Chapter 167: In Search of Wine

"That catty of wine you sell is always half water. Every time you drink it, it's neither here nor there, doesn't do a damn thing, and you still have the nerve to call it good wine. But that wine-sauce duck of yours is cooked to perfection — this isn't a duck that died of sickness, is it?" a grain-transport soldier said bluntly while munching on beans.

"Bullshit. My wife's wine-sauce duck is a family recipe — even the big restaurants on shore place orders for it!" Old Qian shot back, pretending to be angry.

They hadn't seen each other in a long time, so the banter and teasing came easily. Old Qian and one of the grain-transport soldiers roped their boats together. Sitting on the gunwale, Old Qian said, "Now that really was fine wine. I often buy things at that shop. That day, their clerk brought out four jars of wine, said it was top-grade stuff — taste first, buy later, sixty wen a catty. I was puzzled too; their wine was always shipped in from Shanyang and Haizhou. What good wine could they have of their own? Still, tasting before buying meant a free sip either way. I never expected it to be genuinely good wine — pure flavor, like it wasn't even made with water. One sip and your whole body felt warm. I'd just won a few idle wen playing dice, so I went ahead and bought it."

Hearing him describe it so vividly, the grain-transport soldiers grew interested. Old Qian saw the looks on their faces and said with a smile, "We've been brothers for years. But I'll say this upfront: sixty-five wen a catty. You can try a bowl first. If you don't want it, forget it. If you do want more, that sample bowl gets added to the bill. It's not that I'm stingy — I've got capital tied up lately, money's tight."

"You bastard! When have we ever not patronized your business, and you act this petty!" The grain-transport soldiers on the boat cursed and laughed. One of them pulled a string of copper coins from his bosom and called out, "The usual way — everyone chips in first, we'll settle up after drinking."

The grain-transport soldiers all dug out their money. Another one shouted, "Bring a bowl of that fine wine you mentioned! Slice the wine-sauce duck, and bring out the dried vegetables and braised pork too!"

Old Qian had talked it up for so long that everyone's interest was piqued. Beaming, Old Qian sliced the wine-sauce duck, ladled out a big bowl of braised pork and dried vegetables heating on the charcoal stove, and arranged several cold appetizers on a single platter. He served those first, then carefully brought out that jar of wine, opened the seal, and steadily poured out half a bowl.

"Look at how stingy you are — afraid we lords will drink too much!" someone else cursed with a laugh. But by now everyone's curiosity was aroused. It was rare to see Old Qian so careful, and they could all smell the wine's fragrance.

The one who had pulled out money earlier was the first to drink. He brought it to his nose, sniffed the aroma, and couldn't help but pause in surprise. Then he took a sip. As the wine went down, an astonished expression spread across his face. Instead of passing the bowl on, he took another sip all for himself.

When he did that, the others immediately understood. They all shouted in unison, "Don't just drink it yourself — pass it over, pass it over!"

Each person took a sip. By the time it reached the last two, it was gone. Without another word, everyone told Old Qian to bring that whole jar of wine aboard.

Old Qian beamed with delight and even sold a few extra dishes along with it. The wine tasted good, but his customers were poor laborers — nobody could bear to spend sixty-five wen a catty on such stuff. It had been sitting unsold in his hands until today, when he finally moved it.

Watching the grain-transport soldiers on the boat drinking bowl after bowl with great enjoyment, Old Qian chatted with them a while longer, then untied the rope and prepared to leave. Just as he was getting started, the grain-transport soldier who had proposed chipping in raised his voice and asked, "Old Qian, where did you buy this wine?"

"Xu Lei Goods Stack, third street east-west on the south bank. You'll find it just by asking around," Old Qian replied. He wasn't worried about anything else — he wouldn't be stocking such expensive wine again anyway.

A fleet of twenty grain-transport boats was usually under the command of a Battalion Commander. On land among the army, a Battalion Commander counted for nothing, but here on the canal, a Battalion Commander was genuinely someone of consequence. Twenty official grain-transport boats, carrying tribute grain, traveling thousands of li back and forth — it looked like bitter work, but in reality, who knew how many southern and northern goods were loaded onto these boats heading south and north. The shipping fees alone were a huge sum, not to mention the trade along the way and the purchasing of local specialties. Twenty boats were a little treasure bowl. As the saying went, "A grain-transport Battalion Commander, ten thousand mu of paddy fields" — that was the truth of it.

The Battalion Commander of the fleet where Old Qian sold his wine was surnamed Wu, a man from Zhenjiang. At home he already had one wife and four concubines, and it was said he kept two more mistresses outside the city — a life of utter ease. Still, when away from home, he always had to sample the local wildflowers. He spent freely, and Yutou Town knew Commander Wu's generosity well; whenever a new girl arrived at any of the pleasure houses, they would send word.

Today, word had come of a woman newly arrived from Datong. Commander Wu, having gotten the news, naturally had to go try her out. After several hours of exertion, he stepped out still not fully satisfied, thinking the whole way about whether he should buy her freedom and take her home to enjoy at his leisure.

The fine mood nurtured in the soft embrace of romance vanished the moment he reached the lake. Though Luoma Lake was calm, there were still small waves and wind. The autumn breeze carried moisture that even a cotton robe couldn't block. Commander Wu, who had deliberately worn silk clothes for his pleasure-seeking, sat in the boat shivering all over, cursing inwardly: why did his own fleet have to weigh anchor and set sail in the middle of the night?

Reaching his fleet, Commander Wu hurriedly jumped aboard, thinking only of getting out of the wind. Head down, striding forward, he nearly crashed into someone and almost fell into the lake. Looking up, Commander Wu flew into a rage: "Dogfish, are you blind? What are you doing over here on my boat? Nobody minding your own vessel?"

The one he called Dogfish was precisely the grain-transport soldier who had asked Old Qian where he bought the wine. Before Commander Wu, Dogfish's manner was utterly obsequious. Smiling ingratiatingly, he said, "Commander, the brothers got hold of some fine wine and specially brought it for you to taste, to warm you up."

Hearing this, Commander Wu's anger subsided somewhat, but he still said irritably, "What wine on this lake can warm a man? Might as well just lean over the gunwale and drink the lake water. Drink it yourselves. If you're out of wine money, I'll give you some tomorrow."

"Commander, we underlings still have a bit of wine money. But this wine is sixty-five wen a catty — it really is different. Won't you try some?"

"Sixty-five wen? When I drink at pleasure houses, even the Shaoxing carved-age wine doesn't dare ask that price from me. Have you lost your minds?" Commander Wu was taken aback at the price and couldn't help cursing, but he also grew curious about the wine.

Dogfish chuckled as he poured the wine from the jar into a wine bowl — this was all they had left, just one bowl. He presented it with both hands to Commander Wu. Coming close, Commander Wu sniffed and said with surprise, "The aroma's not bad."

Commander Wu took the wine and drank a sip. The astonishment on his face deepened. His back, slightly hunched from the wind, straightened up, because that one sip truly felt like a ball of fire in his belly, warmth radiating through his whole body, blocking out all the chill of the autumn wind on the lake.

"Now this, damn it, is wine!" Commander Wu cursed. Afraid he only felt this way because he was so cold, he quickly took another sip. In just a few mouthfuls, the bowl of wine was drained clean. Commander Wu's face flushed red, sweat beading on the tip of his nose — he showed no sign of cold whatsoever.

"It really is fine wine? Where did this wine come from?" Commander Wu asked in astonishment. He was fond of women and pleasure, but men who worked the grain-transport boats traveled south and north all year round. They had seen much and were the most market-savvy people around. One sip told him what this wine represented.

A smile spread across Dogfish's face too. He knew his goal had been achieved. Quickly bowing, he said, "Old Qian said this wine was bought at the 'Xu Lei Goods Stack' on shore. Commander, setting everything else aside — which of our brothers working the boats wouldn't want to drink this? In spring and autumn, the wind on the water cuts to the bone. One sip of this is more effective than wearing a fur coat. After a tiring day, a mouthful of this wine would definitely wash away the fatigue!"

Commander Wu clapped his hands together and said with a laugh, "You've got a nimble mind, kid. I was only thinking of selling it on shore, but you've thought of selling it to our own people."

Dogfish just stood there chuckling. Commander Wu immediately turned around and said to the boatman waiting there for his fare, "Take me back. I want to go to the south bank. Dogfish, you come with me."

"After drinking all that, what's this wine called?"

"... Commander, your humble servant can't read..."

"Damn it, if I hadn't spent two years in private school... Han Jing Famous Wine..."

A trading company that carried Han Jing Famous Wine, with the characters "Xu" and "Lei" in its name — this was precisely the shop that Sun Dalei's parents had opened in Yutou Town.

The Sun parents had always felt rather fortunate. Their family business in Xuzhou had been doing reasonably well. Later, with the idea of establishing a foothold, they opened a shop in Yutou Town. As it turned out, because they got involved in grain purchasing and moneylending, they suffered losses in Xuzhou and had to shift their business focus to Yutou Town.

Unexpectedly, that loss turned out to be a gain. When the Jia Canal was rerouted, Xuzhou was no longer a canal hub. Its market declined, and commerce both inside and outside the city greatly deteriorated. Yutou Town, however, underwent earth-shaking development. Those who had come early, even ones who didn't understand business, had all grown rich — let alone a family like the Suns, who were seasoned traders.

The shop in Xuzhou was closed, the focus shifted to Yutou Town, and the business grew larger and larger.

As the business grew, so did a few worries. One was Sun Dalei, who had stayed behind in Xuzhou and refused to come. Just looking at the character "Lei" in the shop's name told you the place Sun Dalei held in his parents' hearts.

But missing their child was one thing; business was business. In the Sun parents' view, their child had learned some real skill with the blade and spear, and had made a group of good friends — his future wouldn't be too bad no matter what. But he had never really followed them in business training, so they couldn't trust him in that regard.

Therefore, when Sun Dalei shipped over several jars of Han Jing Famous Wine, the shop paid it little attention. Cotton cloth, silk, satin, and spices — as long as the volume was large, those brought in considerable profit. Who cared about a few jars of wine? When mentioned at the dinner table, saying it sold for sixty wen a catty, everyone laughed.

Sun Dalei's father even said self-deprecatingly, "Dalei never wastes my money on anything. It's rare for him to have a chance to squander a bit — let him be."

Yet there was another coincidence: no one in the Sun family's goods stack drank wine. A trading company and goods stack doing honest business strictly abstained from wine and women, considering them a hindrance to affairs.