Xiaoyao Xiaojunhou

Chapter 465 465. Wine
If Zhu Xiuyuan hadn't heard the chat between them outside the door, he would have definitely thought that Dong Shuzhen was really asleep and not just pretending.

"Miss?"

Zhu Xiuyuan called softly and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her little face with his hands.

But Dong Shuzhen remained unmoved and continued to pretend to sleep.

Zhu Xiuyuan suddenly became playful, and his hand suddenly crossed her chin, placed it on Dong Shuzhen's neck, and scratched it gently.

Dong Shuzhen is ticklish. Whether it is the creaking pit or the position of her neck, she is afraid of someone tickling her.

Zhu Xiuyuan knew that she was pretending to sleep, so he wanted to see if she would "break her skills" if he scratched her neck, and jumped up with a smile.

In fact, when Zhu Xiuyuan's hand crossed her chin and went into her neck, her whole body stiffened. Although it was not obvious, she could not escape Zhu Xiuyuan who had been paying close attention to her.

The two maids, Qiu Wen and Xia Wu, exchanged glances with each other, feeling worried for the young lady...

The corners of Zhu Xiuyuan's mouth raised, and the hand on her neck moved, scratching gently.

Dong Shuzhen closed her eyes gently, her eyebrows trembled slightly, and her cheeks moved, obviously clenching her teeth.

The curvature of the corners of Zhu Xiuyuan's mouth widened, and the hand on her neck continued to scratch. He wanted to see how long Dong Shuzhen could endure it.

"Well……"

Suddenly, Dong Shuzhen turned over seemingly unintentionally, and pushed away the hand entangled in her neck, as if swatting a mosquito in a dream, a subconscious move.

And he changed from lying on his back to lying on his side, with his back to Zhu Xiuyuan.

"Uncle...Miss...hasn't woken up yet..."

Behind him, Xia Wu hesitated and only spoke half of his words.

But Zhu Xiuyuan understood what she meant, which was to save Dong Shuzhen.

Zhu Xiuyuan grinned and stopped teasing Dong Shuzhen, who was pretending to sleep.

He stood up from the edge of the bed, stared at Xia Wu meaningfully, and then ordered: "You two take turns to eat, and leave the wife's food, so that she can have hot dishes and rice as soon as she wakes up. "

"Yes, uncle!"

Qiu Wen and Xia Wu bowed and saluted, but they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Just now, their hearts were in their throats.

As soon as Zhu Xiuyuan left the room, he met Dong Shuyu.

She looked slightly anxious and was coming quickly.

"How is Zhen'er? I heard from the servants in the mansion that Zhen'er was drunk? She even vomited?"

"Uh...it's all right now, it's rare that you come back, Shuyu, she's resting inside."

When Zhu Xiuyuan faced Dong Shuyu alone, he felt a little embarrassed, but on the surface he still pretended to be the same as before.

Since Dong Shuyu came and went into the house to visit, Zhu Xiuyuan also entered the house again and accompanied her to see Dong Shuzhen, who was pretending to sleep.

"Hey, why do you drink so much wine?" Dong Shuyu sat on the edge of the bed and tucked his sister into the quilt, "Dad has strictly ordered you not to drink alcohol before... eh..."

Dong Shuyu was worried and wanted to talk to her properly, but his sister was still in her dream, so it was in vain. Dong Shuyu could only sigh again and again.

Zhu Xiuyuan stood beside him, twitching the corners of his mouth.

Dong Shuzhen was still lying on her side facing inward, motionless, and seemed to be sleeping deeply.

But he knew that Dong Shuzhen was pretending to sleep. She actually knew that they were coming and heard what they said.

Zhu Xiuyuan frowned and took a closer look at Dong Shuyu's expression. As expected, she didn't notice it at all...

Zhu Xiuyuan didn't feel funny. This Dong Shuzhen pretended to be asleep to coax him, and now she came to coax her sister.

"That's all, since Zhen'er hasn't woken up yet, I won't say anything more. Just rest!"

Dong Shuyu got up after speaking, looked at Zhu Xiuyuan, and asked in a low voice: "I heard people say that Xiuyuan has brewed a kind of fine wine? It's very mellow and sweet? May I go and have a look?"

"Of course, please!"

Zhu Xiuyuan vaguely understood Dong Shuzhen's intention of pretending to be asleep. Pretending to be asleep can prevent Dong Shuyu or Dong Cheng from preaching to her!

This clever little devil!
I guess this is her "experience".

Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Shuyu went out of the room again. Since neither of them had lunch, they first went to the flower hall of the main house to have lunch before going to the brewery.

They were the only two people in the flower hall.

My father-in-law, Dong Cheng, usually doesn't go home at noon, and has lunch in the government office.

And Dong Shuzhen pretended to sleep in the room again.

So in this huge flower hall, there are only two people, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Shuyu.

During the meal, Dong Shuyu was silent and just buried her head in cooking the meal. Naturally, she also sensed the abnormal atmosphere in the flower hall, so she didn't want to say more to avoid embarrassment.

Especially after that incident, Dong Shuyu rarely took the initiative to find topics to talk to Zhu Xiuyuan, and that was when they were alone.

But Zhu Xiuyuan completely let go.

He thought that anyway, he had said everything that needed to be said. He and Dong Shuyu were already close to each other. In his opinion, she could not escape and would always fulfill his wishes. It was only a matter of time. That’s all.

Therefore, Zhu Xiuyuan found a topic to talk about.

However, the topics he was looking for were almost all about business, such as teahouse business, restaurant business, winemaking workshops, etc.

Zhu Xiuyuan kept talking, and Dong Shuyu kept saying "Hmm", "Hmm", "Oh", "Oh" as a response.

After dinner, they went to the brewery.

Dong Shuyu put all her thoughts on the business in the mansion, the restaurant was still in the preparation stage, and it occupied 80.00% of her attention.

Fine wine is the bulk of the restaurant's revenue, so naturally she pays extra attention to this matter.

She carefully understood the operation process of distilled wine, what are the characteristics of the distilled original wine, and how to blend it in the future, etc...

Zhu Xiuyuan explained in great detail.

After learning about wine making, Dong Shuyu returned to the restaurant in Wuyi Lane and continued to be busy.

Zhu Xiuyuan stayed in the brewery and began to prepare the original wine... He didn't go to see Dong Shuzhen, lest she continue to pretend to be asleep and miss the meal time.

Distillation is very simple, and Zhu Xiuyuan used dozens of stills to speed up the production of raw wine.

The hard thing is to reconcile!
The so-called blending is to add something to the original wine, such as aged wine, other base wines, etc.It is used to reduce the alcohol content, add a certain flavor, and fix the properties of the wine.

But it is definitely not adding plain water. Simply adding plain water will only make it harder to drink.

In the wine cellar of Jiangcheng Bofu, the dozens of bottles of fine wine actually have more than one variety.

They come from different wineries and are relatively stable wines, such as rice wine, daughter's red, Huadiao, Zhuyeqing, Zhuangyuanhong, etc.

What Zhu Xiuyuan has to do now is to experiment with various combinations and ratios, taking the trouble to find one or several wines with distinctive characteristics...

Unknowingly, the time came to Shen Shi, about four o'clock in the afternoon.

The servant suddenly came to report that his father-in-law had returned home early, and went straight to Dong Shuzhen's room.

When Zhu Xiuyuan heard this, he immediately knew that his father-in-law must have heard about Dong Shuzhen's drunkenness, so he left work early and returned home. Yamen matters were important, but Dong Cheng was also worried about his daughter.

"I wonder if the lady is still pretending to sleep?"

Zhu Xiuyuan was curious, so he told the guys in the brewery to get out and rush to Dong Shuzhen's boudoir in the main house, ready to join in the fun.

Unfortunately, Zhu Xiuyuan left a step too late. He had just reached the door of the room and happened to meet his father-in-law coming out of it.

"Father-in-law!" Zhu Xiuyuan bowed his hands.

"My son-in-law!" Dong Cheng looked a little unnatural, "Zhen'er's mother left early, and the old man is busy on weekdays, but he neglected to teach Zhen'er, so that she lost her composure..." "Father-in-law Please don’t say that, my son-in-law doesn’t blame my wife, besides, she is still young, I believe that if Shuyu teaches her for two more years, my wife will grow up!”

"Well, you are right, virtuous son-in-law. I will ask Yu'er to teach Zhen'er well."

Dong Cheng's expression changed, and he instantly felt that this was a good idea.

"Thank you very much, father-in-law!"

Zhu Xiuyuan was happy, hehe, if my father-in-law spoke, I wouldn't be afraid that Shuyu would run away.

After seeing Dong Cheng off, Zhu Xiuyuan was in a good mood and entered Dong Shuzhen's boudoir again and went straight to her bed.

The two maids, Qiu Wen and Xia Wu, stood behind him as if standing guard.

Zhu Xiuyuan looked at the bed and saw that Dong Shuzhen was still pretending to be asleep. She was now lying on her back, lying there motionless...

"Madam, please get up, my father-in-law has gone far!"

Zhu Xiuyuan sat on the edge of her bed with a playful smile on his face.

As soon as the words fell, Dong Shuzhen's eyebrows trembled, but she still closed her eyes tightly and seemed not to hear.

"I know you are pretending to sleep. It's okay. My father-in-law has gone away and he won't come again. Get up. I won't expose you. If you lie down any longer, you won't be able to sleep at night..."

Zhu Xiuyuan said, then scratched Dong Shuzhen's armpit.

"Ah ha ha ha... Husband, stop it, stop it, don't pretend to be asleep..."

As expected, Dong Shuzhen couldn't bear it. She resisted Zhu Xiuyuan's hand with both hands and almost broke out in laughter.

……

In the next few days, Dong Shuyu became even busier.

Because the New Year is approaching, in more than ten days, it will be the annual New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, a combined double festival.

The New Year's Day at that time was equivalent to the Spring Festival in later generations. It was one of the most important festivals of the year.

Coupled with New Year's Eve, this is a big deal. The two major festivals are right next to each other. Those two days are the most anticipated days of the year.

From imperial courts to folks, from high-end mansions to ordinary people's homes, on the two days of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, no matter they are poor or rich, everyone will do something special.

For Zhu Xiuyuan and the Dong family, this year is a year of disaster, but also a year of harvest.

When they were in Jiangzhou, there were natural disasters first, then man-made disasters, and then they experienced a war!
Faced with life and death crises several times, it can be said that he has experienced the test of ice and fire.

But misfortune brings blessings, and Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng, two sons-in-law, also took advantage of this to rise step by step.

Zhu Xiuyuan went from being a farmer to joining the military as Cao Cao of the Yacang Prefecture of Jiangzhou, then to being the Sima of Jiangzhou, and finally he went straight to the top and became a decorated officer. He was awarded the title of "Jiangcheng Bo" and took root in the capital.

Now he is still a big celebrity beside Chen Huang!

The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty did not dare to show off their talents for a while.

Dong Cheng joined the army from the recorder of Jiangzhou Prefecture, and was promoted to the governor of Jiangzhou, then to the magistrate of Jingxian County, and finally became the governor of Runzhou Prefecture!
Whether it is Zhu Xiuyuan or Dong Cheng, they have undergone earth-shaking changes!
It just got better!
Therefore, this year is a crucial year for them, and it is also a year of great harvest.

Now that the New Year is approaching, we must celebrate it properly.

But the mistress of Jiangcheng's uncle's house is still a naughty kid who steals wine. What can she do?
Therefore, the preparations for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day fell on Dong Shuyu's shoulders.

She also had to take a troublemaker like Dong Shuzhen to teach her. Therefore, Dong Shuyu was busy with the restaurant business, preparing for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and even taking care of the teahouse business...

So Dong Shuyu is very busy these days.

As for Zhu Xiuyuan, apart from occasionally paying attention to the Shenlei Square, the Shenlei Army Camp, and the preparations for the martial arts competition, all his thoughts were focused on the brewing workshop in the mansion.

The distillation is no longer a problem, and we are now overcoming the difficulty of blending.

But it is too difficult to reconcile. So many days have passed without a clue.

However, the news that Jiangcheng Bofu brewed a very fragrant and strong wine spread like wildfire and spread in the capital.

The ancients' pursuit of fine wines, in addition to the aroma and mellowness, actually also tried their best to pursue the strength, that is, the alcohol content.

Because the fine wine brewed from grain has an upper limit of alcohol content, no matter how to optimize the brewing process, its alcohol content will be so high.

The more there is something, the more we pursue it.

Alcohol content is this thing.

Therefore, mellowness and strongness are two important indicators for evaluating fine wines.

There are rumors of sweet and delicious wine in Jiangcheng's uncle's house. It has been "fermenting" for several days in the capital and has become more and more mysterious.

For example, Zhu Xiuyuan went to Shenleifang for inspection one day. Zhou Dong, who was stationed there, hesitated for a long time, and finally plucked up the courage to ask him for a drink, saying that he wanted to experience the feeling of "falling to the ground after just one smell"...

The distilled wine is indeed very strong, and it can be really intoxicating if you smell it too much, but it is far from reaching the level of "falling to the ground after just one smell"!

That's wine, not incense!

This shows how evil those rumors are.

But no matter what, for a while, Jiangcheng Uncle's Mansion became a "holy place" in the eyes of many drunkards in the city, and they all wanted to break in and find out.

It’s best to taste it yourself.

However, Jiangcheng Earl's Mansion is an Earl's Mansion after all, and not just anyone can break into it.

This alone stops most drunkards.

As for the remaining drunkards, such as the drunkards with higher status such as civil and military officials in the court, they can actually use an excuse to come to Uncle Jiangcheng's house to explore it by visiting.

However, this one does not work for most people.

Because the "nemesis" hat on Zhu Xiuyuan's head was so eye-catching that no one dared to approach it, and they were afraid to avoid it!

Moreover, many civil and military officials in North Korea and China have hostile relations with Zhu Xiuyuan...

Naturally, this group of people would not make a special trip to visit Jiangcheng Uncle Mansion just for this matter.

However, there are always exceptions to everything. Although Zhu Xiuyuan is not very popular in the court, he does not have no friends.

The first people to come to Jiangcheng Bo's Mansion for investigation were Dong Cheng's subordinates in the government office and the magistrates of Jiangning and Shangyuan counties under his rule.

These people themselves were under Dong Cheng's rule and were naturally close to Jiangcheng's Mansion.

So these people formed a group to visit the uncle's house.

The purpose is to see the legendary sweet wine.

I wish Xiuyuan hospitality and fulfill their wishes.

Take out the distilled raw wine and show it to them.

Although everyone was polite, they insisted on tasting the original wine regardless of Zhu Xiuyuan's dissuasion. Zhu Xiuyuan let them taste it for Dong Cheng's sake.

As a result, there were new rumors in the capital the next day.

"The fine wine from Jiangcheng Bo's Mansion is the real fine wine! Strong enough! Tasty enough! I drank it for more than 20 years before, but now it looks like it's all 'horse urine'!"

"The fine wine in Jiangcheng Bo's Mansion is the best wine in the world!"

"You don't know, drinking that kind of wine is like swallowing a ball of fire! The entrance is spicy and fierce, like a sharp sword slicing through the throat. After swallowing it, you can feel the warmth and fire in your belly. Ha. In one breath, the strong smell of alcohol rushed straight to my forehead... Oh my God, I have been drinking wine for most of my life, and I have never drunk anything so strong! This is the real wine!"

"Me too, I used to drink several large jars of fine wine, just to get drunk, but I kept drinking and drinking, but I could never get drunk, always just a little bit... until I drank the fine wine from Jiangcheng Uncle's Mansion, and I got drunk, so drunk Totally, haha..."

……

【Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)