"Exactly the amber wine."
Wei Chen smiled slightly, took two exquisite white porcelain wine cups, slowly poured the amber wine in the jar, kept one cup for himself, and pushed the other cup in front of Sheng Changbai.
Sheng Changbai's Adam's apple twitched unconsciously, he carefully picked up the wine cup, took a shallow sip, closed his eyes, let the wine swirl in his mouth, and savored it carefully.
“What a great wine!”
Then, Sheng Changbai said with some regret: "This wine is warm in nature, sweet and refreshing, and is most suitable for literati. However, the output is too small, and it has always been expensive but not marketable. It is rare for me to taste it!"
Wei Chen asked curiously: "My uncle's family owns an amber wine shop. Why can't he drink it?"
Sheng Changbai sighed and said: "My uncle would send twenty jars of amber wine every month. However, this amber wine is precious, and the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River regarded drinking this wine as an elegant thing. My father himself was reluctant to drink it, and most of them were given as gifts. It’s a favor.”
"Then brother came to the right place, little brother. I don't have anything else, but this amber wine is enough!"
Wei Chen asked: "Brother, do you know why this amber wine is different from ordinary fruit wine?"
Sheng Changbai replied: "I heard from my uncle that there is an extremely rare auxiliary ingredient called glycerin. With this ingredient, the fruit wine can be reborn and become worth a hundred times."
"That's right." Wei Chen laughed and said, "Brother, do you know that this glycerin is made by my little brother?"
"What?!"
Seeing the surprised look on Sheng Changbai's face, Wei Chen smiled and told him everything about how he used the secret recipe of glycerin to invest in a business partnership with Sheng Wei.
"I see."
After hearing this, Sheng Changbai suddenly understood, clapped his hands and applauded: "I admire you, my wise brother is clever, and my foolish brother is ashamed of himself."
Admire me?
Wei Chen was a little confused.
In his impression, the scholars in Dazhou had always looked down upon merchants, which was why Wei Chen had to go to great lengths to find an agent like Sheng Wei.
So when he heard a scholar say that he admired himself, and it was Sheng Changbai who said this, Wei Chen's first reaction was surprise.
"What do I admire?"
"Why should I belittle myself, my good brother?"
Sheng Changbai patted Wei Weichen on the shoulder and said with excitement: "Isn't it the reason why we wait for scholars to become officials in the court to benefit one party? Now you haven't even become an official, but you have already truly benefited everyone in Youyang County. Thousands of fruit farmers have allowed them to live a good life, this is the way of benevolence mentioned by the saints!"
"Uh..., it seems to make some sense."
Wei Chen is so sweaty, why does he feel like a fan in his previous life chasing after stars? This is not the same.
However, after this conversation with Sheng Changbai, Wei Chen finally understood what kind of person Sheng Changbai was.
He is upright but not rigid. He has lofty ambitions but also knows how to be down-to-earth. He is countless times better than those rotten Confucians who only talk empty talk and harm the country.
This kind of person should be appointed as the prime minister and rule the world!
Not long after the two sat in the attic chatting, Wei Ruyi came to call them to eat.
Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai went down to the attic and sat around a table with the three members of the Zhang family.
Sheng Changbai's upbringing was very strict and he would not eat with his female family members since he was ten years old. However, seeing that Wei Chen and the others were accustomed to this, he did not hesitate and sat directly next to Wei Chen, just treating them as guests.
Wei Ruyi was a good cook. She went to the market to buy meat and fish and carefully prepared a large table of food. Wei Chen almost swallowed his tongue.
Although Sheng Changbai didn't say much while eating, judging from his appetite, he was quite satisfied with the meal.
After dinner, Wei Ruyi put away the dishes and took Zhang Xu to rest with Zhang Ming.
It was getting cold and freezing rain was falling outside. Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai returned to their attic together and lit a charcoal fire in the corner of the room. The room was suddenly as warm as spring.
"Brother, I specially asked my aunt to warm a jar of amber wine. You and I can drink it tonight!"
Wei Chen raised a glass to invite him, and Sheng Changbai happily accepted the offer. He and Wei Chen drank happily together. Over the wine, the two chatted about ancient and modern times.
The clouds outside are scattered and the moon is rising, the shadows of the trees are swaying, and the candlelight inside is bright and warm.
Not only Wei Chen, but Sheng Changbai was also slightly tipsy. He suddenly started clapping the table and said with righteous indignation: "My dear brother, do you know what's the problem with my great Zhou confidant?"
Wei Chen was stunned and asked, "Brother, are you talking about the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun?"
"Exactly, if we don't take back the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, we will face endless troubles in the future!"
Sheng Changbai said excitedly: "In my opinion, the imperial court should mobilize all its troops to expedition to the north of Khitan and restore our borders. If we want to send troops to the northern expedition, I, Sheng Changbai, am willing to join the army and become a pawn in the vanguard!"
"..."
Wei Chen remained silent.
Sheng Changbai looked at him strangely: "Don't you, my dear brother, hope that I, Da Zhou, will recover my lost territory and restore Jin Ou?"
"Of course I also want to destroy the Khitan tomorrow."
Wei Chen shook his head and analyzed calmly: "But I don't think this is a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition."
Sheng Changbai asked in confusion: "Why did my dear brother say this?"
"Ten years ago, the imperial court failed to implement the New Deal. Instead of solving the imperial court's financial and armament problems, they worsened. This is one of them."
Wei Chen said clearly: "Now that the emperor is old and sick, and has no heir, the government and the public just want to ask the emperor to establish a throne as soon as possible. I am afraid that they will not be able to think about the Northern Expedition. This is the second reason.
As for the third one, the imperial court had only put down the rebellion in the southern barbarians the year before last, and the troops were exhausted. There were still party members in the northwest looking at them with eager eyes... This was no longer the beginning of the country, and the imperial court did not dare to do so when there were strong enemies outside and internal troubles were not settled. Those who want to start a national war. "
Although he was deeply frustrated, Sheng Changbai had to admit that Wei Chen was right. He took a sip of the sweet amber wine, but his mouth was full of bitterness.
"Is this life hopeless?"
"of course not!"
Wei Chen shook his head and said with firm eyes: "The government is incompetent and the country is regretful. This is when our generation learns its shame and becomes brave and strives for strength.
One day, I will let Dazhou raise millions of troops to regain Yanyun, level the Hetao, and break through the Helan Mountain gap! "
"well said!"
Sheng Changbai was in the prime of his youth, and Wei Chen's words were in line with his temperament. He looked at Wei Chen with eyes full of admiration and appreciation.
He immediately stood up, raised the wine cup with both hands, and paid respect to Wei Chen: "My dear brother, you have lofty ambitions and great courage. You are worthy of being my great Zhou man! I can have my dear brother as my friend, and I will have no regrets in this life!"
Wei Chen laughed and drank with him boldly. He put down the wine cup and the two looked at each other and smiled.
Although the fruit wine was light, it was still intoxicating. A burst of heroic spirit burst out from Sheng Changbai's chest, and he felt that the young man he met tonight was truly a hero of the world.
He drank until the wine was gone. That night, Sheng Changbai did not go back to the Sheng family's old house, but stayed at Wei Chen's house and slept with Wei Chen.
The two of them talked freely, unaware that the stars were changing outside the building, until the rooster sang three times and the east became white.
