Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

Wei Ruyi was not as easy to coax as Zhang Ming. She did not immediately believe Wei Chen's explanation. Instead, she doubted the belief and said, "Master Sheng's family has a great business. What do you want from me? What do you want from me?"

Wei Chen shook the glycerin in the jar and said haha: "Sending goose feathers from a thousand miles away is more important than courtesy. Although this little glycerin is small, it took me two days to get it out. My thoughts are always there, I guess. Mr. Sheng will definitely like it when he sees it."

Seeing that Wei Ruyi wanted to ask again, Wei Chen quickly interrupted: "Aunt Wei, uncle, I only asked my husband for three days' leave before I came out. If I don't report back to the school before sunset, my husband will punish me. It's not early. Okay, I’ll take my leave now!”

After that, Wei Chen didn't wait for Wei Ruyi and Zhang Ming to react, he picked up the jar of glycerin, said goodbye, and left without looking back.

Wei Ruyi raised her head and glanced at the sun that had just risen in the east, and asked Zhang Ming with a puzzled look on her face: "It's only a dozen miles away, is it so urgent?"

Zhang Ming scratched his head and laughed a few times: "Brother Chen naturally has his own reasons for doing things, so let's not ask any more questions. I'm just asking you, if you can ask someone to handle the paperwork for exemption from corvee, can it be done? Come down?"

Wei Ruyi was speechless after hearing this.

This matter also goes back to the day Wei Chen just came home. As soon as Wei Chen came home, he showed the couple the document issued by the county government for exemption from corvee. After Wei Chen read the contents of the document, both of them were very excited. It was a mix of surprises.

The reason why Zhang Ming fled to Xiyin Village was because his father had offended the local Li Zheng. Li Zheng was so resentful that he assigned Zhang Ming's father a long-distance mission to deliver money to the capital. When he went there, the money escorted was less than one tael. , but it costs 50 taels when delivered.

In the end, the Zhang family's property was wiped out, and both Zhang Ming's parents were forced to death by creditors who were demanding debts. Only Zhang Ming was left to flee home alone.

Although Zhang Ming has settled down in Xiyin Village and married Wei Ruyi, since Wei Mingzhao's death, they have no one to rely on in Xiyin Village. If they meet the vicious and upright people from before, Maybe the tragedy of the previous generation will happen again.

If such a day comes, can Zhang Xu be as lucky as his father, with a good man like Wei Mingzhao protecting him?

Zhang Ming and Wei Ruyi didn't dare to think about it.

For more than ten years, this kind of precarious panic has always haunted the couple, making it difficult for them to sleep or eat well.

Therefore, when Wei Chen told them that Zhang Ming could be exempted from miscellaneous corvee labor for three years, the couple cried with joy. They were happy for a whole night, and even slept with the document in their arms.

At this time, hearing Zhang Ming mention this and recalling the scene a few days ago, Wei Ruyi couldn't help but smile a little more on his face.

She looked at Wei Chen walking away in the fields in the distance, and was speechless for a long time, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

"You're right. Brother Chen is becoming an adult, and it's time for us to let go slowly."

Chapter 17

Even though the Youyang Sheng family is now prosperous and Mr. Sheng Weisheng is admired by everyone, in fact, he also came from a miserable background.

The father inherited the family business but made a farce of spoiling his concubine and destroying his wife. Before his death, he lost all the family property, leaving only Sheng Wei and his mother, an orphan and a widower, dependent on each other.

With a little bit of brainpower and a willingness to endure hardship, Sheng Wei worked hard in Youyang for more than [-] years before earning his current huge family fortune.

Although Jiangning Mansion is not ranked among the hidden dragons and crouching tigers, at least in Youyang, the Sheng family is already one of the top wealthy families.

In the past two days, Mr. Sheng can be said to be in high spirits.

The continuous investment in Sheng's righteous studies over the past few years finally reaped rewards. He received a blessing from the academic master and earned him a reputation as a "Confucian businessman."

The direct benefit brought by this is that the Sheng family's industry can finally move out of Youyang County and occupy a place in Jiangning Mansion. Although it is only a small and insignificant area, it is enough to make Sheng Wei excited.

Sheng Wei knew very well that although the current good situation was due to his years of painstaking planning, it was also inseparable from Wei Chen's genius.

Without Wei Chen's efforts to turn the tide in front of the Master of Academic Affairs, how could Sheng's Yixue be as prosperous as it is today?

Therefore, when Sheng Wei heard from his servants that Wei Chen had come to visit, Sheng Wei immediately went out to greet him personally and invited Wei Chen to the hall to speak.

After the guests and hosts took their seats, Sheng Wei saw that Wei Chen was still carrying something in his hand. He immediately said with a straight face and said displeasedly: "My dear nephew, how can you misuse money to come to my uncle's house and buy so many things!"

"It's hard to come empty-handed when you're visiting for the first time." Wei Chen smiled, opened the two wooden boxes he brought, and took out the contents: "Uncle, don't be too busy rejecting them. Let's see what they are first."

Sheng Wei glanced at the contents of the wooden box and saw two unremarkable wine jars. He couldn't help but said suspiciously: "This is..."

Wei Chen smiled slightly, said nothing, clapped his hand, and opened the seal on the wine jar. Immediately, the sweet aroma of wine spread out.

When the servants of the Sheng family who were accompanying him smelled the aroma of the wine, they knew what it was and couldn't help but secretly despise Wei Chen's behavior.

It was so mysterious that I thought it was some kind of good wine, but it turned out to be the most worthless fruit wine!Fortunately, I am still a scholar. I bring this kind of thing when I come to see my master. I don’t understand any etiquette!

Sheng Wei was not unhappy at all when he saw Wei Chen bring fruit wine to his door. He had known for a long time that Wei Chen was born in a poor family and his family had no money. It was a token of his gratitude to bring a gift to his door. As for how much the gift was worth, Sheng Wei didn't care.

Sheng Wei immediately laughed and said: "Since my nephew is so kind, I will not be disrespectful. Come here, bring me a wine cup. I want to drink this wine with my nephew!"

Not long after, the servants brought out two exquisite white porcelain wine cups and placed them respectfully in front of Sheng Wei and Wei Chen. Then they picked up the wine jar and filled the wine cups respectively.

As the dark red wine was poured into the cup, Sheng Wei's eyes gradually became serious.

This wine... seems different from the fruit wine he usually sees?

It is not turbid like ordinary fruit wine, but is clear and bright. It looks like a piece of rippled amber in the cup. It has a long lasting flavor and is so beautiful that it is intoxicating.

But Sheng Wei didn't know that these two jars of wine and one jar of peach wine,

A jar of bayberry wine is not an ordinary fruit wine, but has been blended with glycerin.

Wei Chen saw the change in Sheng Wei's expression and smiled slightly, but did not explain.

He picked up the wine cup and made a gesture of invitation.

Sheng Wei didn't hesitate and picked up the wine cup together with Wei Chen, but he still kept an extra thought in mind. He first put the wine cup under his nose and smelled it. After confirming that there was no peculiar smell, he took a small sip.

Just a moment after the wine entered his throat, Sheng Wei's eyes suddenly lit up and he stared at Wei Chen like a ghost: "Is this wine fruit wine?"

Wei Chen didn't answer, but asked with a smile: "Uncle, what do you think of this wine?"

Sheng Wei took another sip, savored it carefully, and then commented: "Not bitter or astringent, sweet and sour."

It's just that Sheng Wei couldn't figure out how this wine was brewed so that it was neither bitter nor astringent!

You know, even Lingnan lychee wine, which is recognized as a treasure among fruit wines at this time, will inevitably have a touch of sourness.

What Wei Chen gave him to drink was obviously the most common and cheapest bayberry wine in Youyang. However, this bayberry wine was not bitter or astringent, but also retained the unique fruity aroma of bayberry.

Moreover, in addition to the sweet and sour taste of bayberry, you can also taste a hint of warm and sweet flavor, which makes the taste of the wine even better. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a fine wine.

Wei Chen smiled and asked, "Uncle, how much do you think this wine is worth?"

Sheng Wei pondered after hearing this.

He has been in business for many years and knows the prices of all types of goods, and wine is no exception.

According to today's market, the cheapest product is fruit wine, which usually costs two or three pennies per pound.

Then there's the ale, which costs more than ten cents a pound.

The best is of course rice wine, the worse ones cost twenty or thirty fen, and the good ones range from a few hundred to several thousand fen.

Of course, those world-renowned famous wines are not included in this list. Their prices are not fixed and have no upper limit.

Among fruit wines, lychee wine is an anomaly. Due to the preciousness of lychees, the price of wine has also risen. A pound of lychee wine can be sold for [-] yuan per pound, which is far higher than ordinary fruit wine.

But even lychee wine, in Sheng Wei's opinion, tastes a little worse than Wei Chen's bayberry wine.

After pondering for a long time, Sheng Wei slowly opened his mouth and said, "In my opinion, this wine costs at least three hundred coins per catty."

Shengwei also considered many factors before giving this price. The main reference object was Lingnan lychee wine.

Wei Chen's wine tastes slightly better than lychee wine, but the raw materials are cheaper. If you put it all together, the price of the two should be about the same, so Sheng Wei quoted a price of three hundred yuan per catty.

"Three hundred words?!"

Wei Chen was also startled when he heard Sheng Wei's quotation, and at the same time he quickly calculated in his mind.

Ten pounds of lard can produce eighty ounces of glycerol, and eighty ounces of glycerol can be blended into eighty pounds of fruit wine.

Eighty jins of fruit wine, if sold at 24 taels per jin, would be [-] taels, or [-] taels of silver.

Ten catties of lard cost 240 cents, and eighty jins of fruit wine cost only 740 cents from the market. The total of the two only cost [-] cents.

Compared with the cost, the selling price has increased by more than 30 times. It is simply a huge profit among huge profits!

When Sheng Wei saw that Wei Chen was silent for a long time, he suddenly became confused and asked: "My dear nephew, you haven't told me where you bought this wine?"

Wei Chen forcibly suppressed his excitement and replied: "Uncle, what if I said that this wine was not bought but made by myself?"

"really?"

"It's true."

"My nephew!"

Sheng Wei's eyes widened, he suddenly stood up and grabbed Wei Chen's hand.

As a successful businessman, how could Sheng Wei fail to see the huge business opportunities contained in this fruit wine?

If Wei Chen really mastered the method of brewing this wine, then he would be a walking cornucopia of humanoids!

Thinking of this, Sheng Wei could no longer remain calm. He held Wei Chen's hand tightly and said sincerely: "My dear nephew, this wine is worth thousands of gold. Let me tell you in detail!"

Wei Chen couldn't help but feel nauseous when he saw Sheng Wei's eyes that were almost glued to him, and he quickly smiled and said: "Uncle, don't worry, I'm here just to discuss this matter with you."

Chapter 18

Sheng Wei also realized that he had lost his composure, smiled awkwardly, and sat back in his seat.After briefly calming down, Sheng Wei quickly regained the magnanimity that a wealthy businessman in Youyang should have.

He stepped back and asked solemnly: "I wonder what my wise nephew has to say? I am all ears."

Wei Chen said: "It's very simple. Opening a fruit wine workshop specializing in the production of fruit wine should not be difficult for uncle, right?"

"It's not difficult." Sheng Wei said without thinking, "But in my opinion, starting from scratch is cumbersome and time-consuming. It's better to just buy a ready-made fruit wine workshop and save a lot of trouble. What do you think, nephew?"

"Uncle can just take care of these things himself." Wei Chen waved his hand indifferently and said, "Now that we have this workshop, where can the fruit wine be sold? Does uncle have any connections?"

Sheng Wei confidently said: "Don't worry, my dear nephew, our Sheng family business is spread all over the south of the Yangtze River. It is very powerful and has close contacts with various restaurants and inns. As long as the fruit wine produced by the winery is the same as what you and I drink today, then there will be a success." No matter how much I pay, I can still sell it.”

When Wei Chen heard this, he smiled noncommittally.

The Sheng family is indeed the leader in Youyang's business community, but when it comes to Jiangning Mansion, their influence is somewhat insufficient, let alone the entire Jiangnan?Sheng Wei is simply bragging and not drafting!

Wei Chen knew in his heart that Sheng Wei was showing off his strength to himself so that he could take the initiative in the subsequent negotiations.

However, in Wei Chen's view, this is evidence of Sheng Wei's guilty conscience. If Sheng Wei is really as confident as he appears, why would he deliberately exaggerate his own strength?

Sure enough, when Wei Chen didn't say anything, Sheng Wei couldn't hold himself back any longer and asked, "My dear nephew, after talking so much, you haven't said how to divide this job?"

Wei Chen picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, and said leisurely: "The Sheng family has [-]%, I have [-]%, and the rest belongs to my aunt Wei and uncle."

"What?" No matter how well-mannered Sheng Wei was, he couldn't help but frown at this time: "I have to contribute money and effort but also be responsible for sales, and only account for [-]%? That's it, then Wei Ruyi and Zhang Ming , and why should we take up [-]% of it for nothing?”

Wei Chen smiled slightly and said: "I can make three pennies worth of fruit wine reborn and be worth a hundred times. And I am the only one in the world. I think this is worth [-] percent. As for Aunt Wei and uncle's share, then It’s divided from my [-]%.”

Sheng Wei fell into silence, and after a long time, he spoke again: "What if I don't want to?"

When Wei Chen saw Sheng Wei's expression, he knew that he had already made a move, but he felt that Wei Chen had too many roles, so he was still a little unwilling to agree so easily.