Chapter Forty-Six: The Distillery is Finally Established

Half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye. The distillery was completed, and thanks to Old Sun’s previous connections, they managed to bring in a batch of grain. However, Old Sun’s old distillery had always been small, and the merchants he knew were also minor grain dealers, so the supply they could provide was limited.

Several more sets of stills had been made during the construction, ready to be moved directly into the new distillery. Manpower, however, remained a problem.

Altogether, the distillery could only count three people: Wei Renshi, Old Sun, and his son. Wei Renshi didn’t do manual labor, and Sun Youquan was not yet familiar with the work, so in truth, only Old Sun and Sun Youqing were able to contribute.

Despite his position as master brewer, Old Sun now had to work with his own hands.

The spread grain released a satisfying aroma under the sun, and amidst the busy figures, hope shone on their smiling faces.

Early summer was alive with the vibrancy of growing life—the best season of the year.

After Sun and Youqing had properly processed the well-dried grain, they had to wait a few days for fermentation.

Once that was done, Old Sun came out and said to Wei Renshi, “Young Master, the distillery is set up here, and both my sons are working with me. What should I do with the old distillery?”

Wei Renshi smiled, “You shouldn’t abandon it. You can collect spent mash from others, distill it, and sell the resulting cheap liquor as bulk wine.”

“Spent mash?” Old Sun was taken aback, then slapped his large hands together with a laugh. “That’s right! Young Master, you think of everything! Others only collect the liquid after mash fermentation, discarding the dregs. But your method distills liquor straight from the mash!”

“Spent mash is cheap. We can buy it, distill it, and sell the liquor at a lower price for ordinary folks,” Wei Renshi continued. “As for the main distillery’s output, we’ll give it a grand name, then divide it into different categories, each separated into three, six, or nine grades according to quality, with prices from high to low. Bulk wine will be the cheapest. The best liquor should be sold in limited quantities—let people crave it, but make it hard to obtain. The very finest liquor is not about price, but about status and prestige.”

“I understand there are grades of liquor, but to make wine and not sell it, just to make people want it but not buy it—what’s that about? And selling status, how does that work?” Old Sun asked.

Wei Renshi grinned. “That’s why you’re fit to be the master brewer, overseeing the distillery. As for selling the wine, we’ll need a skilled manager for the business.”

“That’s true. I never had a head for business,” Old Sun shook his head. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have struggled all my life.”

“By the way, is your nephew willing to come?” Wei Renshi asked.

“He is, but he’s worried he can’t handle it. I told him to come and meet you, Young Master, and see what you think.”

“Good. Let’s do it in the next few days. Bring him to me—if his character is good and he’s loyal, that’s all that matters.”

Old Sun readily agreed and thanked him. Wei Renshi then asked, “What about those farmhands you mentioned before?”

Old Sun sighed, “Old Liu has passed away, leaving behind three grown sons. The wives of the younger two haven’t said anything yet. Old Dong is still healthy, and his three kids all farm with him.”

“Would they be willing to work at the distillery?” Wei Renshi inquired.

“Old Dong would come as soon as you call. As for Old Liu’s sons, without their father, the eldest leads his brothers in farming and odd jobs. Liu Dalang said work is work—if you need hands, he’ll come, but only if he can bring his brothers.”

“That’s easily settled,” Wei Renshi replied with a smile. “Sun, you’ll oversee the distillery. You must consider all aspects. Youqing and Youquan will focus only on distillation. As for blending, you must do it yourself and let me taste it first. Once the flavor is established, you won’t need my approval. Old Dong’s family and Old Liu’s sons can work at the distillery, with two rest days a month, which they can choose. The wage is five hundred cash per person per month. You, as master brewer, will get five strings. Youqing and Youquan will get the same as the others. And you’ll also receive a ten percent share of the profits.”

“So much?!” Old Sun was stunned, then quickly added, “With a profit share, I can’t take wages! I absolutely won’t accept both—on this, Young Master, I won’t budge. And isn’t this wage a bit too high?”

“High wages aren’t given for nothing; I’ll set some rules. Only those who follow the rules will get the high wages,” Wei Renshi replied. “This way, they’ll weigh the cost of breaking the rules and losing such income.”

“That’s right. There must be rules in everything!” Old Sun nodded in agreement.

Wei Renshi knew the white liquor market—one day, the distillery would grow. It was already built spaciously. Still, it wasn’t overly large, as the plot was limited, and this was only Changgu or Fuchang, small places. He believed that one day, the distillery would have to move to big cities like Luoyang or Chang’an, so there was no need to build something massive here in Fuchang.

With business underway, they began building up stock.

Old Sun and his sons, Youqing and Youquan, were busy beyond measure. The three Liu brothers soon joined, as did Old Dong and his sons. Some came out of loyalty from the kindness shown by Wei Renshi’s grandfather and father; others were attracted by the high wages.

A wage of five hundred cash a month and two days off—such terms couldn’t be found even in Luoyang or Chang’an, let alone Fuchang.

Everyone worked with all their might.

Wei Renshi didn’t idle, either. He went into the distillery himself and shared with Old Sun all he remembered about the various aroma types of white liquor, as well as different starters and fermentation conditions. Together, they experimented and finally managed to produce several of the most common aroma types found in later times.

“Other wines are categorized by quality or color, but ours will be grouped by flavor,” Wei Renshi explained, pointing to the trial batches.

“But… I don’t know how to use flavor to classify them,” said Old Sun, troubled. He could taste the subtle differences in these crystal-clear liquors, but lacked the words to describe them.