Top Scholar

Chapter 124 Winner's Settlement Screen
Erlangtan, the home of Scholar Cheng.

The two Cheng brothers sat by the fire pit, watching Cheng Chengcheng return from town.

"Have you found out the details?" Old Master Cheng asked him.

"Do we even need to ask?" Cheng Chengcheng said with a wry smile as he ate rice porridge from the pot. "The whole town is in an uproar. The whole street is full of people saying, 'After drinking Erlang wine, you'll have clear airways and won't cough...'"

"Why are you singing too?" Cheng Xiucai asked, frowning.

"It was uncontrollable, Father." Cheng Chengcheng slapped his mouth lightly and said dejectedly, "When my sister was sending out wine everywhere, I thought it was just a small matter, but I didn't expect it to turn into such a big thing!"

“These past two months, Erlangjiu flags have been everywhere in town, and men, women, and children alike are all saying ‘Good wine, good wine, good wine…’” Old Master Cheng said in a deep voice, “We should have known about their ambitions long ago!”

"Yes." Cheng Chengcheng nodded helplessly, "But Master, even if I had foreseen it, it wouldn't have mattered. They've already brought Commander Ma into their group and even had my sister handle the arrangements. Could I possibly sabotage them?"

"You should be a righteous man who doesn't manage money, and a merciful man who doesn't raise soldiers. Don't you understand that there are no fathers and sons in the business world?" Old Master Cheng lectured him.

"So this isn't like your daughter's time anymore?" Cheng Xiangong couldn't help but retort to his elder brother.

"How can that be the same? My daughter isn't involved in the clan's business at all," the old man from the Cheng family said matter-of-factly. "They're different, understand?!"

He was angry. The position of head manager should have been passed on to his son, Cheng Chengzhi, but because of Cuicui's matter, the clansmen had objections, feeling that his son would be too lenient when dealing with the Su family.

If Cheng Xiucai had stood up and said a few words, the matter would have been settled. But this brat didn't utter a sound because Cheng Chengcheng also wanted to be the head manager...

"How is it different? If it weren't for what your daughter did, would I have ignored her?" Cheng Xiucai also raised his voice, and the two old brothers started arguing like fighting cocks.

Sure enough, the knot in my heart can't be washed away with just one drink...

"Father, Master, what time is it? Stop bickering!" Cheng Chengcheng quickly separated the two and steered the conversation back to the main topic:

"The biggest problem now is—Erlang wine only costs fifty coins! If this continues, our family will definitely be affected!"

"Fifty coins isn't cheap." Old Master Cheng, who knew the inside story, snorted and said, "The cost of Erlang wine is less than 20% of ours. Even if we mix it with Su Ji's old wine, it's at most 30%. Add to that Tian Shui Ji's cut, and we'll make at least a dozen coins per pound of wine!"

Erlang wine has a gross profit of eighteen coins per catty, and he was right about that... This is what you call old rivals who know each other inside and out.

"It's not that she's too greedy." Cheng Xiucai nodded. As a scholar, he still hoped that his daughter would eat more gracefully.

"Dad, why are you worrying about them?" Cheng Chengcheng said speechlessly, "Now it's our business that will be affected! We won't start shipping until next month, and they've already bought Erlang wine. What are we going to do with our own wine?"

"What's there to be afraid of? If we can take them down once, we can take them down twice!" Scholar Cheng snorted and said, "Let's fight them face to face!"

"..." Cheng Chengcheng, that old man, didn't understand anything, so asking him was pointless. He could only turn to the eldest son of the Cheng family and say, "Master, we will definitely be affected."

"Of course," sighed Old Master Cheng. "Although our wine is better, it's still just soy sauce-flavored liquor, and most people can't tell that much of a difference. If they lower the price by half again, it'll be a disaster..."

"Really?" Scholar Cheng trusted his elder brother's judgment in this regard.

"You'll see, the year-end bonus is probably not going to be secured," said the old man from the Cheng family.

"Sigh..." This is exactly what Cheng Chengcheng fears. Chengji has been distributing dividends for ten consecutive years. If he doesn't distribute dividends in his first year as head manager, won't the clansmen point fingers and curse him?
"And this year will be the best year yet," Grandpa Cheng continued, "As Erlangjiu becomes more widely known, our situation will become even more difficult. If we don't lower the price, we'll be lucky to hold onto half of our market share."

"How are we going to live like this?" Upon hearing that sales would be cut in half, Cheng Chengcheng felt like the sky was falling. How could the Su family be so mean?
"Erlang wine clearly belongs to my sister's family, so how did it become a magic weapon for the Su family to deal with us?" This was the most frustrating thing for him.

"Who says otherwise?" The eldest son of the Cheng family, disregarding any awkwardness, solemnly instructed his nephew, "The best course of action now is for us to develop our own 'Erlang Wine' in order to stabilize our situation!"

“That makes sense, but do you have the secret recipe?” Cheng Xiucai asked.

“I don’t have any, but your daughter does.” Old Master Cheng looked at his bratty younger brother and said, “Call Lanlan back. The father and daughter are having a fight, and outsiders are just taking advantage of the situation.”

"A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup." Cheng Xiucai got angry whenever this topic was brought up, and said in a muffled voice, "If you want to go, go and call me. I have no face to call you."

"Lanlan isn't my daughter, how can my words carry any weight?" Old Master Cheng said speechlessly, "If my words carried any weight, I would have already burned incense and prayed to Buddha, and brought back the Goddess of Wealth in a grand sedan chair!"

"What Goddess of Wealth?" Cheng Xiucai asked, frowning.

"Lanlan!" Old Master Cheng said with exasperation, "Your daughter is more promising than all your sons, yet you've broken her heart!"

“Sigh, don’t even mention it…” Cheng Xiucai became depressed whenever this topic came up, and the depression only grew stronger. “If I keep talking about it, I’ll start having my old habits again.”

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything. You figure it out yourself." Old Master Cheng stood up helplessly and said, "Anyway, your son is in charge of the distillery now. I'll see how long you plan to hold out for the sake of your old face."

After saying that, he left with a sigh.

“Father, Uncle has a point. Besides, my sister isn’t heartless. Didn’t she come back to visit you when you were sick last time?” Cheng Chengcheng saw his uncle off and came back to try and persuade his father, only to find Cheng Xiucai already lying on the bed, his backside facing him. “That’s to see if I’m dead or not,” Cheng Xiucai said in a muffled voice. “My daughter takes after me; she holds grudges too much. If you offend her, you’ll never get away with it. If you don’t believe me, go and try it. You’ll see when you get a rude awakening.”

"Father, apologize to your sister. I don't believe she'll hold a grudge." This was what Cheng Chengcheng really wanted to say, and he finally blurted it out after holding it in for a long time.

"This is outrageous! You want me to apologize to her? Dream on!" Cheng Xiucai suddenly raised his voice, then closed his eyes and ignored him.

~~
Inside Hongyunlou, however, the scene was quite different.

The proprietress had booked the restaurant for the entire day, and had one night left to use. Being the shrewd shrew she was, she certainly wouldn't waste it, so she used it to host a celebratory banquet.

Aside from the staff of Sweet Water Restaurant, everyone at the banquet was a member of the Su clan. The people busy inside and out today were almost all from the Su family; even the young women serving wine and greeting guests were from the clan – they were definitely going all out.

The dinner was not as elaborate as the lunch, but consisted of large plates and bowls, with plenty of fish and meat, allowing the tribespeople who had worked hard all day to enjoy a hearty meal.

This was exactly what they wanted, and they ate with great relish, praising the proprietress for being beautiful, kind-hearted, and incredibly capable!

Everyone at the main table was overjoyed. Su Daji ate while calculating his day's earnings, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face.

The accounts were easy to calculate. A total of 40,000 catties of wine were sold, with an ex-factory price of 40 wen per catty, totaling 1,600 taels!

This amount equals Su Kee's revenue for the past three years! As for gross profit, Su Kee hasn't made a profit in all these years...

Although all the buyers only paid a deposit and Da Tou still had to wait until the end of the year to settle the accounts according to the rules, he believed that with the boss's wife and Su Youcai's abilities, getting the money back would definitely not be a problem!
Su Ji, on the other hand, only needs to sit back and wait to collect the money.

He had never done such a comfortable and simple business in his life, and he never expected to experience it in his old age. Thinking of this, Su Daji said to the proprietress with a face full of gratitude:

"At first, I thought it was unnecessary to let Sweet Water Diary sell the products, but now I realize that the proprietress was genuinely doing this for Su's good."

"Doesn't the master craftsman think that those ten coins were a waste?" the proprietress said with a smile.

"No injustice, no injustice at all, it was totally worth it, this is what you deserve!" Su Daji said, raising his glass and standing up, loudly calling to his clansmen, "Come on, let's all toast the proprietress! To thank her for bringing Su Ji back from the brink of death!"

"To the boss lady!" The members of the Su clan raised their glasses and shouted together.

The proprietress also stood up happily, first drinking the wine offered by everyone, then filling a glass and turning it upside down to toast everyone again, saying:
"Today's order fair is a complete success thanks to everyone's selfless dedication. Not only today, but also for the past few months, no one has received wages, and some have even borrowed grain from their homes to supply the distillery! Without your sacrifices, there would be no success today!"

"..." A kind word warms the heart for three winter months. The villagers were so moved by the proprietress that they quickly drank another cup with her.

But what moved them even more was yet to come. The proprietress boldly announced, "I've decided to use all four hundred taels of deposit received today as payment for the goods to Su's Wine Shop! I'll have the head chef pay you your wages!"

"Good! Good! Good! Thank you, boss lady!" Upon hearing this, the tribespeople all stood up and cheered.

"Boss lady, we love you!" The little girls screamed excitedly, their voices almost lifting the roof off.

Now all the members of the Su family completely regarded her as one of their own.

"Is it alright if I make a large one?" the proprietress asked with a smile.

"Of course you can." Su Daji said gratefully, "We should definitely pay the wages first after we make money, but I was too embarrassed to ask the boss lady. I didn't expect her to speak up first."

"Good!" The tribespeople cheered again.

"Let's all raise a glass together and celebrate that the hard times are finally over!" The proprietress raised her third glass, and everyone else followed suit.

The lights, tears, and glint of alcohol mingled together, creating a melody called happiness...

~~
Su Youcai was also deeply moved, tears streaming down his face. He knew all too well the sacrifices and contributions the proprietress had made; they were greater than anyone else's. Overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn't help but spontaneously compose a poem:
"After hardship comes happiness, let us raise our cups together; the flickering red lamplight illuminates the entire hall."

Despite enduring countless hardships, her beautiful figure still retains a touch of fragrance.

Tears rise and fall with the fine wine, emotions soar with joyful words.

Do not say that the road ahead is full of storms, for spring breezes will surely warm the painted hall.

The clansmen cheered upon hearing this, marveling that "Little Dongpo of Erlangtan" was as charming as ever.

The proprietress was moved to tears upon hearing this, feeling that it was all worth it...

P.S. This poem is also dedicated to everyone. Thank you for your support and love. I've read all the replies to each chapter, and 99% of the readers want me to take my time. So, I'll respect everyone's opinions and tell the story at a leisurely pace!
I've updated four times in half a month! Please continue to vote with monthly tickets and subscriptions!!

(End of this chapter)