AWB Chapter 23 Hexagram 8
Chapter 23 Hexagram 8
Those two men were probably merchants who came here to buy goods. They were middle-aged, one with a prosperous appearance and the other with a full beard.
The wealthy merchant asked, "Hey, have you heard? Ye Kingdom hasn't sent any tribute this year either."
The bearded merchant took a sip of his drink and gave a knowing look: "If you ask me, they've long harbored rebellious intentions."
“But isn’t Da Ye a country with which we have a marriage alliance? The princess of Ye is not His Majesty’s concubine. In recent years, the two countries have opened up trade and have had very close exchanges.”
The bearded merchant suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "Alas, that was more than ten years ago! More than ten years ago, when the late emperor was alive, the Great Liang was a powerful nation, and the surrounding neighboring countries paid tribute to it every year. Fifteen years ago, the princess of Bei came to Great Liang for a marriage alliance and gave birth to the seventh prince, which indeed brought more than ten years of peace to the border."
"But this has given Ye Kingdom an opportunity to develop. Now Ye Kingdom is becoming stronger and stronger and is beginning to show signs of disloyalty."
The wealthy merchant looked regretful: "If the two countries go to war, wouldn't the princess who was sent for the marriage alliance be in a difficult situation? It is said that she is the most beautiful woman in Ye Kingdom. When she came to the capital, the whole city turned out. I heard that everyone who saw her was shocked. It's a pity that I was not in the capital at that time and never saw her."
"Sigh, if the two countries are really at war, who would care about the life or death of a princess? What use is beauty if she's beautiful?!"
"Yeah, what a pity."
"However, Brother Chen, I still have to remind you that Rong'an County borders the State of Bei and is a border area. If things get chaotic here, business will be difficult. We need to prepare early."
"No."
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Princess? If a war really breaks out, both the princess and her son will suffer a terrible fate."
"War is inevitable, and the Great Liang might not even be able to win. It's best to stay away from here."
However, Gezhuang Village is located in a remote mountain area, so the army shouldn't be able to reach it. But life will definitely be affected; we still need to earn more money.
Lin Yan took the wine, went out and found a small alley to put it into her spatial storage. She then went to a ceramics shop and bought twenty sealed jars for pickling vegetables. She asked the shop assistant to deliver them to the alley and put them into her spatial storage to take with her.
Then they strolled back, buying some spare ribs and pork bones along the way to stock up.
On the way, she saw a stall selling baked flatbreads with mutton inside and crispy on the outside. Seeing that it was almost noon, Lin Yan bought ten flatbreads.
From then on, the money in her hands was rapidly dwindling. Her father had spent ten taels of silver to buy the land, but Lin Yan gave him thirty taels, which he saved to build a house.
I spent another three taels of silver on my last trip to town, and now I only have five taels left.
Lin Yan took a ride back to Gezhuang Village. Uncle Li knew that Li Xiaocao and she were close, so he specially drove her home.
After Lin Yan returned home, she called Lin Yu, gave him the vegetable seeds, and asked him to divide the acre of land into several plots and plant one type of vegetable in each plot.
He and Lin's mother carried baskets on their backs and went up the mountain to pick all the green plums from the plum trees.
Lin's mother was a little surprised when she learned that she wanted to pick green plums: "These plums are very sour, why are we picking so many?"
Lin Yan replied, "This isn't something you eat directly! I'll make plum wine and dried plums."
After Lin Yan and her mother finished picking the green plums and returned home, Lin's mother washed and dried all the plums she had picked.
Lin Yan went to find Lin Yu, broke open the peaches and apricots she had bought, planted the pits in the ground, and began to use her supernatural abilities to accelerate their growth.
Several peach and apricot trees, from tender buds to slender branches, and then to lush and upright trees, bloom with pink and white flowers and bear fruit.
"Wow!" Lin Yu completely forgot what he was doing. In just a short while, he saw peach and apricot trees, representing the four seasons, appear from nothing. He was so shocked that he didn't know how to describe it.
Lin Yan glanced back at him and asked, "Have you finished scattering all those seeds?"
"It's all spilled! Is it the same over here too?!"
Lin Yan walked over and urged another batch of lush green vegetables to grow. She only forced a small portion to grow so she could keep it for herself, and let the rest grow freely.
"Sister, won't Mom and Dad be suspicious if so many dishes suddenly appear?"
"Father will probably be busy for a while. Once he's done, these changes won't be noticeable."
"how do you know?"
"Tomorrow, Ge Chuanjia should be getting married!"
"Yes, it's tomorrow, but what does that have to do with Dad?"
"There will definitely be a lot of people from Zhangjiawan at the wedding. There are quite a few wealthy families in their village! The Ge family uses furniture made by my father. I'll give them some advertising later."
"Advertising?"
"Yes, it's all about publicity. Only when your reputation spreads will people come to you!"
"Let's go, once we've finished planting, let's make plum wine together."
Lin Yan and Lin Yu picked a basket of peaches and a basket of apricots, took them to the river to wash them clean, and Lin Yan took out the sealed jar she had bought that day. She cut the washed peaches and apricots in half, removed the pits, layered the fruit flesh, sprinkled a layer of sugar, and after filling the jar, she poured in wine and sealed it.
The same applies to green plums; layer green plums in a jar, then add a layer of sugar and fill it up.
Lin Yan took a sip of the wine she bought and almost cursed, "This, this is only twelve or thirteen degrees, the alcohol content is too low!"
No wonder people in ancient times could drink so much!
If the alcohol content of a liquor is too low, it is very likely to become moldy if it is soaked for too long.
High-proof liquor is more suitable, at least 30 degrees.
"Ah!" Lin Yan lay down on the ground as if giving up. "It's too difficult!" She thought that it would be finished after pouring some more wine.
Lin Yu peeked at Lin Yan and asked, "Sis, why did you stop? Weren't we supposed to pour the wine?"
Lin Yan looked utterly dejected. "This wine is no good!"
Lin Yan muttered softly, "Distillation, how is alcohol distilled again? I think I learned about it in school! I can't remember at all!!"
Lin Yan turned to look at the ten jars that had already been filled. "No, we have to figure this out, otherwise all this work will have been for nothing!"
Alcohol is distilled because it has a different boiling point than water; alcohol vaporizes earlier than water.
Two layers of bamboo mats woven by Lin Mu were placed around the edge of the large iron pot, rolled into a bucket shape, and then wrapped with a layer of plastic wrap to prevent air from entering.
Place a smaller pot on the bamboo mat, which fits snugly on the bucket, to add cold water as a cooling device, and make a small hole in the surface of the bamboo mat.
Take a bamboo pole, hollow it out, and cut off half of the top section to make it bowl-shaped. Insert the cut end into the small hole and place it at an angle downwards. Attach a bowl to the other end. This is used to collect the vaporized and condensed alcohol.
Lin Yan tinkered for a long time and finally finished. "Let's make a simple one first. If it's useful, we'll find someone to make a device."
Lin Yan asked Lin Yu to bring over a wine jar. She first poured a jar of wine into an iron pot, then poured cold water into a small pot on top. Then she started a fire to heat the wine.
The water in the pot had to be scooped out and replaced with cold water as soon as it heated up. Soon, the distilled liquor flowed out of the bamboo tube. Lin Yan picked it up, tasted it, and her eyes lit up. "It's done!"
This simple distillation method cannot completely distill high-proof alcohol; a single distillation yields approximately 30 degrees.
"This is enough!" Rice wine with an alcohol content of around 30% is perfect for making plum wine—it's just the right amount of sweet and sour, without an overpowering alcohol taste, and it also meets the requirements for preservation. Using a higher alcohol content would result in a stronger flavor.
Lin Yan and Lin Yu stayed in the kitchen until dark before they finished distilling the four jars of wine, but in the end they only got two jars.
Pour the distilled liquor into the jar containing the fruit, seal it, and store it in a cool, dark place.
It can be steeped for three to six months, but it can actually be drunk after one month. However, it will taste better if it is steeped for a longer time.