Chapter Fifty-two Agreement

  Zhao Ye saw that only one had come, and he didn't mind. Zheng Xi was already out of his mind, and it was better to say some things without him being in the way. He accompanied Zheng Yun to the garden, but at this time, there really wasn't much good scenery. The winter plum blossoms had already bloomed, leaving only a few residual flowers hanging on the branches, and some cold-resistant flowers and grasses had just begun to show a hint of green. The two of them wandered aimlessly in the garden for over an hour, and Zhao Ye didn't even keep the secret of the greenhouse from him, even inviting him to take a look inside.

  "Try some of this wine, Young Master?" After walking for a while, they arrived at the warm pavilion in the garden to take a rest. Zhao Che ordered the servant to bring out the wine and dishes, and he poured a cup of wine for Zheng Yun and asked him.

  Zheng Yu was sitting there in a daze, his face calm, but his heart was like a boiling pot. Last year, something new and fresh appeared in the capital, and suddenly, only summer seasonal vegetables appeared on the market, not only were they diverse, but also extremely fresh, causing a sensation. The noble families didn't care about the high price and rushed to buy them. The Guo Gong Fu also sent someone to buy some, but they missed the first batch, and after paying a deposit, they finally managed to get a few rare ones at the end of the year, which they treasured like precious jewels. At that time, he was still marveling at the existence of such extraordinary people in the world, never expecting to see them again today.

  "Is this the famous strong liquor?" Zheng Yu woke up and asked in surprise, picking up his cup to take a shallow sip. They had been at the mansion for many days, and although they had wine with every meal, they had never tasted the legendary strong liquor before.

  "It's true, Second Uncle and Fourth Uncle have been staying in our mansion for many days, I'm afraid it's because of this!" Zhao Yi said with a smile as he chewed on his food.

  In the capital, there were rumors that this prince, born to his sister, did not like poetry and painting, but instead enjoyed strange and clever tricks. After leaving the palace, he became even more absurd and mischievous, to the point where he would even dare to tease the imperial envoys who came to deliver edicts. However, after meeting him a few times, Zheng Yu discovered that his nephew was not as despicable as the rumors made him out to be. "Ah, ah... exactly what I intended!" Zhao Che had seen through his thoughts, and although they were uncle and nephew, they both felt a little embarrassed. Looking at his innocent face with a playful smile, he could only awkwardly acknowledge it.

  "I also have this intention, I want to join forces with others to set up a winery, specializing in the production of baijiu. I don't know if my younger uncle is willing?" Zhao asked Zheng, staring at him.

  "Of course!" Zheng Yu replied without hesitation. They were here for this very purpose, how could they be unwilling?

  "Little uncle, but I see that you don't have the intention to cooperate. These days, you've been secretly meeting with several people in charge, aren't you just trying to get the secret recipe for the distilled liquor and cut me out of the deal?" Zhao suddenly changed his expression and said.

  "Zhao Chui, we're all family, how could we...?" Zheng Yu hastily defended himself, but seeing Zhao Chui's cold smile, his voice grew smaller and smaller, becoming a mosquito's hum. Although most of the things were done by Second Brother, secretly plotting to take away the younger generation's property was never a glorious thing. Now that Zhao Chui had pointed it out, he couldn't persuade him, and felt extremely ashamed.

  "Uncle, although I am a prince, you can see that I have fallen out of favor with the emperor and been 'exiled' to this remote place. Thanks to Grandfather's and all your uncles' care, I was able to survive until today!" Zhao Yi's tone changed as he began to list their benefits, "A gentleman repays kindness, since I obtained this recipe and let Grandfather know about it, I wanted both families to work together on this project and make a fortune together. But the two uncles have greatly disappointed me!" Zhao Yi said with a heavy heart.

  "Zhang Er, it's all our fault for being greedy and disappointing your kindness. Let's just end this matter here, I'll return to the capital tomorrow to report to my father!" Zheng Yu felt that this affair was truly humiliating, and he had no more face to stay here.

  "Little uncle, I know you're an honest man, most things are done by second uncle. If you return empty-handed, the black pot will probably be yours to carry. At that time, your days will be even harder!" Zhao Ye gave Zheng Yu a dish of food and said.

  "What can I do? In the national government, everyone calls me Master Sheng, but in fact, I'm not even as good at speaking as a steward. Everything has to be listened to by your second uncle, and I have no say in it!" Zheng Yu drained his cup of wine and said with a bitter smile.

  "Alas, we two are quite alike. Although I am a prince, I'm not as carefree as a rustic village husband. Now that I've hidden here, there's still someone pursuing me to the death. Aren't these all because of that...?" Zhao Che refilled his wine and sighed.

  "Yes, we two brothers are like two bitter gourds growing on the same vine, each with our own difficulties!" Zheng Yu drained his cup again. He understood what his nephew meant - above him was an older brother born to the empress, and by birthright and seniority, he would never ascend to the throne. Yet there were those who feared that one day he would grow up and become a hindrance, and sought ways to eliminate him.

  Zheng Yu took a closer look at his nephew, and saw that the young boy already had frown lines on his forehead. He thought to himself: "No wonder my nephew is so perceptive, he's been living in a world of intrigue every day, and with his mother not by his side, if he didn't have his wits about him, he'd probably have fallen victim to some scheme or other already. Children who are left unattended grow up too quickly!" Zhao Che's words struck a chord with him, and as an elder, he felt a surge of protective instincts.

  "This prescription isn't worth much, but since my two uncles asked for it, I'll just give it to them as a sign of respect for my elders. However, Second Uncle shouldn't have used such despicable means to get it, it's really disheartening. After all, we're family! Zhao Yi's face was filled with sorrow and he looked like he was about to cry. Suddenly, he stood up and instructed Jian Xi: "Jian Xi, go fetch the prescription and give it to Fourth Master to take back!"

  "Hold on, Xiang'er, if you do this, how can your uncle enter your mansion in the future!" Zheng Yu grabbed Xiang Xi who was about to leave and said. He didn't know if it was because of the wine or shame, but his face turned as red as a monkey's buttocks.

  "Where did you hear this? My uncle can come here at any time, and Yan'er will still be the same as before, welcoming him with inverted shoes!"

  "Zhao Zhe, listen to your uncle for a moment!" Zheng Yun pulled Zhao Zhe back down and took another sip of wine before saying: "Zhe, you're still young and don't know the value of this fiery liquor. With it, even a beggar can become a rich man overnight without having to lift a finger! Your second uncle was also tempted by it and forgot that we're family!" Zheng Yun finally spoke the truth.

  "This I really don't know, but a man's word is his bond, once spoken it cannot be taken back, since it's been given then let it go, take it and be happy!" Zhao Yi remained unmoved, still instructing.

  Jian Xi responded, but her movements were slow as a snail. In her heart, she couldn't help but mock: You don't know that you've just seen a ghost! At the time when you were playing with it, you said this was something that would lay golden eggs! Now you're pretending to be confused, speaking in a righteous tone, but aren't you just fooling around with your uncle? Besides, this thing is something you came up with yourself, what formula could I possibly use to get it?

  "Zhao, actually your uncle had already discussed this matter with us before we came. It would be best if you were willing to jointly start a wine workshop, so both parties can benefit; if you want to start the wine workshop alone, he is willing to provide people and resources to help you set it up, as long as you sell some of the wine to us." Zhao had said all this, Zheng Yu felt so embarrassed that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in, her mind was urgent and she couldn't care about anything else, and she accidentally revealed the truth.

  It seems that ginger is still spicy when it's old. If the two uncles had followed the old man's instructions earlier and expressed their gratitude, they wouldn't have let them run in vain, and it would have been a win-win situation. Moreover, although he has fallen out of favor now, who knows, one day the emperor might be pleased and the throne might fall into his own hands, at which point he will definitely return the favors and not take advantage of him for nothing. Zhao Shi sighed in admiration, Old Guo Gong not only stands tall and looks far, but also has a broad mind, and is open-minded about money!

  "Oh, did Grandpa really say that?" Zhao Xiao asked 'seriously', Zheng Yu nodded affirmatively.

  "Alas, I'm truly unable to repay Grandfather's kindness. Since it's not as good as obeying orders, let's do it according to Grandfather's wishes. We'll jointly set up a winery and split the shares 50-50!" Zhao Chu knew that he had spoken too much earlier, and his younger uncle was a practical person. If he didn't quickly take advantage of the situation, it would be difficult to get out of this. So he immediately agreed to go along with it."

  "Third Brother, no way! We'll split it three to seven. You take seven parts and I'll take three. The money for building the wine shop will also come from us. This is already a great advantage for us!"

  "This time, Zhao Che was stunned. He liked to do things like 'You are not benevolent, don't blame me for being unrighteous'. He thought there would be a dispute over the share, but now his uncle voluntarily gave in, and his own prepared backhand was not used, just like a fist hitting cotton."

  "A foot of kindness from others, a yard of kindness from me." Zhao didn't fear the tough ones, but feared the soft ones. After repeated persuasion and compromise, they finally reached an agreement: Zhao would hold 60% of the shares, providing the technology for brewing liquor, the site for building the distillery, and part of the working capital; Zheng's family would hold 40% of the shares, be responsible for the construction of the distillery, recruit the necessary personnel, and handle the sales of the liquor.

  "Little uncle, we've been talking for half a day, what if second uncle disagrees?" Zhao suddenly thought of this question.

  "Xiao Er, don't worry about it, I'll take care of this matter. I'll write a letter to your grandfather immediately and tell him what's happened here. He will definitely agree!" Zheng Yu said with a smile, feeling more relieved than he ever had before, finally acting like the head of the household for once.

  Zhao Ye smiled secretly, they say that wine can make a coward brave, this strong liquor is at least 50 degrees, little uncle-in-law is probably really drunk today. However, this has achieved mutual satisfaction between the two parties, it's just pitiful for second uncle-in-law Zheng Xi, who ended up being neither here nor there.

  On the same day, Zheng Yu and Zhao Che each wrote a letter and found a reliable and efficient servant to send it to the Guo Gong Fu. In his letter, Zhao Che not only expressed gratitude to his uncle but also recommended his younger brother-in-law Zheng Yu as the new manager of the wine workshop, entrusting him with full authority to handle all matters related to wine production.

  The capital is only a hundred miles away from Xiangyi, and with fast horses and whips, it's possible to make a round trip in just two days. By the third day, Old Master Guo's letter arrived almost simultaneously with Zheng Xi. Zheng Shen fully agreed to the cooperation agreement negotiated by Zheng Yun and Zhao Shi, and the personnel and funds allocated from the mansion arrived soon after, allowing Zheng Yun to stay at the Wang Mansion to take care of everything, while strictly ordering Zheng Xi to return to Beijing immediately without delay.