Chapter 76: Fruit Wine

Huo Zhiyuan was afraid they would think his family was inadequate, so he quickly added, "We will provide a generous amount of tuition."

Chen Yuan sneered.

How much could they possibly give?

When Yan Ning made a move, it was a whole crate of silver; to say the least, it was over ten thousand.

Seeing Chen Yuan's expression, Huo Zhiyuan panicked for a moment—could it be that Yan Ning had given even more?

Huo Zhiyuan was still trying to negotiate, but Ji Heming waved his hand: "No matter how much you offer, we aren't leaving, and besides, I am her maternal grandfather; it is even more impossible for us to leave."

Huo Zhiyuan had no choice but to settle for the next best thing: "Then, would it be alright if we brought the children of the Huo Family over to study?"

Ji Heming and Chen Yuan both looked at Yan Ning.

Yan Ning spoke bluntly: "No, and furthermore, if you dare to enter again next time, it won't be as simple as just a warning."

They had no choice but to leave, and those gifts were also tossed out by Zhuo Heng.

Huo Zhitong picked everything up; this must have cost quite a bit of money.

He complained: "Big Brother, how can they be so impervious to both soft and hard tactics? They can teach the village children, but not our own?"

Huo Zhiyuan said coldly: "Look at what you have turned these children into, each one with their nose in the air; of course, others wouldn't bother with you."

Huo Zhitong sulked, but he dared not show it in front of his big brother.

A few days later, Bai Yu arrived with good news.

This was Bai Yu's first time coming to Chaoyang Village; he had arrived at Taohua Village first, where he could indeed see several red towers, and soon reached his destination.

The moment he stepped inside, he heard the soldiers on the Watchtower aiming their Crossbow at him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Bai Yu was startled and hurriedly said: "I am Bai Yu, here to speak with your young lady about the Signal Flare."

Only then did the guard lower the Crossbow.

Hearing the commotion outside, Yan Ning came out as well.

Seeing it was Bai Yu, she smiled and said: "He is one of our own, it's fine."

Only then did the guard stop paying attention to him.

Yan Ning explained: "My family was hunted down previously, and even now, people occasionally come to pick fights, so I simply built a few high towers."

Bai Yu nodded: "It is indeed necessary to be cautious."

As for the hunting down that Yan Ning mentioned, he did not ask further.

Bai Yu only vaguely felt that the Yan Family was not simple, and some things were better left unasked.

Over these past few days, Bai Yu had taken the letters from Wu Jiangjun, who was stationed in Haicheng, to several nearby Garrisons, and they all said this Signal Flare was excellent.

"They are very satisfied with the Signal Flare, but they want to ask if it is possible to make them in different colors?"

Yan Ning pondered for a moment: "Let me think."

Afterwards, she recalled the tutorials in the video and wrote down the formula for Bai Yu.

Bai Yu said: "Perhaps in a while, Garrisons all over the country will want to come and buy our Signal Flares."

Over these past few days, Yan Ning had been sending silver to the Ji Family whenever she had the chance, sending two large crates in total, which averaged out to about twenty-five hundred taels of silver per person.

Yan Ning heard them talking about building a house, and sometimes they would even argue.

For example, whether to build a large one or a small one, and whether to use good or bad materials for the furnishings.

Twenty-five hundred taels sounded like a lot, but if one really had to build a house, buy furnishings, and continue to support the children's education, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones all cost money.

Yan Ning sat upon a mountain of gold and silver and could not bear to see her grandfather's family living so miserably.

This was the third time Yan Ning had sent silver over.

Sending it three times in one month meant thirty thousand taels.

Seeing Yan Ning put it down and prepare to leave, Ji Heming hurriedly went over to pull her back.

"Ningning, the two crates you gave earlier are already enough; you don't need to give us so much money anymore."

This time, Ji Heming's attitude was very firm, so Yan Ning could only take back one crate of silver.

Afterwards, she went to her space and took out four or five large boxes, all filled with fabric.

However, these fabrics were carefully selected by Yan Ning; they looked good and were comfortable to wear, but the price was not high.

Yan Ning was afraid they wouldn't accept them if the price was too high.

It took a lot of effort for Yan Ning to find five boxes of ordinary fabric.

It really wasn't easy to gather these, as basically everything in her space was precious silk and satin.

Yan Ning asked Zhuo Heng and the others to help move the boxes, placing them directly with the Ji Family.

She opened a box to show Ji Heming, "Grandfather, look, these aren't expensive materials; we still have plenty where we are, you must accept these, right?"

Ji Heming rubbed her head, "You child, why do you worry about everything?"

Yan Ning chuckled and immediately ran off, disappearing from sight.

She still had important business to attend to.

Upon returning, she closed the doors and windows, opened her iPad, and searched the "Traveler's Handbook," which contained many ways to make money.

However, she had to pick something that was both profitable and simple.

She flipped through it for a long time before finding it.

Brewing alcohol.

Yan Ning felt that brewing alcohol was a good business; those Fruit Wine varieties had a low alcohol content, and women could drink them too.

Moreover, there were many methods for brewing alcohol in the "Traveler's Handbook," along with many details, and the alcohol produced tasted quite good.

That was alcohol made after improvement upon improvement, so it should be able to compete with the alcohol of the ancients.

Worried that her efforts would be in vain, Yan Ning first concocted some Fruit Wine herself, tossing sugar and green plums inside; she liked sweet wine, so she put in quite a lot of rock sugar, filled the jar with rock sugar and green plums, and finally poured in a small jar of Bamboo Leaf Green.

Yan Ning followed the video to make it, and in just ten days, the Fruit Wine was ready.

She pulled Ji Lan to drink the Fruit Wine, and Yan Ning said to Ji Lan, "Mother, I plan to go to Haicheng to test the Fruit Wine; my uncles are feeling quite gloomy lately, so it would be better to find something for them to do."

Ji Lan thought it was feasible, so the mother and daughter poured a small jar of Fruit Wine to take to Haicheng.

The best restaurant for wine in Haicheng was the Four Seas Tower, and Yan Ning prepared to go to the Four Seas Tower to taste various Fruit Wines.

Seeing that Yan Ning was just a child accompanied by a woman, Xiao Shi reminded them, "Our wines here are all a bit strong, and the prices are not cheap either, so you two..."

Yan Ning waved her hand grandly: "Bring me a jar of every Fruit Wine you have."

Xiao Shi could only set all twenty types of Fruit Wine in the shop on the table.

It was getting late, and they certainly couldn't make it back today, so Yan Ning also ordered a table full of dishes.

Yan Ning poured the Fruit Wine into a cup and only took a shallow sip of each flavor; some of the wines were quite strong with a very heavy alcohol taste, and she spat them out immediately.

These wines tended to be sour and astringent, likely because not much sugar was added during the brewing process.

In short, she tasted all twenty types of Fruit Wine, and basically, there were no sweet and sour Fruit Wines.

Ji Lan had drunk so much Fruit Wine that was sour and astringent, and then she drank the Green Plum Wine brewed by Yan Ning; it had a low alcohol content and a sweet taste upon entering the mouth, but it didn't feel cloying, and combined with the flavor of the green plums, it only felt sweet and sour with a hint of alcohol.

Yan Ning wanted to drink more after finishing one cup, but Ji Lan stopped her: "Children cannot drink alcohol; it will affect brain development."

Yan Ning: "... Alright."

The two were just about to leave when Gu Feichen happened to come over.

The owner behind this Four Seas Tower seemed to be Gu Feichen.

Gu Feichen greeted Yan Ning and asked, "You came here without even telling me."

At this moment, Xiao Shi came in and asked, "Guests, you haven't drunk much of this wine; would you like me to pack it up for you to take away?"

Gu Feichen said with a smile, "So you came here to drink; my shop has a new Osmanthus Brew that hasn't started selling yet, would you like to try my Osmanthus Brew?"

Yan Ning's eyes rolled, and she thought Gu Feichen was also a good potential partner.

Yan Ning said with a smile, "As it happens, I also have some Green Plum Wine left at home; it tastes excellent, why don't you try it too?"