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

Qian Lai smiled mysteriously: "Whether it's intoxicating or not, I dare not presume to say, but there are three levels to drinking this wine: first, observe its color, which is like autumn water; second, smell its aroma, which is like pine needles; third, taste it..."

He paused here, turned around, and used a specially made silver spoon to scoop out wine from a celadon wine jar behind him.

When the wine was poured into the jade cup, it was indeed as clear and transparent as spring water, and under the glow of the luminous pearl, it had a faint amber color.

A strange fragrance wafted out.

Xu Huaiyuan closed his eyes and sniffed lightly. After a while, he opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them: "This fragrance is the most I have ever seen in my life."

Qian Lai was secretly delighted, but his face remained calm: "This is the first step, observing the color and smelling the fragrance. Please raise your glasses, everyone."

The five people picked up the jade cups and examined them closely.

The wine swirls gently in the glass, clear and flawless.

"The second step is to sip slowly." Qian Lai demonstrated, taking a small sip, holding it in his mouth for a moment, before slowly swallowing.

Everyone did as instructed.

Zhang Ziqian was the first to change his expression.

"Good wine!" Zhang Ziqian couldn't help but praise, his voice even changing tone.

Zhu Zai was so excited that his face turned red. He took another sip and savored it carefully: "This...this isn't just wine! This is nectar! This is jade liquor!"

Xu Huaiyuan didn't speak, but his hand holding the cup trembled slightly.

He had tasted countless wines throughout his life, but he had never tasted such a wonderful flavor. The initial taste was mild, the middle was intense, and the aftertaste was long and lingering, with incredibly distinct layers.

Only Manager Shen, after the initial amazement, had a deeper thought flash in his eyes.

He asked in a low voice, "Manager Qian, what is the annual production volume of this wine?"

Qian Lai's heart skipped a beat, but he smiled bitterly: "To be honest, the process is extremely difficult. Ten catties of good wine can only yield a little over one catty of essence. After a year, I'm afraid we can only get less than a hundred catties."

"One hundred catties," Manager Shen murmured, his eyes gleaming.

The tasting continues.

Following the "Three Rounds of Asking the Immortals" rule, Qian Lai poured only three cups for each person.

The first cup is for tasting its mellowness, the second for feeling its intensity, and the third for understanding its charm.

After three cups, Zhu Zai was already slightly tipsy. He tugged at Qian Lai's sleeve and asked, "Manager Qian, are you selling this wine? The price is negotiable!"

Qian Lai shook his head apologetically: "Young Master Zhu, please forgive me. This wine is a secret recipe of the master, and its production is extremely rare. It is only for connoisseurs to appreciate and is not currently available for sale on the market."

"Then, then you must invite me to the next tasting event!" Zhu Zai said urgently.

"Definitely, definitely."

When seeing off the guests, Qian Lai prepared a brocade box for each person, containing a small jade bottle of "Drunken Immortal Wine" and a set of specially made wine utensils.

Before leaving, Xu Huaiyuan pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote four characters on the prepared Xuan paper:

"Clear Spring and Flowing Fire"

"The wonder of this wine lies entirely in these four words."

The old man put down his pen, glanced at Qian Lai, and said, "Manager Qian, please convey my regards to your master. The person who can make this wine is no ordinary person."

Qian Lai smiled and respectfully agreed.

After seeing off all the guests, it was already late in the evening.

Qian returned to the tasting room, looked at the five empty glasses on the table, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Successful.

But before he could be happy for long, Guo Sheng hurriedly came in through the back door, his face serious.

"Manager Qian, how's the tasting event going?"

"A great success," Qian said, handing over Xu Huaiyuan's inscription. "But Steward Guo, what is this?"

Guo Sheng took the inscription, glanced at it, nodded, and then took out two secret reports from his pocket: "Take a look at this."

The first document, sent by Sun San, detailed the entire process of treating Hu Zi's wound with the first dose of wine, as well as the preliminary results of Wu Langzhong's subsequent experiments.

"It has remarkable effects on debridement of superficial wounds and is suspected to prevent ulceration."

The second document was delivered by Li Wei's subordinates:

During today's tasting event, the two men from military backgrounds sat in the teahouse opposite Mingyue Tower all day. When the event ended, one of them followed Manager Shen's carriage, while the other headed towards the Prince of Han's residence.

After looking at the money, I broke out in a cold sweat.

"Steward Guo, this..."

"The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease." Guo Sheng said in a deep voice:

"As soon as the name of Drunken Immortal Brew became known, all eyes were on it. The boss has given new instructions."

He took out a slip of paper, on which was Zhu Zhanji's own handwriting:

"Establish the Immortal Brew Workshop, with Sun San in charge, specializing in Drunken Immortal Brew. The recipe and process must be recorded separately, and core personnel must sign a life-or-death contract. For the time being, Mingyue Tower will only serve scholars of refined tastes, avoiding powerful figures. Act quickly."

He raised his head. "Steward Guo, I understand. I will strictly control the identities of guests at Mingyue Tower, however..."

"Just what?"

"That Manager Shen," Qian Lai said in a low voice, "asked me privately after the event whether we could cooperate long-term. He said the Shen family has trade routes in Jiangnan, Lingnan, and even Southeast Asia. If we could sell 'Drunken Immortal Brew' to those places..."

Guo Sheng narrowed his eyes: "How are you going to reply?"

"I said I needed to consult the employer," Qian Lai added.

"However, Steward Guo, the Shen family is indeed an opportunity; their business might extend beyond just selling wine."

At the same time, in the cave behind Xishanzhuang.

Sun San looked at the scene before him and felt somewhat at a loss.

Li Wei personally led a dozen or so villagers to clear the area around the cave and impose a curfew.

Then Guo Sheng's confidant delivered a batch of supplies: three brand-new distillation devices, dozens of ceramic jars of various sizes, rolls of cotton cloth, various herbs, and three locked tin boxes.

"Master Sun, the master has given an order." The confidant handed over a document, "From today onwards, Xishan Manor will establish three workshops: the Immortal Brew Workshop, which you will be in charge of; the Medical Wine Workshop, which will be assisted by Physician Wu; and the Fragrant Dew Workshop, which will be assisted by Madam Lin. Here are the detailed regulations."

The document clearly states that the three workshops operate independently and do not interfere with each other.

The Immortal Brew Workshop specializes in brewing the Intoxicating Immortal Brew, with the core techniques mastered only by Sun San and two old craftsmen; the Medical Wine Workshop researches the medicinal value of "Cleansing Wound Dew," led by Physician Wu, with Sun San providing technical support; the Fragrant Dew Workshop experiments with flower dew and balm, overseen by Madam Lin, with Sun San also providing technical support.

The raw materials, outputs, and records of each workshop must be kept separate.

The core personnel—Sun San, Wu Langzhong, Lin Niangzi, and the two old craftsmen—must all sign confidentiality agreements.

The document also included a "reward charter": if any workshop achieves a breakthrough, the person in charge will be richly rewarded, and his subordinates will also receive rewards.

The text is densely interspersed with various reward systems.

"This is too thoughtful," Sun San murmured.

His gaze fell on the three characters "Xianglufang" and he suddenly realized something.

So it turns out His Highness already knew.

Yesterday, Lin Xiuniang came to see him, showed him the bowl of "jasmine dew", and nervously proposed the idea of ​​making "floral water" by soaking flowers in the wine.

Although Sun San found it novel at the time, he didn't take it too seriously, only agreeing to leave the last bottles of wine for her to try.

Unexpectedly, the young prince, though far away in the deep palace of Beijing, seemed to know everything about this matter, and directly listed it as the third workshop, alongside "Immortal Wine" and "Medical Wine"!

"Lady Lin," Sun San raised his head and looked at Lin Xiuniang standing to the side.

This usually quiet and hardworking widow, a military family member, now had a gleam in her eyes that he had never seen before.