"I understand what you mean, madam. This is a fine wine, so it's normal for it to be a bit pricey. But I wonder what price you plan to set?"
Upon hearing his words, Lin Jiujiu did not rush to answer, but instead gestured for Manager Zhang to have some tea first.
Manager Zhang picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then stared intently at Lin Jiujiu.
The anxiety in his eyes was genuine.
Seeing this, Lin Jiujiu didn't keep them in suspense and asked in an inquiring tone.
"Does Manager Zhang think one tael of silver per catty is still a good deal?"
When Manager Zhang heard Lin Jiujiu's words, his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
He knew the wine wouldn't be cheap, but he didn't expect it to be this expensive.
You should know that fine rice only cost fifteen coins per pound, which was something that only truly wealthy families could afford.
Brown rice, a common household item, costs over three copper coins per pound at grain shops. One tael of silver can buy more than three hundred pounds of brown rice. If you make do with a little, it's enough for a young couple to eat for a year.
Although he didn't know anything about brewing, since he wanted to cooperate with the Lin family, he naturally inquired about it.
Even if we don't know the exact production ratio of the Lin family's wine, a ratio of ten to one is definitely enough.
He had extensive connections and knew that the Lin family had previously bought a lot of sorghum from grain shops in the county town.
That stuff is priced the same as brown rice, which means that according to the previous calculation, excluding other factors, the raw material cost would not exceed thirty coins.
But now Lin Jiujiu says this wine costs one tael of silver per pound.
Based on this estimate, the profit could increase more than thirty times. Even considering other costs, the profit would still be at least twenty times.
"hiss!"
Manager Zhang couldn't help but gasp; this was more than just exorbitant profits.
It was incredibly profitable; he had never seen such a lucrative business in all his years as a broker.
If you consider his commission, it's equivalent to him earning ten coins for every pound of wine sold.
Manager Zhang's heart was churning like a stormy sea, knowing that even some inferior wines only cost ten coins per pound.
With such excellent wine from the Lin family, there's no worry about it selling out; he'll truly reap huge profits from this investment.
Manager Zhang became more and more excited as he thought about it.
“Madam Lin, I think this price is fine. People who can really afford good wine don’t care whether it’s one coin per catty or one tael of silver per catty.”
Lin Jiujiu smiled upon hearing this, and had to admit that the shopkeeper's thoughts were similar to hers.
She doesn't plan to expand the distillery; the brewing methods are something only the family knows.
Besides, scarcity increases value, and she believed that anyone who had tasted his wine would never look at any other inferior wine.
If that's the case, isn't it normal for the price to be a bit higher?
While Lin's father and the others listened to Lin Jiujiu and Manager Zhang's conversation from beginning to end, their jaws nearly dropped to the ground when they heard Lin Jiujiu say that one tael of silver was equivalent to one pound of silver.
Even Lin's father, who had always been honest, was convinced that this was a trap and was about to persuade Lin Jiujiu, but Yang Li stopped him and shook his head.
After agreeing on the cooperation, Lin Jiujiu asked Yang Li to draft a contract in the study.
Then he looked at Lin's father and the others and asked.
"Father, is there something you want to ask?"
Mr. Lin originally wanted to ask why the wine was so expensive, but after hearing what Manager Zhang said, he seemed to understand something.
Thinking that she didn't want her daughter to think she didn't know anything, she figured Yang Li should know about this, so she might as well ask him later.
So he shook his head.
Lin Jiujiu found it a bit strange, but since her father wouldn't say, she didn't bother to ask.
I only glanced at Yang Li when he came out with the drafted contract. I thought he was a useful person. At least, his calligraphy was quite good, and the contract was very clear and concise, which helped me avoid a lot of risks.
Lin Jiujiu wanted to give him an important position, but since they hadn't spent enough time together, she wanted to test him a little more, so she said, "You sign this contract for me, and I'll entrust the future cooperation with Manager Zhang to you."
Yang Li immediately understood what she meant when he heard her words.
He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "Yang Li thanks Master for the promotion."
Shopkeeper Zhang looked at Yang Li with a hint of envy in his eyes.
This Lady Lin is clearly no ordinary person; she may have even greater fortune in the future.
Yang Licai had only been in the Lin family for a few days when he was given an important position. In the future, I might have to respectfully call him 'Manager Yang' whenever I see him.
After seeing Manager Zhang off, they also took with them nearly a thousand kilograms of liquor from the two cellars in his house. Manager Zhang was a straightforward person.
Although there were no buyers for the wine yet, he directly advanced a thousand taels of silver to pay for it.
As for the commission Lin Jiujiu promised him, he didn't ask for it and simply paid it all off with drinks.
Lin Jiujiu had no objection to this. As for whether Manager Zhang kept it for his own use or resold it, it was none of her business.
Mr. Lin originally thought that he had brewed too much liquor and it would be a waste if he couldn't sell it. Except for the first few days when he worked hard every day, he gradually reduced the amount of liquor he produced.
According to Lin Jiujiu's original calculations, the family could store at least two thousand catties of liquor during this period.
But seeing the worried look on Lin's father's face, she didn't say much.
After all, he would only truly believe it if he experienced it firsthand.
But now, Lin's father felt extremely regretful.
If he had believed Jiu Jiu back then, he would have earned at least a thousand taels more today.
That's a thousand taels, a sum he never dared to even dream of before.
The thought of this made his heart ache.
He lost all interest in sitting down for tea and sent Lin Ze and Liang Xing straight into the winery.
Seeing her father like this, Lin Jiujiu just smiled and shook her head without stopping him.
After all, the distillery is only so big, and even if his father tries to increase his alcohol tolerance, it's still limited.
It won't tire him out.
Watching her father leave, Lin Jiujiu also began to consider cultivation.
Her body has been sufficiently nourished, and it's unlikely that she'll make any further progress, so there's no need to delay any longer.
Most importantly, her array diagram has already been drawn.
The array plate that Baili Chenyuan had carved for her before was enough to shield the Heavenly Dao's perception in this world, so she wasn't worried about being discovered and killed by the Heavenly Dao of this plane.
Thinking this, that night, after everyone in the Lin family had fallen asleep, Lin Jiujiu activated the array in her home and then threw the array plate that Baili Chenyuan had carved for her into the sky.
The moment the array plate was activated, Lin Jiujiu appeared in the courtyard, at the core of an illusion array.
Sit cross-legged, silently reciting the cultivation technique you've practiced countless times, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cleanse your meridians again and again.
Lin Jiujiu did not rush to guide the Qi into her dantian to improve her realm. Instead, she used spiritual energy to strengthen her meridians, expanding them one by one so that they could store more spiritual energy.
This was the experience she had accumulated over several lifetimes of traversing the cultivation world, and for her, the so-called realm was of little significance.
It would be better to lay a solid foundation from the very beginning of your training.
This is actually more beneficial for her.
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