"It's alright. The Yuchi family can be responsible for forging brewing equipment. In addition, your family should also have some businesses. We can help sell the wine, purchase grain, and provide some manpower."
"As for the shares, the Cheng family, which owns the brewery, takes 30%, the Yuchi family 20%, and the Duke of Wei's family 10%," Qin Mu said after thinking for a moment.
"That can't be right!" Cheng Huailiang, who had regained consciousness, exclaimed with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
“Brother Qin, look at this. Our family contributed both manpower and effort, so how come we only get 30%? You just ask for 50%, isn’t that a bit unreasonable?” Cheng Huailiang asked.
"Hehe, this is the power of knowledge! I'm contributing my expertise as equity. And I can develop even more varieties in the future. There are many people in the world who can brew wine, and they have no shortage of manpower and money, but the one who can brew this kind of wine is unique in the world," Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Alright, Brother Qin, you're right," Cheng Huailiang said dejectedly.
"Haha, the Cheng family always wants to take advantage. Brother Qin can handle it all himself. Bringing you along is a favor to you, and you're still not satisfied," Yuchi Baoqing laughed loudly.
"If you ask me, I don't know. It's just a habit to argue," Cheng Huailiang muttered.
"Alright, no need to argue anymore, it's settled then. Let's get the wine brewed first. Don't sell the wine from the Cheng family's brewery for now, just stockpile it. Also, Second Brother Cheng, ask around about the brewery's production. If it's low, we'll have to build another one," Qin Mu said.
For him, the priority with the distillery was building a network of connections, then making money, and lastly, medicinal wine. It was still a small business at the moment, but he imagined it would become the envy of many in the future. The more connections he made, the fewer troubles he would face.
However, one thing is certain: good things are best kept under one's own control. Currently, the Cheng family's distilleries feel somewhat dependent on others, so they will inevitably need to build two more in the future. The pretext is already decided: the distilleries will be built separately for different types of liquor. Moreover, the most crucial distillation process must be mastered by trusted confidants.
Of course, such a small pot wouldn't do, so they told Yuchi Baoqing that they needed to make several larger ones, and that was settled.
The water in the distillation pot was somewhat cloudy, and it no longer smelled of alcohol. It was poured out, and a second distillation began.
Qin Mu didn't need to keep an eye on these things all the time, so he left them to Qin Yong and the others. Cheng Huailiang and Yuchi Baoqing took a jar of wine that Qin Mu had mixed and sent home.
The aroma of wine filled the garden, attracting the servants and maids of the Qin household to pretend to be passing by and peek inside.
The two younger sisters were very sensible and kept writing, which made Qin Mu very happy. Qin Huaiyu, on the other hand, was much less so; she became restless after sitting for a while and kept swaying from side to side.
After letting them rest, Qin Mu resumed preparing his lessons. After dinner, he began teaching them arithmetic. He didn't want to teach them Arabic numerals, as they were too unfamiliar to them. He wasn't having any problem learning them, but Qin Mu was worried about the negative impact if word got out.
The simplified version of "one, two, three, four" is actually not much different in practice. As for addition and subtraction within ten, not only Qin Yuxin, but even Qin Yuling mastered it in just one afternoon, which surprised Qin Mu, since they were beginners.
Qin Mu didn't force his fourth sister to learn anything; he let her learn as much as she could, focusing more on cultivating her interests and hobbies. Qin Huaidao and Qin Yuxin's homework consisted of addition and subtraction within 100. These were calculation problems Qin Mu had written down for them on paper at noon.
"Take these back and eat them before you go to bed," Qin Mu said, handing three boxes to the three of them.
"Big brother, you're making us eat grass!" Qin Huaiyu exclaimed in surprise as he opened the package.
"You don't know anything! This is a good thing, others want it but don't have it." Qin Mu couldn't help but swear. This brat is always causing trouble.
He took out a purple-leafed orchid. He had consumed three of them, and if he continued to consume them, the effect would be minimal. It would be better to give them to his younger siblings.
Seeing Qin Mu's glare, Qin Huaiyu shrank back, stuck out her tongue, and dared not say another word.
"Giggle!" Qin Yuling laughed heartily upon seeing this. She had always been somewhat envious of her third brother.
"Get lost," Qin Mu waved his hand and said.
Qin Huaiyu picked up the box and ran downstairs.
"Drive carefully on the road, don't fall. Tell your aunt I'm not coming over for dinner," Qin Mu called out loudly from upstairs.
"Okay!" Qin Huaiyu replied and ran off without looking back.
"You two go eat too, your big brother has something to do." Qin Mu said to his two younger sisters with a smile, patting Qin Yuling's head.
"Okay, big brother." Qin Yuxin smiled and nodded in agreement, then slowly led her younger sister out. She had felt extremely happy these past two days, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Qin Yuxin left with light steps. Qin Mu asked Dongmei and the others to bring the food, and then he went to check on the distilled liquor.
After spending most of the day tending the fire, Qin Yong and his companion were drenched in sweat. They waved for them to rest, and he personally oversaw the fire.
There were many workers today, and they dug a cellar right next to the house. Calling it a cellar is a bit of a stretch; it's really just a big pit where they put the wine jars. The *Qimin Yaoshu* records that cellaring is for removing the "fire" (heat) from the wine, making its taste purer and less harsh. Qin Mu remembered hearing before that cellaring was for further fermentation, allowing the molecules of wine and water to better combine and arrange themselves, causing changes in flavor.
After distillation, the liquor is moved directly into cellars to rest, depending on the variety. Nowadays, most liquors are brewed from glutinous rice, though some are brewed from sorghum; these are the two main types of liquor on the market.
The *Qimin Yaoshu* (Essential Techniques for the Common People) records about ten methods of brewing wine, but since the Cheng family already has them, he doesn't intend to bother. Qin Mu wants to make fruit wine and medicinal wine, but currently, the only fruit wine on the market is grape wine. Grapes are limited in quantity, so they are relatively expensive, and the supply is also limited.
Making fruit wine is different. Almost every household has one or two fruit trees, so it should be easy to buy them during the harvest season. At least the quantity is more than usual, and the price shouldn't be too high either.
Gazing at the burning firewood, Qin Mu pondered his future plans. He needed to expand the operation so he could have more manpower available.
Having a network of connections makes it easier to get allies to help find the medicinal herbs you need; otherwise, if you have to ask them for help, you'll end up owing them a huge favor.
Besides, it's fine if someone helps you once, but who would be happy to do it repeatedly? Not only would you end up owing a ton of favors, but you'd also offend people.
As for cultivation, just proceed step by step. Opening up the meridians is a gradual process. Confucian cultivation is the same; let nature take its course. Deliberately pursuing it will only lead to inferior results. I copied several famous poems but didn't attract any divine gifts, which shows that certain conditions really must be met.
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