Chapter 186: Spring Festival

Thirty percent of the distillery's output, at a price ten percent lower than others — while this wasn't exactly giving it away, if the distillery ran at full capacity after expansion, what Li Shun was asking for represented tens of thousands of taels of silver, perhaps even more.

But Zhao Jin had done the math clearly enough. Though he'd be giving away a lot, he stood to gain far more. If Ga Family Village was truly as good as Li Shun claimed, production capacity would soar after expansion. The price of liquor would drop, but total revenue would surge. Besides, Li Shun's demands weren't for free goods — he merely wanted to secure his own share and get a favorable price.

Li Shun had also noticed the shift in Zhao Jin's expression. Striking while the iron was hot, he said, "I won't speak of what happens after three years. Given Young Master Zhao's character, I trust you won't shortchange me."

This purely profit-driven attitude dispelled a few more of Zhao Jin's doubts. Better to deal with someone familiar than a stranger. If problems arose with the village, at least there'd be someone to hold accountable. Otherwise, everything would fall on his own shoulders. Li Shun had a family and a business — he was actually a good candidate.

He thought this, but Zhao Jin's expression grew even more neutral. After pondering a moment, he said, "Purchasing this estate is a major matter for me. I'll need to see it in person before deciding."

"That goes without saying. But this Ga Family Village and Young Master Zhao's distillery are truly a match made in heaven — Young Master Zhao, you mustn't let this slip by!" Li Shun said with a beaming smile, seeming quite anxious about the matter.

After leaving Li Shun's house, Zhao Jin didn't rush home. He first went to the freight yard and summoned Yan Blackface over.

With New Year's Eve approaching, Yan Blackface had been confined here, unable to see his family. His mood was naturally poor, but he dared not be remiss when Zhao Jin asked questions.

"... Do you know of Ga Family Village?"

"Is Master Jin referring to the one near Fang Village Market?" Yan Blackface was indeed familiar with the areas outside the city. Gao was a common surname, and there was surely more than one place called Ga Family Village, but this was the first one Yan Blackface thought of — which spoke to its unusual nature.

"That village is up for sale..."

At Zhao Jin's confirmation, Yan Blackface couldn't help but widen his eyes. Astonished, he said, "Who would give up such a fine place? Just sitting on it, it must bring in at least three thousand taels a year."

At this point, Yan Blackface paused, then hesitantly said, "Master Jin, it would indeed be a good location for a distillery — convenient for buying grain and selling liquor, with several sweet-water wells, and right by the official road. However..."

He trailed off, and Zhao Jin said, "Don't worry about anything. Just speak freely."

Yan Blackface cleared his throat and said, "This Ga Family Village is one of the rare fine properties in our Xuzhou region, so it was long ago swallowed up by those bald donkeys of Cloud Mountain Temple. It should be in the hands of their Xiao County sub-temple. A cash-cow property like that — there's no reason they'd let it go. And considering the bad blood between those bald donkeys and Master Jin, could this be a trap?"

Hearing Yan Blackface's account, Zhao Jin actually felt relieved. Smiling, he said, "The village has fallen into Li Shun's hands. He wants to sell it to me cheap in exchange for benefits from the distillery."

A look of sudden understanding appeared on Yan Blackface's face. With a scoff, he said, "Then it must be just business. Those disciples of Cloud Mountain Temple care only for silver — they never give a thought to the temple's interests."

After saying this, he glanced at Zhao Jin's expression and saw that Zhao Jin was quite interested. Yan Blackface decided to continue. "Master Jin, don't be fooled by Cloud Mountain Temple's hundreds of thousands of mu of land and thousands upon thousands of people — it looks grand, but it's rotten to the core inside. No one cares a whit about the official accounts. As long as silver ends up in their own pockets, they'd sell a golden Buddha for the price of mud. A patrimony that vast will be squandered to ruin by them sooner or later."

Yan Blackface had spoken with righteous fervor, his concern for the temple's fate fully evident. But after he finished, he felt something was off. Scratching his head with some embarrassment, he said, "Master Jin must be laughing at me. Those bastards already sold me out, and here I am worrying about useless things."

Zhao Jin's expression relaxed as he said, "I don't sell out those who serve me loyally. Work honestly and diligently, and there will be rewards for you in the future."

Yan Blackface hurriedly nodded and gave thanks. Zhao Jin rose and walked toward the door, then turned back at the threshold and said, "From New Year's Eve through the seventh day, your whole family can gather here. Whatever you want to eat, just tell Uncle Ji. All the wine and meat you want."

At these words, Yan Blackface didn't react at first. Only after Zhao Jin had left the room did he drop to his knees with a thud, calling out from behind, "Master Jin is merciful! Master Jin is gracious!" His voice carried a sob.

Zhao Jin couldn't care less whether those eminent monks and disciples of Cloud Mountain Temple were squandering their inheritance. The more they squandered, the greater the benefits Zhao Jin stood to gain — and the less of a threat they posed.

That Li Shun, for his own gain, would actually give up such a fine property — after Yan Blackface's explanation, it all made perfect sense.

Still, Zhao Jin dared not be careless. He summoned Chen Ergou and Butcher Li, and had Liu Yong pass word to You Zhenrong's side, instructing them to send men to scout Ga Family Village — to see if there were any suspicious figures lurking about, or anything else amiss.

Beyond that, Zhao Jin also had his father step in, arranging for yamen runners to go make inquiries at Ga Family Village. Though it was near year's end, for the sake of silver, everyone was willing to make the trip.

The runners and the underworld men each went and brought back different kinds of intelligence. The runners asked whether any outsiders had come and gone, and whether all was peaceful in the village. The underworld men, on the other hand, looked to see if any unfamiliar armed bands had appeared in the village, whether there were any suspicious characters in the vicinity, and while stopping in the surrounding areas, they also kept an ear out for any news related to Ga Family Village.

Within Xuzhou city, others were also helping Zhao Jin gather information about Ga Family Village. What even more people didn't know was that Zhao Jin had also sent word to Sun Dalei, already in Yutou Town, telling him to use his family's connections to make inquiries. Yutou Town lay east of Fang Village Market and was a transportation hub where people and goods converged. The Sun family, being merchants, was extremely well-informed.

Beyond this connection with Sun Dalei, the Sun family now regarded Zhao Jin as a god of wealth. After careful consideration, Zhao Jin had decided to let the Sun family distribute Han Well Famous Liquor in Yutou Town. At the start of the twelfth month, a merchant from Shandong had sought out Zhao Jin, saying he wanted to purchase Han Well Famous Liquor in bulk. Once Zhao Jin learned the man had been directed here from Yutou Town, he promptly arranged for the merchant to negotiate with the Sun family. Before sales had even begun, a major deal had come knocking — how could they not be utterly deferential and courteous?

Although word from the Sun family had yet to arrive, Zhao Jin had already formed a general picture of Ga Family Village. The estate was indeed a property of Cloud Mountain Temple. The abbot of the Xiao County sub-temple had passed away in meditation four months ago, and the new abbot was someone sent by Cloud Mountain Temple. After that, the village had changed hands, and now all the harvests and revenues from the estate went to Li Shun.

The village did indeed have sweet-water wells, convenient transportation, and terrain matching everyone's descriptions. In every respect, it was an excellent location for a new distillery.

From what everyone described, the change of ownership for such a fine village was easy to understand. There had likely been some deal surrounding the appointment of the sub-temple abbot. Cloud Mountain Temple's main temple was on Cloud Dragon Mountain outside Xuzhou city, with sub-temples in Feng County, Dangshan, Xiao County, and Pei County — much like the relationship between the Xuzhou prefect and the magistrates of the four counties. Each sub-temple had its own domain, and the position of sub-temple abbot was a lucrative post.

In the face of such a position, a single village was no great matter. Trading it away was entirely plausible.

In the final days of the forty-third year of the Wanli reign, Zhao Jin did not idle. He listened to reports from all sides, striving to gain a comprehensive understanding of Ga Family Village.

His mother, He Cuihua, grumbled quite a bit about her son being unable to rest even during the New Year, but she was helpless. She knew that Zhao Jin now had a very substantial enterprise.

Though he had never been to Ga Family Village, through his continuous investigations, Zhao Jin had formed a mental picture of it. He increasingly felt that Ga Family Village was the ideal site for Fragrance Distillery's new location. And there was another crucial point — right now, there were no other options. After months of searching, there was simply no other suitable place outside Xuzhou city. Only this Ga Family Village met every one of Zhao Jin's requirements.

After overt and covert inquiries, with intelligence gathered from all quarters, Zhao Jin could see no cause for suspicion. This Ga Family Village was simply the bargaining chip Li Shun had thrown out in exchange for greater profit.

On New Year's Eve, under He Cuihua's strict orders, Zhao Jin set aside all "official business" and skipped his martial training as well, helping his parents with the New Year preparations.

According to the customs of Shandong and Huaibei, when a close family member had passed away, no firecrackers were set off, and no fu characters or spring couplets were pasted for three years. The Zhao family actually didn't have that much to prepare. Father and son went together to check on the freight yard and the distillery, where the many workers were bustling about in high spirits. After returning home, the whole family swept the residence clean, and then He Cuihua began preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

The Zhao family was now quite wealthy, yet their household servants still consisted only of Zhao San and his wife. The ten household guards outside remained primarily on sentry duty. Zhao Jin had tried several times to hire more servants for the household, but his parents always refused. His mother, He Cuihua, said, "Your mother isn't too old to move yet." His father, Zhao Zhentang, said, "Outsiders can't be trusted. Let's wait a while longer."

Lunch was relatively simple: ham stewed with dried vegetables, steamed wind-dried chicken, and griddled flatbread. Zhao San and his wife made meat buns and mutton soup for the household guards outside — a hearty meal as well.

The family of three sat at the table. With nothing to do in the afternoon, Zhao Zhentang warmed a pot of Han Well Famous Liquor for himself and began drinking with great relish.

Ever since the distillery had begun to prosper, the three of them had rarely eaten together like this. Zhao Jin in particular was seldom home, so Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua were both very happy.

Toward the end of the meal, Zhao Zhentang had grown rather tipsy. He Cuihua finished her lunch first and went out to prepare the ingredients for making dumplings. That evening, it wouldn't just be the three Zhaos eating — the ten household guards outside would eat too, as would Zhao San and his wife. Making dumplings for so many people would take considerable effort.

Once He Cuihua had left the room, Zhao Zhentang drank another cup of wine and asked, somewhat slurred, "You've been stirring up quite a storm this year. You keep saying this your Second Uncle taught you, that your Second Uncle taught you — what exactly did your Second Uncle tell you?"