Chapter 85

Shuiqing was calm when asked, and replied naturally, “Mother, how would I know how to make wine? Have I ever made wine before? It was your son-in-law, a scholar, who recently came across an ancient book detailing the methods of brewing wine. We thought we’d give it a try.”

Fan Jin’s identity as a scholar was quite useful; everything could be attributed to him. Moreover, people in this era naturally revered books and literacy, believing that scholars could learn anything from books.

Hu’s mother was no exception.

She looked at Fan Jin kneading the dough, and as a mother-in-law, the more she looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she became. She couldn’t help but praise, “My son-in-law is really amazing!”

Fan Jin, who was kneading the dough, paused momentarily, his ears turning slightly pink.

After praising Fan Jin, Shuiqing got down to business, “Mother, according to the book, making rice wine requires two fermentation processes. From one pound of rice, approximately two pounds of rice wine can be produced. Other households in Guangning Prefecture sell rice wine. If we bring our own bottles, it’s twenty wen per jin. The wine shop provides bamboo tubes for twenty-two wen per jin. How about setting it at sixteen wen per jin for the surrounding villages of Niutou Town?”

Prices in rural areas are lower than in cities, which is normal, but they won’t be much cheaper because those who can’t afford to buy will not buy.

Their target audience was those who could afford and were willing to buy. If the price is too low, they will only think of going to the city, so they need to set a price lower than the city’s but not too low.

Although Hu’s mother could not read, she was in the business of selling pork, with income coming in every now and then. She knew how to keep accounts.

Now she calculated, “A pound of rice costs nine wen, and two pounds of rice wine cost sixteen wen, so nine wen can turn into thirty-two wen; netting twenty-three wen!”

“My dear God, this makes more money than your father selling pork!”

Hu’s mother looked at Shuiqing, her surprise mixed with joy.

Shuiqing thought the two industries shouldn’t be compared. “My father is different. He doesn’t cut the grass for the pigs, he doesn’t feed them, and he doesn’t clean the pigsty. He just buys the whole pig and then slaughters and sells it. It’s normal for him to earn a few more wen per jin of pork.”

If a pig butcher earns a few dozen wen per jin of pork, then tomorrow’s pig farmers can squeeze the door of his parents’ house!

Hu’s mother was still very satisfied and optimistic, “We don’t need to plant rice, just buy it, and you said you can make a batch of rice wine in four or five days. If you can earn over a hundred wen in one go, you’ll have half an ounce of silver in a month.”

Shuiqing silently thought that it could be more.

But she didn’t say it. It was better not to have too high expectations at the beginning. If the goal is set too high and not reached, it could easily be a blow to morale.

Setting a small amount, earning more than a small amount, wouldn’t that make her happier?

“Mother, I’ve invited some women from the village to help me prepare lunch tomorrow. They still have some chores to arrange at home. They’ll come tomorrow, so you won’t have to work as hard cleaning vegetables like today.”

Fan Jin had already explained the brewing process to me in detail, and I remember it well. Tomorrow I’ll start teaching you. We still have a lot of rice at home, so let’s try to make fewer mistakes!”

Hu’s mother listened, feeling excited and nodded continuously.

Her daughter was right. There couldn’t be any mistakes! Rice is only nine wen per jin.

If something goes wrong, won’t it be destroyed?

“Mother, let me tell you, after filtering the rice wine lees, they’re nutritious and have many uses. They can be used to ferment dough for making buns, steamed buns, and pancakes, which are fluffier and softer than those made with yeast; and they can be steamed with rice milk and osmanthus to make osmanthus steamed cake. If there’s too much to eat, they can also feed pigs…”

Hu’s mother suddenly felt blessed and asked, “Are you going to feed the piglets with the lees you can’t finish eating?”

Shuiqing didn’t hide anything and said directly, “Yes, pigs fed with lees can grow fat!”

They can also grow fast, and by next summer, even if there’s heavy rain or a flood that traps them, there will be plenty of pork!

As long as there was no waste, Hu’s mother felt content. After all, rice was precious, and they couldn’t bear to throw it away.

She assured Shuiqing, “I’ll learn well from you.”

On the first day of their work, they enjoyed a meal of egg drop soup with fresh greens and sorghum pancakes.

The sorghum pancakes were fluffy and soft, with a crispy edge from being cooked on the pot’s edge. They were generously sized, as big as an adult man’s palm.

The egg drop soup was particularly noteworthy—it was a genuine egg soup!

In other households, egg drop soup usually had just a few scattered egg pieces, but in Shuiqing’s soup, there were large chunks of egg.

Even the carpenters and tilers from the prefectural city were satisfied with the meal. The men in the village were even more impressed.

That evening, they went back home and told their wives to bring more vegetables and fruits to Shuiqing the next day. Since she had recently moved out from her parents’ home, they probably lacked vegetables and had to add more eggs.

But with more people, where could the eggs be found?

So on the second day, not only did the women who helped come, but also a continuous stream of women bringing vegetables and fruits!

Shuiqing looked at the kitchen filled with pumpkins, winter melons, Chinese cabbage, radishes, and more, and felt overwhelmed.

Which should they eat first?

Hu’s mother was genuinely happy. Her daughter and son-in-law had good relationships in the village, and no mother would be unhappy about that.

She warmly greeted the women, chatting with them while happily saying, “How about stewing winter melon with minced pork? Just add some oil and water. And then use this Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushrooms, cut into cubes with coarse rice, to make a vegetable rice dish, alright?”

Before Shuiqing could reply, the women sitting nearby laughed heartily, “How could that not work?”

“No wonder my husband kept saying how good the food was yesterday! With meat, vegetables, and rice, I’d work without pay to come help.” Auntie Li said enviously.

Even coarse rice is still rice.

Not to mention that there’s minced pork inside the winter melon, though it’s minced, these days having minced meat is already very good. If you add large slices of meat, dozens of men could eat a whole pig!

Wang Guifen was one of the women who came to help. At this moment, she was pulling mushrooms out of the sack to soak them, teasing Hu’s mother, “I’m afraid that after eating at your daughter’s home for ten days or half a month, I’ll go back and won’t be used to the food.”

“Don’t tease me, it’s all because of the vegetables you brought. I have to thank you.

Not only did you come to help my daughter, but you also brought food. I, as the mother, am benefiting from it.”

Hu’s mother’s sincere and open-hearted words made both the women who came to help and those who brought food feel happy.

While the men worked hard with physical labor over there, the women here prepared and chatted happily over food.

They were busy with lunch in the morning, so there was basically no leisure time. However, dinner only needed to be prepared for a few people at home, so it didn’t take much time.

Therefore, after washing the dishes after lunch, Shuiqing and Hu’s mother finally had some free time.

Taking advantage of this free time, Shuiqing began to teach Hu’s mother, Yan Qiuxing, and others how to make rice wine.