Anti-counterfeiting label
In that instant, the wine shop became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop!
What?! Taibai Wine Shop is selling counterfeit wine!
No way! The people who just paid for the wine didn't look too good. They spent ten taels of silver to buy fake wine?
Chen Zheng became even more smug when he heard her admit it herself.
"Everyone heard it! They've admitted it! Taibai Wine Shop admits they were selling counterfeit wine!"
Fu Zhiqiao looked serious, her dark eyes seemingly able to reflect the thoughts in people's hearts: "It's true that the wine jar belongs to my family, but the wine itself is another matter."
The wine is real, but it's been diluted with water. It's like putting a fake product in a genuine packaging box, and most people can't tell the difference just by looking at it.
Chen Zheng's smile froze before he could even wipe it off.
"What...what do you mean?"
The onlookers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.
"This is indeed Taibai wine, but it has been diluted with water. If you don't believe me..."
Fu Zhiqiao paused, then pointed to a wine cabinet that covered an entire wall behind him: "All the wines in my shop are here. You can choose any jar from all of them to taste and see if there's anything wrong with our Taibai wine."
Fu Zhiqiao said to Chen Zheng, "Since you say there's something wrong with our wine, pick any jar from this wall."
Chen Zheng didn't make a move; he was completely bewildered by this whole situation.
Fu Zhi Qiao turned to look at the crowd, "If Young Master Chen won't choose, then please, everyone, make your choice!"
The onlookers became quite animated, chiming in with their own opinions, and eventually elected an elderly man who seemed to be quite respected on the street.
The old man stroked his white beard: "Second row, seventh jar."
"Someone come here!"
Fu Zhiqiao gave a call, and the shop assistants immediately grabbed a dozen cups and got to work. Then she selected some people from the onlookers, and some volunteered to be witnesses.
Soon, both sets of wine were poured.
Fu Zhiqiao pointed to the two rows of wine glasses on the table and said, "The top row is the wine that Young Master Chen brought, and the bottom row is the new wine from the shop. Both jars of wine were poured in front of everyone, so there's no way to fake it. Now, please come and taste them."
The first drink was the Taibai wine in Chen Zheng's hand, and Fu Zhiqiao gestured for him to drink.
However, no one stepped forward. What if they made someone sick from drinking? The ten people who came to taste the wine stood there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Defu stepped forward and took the initiative to drink a cup first: "I have already drunk this wine, and I am still standing here perfectly fine. Don't worry, everyone, the wine is not poisoned, it was just diluted with water."
Seeing that he had no problems after drinking, the others also started to pick up the bottles in the top row and taste them carefully.
This Taibai liquor isn't as good as I've heard! But if I say his liquor is bad in front of the owner, will I face retaliation later?
Seeing their hesitant expressions, Fu Zhiqiao encouraged them, "Please feel free to speak your opinions."
"The color of the wine is indeed novel, and the aroma is also very good, but it is a bit astringent."
"The wine has a strong aroma, but it tastes weak and lacks a finish."
"That's an overstatement. This Taibai wine isn't as outstanding as the rumors suggest."
After hearing everyone's comments, Chen Zheng nodded, feeling even more like he had been ripped off, having wasted ten taels of silver.
Defu cautiously reminded him: "The wines in the lower row are freshly opened in the wine shop. They are genuine Taibai wines, with a strong flavor. It is best to sip them slowly."
The taste of the first glass of wine had already dampened everyone's expectations.
The group began drinking their second glass of wine. After finishing it, no one spoke. This glass of Taibai wine was completely different from the previous one.
As the liquor enters the throat, a spicy sensation arises, followed by a faint aroma of rice lingering on the lips and teeth.
"Are both glasses of Taibaijiu? How come there's such a big difference?"
"Smooth on the palate, with a rich aroma, truly a fine wine!"
A slightly plump young man with a ruddy complexion said, "Yes, this is the first time I've ever drunk such good and strong wine."
The old man tasted it carefully, then nodded: "It's spicy, hot, and strong, but not too sour. It goes down smoothly and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. This glass of wine is better than the first one."
Everyone agreed that the second glass tasted better and that it was the real Taibaijiu.
"That's impossible!" Hearing the surrounding discussions, Chen Zheng's face turned ugly. He picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back, and drank it down.
The strong aroma of the liquor immediately filled his lungs. The taste was spicy, but upon closer tasting, it had a slightly sweet aftertaste. So this is what real Taibai liquor is like. Chen Zheng himself was quite shocked. He had bought fake liquor.
Diluting fine wine with water is a complete waste! Those who have already tasted Taibai wine are indignant.
Just then, Song Dali returned with the doctor from Jishetang.
After carefully examining Chen Ze's pulse, the senior doctor said that he had diarrhea due to deficiency and cold, "His abdomen was bloated and uncomfortable, and his diarrhea was aggravated by eating raw or cold foods."
The old doctor's diagnosis was similar to what the quack doctor meant by "indigestion and diarrhea." Chen Ze was indeed injured by his diet. He already had a weak spleen and stomach, and poor digestive function. Too much food accumulated in his intestines, coupled with a few cups of cold wine, caused his digestive system to completely malfunction, resulting in abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Taibai wine was merely the trigger; it wasn't the culprit.
Chen Zheng's face flushed red and then turned pale, but he continued to be stubborn: "Even so, it doesn't prove that your wine is completely fine. You just admitted that the wine is fake."
His relatives behind him chimed in, "That's right! You said it yourself that it was fake alcohol."
Fu Zhiqiao then asked Chen Zheng, "Sir, are you sure you came to buy this wine yourself? Was the seal intact when you opened the wine jar?"
Chen Zheng had no recollection of these details.
In front of everyone, Fu Zhiqiao took out a jar of new wine and pointed to the label on it, explaining: "As you can see, every jar of wine produced by Taibai Wine Shop has its own label."
Then, the appearance of the wine jar was shown. "The real Taibai wine jar has a raised 'Fu' character mark on the bottom, and there is also a 'Fu' character seal on the sealing paper. All three are indispensable."
She specifically implemented triple anti-counterfeiting measures, so you can easily tell the difference if you look carefully when buying. Moreover, once the stamp pattern on the seal is damaged, it cannot be restored, and to open the wine jar, you must tear the seal. A wine with a damaged seal is obviously not genuine.
Fu Zhi Qiao's question seemed to bring Chen Zheng back to his senses, because the wine was indeed not bought by him personally, but by Xiao Shi.
His silence made the onlookers realize something.
"Chen Zheng, tell me quickly, you didn't buy this wine yourself."
The questioning pulled Chen Zheng back from his reverie. Faced with the questioning looks from those around him, he lost all his arrogance.
Chen Zheng confessed that he bought the jar of Taibai wine from Xiao Shi.
Yesterday, the results of the county examination were released. In the afternoon, Chen Ze came home from school and said that he had passed the preliminary examination and become a student. Moreover, the teachers in the academy thought highly of him and said that with his level of knowledge, he was very likely to pass the county examination next year.
A scholar, that's a scholar, a scholar who can exempt their family from taxes and corvée labor!
Overjoyed, Chen Zheng immediately said he would buy fine wine and food to celebrate with his younger brother. Chen Ze was the only scholar in their Chen family, and now he had a chance to pass the imperial examination and become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Naturally, Chen Zheng, as the older brother, would not be stingy and said he would buy the best wine to celebrate. However, things went wrong after they drank it.
He rushed to the city and heard that the city people were drinking Taibai wine, so he came to buy some. However, he could only buy one jar of Taibai wine at a time and had to queue. Chen was in a hurry to buy wine to prepare a banquet at home, so he added 20 coins and asked a servant to help him buy it.
The "Xiao Shi" is a group of idle people who have plenty of time. Their daily work is to be available to guests at any time, to relay messages and deliver items, and to earn a little money in return.
In the city, most wealthy families, though relatively well-off, couldn't afford to keep multiple maids and servants. When things got busy, they would call on their servants to run errands.
"Do you remember that little envoy's name?" someone asked him.
Chen Zheng shook his head: "I only know that his name is Lao San, and I don't know anything else."
"Was the seal on the Taibai liquor torn when you received it?"
"This... I didn't notice."
As everyone chimed in with their own comments, the truth quickly came to light, and those who had been drawn in by the commotion also got the gist of it.
The errand boy accepted two people's requests to buy wine, but the wine shop limited each person to one jar. He only managed to buy one jar, but still wanted to make money twice. He quickly came up with a foolish plan: since the wine was transparent, he could dilute it with water to make two jars and sell them, thus earning two delivery fees and an extra jar of wine.
Those around Chen Zheng couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. He was unlucky to have run into a cunning and treacherous clerk. Usually, people hired clerks through acquaintances or introductions; it was rare to see someone hire a complete stranger.
I wonder which unlucky soul managed to buy the remaining half-jar of wine.
Well... just consider yourself unlucky!
Fu Zhiqiao never expected that the unique transparent color of Taibai wine had been exploited by someone who added some water to it. The color remained the same, and the aroma of the wine was still present. People who had never drunk the original Taibai wine would hardly be able to detect it.
After passing through a middleman, four catties of wine can be sold as eight catties of liquor, and can be sold for twenty taels in one transaction. What a clever trick.
Fu Zhi Qiao didn't mind the small amount of money, but these people were climbing over her shoulders to get ahead, using Taibai Wine's reputation to swindle people. If this continued, wouldn't it just ruin Taibai Wine's reputation?
She couldn't stand it; the method for identifying Taibai liquor had to be promoted.
Now the truth is out; it wasn't a problem with the alcohol at all.
The diluted Taibai wine happened to be drunk by Chen Ze, who had a weak stomach, resulting in this farce.
At this moment, Chen Zheng was so ashamed that he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. He lowered his head and was too embarrassed to speak. The person who had spoken up for Chen Zheng earlier was also quite embarrassed.
Fu Zhi Qiao paid for the consultation and medicine earlier. Chen Zheng's back was already soaked with cold sweat: "Mr. Fu, I'm so sorry..."
Fu Zhi Qiao waved her hand, the misunderstanding cleared up. Since the other party was also a victim and he had sincerely apologized, she couldn't pursue the matter any further.
"Every jar of wine sold by Taibai Wine Shop can be verified. Everyone must remember that genuine Taibai wine has three anti-counterfeiting labels. All three are indispensable; if any one is missing, it is a fake!"
She cupped her hands in a gesture of respect to the onlookers: "If anyone says that our shop sells counterfeit alcohol in the future, I hope you can help clarify the situation."
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