Wanjin Lady

Chapter 101 Cheng Family
"Yes! There are grapes in my hometown, all over the mountains. They're so sour that they make your teeth fall out, but no one picks them. The shopkeeper wants to make wine from the grapes, but that won't work... they're too sour!"

"Your hometown is..."

"A little to the northwest." Seeing Wen Wan's interested face, Ma Changshun couldn't help but feel a little distracted. "Young Master, can that thing really make wine? And it doesn't even require yeast?"

If we didn’t use koji, how much money would we save every year!

The key is... they no longer have to be constrained by the imperial court or the Cheng family!
The more Ma Changshun thought about it, the more beautiful it became. However, he still retained some rationality. "But that thing is too sour. I need to add sugar to neutralize the sourness. But once I add sugar... the cost will only go up."

In ancient times, sugar-making technology was backward, and the cost of sugar was much higher than that of koji. No matter how you look at it... this matter has both advantages and disadvantages.

Wen Wan had already made up her mind, "Master Ma, they say that having something at home is worse than having something owned by others. Whether it's a mule or a horse, let's take it out for a walk."

Ma Changshun immediately grasped Wen Wan's intentions and asked, "Young Master, do you still want to develop new wine?"

What worries me is that the winery is not doing well now. If I rashly develop new wine, I'm afraid it will drag down the entire Wen family.

The good news is that if they can really develop fruit wine that does not require koji, will Ma Changshun be able to become famous along with his young master for generations to come?

Wen Wan sighed softly, "Master Ma, technological innovation is the best way to get rid of the company's crisis."

Master Ma nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and then shouted at the back: "Young Master, what is an enterprise?"

Wen Wan was very busy, and Cheng Yunzhang was not idle either.

Ever since he became Yao Shizhen's disciple, he has started to accompany the old man to travel around.

Cheng Yunzhang had not returned home for several days, and Yuan Jing was very anxious.

Whether or not he could get the Wen family winery was a small matter, and his eldest brother's scolding and contempt were small matters. But if he lost Cheng Yunzhang... he wouldn't deserve to lose even ten heads!
Cheng Yunzhang, that is the hot cake of the entire Cheng and Yuan families! Eyeballs!

Ever since this kid showed his talent for studying, all the family resources have always been prioritized to satisfy him alone! If anyone among his peers dared to say a harsh word to him, his parents would indiscriminately defend Cheng Yunzhang.

Among the younger generations of the Yuan family, the phrase they hear most often is "Look at Cheng Yunzhang!"

Even his brother, who was usually arrogant and noble, was very polite with a hint of caution when he saw Cheng Yunzhang.

Cheng Yunzhang is only one step away from reaching heaven.

As long as Cheng Yunzhang passes the imperial examination, the entire Cheng family winery will be as unstoppable as an eagle spreading its wings!
By then, wouldn’t it be easy to take over the Wen family winery?
Yuan Jing has been having a very frustrating time these days. He has Yuan Qi in charge of him, and Zhu Wang comes to collect debts every now and then. Yuan Qi obviously has money on him, but he doesn't give him a penny, and even calls it training him.

Yuan Jing was angry but didn't dare to show it, for he was afraid that his scheming brother would go back to Bozhou and tell his father about his bad deeds. He could only serve him carefully. After finally sending Yuan Qi away, Yuan Jing went to the gambling house, but still couldn't see Cheng Yunzhang. So he drove to look for Cheng Yunzhang who had not returned home for several days.

He walked to the familiar thatched cottage. Only Madam Yao was there. After hearing Yuan Jing's purpose, she smiled and said, "The master and disciple said there was a maple forest behind Lingshan Mountain. They went up the mountain early in the morning."

Madam Yao glanced at the sky again and estimated that it was about time, so she invited Yuan Jing in. "But it seems that the two of them should be back soon. If you don't mind, Mr. Yuan, would you please wait in the study?"

Yuan Jing was invited into the house by Mrs. Yao.

After the servants poured tea, Madam Yao did not want to keep Yuan Jing company, so she had to leave Yuan Jing alone in the study.

Yuan Jing sat for a while and felt bored again. He stood up to find a book to read, but accidentally glanced at the half-exposed letter between the books on the desk. He vaguely saw Wen Wan's name.

Why did Mr. Yao mention Wen Wan?
Seeing that no one was around, Yuan Jing boldly crept over, opened the book, and read it quickly, skimming through it. Then...

His face gradually darkened.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard footsteps outside the door, followed by Cheng Yunzhang's voice. Yuan Jing's hand trembled, and he immediately stuffed the letter back into the book intact.

After opening the door, Cheng Yunzhang walked towards him. Seeing that his face was pale and his expression was vague, he subconsciously glanced into the study.

But found nothing.

Yuan Jing immediately blocked his gaze and forced a smile: "When my brother came, you hid here with Mr. Yao. What's the matter? Are you afraid that my brother will eat you?"

Cheng Yunzhang retracted his gaze, "Fifth brother has left?"

"Yes, he left this morning. I sent him to the suburbs and watched him head towards Bozhou. Oh, and before he left, he left a carriage full of things, saying it was something your aunt had brought for you. She wanted you to study hard here and come home later for the New Year."

Cheng Yunzhang's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Mother... loves to worry about these things."

Yuan Jing patted his shoulder, as if to comfort him, and as if to sympathize with him.

Everyone in the Yuan family knew that the aunt treated Cheng Yunzhang extremely harshly.

When Cheng Yunzhang was just learning to walk, his aunt was thinking about hiring a teacher to teach him.

Over the years, no matter it was the cold winter or the hot summer, the winery's business could be interrupted, but Cheng Yunzhang's studies must not be interrupted.

Although he was jealous of Cheng Yunzhang, he also felt that he could not bear his aunt's suffocating expectations.

As soon as Yuan Wulang left, Tu Erye brought back news from Bozhou.

In the past few days, Wen Wan has been following the fermentation process closely and learning how to rake from Master Ma. Master Tu soon found Wen Wan in the winery.

Wen Wan had a cotton and linen scarf draped around her neck. She was not wearing her usual colorful clothes, but was wearing the same work clothes as the other guys. She mingled among the guys, helping to carry things up and down, doing everything herself.

It took Mr. Tu a long time to find her.

Wen Wan was very happy to see him. While washing her hands, she asked Mr. Tu about his journey. Mr. Tu then told her everything he had learned during his trip to Bozhou.

"The Yuan family has three branches. Madam Yuan is the eldest sister, and she has three younger brothers. Fifteen years ago, during the 'Kyoto Incident', Master Cheng was implicated in factional disputes. After the Emperor ascended the throne, he purged a large number of people, and Master Cheng was among them."

"Originally, the entire family was sentenced to exile. However, two years later, when the crown prince was born, His Majesty issued a general amnesty, allowing the Cheng family to return to their homeland from the bitter cold of the border. However… by that time… the Cheng family's master and eldest son had already died on the road to exile."

"Cheng Yunzhang was the youngest son in his family. Shortly after his birth, a misfortune befell the family. He already had an older brother and two older sisters. However..."

Tu Erye's face rarely showed a hint of pity. "It is said that on the way to exile, Cheng Yunzhang was young and caught a cold. His elder brother left the group without permission to go into the mountains to find medicine for his younger brother. When he returned, he was beaten to death by the soldiers."

"His second sister... they say she was kidnapped by Pahuazi in the north."

"He has a third sister who became the concubine of the Bozhou prefect three years ago."

(End of this chapter)