Chapter Twenty-Four: Setting Out

  Qin Yu took two large packages of tea leaves and left the county government office with a satisfied heart, instructing his servants to take the tea leaves ahead and return to their mansion in Yongnian County. Qin Yu then went to visit Cui Wen's fat son.

  From now on, I'm going to live in Qingfengju, so this wine workshop will naturally be built near Qingfengju. It's also convenient for me to take care of it. In this way, if Cui Wen wants to sell white wine, he has to go to Chang'an. Whether he is willing or not, Qin Yu doesn't care. Anyway, the contract didn't specify a location. From here, we can also see that Qin Yu is not so honest either.

  Originally, Qin Yu only needed to send a servant over to inform them, after all, the identity of Tang Dynasty merchants was already established, and it wasn't necessary for Qin Yu to come in person. However, since Qin Yu came from modern times, he knew the importance of merchants and felt that coming in person would be better, also forming a good relationship.

  Qin Yu arrived at the gate of the Cui family's residence and told the doorman his identity, asking him to go and announce it. The doorman saw that Qin Yu was dressed elegantly and had a refined demeanor, so he naturally didn't dare to be slow and hastily went to report.

  Before long, a loud and clear voice rang out.

  "Ah, Master Qin, I'm so sorry for not coming to greet you from afar. Please forgive me, please forgive me." Just then, a chubby figure hurried over with quick little steps - it was none other than Cui Wen.

  Of course, this little short-legged feeling is Qin Yu's feeling. This guy is indeed fat and strange. If he were tall, it would be fine, but he is less than 1.6 meters tall, so running around naturally feels a bit awkward.

  "Where, where, Brother Cui has become wealthy again recently." Qin Yu said with a strong suppressed smile.

  In the Tang Dynasty, being fat was considered beautiful. Although it wasn't as intense at that moment, this trend had already begun to emerge. What Qin Yu said was actually a compliment, implying that Cui Wengong was plump and therefore beautiful.

  Chui Wen's face lit up with a smile, especially when he heard the words "Brother Chui", which made his heart burst with joy. His round face was filled with wrinkles, showing just how excited this chubby guy was.

  "Nothing, nothing," Cui Wen hastily bowed and said, "The honorable Qin Gongzi has arrived, it's truly an honor for my humble abode. Please, Qin Gongzi, come in." As he spoke, he bent his waist and stretched out his hand to gesture for Qin Yu to enter first, his posture was extremely low.

  Although Cui Wen did not know that Qin Yu had been enfeoffed, nor did he know the relationship between the Duke of Yi and the Duke of Lu with Qin Yu, Qin Yu himself had a scholar's identity. Since Qin Yu was able to come, Cui Wen felt honored, how could he dare to neglect Qin Yu? Moreover, Qin Yu was also related to his own interests.

  Cui Wen's house was not small at all, and it was decorated luxuriously, but for some reason, Qin Yu felt that only a nouveau riche would do something like this.

  Upon arriving at the main hall, after Qin Yu and Cui Wen sat down, they exchanged pleasantries for a while before Cui Wen spoke up to ask, "Young Master Qin, is there something that requires my assistance?"

  Cui Wen's words were sincere and pleasant to hear, but Qin Yu knew that this fat man was a typical smiling tiger. However, when dealing with people of higher status than him, he had a low enough attitude, and it could also be said that he was smooth in his dealings.

  "It's nothing major, I just plan to build this winery in Chang'an, and I'm here to let you know, Brother Cui." Qin Yu said straightforwardly.

  As soon as Cui Wen heard the two words "Chang'an", his eyes lit up, and his attitude became even more respectful. After a moment's thought, he opened his mouth and said, "This is not a problem, but Chang'an is so big, I suppose Qin Gongzi has some understanding of it. I wonder what the production capacity of this wine workshop is like."

  "This point, Brother Cui can rest assured, this wine is probably not enough for Brother Cui to drink alone." Qin Yu said with a smile, what Cui Wen was worried about Qin Yu naturally knew, it was just that he was afraid the wine would not be enough for him to enjoy in Chang'an.

  "Qin Gongzi forgives the crime, it turns out that Cui Mou used a petty person's heart to measure a gentleman's belly." Cui Wen hurriedly stood up and apologized, then said, "In that case, I, Cui, will first set aside 5,000 taels of silver for white wine. What does Qin Gongzi think?"

  "Brother Cui is indeed straightforward, good, it's settled then. As for the price of this wine, it will still be according to the contract. The specific price will be discussed later, rest assured that Brother Cui won't be taken advantage of." Qin Yu said with a smile, but in his heart he was overjoyed.

  "This fatty is indeed a sleepyhead who's come to deliver a pillow, just when I was worried that the silver at the winery wouldn't be enough. This brother has delivered it himself, and what's more, it's five thousand taels. He really doesn't worry that I'll embezzle his five thousand taels. But how does this fatty have so much silver? Strange indeed."

  Qin Yu felt delighted at the same time, Cui Wen was also very happy to seize the opportunity.

  Cui Wen really wasn't afraid that Qin Yu would embezzle the five thousand taels, as there were two copies of the contract in black and white. Even if Qin Yu wanted to run away with the money, he couldn't escape. Although merchants had a low social status, they were also citizens of the Tang Dynasty, and the law would protect them just the same.

  Moreover, the books and white paper in Zhangjiacun were still there, and Cui Wen had enough reason to believe that Qin Yu would not embezzle his silver. From another point of view, merchants have always been bold, past and present alike.

  After chatting for a while, Cui Wen wanted to invite Qin Yu to stay for dinner. Qin Yu declined, saying it was inconvenient. Having no choice, and thinking that food from outside didn't taste as good as his own family's cooking, Qin Yu disliked the idea one hundred times over. In the end, Qin Yu left the Cui residence with five thousand taels of silver.

  Qin Yu returned to the mansion in Yongnian County, Wang Cai was already waiting for Qin Yu. Xiaotao and Xiaohong originally wanted to follow him, but they couldn't leave Taixing Mountain, so they didn't make it in the end.

  Qin Yu briefly handed over the affairs of Yongnian County, and then wrote down the precautions for vegetable cultivation. Wangcai was illiterate and could only hand it over to Xiaotao and Xiaohong.

  Those tens of mu of vegetables are related to Qin Yu's future quality of life, so Qin Yu naturally wants to take good care of them. Xiaotao and Xiaohong are not bad choices.

  Later on, Qin Yu handed over this piece of land in Taihang Mountain to Wang Cai, who was fully capable of managing these fields.

  More than 3,000 refugees opened up the Taihang Mountains, which was enough for them to survive. If the refugees were willing to plant vegetables, Qin Yu would not object. However, Qin Yu estimated that few people would be willing to plant vegetables, at least not for now. After all, the current Great Tang Dynasty had not yet developed to the point where the common people could eat their fill.

  Zhangjiacun bought a lot of slaves during the time Qin Yu left, among which Qin Yu also saw many Kunlun slaves, who were tall and strong, with dark skin, it was unknown whether they came from Asia or Africa. Fortunately, these Kunlun slaves were honest, as long as they were given food to eat, they would work diligently.

  Because of their joining, the workshop's production capacity has increased fivefold, and it is still in short supply. Basically, all merchants have given up sending goods from Zhangjiacun, and they all send people to guard here, as soon as they appear, they will be bought immediately.

  Because of what happened with Cui Wenna, the merchants have become much more honest and the county magistrate also privately reprimanded them. They naturally didn't dare to cause trouble again, besides, doing business in harmony is better for everyone to make a profit.

  For nearly ten days, Zhangjiacun's dividend to Qinyu was only a few hundred yuan. After all, the time was too short, and Qinyu didn't take it away. He directly gave it to Wangcai. From now on, the dividends from Zhangjiacun will be handled by Wangcai, leaving a part as expenses, and the rest will be sent to Chang'an regularly.

  The book and white paper business seems to be booming, but it won't last long. After all, there are only a small number of people in the Tang Dynasty who can read and write, and there are only so many books available. Unfortunately, Qin Yu's heart is not on this at the moment.

  This is not a lucrative industry, making money is not small, but it takes too long, the price of a cheap ginseng is several hundred yuan, and the effect is poor. The high-quality ones with good effects are worth thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, which is equivalent to gold.

  Of course, such good ginseng is mostly a tribute, and Qin Yu thinks it's not easy to buy. It can be seen that if you want to buy good ginseng, you won't get it for less than a few thousand yuan. Just because of this, Qin Yu is eager to establish the wine workshop, after all, Qin Yu has acknowledged the existence of Qin Qiong in his heart.

  Qingfeng's furniture didn't meet Qin Yu's expectations, so on this trip back to Yongnian County, he might as well bring some of his own carpenters back to Chang'an. He doesn't need many, three or five would be enough, and it's not like they're making any large-scale furniture.

  As for Qin Yu, the half-old Xu Niang's winemaker, he must be brought along, after all, it involves the wine workshop and making silver.

  Fortunately, this middle-aged woman did not show any resistance. When Qin Yu mentioned a salary of ten guans per month, the winemaker agreed without hesitation, leaving Qin Yu wondering whether it was his own charm or the charm of money that had won her over.

  Of course, none of these matter, what's important is that Qin Yu's wine brewing business can finally begin.

  To be on the safe side, Qin Yu also signed a contract with this winemaker that was almost like a life-long slavery contract. The contract lasted for thirty years, and if he reneged, he would have to pay a penalty of ten thousand taels of gold. It looked intimidating, but in reality, as long as the winemaker didn't betray him, there wouldn't be any problems.

  Qin Yu handed over the matter to Wang Cai, and then took a group of students, three carpenters, a brewer, some servants, nearly twenty horse-drawn carriages, and set off towards Chang'an in a grand manner. Of course, Qin Yu's treasure chest was not left behind, otherwise it would have been a wasted trip.

  It's said to be a treasure chest, but in fact there's nothing much, just some modern clothes, shoes, mobile phones, two bags of watermelon seeds, three ears of corn that are not yet ripe, and about ten scattered pieces of paper with some technical notes. As for the silver, it must be taken away, otherwise how can we build a wine workshop?