Large orders
The drinking challenge at the market was even more successful than Fu Zhiqiao had expected; she only set up her stall for five days before closing it down.
A new wine appeared in Qingzhou. Its liquid was as clear as water, but its potency was extremely strong. The reputation that one bowl could knock out a strong man quickly spread among the people. Soon, people came to Old Man Gao wanting to buy the wine from him. There were merchants and ordinary people, most of whom were just curious.
Peng Gaofei was one of them.
Peng Gaofei was a merchant from the capital. He was on his way back to the capital after delivering goods. When he passed through Qingzhou, he happened to come across a large market. He heard that merchants from all over the country were coming to select and sell goods at the market, so he decided to join in the fun. Unexpectedly, he discovered a novel kind of wine.
This excitement was definitely worthwhile; he had never seen such a special wine in all his years of traveling around the country.
Such a novel thing, if it were sold to the capital, those high-ranking officials and nobles... With the keen sense of a merchant, he immediately found Old Man Gao and said he wanted to buy some wine to take away.
Old Gao replied, "Sir, our wine shop will open in November." The implication was that there was no wine for sale at the moment.
Peng Gaofei frowned. He still needed to deliver the goods to the capital and could not linger here.
Everyone was disappointed that they couldn't buy any alcohol.
When business first came in, Old Gao was overjoyed, but Fu Zhi Qiao said that the wine wasn't ready yet and couldn't be sold, instantly extinguishing his enthusiasm.
As more and more people asked, Old Gao became numb to it. Whenever someone wanted to buy wine from him, he would say the same thing: "If you want to buy wine, wait until the shop opens."
It's not that Fu Zhiqiao doesn't want to sell, it's just that there isn't enough time. Distilled spirits require a long aging period in cellars, so they can't be sold immediately.
Freshly distilled spirits contain many impurities and need to be aged in vats to mature and refine them, allowing the spirit to become smoother and clearer, and the taste to become more mellow and full-bodied.
For the people of the Great Wei who were used to drinking cloudy wine, it was difficult for most of them to suddenly accept strong and spicy white wine, as it did not suit their taste.
The novelty is temporary. If you want them to buy Taibaijiu to drink regularly, you must ensure the quality from the start!
Cellaring can reduce the spiciness of wine and make it more mellow. This batch of wine has only been aged for three months, which is already quite short. She was just in a hurry to open the wine shop, otherwise she would have aged it for a year before selling it.
Money makes the world go round; if you're willing to spend money, you can buy wine!
Peng Gaofei said generously, "Shopkeeper, I'd like to buy four hundred jars of wine. Name your price!"
Buying 400 jars at once? Each jar weighs four jin (2 kg), so 400 jars would weigh nearly 2,000 jin (1,000 kg) of wine!
Old Gao's face was filled with undisguised excitement. This was a big deal, but they had only brewed a little over three thousand catties of wine, which wasn't enough to sell.
This… Old Gao couldn’t make up his mind, so he asked Peng Gaofei to wait a moment while he went to consult Fu Zhiqiao.
Seeing this, Peng Gaofei secretly felt smug. Sure enough, there's nothing money can't buy in this world!
At this moment, Fu Zhiqiao was in the courtyard discussing prices. Brewing wine requires a lot of grain, which costs eight coins per pound. Usually, it takes three or four pounds of grain to produce one pound of wine. Taibai wine also needs to undergo multiple distillations and purifications, so this figure needs to be reduced further. It is estimated that it takes four or five pounds of grain to produce one pound of Taibai wine.
A jar of wine weighs four catties. After careful consideration, Fu Zhiqiao set the price of Taibai wine at ten taels of silver.
Fu Zhi Qiao remembered that Li Bai's poem mentioned "a golden goblet of fine wine costs ten thousand coins." One thousand coins is equal to one tael of silver. If fine wine sells for ten thousand coins, then it's not unreasonable for her distilled liquor to sell for ten taels of silver as well!
After listening to Old Man Gao's report, Fu Zhiqiao came out and met with Peng Gaofei.
When Peng Gaofei saw Old Man Gao following behind a girl, he realized that Fu Zhiqiao was the one in charge.
Old Gao introduced Fu Zhi Qiao's identity. Peng Gao Fei was inwardly surprised but kept a calm expression. He bowed to the girl, who was a head shorter than him, and said, "Greetings, Boss Fu! My surname is Peng, my given name is Gao Fei, and I come from the Peng family in the capital..."
Fu Zhiqiao secretly sized him up. As expected of a well-traveled and knowledgeable businesswoman, he remained calm and composed. Most people would be so surprised that they couldn't close their jaws when they saw that she was the boss.
Peng Gaofei expressed his desire to buy the wine, and said that he did business in the capital, owned several shops, and had a caravan of two or three hundred people selling goods in various places.
Peng Gaofei was not an ordinary traveling merchant. He also made money by doing business with other countries on the border of the Great Wei. For example, spices that were common in the Western Regions became very precious when transported from the border to the Great Wei, and could be sold for dozens or even hundreds of times the price.
Caravans would travel back and forth, trading between the two sides, and could make a substantial profit on a single trip.
With over two hundred people, it was a very large caravan. Moreover, he had many business channels traveling north and south, making him practically a free logistics and transportation channel. Selling wine to him was equivalent to selling wine to various places.
This is indeed a big business.
Before coming in, Fu Zhiqiao had already decided that she was determined to close this deal.
The waiter brought over a wine jug and poured a glass of wine in front of Peng Gaofei. The aroma of the wine instantly filled the entire room. Fu Zhiqiao gestured for him to taste it.
Peng Gaofei couldn't wait to walk to the table. When he saw the wine, he couldn't hide his excitement. The white jade cup was filled with the wine, which was pure and transparent with a rich aroma.
He picked up the glass and brought it to his nose. The wine swirled slightly in the glass, rippling in waves, its rich aroma almost drawing one into a vortex.
Peng Gaofei couldn't help but swallow hard. This wine was indeed as rumored. When he arrived in Qingzhou, Fu Zhiqiao had already closed up shop, so he only heard the people's discussions and had never actually seen Taibai wine.
Fu Zhiqiao asked with a smile, "Would my Taibai wine meet Mr. Peng's standards?"
"Tsk tsk, that's potent!" Peng Gaofei took a sip, and the strong impact of Taibai liquor instantly captivated him.
"A rare and exquisite wine!" he praised without reservation. "I have never tasted such a fine wine since I was born."
Even the most famous wineries in the capital cannot produce such wine. If such a novel wine were brought to the capital, it would surely attract the attention of high-ranking officials and nobles.
Thinking about this only strengthened his resolve to buy the wine.
The two had a very pleasant conversation, and Peng Gaofei thought the deal was a done deal. But to his surprise, Fu Zhiqiao still refused to sell him the wine.
Fu Zhiqiao: "Sorry, Taibai wine is not available for sale at the moment."
Peng Gaofei was taken aback: "Huh?"
"Why?" Peng Gaofei couldn't understand the reason: "Why not sell them?"
Seeing that she still wouldn't budge on selling the wine, Peng Gaofei was puzzled. It's impossible to brew wine in just one or two jars. Why wouldn't she sell him the wine when she clearly had it?
Fu Zhiqiao smiled and said, "Because we haven't brewed it yet."
Peng Gaofei: "..."
"Mr. Peng, this wine requires a secret method to brew, so it cannot be sold casually before the time is right."
Things are valued for their rarity; if something can be bought easily, will it still seem precious?
Although there was a temporary shortage of goods, Fu Zhiqiao was unwilling to give up this major customer. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "How about this, Mr. Peng, we can prepare a batch of wine for you when the wine shop opens, but you will have to pay a deposit first."
He couldn't have bought two thousand catties of wine in one go if he hadn't made a reservation in advance.
Winemaking takes time, and the winery currently doesn't have enough wine to go around. Pre-selling with a deposit is a good way to buy more time for winemaking and to recoup some of the funds, reducing the financial burden.
“This…” Peng Gaofei hesitated. He had never seen a business done this way before. What if he paid but didn’t get the wine? It sounded unreliable.
It wasn't that he looked down on the other person, but rather that the other person was so young that it was hard to trust them easily.
Fu Zhiqiao saw through his thoughts and offered to sign a contract with him. She said that if the wine shop could not supply wine on time, he could sue her in the government. If he ordered wine regularly and in large quantities, she would give him 10% of the profits.
These words made Peng Gaofei's eyes light up. A 10% profit was a considerable discount. Why not take a gamble? He believed that this wine would definitely sell well in the capital.
"Mr. Peng, some things are worth waiting for, aren't they?"
Peng Gaofei felt more and more that the girl in front of him was not to be underestimated. He thought to himself, his judgment had never been wrong, so why not take a gamble!
The two parties reached a preliminary agreement, but the sales volume of the wine will determine whether to cooperate in the long term.
After a good meal and drinks, Peng Gaofei led the caravan to purchase some other items and left Qingzhou, heading towards the capital.
*
Inspired by Peng Gaofei's tasting experience, Fu Zhiqiao displayed the remaining wine from the market in her shop, allowing everyone who wanted to buy wine to smell and look at it.
After experiencing it firsthand, everyone wanted to buy it.
Taibai wine has gradually gained fame in Qingzhou, and everyone wants to be among the first to taste it.
Because Old Gao was the original owner of the wine shop, more and more people came to him to buy wine.
There's no reason not to take advantage of business that comes knocking on your door. Fu Zhiqiao had everyone who came to buy wine register and make a reservation, and assured them that anyone who paid a deposit would definitely be able to buy the wine.
Once it happened, it happened again. Soon, the orders, both large and small, filled ten pages.
Manager Peng of the Peng Family Shop in the capital has ordered 400 jars of wine and paid a deposit of 500 taels.
[Master Jiang from the Eighth Street of Anyi County has ordered ten jars of wine and paid a deposit of forty taels.]
Manager Wang of Baiweilou Restaurant in Qingzhou has ordered twenty jars of wine and paid a deposit of eighty taels.
Butcher Wang from East Street in Qingzhou has ordered two jars of wine and paid a deposit of ten taels.
...
Old Gao watched, his heart filled with emotion. He had been brewing wine for most of his life and had never seen anything like it.
The wine was sold before it was even brewed. Isn't that just getting something for nothing?
Fu Zhiqiao was speechless. How could Old Man Gao know that this was the power of marketing?
Capitalists have many tricks up their sleeves!
This is nothing.
In just a few days, Taibai wine became famous in Qingzhou City. Even with its high price, so many people flocked to it.
All the wine produced has been pre-ordered. Seeing that there are many people pre-ordering, in order to ensure a sufficient supply, Fu Zhiqiao used the pre-paid deposit to buy another batch of grain. Considering the increased workload of brewing, she also brought a few reliable servants from her own residence to help at the winery.
The winery was bustling with activity, but the amount of wine produced couldn't keep up with the orders. Old Gao looked worried. "What can we do?"
We dare not rest.
The winery is making wine day and night, and all the tools are being used to their fullest potential. The fire in the stove has never been extinguished in order to barely keep up with the production.
This is not a long-term solution. The winery is still too small; we need to expand it as soon as possible.
Just as Fu Zhiqiao was feeling troubled, news came that the Wen brothers, Wen Jiang and Wen Shan, had bought a manor.
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