Chapter Fifteen: Shang Dang Brews Yaochi Liquid

  Zhao Xing should have been entwined with his new wife in their bedroom, but on the third day after their wedding, he took his wife back to her parents' home, and this trip lasted for three whole months.

  At the time of their engagement, Zhao Xing had already agreed to the Xu family's request and promised that in the future he would choose one of his own sons with Xu Wanting to inherit the Xu family's property and change his surname to Xu. At first, Mr. and Mrs. Xu were worried that Zhao Xing might not agree, and they might miss out on a good son-in-law. However, for Zhao Xing, the concept of surname was not as strong as it was for the ancients, and besides, as long as he worked hard and made an effort, wouldn't his sons be able to have whatever they wanted in the future?

  After arriving at the Xu family wine workshop, Zhao Xing carefully studied the improvement measures and methods of Baijiu craftsmanship with Xu Mantang and his son. Because he had done in-depth research before, Zhao Xing had a comprehensive understanding of the white wine craftsmanship during this period.

  At that time, the situation was: most of the Baijiu in Bianzhou area adopted solid-state fermentation method, and some auxiliary materials were added during fermentation to adjust the starch concentration, maintain the softness of the wine lees, and keep the mash water. Commonly used auxiliary materials include rice husk, wheat bran, corn cob, etc.

  Apart from the main and auxiliary materials, wine yeast is also needed. The yeast is made by cultivating a variety of mold fungi on a starch-based substrate, accumulating a large amount of amylase, which is a crude enzyme preparation. Why can Maotai liquor only be produced in Maotai Town? It's said that only the original inherited cellars can obtain the same fungal community, and once they leave, it won't work. This is also why Maotai liquor cannot be mass-produced. (The specific brewing process and procedure of white wine will not be described here, as they are all professional terms, you'll get tired reading them, and I'll get tired writing them.)

  Through analysis, Zhao Xing realized that China's baijiu craftsmanship was already quite complete at the time, but due to limitations in scientific technology, there were still some problems that were difficult to overcome.

  For example, because distillation technology was not adopted, the alcohol content of baijiu (white liquor) generally could not exceed 35 degrees. Something like "Hengshui Laobaigan" with an alcohol content of 72 degrees would have been unimaginable at that time.

  Because it doesn't use activated carbon purification technology, Chinese liquor should actually be called "turbid liquor", generally more turbid, and not as transparent as mineral water now.

  Because no brewing technology was adopted and no flavorings were added, the aroma of Chinese liquor was not as strong as it is today.

  Zhao Xing knew so much because in his previous life, he had a cousin who was a bartender. The two of them played together since childhood and often drank and chatted together. Under the influence of this brother, Zhao Xing understood quite a bit about the brewing of white wine.

  Zhao Xing put forward his own understanding and views, and some brewing techniques that would only appear in later generations were also vaguely described and explained by him. Although Xu Mantang and his son didn't fully understand what they heard, they strongly agreed with some of the key points, and after listening, their eyes lit up, clearly greatly inspired.

  All talk and no action is a waste of time. In the following days, Zhao Xing and Xu Mantang devoted themselves to improving the brewing technology of white wine. Zhao Xing was mainly responsible for conquering the research and development of activated carbon, Xu Mantang was responsible for the research on white wine distillation and purification technology, and Xu Qingyuan (Xu Wanting's grandfather) was responsible for simple flavor addition methods.

  There is a saying: each profession has its own specialization. After more than two months of repeated experimentation and comparison, Xu Mantang and his son made breakthroughs in their respective areas of responsibility, while Zhao Xing's activated carbon production had not yet been successful.

  In a hurry, Zhao Xing ran to the local charcoal kiln and personally apprenticed with the charcoal master, regardless of the scorching heat in July. With sweat and soot all over his body, he crawled in and out, showing some spirit like Comrade Zhang Side. Thanks to his hard work and the guidance of his past knowledge, a simplified version of activated carbon was finally developed by Comrade Zhao Xing.

  Things became much simpler afterwards, with specific production being handled by Xu Mantang and his son. Zhao Xing would occasionally put forward some ideas for improvement. He was also thinking about whether to develop the glass manufacturing technology, so that transparent bottles could be provided for the upcoming Shangdang burn pot wine. However, he remembered that Shanxi was mainly producing coal, and the origin of kaolin was really nowhere to be found, so he had to wait until the future to send someone to learn this technology from Western Regions.

  When the first jar of white wine made with improved craftsmanship was placed on Zhao Xing's desk, Xu Mantang and his son looked at him with tense faces. After he sipped a mouthful of the wine, he became inspired to recite poetry: "The fine wine from Shangdang fills my nostrils with fragrance, jade cups bring light from the Jade Pool. If only the host can get the guest drunk, who knows where is his hometown?"

  "What a great poem!" Li Jin thought couldn't help but praise.

  "It's really wet! Your saliva is all dripping onto my hand!" Li Jinwu complained with a scowl.

  "Good wine goes well with good poetry, it's really a perfect match!" Xǔ Mǎntáng exclaimed excitedly.

  "Why don't we let Xiao Xing come up with a resounding name for our new wine?" Xu Wanting said with a happy face.

  Zhao Xing waved his big pen and wrote down the four characters "Chang He Da Qu" on the paper, and explained casually: "Chang refers to Changzi County; He refers to the Yellow River; Da Qu can be interpreted as the Yellow River making a big turn here, and also represents the new large wine curve used in our family's distillation process, which is different from the original small wine curve. What do you think of this name?"

  Everyone cheered and applauded.

  "The Great River Bends" became famous throughout the land!

  In the long years, countless literary ministers and military generals, literati and poets, soldiers and merchants have fallen drunk in the good wine brewed by Shangdang. Selling for eternity, I don't know where is a foreign land, forgetting the pain in my heart, forgetting the sorrow of "human life is cheaper than dogs" in troubled times...