The cold wind is howling.
Dadada...
The ground vibrates!
A team of fast riders came from the northwest.
"The capital is just ahead, only fifty miles away at most. Let's work harder and try to get into the city before dark."
"General, we've been traveling for several hours. Even though we can handle it, the horses can't. Can we rest for half an hour?"
Gu Ting's eyes swept across the faces of each of his personal soldiers, all of whom looked exhausted.
He nodded. "If I remember correctly, there's a teahouse up ahead. We'll rest for half an hour at the teahouse."
"The general is mighty!"
The guards responded with a roar, and each of them was extremely excited.
I continued riding forward, and sure enough, a building appeared in front of me.
It's not a teahouse, but a wine shop.
"Haha, there's wine here. General, let's rest here, okay?"
Gu Ting nodded and emphasized, "Listen carefully, General. Each person is limited to one glass of wine. Anyone who dares to drink too much will be punished by military law!"
"Yes!" The personal guards responded in unison with an astonishing momentum, which immediately attracted the attention of the merchants passing by in the tavern.
"Look at that aura, he must be a soldier."
"Coming back from the Northwest, maybe it's the Northwest Army."
"They all look tough and powerful. They must be from the Northwest Army. Apart from the Northwest Army, soldiers from other places don't have this kind of momentum."
"A man should be like this!"
"That's all nonsense. Haven't you heard that a good man shouldn't be a soldier? A good man should study, become an official, and serve the court."
"This guy must be mentally ill."
"If he becomes stupid from studying, don't bother with him."
"Everyone is studying to become an official. Who will be stationed at the border? It turns out that studying has made them stupid and they don't do anything productive."
The merchants were quietly looking at and talking about Gu Ting and his group.
Gu Ting's personal guards were also looking around.
"As expected of the capital, such a remote tavern is actually full."
"This house is built in a strange way."
"You're not familiar with this, are you? This is a house built with cement. It's a popular way of building houses in Beijing these days."
The waiter came out with a smile on his face and warmly welcomed them into the tavern.
"What would you like to eat, my dear guests? Our menu is posted on the wall, just order according to it."
"Hey, isn't this just bullying people because they can't read?" a personal soldier muttered.
"Stop talking nonsense. It doesn't matter if you can't read, as long as the general can read."
Gu Ting stared at the menu that took up half the wall and said, "Two catties of wine, ten catties of pork head meat, ten catties..."
After we ordered, the waiter responded, "Okay. Please wait a moment, the food will be served soon. But I want to make it clear to you all that the wine we serve here is neither sorghum wine nor wheat wine, but sweet potato wine. If you don't mind, I'll serve it to you right away."
"Sweet potato wine?" The guards were confused. They had never heard of it.
The waiter laughed. "You all have just arrived in the capital, no wonder. Sweet potato wine is currently only sold in the Gyeonggi region. I guess many people outside of Gyeonggi haven't heard of it. But I think you all have heard of sweet potatoes."
"Nonsense, everyone knows sweet potatoes, they're heaven-sent food. There are people growing them in the northwest too, and the yield is incredibly high."
The waiter nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes! These sweet potatoes are not only high-yielding and filling, but did you know that they can also be used to make wine? This year, many farmers in the Gyeonggi region have made a fortune by growing sweet potatoes and selling them to wineries. The only downside is that sweet potato wine doesn't taste as good as sorghum or wheat wine. But sweet potato wine is cheap."
The guards were about to question him. How dare they sell them such bad-tasting wine? Did they think they were beggars? Could they not pay or what?
As a result, Gu Ting raised his hand to stop him.
Gu Ting looked at the waiter, waved his hand, and asked him to come forward two steps.
The guy was a little scared and was glared at by several bodyguards, so he had to take two steps forward and get very close to Gu Ting.
Gu Ting is handsome, but a little dark.
His voice was soft, which made the guy relax a little.
He asked, "Why does your store only sell sweet potato wine?"
The waiter hurriedly said, "Several soldiers have been in the barracks year-round, so I imagine they're unaware of the current situation. These past few years, we've been plagued by natural and man-made disasters, either drought or floods. I've heard from merchants from other places that some places haven't seen a drop of rain in three years, while others only see a month of rain. Those who are drought-stricken are dying, those who are flooded are dying, and grain production is declining."
Only in our area of the capital, the weather has been good in recent years. In addition, the ditches are unobstructed and there is irrigation from the Wei River, so there have been no natural disasters or man-made disasters.
Every soldier knew that brewing wheat wine required a vast amount of grain. Just one pound of wheat wine required several pounds of wheat, enough to save a life. The imperial court, aware of declining grain production, issued repeated orders prohibiting private brewing and the sale of grain wine without permission.
Of course, there were also wine shops that secretly sold grain wine. That was illegal, and if caught, they would definitely go to jail. Our boss was timid and law-abiding, saying he wouldn't sell it unless the court forbade it. But sweet potato wine was allowed to be sold freely; the court didn't restrict it.
After hearing this, Gu Ting laughed, "Could this sweet potato wine you're talking about also be produced by Sihai Trading Company?"
The clerk was excited when he heard this. "Master, you also know Sihai Trading Company, but you didn't expect it to be so famous." Master guessed correctly, this sweet potato wine was originally produced by Sihai Trading Company. Later, other winemakers followed suit and bought sweet potatoes from all over the place to make sweet potato wine.
Even though this sweet potato wine doesn't taste as good as grain wine, it sells quite well. Our shop alone can sell 100 to 200 kilograms a day. Even the villagers nearby come to our shop specifically to buy the wine.
As he was speaking, a little boy about ten years old, carrying a wine gourd, came in and shouted, "Boss, boss, give me two pounds of wine. My dad is waiting to drink, please hurry up."
The boss, Li Sheng, poked his head out from behind the counter and said, "Little Sanzi, has your father finished his wine again?"
"I'm done. Bring me two kilograms of wine. Here's the money."
Xiao Sanzi took out a few copper coins from his pocket, counted them one by one, and put them on the counter.
Li Sheng put away the copper coins and casually threw them into the drawer. He then filled a bamboo ladle with three spoonfuls of wine and poured it through the funnel into the wine pot. Not a drop spilled.
"Two pounds of wine, take it! Put the lid on tightly and don't spill it on the way, or your dad will beat you up."
"I know! The boss is so nagging." Xiao Sanzi took the wine jug, waved his hand, and ran out.
Li Sheng shook his head, you little brat, you're so clever.
When I grow up a little bit, I can be hired as a waiter in a restaurant.
Gu Ting retracted his gaze and continued to ask, "Is that kid from the nearby village?"
The man nodded and said, "Go down the side path and walk three miles to a village. The child is from that village."
"Can you make money selling sweet potato wine at such a low price?"
The waiter laughed. "Who would want to sell sweet potato wine if it's not profitable? You're right. It's just not much, just enough to make a living. It can't compare to grain wine. I heard that some people in the south use rice to make wine, but that's a waste of grain. No wonder the court has repeatedly issued orders not to allow private brewing."
Gu Ting smiled and said, "Give me two pounds of sweet potato wine. Let's taste it today and see how much better it is compared to grain wine."
The waiter responded loudly and quickly brought two kilograms of sweet potato wine.
The waiter said to Gu Ting, "Actually, the sweet potato wine tastes pretty good. Most people can't tell the difference. Master, try it and see how it tastes."
Gu Ting poured himself a glass, took a sip and savored the flavor.
“There is indeed some difference.”
"Master, you can actually taste the difference. That's amazing." The waiter gave a thumbs up.
Gu Ting laughed. "You just said that your boss is timid. I don't think so. Anyone who can open a tavern on a road like this must have some wealth and background. It's not possible."
Upon hearing this, the clerk immediately laughed and whispered, "Master, you think highly of my boss. To be honest, my boss is a refugee. Yes, the refugee you are thinking of. But he was one of the first refugees to settle in the capital, and he came at a good time."
Later, the Sihai Trading Company came up with a plan to help refugees buy homes, and my boss was the first to take the plunge. He borrowed money from the Sihai Trading Company, and with the help of the company, he came here to open a tavern. Unexpectedly, it actually worked.
Gentlemen, do you know that all the ingredients and drinks in our shop are supplied by Sihai Trading Company? Even the house, the chairs and benches, and even the dishes and chopsticks were purchased by Sihai Trading Company. Every month, my boss has to pay a sum of money back to Sihai Trading Company.
"My boss isn't necessarily a great businessman, he's just lucky, always being among the first to reap the profits. On the other hand, a local like me still has to work for my boss for wages. I wonder when I'll be able to board the Sihai Trading Company and share in the profits."
After listening to the clerk's nagging, Gu Ting smiled even more brightly, "According to what you said, Sihai Trading Company treats those refugees very well."
"Even their own parents aren't that lucky," the clerk said with envy. "They've all bought houses and settled down in the capital, and some have even become bosses. Their ancestors must have been so lucky to have them. But the refugees who came to the capital later didn't have such good luck."
Gu Ting smiled and said, "Si Hai Trading Company is quite big, right?"
"That's right! Master, look at our store. Everything from food, clothing, housing, and daily necessities, from small items like a pair of chopsticks and a soup spoon to large items like entire houses, is contracted by Sihai Trading Company. Just imagine how big the business must be."
Gu Ting took out a few copper coins and rewarded the waiter.
The waiter took the tip and smiled happily, "Sir, please wait a moment. I'll go to the kitchen and rush to serve you the food."
"Go!"
Gu Ting looked at the boss behind the counter. Who would have thought that this boss was a refugee who was almost starving to death a few years ago.
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