Chapter Fifty-Three He Didn't Show Up

  Although Zheng Xi was furious, he couldn't change the current situation. He knew he had lost his father's trust and also offended his sister, the imperial concubine. Even if he went back, nothing good would come of it. As he walked out of the Zhao manor with a sense of loss, he glanced back at Zheng Yuan, who was basking in the praise of others. He felt both regretful and jealous, knowing that his position was already shaky and would likely be taken over by him within two years. Everyone understood that once the distilled liquor hit the market, its value would far exceed that of any other business in the manor, and it would inevitably receive his father's attention. Zheng Yuan, who used to be just a follower, was now going to turn the tables on him.

  It's said that different industries are like different mountains, but when the winery started to be built, Zhao Ye only knew that making wine was not as simple as finding a few people who understood the industry and building a few houses to open a winery. There were many restrictions and thresholds in this regard.

  The first pass is that the country implements a policy of exclusive wine sales for the brewing industry, which requires government approval and an operating license. In the Song Dynasty, the brewing industry was divided into official and private sectors, with the official sector holding a monopoly position and the private sector being relatively scattered. This policy resulted in only one official house, with no branches elsewhere, similar to the modern-day "duopoly" of petrochemicals and "triopoly" of telecommunications, and the profits were also extremely high.

  Obtaining a license is not the end of it, and wineries cannot be built at will. The state gives you two options: one is to contract a state-built winery, pay the contracting fee, produce wine, and the state will package and sell it for you, or pay taxes according to production volume, and then sell it yourself. This policy applies to the vast southern regions of the Song Dynasty. Two is to sell wine yeast, brewing must use yeast fermentation, this thing is controlled by the state, you buy yeast and have to pay tax together, no payment? Sorry, not sold to you. Some people say can I make my own yeast? Not possible, private production of yeast is a serious crime, if not beheaded, will be exiled three thousand miles. This applies to the northern states and counties.

  He said, I've got all the certificates, I've bought the wine lees, and I've paid the taxes, can't I make wine now? The government official said, you can make it, but... this is the second hurdle. You can make good wine, but you can't sell it randomly, you can only sell it within the designated area. If you say this is local protectionism, violating WTO, the official will immediately show you the "Song Dynasty Law". In the Song Dynasty, laws were strictly divided into areas where official wine was prohibited, including the capital city, prefectures, and counties, as well as rural areas where wine was produced. Selling wine across borders was strictly forbidden, and those who did so would be severely punished. What's even more frustrating is that within these restricted areas, private households are not allowed to brew and sell their own wine.

  Of course, the government is not just collecting taxes and doing nothing. Whether it's state-run wineries or private wineries, as long as they don't violate national liquor monopoly regulations, they will be encouraged to hold grand events such as new wine launches and tribute wines entering the capital, stimulating consumption and helping with sales.

  They agreed that the winery would still be set up at the old site of Chen Tang's villa, which not only had a river nearby but also had existing cellars and wells, and all they needed to do was expand it, add some equipment, and assemble a team to start production. Zhao Yi was impatient when Zheng Yun mentioned these procedures one by one, "You're bothering me with such trivial matters, I'm the CEO, I shouldn't be running errands for you, you're just a shopkeeper who gets paid for doing nothing, go discuss it with the people in charge at the government and handle it yourself, if it can't be done properly don't blame me for docking your pay." In fact, these things were just a bit of trouble for such powerful families, and they could easily get them done.

  Zheng Yun carried the two large flags of the Wangfu and Yiguo Gongfu, inviting several leaders from the state and county to dine with him. After a few meals and some "local specialties" were sent as gifts, all the formalities were completed. The matter of the forbidden area was easily settled. Although there were regulations on the law, there were always exceptions. The judicial interpretation at the back also stated that "if the wine produced outside the forbidden area of the official residence or for non-commercial purposes, or if it is brewed by the imperial family, nobles, officials, or rural villagers for their own use, it is generally allowed." Chen Tang held the power to make decisions and with a stroke of his pen, the forbidden area was reduced by ten miles towards the state capital. Their winery just happened to fall outside the red line, and according to the regulations, "the setting up of the forbidden area can be ten or several tens of miles", which did not count as abuse of power. Besides, who dared say that the prince was not a member of the imperial family, and the national public was not an official?

  They also came up with an idea, the capital city does not allow the sale of wine from other places, it can be said that it is produced by the Guogongfu Bianliang Da Wine Factory in Gongzhou Branch, although the branch is a bit far from the capital city, but also to avoid polluting the capital's environment and affecting the emperor's dragon body health.

  Watching Zheng Yu rushing back and forth between the winery and the prefecture day and night, Zhao Che secretly rejoiced in his workshop where he was developing distillation equipment, deeply feeling that pulling out to join forces with his grandfather was a 'brilliant decision'!

  It's another March 3rd, the birthday of Zhenwu Emperor and the day when Queen Mother opens the Peach Blossom Party. It's also a grand day for Wangfu. The four villages on the dam gathered at the Baishui River early in the morning. Originally, it was expected that the dam would take 50 days to complete, but with everyone's efforts, it was completed half a month ahead of schedule. Today is the day when the dam officially closes and stores water.

  As the chief official gave the order, the second official and the village heads and elders of each village moved the pulleys, and the gate slowly fell, cutting off the river water. The rushing river water hit the dam once, made a circle, and settled down in the reservoir. At this time, hundreds of firecrackers were lit at the same time, dozens of gongs and drums sounded together, "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!" It was unclear who shouted first, but instantly all the people gathered on the riverbank knelt facing north, shouting long live, pushing the ceremony to a climax. This was everyone's sincere and heartfelt cry, as everyone knew that this dam was built with the investment of the Second Prince, Yan Wang, and the credit naturally went to the Emperor.

  Next, the wages were issued. Several large carts of glittering copper coins were transported to the scene, and everyone in the audience felt their breathing quicken and their blood boil. Before the work began, the people in charge said that anyone who worked hard and made reasonable suggestions during the dike repair would be rewarded with a bonus, and today was the day it was fulfilled.

  "Dai Chen Village's Lei Da Hu, the transportation team leader, he is the first to arrive at the construction site every day and the last to leave, diligent and hardworking. In addition to his wages, he will be awarded an extra 10 yuan!" Zheng Fu, the chief manager, shouted loudly.

  "Heavens, the reward is three times more than our wages! The king is really generous!" The originally quiet meeting hall became lively, with everyone whispering to each other, no one had expected the reward to be so much.

  "Lei Dahou, don't just stand there, come and get your money! More people should come, you alone can't carry it!" The housekeeper who was in charge of distributing the money shouted with a smile.

  "Haha, got it, got it, our whole family is here..." Lei Dahai led his wife and two children to squeeze forward, laughing and saying. As he pressed the handprint and received over ten strings of money, everyone patted him on the shoulder with kindness. His performance during this time was seen by all, and he received so much money that everyone was convinced. More people were filled with expectation, mentally calculating how much they could get based on their own performance.

  "Father, let's use this money to fix the house and after harvesting the wheat, we'll settle Big Wa's marriage. This matter can't be delayed any longer!" Lei Shu said with a smile, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

  "Mother, don't worry about repairing the house. Didn't Master Wang say that after this year's floodgate repair and canal dredging are completed, and the road is paved, he will build new houses for everyone in autumn? We can move in before the New Year! Let's not bother fixing our old broken house. My brother's wedding can be held together when we move into our new home!" Erwa said with her face upturned.

  "Don't talk nonsense, how much would that cost? Is Master Wang trying to fool us?" said Lei Shu with a hint of disbelief.

  "Women are indeed long-haired and short-sighted, did you think the king would reward me with so much money? I go out early every day and come back late, but you still nag all day. Now look, in just over a month, I've earned over ten taels of silver, is the king trying to fool us?" Lei Dahu scolded his wife with a snort.

  "Yes, yes, I was wrong..." Lai Shu said for the first time without talking back to a man, with so much money in front of her, she had no choice but to believe.

  "Xiao Chen Village's Zhang Tonghui, a bricklayer, is meticulous and conscientious in his work. He always exceeds his own tasks and has been awarded an additional 10 taels of silver!"

  "Li Erping from Dacheng Village not only completes his tasks on time but also puts forward reasonable suggestions many times, and is awarded an additional bonus of 10 yuan!"

  "Xiao Zhao Zhuang Song Changshan, as team leader, organized effectively and led the team to complete tasks multiple times with excess, rewarded 8 guan of money!"

  "Alas, unexpectedly, that foolish Er Bazi also received three taels of reward money. Am I any worse than him?" A man who only received his wages and no bonus grumbled discontentedly.

  "Three Dogs, you little brat eats more than anyone else, works less than anyone else, and getting paid is already a bonus for you, yet you still want a reward!"

  "Look at yourself, you're nothing but a sly and cunning person. Although Er Bazi is stupid, he's actually quite diligent and honest. I think he's much better than you!"

  "Hurry up and leave, don't lose face here! If you continue like this, you can't even go back home!" San Gou's wife pulled him away, her face red and neck thick as she squeezed out of the crowd.

  "Uncle Niu, are you leaving after collecting the wheat?" a young man asked, pulling several strings of cash and leading a middle-aged man.

  "Leave? Where can I go, I'm not leaving. The dam has been repaired and the grain yield will increase by 20%. I've also heard that our landlord is going to build new houses for us tenants. Such a good landlord is hard to find, I'm not leaving!"

  "Uncle Niu, I don't want to leave either, but I don't know if my dad will agree."

  "Zhuangzi, you just took so much reward money and want to leave, are you worthy of the king? I'll go tell your father!"

  Zheng Fu, Zheng Shou and the other officials stood on the dam, looking at the crowd with joy written all over their faces, listening to the endless thanks from the villagers. They were somewhat moved, knowing that the completion of the dam was largely due to Wang Ye's efforts. If Wang Yong could see and hear this now, he would definitely be delighted. From start to finish, Wang Ye had been a "behind-the-scenes hero", not only using his wealth but also his wisdom to win over the trust of the villagers, giving them hope and revitalizing the stagnant water. However, he was unable to appear here in person.