Liu Heng and Zhao Yutu were standing in front of the gate of the wine shop's courtyard talking, and someone walked out quickly from inside.
Before the opponent could get close, he was stopped by the tiger-character flag soldiers guarding the gate of the courtyard wall.
Liu Heng looked up and saw that the person coming was Ding Jiu, the winemaker and steward of the winery. He waved to the soldier and said, "Let him come over."
The two soldiers guarding the door took a step back and put away their weapons.
Ding Jiu walked out of the door in a few steps, came to Liu Heng and saluted, shouting "My boss."
Liu Heng nodded and said with a smile, "The winery is so busy, so I have to bother Manager Ding to come out in person."
Ding Jiu said hurriedly, "My boss is so polite. If it weren't for my boss's easy-to-use method, our winery wouldn't be able to make such good sorghum wine."
"How is the double-distilled sorghum wine going?" Liu Heng asked.
Ding Jiu said, "I have tried it many times. Every time it is distilled, the wine becomes stronger. A jar of ten kilograms of wine is distilled twice, and the remaining wine is less than one kilogram. Nine kilograms are lost out of thin air."
Liu Heng said, "In addition to the usual sorghum wine, this kind of sorghum wine that has been distilled many times must also be maintained. The amount can be smaller, but at least one ten-jin jar should be maintained every day."
"Don't worry, boss, I will keep an eye on this matter personally and there will never be any mistakes." Ding Jiu promised.
Liu Heng nodded.
Zhao Yutu on the side said, "Our sorghum wine business is good now. Isn't it too wasteful for Manager Ding to make those wines that are too strong?"
"The stronger the alcohol, the more effective it is in disinfecting." Liu Heng said, "Our Tiger Flag often uses knives and guns, so prepare more strong alcohol. Maybe we can save lives at some point."
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance.
Liu Heng looked in the direction of the sound of horse hooves.
A fast horse came galloping and finally stopped in front of Liu Heng.
The rider on the horse dismounted, saluted Liu Heng and said, "Master Qi, a Shanxi businessman named Tian Shenglan has come to Xujiazhuang and wants to see you. Deputy Director Li sent his subordinates to ask if you want to see you. "
"Tian Shenglan" Liu Heng felt that this name was somewhat familiar.
He soon remembered that the reason why this name felt familiar was entirely because this name was one of the eight great imperial merchants.
Liu Heng turned around and said to Ding Jiu, "I originally wanted to visit the winery today, but it seems I don't have time. I can only wait until next time to see it. But I am relieved to leave the winery to you. Do it well. If The winery’s sorghum wine production can be doubled, the wages of stewards and masters will be increased by 20%, and the wages of apprentices will be increased by 10%.”
Ding Jiu's face lit up and he hurriedly said, "Don't worry, boss, as long as there is enough sorghum, I guarantee that our winery's sorghum wine production will double in less than a month."
Liu Heng said with a smile, "As long as you work hard, Hu Ziqi and I will not treat you badly. When the surrounding houses are built in the future, you can take your family over and live together. However, people cannot go down the mountain and can only stay in Hu Ziqi for the time being." Head Village."
"Thank you for your understanding, boss." Ding Jiu said with a happy face.
It has been more than two months since I came to the winery on Hutuzhai Mountain. Although I have good food, good accommodation, and high wages, I have not been able to meet my family.
He could understand why Hu Ziqi did this. He was afraid that the secret recipe of the winery's brewing process would be leaked. After all, the sorghum wine brewing process in their winery was very ordinary, far inferior to the brewing process of those famous wines. The most important thing was that , their secret recipe for making sorghum wine is very simple, so simple that any winemaker can use sorghum to make their winery’s sorghum wine.
Liu Heng turned to Zhao Yutu and said, "Let Manager Ding accompany you around the wine shop. I will arrange for another squadron of fire guns to come over then. You can make arrangements later."
"Okay." Zhao Yutu agreed.
Liu Heng mounted his horse and left Hutou Village under the escort of Zhao Wu and other guards.
After more than half a year of development, Xujiazhuang has grown from an ordinary village to a town, expanded several times.
The villagers in Zhuangzi moved out of their old houses and moved into the blue brick houses built for them by Huzi Banner.
Only the Xu family's former village courtyard remains in place.
The center of Zhuangzi is a main street, paved with bluestone roads. There are rows of shops on both sides of the street. Although it is not as prosperous as Datong Prefecture, it has surpassed Lingqiu City, and more and more merchants are willing to do business in Xujiazhuang. .
Xujiazhuang not only has various ironware made by Lingqiu Jintie, but also leather goods, cattle and sheep from the north, Songjiang cloth and satin tea from the south.
As long as merchants traveling from north to south arrive at Xujiazhuang, they can almost find the goods they want to take back. There is no need to make an extra trip to other places, and the cost does not increase. On the contrary, because it saves time, they can save a lot. silver.
It is precisely because of the prosperity of Xujiazhuang and the large number of merchants that Hu Zi Banner's sorghum wine has been sold in several surrounding houses in just over two months after its appearance.
The only limitation on Huzi Banner's sorghum wine business is its own insufficient production. Many merchants who come to buy wine can only supply sorghum wine in limited quantities.
Liu Heng came to the gate of the courtyard and handed the horse to someone else. He took Zhao Wu and others into the courtyard.
Xu Xuewu came out from inside and said, "The boss, Tian Shenglan is in the side hall, and Deputy Director Li is drinking tea with him."
"Go to the side hall." Liu Heng said and walked towards the side hall.
Xu Xuewu followed closely behind.
Unlike Zhao Wu, who is a full-time guard, Xu Xuewu also handles the affairs of the attendant department.
The personnel in the Attendant Department are all outstanding talents selected from the combat brigade. They belong to the lower-level officers of the combat brigade. Most of them are officers at the level of squad leader, deputy squad captains and corps commanders.
These attendants in the Attendance Department usually organize some documents sent from below, help Liu Heng upload and distribute them, and assist in handling some less important matters. At the same time, they also shoulder certain guard responsibilities.
When he came to the side hall, Liu Heng's eyes fell on a white and fat middle-aged man, and he guessed that this person should be Tian Shenglan.
Sure enough, Li Shuheng stood up and introduced, "Proprietor Tian, this is the proprietor of our Tiger Flag."
Tian Shenglan stood up, smiled and cupped her hands towards Liu Hengyi, and said, "I have heard about Dongzhu Liu for a long time in the Xuan Mansion, so I would like to pay you a visit rashly. It is really disturbing."
Liu Heng said with a smile, "If Mr. Tian can come to my Xujiazhuang, it will be a great success. Please sit down."
He raised his hand to signal Tian Shenglan to sit down.
After a few people sat down, Liu Heng said straight to the point, "Master Tian came to Xujiazhuang this time to buy ironware, or sorghum wine from my Tiger Flag."
Tian Shenglan was stunned for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Dragon Master Liu is really straightforward. No wonder Dongzhu Liu acquired this exciting family business in just one year."
"Mr. Tian, please have some tea." Liu Heng raised the bowl of tea in his hand as a gesture.
Tian Shenglan picked up the bowl of tea at hand, blew on it, and took a sip.
