Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

No sleep for one night.

As dawn broke the next day, everyone present witnessed a miracle.

Using the method of double distillation, they produced nearly 350 catties of strong liquor comparable to "first-pressed distillation" overnight.

Efficiency is several times higher than before, but costs have also doubled.

Shen Qiongju's nerves, which had been tense all night, finally relaxed a little.

Early in the morning, her cousin Shen Huaide brought several large carts of liquor that he had secretly bought from various distilleries.

"Qiongju, we did as you said. We visited all the well-known shops in Wuxian again and brought back all their stock that had been stored for years." Shen Huaide wiped his sweat.

Shen Qiongju nodded and immediately arranged for manpower to begin a new round of distillation.

Soon, problems arose.

"Damn it! That Wang's Wine Shop is utterly heartless!"

Shen Huaide pointed at a pot that had just been steamed, his beard bristling and eyes wide with anger.

The same 100 jin of liquor, other shops can extract at least 7 or 8 jin of usable distillate heads, but Wang Ji, the most famous shop in Wu County, can't even get 5 jin, the rest is all bland and watery liquor tails.

This shows that the wine they sell is diluted with far more water than other people's.

"Shady merchants! Utterly shady merchants!" Shen Huaide was so angry he paced back and forth. "I'm going to confront them right now!"

"Uncle, there's no need," Shen Qiongju stopped him, her expression calm. "The most important thing right now is to deliver the goods. Let's just consider this a lesson learned."

She knew in her heart that this kind of thing was impossible to explain theoretically, and with time pressing, she couldn't afford to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Although Shen Huaide was furious, he knew his niece was right, so he could only spit angrily and continue watching the next pot.

Inside the shed, a bustling scene unfolded, with more than a dozen people taking turns chopping firewood, transporting liquor, controlling the fire, and changing materials, keeping them so busy they barely had time to breathe.

Shen Qiongju worked non-stop, controlling the temperature here and ensuring the precision of cocktail mixing there.

She had just finished checking whether the alcohol content of the new wine was stable, and now she had to check the quantity of wine that had been put into storage and calculate how many kilograms were still needed to make up the remaining 300 kilograms of the express quantity.

The charcoal pencil scratched across the ledger, making a soft, hissing sound.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she felt her vision blurring and her temples throbbing.

"Sister-in-law."

A hand with distinct knuckles placed a steaming cup of tea on the table in front of her.

Shen Qiongju looked up and saw Pei Zhihui.

He had appeared beside her at some point, still dressed in his simple student uniform, looking completely out of place in the smoky, fiery shed.

"Have some tea." His voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Shen Qiongju was indeed thirsty. After thanking him, she picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. The warm tea slid down her throat, dispelling some of her fatigue.

She had just put down her teacup and was about to continue calculating when she saw Pei Zhihui frowning, his gaze fixed on the person beside her.

Shen Song was clumsily trying to help her tidy up the scattered receipts when his hand trembled and he knocked a stack of just-calculated bills to the ground, the ink stains instantly spreading with the water on the ground.

"I...I didn't mean to!" Shen Song said anxiously as he picked it up.

Pei Zhihui's patience seemed to have run out at this moment.

"Get out of the way."

He uttered two words, not loud, but with an air of unquestionable authority.

Before Shen Song could even react, he went straight up, pushed the troublesome boy aside, bent down to pick up the discarded bills, and glanced at them.

Just as Shen Qiongju was about to speak, Pei Zhihui had already taken the blank ledger and charcoal pencil from her hand.

"Purchase Wang's liquor, 20 jars, totaling 1,000 catties, and sell 38 catties of liquor."

He took notes rapidly while reciting the numbers without looking up.

Shen Qiongju was stunned.

This was precisely the result she had painstakingly calculated before things were messed up. He had only stood by and watched for a short while, yet he remembered it perfectly?

"Li's, fifteen jars..."

He continued writing, his handwriting flowing smoothly and clearly, each character neat and powerful, perfectly organized.

In just a short while, he had neatly organized the accounts that had been in complete disarray.

Throughout the entire process, he kept his eyes downcast, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes, and the lines of his profile were taut and hard.

After he finished doing all this, he pushed the ledger back in front of her.

"Don't collapse here from exhaustion, or I won't be able to face my aunt when I get back."

He maintained his cold tone, as if he was doing all this simply to appease his aunt.

Shen Qiongju looked at him, a complex and indescribable emotion welling up in her heart.

She didn't say anything, but silently accepted the account book.

What followed was a peculiar scene in the distillery.

The aloof and dignified second master of the Pei family completely replaced Shen Song and became Shen Qiongju's "deputy".

He could deliver whatever she needed with just a glance.

She was about to ask about the yield of a particular pot of wine when he had already given her the exact number.

In fact, in order to give her a break and to completely prevent Shen Song from making any mistakes, Pei Zhihui personally went to the bewildered Shen Huaide and explained the method of re-evaporation and purification to him in the simplest and most straightforward way.

From how to control the heat, to how to judge the stage of the wine by listening to the sound and smelling the aroma, to when to cover and steam, and when to open the hole to cool down.

He explained it in great detail and with meticulous logic, even more thoroughly than Shen Qiongju, the "inventor."

Even a rough man like Shen Huaide nodded repeatedly, as if he had suddenly understood something.

As the sun set, the last batch of liquor was finally distilled and sealed in the warehouse.

"Qiongju! That's enough! We've finally gathered enough goods!"

Shen Huaide excitedly ran over to share the good news, his face covered in sweat and dust, but that couldn't hide his joy.

A cheer erupted in the distillery.

Shen Qiongju's tense body completely relaxed at this moment, and a huge feeling of fatigue surged up like a tide, causing her body to sway slightly.

An arm caught her just in time and firmly.

She turned around and met Pei Zhihui's unfathomable eyes.

The last rays of the setting sun shone through the cracks in the distillery, casting dappled light and shadow on his handsome face, and in his eyes swirled a dark depth she could not fathom.

He held her, not letting go immediately.

On this day, the way he looked at her gradually changed from initial scrutiny to a kind of unwavering focus that he himself was unaware of.

.

That night, footsteps accompanied by the low rumble of wheels rolling over the frozen earth came from outside the distillery.

The sound wasn't loud, but it made the air of this cold night feel solemn.

Shen Huaide was the first to become alert. He suddenly stood up straight, listened intently, and the joy on his face vanished instantly.

"Who is it?"

The workers, who were not sound sleepers, were also awakened and sat up, their sleepy eyes filled with confusion and vigilance.

Before anyone could react, there was a knock on the door of the distillery.

After Shen Huaide opened the door, more than a dozen dark figures filed in like ghosts.

They were all dressed in black, close-fitting clothes, and were tall. One of them had a faint scar on his left eyebrow bone, which belonged to the person who had ordered the wine earlier.

The leader had eagle-like eyes, and as he scanned the entire area, a strong aura of menace seemed to emanate from him.

These are not guards of merchants; they are soldiers who have crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Is the wine ready?" the scarred man asked, his voice hoarse, like two pieces of metal rubbing together.

Upon hearing the commotion, Shen Qiongju and Pei Zhihui rushed over from the other courtyard.

Knowing that the goods needed to be delivered that night, she had someone keep an eye out, and as soon as the lights in the distillery came on, she rushed over there.

Shen Qiongju composed herself, stepped forward, and tried to make her voice sound steady: "It's ready, eight hundred catties of first-run shovel, not a catty less."

Scarface's gaze fell on her, lingered for a moment, and then he waved his hand.

The men in black behind him immediately dispersed, moving in unison towards the wine cellar to begin moving the sealed wine jars.

Each of them carried a specially made wooden frame, which allowed them to steadily lift two jars of wine at a time, their steps steady and their efficiency astonishing.

Soon, all the wine jars were loaded onto several inconspicuous carriages outside, which were covered tightly with thick oilcloth.

Scarface walked up to Shen Qiongju and threw down a heavy money bag.

It landed on the table with a "clink," louder than expected.

Shen Huaide instinctively stepped forward and opened it, but after just one glance, he gasped in shock.

The gold ingots in the bag were a full third more than the agreed-upon final payment.

"This... Your Excellency, you've given too much," Shen Huaide stammered.

"Most of it is hush money."