On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The steward, Lin An, sat in his armchair, holding a roster. His old eyes were sharp, and he finally selected three accountants from hundreds of people who were clean-cut and quick-witted.

As soon as the three men entered the mansion, they started working on their abacuses at lightning speed, and in no time they had sorted out all the valuables that had been confiscated from the Guo family.

Nangong Min personally reviewed the account book and was very satisfied. He rewarded each person with twenty taels of silver, and the matter was considered closed.

The backyard of the Prince's Mansion.

Normally, apart from the occasional chirping of birds and insects, the only sounds here are the maids moving about in hushed tones, making it exceptionally tranquil. But these past few days, however, a strange, indescribable smell has appeared in this tranquil place. It smells a bit pungent, a bit foul, yet also carries a hint of sweetness.

Lin Yi likes this flavor.

That's the reason.

These past two days, Lin Yi didn't go to the front lines to join the fun. Instead, he ordered Lin An to find some top blacksmiths and brewers in the city to produce some distilled spirits.

If a time traveler doesn't invent something to make money, he'd be letting down his readers.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yi discovered that the backyard was a nice place.

Decades ago, this place was where the concubines and the old mother lived, but the Prince's mansion was not very large, so it has been empty all these years.

And so the next scene unfolded.

That day, Lin Yi squatted in the corner of the yard, with a large pot in front of him. Coal was burning underneath, and steam was bubbling out of the pot. An overturned earthenware pot was placed on top of the pot, and a bamboo tube was inserted into the top of the pot. The bamboo tube was straight and led to a small jar next to it.

This is the still he recently devised: the simmering still.

Also called a steamer pot.

To be honest, in ancient times with limited technology, being able to build this was already a feat of genius. The kind of small and exquisite stills depicted in wish-fulfillment novels simply couldn't be made.

Several experienced craftsmen who had been invited were gathered around, sweating profusely from the heat, staring at each other in disbelief.

They had never seen such a brewing method before. Normally, brewing involves fermentation and filtration, but Lin Yi was doing something so complicated.

"Your Highness, what exactly is this plan?" an old winemaker with gray hair asked cautiously.

"Yes, Your Highness, it would be better if you could talk to us about it than to do it all yourself."

"Rest assured, I would never dare to spread this!"

Lin Yi didn't look up; his eyes were fixed on the end of the bamboo tube.

There, drops of clear liquid slowly gathered into a thin stream, flowing into the small jar next to it.

"Old Pei," Lin Yi said, referring to the gray-haired winemaker, "this is a secret recipe from my royal palace—distilled spirits!"

The crowd looked at each other, and no one dared to ask any more questions.

Finally, Old Pei said in his aged voice, "This is wine? Your Highness, I've been brewing wine all my life and I have some knowledge of fruit wine and fermented rice, but this... I really can't tell it's wine."

Everyone present nodded in agreement.

This is true.

The entire backyard smelled of fermented grains, but there was no aroma of alcohol at all. The liquid that flowed out was crystal clear, almost like water.

This isn't wine at all!

Lin Yi smiled but didn't say anything. It wasn't until the wine in the small jar was increasing and the aroma was becoming stronger that everyone's expression changed.

"Wine! It really tastes like wine!"

"My goodness, it smells so good, it's so delicious!"

In less than an hour, the entire courtyard was filled with an unprecedented aroma of wine.

Old Pei couldn't resist leaning closer to smell it, and his expression immediately changed drastically!

He had been brewing wine all his life, and he had never smelled wine that was so fragrant!

Moreover, the color of this wine is extremely pure, something I've never heard of before!

Lin Yi finally straightened up, picked up a wooden spoon, scooped some into a wine cup, and handed it to Lao Pei: "Try it."

Old Pei had gotten to know Lin Yi better these past few days and knew that the prince wasn't that arrogant, so he took the wine cup with both hands, brought it to his nose and smelled it, his expression becoming even more intoxicated.

"Excellent wine, truly excellent wine!" Old Pei's eyes gleamed with excitement. He swallowed hard. "Your Highness, I won't stand on ceremony!"

"Um."

After saying that, Old Pei tilted his head back and downed the wine in one gulp.

"Cough cough cough!"

The wine in the cup was at least two ounces, and after taking one sip, it almost sent Old Pei to his death on the spot.

He coughed for a long time, his eyes watering, but finally exclaimed excitedly, "Fine wine! Your Highness, this wine is incredibly fragrant and mellow, yet extremely potent. One sip feels like drinking a ball of fire! Hahahaha, I am sixty-five years old this year, and to have witnessed the creation of this wine, I could die without regret! Hahahahaha!"

Old Pei was so happy he was almost pathological.

This isn't just wine; it's pure nectar!

Upon hearing this, the other blacksmiths and winemakers couldn't resist and crowded around to try it.

Lin Yi was generous and poured a few more cups for them to try.

Everyone who tasted it was as if they had been struck by lightning.

"Ah! Cough cough cough!"

"Excellent wine, truly excellent wine!"

"Your Highness, if we sell this wine, we'll be rich!"

"Yes, Your Highness, there's no wine this good in the capital, no, in the entire Great Zhou. Those officials must really love it!"

Lin Yi smiled. This distilled spirit was more than just delicious. It had a high alcohol content and a long shelf life; if it were promoted, it would definitely be a huge source of wealth.

Unfortunately, the cost is too high; to brew one jin of liquor, at least five jin of grain are needed.

Fortunately, the harvest has been good in the past few years in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Except for a few areas that suffered from famine, most of the land has had a bumper harvest. Otherwise, there would really be no plan to brew wine.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi looked down at the wine cup in his hand, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.

Well, it's passable to some extent, but it has too many impurities and needs to be purified and filtered.

Lin Yi placed the wine cup on the table beside him and addressed the several winemakers, including Old Pei.

"I see the wine isn't pure enough; there are too many impurities. Therefore, you few will work in the Prince's manor brewing wine, refining it. Your wages will be ten times higher than outside, and I will take good care of your families. Remember, this brewing method is a top secret of the Prince's manor. Anyone who dares to divulge even a single word will have their entire family executed!"

Upon hearing this, the winemakers were not afraid at all; instead, they laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, Your Highness, please rest assured!"

"We'd rather die than tell anyone about the alcohol!"

"Ten times the pay! That means I'll be making three taels of silver a month! I'm rich!"

"That's right, with money, we can go home and buy land for our wife and kids!"

"To be able to live in a prince's mansion, how prestigious would that be!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

They were all craftsmen who had worked year-round, and they knew the saying, "If you teach your apprentice, you'll starve."

Moreover, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that this wine will likely become the Prince's cash cow in the future, and if word gets out, it won't be good for anyone.

Just then, someone shouted from outside the courtyard.

"Big brother!"

Lin Yi turned around and saw that it was Lu Dehao.

This kid has a pretty good nose; he found us so quickly by smelling the alcohol.

Lu Dehao ran up to Lin Yi, panting, and said, "Oh my... Big brother, you, you're here? I've been looking for you for ages."

"What is it?"

Just as Lu Dehao was about to speak, his nose twitched.

"Huh? The smell of alcohol? Bro, are you secretly brewing alcohol here?"

"I guess so. I've made something good. You should try it." With that, Lin Yi handed him the half-finished glass of wine he had been drinking.

Without saying a word, Lu Dehao downed it in one gulp.

Being a seasoned drinker, he endured the burning sensation, tears and snot streaming down his face, but he remained silent until he finally let out a long sigh.

"Phew! Good wine, brother. How did you make this?"

"You like it? I'll have someone send you two jars later. Let's get down to business first." Lin Yi turned around and sat down at the table, waving his hand, and all the craftsmen dispersed.

Lu Dehao rubbed his hands together, looking like he was still enjoying himself.

But he still obediently came over to pour tea for Lin Yi, then sat down himself and said, "Brother, I've already taken over those casinos on Qinglong Street!"

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow: "You're pretty quick."

"Absolutely!" Lu Dehao loved hearing Lin Yi praise him: "With my brother on the case, what can't be accomplished?"

Lin Yi smiled inwardly.

This kid really knows how to pat himself on the back. But he certainly has some skill to have taken over those casinos so quickly.

You should know that those casinos are no pushovers; they have intricate networks of connections behind them.

"Tell me, how did you acquire it?" Lin Yi wanted to hear Lu Dehao's specific methods.

The latter cleared his throat and began to speak animatedly.