The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

At the blacksmith's shop, the research and development of "steel" was like groping in the dark, not something that could be accomplished in a day, but required a continuous investment of huge sums of money and enough patience.

"Where was Shen Kuo during this period? How wonderful it would be if he, 'the most outstanding figure in the entire history of Chinese science,' could guide steelmaking!" Wang Zhonghua sighed to himself.

Although his spicy soup business was booming, the profits were ultimately limited, and it tied up most of his energy. He needed a new industry that could quickly accumulate huge sums of money and form a deep bond with Lü Sanjun, a local tycoon, creating a community of shared interests.

A thought popped into his head after reading countless time-travel novels:

I want to brew wine too! To brew the world's most potent distilled spirit!

Don't know how to brew wine? We can at least purify it!

This thought had been lingering in his mind for a long time. He clearly remembered the scene in "Water Margin" where Wu Song drank eighteen bowls of wine before fighting the tiger, saying "three bowls and you can't cross the hill." Hmph, Wu Song must have drunk low-alcohol yellow wine or rice wine. If it were those high-alcohol liquors he had tasted in his previous life, like "Maotai, Xifeng, Fenjiu; Maotai, Wuliangye, Jiannanchun," let alone eighteen bowls, even three bowls would have turned the tiger-fighting hero into a drunken idiot lying on the hill.

In the Song Dynasty, yellow wine and rice wine were popular among the common people. They had low alcohol content and a sweet, glutinous taste. If one could brew a high-proof liquor that was as clear as water but as fiery as fire on the palate, it would be a game-changer, revolutionizing the existing liquor market. The profits would be immense, enough to support all his subsequent plans. And Lü Sanjun already owned a small, poorly managed brewery; the equipment, the site, the raw materials, and the sales channels were all readily available!

Haha, if you learn 300 Tang poems, even if you can't compose poetry, you can still steal it!

Don't believe me? Let's try it.

A few days later, he spent most of his time making soup, taking time to learn martial arts from Master Huiming, and the primitive harvesting and threshing also exhausted Wang Zhonghua. Fortunately, he was in good health and could be lively and energetic again after a short rest.

Master Huiming truly lived up to his reputation as a master. His guidance was like a sudden enlightenment. Under his tutelage, Wang Zhonghua, Qin Tiedan, and even Qin Tiehua made rapid progress in their martial arts skills, and were no longer the ignorant individuals they once were.

After the grueling wheat harvest, Wang Zhonghua, in high spirits, carrying two carefully packaged "samples" made from commonly available low-alcohol liquor through preliminary distillation, once again stepped into the Lü family mansion, located in the western part of Chenzhou City, occupying half of Laomentan Village.

Unlike his disheveled state on the riverbank a month ago, Wang Zhonghua was still dressed in a slightly worn indigo cloth, but his steps were steady, his eyes were clearer and sharper, and he exuded a composure beyond his years, which made the gatekeeper take a few more glances at him.

The gate tower of the Lü residence stood tall, and the large copper nails on the black lacquered gate gleamed coldly in the sunlight. After being announced, he was led through one gate after another. First, there was the bustling outer courtyard, with servants and stewards hurrying to and fro; after passing through the hanging flower gate, there was the quiet inner courtyard, with winding corridors and exquisite rockeries. Several pretty maids in silk vests carried things and walked by silently, their curious or scrutinizing gazes lingering briefly on him.

The servant leading the way stopped in front of an exquisite little flower hall called "Shushixuan" and gestured for him to wait. Two burly, wary-looking servants stood guard in front of the flower hall and stopped him.

"Young man, you look unfamiliar. What brings you here?" one of the servants asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the wine jar in the young man's hand and his simple clothes.

"I am Wang Zhonghua from Wangjiagang, here to pay my respects to Master Lü. I have important matters to discuss." Wang Zhonghua gave him a bright smile, neither humble nor arrogant.

The servant frowned. "The master is resting and has instructed that no outside guests are to be received. If you have a visiting card, please leave it here."

Wang Zhonghua knew this was the rule of a wealthy and powerful family, and also a way of intimidating them. He smiled slightly, not forcing his way in, but simply lifting a jar of wine in his hand slightly, revealing the mud seal, and a chilling aroma, quite different from ordinary wine, wafted out.

"It's alright, I can wait. It's just that this jar of 'Ancient Secret Recipe' wine needs to be tasted in time to appreciate its true flavor. If we miss the appointed time, I'm afraid we'll disappoint the master."

The servant, smelling the strange aroma of the wine, paused slightly. Just as he hesitated, Lü Sanjun's slightly hoarse voice came from inside the flower hall: "Eh, what's that smell? Who's making a fuss outside?"

The servant bowed and replied, "Master, it is Wang Zhonghua from Wangjiagang who requests an audience."

"Oh? The young Chinese boy? Let him in quickly, I've been missing him!" Lu Sanjun's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

The servants then stepped aside, their attitude becoming slightly more respectful: "Young Master Wang, please."

Wang Zhonghua nodded in greeting and calmly entered the flower hall. Although it was his first time stepping into the magnificent Lü Mansion, Wang Zhonghua was not flustered at all, after all, he had a thousand years more experience than people of this era.

The flower hall, though small, was exquisitely decorated. A rosewood tea table inlaid with mother-of-pearl stood by the window, flanked by official's hat chairs. Antiques and jade artifacts were displayed on a multi-tiered shelf, and several contemporary paintings and calligraphies hung on the walls. Lü Sanjun, not dressed in finery today but only in a pine-scented straight robe, sat in the main seat. He seemed thinner than a month ago, but the melancholy between his brows from childlessness had lessened considerably. Clearly, the clues provided by Wang Zhonghua regarding the search for his son had given him a glimmer of hope, and his attitude towards Wang Zhonghua had become much warmer.

"Young man from China, what brings you to visit this old man today? Is there any progress on that matter...?" Lu Sanjun waved away the maid who was about to serve tea and asked impatiently in a low voice, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Wang Zhonghua smiled slightly and gently placed the wine jar on the tea table. His composed demeanor deepened the surprise in Lü Sanjun's eyes. "Don't be anxious, sir. That matter requires a stroke of luck. I have been secretly investigating and have made some progress, but it will take time to confirm. When the time is right, father and son will naturally be reunited, and the whole family will be together."

He skillfully changed the subject, patting the wine jar: "I have come here today to present you with a new fortune, a fortune that will bring my family, and you, sir, to even greater wealth."

"Oh? New wealth?" Lü Sanjun raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the seemingly ordinary wine jar, unimpressed. "Could it be your recipe for spicy soup? Although I find the flavor unique and warming, this kind of street food is ultimately a small business with low profit margins and high volume..."

Just as Wang Zhonghua was about to elaborate on the matter of distilled spirits, a slightly hurried tinkling of jade pendants and footsteps came from outside the flower hall, accompanied by a woman's voice that, though trying to maintain a dignified demeanor, could not hide its sharpness and dissatisfaction:

"Sir, I heard that kid from Wangjiagang is here again? Could it be that he ran out of ideas for 'finding relatives' last time and is trying to scam someone else now?"

Before the words were finished, the curtain was lifted, and a woman dressed in a deep purple jacket with gold trim and a headdress adorned with red gold and kingfisher feather ornaments entered. She was around forty years old, with fair skin, and the beauty of her youth was still faintly visible in her eyes, but now she was shrouded in an inescapable gloom and sharpness. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her nasolabial folds were quite deep, and when she looked at people, her eyelids were slightly lowered, and her gaze was scrutinizing and disdainful. She was Li Yulian, the first wife of Lü Sanjun.

Two obsequious maids followed behind her. As soon as she entered, Li Yulian's gaze pierced Wang Zhonghua like an awl, especially his plain clothes and the rough pottery wine jar on the table. A mocking smile appeared on her lips.

Upon seeing her, Lü Sanjun's eagerness and anticipation from his conversation with Wang Zhonghua instantly froze on his face, replaced by a hint of embarrassment and helplessness. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he had to soften his tone: "Madam, what brings you here? I was discussing important matters with Brother Zhonghua."

"Is it serious business?" Li Yulian approached, not sitting down, but pointing at Wang Zhonghua with her jade-ringed hand, raising her voice slightly, "Sir, don't be fooled by this smooth-talking brat again! Last time he said something about 'heavenly secrets not being revealed,' putting on a show and easily taking away a full one hundred taels of silver! That's an amount an ordinary farming family couldn't save in ten years! And what's the result? It's been over a month, and apart from some vague 'clues,' have we seen even a single person? I think it's clearly..."

fraud!!!

These two words were clearly in Li Yulian's eyes!