Chapter Thirty-Seven Preparing to Make Wine

  Cheng Fu, after Cheng Yaojin returned home, told Cheng Lingyun about the matter of Qin Yu and Princess Chang Le. There was no way to hide this matter, it would be known by Cheng Lingyun sooner or later, so it's better to tell her in advance and let her have a psychological preparation.

  Cheng Lingyun was speechless for a long time after learning about Qin Yu and the princess. Fortunately, Madame Cheng consoled her, saying that men are all polygamous, and Qin Yu only had two women, so she should be content. Of course, this was just what Madame Cheng meant to say, not something she would say outright.

  Cheng Lingyun finally came to her senses, although she was resentful, there was nothing she could do. Li Shimin had already spoken, what could Cheng Lingyun say? Moreover, her father Cheng Yaojin was not just one wife, and that was a princess, being able to be the legitimate wife was already the best outcome.

  It can't be that the princess slept with him for nothing, so why not let Qin Yu marry the princess? That would also make sense.

  Cheng Lingyun herself was also a bit self-abased, thinking she was ugly, to be precise, lacking confidence. She felt that being able to become Qin Yu's wife was already enough, so naturally she wouldn't compete or fight for it, in order to avoid making Qin Yu unhappy.

  After all, the engagement was successful under duress at the beginning. Although Qin Yu was not dissatisfied and was quite happy, Cheng Lingyun still felt that she owed Qin Yu a lot, so Cheng Lingyun cherished this marriage in every way.

  Qingfengju, Cheng Huailiang and Cheng Huaimo each found an excuse to go busy with their own affairs, the pressure from Shi Tou was really too great for them.

  Qin Yu went to where, Shi Tou followed to where, the two big hammers in his hands were intimidating at times, and all the servants and maids looked at Shi Tou with fearful eyes, only the children of Zhangjia Village gathered around Shi Tou curiously touching this and that, while Shi Tou kept smiling foolishly.

  The stone is very strong, this is Qin Yu's feeling, but what Qin Yu didn't expect was that this guy's appetite was also unmatched.

  Shitou said he was hungry, so Qin Yu called the servant to go and eat, but not long after, the servant came running back in a panic to report that Shitou had gone mad. Qin Yu rushed over to see him.

  All I saw was this guy, with a big steamed bun in each hand, finishing one every two or three bites. In just a short while, he must have eaten at least thirty-six of them. I really don't know what his stomach is made of.

  Qin Yu worried that Shi Tou would burst his stomach, and hastily stopped him. Shi Tou did stop, but he still muttered to himself, "I'm not full yet."

  Qin Yu looked at Shi Tou's pitiful appearance, like a child who had been bullied, and couldn't help but laugh, his mouth twitching with amusement. "You're already so old, yet you still act like a kid." But Qin Yu wouldn't say this out loud.

  As for asking the stone to eat, that's absolutely out of the question. Who let this stone be so vicious? It's not that Qin Yu is stingy with a few steamed buns, but rather he's worried that this guy will get sick from eating.

  Shitou saw Qin Yu persisting and didn't bother with that commotion anymore, carrying the big hammer to continue following Qin Yu.

  The winery needs to be built, but the waiting time is too long. Qingfengju still has many vacant rooms, so we can first choose a room to brew wine here, and move over when the winery is completed.

  The equipment for brewing, Qin Yu didn't understand, but the half-old Xu Nang Sun Erniang understood. Qin Yu handed over the matter to Sun Erniang to handle it, and if she needed any manpower, she could use as many as she wanted, after all, Qingfeng Residence had plenty of servants.

  Qin Yu prepared to complete the finished product at one time and immediately told Sun Erniang about the distillation method.

  Sun Erniang's face was flushed, but Qin Yu whispered in her ear, it's okay, Sun Erniang understood, and afterwards, Qin Yu didn't care about the rest, anyway, they had signed a contract, and no matter how brave Sun Erniang was, she wouldn't dare to reveal anything.

  However, this room became a restricted area. No one who wasn't trusted by Qin Yu could get close to it, but that was okay for now since nothing had been figured out yet.

  In the Qingfeng residence, Qin Yu trusted very few people. Fortunately, all the servants and housekeepers were slaves, so no one dared to leak secrets. Anyone who did would be put to death by Qin Yu's order. To be on the safe side, however, Qin Yu still strictly forbade any idle people from approaching.

  Of course, except for the few maids and house servants selected by Sun Erniang, if she were to brew wine herself, it would not be ready until next year, so naturally more manpower is needed.

  The children in Zhangjiacun are very sensible and know that Qin Yu is busy, so no one goes to ask him academic questions. When they have nothing to do, they review their lessons on their own. When there's something to do, they come forward to help. For example, now this group of kids followed the wine brewing site, although they're not needed, but they still work very hard.

  Qin Yu handed over the matter, and naturally someone was busy. However, Qin Yu wasn't free yet, as the wine workshop hadn't been settled. Fortunately, within a ten-mile radius of Qingfengju, all the land belonged to Qin Yu, so he could build wherever he wanted without anyone interfering. Qin Yu took advantage of this and brought Shi Tou, pulling Cheng Huailiang to search for a location everywhere.

  Brewing requires a water source, although there is a small river outside Qingfengju, Qin Yu doesn't plan to use it. There is a spring inside Qingfengju, which indicates that the groundwater resources here are extremely rich. How can brewing use river water? If you want to use it, you have to use underground water.

  The Qingfeng residence is two miles south and enters the mountain forest, where three miles around also belong to Qin Yu. After looking around, Qin Yu still decided to stay at the foot of the mountain, which is the Qinling Mountains, and further south is the Zhongnan Mountain.

  Legend has it that Laozi lectured on the 5,000-word Dao De Jing to Yin Xi back in the day. Qin Yu wasn't a historian, but he did have some interest in exploring the truth, though he didn't have much time for it at the moment.

  The location has been decided, Qin Yu took Shi Tou Cheng Huai Liang to Chang'an to find craftsmen to build a wine workshop. There were many materials and labor costs, fortunately, there was Cheng Huai Liang around, so these businessmen didn't dare to cheat Qin Yu.

  Of course, the place where the wine workshop is built also needs to be dug into a well. Qin Yu didn't want to use river water to brew wine, although the river water at this time was much better than the so-called mineral water in modern times. Why choose the worse one when there's a better option? The brewed wine would taste better that way too.

  It wasn't a long journey, but it took a lot of time, and by the time I returned to Qingfengju, the sun had already set in the west.

  In the morning, Ding Dabao, who was also a good friend of Cheng Yaojin's family, had arrived at Qingfeng House. He had been waiting for Qin Yu for more than two hours, but he didn't have any complaints. After all, Shuang Xi had already told him what had happened, and he didn't know how to thank Qin Yu enough.

  Qin Yu looked at Shuang Xi, who was standing beside a sturdy young man with a bashful expression. Without needing an introduction from Shuang Xi, Qin Yu knew that this must be Da Niu, unless Shuang Xi was being unfaithful.

  Shuang Xi saw Qin Yu return, and hastily whispered a sentence in Da Niu's ear. After hearing it, Da Niu suddenly realized and hurriedly stepped forward to bow, saying "Da Niu has seen Young Master, thank you Young Master for your help."

  The big cow's voice is a bit silly, and its character can't be seen for the time being. Qin Yu estimated that this big cow was also a kind-hearted person, fortunately not like Shi Tou, who was out of tune, but this big cow wasn't.

  Qin Yu smiled, "You're really something, not bad, no wonder Shuang Xi can't forget about you. You'd better take good care of Shuang Xi in the future, or else Young Master won't forgive you."

  "Yes, young master." Dà Niú said with a silly smile, while Shuāng Xǐ on the side blushed and lowered her head to rub the hem of her clothes.

  "Good." Qin Yu smiled and immediately looked at Shuang Xi, instructing, "Later you go choose a room, after you and Da Niu get married, you'll live there."

  Shuang Xi heard this and looked at Da Niu with a blush, then nodded and said softly, "Thank you, young master."

  "Master, Big Cow can cook." Shuang Xi suddenly remembered that Big Cow had not been assigned any tasks and hastily spoke up.

  Qin Yu nodded, "Alright, then go to the kitchen and get to work. You too, it's just right that we can keep each other company."

  "Thank you, young master." Da Niu Shuang Xi was so excited to hear Qin Yu's words that he almost gave him a hug on the spot. Fortunately, these two people were still somewhat restrained, but even if they had hugged each other, Qin Yu wouldn't have said anything.

  Qin Yu didn't trust the culinary skills of the Tang Dynasty chefs one hundred percent, but he also couldn't always cook for himself. Once or twice was fine, but if it happened many times, it would naturally become annoying. "Hm, I need to quickly cultivate some cooks."

  As soon as lunchtime arrived, Cheng Huailiang and Cheng Huaimo came without prior agreement. Why not take advantage of the ready opportunity? After eating Qin Yu's dishes, they went to eat other dishes, which was really hard to swallow. Qin Yu didn't care, having made a lot, but when the last dish was put on the table, it turned out that no one had touched this dish.

  Soon Qin Yu laughed, but it was Shi Tou holding a big hammer staring at the two brothers, daring to move the bowl Shi Tou would raise his hammer, in Shi Tou's words, "My young master hasn't eaten yet, whoever dares to eat will be beaten."

  Qin Yu praised the stone for doing a good job, and the stone happily swung its large hammer, "Bang bang" came three times, Qin Yu instantly remembered that this stone couldn't be praised, especially when it was holding a hammer.

  A table of dishes, the wind rolled up the remaining clouds. Cheng Huailiang and Cheng Huaimo together didn't eat as fast as Shi Tou, three-fifths went into Shi Tou's stomach, one-fifth into Qin Yu's, and the rest were eaten by the two Cheng brothers.

  Cheng Huai Miao Cheng Huai Liang was a man who dared to be angry but not speak, and at noon that day, he ate another meal with gusto, swallowing fifty steamed buns in one go. Only then did he pat his belly contentedly and say, "I'm finally full."

  Qin Yu let out a sigh of relief when he saw this. He had wanted to call it off several times, but in the end, he endured it. In the afternoon, Shi Tou didn't stop complaining about not being full around Qin Yu. Qin Yu didn't stop him because he felt that Shi Tou was just lacking in common sense, but wasn't truly stupid. Fortunately, this was indeed the case.

  Qin Yu withdrew his gaze from the stone and saw that the two brothers of the Cheng family were using their tongues to lick the plates, and he suddenly felt a chill.

  "Come on, if we wait for the sesame oil and peanut oil to be made, and get all the eight-spice powder, dried tangerine peel and cinnamon ready, you'll still finish the dish in no time."

  In the Tang Dynasty, most of the oil was still animal oil. Qin Yu only saw some vegetable oil in the kitchen and after asking around, he found out that sunflower seed oil, peanut oil, etc. had not appeared yet. Fortunately, there was soy sauce in the kitchen, otherwise the dishes made by Qin Yu would definitely drop a level.