Xie An was speechless. This couple in front of him had never heard of him before and did not recognize him.
Xie Xun chuckled and pointed to the red wine in his glass: "We met a few days ago, and you treated the three of us to this red wine that night."
Chen Jing suddenly realized, "So it's you guys? No wonder you looked familiar. Were you three brothers that night? How's the red wine?"
"It's beautiful, with a gorgeous color, like a ruby, and a smooth and mellow taste. I really like this red wine."
Xie An held the wine glass and gently swirled it, then held it to his nose and swirled it again, looking somewhat intoxicated.
"Pretending to be something you're not, like you're something special," Chen Qiuyu whispered in her ear. Ji Xia just smiled faintly.
“It’s really good. I’m very interested in your formula and would like to buy it outright. Name your price, and I’ll take it.” Xie An looked at her earnestly.
Chen Jing couldn't help but laugh: "What recipe? I'll just write it down for you if you want. You don't need to buy it. We never thought of making money from this."
Xie An looked at him seriously: "My request for a buyout comes with conditions. I hope that no one else besides me can know about this formula in the future."
Chen Jing stared in astonishment for a long while: "Are you serious?"
"Of course it's true? Do you think I'd waste my time joking with you?"
After a long pause, Chen Jing sighed: "If you want the formula, we can write it down for you, but we can't do it if you don't want others to know."
"Why can't you do it? Is it because you think the price is too low? You can name a reasonable price, as long as it's not excessive, we can accept it."
Xie An and Xie Xun still didn't take his words seriously, thinking it was just a bargaining tactic.
Chen Jing gave a helpless, bitter smile: "This isn't about money."
"Then what's the problem? You think the money is too little, so open more."
"Brother, it's really not about the money. Let me explain first."
Chen Jing quickly grabbed Xie An's arm: "It's not that I don't want to keep the formula a secret, it's just that the formula has already been leaked, so it can't be kept secret anymore!"
Xie An and Xie Xun paused, their expressions freezing: "It's already out?"
Chen Jing nodded vigorously, and explained with an apologetic wry smile: "Yes, that day when we were making wine from grapes, a bunch of my brothers were helping to move and pack things up. After we finished, we ate grapes and made wine at the same time. Several brothers, including the five of us, a dozen people saw what we were making. They all knew the recipe, the steps, and the requirements."
Hou Fang, Hou Xiaolian, and the others nodded repeatedly: "Yes, we all know. We made the grapes and wine together, of course we know!"
Xie An's expression was somewhat cracked. He had finally come up with a project, but before he could even get the core of it, the formula had already been leaked.
He took a deep breath and looked at his cousin Xie Xun: "I'd like to invite all of you brothers over for a meal to discuss this matter. We can pay them some money to keep quiet. What do you think?"
Chen Jing's lips moved slightly, and Hou Fang interjected from the side, "What are you trying to shut up about? Our wine hasn't been out for long, and at least three or four of them have already bought grapes and started making their own. I heard that quite a few people in their tenement are watching the spectacle, and who knows how many have learned from them."
Chen Jing said apologetically in a low voice, "Brother, others can brew their own, you can brew yours, it won't affect anything!"
Xie An remained silent with a dark expression. Xie Xun glanced at the girls next to him, who were happily eating roasted lamb with red wine, and couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
Just then, a waiter passed by serving dishes, and Xie Xun stepped forward impatiently and snapped, "What's going on? It's been almost an hour, and you still haven't served the food? What are you doing?"
Upon seeing that it was Xie Xun, the waiter apologized repeatedly, said he would urge the kitchen to hurry up, and left in a hurry.
Xie Xun returned to his seat, looking indignant: "Don't you have a solution to this? I told you, money isn't an issue."
Chen Jing frowned inwardly, wondering who it was.
We could have just given him the formula for free. Why make so many demands? Who cares about his little bit of money?
However, he is no longer the naive young man who came to the capital. Who knew that a random stone thrown from a building could hit several sons of high-ranking officials?
These two people have such a strong presence and are dressed so strikingly that it's clear at a glance they are not ordinary people.
While hesitating, Ji Xia ate the last piece of roasted mutton, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his fingers: "Comrade Xie, you want this recipe because you plan to use it to expand your business, right?"
Xie An nodded: "Of course, if we weren't in business, why would we need to monopolize the formula?"
“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry about the recipe, because you plan to mass-produce. The recipe isn’t the most important thing. What’s really important in making wine are the raw materials, temperature, environment, and other factors. These factors all affect the taste of the wine. Private winemaking is just something you make casually for your own consumption, so you don’t need to worry about others knowing the recipe.”
Xie An and Xie Xun immediately became interested upon hearing this: "What did you say? What's the most important thing in making red wine?"
"Raw materials, environment, temperature, humidity, etc., the recipe is really not important. In years when the grapes grow well, the red wine will naturally taste better."
Why is the 1982 Lafite so famous? It's not just because of Chow Yun-fat's advertising slogan in the movie, but also because the grapes in Bordeaux grew exceptionally well that year, and several Bordeaux wineries received top ratings for their red wines.
Ji Xia doesn't know much about red wine; she only occasionally read about it in online novels and watched movies in her previous life, and she remembers some of it.
"Nine of the world's most famous wineries, the top ten wineries, are in Bordeaux. Why? Because the climate there is ideal for grape growing, and the environment, climate, and temperature are perfect for making red wine. That's why there are so many red wineries there."
Xie An and Xie Xun looked dejected upon hearing this: "So, according to you, China isn't suitable for making wine?"
"No, that's not true. Nobody has studied it, so who knows? However, China is a vast country with abundant resources. If we can find a suitable environment, such as a place with suitable air humidity and temperature, and grapes suitable for winemaking, it should be possible."
Xie Xun's eyes darted around, and he winked at Xie An: "Comrade, I heard you say you have quite a deep understanding of red wine. How about we buy some grapes and you make some wine for us?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Xia couldn't help but glance at Chen Jing. After pondering for a while, Chen Jing nodded.
Ji Xia readily agreed: "Sure, but I'm only free on Sundays. I have classes on other days, so you'll have to coordinate your schedules."
"You're only free on Sunday? Don't you have tomorrow and the day after?"
Ji Xia thought for a moment and said, "Okay, tomorrow or the day after is fine too. If you want to make wine, prepare some tools in advance, and choose fresh, high-quality grapes."
She also reminded us to prepare the tools first, and to clean and disinfect them, soak the grapes in salt water for twenty minutes, and let them dry.
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