The second uncle, Shen Tong, runs an inn and has access to raw materials for wine and food, which can be used as a workshop.
Shen Tong and his son are also very helpful. Fuman Inn will be closed for seven days, and all the staff will follow the arrangements.
Song Che first asked the store clerk to buy wine grains from major wineries in the city——
Even in modern industry, unless alcohol is blended, it is impossible to produce wine within seven days. Distillation and purification of distiller's lees is the only way to quickly obtain fine wine.
In ancient times, wine was made through grain fermentation and sedimentation. Most of the filtered lees would be discarded, but the real essence was in it.
Things that should be discarded are naturally cheap. Ten thousand kilograms of distiller's grains cost one hundred taels. Purchasing wooden steamers, firewood, iron pots, and other utensils required for distillation only cost twenty taels, plus miscellaneous labor costs. , the deal can be finalized with no more than two hundred taels at most.
After all the materials are ready, Song Che plans to test it first. If it can be purified effectively, it will not be too late to start the work in a big way.
Put fifty kilograms of distiller's grains into a wooden steamer and lay it flat. Place a bowl in the middle of the steamer and on top of the distiller's grains. Seal the edges with a towel to ensure tightness. Add an iron pot, add cold water to the pot for cooling, and finally put it on the stove for cooking.
"The fire should not be too strong, so as not to overheat the water in the pot and affect the distillation effect." Song Che ordered.
Don't forget that Shen Wenjun is a lady from the south of the Yangtze River. She can go to the hall, the showroom, and the kitchen. She lit the firewood skillfully, and while controlling the fire, she asked: "Speaking of which, what is distillation?"
Song Che pointed at the iron pot and said: "The principle is actually very simple. After the distiller's grains are heated, water vapor containing alcohol will evaporate. The water vapor rushes up, condenses into water droplets when encountering cold water in the iron pot, and drips from the bottom of the pot into the bowl. In this way, strong liquor was born.”
Shen Wenjun digested it for a long time before he softly uttered: "This is simply unheard of."
Song Che smiled and said: "The art of distillation can even save your life if you learn it. For example, if you are lost in the desert, you can use it to get water for drinking."
Shen Wenjun was puzzled: "The desert is full of wind and sand, where is the water for you to distill?"
Song Che blinked: "Just pee."
"Eh..." Shen Wenjun didn't mind it, "I would rather die of thirst than drink my own urine."
"Urine, of course, cannot be drunk directly," Song Che said, "but you can extract pure water through distillation - put the urine in an urn, hang a small bottle in the mouth of the weng, bury it in a sand pit during the day, and cover it with water. With an iron blade, there is a huge temperature difference between day and night in the desert. The hot sun heats and evaporates, and the cool night condenses into dew. You can get a bottle of clean drinking water the next morning."
"I'm really curious where you got all this knowledge."
"Survival in the wilderness."
"Man vs. Wild?"
"Uh...it's just a book about strange stories about unofficial history. I usually like to read these."
Song Che casually made up a reason to explain.
Shen Wenjun said: "In the future, you can find out this strange story about wild history and show it to our father. He often goes out on business, especially to the Western Regions, where he has to pass through many Gobi deserts. Having this life-saving knowledge will make people feel at ease." "
Song Che smiled and said: "The Shen family has me, so why do I need my father-in-law to do anything personally in the future?"
Shen Wenjun said: "Dad is not someone who can live idle."
Song Che smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be enough to give him a few grandsons so he could live in peace?"
Shen Wenjun rolled his eyes: "Steam your wine!"
A quarter of an hour later, the water temperature gradually increased.
Song Che signaled to stop lighting the fire and took the iron pot down from the steamer. He had just opened it, and the aroma of wine was refreshing.
"It smells so good, it smells so good..." Shen Wenjun couldn't help but bring his nose closer to smell it.
Song Che used a rag to carefully take out the bowl. The bowl was full of light yellow, steaming distilled liquor!
"Is this... done?" Shen Wenjun was excited.
"No, no, no, this is the first time to steam, the wine must be very strong."
Song Che said, picked up a chopstick, dipped it in distilled wine, took out the fire stick from the stove, and as soon as he touched it, it lit up a ball of blue flame!
Liquor must be 60% proof before it can be ignited. This wine burns so powerfully that it is at least 65%, or even 70%!
In ancient times, the highest alcohol content was only about ten degrees. Now it has doubled six to seven times, and even an old drunkard will drink it.
Logically speaking, liquor at 52 degrees has the best taste, but it was still too high for the ancients. Setting it at 30 or 40 degrees may be more acceptable.
Song Che took a small jar, filled it with freshly distilled wine, handed it to Shen Wenjun and said, "This wine is violent and not suitable for drinking. You can always keep it with you. If you are injured, use it to disinfect. The effect is very good."
"The chopsticks were burned. It's really strong. Is there any way to reduce its power?"
"Steam it again. Making wine is similar to boiling medicine. The first time it is bitter and strong, the second time is clear, and the third time is light. By neutralizing and confusing the three times, you can dilute it."
…
On that day, Song Che steamed and brewed three times, using thirty kilograms of distiller's grains to steam out nearly ten kilograms of new wine. The taste was mellow and the alcohol content was just right.
After the test was successful, in the next few days, Song Che called on all the staff to collect wine day and night.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, all 10,000 kilograms of distiller's grains were distilled, and nearly 3,000 kilograms of new wine were obtained. All were sealed in large vats and loaded into five carts, waiting for the market to open tomorrow.
That night, the moon was bright and the wind was clear.
The beauty tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Song Che held Shen Wenjun's jade hand that had nowhere to rest.
"Of course I'm worried," Shen Wenjun said: "Tomorrow I have to go to Yang's Trading Company to report the results. Apart from making wine, we haven't made any money these days. What if we can't sell the wine? How much more would we be doing? Shame on you!"
Song Che smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, the market will open at midnight tomorrow, and within three-quarters of an hour, I will have this wine sold out."
"Hey, by the way, in these busy days, I haven't asked you how you plan to price this wine?" Shen Wenjun asked with wide eyes.
Song Che gave it a try first, "We won't know the specific price until the market opens tomorrow."
"I also sent someone to inquire. The best sellers today are Longjing tea, fine river fresh food, and fine bird's nests produced by Yang Song, Wang Ning, and Chen Rencai. The revenue has exceeded ten thousand taels;
We now have three thousand kilograms of wine, which is converted into two thousand cents. If we want to be among the top three, the price of one dime of wine needs to be at least five taels;
Looking at the entire Jiangnan, the best pure pear wine only costs 80 cents, and even the palace jade liquor cannot be sold for more than 5,000 cents;"
After saying this, Shen Wenjun sighed softly: "Oh, I am really fanciful. I would be satisfied without hanging eggs, and I still want to be among the top three..."
Song Che smiled and said nothing, and just asked: "By the way, madam, how did the top three sell their products? How could they sell over 10,000 in seven days?"
"What else can I do, quality and relationship," Shen Wenjun said: "Longjing is an imperial tea specially provided for the royal family. Although the grade sold this time is not as good as the royal family's special supply, it is still a top-quality tea, only one kilogram. It’s a full twelve taels! With the Yang family’s status in Yangzhou and the fact that they produce such good tea, who wouldn’t buy a few boxes of it?
The river is a land of fish and rice, with developed fisheries. The Wang family is also a famous ship merchant in the south of the Yangtze River. On the afternoon of the day when the merchants were selected, Wang Ning transferred three large cargo ships from Hangzhou to block the river and cast nets for fishing. One ship can catch several thousand kilograms! Then sell them to major restaurants and inns at low prices;
Bird's nests are even more expensive, with at least 30 taels per box of high-quality products. Chen Rencai's mother-in-law is in the bird's nest business. They buy them at almost cost and sell them at several times the price. The profit is obvious. "
"It sounds like the top three companies don't have any smart sales methods. They all rely on their own background."
"That's true, but don't we rely on my second uncle's help to steam so much wine in seven days?"
Indeed, in ancient times when people were extremely sophisticated, it would be difficult to move forward without a background.
Business selection competition is just a game played by rich people.
…
