Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Chapter 122 Hu Sanniang Urges Marriage

A moment later, in the rear hall of the council chamber, which had been simply renovated.

"Heh~ Heh~"

Zhu Biao stood behind the desk, panting heavily, his chest heaving, and he pinched his throbbing temples hard.

Having lived two lives, he had long since learned to control his emotions, but at this moment he still felt burning with resentment, as if his lungs were about to explode.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Chaofeng took him to the ancestral hall to burn incense, pay respects to the ancestors, and praise him as a descendant of the Zhu family.

As a result, I stabbed him in the back today.

Although this was not Zhu Chaofeng's idea, he tacitly approved of it and even tried to use family ties to blackmail Zhu Biao into submitting.

"Young Master, the Master has already left. Master Luan personally led a group to see him off."

While he was pondering, Zhu Wu strode in and said in a deep voice.

The simpleton's face was also extremely dark at this moment. He was both Zhu Biao's close follower and a servant of the Zhu family.

His master was clearly the most capable and promising, yet he had been forced into such a predicament, and he felt indignant.

Zhu Biao waved his hand impatiently.

"Okay, go ahead and get back to work."

Zhu Wu, unusually perceptive, scratched his head and awkwardly comforted him, "Young Master, don't be angry. The master left us the grain money. He even slapped the master just now."

"Phew~"

Zhu Biao let out a long breath, suppressing his anger, and said, "You and Zhu San get the carriage and horses ready, go back to Zhujiaji, and bring Zhu Jiu, the injured brothers, and Ruyi and the others over."

"it is good."

Zhu Wu had just turned around when Zhu Biao called out to him.

"Tell Zhu Liang another message: from today onwards, the Zhu family tavern shall be closed, but the drinking shall continue, but not a single jar shall be sold."

"Yes."

After Zhu Wu left, Zhu Biao slowly sat down, his gaze falling on the planning map of Luohuji in front of him.

Now that he has officially broken ties with his family, even though Zhu Chaofeng didn't ask for money for the 500 shi of grain and 500 shi of horse feed he gave today, will there be a next time?

Even if he did, Zhu Biao has already made those boastful claims, how could he possibly refuse to pay?

The sale of alcohol must be brought forward!

In his vision, the tavern and the drinking area will be separate in the future, and the "Drunken Immortal" liquor with increased alcohol content will be an extremely important source of revenue for him.

Currently, he has two target clients: Chai Jin from Cangzhou and Lu Junyi from Daming Prefecture.

Lu Junyi goes without saying; he has a relationship with him, and as a border merchant, he has money, connections, and resources, and may even be able to sell the liquor to the Liao Kingdom.

Chai Jin's situation was similar yet different.

Zhu Biao always felt that Chai Da Guanren not only had connections with the Liao people, but could even contact the Jurchens who had just risen to power in the Changbai Mountains and Heilongjiang River region.

After all, his fiefdom was in Bohai Commandery, which was separated from the Northeast by only a narrow strait, a distance that could be reached by fast ship in half a day.

The northern lands are bitterly cold and have always lacked food and clothing, but they are by no means poor.

The deep forests of Northeast China are full of treasures, including gold, silver, pearls, deer antlers, ginseng, bear bile, furs, animal sinews, and warhorses.

Each of these items was a rare find in the Song Dynasty, and if they could be sold to Jiangnan, Sichuan, or Hubei, they would be worth a fortune.

The Chai family's fiefdom was not small, but if they relied solely on farming, they could not maintain a luxurious lifestyle, much less preserve Chai Jin's reputation as a noble family.

Secretly trading with foreign tribes like the Jin and Liao dynasties was almost inevitable, but with people in his family monitoring him, the scale was likely limited.

Zhu Biao's long-term plan was to take over the share that Chai Jin couldn't swallow, which was also his core purpose in selling grain to Chai's family before.

"How is Erguotou made again?"

Zhu Biao pushed the planning map aside, picked up a pen, pursed his lips, and began to piece together the appearance of the still (distillation apparatus) from memory.

He didn't understand brewing, but distilling alcohol wasn't difficult. Alcohol has a much lower boiling point than water, so as long as the temperature is controlled, it can be purified.

On the paper, the celestial pot gradually took shape, and Zhu Biao's brows relaxed, his eyes growing brighter.

"Zui Tian Xian is brewed from sorghum, similar to the method of Erguotou, but only the liquor is retained."

"The rum heads shouldn't be wasted either; they can be redistilled to produce medical and military alcohol. The tails can be used for blending and aging in cellars. The lees can be used to feed chickens and pigs, and chicken and pig manure can even be used to feed fish."

"Third Brother!"

Zhu Biao was just dreaming about the future when Pang Qiutang suddenly burst in.

"What's wrong?"

Zhu Biao put down his pen, looked up with a hint of helplessness, and then caught sight of Bai Qiniang following behind him, which surprised him.

"Huh? Seventh Sister is here too?"

At this moment, Bai Qiniang had changed into a relatively clean set of old men's clothes, and her head and face were cleaned up. Although she still kept her head down and dared not look at people, her expression had become more like that of an ordinary person.

"My lord, my lord, I greet you."

She stammered and awkwardly performed a curtsy.

Zhu Biao was in high spirits: "I didn't expect Seventh Sister to recover so quickly. Su Fang was indeed very efficient; he deserves a reward!"

Pang Qiutang retorted, "Third Brother, I clearly put in a lot of effort too, why only praise Su Fang?"

"ha!"

Zhu Biao laughed: "That's right, this matter is entirely thanks to Lady Qingluan!"

After getting drunk at the celebration banquet, Pang Qiutang went straight to the warehouse after sobering up and lived with Bai Qiniang and the others, where they took good care of her.

After a few days, all the women trusted her completely and called her Lady Qingluan.

"Third Brother, don't tease me."

Pang Qiutang blushed slightly, revealing a naive expression, but then she remembered the important matter and her face turned serious.

"Third Brother, I have something important to discuss with you."

Zhu Biao raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What important matter is it? Tell me."

"These past two nights, people have been spying and peeping near the warehouse every night. I've caught them several times already!"

Pang Qiutang said indignantly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao rubbed his chin helplessly; this was understandable.

The camp was full of vigorous bachelors, surrounded by a group of young women, especially those who were former village prostitutes. It was hard not to feel restless and tempted.

"I understand. Uncle Tang is leading people to renovate the detached courtyard on the west side, and then it will be assigned to Seventh Sister and the others."

"Hey, it really is my third brother."

Pang Qiutang smiled with satisfaction, but Bai Qiniang moved up behind her and gently tugged at her clothes.

"oh oh."

Pang Qiutang suddenly came to her senses.

"By the way, Third Brother, Bai Qiniang and the others are interested in taking on the task of cooking for everyone. What do you think?"

Uh~

"~

Zhu Biao hesitated.

The food at the camp these past few days has been appalling, not so much meager, but rather crude.

The bandits' meals were simple: just a porridge of mixed grains and bran. As long as it was edible, they had no right to be picky about the taste.

As for the local militia, without cooks, they simply boiled rice, millet, sorghum, dried meat, frozen meat, and salt into a mushy porridge.

This thing is nutritious, but the taste is... indescribable.

However, Zhu Biao was somewhat unsure about letting Bai Qiniang and the others take over the cooking duties.

These women were not in stable mental condition, nor were they in good physical health; some may even have contracted diseases.

Food is of paramount importance to human beings; what we put in our mouths must be taken very seriously.

"My love, my lord."

Just then, Bai Qiniang suddenly spoke up.

"Seventh Sister, do you have something to say? Just say it, there's no need to hold back."

Zhu Biao turned to her and encouraged her upon hearing her words.

"We are grateful to our beloved for treating us like human beings, and we want to do things to repay his kindness."

She spoke haltingly, glancing up frequently to steal glances at Zhu Biao's expression.

"For example, there are now seven or eight people who can do the work, and they are sure they can do it well."

"Very well, you can take care of dinner tonight."

After a moment's thought, Zhu Biao nodded. Bai Qiniang looked up in surprise, but then heard him change the subject.

"My cook will arrive in the afternoon; you can assist him with the cooking."

Zhu Biao's original intention was to keep Wu Da and Pan Jinlian in Zhujiaji.

However, now that he has fallen out with his family, this arrangement is no longer appropriate.

Without Zhu Chaofeng's protection, Wu Da's pancake shop would never have been able to stay afloat, so he had to bring it along.

Thinking of Wuhan University, Zhu Biao couldn't help but think of Ruyi, who was about to arrive with him, her warm, delicate, and fair body, and her gentle, soft moans.

"Gurgle!"

He swallowed involuntarily.

However, to Zhu Biao's surprise, before Ruyi arrived, Hu Sanniang showed up uninvited.

"Three, Saburo."

After a few days apart, Hu Sanniang had changed from her usual shrewish and domineering ways, and even showed some shyness, revealing a rare girlish demeanor.

She changed how she addressed him, and for the first time ever, she called him Sanlang.

"Third Sister, what brings you here?"

Zhu Biao, on the other hand, was unusually calm, even somewhat aloof. The trace of the original owner's remains had long since disappeared.

"Listen, I heard you spent the New Year in the wilderness, lacking food and clothing. I, I specially brought you some food and cloth."

Hu Sanniang became increasingly flustered, her voice trembling, and she even started to stutter.

"Also, now that the year is over, we are both eighteen years old."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

"Really? This ambitious young lady is actually pushing for marriage!"