Chapter 157: Erguotou (Third Update Arrives)

Liu Yong nodded and hurriedly ran out as well.

The second pot yielded the most liquor and took longer. They changed the water twice more after that. By the third pot, the flavor had already grown somewhat thin; the fourth pot was thinner still; and by the fifth pot, the taste had turned slightly sour.

"The liquor from the second and third pots can be blended together, and the flavor will be just right." Lu Xiangjiu stood there on the spot, mixing the different liquors together. There was no need to fuss over proportions—just blend them directly.

"Yangzhou and the Jiangnan region prefer lighter flavors. If there's a need in the future, we can mix in the fourth pot as well," Lu Xiangjiu said, pursing his lips.

After the five pots of liquor were drawn, the fermented grain had turned into distiller's grains. It was swiftly cleared out. This stuff could also be sold for money—it made excellent pig feed. Pig farmers had long since come to place orders for it.

The gauze cloth on the ground-pot steaming rack was pulled out, soaked in water, wrung dry, and laid back down. The apprentices nervously loaded the fermented grain, preparing for the next cycle.

Watching Lu Xiangjiu bustling about over here, Su Da gave a few instructions to the apprentice tending the fire, then ran over and said flatteringly, "Boss, fine liquor like this is sure to sell well. Good liquor deserves a good name. Boss, give it a name!"

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "Let's call it Erguotou... No, let's call it Han Well Famous Liquor!"

Wang Zhaojing, who had just finished writing the labels, walked over and happened to hear the name. He said with a smile, "That's a fine name. Xuzhou is, after all, the birthplace of Han Gaozu Liu Bang. Fine water, fine liquor—this 'Han Well' stirs the imagination. Brother Zhao always says he hasn't studied, but how could he come up with a name like this without a solid foundation in learning?"

Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da had only been trying to curry favor, but hearing Wang Zhaojing say this, they also thought it sounded quite good and chimed in with their approval.

Zhao Jin glanced at Wang Zhaojing. This brother of his, usually so graceful and poised, was now soaked through from head to toe, looking utterly comical. Zhao Jin said with a laugh, "You write a fine hand. I'll leave writing this name to you. Go out first, get yourself ready, and change into something cooler."

Wang Zhaojing looked down at himself and laughed as well. He agreed, turned, and walked out the door. Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da also went off to busy themselves with their own tasks.

Zhao Jin pulled over an empty wine jar and sat down on it. He muttered self-deprecatingly under his breath, "Truth is, I just wanted to call it Erguotou."

This liquor-making process was indeed that of Erguotou. The reason he chose a different name wasn't to avoid suspicion—in the original history, this liquor wouldn't appear for another hundred years, so there was nothing to avoid. It was just that Zhao Jin figured if he used that name, other distillers would inevitably figure out the method. The name "Han Well Famous Liquor" was actually inspired by Gujing Tribute Liquor.

What Zhao Jin had studied in the past had absolutely nothing to do with making liquor, but he had experienced far too many social occasions, too many drinking sessions, and had drunk far too much. He had picked up quite a bit of knowledge and lore about liquor along the way.

When drinking, people talk about everything under the sun. There were always those show-offs who would hold up their cups and expound on the origins and production methods of the liquor. Hearing it so many times, it was hard not to remember it vividly.

Funnily enough, this liquor-making method was the most deeply etched part of his past memories. The reason was simple: he had heard it so often that it had been passively memorized with great clarity.

Zhao Jin had heard the story of Erguotou many times. It was said that in the old days of distilling, the first pot, the so-called "liquor head," contained too many impurities. Drinking it was far too harsh and harmful. The last pot, the "liquor tail," was too weak and had lost all its flavor.

The three Zhao brothers from the capital improved the distillation process, "cutting off the head and tail" to create Erguotou, which then sold all across the land.

Erguotou is not some top-tier famous liquor, but its brewing process isn't all that complicated. At its price point, it is crisp and mellow enough, far surpassing other distilled liquors of the same grade. Another point: it is brewed from sorghum. Sorghum is who-knows-how-much cheaper than rice, wheat, or beans. The cost was already much lower.

"Cut off the head and tail," and the quality of the distilled liquor could improve a hundredfold. The effect was akin to turning stone into gold. Such a transformation was particularly dramatic, which made it all the more unforgettable.

Zhao Jin remembered very clearly that in the north, Erguotou was indeed a very common white liquor, and people didn't drink it purely because it was cheap. They drank it because Erguotou genuinely tasted quite good.

Although his memory of the historical timeline was somewhat fuzzy, the time when the three Zhao brothers improved the process to create Erguotou was, on the original historical track, during the Kangxi reign—decades, even a century away from now. Zhao Jin was fairly certain of that. The only thing he couldn't confirm was whether this brewing method had already appeared in this era.

Back in his day, Zhao Jin was considered a seasoned veteran of the drinking table. He could more or less tell good liquor from bad, and he had also heard many people critique mouthfeel and analyze the reasons behind it. The first time he drank the distilled liquor of this era, Zhao Jin sensed that the liquor was impure and the taste far too muddled. He immediately thought of Erguotou.

Information traveled far too slowly in this era. If a major event happened in Xuzhou city and no one sent word, neighboring Xiao County would be lucky to hear of it ten days later. Zhao Jin had always worried that the Erguotou process had already appeared long ago and he simply didn't know about it. A martial arts kid had absolutely no connection to distillery brewing, so it would be normal not to know.

But this process was always worth a gamble. A dan of sorghum cost a little over two hundred wen, but a jin of good liquor could always sell for several dozen wen. Zhao Jin had been keeping an eye on all this at the distillery. Using this "cut off the head and tail" brewing method, one hundred jin of sorghum could yield over fifty jin of liquor. One official dan was one hundred twenty jin, which could produce close to seventy jin of liquor. That meant a tenfold profit could easily be made—even more was not out of the question.

Before the liquor was drawn, Zhao Jin couldn't be certain of anything. He could only say he was gambling. But today, coming to the distillery in person, when the second pot of liquor came out, and he saw the genuine, heartfelt shock on Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da's faces, Zhao Jin knew he had done the right thing.

Watching the bustling crowd, the familiar scent of liquor lingering at his nose, Zhao Jin's mind truly wandered this time. He was puzzled: such a simple method, yet these old craftsmen who had made liquor for over a decade, even decades, had never discovered it.

But it was easy enough to figure out. People opened distilleries to make a living, earning a bit of hard-won money. What drive did they have to innovate or invent? Moreover, in this master-apprentice system, everything the master taught was absolute truth. They feared that any alteration might lead to disaster, so it was passed down from generation to generation, until one moment when a single person had a flash of insight, or a dedicated individual summarized and invented it, finally discovering this method.

In the past, they didn't separate the pots. The liquor was all mixed together in one jar and blended at the end. It seemed like there was no waste at all, but in reality, the off-flavors and impurities were all mixed into the liquor. If you wanted it to taste good, you could only use better water, better yeast, better grain—improving the flavor by raising the cost. No one ever imagined it could be so simple.

In fact, this method lay in a blind spot of human thinking. Even if someone stumbled upon it by chance, they would dismiss it as an accident and never treat it as a stone-into-gold invention.

After the idea of discarding the first and last pots was proposed, Zhao Jin couldn't offer much more advice on the work that followed. Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da demonstrated the experience and skill of liquor-making craftsmen. They gradually adjusted the timing and frequency of changing the cold water in the overhead pot, making the liquor from the second pot even more crisp and mellow, and enabling each pot of fermented grain to steam out more good liquor.

Even for the discarded first-pot liquor head and last-pot liquor tail, Lu Xiangjiu found a way to use them. He directly mixed the liquor head and tail into the new fermented grain and then distilled it. The resulting liquor had a distinctive character, becoming somewhat richer and more fragrant.

In truth, of all the work, Zhao Jin had done only one thing: he had merely proposed the concept of "cutting off the head and tail." But this single concept opened a window for Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da. All the experience and knowledge they had accumulated over the years was richly applied to this concept.

They didn't stop working until night fell and the sky grew dark. On every face was a look of reluctance to leave. Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da's faces were full of exhaustion, but their eyes shone brightly.

Jars of liquor were arrayed throughout the distillery, each affixed with a label written by Wang Zhaojing. The companions had all finished the tasks Zhao Jin had assigned and returned here.

The evening breeze blew through, dispersing much of the heat in the distillery. Everyone who worked in the distillery was called over. Zhao Jin swept his gaze across them with a smile. Behind him, Liu Yong said in a low voice, "Big Brother, everyone from the distillery is here."

"For today's liquor production, you have rendered great service! Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da are each awarded two months' wages as a bonus," Zhao Jin announced loudly.

Before his words had even faded, a chorus of exclamations rang out. After a moment of stunned disbelief, Lu Xiangjiu and Su Da grinned so wide their eyes nearly shut. This was a reward of nearly ten taels of silver—an ordinary household would need two years to earn that much. Once the shock passed, they hastily knelt to give thanks. Zhao Jin stepped forward with a smile and helped them up, then spoke again: "Everyone else is awarded one month's wages as a bonus!"

A clamor erupted—everyone cried out in delight. This Fragrant Aroma Distillery provided food and lodging and paid monthly wages, which already satisfied many. Working hard was only right and proper; no household kept idlers. They never imagined that on the very first day of operation, they would be rewarded with a full month's wages. This was truly an unexpected joy, and every face beamed with happiness.

Zhao Jin turned his head with a smile and said, "Daxiang, go make the arrangements. Tonight, it's white-flour flatbread and big meat stew here as well."

Because of his father's connections, Ji Xiang had to help a great deal with the logistics of Zhao Jin's enterprises. Receiving the order, he hurried out the door to handle it.

Hearing they would eat so well that evening lifted everyone's spirits even higher. Zhao Jin cleared his throat, his expression turning somewhat stern, and spoke again: "From this moment on, if any of you, or any relatives of your families, open a distillery or buy shares in another distillery—if I ever find out, I will exterminate your entire clan!"

Just moments ago they had been talking about rewards and feasts, everyone happy and cheerful, when suddenly the topic turned so murderously chilling. Lu Xiangjiu instinctively flinched backward, stumbling a few steps and nearly falling to the ground.

A smile returned to Zhao Jin's face, but it was a smile that sent chills down one's spine. He said coolly, "You should all know what kind of man I am. When I say exterminate a clan, I will most certainly exterminate that clan. Work honestly for me here, and I won't keep you penned up for a lifetime. As long as you do well, you'll eat and drink well, and your wages will rise year by year. But if any of you harbor petty schemes, I'll only say this once: do not bring harm upon yourselves, and do not bring harm upon your families."