Chapter 54: The Heart of an Unscrupulous Boss is Truly Black

  On the second day at noon, Liu Jili gathered the bosses of the five wine houses in the hotel where Zhao Xing was currently staying. The several wine house bosses admired this brother who brewed Changhe Daqu from the bottom of their hearts, otherwise they would not have given up their own wine houses like a pilgrimage and rushed to Shangdang County. As for Zhao Xing, who was about to appear, everyone in the hotel was guessing in their hearts.

  "Trouble everyone to come in person, Guo Chang thanks you here!" Pushing the door and entering, Zhao Xing made a circular courtesy to the crowd.

  Several wine shop owners looked at the young man who pushed open the door, with a look of confusion and surprise on their faces. Why? Because in the minds of these bosses, Zhao Xing should be an old man with white hair to conform to common sense. The wine industry is not like selling smiles in a brothel, where the younger you are, the more capital you have. Those who brew good wine, which master is not white-haired and has a long beard?

  Liu Jili saw that everyone was not buying it. As the saying goes, "No hair on his lips, no solid business!" Let these old and cunning guys talk to Zhao Xing about cooperation, whether from a psychological or experiential perspective, I'm afraid Zhao Xing won't be able to handle it. Just as Liu Jili was about to step forward to mediate, he found that Zhao Xing was not nervous at all, and with a loud voice, he spoke astonishing words.

  "Everyone is welcome to participate in brewing Changhe Daqu at my Drunken Immortal Pavilion!"

  Awesome, absolutely awesome!

  Including Liu Jili, they all thought there was something wrong with their ears. What a joke! Changhe Dacu is now famous throughout the land, whoever gets involved will be on the road to wealth and prosperity, of course everyone wants in. However, the crowd isn't made up of amateurs, they know that where there's great benefit, there's also great risk, so no one rushed to make a statement. A boss with the surname Du stepped forward, bowed and asked: "Mr. Zhao, please state your requirements, we're all honest men here, as long as we think it's feasible, we'll definitely lend our support!"

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  "The conditions are simple, everyone takes down the sign of their own wine shop and uniformly replaces it with the sign of my Drunken Immortal Pavilion! The wine shop is still your own family's wine shop, and all the wine and water sold inside will be provided by the Upper Party Wotou Village to each household. I, Zhao Xing, only collect 40% of the profit from each household."

  This condition is not harsh at all, and it's even quite tempting for those bosses who originally planned to sell their shops and become small landlords in the countryside.

  "How is the price of the wine provided by the upper party calculated?" asked Mr. Du.

  "You can discuss and set a uniform price among yourselves, as long as you ensure that both of us make a profit. The more you earn, the more I'll earn." Zhao Xing said with a sly smile, looking like a weasel who had stolen a hen.

  "Can Zhao Dongjia guarantee that he won't intentionally cut off our wine supply in the future just because his wine business is doing well?" asked another boss surnamed Zhang.

  "As long as you are willing to let Brother Jieli take charge of the Zhuixian Building chain wine house in Luoyang City, from now on he will be directly in contact with the upper party, and it can guarantee that your wine source is sufficient!" Zhao Xing said affirmatively.

  "What did Zhao Dongjia say about participating in the brewing of Changhe Daqu?" asked Mr. Hu.

  "Each of your families can choose one child to go to Wohu Village to learn some techniques for brewing and distilling liquor. If our cooperation goes smoothly in the future, they can continue learning." Zhao Xing thought to himself that even his father-in-law Xu Mantang didn't know about the simplified activated carbon manufacturing technology, so without this technique, no one could brew Longhe Daqu, a fine wine as clear as sweet spring water, and therefore he wasn't worried about others learning it.

  "Alright, Zhao Dong's family is quick and decisive, I, Du, am willing to join Zui Xian Lou!"

  Everyone stood up and promised to work together to establish a chain of Drunken Immortal Pavilion wine houses.

  "Brother Jili, I'm troubling you to sign the agreement with all the bosses. From now on, you'll be in charge of coordinating the customer sources for several families, and there mustn't be any more squeezing or snatching of customers from each other. I have some other matters that I'll entrust to you later." Zhao Xing instructed Liu Jili.

  "After the ceremony, spare no effort, and gallop forward!"

  "Wait, right, later, you'll distribute the sign I've written to all the bosses, and in five days, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion will open together with everyone else in Luoyang City!" That certain unscrupulous little brat who likes to leave his mark everywhere actually still wants everyone to hang up their own handwritten signs.

  Two days later, Li Jinwu personally escorted the convoy, and a hundred large carts of Langhe series liquor were quietly transported into Zhao Xing's newly purchased mansion in "Bu Guangli" near Luoyang City Gate just before the gate was about to close.

  In the study, Zhao Xing asked about the situation along the way. Li Jinwu said: "Before crossing the Yellow River, the convoy was escorted by Xu Sima (Xu Huai) himself with soldiers and horses. When passing through Jiguan, the officials and soldiers guarding the pass stopped us for inspection, so we said that these wines were to be sent to the current Grand General and the Three Dukes, and no one dared to intercept them."

  "Brother Guan's arrangement is indeed proper. The other day, when we passed through Jiguang, we were surrounded by fake bandits who turned out to be government soldiers. In a fit of rage, we didn't leave any survivors. From now on, when entering or leaving Jiguang, remind everyone to be extra cautious. The garrison at Jiguang does not belong to the jurisdiction of the Shangdang Prefecture, but rather takes orders from Wang Kuang, the governor of Henan Prefecture. We mustn't let them find any weaknesses to exploit." Zhao Xing said with a serious expression.

  "Don't worry too much, Brother! Nowadays, Guan Yu has already trained the soldiers of Shangdang County into a strong army. These miscellaneous fishes dare to offend us, I'll teach them to have no return!" Li Jinwu said with a big slap on his chest.

  "Oh, I wonder how many troops are in the county now?" Zhao Xing was also very concerned about his own territory.

  "Currently, the county troops have five battalions with 4,000 men and horses. In addition, Zhao Yun's 'Flying Tiger Battalion' has 2,000 men and horses, and Zhang Liao's 'Crouching Tiger Battalion' also has 2,000 local militiamen."

  "Alright, after the Luoyang Drunken Immortal Pavilion opens for business, I'll find an opportunity to return to Shangdang and take a look at our troops." It's said that the Sleeping Tiger Manor currently has actual control over 8,000 soldiers and horses. Zhao Xing is very pleased in his heart. He thinks back to when Old Cao first rose up in rebellion, he didn't have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. With these several branches of troops led by Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Liao, Zhao Xing's capital for survival in this chaotic world has become even more substantial.

  Five days later, the drunkards in Luoyang suddenly found that the familiar wine houses had changed their names overnight. A wine house on Buguangli was renamed "All Virtues Are Here - Drunken Immortal Building"; two wine houses on Jinshi Street were respectively renamed "Unaware of Returning Home - Drunken Immortal Building" and "Carefree and Unrestrained - Drunken Immortal Building". Two wine houses near Taixue were respectively renamed "Literary Masterpiece - Drunken Immortal Building" and "Phoenix Arrives with Auspicious Signs - Drunken Immortal Building".

  It's clear from the names that although all five wine houses are called Drunken Immortal Building, the "Looking Up to Virtue" in Step Broad is where high-ranking officials and nobles go to drink; "Unaware of Returning Home" is where merchants and travelers gather with fellow villagers from other places; "Free and Unrestrained" is where eccentric people and wine enthusiasts go; "Literary Masterpiece" is naturally prepared for teachers and students of the Imperial Academy, while "Phoenix Comes with Auspicious Signs" is specially prepared for young ladies.

  Five wine houses, under Zhao Xing's instructions, opened their doors to welcome guests at noon. Many wine enthusiasts who had been suppressed for almost half a month were about to turn Luoyang City upside down and finally found the large flag of "Changhe Daqu" waving in the wind, and they rushed into the wine house with tears and shouts.

  The Drunken Immortal Pavilion, known for its "no drunkenness, no return" reputation, naturally prepared various strengths of Changhe Daqu to meet the different needs of customers. However, one thing is really heartbreaking. In the past, the money that could be used to drink a tank of wine in the original tavern can now only afford to drink a small cup of wine, which means the price of wine has increased by tenfold!

  "Think it's expensive? Sorry, this is the price our boss set! If you're not coming in, please don't block the entrance, the brothers behind are waiting anxiously!" The young waiter said with a smile.

  "What kind of black-hearted boss is this!" The customers muttered to themselves, but they still couldn't resist the temptation of the wine and slipped into the tavern.

  "Xing Ge, this is the one hundred and eighty-fourth customer to scold you in this restaurant today..." Xu Wanlin excitedly counted.

  Zhao Xing had a bitter look on his face, but he said with a smile, "As the Buddha said: When others scold me or insult me, I will listen and endure... Until I make enough money, just wait and see me repay them double, hehe..."