Chapter 37 Jade Plaque
The following day, at the Lotus Road mansion in the west of the city, a carriage carrying wine stopped in front of the gate, and the aroma of wine filled the deep alley.
Old Chen hadn't expected anyone to come to his door today, but fortunately, a space had already been cleared out where the carriage was parked.
The truck was loaded with the results of Yining's two months of brewing, distilled spirits made using the distillation method.
The government implemented a system of monopolizing alcohol production, which was controlled by the government. Private brewing and selling of alcohol was prohibited. Anyone who wanted to brew alcohol had to pay a large tax to the government.
Too busy lately, Shang Yuji handed over the distillation method to Yi Ning and busied herself planning where the liquor would go.
There are four possible destinations: first, the government will sell them to restaurants; second, they will be given to the clinics of the two senior doctors, Yan Qing and Fang Mu; third, they will be sent to the army; and finally, a portion will be kept to entertain guests visiting the mansion.
The alcohol content of alcoholic beverages is currently low. Once distilled spirits are introduced to the market, they will inevitably attract a surge in demand. At least the three major restaurants will make large purchases to increase their competitiveness.
The reason given to the two senior doctors and the military personnel was actually the same: highly distilled liquor is better at killing bacteria. However, the problem is that it is suitable for emergency use, and sometimes improper handling can irritate the wound.
The two senior doctors, being highly skilled physicians, found that high-proof distilled liquor was a perfect complement to their expertise.
The purpose of sending it to the army is twofold: firstly, the north is bitterly cold, and strong liquor can help resist the harsh cold; secondly, in the event of war, this liquor could be used to treat wounds in an emergency, perhaps saving another life. In the face of life and death, as long as one can live, any method that can be used will be used, regardless of whether it will irritate the wound.
As for the wine served to guests at home, she will no longer drink it.
Even the low-alcohol drinks at Lianyueyinglou could make Shang Yuji dizzy, so she eventually had to admit that she was a lightweight. She offered this stronger distilled liquor without any thanks.
In fact, we can also cooperate with the Wanshang Alliance. The Fulai Inn, which is controlled by the Wanshang Alliance, occupies half of Da'an, and Jianghu travelers come and go in the Fulai Inn.
These江湖客 (jianghu ke) are known for their love of drinking; it would be a loss not to sell to them.
If fate allows, she might even witness these drunken martial arts practitioners gain enlightenment from their wine and develop the unpredictable Drunken Fist.
Shang Yuji ordered someone to move the wine to the kitchen. From outside the door, the laughter of Elder Yi could be heard from afar: "I wondered whose wine smelled so intoxicating. It turns out it's from your family, girl. I must have a taste."
"Senior, take as much as you like to drink. I'll replenish it if you finish it."
"Then I won't be polite!"
After saying this, Yi Sha walked to the carriage, picked up a jar of wine and went to the main hall. He opened the jar, and a strong aroma of wine wafted out. He exclaimed, "Good wine!"
She couldn't wait any longer, so she poured herself a bowl of wine, drank it down in big gulps, and finished the bowl in the blink of an eye. Then she put the bowl down and sighed, "It's even more fragrant and wonderful than the Tibetan wine I drank ten years ago."
"Haha, I want to see if that old man can refuse this wine." Yi Sha stood up, sealed the wine, and said, "Little girl, keep this jar safe for me. I'll be right back. Wait for my good news."
As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up an unopened jar of wine and strode out of the mansion.
Seeing her leave decisively, Shang Yuji quickly called out, "Today's martial arts..."
Yi Sha didn't turn around, but waved his hand and said, "That's enough practice, you guys take a break."
Shang Yuji originally intended to ask Jiang Xi about learning Gu again, and at least give Yi Sha a timetable for practicing martial arts and learning Gu, but seeing that she came and went in a hurry, she had no choice but to plan to discuss the matter another time.
May everything go well for you, senior!
Soon after receiving the notice of class suspension, Jiang Xi ran to the lobby, smelled the lingering smell of alcohol, and asked in confusion, "Yun Xiao, have you been drinking?"
"No."
Jiang Xi replied with a mixed tone, "Okay."
"?" Shang Yuji glanced sideways, wondering what was going on with that tone of both joy and disappointment.
"Drinking is bad; it'll give you a headache," Jiang Xi said with a laugh, as if her previous tone had been a delusion.
He pointed to the small wooden box she was holding up: "What's this?"
"I need to go to the clinic. This is for the two senior doctors. Would you like to come along?"
"good!"
They handed the task of moving the wine to Wang Si, and the two quickly packed up and left.
Old Chen was sweeping snow in a corner outside the mansion when the two passed by and greeted him.
Wang Si and Lao Chen were both busy with other matters, and since they had nothing to do today, they decided to go to the clinic.
After the snow stopped, many people were shoveling snow in front of their doors. Children played in the snow piled up, and vendors opened their doors early, with laughter and shouts filling the air.
A vendor spotted Jiangxi and waved familiarly, saying, "Young master, we have hot three-line noodles today. Would you like to bring some back for your daughter?"
Someone nearby laughed at him, saying, "Don't you even look who's next to him?"
"Oh, the young lady is here too! Would you two like to try my Pian'erchuan noodles? One bowl will warm you up!"
"..."
Jiang Xi replied to each of them, and it took the two of them quite a while to extricate themselves from the vendors' enthusiasm.
Shang Yuji could understand why they were so enthusiastic.
Anyone who sees a handsome young man who is polite and never misses a thing would want to tease him.
Sometimes, seeing him standing weakly to one side, she would want to bully him.
"You said you could hear insect speech, so were you able to hear it before?"
"No... Huigu said that after practicing martial arts, her hearing improved. Hearing their vibrations is the beginning of understanding insect speech. Otherwise, you have to get close to them and carefully observe their changes."
"You met with them?"
"Yes, I met her in the backyard earlier. She talked to me all the way. Since Master didn't come, I said goodbye to her and came to find you."
"Don't agree yet. We need to discuss it with the senior members, otherwise the timing will clash."
"Um!"
The two chatted idly, unaware of the passage of time, until they stopped in front of the clinic.
The young apprentice led the two into the house. Shang Yuji walked in and, sure enough, saw Yan Qing and Fang Mu after pushing open the door.
They arrived early, and apart from them, no one else was there to see a doctor.
After saying "good," Yan Qing wrinkled his nose and said, "Little girl, you've been drinking? You smell strongly of alcohol, but it must be good wine."
Shang Yuji denied it: "No, it's just the smell of alcohol. Is it still there after walking all this way?"
Fang Mu: "The smell isn't strong, don't mind it. It's just that my senior brother has a keen sense of smell."
Shang Yuji: "I've come to your door today because I have something to discuss with you."
Yan Qing: "Were they the guests from your residence yesterday?"
"Exactly."
Afterwards, Shang Yuji told the two doctors the news in detail, and Yan Qing's expression became more and more solemn as he listened.
"So it's a Heart-Connecting Gu..." Yan Qing muttered.
"Senior brother, do you know about this?"
Yan Qing nodded, looked at everyone, and couldn't help but sigh: "The memory is too distant, and I only glanced at it, so I don't remember it very clearly. But there is one thing that Aunt Hui didn't tell you: do you know what the Heart-Connecting Gu was originally used for?"
Shang Yuji replied with a puzzled look: "Save people?"
Yan Qing shook his head: "Let me tell you a story. There was once a Gu practitioner from the Southern Frontier who was troubled by his lack of talent and was unable to create good Gu, which led to him going mad. So he thought, why can't I raise Gu that can enhance the talent of Gu practitioners? But his talent was really not good, and he was unable to cultivate Gu in his entire life."
Later, a junior learned of his experience, took away the Gu he had not fully nurtured, and used a person... to create Gu. The Gu was successfully created, but it improved the talent of the person who served the Gu, not the junior's.
The younger generation was naturally dissatisfied that they had worked so hard only to become someone else's dowry, and wanted to take it for themselves.
The Gu Master harbors deep hatred for the descendant who used him to raise Gu, and forcibly cultivates the Gu within his body into a Heart-to-Heart Gu. No matter what, if someone other than a Heart-to-Heart Gu tries to take it, both the Gu Master and the Heart-to-Heart Gu will die.
Shang Yuji listened attentively, but her brows furrowed as she listened.
Yan Qing didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "In the end, the person died and the Gu died. The Gu formula was passed down at that time, but it was shelved and forgotten. I didn't expect to hear its name here today."
“Many sorrowful things stem from greed,” Fang Mu sighed from the side.
Shang Yuji, however, seized upon another point: "Improving talent?"
“Yes.” Yan Qing glanced at Jiang Xi. “If Jiang has good talent, and with the enhancement from the Heart-to-Heart Gu… the Gu witchcraft school is about to produce a prodigy.”
The surprised expressions on the faces of those in the room did not affect Jiang Xi. He seemed not to understand the weight of Doctor Yan's words, and remained huddled in his chair, his clear eyes looking back.
Yan Qing was furious when he saw him sitting there blankly. This supposedly brilliant and talented young man was actually a fool!
Fortunately, Jiang was being watched over by Shang Xiaoni. Otherwise, if he had been taken advantage of by someone who used this power against him, he didn't even want to think about the consequences.
Thinking of this, Yan Qing said with lingering fear, "Little girl, you should keep an eye on him. I'm worried about him."
Shang Yuji's long eyelashes trembled as she suddenly recalled her hypothesis from yesterday: the Second Prince was using Jiang Xi's influence to control the court...
“I will!” she replied in a deep voice.
In order to defeat the Second Prince, she had to keep Jiang Xi by her side at all times.
Jiang Xi realized that the two were talking about him, reached out and grabbed Shang Yuji's sleeve, and whispered, "I won't run around."
Shang Yuji replied with a smile, "I'll keep a close eye on you."
After she finished speaking, Jiang Xi's cheeks flushed, her eyes were moist as she looked at her, and her voice was soft and gentle, like a shy pink hibiscus: "Mmm."
Fang Mu smiled and said, "It's so good to be young."
Yan Qing glanced at him, and although he didn't say a word, Fang Mu could read a lot from his face.
After a moment, Shang Yuji took out the small wooden box from his arms, placed it on the table, and opened it. Inside were two exquisitely crafted jade tokens.
Yan Qing picked up a piece and asked, "What is this?"
"Jade tablets for the two doctors."
The jade plaque was carved with the character "Zhou". Fang Mu, faster than Yan Qing, put the jade plaque down: "Why are you giving this to us?"
Shang Yuji explained, "These past few days, Doctor Yan and Doctor Fang have worked hard to write the 'Daily Medical Handbook.' This is a token of access given to you by the Princess. If you need anything, you can go to the shop run by the Princess and get what you want without paying any money."
Yan Qing looked at the sky and the ground, but not at the token: "You also contributed to this, little girl, so I won't take it. You can take it."
Fang Mu said kindly, "Yes, Miss Shang's 'hygiene tips' are really vivid and interesting."
"Well, what a pity. The princess's shop is preparing to stock new distilled spirits, which are excellent for 'sterilization and disinfection'..."
"What kind of liquor? It's the high-proof distilled liquor that the pamphlet mentioned can clean wounds," Fang Mu exclaimed in surprise.
Although he didn't want to get involved with the powerful and wealthy, he had already foreseen what kind of trouble this wine would cause in the future when it came to treating his illness!
Fang Mu raised his head and looked at Yan Qing. They were both silent, yet they understood each other's thoughts.
Should I take that jade pendant?
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