Chapter 11: Brewing Wine

Chapter 11: Brewing

The next morning, as usual, after breakfast with Yushui, He Yuzhu took Yushui on his bicycle and headed to his master’s home.

Upon arrival, the mistress of the house noticed the bicycle and said, “Yuzhu, where did you get that bicycle? It looks quite nice.”

“My lady, I bought it yesterday at the commission store. I liked it the moment I saw it and didn’t want to miss out, so I bought it right away,” He Yuzhu replied as he lifted Yushui off the bike and handed him to her.

“You’re such a quiet kid, buying a bike without telling anyone. How much did it cost? Do you still have money on you? Let me give you some to use first,” she said with concern, pulling some coins from her pocket to offer him.

“No need, my lady. I still have money. Yesterday morning I went fishing at Shichahai and caught a big fish that sold for quite a lot. If you don’t believe me, just ask Yushui,” He Yuzhu said, his eyes glistening slightly, touched by her care.

“My lady, big brother is amazing! The fish he caught yesterday was huge, as big as Yushui here. He sold it to an old gentleman,” Yushui chimed in, gesturing to show the fish’s size.

“Wow, such a big fish! I’ve never seen one that large, but Yushui has. That’s impressive,” she said, cooing at Yushui. “Alright, if you ever need money, just tell me. Your master earns well, and I keep it all safe. We’re not short on funds.”

Just then, the master emerged and saw the bicycle beside He Yuzhu. “That’s a nice bike. Where did you get it?”

“Your disciple bought it quietly,” the mistress replied bluntly.

“Yuzhu, I have to admonish you. You’re still young; you should consult adults before making decisions on your own,” the master said, giving He Yuzhu a knowing look while scolding him.

“Yes, yes, I will be careful next time and definitely tell my lady before deciding anything,” He Yuzhu quickly assured upon seeing the master’s glance.

“Enough, you two, stop standing around and get to work,” the mistress said, dismissively.

He Yuzhu hurried out with his master to start the day’s work.

“Yuzhu, your lady is just concerned about you, afraid you might spend money recklessly,” the master said on the way.

“Master, I know. Yushui and I lost our mother when we were young, and our father neglects us. I’m just a young man with little to offer, and Yushui is still small. If it weren’t for the lady treating Yushui like her own daughter, I’m afraid he would have fallen ill already,” He Yuzhu said, choking up a little.

“That’s enough. Study hard and stand on your own. Then your lady and I won’t have worked in vain,” the master said.

They arrived at Fengze Garden and began their day’s work. Every day, besides learning cooking at work, whenever He Yuzhu had free time, he roamed around enriching the species within his space and sought materials and tools for brewing.

After more than ten days of busy effort, he finally gathered everything needed for brewing.

One day, He Yuzhu inspected the space. After prolonged efforts to fill it with species, the space now contained ten chickens, ducks, and geese each, producing ten eggs daily; ten pigs, ten sheep, ten rabbits, and a hive of bees. There were fruit trees such as peach, apple, plum, hawthorn, pear, chestnut, persimmon, grape, and even a wild tea tree dug up from a mountain. Vegetables included watermelon, melon, sugarcane, sweet potato, cucumber, tomato, rapeseed, spinach, and cabbage. Grains like wheat, sorghum, rice, corn, soybeans, and peanuts were all stocked. A one-acre flower field bloomed with various wildflowers. The small lake teemed with fish, shrimp, crabs, and turtles.

Inside the space, without harvesting, everything remained stable: fruits stayed ripe, the number of chickens, ducks, and geese remained at the maximum ten, as did pigs and sheep; eggs would cease production if not collected. The lake's aquatic life flourished in abundance.

Using his will, He Yuzhu allocated one acre of land for brewing and storage. Looking around, the space’s land was nearly all occupied, feeling somewhat insufficient.

Inside the space, he first prepared brewing starters using plants as described in ancient texts, then began crushing grains, steaming, cooling, mixing with starters, fermenting, distilling, and storing. Starting with small batches for testing, he continually adjusted the starter formulas and grain ratios, experimenting until he found the recipe that suited his palate best.

Having perfected the formula, he began producing batch after batch of liquor in the space. All the distilled spirits were stored in fifty-kilogram jars—twenty jars in total.

Next, he researched yellow wine, which has a different process from white liquor. He again started with small batches, slowly adjusting until he found the optimal recipe, producing another twenty fifty-kilogram jars.

Then he moved on to wine made from grapes. From the poem referencing “grape wine in a luminous cup,” it’s clear that grape wine has a long history in China. Following ancient records, he brewed two fifty-liter barrels of grape wine.

Thinking about medicinal liquors that require high-proof alcohol, he began brewing sorghum liquor, producing five hundred jin of strong sorghum spirit.

Busy day and night in the space, he finally completed all the brews. However, they were all stored in large jars, which were inconvenient for gifting or selling.

For several days afterward, He Yuzhu bought many smaller jars—one-jin, three-jin, and five-jin sizes—and placed them in the space, preparing for future needs.