"You want to teach Xin'er and the others the methods of the Ghost Valley lineage?" Qin Qiong asked hesitantly.
“Yes, the Guigu lineage also belongs to the Taoist mental cultivation method. The Tao follows nature, and emphasizes moderation and peace. Practicing it can be good for health.” Qin Mu nodded and said.
"Well, whatever you want. Just tell me what you need." Qin Qiong opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then didn't. After a moment, he continued.
Qin Yuxin was worried that Qin Qiong would oppose their cultivation, so she was on tenterhooks and listened intently until Qin Qiong finished speaking. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, and her small hands, which had been tightly gripping the table, loosened. Only the folds in her clothes showed how nervous she had been.
"Yes, Mu'er, if you need anything, just tell your aunt. Although our Qin family isn't exactly wealthy, we still have some money," Aunt Zheng said with a smile.
"Yes, Auntie. I'll let you know if I really need money," Qin Mu nodded.
"Mu'er, don't stay at home all day. Go out for a stroll whenever you have time. Chang'an is a big city with many places worth seeing. You can also get familiar with the place, since you'll be living here for a long time in the future," Qin Qiong said with a smile.
"I know, Dad. I'll go out when I have time."
"Yes, you should get some rest," Qin Qiong said with a smile and a nod. Her son was always running around outside, which worried her, but he was too well-behaved; even if he didn't go out, she still had to worry. However, at least he didn't cause trouble, which was better than those little rascals running around in Chang'an.
He waved goodbye and left with his two younger sisters. Once outside, he picked up Qin Yuling, mainly to prevent her from falling in the dark. After taking his two sisters home, Qin Mu returned to his own courtyard. During his cultivation practice, Qin Mu found it easier to enter a meditative state.
"Perhaps this is what family is all about!" Qin Mu stopped cultivating, opened his eyes, smiled slightly, then lay down and quickly fell asleep.
"Big brother! I'm here!" Qin Mu had just gotten up when he heard Qin Huaiyu's voice, followed by the sound of his footsteps running upstairs.
As soon as he reached the door and opened it, a figure squeezed in, almost bumping into Qin Mu's arms.
"Slow down," Qin Mu said, pushing his head away.
"Brother, am I late today?" Qin Huaiyu asked, looking up.
"It's not late, come in," Qin Mu greeted.
Qin Huaiyu's loud voice woke everyone up in the courtyard, and then Qin Mu heard Dongmei calling to her two younger sisters.
Qiu Ju fetched water and went upstairs. Qin Mu casually washed his face and then took Qin Huaiyu down to the courtyard.
Early morning is the time for martial arts practice. The four siblings each began their training, and even the youngest, Qin Yuling, quietly took deep breaths.
After sparring with his younger sisters, Qin Mu noticed they were still sitting there with their eyes closed, taking deep breaths. He couldn't help but nod in approval. Regardless of their talent, their patience was certainly commendable.
Turning to look at the other side, Qin Mu couldn't help but shake his head. Qin Huaiyu practiced for a while, then slacked off, lazily swinging his fists.
Seeing Qin Mu's gaze sweep over, Qin Huaiyu shuddered and hurriedly started hitting him harder again. He didn't know why, but although this older brother was very kind and gentle to him, he was still somewhat afraid.
In summer, dawn breaks early; half an hour later, the sun shines brightly through the eaves.
"Alright, let's rest." Qin Mu clapped his hands and said.
"Big brother!" Upon hearing the word "rest," Qin Yuling, like a puppy, opened her eyes, ran to Qin Mu, and looked up at him.
"Are you tired?" Qin Mu asked gently, patting her head.
"Not tired at all!" Qin Yuling replied with a smile.
"Okay, let's eat first. After we eat, your big brother will teach you how to read!"
"Mmm." Qin Yuling nodded obediently.
In families like the Qin family, breakfast and lunch are usually eaten separately, with dinner being the only meal they all share. However, the rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping made Qin Mu find meals rather dull. Therefore, he didn't particularly enjoy them.
They were all enjoying a meal around a large table with their younger siblings, and it was a novel experience for them.
Qin Huaiyu watched her older brother serving food to her sisters and felt envious. She picked up her bowl and looked at it, and the rice in the bowl suddenly lost its appeal.
"Eat up." Qin Mu chuckled inwardly and placed a piece of green vegetable on Qin Huaiyu's plate. Since leaving the secret realm, his mental strength had greatly increased, and he found himself more sensitive to the slightest sounds around him.
After dinner, he led them to his study, placed his handwritten primer on phonetics in front of them, and asked, "Take a look, how many of these characters do you recognize?"
The three of them opened it and looked at it. After a while, Qin Yuxin looked up and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Big brother, I only recognize about 80% of them."
"Very good." Qin Mu nodded with a smile. Then he turned to ask, "And you guys?"
"I recognize half of them," Qin Huaiyu said, lowering her head in shame.
"I..." Qin Yuling opened her eyes wide, not knowing how to answer.
"Hehe, it's okay if you don't know them, your big brother will teach you," Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Turn to the first page and read along with your older brother! Clouds against rain, snow against wind, sunset against clear sky..."
As Qin Mu read aloud, the sound of reading aloud echoed from the second floor of the courtyard. The primer on phonetics and rhythm was very rhyming, and its focus on the natural world made it quite interesting.
Qin Mu's plan was to have them read the text until they were familiar with it, and then compare and contrast the characters to learn and practice writing.
After reading the first paragraph several times, seeing that they had almost memorized it, but Qin Yuling seemed to have lost much interest, he couldn't help but smile slightly and say, "Come on, let your big brother teach you another nursery rhyme."
"Great! Great!" Qin Yuling's interest was immediately piqued, and she clapped her hands and laughed.
"One, two, three, four, five, go up the mountain to fight the tiger, but can't find the tiger, find a little squirrel instead. How many squirrels are there? Let me count them. Counting and counting, one, two, three, four, five."
"One, two, three, four, five..." Qin Yuling learned the nursery rhyme with great interest. She memorized it all after only two repetitions, which left Qin Mu speechless. If she had this kind of interest in memorizing other nursery rhymes, she could probably become a genius.
"You all continue reading. If you don't want to read, just write down the characters on the screen. I'll go down and take a look," Qin Mu instructed. There was a sand table for practicing calligraphy nearby, something they were already used to.
Qin Mu heard the noise downstairs and guessed that what he wanted had been delivered, so he went down to check.
As expected, Yuchi Baoqing was directing people to carry things into the courtyard.
"Brother Qin!" Yuchi Baoqing greeted Qin Mu with a fist and palm salute as he came downstairs.
"Brother Yuchi," Qin Mu returned the greeting with a cupped hand.
"Brother Qin, could you please tell me where to put the things?" Yuchi Baoqing asked.
"Put it in that corner over there," Qin Mu said, pointing to the corner where the bone broth was being simmered. He secretly thought to himself that he should have a shed built there.
"Okay." Yu Chi Baoqing agreed and immediately directed people to carry the items over, and then began the installation.
This is a distiller, mainly relying on a long copper tube for water cooling. The original design was quite simple: a sealed pot with a long copper tube. However, the one made by the Yuchi family was extremely exquisite. Not only were the dimensions made according to Qin Mu's requirements, but it was also covered with forging patterns, clearly indicating meticulous craftsmanship.
"My father and elder brother made this themselves last night," Yuchi Baoqing said with a hint of pride.
"Please thank the Duke of E for me," Qin Mu said, patting the large cauldron with satisfaction. He was quite pleased with the cauldron, though it reminded him of a pill-refining furnace, especially the handles on either side. Compared to a pill-refining furnace, it was only missing a few legs.
“My father said that if the wine doesn’t satisfy him, he’ll come and talk to you personally,” Yuchi Baoqing said, blinking at Qin Mu.
"Hehe, I guarantee that the Duke of E will be satisfied," Qin Mu said confidently with a smile.
As they were talking, Cheng Huailiang led his men into the courtyard carrying jars of various sizes.
"You've come at the perfect time," Qin Mu said happily.
"Brother Qin," Cheng Huailiang said with a smile, cupping his fists in a respectful greeting.
"Don't be like that, you two are actually a bit older than me." Qin Mu then remembered this and waved his hand.
“My old man said that Brother Qin, you have a sharp mind, and he’ll listen to you in everything,” Cheng Huailiang said with a smile.
"Old fox!" Yuchi Baoqing rolled his eyes.
Cheng Huailiang ignored him and said with a smile, "Brother Qin, where do you think we should put the things?"
"Sort them and put them inside. Dongmei, take them inside," Qin Mu instructed.
"It's young master."
"Brother Qin, now that the wine has arrived, may we begin?" Cheng Huailiang asked curiously.
"Okay, I'd like to try it too." Qin Mu agreed, then had someone bring over a bottle of wine and asked Qin Yong to start a fire.
This iron pot isn't big, but it's not small either. It's like a large wok from another world, with a big lid. The bottom surface area is larger than a modern steamer, which is to allow for more heat to be absorbed.
After cleaning, Qin Mu had someone pour the wine into the pot, put the lid on, and then put an empty wine jar underneath. He didn't know how the Yuchi family made that three-meter-long copper pipe.
It must be said that the Yuchi family's craftsmanship was truly excellent. The fire had been burning for a long time, yet not a single drop of steam escaped from the pot, which greatly surprised Qin Mu. Steam is known to have considerable power, and it was remarkable that even though the iron lid was heavy, not a single drop leaked out.
Touching the copper pipe, Qin Mu felt it had gotten much warmer, so he had someone wet a towel and wrap it around the pipe.
"The wine is in! The wine is in!" Cheng Huailiang, who had been looking around impatiently, exclaimed in surprise and rushed to the mouth of the copper tube, looking down intently at it.
A rich aroma of wine slowly wafted through the air, causing everyone's throats to involuntarily move and their mouths to gulp.
As the wine dripped faster and faster, its aroma grew stronger. Qin Mu had someone bring him a cup, took a little, and carefully licked it with his tongue.
"Let me savor it," Qin Mu thought, "it's spicy! I'd guess it's around 70 degrees Celsius, stronger than Erguotou, but a bit harsh." After a moment's thought, Qin Mu nodded and put down his cup.
"How is it?" Cheng Huailiang asked anxiously.
"It's alright," Qin Mu nodded.
"I'll give it a try," Cheng Huailiang said, his eyes lighting up. He then picked up a glass to get the wine.
"The liquor is too strong, drink less," Qin Mu advised.
Before Qin Mu could finish speaking, Cheng Huailiang had already taken a big gulp.
"Ugh!" Cheng Huailiang's eyes widened, his mouth tightly shut, and after a while he finally opened his mouth and exhaled a long breath, followed by continuous breathing.
"This liquor is so strong!" Cheng Huailiang said, wiping away the tears that stung his eyes.
"This is the original brew, it needs to be diluted before you can drink it. Who told you to be so fast? I couldn't even stop you in time," Qin Mu said with a smile.
He just tried it too. Although the liquor is very strong, it tastes better than what he's had before.
Qin Mu wasn't a wine connoisseur and couldn't distinguish between good and bad wine. He considered that the main characteristic of this wine was its purity. Recalling the records in the *Qimin Yaoshu* (Essential Techniques for the Common People), he learned that newly brewed wine should ideally be aged in a cellar for a period to remove any harshness. This wine, having undergone distillation, should also be considered a new wine.
"Hehe, I couldn't resist the aroma of the wine," Cheng Huailiang said with a laugh, his body swaying slightly as he stood up.
"Help him to the side and let him rest for a while," Qin Mu instructed his servants, noticing Cheng Huailiang's face was flushed and turning purple.
Feeling dizzy, Cheng Huailiang didn't try to be brave and went to sit down.
"Brother Qin, this wine smells wonderful!" Yuchi Baoqing said with delight, looking at Cheng Huailiang, who was slightly drunk.
"This is raw liquor. It needs to be aged in a cellar for a period of time before it can be blended with regular liquor," Qin Mu explained with a smile.
"Oh! I see."
"That's right, my method is just to purify the wine."
"Purifying and blending it is redundant. We might as well just drink it as is," said Yuchi Baoqing, scratching his head.
"This is different. By blending with raw liquor, the alcohol content can be controlled, and the taste can be adjusted accordingly. It's much better than drinking it like this now. The key is that the purified liquor is much stronger, which is incomparable to any other liquor on the market," Qin Mu explained.
"So, does that mean our wine will definitely sell well in the future?" Yu Chi Baoqing asked excitedly.
"Of course, our wine is unique. Do you think it will sell well?" Qin Mu countered.
"Haha, I'm rich!" Yuchi Baoqing's eyes widened as he grinned.
"That's true, but the most important thing right now is to build a brewery first," Qin Mu nodded.
"Wouldn't it be better to just buy wine from the market? It wouldn't be so troublesome," Yuchi Baoqing asked.
"Of course not. Buying and reselling wine all the time will eventually be discovered. This method is simple and easy to learn. Therefore, we still need to have our own brewery. That way, outsiders will only know that our wine is good," Qin Mu said, shaking his head.
“Yes, yes, if the workshop is staffed with family members, there’s no need to worry about leaks. And if the processes are further divided, even if some leaks occur, the impact won’t be significant,” Yuchi Baoqing nodded repeatedly. In that instant, he seemed to have become much smarter, not only devising a solution but also improving upon it.
“Why build a distillery? My family has one. If the old man knows we can brew such fine wine, he’ll definitely agree to let us have it,” Cheng Huailiang said, having recovered his composure.
"That's fine then. Let's have the Cheng family, the Yuchi family, my family, and the Duke of Wei's family join forces," Qin Mu nodded.
“But my family only knows how to forge. If I have to pay money, my dad will beat me to death!” Yu Chi Baoqing said, somewhat dumbfounded.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com