The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

Wang Zhuacai shouted "Good! Good! Good!" and downed it in one gulp, his face instantly turning red.

Qin Tiedan downed his glass of wine in one gulp, his tongue lolling out from the spiciness, his face flushed red, but he still grumbled, "That's potent! A hundred times better than any wine on the market!"

Qin Tiehua only lightly touched her lips to the wine before being driven away by the spiciness. She stuck out her tongue and fanned herself, her little face scrunched up as she complained, "Oh dear, this wine is too strong! But... it smells quite nice."

Wang Zhonghua laughed heartily, thinking to himself, "People in this world praise this freshly brewed liquor so highly the first time they taste it. If it were aged for three years and the flavor were adjusted, they would probably swallow their tongues!"

With a successful sample and a catchy name, the next step was pricing and sales. Wang Zhonghua and Lü Sanjun discussed this in secret in the study.

"What is the cost of this wine?" Lu Sanjun, a shrewd shrewd businessman, asked first.

"The main costs are the base liquor, labor, and fuel." Wang Zhonghua had already calculated it. "The distillation process results in significant losses; about three catties of ordinary liquor can yield one catty of 'Drunken Eight Immortals.' All things considered, the cost of one catty of 'Drunken Eight Immortals' is between eighty and one hundred coins."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Lü Sanjun's eyes: "The best Jinhua wine on the market costs only two hundred coins per pound. This wine is unique in the world, a rare commodity! In your opinion, what price should it be priced?"

Wang Zhonghua held up two fingers.

"Two hundred coins?" Lü Sanjun frowned. "Isn't that too low? The quality of this wine far surpasses that of Jinhua wine."

Wang Zhonghua shook his head and slowly said, "It's not two hundred coins, it's two taels of silver, or one jin."

"Two taels?! My goodness! That's over four thousand cash!" Lü Sanjun gasped, almost thinking he'd misheard. Two taels of silver was enough for a typical family of five to spend for a month! "This...this is far too high! Who can afford it?"

"Sir, try it and see," Wang Zhonghua said confidently. "This wine is not meant for the common people. Our Great Song Dynasty has enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years, with thriving commerce and generous salaries for officials. What we want to earn are the money of high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and literati. As the saying goes, scarcity increases value; the higher the price, the more it reflects status. What we want to do is not to sell it everywhere, but to make it a symbol of status and prestige."

He continued to elaborate on his plan: "First of all, this wine will never be sold publicly. We will only conduct a three-day 'tasting' event at Wanghulou, the most prestigious restaurant in Chenzhou, offering only ten jars per day, each jar weighing one jin (500 grams) and priced at two liang (100 grams). Each person is limited to one jar. At the same time, we will spread the word that this wine is brewed with an overseas elixir and is extremely limited in quantity, and only those with the right destiny can drink it."

"Hunger marketing?" Although Lü Sanjun didn't understand the term, he immediately grasped the key point and clapped his hands, laughing, "Brilliant! Brilliant indeed! It really whets the appetites of those wealthy people! But... will Wanghu Tower cooperate?"

"The owner of Wanghulou Restaurant has a long-standing relationship with you, sir. We can share profits with him: he provides the venue and customers, we supply the goods, and he gets 20% of the profits. For him, this is a sure-fire way to make money and also enhance the restaurant's prestige; he won't refuse. If you don't believe me, try it."

The more Lü Sanjun thought about it, the more brilliant the plan seemed. His gaze towards Wang Zhonghua shifted from mere admiration to a deeper reliance on him. "As you say! You'll handle this entirely! Just let me know if you need anything!"

"Thank you for your trust, sir." Wang Zhonghua bowed. "However, before that, we need to prepare at least three thousand jars of 'Drunken Eight Immortals' and ensure the workshop can produce a stable output. In addition, the packaging needs to be exquisite; I have already drawn up the designs for the wine jars and labels..."

Outside the window, night deepened. The lamplight in the study cast long shadows of the two men. A storm of "Drunken Eight Immortals," targeting Chenzhou's upper class, was quietly brewing in this small study.

……

A month later, Wanghulou was no longer the top-class restaurant that people were familiar with.

The open space in front of the building was spotless, splashed with clean water, and not a single weed could be seen in the cracks of the bluestone slabs. Two "serving boys" dressed in plain blue robes and wearing square headscarves stood on either side of the entrance, each holding a glass lamp. Instead of candlelight, the lamps contained crystal-clear ice cubes that reflected a cool luster in the autumn sunlight—this was Wang Zhonghua's "little trick" of making ice with saltpeter, just to create a "cool and icy" atmosphere before the event even began, forming a stark contrast with the strong liquor that was about to be revealed.

At the entrance, a nine-curved screen blocked the direct view. The screen did not depict ordinary flowers and birds, but rather a painting of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, hand-painted by a master painter from the city. What was different was that the wine vessels of each immortal were deliberately enlarged and the details highlighted: Li Bai's wine cup gleamed with a cold amber light, He Zhizhang's wine pot had flowing patterns of wine, and Zhang Xu's wine cup had a drop of wine hanging on it, about to fall... as if to suggest that today's wine was inextricably linked to the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup.

In the center of the hall, all the original tables and chairs had been moved away, and the floor was covered with fine bamboo mats brought from the south. In the center of the mats stood the long rosewood table, but besides ten slender-necked ceramic jars labeled "Drunken Eight Immortals," several other puzzling items had been added:

On the left stands a small bronze "water clock," with clear water droplets falling into the jade bowl below at a fixed rhythm, making a clear "dong, dong" sound, as if measuring time, or as if counting down to this tasting event.

On the right is a plain white porcelain plate containing only three items: a pebble just taken from a deep well, still chilly; a small handful of plump, golden wheat grains; and a piece of sandalwood with distinct grains and a faint fragrance. These three items symbolize the grain (wheat), the utensils (wooden still), and the cooling (stone) used to brew "Drunken Eight Immortals," suggesting the origin of the wine.

The most peculiar feature was a plain silk scroll hanging behind the long table, reaching to the ground. The scroll was blank, except for a crescent moon and a few wisps of clouds sketched in light ink in one corner. According to the waiter, this was "blank space," meant to be left blank for distinguished guests to inscribe poems and calligraphy when the appreciation reached its peak, leaving behind an immortal legacy for the event—this was naturally the key to Wang Zhonghua's "interactive element" and "word-of-mouth marketing."

The air was no longer filled with the usual aroma of incense cakes, but with Wang Zhonghua's specially blended "Awakening Incense": slowly simmered with mint, mugwort, and a trace of dried tangerine peel, its refreshing and invigorating scent subtly neutralizing the approaching strong aroma of alcohol without overpowering it. In the shadows, a musician was tuning a guqin with extremely light fingerwork, the strings resonating like a spring flowing through a deep ravine, creating an elegant atmosphere where "the aroma precedes the taste of the wine."

At the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), Lü Sanjun and the owner of Wanghulou stood beside the screen to welcome the guests.

Shen Zhou and Qin Tiedan wandered around, collecting people's opinions on this "tasting event".

Unlike the others who only stared at the wine jars, Shen Zhou's sharp gaze swept over the guests, especially several well-dressed wealthy merchants. As they conversed in hushed tones, their eyes frequently drifted to the crystal goblets held by the pageboys at the door, their eyes flashing with surprise and eagerness.

"The summer heat hasn't subsided, yet this thing can keep ice from melting..."

"If restaurants and mansions all had this ice in the summer..."

Shen Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he discreetly noted down the identities of these people and the content of their conversation. When reporting the guests' reactions to Wang Zhonghua, he specifically mentioned, "Young Master, while 'Drunken Eight Immortals' is certainly attracting attention today, the ice from the dog days of summer seems to be even more coveted by merchants. This might be another avenue for wealth."

Wang Zhonghua's gaze swept over the crystal ice cup, and Shen Zhou's whispers reached his ears, but his heart was already stirring up waves far greater than the tasting event before him.

"Making ice... Sigh, it's all my fault for reading too many time-travel novels. I thought all the rich people in this era had ice cellars! Actually, storing ice in this era requires a huge amount of manpower. Apart from the imperial palace, where are there so many ice cellars to speak of!"

Thus, the business opportunities hidden behind "ice making," which at the moment was just a "little trick" to create atmosphere, instantly unfolded in his mind:

In the sweltering summer, how much more would restaurants and eateries attract customers if they offered chilled plum juice and chilled fruits? How enormous would the needs of wealthy families for storing food and cooling off be? Even... freezing sugar water and fruit puree into "popsicles" (or "ice cream" or "snowballs") and selling them in the market would be a fast-moving consumer good that would sweep the streets and generate astonishing profits!

This is no longer just a way to make money; it's a huge opportunity that could revolutionize summer consumption habits and create entirely new industries. The cost of making ice with saltpeter is controllable, and the technical barrier is practically zero for him, but in this era, it's a magic bullet that turns lead into gold!

He still wore a calm smile, nodded slightly to Shen Zhou, and their eyes conveyed high appreciation and a desire for further discussion.

Hehe, this "Drunken Eight Immortals" is going to conquer the adults' banquet, and this "Ice Business" may conquer the sweltering summer of the entire Song Dynasty.

Wang Zhonghua stood quietly in the shadows of the second-floor corridor, his gaze like that of a calm chess player, overlooking the entire "chessboard" he had meticulously arranged.

He comes from an era of information overload and marketing supremacy, and he deeply understands that "ritual," "storytelling," and "scarcity" are the key tools to tap into the high-end market. Today, Wanghulou is not just a restaurant, but also the stage where he presents "The Eight Immortals of Drunkenness" and defines its extraordinary value.

When the maid gently tapped open the clay seal of the first jar of "Drunken Eight Immortals," the anticipation that had been building up for over a month, layered by the atmosphere, finally mingled with the unleashed, sharp, and domineering aroma of the wine—

It exploded with a bang!