When she arrived at the Cheng family's house, she happened to run into Cheng Shi, who was just about to leave. Hearing that he was going to catch fish fry, Wu Chunhua was quite surprised. She hadn't expected such a thing! If she had known there were fish in the river, she would have definitely gone to catch them for free! It would have saved her the trouble of spending copper coins to buy them! Sigh, she instantly felt immense regret; it was like missing out on a fortune!
"Sister Chunhua, what brings you here?" Wang Guixiang asked with a smile.
"Hey, it's nothing serious! Didn't you just ask about raising fish in rice paddies? I asked Third Aunt, and she said we can't just put fish fry into the paddies right away, just enough is fine! It would be bad if it affected the growth of the rice."
"Okay, I got it! If you still want fish fry, you can go to the stream at the edge of the village to catch them. Shi Tou said there are still quite a few there." Wang Guixiang said with a smile. She couldn't be ungrateful for someone who was so kind to her! But seeing that Gu Qingshan had bought a lot of fish fry, she guessed he probably didn't need any more.
Gu Qingshan wasn't unaware that there were fish fry in the river, but he had more important things to do. Having not been into the mountains for a long time, he decided to make a trip there, partly to improve everyone's meals, and partly to earn some money.
During dinner, He Yingyuan heard about this method of fish farming and found it quite novel, but after thinking about it, he understood. In the past, there were many rice paddy fish in the paddy fields, and farmers often caught them to eat when harvesting rice. Since rice paddy fish could grow well in paddy fields, other fish should be able to thrive as well!
However, how did Qin San Niang, a genuine northern woman, know this? This puzzled him greatly. He could only say that she was very observant. Anyway, he didn't intend to dwell on it any longer.
Since Qin San Niang gave him that collection of policy essays, He Yingyuan has completely let down his guard.
This isn't hard to understand. Given Qin San Niang's fighting prowess, killing him would be effortless for her. If she wanted to use him, the process would take a considerable amount of time, so it's remarkable that she's so patient. Therefore, He Yingyuan still wants to believe that Qin San Niang genuinely values his talent.
Half a month later, Qin San Niang took out the sorghum wine she had brewed, and it smelled very good.
None of the Liu family members were fond of wine, but after just one sniff, they realized it did indeed have a certain appeal.
"Third Sister, is this the wine you brewed?" Wu Chunhua stepped forward with delight, carefully sniffing it, afraid of ruining the taste of the wine.
"This wine smells good, I wonder what it tastes like?" Liao Hongying said. Her father loved to drink, and having grown up surrounded by it, she knew the taste of good wine. The wine brewed by Qin Sanniang already tasted like the one she remembered.
"You'll know once you try it. Hongying, go get a bowl!" Qin Sanniang was also quite happy and eager to try it.
After Liao Hongying brought out the bowls, Qin Sanniang ladled a spoonful of wine for each of them. They eagerly took a bite, finding it fragrant and delicious. It was slightly spicy, but not overly stimulating, and had the aroma of grains!
"Third Sister, is this really made from sorghum? It doesn't even have the astringent taste of sorghum!" Liu exclaimed in surprise! Sorghum is easy to grow; it can grow in large quantities just by being scattered in the fields, so it has the lowest price. However, as a grain, it also has the worst taste.
“Yes, Third Aunt, I can’t believe this is made from sorghum. The wine my father used to drink was made from glutinous rice and wheat, which was expensive, and the ingredients were expensive too! I never thought that sorghum could be used to brew such delicious wine. Doesn’t that greatly reduce the cost?” Liao Hongying was good at calculating. In no time, she did a quick mental calculation and realized that the profit margin was astonishing!
Glutinous rice is the most expensive grain on the market, costing at least 25 copper coins per pound these days, and is mainly used to make pastries. Wheat is cheaper, but it's still a refined grain; it can be ground into flour to make steamed buns and noodles. Just look at the price of steamed buns on the market, and you'll know that wheat isn't cheap either!
The cultivation of sorghum is relatively simple and straightforward. It is said that in the dynasties before that, sorghum rice was not used for eating. People planted sorghum for the sorghum stalks! These sorghum stalks, mixed with yellow clay, could be made into sturdy adobe bricks to reinforce dikes and houses and prevent floods from breaching the banks.
Later, people discovered that sorghum was edible. Although it didn't taste very good, it was still a grain and could fill their stomachs. In the Dasheng era, with frequent wars in recent years, sorghum, which was easy to grow and not difficult to cultivate, became the main staple food for the people. But that was all. They had never heard of it being used to make wine before.
Qin Sanniang nodded, "Hongying is right. The cost of purchasing refined grains is too high now, but sorghum is plentiful and cheap. We can only make money by controlling costs! Otherwise, wouldn't we just be wasting our time?"
Actually, even if you used wheat or glutinous rice to make wine, you wouldn't lose money. After all, the price of wine is staggering. The last time Xiao Wu bought a pot of wine from Chen's Tavern, it cost him half a tael of silver! That was ridiculously expensive! If it weren't for the fact that the price could be recorded in the public accounts, he would never have been willing to spend it!
With the sorghum liquor in hand, Qin San Niang decided to improve their meals. She and Liu Shi and others made dumplings with shepherd's purse and pork filling, while Wu Chunhua prepared a few quick side dishes. The group ate and drank to their hearts' content! Even the little children wanted a sip!
"Big Brother, why don't you have a sip?" Seeing the envious look in Big Brother's eyes, Gu Qingshan chuckled and persuaded him. When he was fourteen, he didn't even have the ability to drink alcohol!
Boys may be naturally drawn to this kind of thing!
"Can I drink it too?" Da Wa smiled shyly. Looking at his uncle Qingshan's squinted eyes and intoxicated expression, he really wanted to drink it too, but he was afraid his mother wouldn't agree.
"Have a little," Qin San Niang said without stopping her. The wine hadn't been distilled yet, so its alcohol content wasn't high.
He Yingyuan had drunk many fine wines, and this one wasn't the best, but it had a unique flavor. He never expected it to be made from sorghum.
"Brother He, this wine of mine is called Drunken Red Dust, but this is only the first step. Many more steps are needed to make it into the real Drunken Red Dust! Right now, this can only be called sorghum rice wine. It has a relatively low alcohol content and is just for everyone to drink for fun! It won't make you drunk!"
Seeing his expression, Qin San Niang knew that He Yingyuan had seen good things before, and this wine was indeed not good enough for him.
He Yingyuan didn't expect that this was only the first step in making wine. If even the crude wine could be made this well, then he was really looking forward to the Drunken World wine that would follow!
"I was wondering why this wine wasn't strong enough; it turns out it's not finished yet." He Yingyuan took another sip. "This kind of fermented rice wine is very suitable for women or people who can't hold their liquor. If some other flavors could be added, it would be even better!"
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