Chapter 78: Lasting
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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Lin Xiu had guessed correctly. After Lingyin’s return to the capital, his days were filled with being “drained”—cultivating and sleeping, with no time to visit Pear Blossom Garden or cultivate his relationship with Xue Ning’er.
Cultivating a relationship with her was pointless now anyway. Lin Xiu had reached the limit of copied abilities. Everything had to wait until his next breakthrough, which was when he saved one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Half a month later, Li Bozhang came to the Lin residence.
In Lin Xiu’s study, he placed a small jar of wine in front of him. “That thing you made is truly magical. In just one day, those bland, watery inferior wines transformed into fragrant, rich fine wines…”
Lin Xiu asked, “How much stock do we have now?”
Since their last conversation, Li Bozhang had designated one of his estates outside the city specifically for building a distillery. Now, they had some stock.
Li Bozhang replied, “The wine we brewed ourselves needs more time. But I’ve acquired two small workshops. We can use their existing wine. After these past few days of the craftsmen’s hard work, there should be about five hundred jars.”
Wine was a common drink in this world. Five hundred jars weren’t nearly enough to sell, but from the beginning, they planned to target the high-end market. In this case, five hundred jars were enough for the shop’s opening.
Lin Xiu asked again, concerned, “Are your people reliable? If the secret recipe is leaked, we won’t make any money.”
Ordinary distillation equipment wasn’t technically complex. If the technique got out, this business would be ruined.
Li Bozhang said, “Don’t worry. The craftsmen in the workshop are all my trusted aides, absolutely trustworthy. I’ve chosen a location for the shop, on the street by the palace gate. It’s the route officials and nobles take to court. It can open soon. I came to discuss the pricing of the wine with you.”
He looked at Lin Xiu. “I’ve been thinking, even that lousy wine at Zhaiyue Pavilion can sell for a few taels of silver. Selling ours for only ten taels seems like a loss. Shouldn’t we raise the price a bit…”
Lin Xiu and Li Bozhang discussed the pricing for a long time and finally settled on a plan.
Their wine wouldn’t have a uniform price, but would be graded.
The top-grade wine, distilled the most times, would be one hundred taels of silver per jar, with a monthly supply limited to one hundred jars, sold until out of stock.
Then, based on the number of distillations, the price would range from ten to several tens of taels per jar, catering to different groups of people.
One hundred taels of silver per jar converted to about ten thousand RMB. This price was still far from those famous wines in the later world that easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands per bottle. But in this world, it was definitely an exorbitant price.
Even if the nobles were wealthy, they wouldn’t be crazy enough to spend one hundred taels of silver on a jar of wine.
But these expensive wines were meant to be the treasures of the shop, to enhance its prestige.
If it was considered expensive, there was also the ten-tael-per-jar option. This wine had also undergone several distillations. In terms of aroma and taste, no other wine could compare. Based purely on quality, it was definitely worth ten taels of silver.
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A few days later, a tavern called “Red Mud House” quietly opened in the capital.
Located on the capital’s main street near the palace gate, it was on the route officials and nobles took to court.
The Great Xia court had twenty-four departments, managing various affairs. Every five days, His Majesty held a court meeting. Matters that the departments couldn’t decide could be raised at the meeting for discussion among all officials.
The court meeting started at 9 a.m. and usually lasted for an hour.
Actually, the court meeting used to be much earlier. But after the current Emperor ascended the throne, he postponed it by two hours. This considerate act was greatly praised by the officials.
Previously, for early court, they had to get up before dawn, without even time for breakfast.
Now, they could sleep until they woke up naturally, have breakfast, and stroll to the palace gate. Then, looking at the time, they would realize the court meeting was still a while away.
Of course, everyone knew the Emperor delayed the court meeting not out of consideration for the officials, but because he couldn’t get up in the morning.
He postponed the meeting by two hours to spend more time in bed with his consorts in the morning.
The officials knew this but didn’t dare to point it out.
After the court meeting, it was lunchtime. The officials and nobles left the palace gate, either to have lunch at home or to find a restaurant with a few friends for a few drinks, before returning home or to their offices.
The court didn’t strictly prohibit officials from drinking, as long as they didn’t appear drunk at their offices. The small gatherings after the court meeting had become a long-standing habit for officials.
Today, just past noon, the officials who had finished the court meeting came out of the palace gate one after another.
“Several esteemed adults, today at noon, Zhaiyue Pavilion, I’m hosting. You must grace me with your presence.”
“Hey, last time it was Lord Wang hosting. This time, it’s my turn, right?”
“Don’t argue, everyone. This Marquis will host today’s meal…”
…
Out of the palace gate, the officials gathered in twos and threes, chatting and laughing as they walked, mostly discussing where to eat today. When they reached a certain point on the street, someone suddenly stopped.
A puzzled expression appeared on his face. He looked around, murmuring, “Strange, what smells so good?”
On the street, someone quickly discovered the source of the fragrance.
“It seems like wine.”
“Nonsense! I’ve tasted countless wines, there’s no such fragrant wine in the world.”
“There’s a tavern up ahead. The fragrance seems to be coming from there.”
“Let’s go and have a look. I have to see what kind of wine is so fragrant that it has even tempted me.”
…
The aroma from the tavern was so enticing that several officials were attracted and couldn’t help but enter the tavern called “Red Mud House”.
On the left side of the tavern’s signboard, there was also a short poem:
“Green ants on new fermented wine,
Red mud small fire stove.
Evening comes, snow about to fall,
Can you drink a cup with me?”
This was clearly the source of the tavern’s name. One had to say, although this poem was short and simple, it was profound and evocative, making one want to invite a few friends for a drink.
As they entered the tavern, a waiter carrying a tray approached them, smiling. “This is our newly launched fine wine, Immortal’s Drunkenness. Please feel free to sample it.”
On the waiter’s tray were several wine cups filled with clear, transparent liquid.
Someone exclaimed, “It really is wine!”
The officials present were all from prominent families. They had tasted all kinds of good wines but had never seen such a fragrant one before. Someone couldn’t resist picking up a cup and drinking it all in one gulp, then remained speechless for a long time.
The wine was incredibly spicy upon entering the mouth, the strongest he had ever tasted, but the aftertaste was sweet and mellow, lingering for a long time. It was a pity the cup was so small. He had just tasted the flavor, and the cup was already empty.
He reached for a second cup, but the waiter apologized, “I’m sorry, sir, this is a sample for tasting. Each person can only have one cup.”
Someone next to him teased, “Lord Liu, your family isn’t short of money, why are you even trying to take advantage of this small tavern…”
The official laughed. “Alright, alright. This wine is truly a rare treasure. Bring me a jar. I want to savor it properly!”
The waiter brought a jar of wine. “Your wine, sir, one hundred taels.”
The official looked at the small jar, uncertain. “How much did you say?”
The waiter repeated, “This is our finest wine, one hundred taels of silver per jar.”
The official was angered. “One hundred taels for a jar of wine? Why don’t you just rob me?”
One hundred taels wasn’t much to him, but to spend one hundred taels on a jar of wine, he would have to be crazy. Although this wine was indeed the best he had ever seen, it wasn’t worth this price.
The waiter patiently explained, “You misunderstand, sir. This top-grade Immortal’s Drunkenness is extremely difficult to brew, and the quantity is limited. Our shop only sells one hundred jars per month, first come, first served. If you think it’s expensive, you can take a look at these. We also have fifty-tael, thirty-tael, twenty-tael, and ten-tael jars. You can try them all…”
Strangely, when he first heard the price of one hundred taels per jar, the official was furious.
But when he heard that only one hundred jars were sold per month, he felt that the price didn’t seem so outrageous.
After all, rare things were precious. There was no shortage of people in the capital willing to spend one hundred taels of silver on this kind of wine.
But he was still curious. “I’d like to see what’s so special about your wine that it sells for such a high price…”
He walked to the other waiters and tasted the wine from each tray. Then he realized that there was a reason why the wine here was so expensive.
He had also drunk the ten-tael-per-jar wine at Zhaiyue Pavilion, but compared to the ten-tael wine here, that wine couldn’t even be considered wine.
Tasting cup after cup, he found the twenty-tael wine was stronger and richer than the ten-tael wine, the thirty-tael wine was even better, and the one-hundred-tael wine was simply the best, far superior to the others.
Now, he no longer felt that one hundred taels of silver was expensive.
He was thinking about something else. Only one hundred jars of this wine were sold each month. There were countless wine lovers in the capital, and many could afford one hundred taels. A mere one hundred jars weren’t enough. If he was slow, they might be gone.
Thinking of this, he immediately said to the waiter, “Give me two jars of the one-hundred-tael wine, no, three jars…”
The waiter shook his head again, apologizing. “I’m sorry, sir, each person is limited to buying only one jar of the one-hundred-tael Immortal’s Drunkenness.”
The official frowned, displeased. “Why can I only buy one jar? Do you think I can’t afford it?”
The waiter quickly said, “Don’t misunderstand, sir. This is the rule set by our manager. There’s nothing we can do.”
The official said impatiently, “What kind of ridiculous rule is that? Where’s your manager? Call him out!”
As his voice fell, a figure emerged from the back room, gazing at him calmly. “Oh, Lord Liu, do you have any objections to the rules I set?”
“Prince…Prince Qin!”
“Your subordinate greets Prince Qin!”
Looking at the figure emerging from the back room, everyone froze.
The officials hadn’t expected that this shop was actually Prince Qin’s property. Seeing Li Bozhang, they all stepped forward to greet him. Officials who could attend the court meeting wouldn’t be of low rank and naturally recognized Prince Qin.
Lord Liu was especially distressed. He quickly said, “No, no objections. Your subordinate thinks the rules set by Prince Qin are excellent! The fine wine is limited, but there are many wine lovers. Only by setting this rule can more people taste this fine wine. Your Highness is wise…”
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A moment later, when they came out of the shop, each of them carried a jar of wine.
The one-hundred-tael kind.
Some hadn’t intended to buy it, but since everyone else had, if they hadn’t, wouldn’t it seem like they weren’t supporting Prince Qin’s business? They could only grit their teeth and buy it.
Fortunately, this wine was indeed excellent. Even if it was a bit extravagant, it was worth it…
They had just left when another group of officials passed by the tavern.
Someone paused. “Hey, what smells so good?”
Another person discovered the source of the fragrance and pointed at the tavern. “Let’s go in and have a look…”
Not long after, they too walked out of the shop, each carrying a jar of wine, with pained expressions…
Then the next group.
…
Lin Xiu sat in the back room of the tavern, quickly counting banknotes, sighing inwardly. Partnering with Li Bozhang had been a very wise decision.
As a prince, he didn’t have to do anything but sit in the shop.
Any officials or nobles attracted by the aroma of the wine, who wouldn’t give him some face? Although Prince Qin wasn’t the Crown Prince and had no real presence in the court, his mother was the Emperor’s most beloved consort. This face had to be given.
This resulted in an incredibly high customer retention rate for the tavern. Anyone who walked in didn’t leave empty-handed.
Moreover, Li Bozhang’s appearance on the first day confirmed that this was Prince Qin’s property, completely deterring anyone who might have had ulterior motives.
As the owner behind the scenes, Lin Xiu didn’t have to worry about anything, just sit and count the money.
Having a stable, long-term, and highly profitable business was much more lucrative than making ice, finding people, or being a secret agent. No wonder so many people were desperate to become capitalists. The money they made in just a few short years was something ordinary wage earners might not be able to match even if they worked for thousands of years without eating or drinking.
Today was the grand opening of the new shop, and the results were as Lin Xiu and Li Bozhang had expected.
As the saying went, “Good wine needs no bush.” Their wine wasn’t only good; it wasn’t hidden in an alley either. It was on the most prosperous main street by the palace gate, with Prince Qin himself present. About twenty officials, whether willingly or not, bought a jar of wine when they left the shop.
In the afternoon, the shop’s customer flow surged.
Those who came to buy wine were either from Marquis or Duke households. The one hundred jars of top-grade fine wine sold out within half an hour. Latecomers could only settle for the fifty-tael or thirty-tael jars…
In the end, even the ten-tael jars, the lowest quality wine, were sold out, with many butlers and servants from noble households queuing outside, ultimately leaving disappointed.
If at first, people came to support the business out of consideration for Prince Qin,
then later, the tavern’s booming business relied solely on the quality of the wine.
After the last jar of wine was sold, Lin Xiu and Li Bozhang closed the shop, staring blankly at the box full of banknotes and silver. Just the one hundred jars of top-grade Immortal’s Drunkenness fetched ten thousand taels of silver. The rest of the lower-quality wines added up to fifteen thousand taels. After deducting all costs, the net profit was no less than twenty thousand taels.
And this was just one day’s profit.
Although this one day had consumed half of the workshop’s stock, the workshop outside the city had begun normal operations and could continuously supply the shop. It wouldn’t be long before Lin Xiu could earn a small fortune.
One hundred thousand taels of silver was precisely a small fortune.
Under normal circumstances, he would have to make ice for Zhaiyue Pavilion for a year without eating or drinking, or encounter one hundred rich women like Chen Yuanyuan, to earn this much…
…
Otherworldly Practitioner’s Courtyard.
In Zhao Lingyin’s private courtyard, inside her room, she and Lin Xiu sat facing each other, cross-legged on the Profound Ice Bed. At a certain moment, she opened her eyes, a puzzled look in them. She looked at Lin Xiu and asked, “Why are you so lasting today?”
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