wine, he felt as if his throat and chest were burning by fire.
Old man Zhang's face quickly turned red, and he exhaled the alcohol after a long time, "Daniel, why is this wine so strong?"
Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing heard their father say that the wine was strong, so they took some to taste it, and then they almost choked on the wine.
Wang Xingren also tasted it, and then his eyes lit up, "Aunt, your wine..."
Zhang Hulan explained with a smile: "This newly brewed wine has not been aged yet, so it is naturally stronger.
After some time, the taste will become more mellow and smooth. "
Wang Xingren said, "No wonder aunt said the price is much higher. If this wine were put on the market, one catty would cost at least two taels of silver."
When Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing heard that it cost two taels of silver per catty, their eyes widened. They knew in their hearts that Zhang Hulan was going to get rich, a huge fortune.
Zhang Hulan looked at it for a while and then threw it to Zhang Hujun.
She looked at Wang Xingren and said, "How about we go and talk?"
"good!"
Wang Xingren and Zhang Dahua followed Zhang Hulan into the house. After they sat down, Zhang Hulan said, "Xingren, I'm just getting started. I'll make better wine in the future. Let's talk about the price."
Wang Xingren said, "Aunt, just name the price."
Zhang Hulan said: "For this kind of wine, I will give you one tael of silver per pound. I will not take care of the delivery, you can have someone come to your house to pick it up.
This should be the worst wine. We will negotiate the price for better quality wine later.
I will only sell this wine to you and not to anyone else.
You can store this wine for half a year or a year, and it will taste better. The longer it is stored, the better it tastes. "
"Okay!" Wang Xingren agreed immediately.
Zhang Hulan then asked, "Are you planning to open your own wine shop or sell wholesale to other wine shops?"
Wang Xingren said: "Open your own wine shop."
Zhang Hulan nodded, and then said: "I will design some special bottles for the good wine I will release later.
One bottle holds one kilogram, and the bottle is designed to look nice.
One look at the bottle gives people a feeling of luxury and wealth, and not everyone can afford it.”
Wang Xingren asked, "Aunt, do you mean that these wines are sold exclusively to wealthy families?"
Zhang Hulan nodded, "Yes, the price of this wine will be very expensive, and the quality of the wine will naturally be the best.
A bottle of this kind of wine costs at least dozens of taels of silver.
I'll give you the wholesale price. One bottle will cost more than ten or twenty taels.
If you sell it in retail at your wine shop, you’ll have to pay thirty or fifty taels per bottle.”
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