A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 109 Persimmon Soju
The west wind blew hard all night, and the fallen leaves formed a poem.

In the blink of an eye, the Frost Descent season arrived, bringing a sharp drop in temperature, with a particularly large difference between day and night. During the day, the sun was still scorching hot at noon, the last vestiges of the autumn heat. But by the mornings and evenings, it was already quite chilly, and especially at night, we had to lay down our blankets.

The late autumn scene is obvious outdoors.

"Frost descends, and all things are put to rest." In the early morning, Ji Shi looked at the fruits on the tall persimmon tree in the yard turning red, and happily pointed at the persimmons and said to Li Yi, "Alang, the persimmons are red."

Persimmons are just beginning to turn red,

However, it cannot be eaten at this time because it is sour and astringent. It will have to wait until it is hit by a severe frost and frozen before it becomes soft, sweet and juicy.

"Hanging frost illuminates the fruits, the winter is still moist, the dew is sweet and clear, the taste is like golden liquid." Li Yi looked at the persimmons that were beginning to turn red, and he could really feel the charm of late autumn. Some time ago, he had to hug his wife to keep cool when he slept alone at night, but these days, Yu Shu and Ji always said that they were worried that he would be cold at night and would take turns warming his bed.

It’s really warm to sleep in someone’s arms.

"Persimmons are a good thing. Medical books say that persimmons are good for the spleen, lungs, and blood. They are sweet and have a mild aroma. They are astringent and can help with contractions. Therefore, they can strengthen the spleen and intestines, cure coughs, and stop bleeding."

What the Silla maid was obsessed with was the Fire Crystal Persimmon, which had to be from Xinfeng, east of Chang'an City. The persimmons from Xinfeng, after being softened by frost, became bright red like fireballs and translucent like crystal, hence the name Xinfeng Fire Crystal Persimmon.

Not only does it look good, but it also has no fibers or cores, and its skin is as thin as paper. It is very easy to peel, and is cool and refreshing. You can even just insert a straw into it as a straw and eat it directly.

The Xinfeng Huojing Persimmon Cake, made with Xinfeng Huojing persimmons and flour, is also very famous for its softness, sweetness and fragrance.

The best fire crystal persimmons are only produced in the hills of Mount Li in Xinfeng and the plateau in front of the mountain. The quality here is the best, and those in other places are not as good as there.

The house that Li Yiping bought in Kangfang also has a few persimmon trees, but they definitely won't bear fire crystal persimmons.

"Every year when the leaves of the persimmon tree fall and the persimmons turn red, I feel especially festive and warm." Ji recalled that her family used to have several persimmon trees, and the vivid memories of her childhood when her brothers and sisters gathered under the trees and her father picked ripe persimmons for them.

"I'll find a long pole to pick some down." Li Yi said.

"The persimmons are just beginning to turn red, so they can't be eaten yet."

"I will not eat."

"Then you can't make jam or persimmon cakes now since they're not ripe."

"I'm going to make some persimmon wine."

"Persimmon wine?"

The two beauties had never heard that persimmons could be used to make wine. Li Yi smiled and said, "Just wait and see, persimmon wine is delicious."

He had long been eyeing the persimmons in the yard.

Or maybe he remembered this when he saw the persimmons turning red.

Persimmons are everywhere in Guanzhong. They are easy to grow and don’t even require any special management. They can fill a tree, grow in fields, and even in gullies.

In winter, it is also a good fruit and can be made into persimmon cakes and persimmon jam.

Of course, later on, few people ate this old variety of persimmon anymore, and instead they ate the improved fruit persimmon.

The birds can’t eat enough, so they hang on the branches like red lanterns in winter, and finally fall off and rot.

Persimmon wine, like sweet potato wine, has been loved by the people for a long time, mainly because it does not require grain and is cheap.

Li Yi discovered early on that food was expensive in Guanzhong, and wine was even more ridiculously expensive.

In particular, the emperor also issued an edict banning slaughter and wine-making, that is, prohibiting the killing of cattle and horses and prohibiting the use of grain to make wine.

This makes wine even more expensive.

Good wine costs ten thousand yuan for a dou.

Mid-range ones often cost one or two thousand yuan per bucket.

Most people can't afford it.

Although the tofu skin workshop is still open, the price has dropped from more than 300 coins per catty to 100 coins now. The profit is no longer that huge. After paying the workers in the workshop, there is still some profit, but it is just an ordinary small business.

He thought he could start a business in soap and wine.
Let’s start with persimmon wine.
In fact, persimmon wine is very simple to make, and there are no specific requirements for the persimmons. Soft, hard, or even bad or rotten persimmons are all fine. Just choose the better ones if you want to drink them yourself.

Persimmon wine is first fermented and then distilled. Rural areas make their own liquor, such as sweet potato liquor, sorghum liquor, wine lees liquor, etc., which are similar.
Although there are certainly no advanced techniques or formulas, the traditional brewing technology that has been used for hundreds of years is actually quite good.

Even many old men only trust this kind of homemade brew, believing that it is made with genuine ingredients without any blending or additives.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was still very advanced.

This was especially true during an era when distilled liquor was unheard of. Yellow rice wine was the primary alcoholic beverage. Whether it was rice wine, sake, shochu, or malt wine, they were all essentially the same type, fermented alcohols made from grains. Tang Dynasty brands like Shaochun, sake, and baijiu were also fermented alcohols, albeit cooked versions.

After the koji making and fermentation process, the resulting wine is called raw wine. This kind of wine is generally muddy white, so it is also called turbid wine or white wine. This kind of wine is relatively sweet, but it is not easy to store and easily becomes sour.

The wine was then sealed in a container and slowly heated over low heat to become shochu, or sake.

Burnt wine is not easy to become sour, and the wine will become clear.

After long-term storage, the color gradually darkens and turns orange-yellow, which becomes rice wine.

Because most of the liquor is brewed during the winter solstice, then stored and opened in the spring of the following year, it is called winter liquor or Shaochun liquor.

Li Yi also drank a lot of different kinds of wine in the Tang Dynasty, from the simplest wheat wine in the common people's homes, to fermented glutinous rice, to turbid wine, shochu, and yellow wine.
In fact, they are all the same wine, but the production process is different.

The alcohol content of rice wine was not high. Li Yi planned to make some persimmon wine, which was a distilled liquor, the real shochu and baijiu of later generations.

Although the Tang people may not be accustomed to drinking this kind of spicy liquor, it is worth a try since it can be made without using grains.

There are persimmon trees everywhere in Guanzhong. If we really want to make persimmon cake, the raw materials are very cheap and the supply is sufficient. We can have as much as we want.

Others buy a 10,000-yuan jar of Xinfeng wine.
Jiannan Shaochun costs several thousand yuan, and other teas like Jinlingchun, Tukuchun, Shidongchun, Lihuachun, etc. are all very expensive.

Even if the world is not at peace now,
However, the demand for wine is still huge and the market is large. However, due to food and policy restrictions, ordinary people are prohibited from making and selling wine. Only the government has some wineries, but the quantity is small and the price is too high.

Those who want to drink can’t afford it.

Li Yi launched this persimmon liquor, which has a completely different taste, but for those who don't have a drink or can't afford the current liquor,
If you drink Li Yi's new soju, you're probably willing to try a substitute.

You can buy a stone of soft yellow rice to make wine for more than 2,000 coins, but you can buy a stone of persimmons for 100 coins per stone. I guess people will rush to sell them.

Li Yi called four red-rowed Qiang slaves to pick persimmons.

These four guys had fought with Liu Heizi several times. Liu Heizi relied on his own strength and only competed with them in strength, such as jumping over the pass, carrying weights, moving stones, carrying food, and arm wrestling, and defeated these four Qiang elite warriors again and again.

Anyway, I won't compete with them in archery, horse riding, fighting, assassination, etc.

Those four guys really thought that Liu Heizi was a hidden master.
But these four guys did not respect Li Yi at first, and thought Li Yi was a pretty boy.

So Li Yi took them into the house one by one and demonstrated what the Five Thunders Righteousness Method was. He held the electric baton in his hand and hid it in his sleeve.

Shout loudly to the Thunder God and Lightning Mother, hurry up and obey the command.

Then the lightning flashed,

Li Yi pressed the electric baton against their thighs or shoulders, causing them to fall to the ground immediately.

After the four red-lined Qiang slaves enjoyed the three-second electric shock,

They all regarded Li Yi as a god. Li Yi called them one by one to take the test because he didn't want them to see through the secret.

He also didn't want Liu Heizi to find out that his Five Thunders Righteousness Technique was actually an electric baton.

But the effect is very shocking.

Anyway, from then on, the four Red Qiang were obedient to Li Yi and also to Liu Heizi. In this house, Li Yi's status as the master was completely established and could no longer be shaken.

He was usually pretty nice to these four people, making sure they had enough food and water and he didn't beat or scold them.

Li Yi was also very clear about their position. He had no intention of letting them farm or work, but just wanted them to be his guards.

He usually guards the house, and when he goes out, he is accompanied by guards.

If someone really pushes him to the limit, he can also send people to do some dirty work.

Li Yi named the four Chi Pai Qiang people Cun Xiao Cun Ti Cun Zhong Cun Yi, according to the eight virtues: filial piety, fraternity, loyalty, trustworthiness, courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and shame.

The two young men from the three families were named Shouren and Shouyi. According to the order of the five Confucian virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, the first character is Shou.

He also saved himself the trouble of thinking of names one by one, and later saved a row of characters and kept the row of characters.

Easy to take and easy to remember.

Cunxiao was the oldest of the four Red Qiang. Li Yi had previously thought he was about thirty years old, but he was actually only twenty. His skin was dark and rough, and he looked old because he had been a captive and imprisoned.
This guy is the oldest and bravest among the four. That day, Li Yi failed to knock him down with a three-second shock, and he took another three-second shock to knock him down. Therefore, he got the name Li Cunxiao and became the boss. Chen Liang, the kid, now changed his name to Li Cunli, and is the youngest in this five-man team.

Li Yi pointed at the tree.
Li Cunxiao spat twice into his palm, then climbed up the tree. Then Cunti, Cunzhong and Cunxin also climbed up the tree nimbly.
Only Chen Liang, who changed his name to Cunli, failed to climb up despite several attempts.

"Cunli, just pick the fruit under the tree."

Li Yi arranged Chen Liang into the Chi Pai Qiang in order to prevent these four people from becoming an uncontrollable small group. He specially placed him in there to monitor them and let Chen Liang help teach them Chinese. After all, Chen Liang's family used to do business in Longyou, and he had dealt with the Qiang people and knew a little Qiang language. Now they are learning from each other and making progress together.

There are these five guys,

Soon, many persimmons were picked.
These persimmons are just beginning to turn red and are still hard, but they are already suitable for making wine.

First, crush the persimmons, then add koji or yeast into a large jar and seal it for two months. Check and stir it several times in the middle to prevent over-fermentation.

After fermentation, add a kind of wild grass and then it can be put into the pot for distilling liquor.

"Heizi, take Cunli to the East Market to buy a large jar and a few more. Cunli, remember to buy some wine yeast. Buy the kind with hot pepper and golden cherry. Buy some of the others as well. I'll try them all then."

Li Yi asked Cunxiao and the other three to crush the persimmons.
He asked Yu Shu to get money for Cun Li, "By the way, let's see if there are any pig pancreases at the East Market Butcher's Market."

"Why does Alang want to buy pig pancreas? It doesn't taste good." Liu Heizi said.

Li Yi ignored him and said, "Just buy a few pairs first, then see if there are any shells to buy. If there are any limes to buy, just buy some lime."

Li Cunli's family used to run a shop, so he also learned in the shop. People felt more at ease when leaving the purchases to him. Liu Heizi was responsible for keeping the money and taking the items.

Ji Shi saw through it, "A Lang wants to use pig pancreas to make bath bean flour medicine?"

"Well, try it."

(End of this chapter)