The Young Dragon of the Ming Dynasty: Bound to an Industrial Blueprint from the Start

Qian Lai gently sealed the third bottle of pale amber-colored wine, his eyes gleaming.

"Master Sun," he sat down again, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, "we can't sell this wine."

Sun San was taken aback: "Not selling? Then what's the point of all this?"

"It's not that I won't sell," Qian Lai smiled, a smile that revealed the cunning characteristic of merchants.

"It can't be displayed and sold like ordinary liquor. Master Sun, think about it, ten catties of good liquor only yields one catty and two ounces of essence. What is that? It's gold, no, more precious than gold!"

He stood up and paced back and forth in the not-so-spacious backyard room, his speech becoming increasingly rapid:

"Our 'Drunken Immortal Brew' must be worthy of the word 'immortal.' What I mean is, it should be limited edition, priced exorbitantly, and given away only, not sold."

Our Mingyue Pavilion does not open its doors to the public. We only accept "tasting invitations," with a maximum of seven people at a time. These guests must be renowned scholars, members of the refined elite, or truly distinguished individuals.

Sun San was completely confused: "Then how do you make money?"

"Making money?" Qian Lai stopped and turned around, his smile carrying a deeper meaning.

"Master Sun, we're not making money from the wine itself, we're making money from 'divine connections.' Think about it, if anyone could buy it, would it still be called divine wine? We have to make people crave it but can't have it. The more they want it, the less they can get it, and that's how we'll drive up the price of this wine."

He walked back to the table and lowered his voice:

"I have already prepared five invitations for three literary figures, a retired Hanlin scholar, and a member of the imperial family. If even one of them says 'good' after drinking it, the name of this 'Drunken Immortal Brew' will spread throughout half of Beijing."

Sun San was still somewhat hesitant: "But what about the output?"

"Low production is a good thing!" Qian Lai clapped his hands.

"Things are valued for their rarity. Let's say that this is an ancient recipe passed down by a hermit in Zhongnan Mountain. It requires taking spring water from the deep spring in the western mountains and using a specially made 'Nine-Turn Cloud Pattern Steamer' to distill it nine times over a slow fire at specific solar terms, taking only the middle 30% of the 'Immortal Dew Heart' each time."

When drinking, one must use a thin-walled jade cup, observing its color as clear as autumn water and inhaling its fragrance reminiscent of pine needles. One should sip it slowly, limiting oneself to three cups; this is called "Three Rounds of Inquiry into the Immortals!"

After hearing this, even Sun San, an honest craftsman, found it somewhat unbelievable and couldn't help but say, "This...this isn't too much, is it?"

"That's exactly the spirit I'm looking for!" Qian Lai made the decision. "Master Sun, don't worry, leave these things to me. You just need to ensure the quality of the wine, and I'll take care of the rest."

Seeing the glint in Qian Lai's eyes, Sun San knew that further words would be of no use, so he could only nod: "Then, I'll go back to the village now and try a few more batches as soon as possible. But the timing is really hard to control, I need to think about it carefully."

"No rush, no rush," Qian Lai waved his hand. "These first five bottles should last you a while. Take your time trying them out. The key is to keep them stable."

After seeing Sun San off, Qian Lai stood in the newly renovated lobby of Mingyue Tower and looked around.

The front hall had been rearranged according to his ideas, with antique paintings hanging on the walls, which he had somehow acquired. Although they were fake, they at least looked quite impressive.

The tables and chairs were replaced with fine rosewood, and Ru kiln tea sets were placed on the tables.

The renovation of the backyard was even more elaborate. The wine cellar was built with blue bricks and had ceramic pipes buried underneath to draw water and maintain a constant temperature and humidity. The tasting room was extremely luxurious, with carpets from the Western Regions on the floor, luminous pearls embedded in the walls, and ambergris worth a thousand gold pieces to be burned in the incense burner.

"Everything is ready, except for the east wind," Qian said to himself.

He walked behind the counter, took out five gold-flecked invitations, dipped his brush in ink, and began to copy them.

Each document was worded slightly different, with subtle adjustments made to suit the invitee's identity and preferences. This was Qian Lai's skill, and also the reason why Guo Sheng had taken a liking to him.

After finishing the last stroke, he gently blew away the ink, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

Three days later, the legend of "Drunken Immortal's Brew" should be circulating in Beijing.

When Sun San returned to Xishan Villa, it was already late at night.

Instead of resting immediately, he went back into the cave in the back mountain.

The distillation apparatus was still warm, and the air was filled with a rich aroma of liquor.

Two young craftsmen were tidying up when they saw Sun San return, and they quickly got up.

"Master, why are you back again?"

"I can't sleep," Sun San waved his hand and walked to the device. "The batch of 'essence' we sent out during the day is gone, but I still feel like there's something that can be improved. You guys go back and rest first, I'll take another look."

The two craftsmen exchanged a glance, knowing their master's temper, and had no choice but to back down.

Sun San was the only one left in the cave. He stared at the simple distillation apparatus, recalling the entire process in his mind.

The drawings provided by the young prince were very brief, but the key points were clearly explained: sealing, condensation, temperature control, and cutting off the beginning and end.

"A good seal," Sun San said, touching the clay seal at the junction of the earthenware urn and the copper pipe. "This clay seal has to be remixed every time it's used, which is too troublesome. If we could make an iron lid with mortise and tenon joints and seal the edges with hot wax, it might be more airtight..."

As he was pondering this, his gaze suddenly fell on a few small pottery jars beside him.

Those were the "first wine" and "last wine" collected separately in the previous experiments, following the principle of "removing the first and last wines".

The first batch of liquor weighed about two jin (approximately 1 kg), and was stored in a jar, emitting a pungent, alcohol-like odor.

There was more wine at the end, more than three jin (1.5 kg), with a light flavor but an indescribable off-flavor.

"It's a waste to throw it away," Sun San muttered, picking up the jar containing the first shot of liquor, opening it and smelling it. The strong aroma made him frown.

Just as they were about to cover it up, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave.

"Master Sun! Is Master Sun here?"

A middle-aged woman rushed in carrying a seven or eight-year-old boy, her face full of anxiety.

The boy's right palm was a bloody mess, and blood was still seeping out.

"Madam Lin? What's wrong?" Sun San recognized the woman.

Her name was Lin Xiuniang. Her husband died in battle at the border, and she took her only son to live with distant relatives in Xishan Village. She worked as a kitchen helper on weekdays.

"Tiger was climbing a tree to raid a bird's nest when he fell and landed on a piece of broken tile!" Lin Xiuniang almost burst into tears.

"The village's barefoot doctor has gone to town, what are we going to do!"

Sun San frowned upon seeing the injuries.

The wound is deep; if it's not treated promptly, it may become infected.

He suddenly remembered something and looked at the first wine jar in his hand. The young prince's drawings mentioned that although this "first wine" was not drinkable, "it is extremely strong and may be used for other purposes."

Is it strong enough to disinfect?

"Wait a minute," Sun San put down the jar, rummaged through the corner of the wall and pulled out a half-roll of relatively clean cotton cloth, then poured a bowl of water. "Rinse it first."

He rinsed the mud and sand off the wound with clean water, and blood mixed with filth flowed all over the ground.

Tiger gasped in pain, but gritted his teeth and didn't cry out.

After rinsing it clean, Sun San hesitated for a moment, then picked up the first wine jar and poured some onto another piece of cotton cloth.

"It might hurt a lot, so bear with it."

A cotton cloth soaked in alcohol was pressed onto the wound.

"Ah—!" Tiger finally couldn't help but scream, his body trembling violently.

Lin Xiuniang was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face, but she held her son tightly to keep him from moving.

Sun San quickly wiped the wound clean, then poured some liquor and used it to rinse the wound.

"Wrap it in a clean cloth and don't let it get wet for the next couple of days," Sun San breathed a sigh of relief. "The doctor will come back tomorrow, so let him take another look."