Linjiang City, Linjiang Academy.
Dong Shulan, dressed in white, sat quietly in front of a lotus pond, holding a book in her hand with a calm expression on her face.
The lotus leaves in the lotus pond are stretched out and the flowers are in bud, waiting to bloom.
"Miss, the head of the Fu family left Linjiang at noon today and headed towards the lower village. He said he wanted to visit the villagers during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Dong Shulan turned a page of the book and whispered, "This old fox...where's his son?"
"Miss, his son is traveling with him."
Dong Shulan took a deep breath, remaining calm.
"Tonight at the Linjiang Poetry Gathering... I originally wanted to meet with the Fu family's Patriarch to apologize for what happened to his son... and to discuss the grain merchant issue. He unexpectedly left early. Do you think he did it on purpose or... accidentally?"
The maid Xiaoqi beside her was stunned for a moment, "Your servant, I don't know."
"I'm just saying... the Linjiang Poetry Festival. Since it's a poetry festival, the talented scholars of Linjiang shouldn't be left out, regardless of their close ties. Banshan Academy should especially show them respect and tell the students that Linjiang's Master Li, Master Tian, and others will be participating, and Master Qin will be there too. As for the four major cloth merchants and the three major grain merchants... let's leave them alone for now."
Xiaoqi bowed and was about to turn around and leave when Dong Shulan suddenly put down the book and smiled.
"Make arrangements. I'm leaving the city early tomorrow morning."
"Where are you going, miss?"
"Shimomura!"
…
The night wind swayed the lanterns, and the yellowish light filled the courtyard.
Fu Xiaoguan and Bai Yulian sat opposite each other, and four cold dishes were already placed on the stone table.
"Where's the wine?"
"Hold on."
Bai Yulian carefully looked at the young man in front of her. The sixteen-year-old boy had a face as calm as a mountain and eyes as deep as water.
He saw the tension on the boy's face when he was hit by the knife in the morning, but he didn't expect that the boy didn't dodge in panic.
If that knife fell, the boy would be cut in two.
When he turned in the air, he knew that it was the young master, but he still chopped down the knife without any other intention, just to scare him.
The knife did not scare the young man. In fact, because of the knife, the young man actually wanted to kill him.
If he can really brew that strong liquor, there is no harm in following him. At least this young man has courage that ordinary people do not have.
Fu Xiaoguan didn't look at Bai Yulian, nor did he chat with her. He lowered his head and looked at the booklets.
When Chunxiu brought two more plates of cooked food, hurried footsteps were heard at the door of the inner courtyard.
"The wine is here."
Fu Xiaoguan said casually, still without looking up.
Bai Yulian looked over Fu Xiaoguan's shoulder and saw Master Fu trotting in with Zhang Ce Yi Yu and Master Liu.
"It's done, it's done!"
Master Fu shouted excitedly.
"Master, Master, this method really works!"
Fu Xiaoguan closed the booklet and put it in his arms, saying with a smile, "Thank you all for your hard work. How about... try it together?"
Master Liu hurriedly replied, "My humble servant and the host's steward have already tasted this wine before it was released. Master, please try it. How does it compare to your expectations?"
Official Fu sat down with a chuckle and said to Chunxiu, "Bring the wine!"
Chunxiu picked up the pot and poured wine. The aroma of wine filled the air. Bai Yulian's nostrils twitched slightly and her eyes suddenly lit up.
He picked up the wine glass, put it to his nose and took a deep sniff, "Good wine!"
He raised the glass and drank it in one gulp. The fiery taste burned his taste buds and went down his throat, as if exploding in his chest.
He held his breath for a moment, took a deep breath, slapped his hands on the stone table, and shouted again: "Good wine!"
"Is it done?" Fu Xiaoguan asked with a smile.
"Okay!" Bai Yulian agreed without hesitation. Fu Xiaoguan was overjoyed. "Chunxiu, fill up Brother Bai's glass. Let's drink together!"
The wine was strong, not mellow. For Bai Yulian and Fu Daguan, who were used to drinking low-alcohol wine, this wine was already top-grade, better than Hong Xiuzhao's scented wine. But for Fu Xiaoguan... this stuff was really not good.
"How much is this wine?" asked Mr. Fu, looking at Master Liu.
"The yield of the finished wine is extremely low... I estimate that one jin of grain yields about two liang of wine (note: one jin is ten liang)."
Official Fu frowned and muttered, "This wine is brewed from rice. One dan of rice equals one hundred and twenty catties, and its market price is two thousand wen. So one catty of rice costs seventeen wen, and two liang of wine... doesn't that mean the cost of one liang of wine is nine wen?"
He looked up at Chuck and asked, "Yu Fu Ji's wine...how much is one ounce?"
"My Lord, Yu Fu Ji's wine is five cents per ounce." He paused, then added, "This wine is different from Yu Fu Ji's. Previous wines were made from wheat or rice, and they haven't been distilled. One pound of grain makes over four ounces of wine."
Official Fu thought for a moment and said, "In that case, the price of this wine should be at least fifteen coins to make a profit."
Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'll set the price of this wine."
"Okay." Official Fu did not object. After all, this wine was made by his son, and Yu Fu Ji was his own. He could sell it however he wanted as long as he was happy.
It was only a few days later, when people lined up to buy the wine at Yu Fu Ji, that Official Fu was truly shocked when he heard the price of the wine!
It turns out that this money can be earned so easily?
"Does this wine have a name?" Bai Yulian asked.
"Just call it...Xishan Qiongjiang."
“What a name!”
"Master Liu, from now on, all original wines will be distilled using this method. You should conduct further research and find ways to improve it. Also... Butler Zhang, find a cool and shady spot at the foot of the west mountain and have someone dig a cellar. Make sure it's deep and large."
The two men accepted the offer and left. Neither Fu Daguan nor Bai Yulian asked what the cellar was used for. They just thought that the young master wanted to store some ice in the winter to use for cooling off in the summer.
There wasn't much wine in the pot, and by the time the moon was above the willows, it was all gone, mainly because Bai Yulian drank too much.
He was a little tipsy and laughed to himself, but after drinking half a catty, it felt like he had drunk more than three catties before. It was really good wine.
"Thank you, sir. Goodbye."
Bai Yulian stood up, and Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand calmly, watching his back disappear behind the moon gate.
Only the father and son and Chunxiu were left in the courtyard.
Chunxiu entered the mansion at a young age, and Official Fu did not treat her as an outsider.
"My son..." Official Fu blushed slightly, fanning himself with a fan and holding a pot of tea. "If your mother were still alive, how happy would she be?"
Official Fu said a lot that night, perhaps because he was drunk, or perhaps because he had suppressed these words in his heart for too long.
He talked about the absurd things Fu Xiaoguan had done in the past, how the wealthy merchants in Linjiang flattered him in public but secretly sneered at him. He talked about how someone's son had passed the imperial examination and was about to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and how someone else's son was good at making money and had great literary talent, etc.
Comparing one's son with other people's sons may be a common problem among fathers. Fu Xiaoguan doesn't mind it. What's more, Fu Daguan is more praising his son who has repented.
"As the ancients said, a prodigal who returns is worth more than gold. My son... please don't waste this... good time!"
As Mr. Fu was talking, he fell asleep, with a smile on his slightly red fat face, which was the expression of relief.
Fu Xiaoguan just listened without saying a word. He felt a little more recognition for his father and a better understanding of his previous self.
…
After settling his father down, Fu Xiaoguan sat quietly in the room, thinking for a moment, and said to Chunxiu, "Xiu'er, grind the ink."
Chunxiu was not resistant to the name Xiu'er, and was even a little happy. She took the inkstone and carefully ground the ink, thinking that the young master had not touched a pen for... many years.
Fu Xiaoguan didn't want to write anything, but wanted to practice calligraphy.
I practiced it in elementary school in my previous life, but gave up since then. Now when I pick up a pen, I feel very clumsy.
The pen was suspended above the paper, and a drop of ink fell, staining a circle of ink on the paper, which spread out. The paper was then wasted.
"This paper...is terrible."
"Master, this is paper produced by Moxiangzhai. There is nothing better than this."
"Hmm... I understand."
I changed the paper and this time the pen fell.
Nan Gezi. Travel tour
The mountains and the singing have frowned brows, the waves flow like drunken eyes.
All tourists go up to the thirteenth floor.
I do not envy the singing and dancing of Zhuxi and ancient Yangzhou.
The wheat and millet are connected to the prosperous dynasty, and the jade boat is overturned by the jade instrument.
Whose water tune is singing the beginning of the song? The sound flies around the green mountains and stays in the evening clouds.
Fu Xiaoguan stopped writing and frowned. This brush is really difficult to control. These words... are really ugly!
Chunxiu came over and her eyes fell on the paper... These words really make it difficult for the young master.
Hey, the lyrics written by the young master are quite good.
Chunxiu could read, but she had no knowledge of poetry. It was just that the Yu Dynasty was a flourishing literary style and produced many talented people. For a girl of sixteen or seventeen like Chunxiu, stories of talented men and beautiful women were of course very attractive. She had heard some poems passed down by the talented men of Linjiang, especially the four talented men of Linjiang. Every time they held a poetry meeting, they would produce extremely beautiful poems, which were widely sung among the people.
But the lyrics were written by his own young master... this somewhat subverted Chunxiu's understanding.
"Who did this?"
After finishing "Three Dynasties Poetry Relief", Fu Xiaoguan went to the Fu Mansion Library again and confirmed that there were no great people in this world as there were in the past. So, he smiled faintly and said, "This is written by this young master!"
Chunxiu opened her mouth and took a breath of cold air, "Master..."
"Um."
"Nothing."
"Don't believe me? Bring me some paper and I'll write another one for you."
Chunxiu spread out the paper, looking forward to it. Fu Xiaoguan picked up his brush and wrote in one stroke.
The handwriting was still ugly, but Chunxiu was amazed by the poem.
The moon over the north bank of the Yangtze River fills the west building on a clear night.
When the clouds clear, the ice reveals a mirror, and in the depths of the waves, a jade hook sinks.
When will the waxing and waning of the moon end?
The stars are far away, and the wind and frost usher in the new autumn.
The red osmanthus knows not the sorrow of falling, and Su E should believe in the sorrow of separation.
The sky is vast and boundless.
Pause, "How?"
Chunxiu's heart almost jumped out, "Excellent!"
"Of course it's great!" Fu Xiaoguan laughed, put down his pen, stood up and walked around the room, "Master, was I really ridiculous before?"
Chunxiu nodded, then thought about it and shook her head quickly.
The young master is a scholar. Now he is writing poems. In the past, he must have been keeping a low profile!
Yes, that’s right. Otherwise, who would believe it if I told others?
Chunxiu was not sure what level these two poems were, but she instinctively felt that they should be very high. If these two poems were released, the talented man of Linjiang would probably have a place as the young master.
Fu Xiaoguan rubbed Chunxiu's head, stood in front of the window, looked at the stars and the moon in the sky, and said in silence for a moment: "Actually... Young Master, I was really ridiculous before, but I won't do that anymore."
"It's late at night, let's go home and find...sleep."
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