Chapter 60: Wine Shop Opens
Hua Lian looked directly at me.
Her clear, dark eyes held no trace of timidity.
“I only know how to farm and catch snakes; I don’t know how to manage people.”
I smiled, “All things are connected, all matters follow a pattern. Lao Tzu said, the Great Way is simple. The business way is inherently complex, yet it is also the simplest, merely the act of buying and selling. I like this simplicity about you; just act according to your true nature. I don’t need you to flatter me, nor do I need you to change.”
She lowered her head, looking at her straw sandals, still with a hint of hesitation.
I said, “Your monthly wage will be four taels of silver. You can return home once a month at the end of the month. If you no longer wish to work here, just tell me, and you can leave anytime.”
She bit her lip, then suddenly bowed to me. Without a word, she turned and left.
I said, “Outside the South Gate, on the main street, Zhu Residence. I’ll be waiting for you.”
She didn’t look back. The Flower Viper from her sleeve crawled out, coiling around her waist like a colorful ribbon. She stroked its head. The Flower Viper docilely retreated back into her sleeve.
One person and one snake, gradually faded into the distance.
Qin Mingxu smiled at me and asked, “Sang Yu, do you think this girl will come to you?”
I said with certainty, “Yes.”
He said, “This girl has exceptional skills. Having grown up in the mountains, she can tame snakes and wild beasts. If she stays by your side, she can protect you well.”
I shook my head, “What I value is not just this. The most important thing is her unyielding spirit. Even if the enemy is strong and we are weak, even if they are many and we are few, she possesses the solitary courage to fight with all her might. This reminds me of…”
I stopped myself, not continuing.
A few wisps of clouds, flickering in and out of visibility in the sky, seemed to drift to the edge of my eyebrows.
Qin Mingxu quickly said, “Just now, my steward reported that the shopkeeper Liu from the vinegar shop on Dongguan Street, because the Young Master has been transferred to Shanxi as a judicial commissioner, they plan to move their entire family to Shanxi. The shop is being prepared for transfer. That location is closest to the Dongguan Ferry Terminal, with the convenience of river transport and water access, it’s an excellent spot. I’ve already instructed my steward to secure it first. Sang Yu, let’s go take a look.”
I nodded.
We all got back into the horse carriage.
Zhu Xifeng grumbled in my ear, “Bringing that wild girl home will surely cause me more trouble…”
I glared at him, and he fell silent.
The horse carriage arrived at Dongguan Street, and Qin Mingxu helped me down.
Shopkeeper Liu was waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Qin Mingxu, he came forward to greet him.
The location of the vinegar shop was indeed excellent.
Turning right out the door was the archway of Dongguan Street. Three shops facing the street, with a courtyard and warehouse behind. Not far away, at the Dongguan Ferry Terminal, merchants from all directions bustled about.
Shopkeeper Liu had already cleared out the interior. The original counter, tables, and chairs were sold at a reduced price.
Half a courtyard of flowers and plants, and a few persimmon trees still bearing winter fruit, were left behind.
Shopkeeper Liu was eager to leave, and the price he offered was very reasonable.
Before long, the deal was settled.
The steward drafted the documents, Qin Mingxu handed over the silver notes, and Liu shopkeeper and I signed and affixed our handprints.
The matter of the shop was thus decided.
Qin Mingxu and I stood together under the persimmon tree.
The winter wind was thin, and the bare branches, stripped of their leaves, faced the desolate sunset, while the persimmons hanging on the branches burned like fire, warming the cold winter of Jiangnan. Those bright spots were more beautiful than lanterns under the eaves, bringing peace to my heart.
Wild geese have flown, persimmons are frosted red.
A new life, a new beginning, unfolded in the chilly sunset of late November in Yangzhou.
Qin Mingxu stood on tiptoe, picked a persimmon, and handed it to me, “Sang Yu, may every matter be as you wish.”
I smiled and took it, saying, “May everything be as I wish. Thank you for being here.”
A gentle ripple spread across his thick eyebrows, as if he had been smiling all along, “Sang Yu, if you are well, then I am well.”
The former masters who brewed wine at the Zhu Family were still there.
When Lin Yue was in charge, they followed the mistress’s orders, cut costs, and used inferior ingredients. The taste of Zhu Family’s flower wine declined day by day. Now, I led them, selecting the best ingredients for each aspect according to the recipe. The servant boys drove the water wheels to fetch spring water from Guanyin Mountain. Selecting grains, steaming, cooling, adding yeast, making fermentation boxes, cultivating mold.
When the first batch of flower wine was made, the entire shop was enveloped in a rich aroma of wine. I seemed to be transported back ten years, my mother holding my hand as we passed the Zhu Family Wine Shop. I looked at the tall wine jars, filled with fine liquor, like plump dreams.
I was not in a hurry to open. I went to the counter every day, working with the masters to brew new wine repeatedly. Based on the original recipes, I added ingredients like cloves and sugar flakes, tailored to the tastes of Jiangnan people, and experimented with the taste, categorizing each one. Each type of flower wine was given a name.
Cloud Thoughts, Embracing Green, Cherishing Sweetness, Flower’s Lament, Green Tomb…
A shallow cup held myriad flavors.
A few days later, one evening, I returned to the manor from the counter, reeking of wine, when a dark figure darted out from the side.
I was startled, and then I saw clearly that it was Hua Lian.
She was wearing a black hemp robe and a pair of half-new cloth shoes, with a cloth bag slung over her shoulder.
She cherished those shoes dearly, carefully dusting them with her hand. This must have been her best attire, something she wouldn’t normally wear.
I asked, “How long have you been here?”
“Half a day.”
“Why didn’t you come in?”
“I was waiting for you.”
She opened the cloth bag. Inside was coarse rice, but it had been sifted very cleanly.
“There’s one bag of grain left at home. Half a bag for Mister, and half a bag for you,” she said in a gruff voice.
I instructed Xiao Yin to accept it and smiled, “Come in with me.”
She followed me into the manor.
Zhu Xifeng saw her from afar and quickly hid.
I had her luggage placed in a room closest to my bedroom.
Then, I began teaching her to read the account book.
The Flower Viper from her sleeve occasionally poked its head out. I took a step back.
She said, “Don’t be afraid. It listens to me and doesn’t bite people randomly.”
She whispered a few words to the snake, and it obediently hid in her sleeve, not coming out again.
Hua Lian was extremely intelligent, especially when it came to organizing numbers. She quickly grasped what she was taught.
The next day, she accompanied me to the counter.
Except for being slightly more amiable towards me, she maintained an unshakeable wariness towards others. The snake also seemed to be in sync with her, raising its head and flicking its tongue whenever a stranger approached within three paces. I persuaded her many times, and it gradually improved.
She possessed animal-like keenness.
I instructed the masters and shop assistants at the counter to call her “Steward Hua.” She looked at everyone but did not respond.
Her strength was greater than that of an ordinary man. She could lift a large wine vat with ease.
Diligent and uncomplaining, stubborn. If I didn’t tell her to stop, she wouldn’t.
Her speech was concise and direct.
If something could be explained in two words, she refused to use three.
The first day of the twelfth lunar month.
The first day of late winter, the Zhu Family Wine Shop officially opened for business.
My mother’s calligraphy, “A Pot of Wine Among Flowers,” elegant and graceful, hung above the entrance.
Qin Mingxu lit a string of firecrackers.
The crackling sound.
It lasted for half an hour.
I sat behind the counter and instructed the shop assistants: For the first month of opening, we will not sell any wine. Regardless of the price, not a single drop of wine is to be sold.
Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished and confused.
Qin Mingxu asked, “Opening the doors to welcome everyone, business is about selling more and buying more. Sang Yu, what is this all about?”
I smiled and said four words: “Knowing scarcity makes it precious.”
Qin Mingxu leaned against the counter. I poured him a cup of Embracing Green. He drank it in one gulp and clapped his hands, saying, “Good. But I wonder, what is your plan for after a month?”
I said, “I’ve already thought of it. Just wait and see.”
To sell something, one needs good products. But more importantly, one must build a reputation.
On Dongguan Street, customers flowed like a river.
The Zhu Family Wine Shop was originally unremarkable among the rows of shops. Moreover, Yangzhou already had many established old wine brands. The Zhu Family Wine Shop had neither old customers nor any reputation, making it ordinary in the marketplace.
However, because it refused to sell wine, something unprecedented, everyone considered it a marvel. Within days, the news spread throughout Yangzhou. Passersby could only smell the wine’s fragrance but could not taste the fine brew. The people of Yangzhou Prefecture all knew about a peculiar “Zhu Family Wine Shop” on Dongguan Street that had opened its doors but refused to sell wine, no matter how much money was offered.
As days passed, the shop assistants, seeing no income, grew anxious and began to question.
Only Hua Lian stood beside me like a pine tree, shielding me from all inquiries.
She trusted me. Therefore, she believed everything I did was right.
One day in the middle of the month, there was a commotion outside.
Maternal Uncle Zheng entered from outside, looked around, and his gaze fell upon me.
He recognized me.
“It’s you?” he asked.
I nodded politely.
He ordered his attendant to take out a gold ingot, which was at least ten taels.
He said arrogantly, “I have always been a lover of wine. Today, I must taste your Zhu Family Flower Wine and see what it’s like.”
“We don’t sell it,” I replied curtly.
As if he had expected this, he ordered his attendant to bring over a plate of gold ingots, “Don’t play coy. In Yangzhou City, there is nothing Zheng Tai wants that he cannot obtain.”
I bowed, neither subservient nor arrogant, “Lord Maternal Uncle has great wealth and power, but there has never been a principle of forced buying and selling. The wine is mine, and if I say I don’t sell it, then I don’t sell it.”
Maternal Uncle Zheng looked at me, “You don’t love money?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Then why won’t you sell wine to me?”
“Whether they are noble young masters or common laborers, to me, they are all customers. If I say I don’t sell, then I don’t sell. If I break the rules for Lord Maternal Uncle, then there are no rules. Du Kang’s creation of wine was a divine opportunity. I sell wine today also based on opportunity. If Lord Maternal Uncle is truly a wine lover, he should understand.”
He seemed to be encountering someone refusing him for the first time. He waved his hand, and several servants entered the shop.
Hua Lian lunged forward, blocking me behind her.
She adopted a posture as if she were ready to fight to the death.
The Flower Viper flew out from her sleeve and slithered menacingly towards Maternal Uncle Zheng.
Maternal Uncle Zheng, fearing he would be bitten, fled in a panic.
As he reached the doorway, he turned back and gave me a deep look. That gaze was like a frivolous feather, scattering and brushing against me, strangely unsettling.
Yangzhou Prefecture is located by the Grand Canal. During the dry season, due to the reduced water level, grain barges are prone to grounding and damage. Water gates maintain a stable water level in the river channel. The impact force of each barge ascending and descending is significant, easily damaging the water gates. Therefore, at the end of each year, the government recruits artisans to repair the water gates.
This year, it was even more special.
The dam of the flood discharge channel needed repair. The Grand Canal would be closed to boats for seven days.
The government had posted notices long in advance.
I stood at the shop entrance, looking from afar at over a hundred artisans, their bodies half-submerged in the icy water, busily working.
I said to Hua Lian, “Prepare two carts of wine and go to the ferry terminal.”
She briskly called the shop assistants to load the carts.
Qin Mingxu arrived just then. With a heart full of questions, he accompanied me to the ferry terminal.
At the ferry terminal, several minor officials were supervising.
I asked, “Esteemed officials, when will the work be completed?”
The minor official said, “It should be completed by this evening.”
I smiled and announced loudly, “Zhu Family Wine Shop, today, offers a hundred jars of fine wine to reward everyone. We ask for no payment. The river embankment is the reliance of our people and the gateway to Yangzhou. Thank you for your hard work!”
These minor officials had heard of the “Zhu Family Wine Shop” in recent days. Curious and excited, they called out to the artisans in the river, “Boss Zhu is sending wine! Everyone, come and taste!”
The artisans cheered and rushed over.
The hundred jars of wine were opened, their fragrance spreading for ten miles.
Maternal Uncle Zheng, who had heard the news at some point, arrived. The wine he couldn’t buy with a large sum of money, I was giving away for free to the artisans. He was furious. He took a bowl from a minor official and drank it. His brow furrowed, and he forgot to scold, drinking several bowls in succession.
“Good wine!” Maternal Uncle Zheng exclaimed.
Hua Lian and I busied ourselves handing out wine to everyone.
Distracted, I tripped over a hammer and stumbled.
Qin Mingxu reacted quickly and caught me.
“Sang Yu, are you alright?”
He was so close to me. I could hear his heartbeat, smell the storax on him, mixed with the pervasive scent of wine. It was like holding a flower branch, with red beans in the light rain.
In the crowd, an artisan wearing a large black bamboo hat, after finishing his bowl of wine, turned and jumped into the river, continuing his work…
