Chapter 9: Brewing Wine

Du Rui’s strange behavior immediately drew the entire family over. However, his four younger sisters were still too small; if they stayed in this kitchen filled with the smell of alcohol, they would likely be drunk before long.

As soon as Du Yunlian poked her head in, she was coaxed out by Du Rui, which left the little girl quite displeased. Children are like that—the more you forbid them from seeing something, the more it stimulates their curiosity. With no other choice, Du Rui gave his third sister, Du Yunfu, a few coins and told her to take the younger ones out to buy candy.

"Rui'er! What are you doing? Making such a strong smell of alcohol!" Once the little ones had left, Madam Ma could no longer hold back and asked.

Du Rui smiled and said, "Auntie will know in a moment. Whether our family can turn things around and whether we’ll have a good life in the future all depends on this!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Ma exchanged glances with Madam Bai and Madam Ji behind her, their expressions turning solemn. Although they had been driven out of the house by the head wife, they were at least being sheltered by Du Rui and had a place to stay. If the situation were as dire as Du Rui suggested, and this inexplicable endeavor failed, their future would undoubtedly be a tragedy.

Du Rui had no idea that in these few moments, the three aunts had gone through so many thoughts; if he had known, he would surely have died laughing.

Before long, the wine began to boil. The moisture turned into steam, condensed upon hitting the cold air, and emerged from the bamboo tube of the steaming apparatus. This section of bamboo was not long, and its cooling effect was poor, so Du Rui had Du Gui fetch well water to pour over it continuously.

Finally, the first distillation ended. The thirty catties of rice wine poured into the pot had become less than ten catties of clear liquor. Due to the distillation process, the impurities in the original wine were removed, and it now looked much like the clear, high-proof liquor from his previous life. However, when Du Rui tasted a drop, it was still quite weak.

He then directed Du Gui and Madam Liu to begin the second distillation. This time, because the volume of liquid was much smaller, the process was faster. When the ten catties of wine were reduced to just over three, Du Rui tasted it again. This time, it finally had a bit of a kick, with an alcohol content of about thirty percent—already equivalent to the low-proof spirits of his past life. But he was not satisfied yet and proceeded to a third distillation. When the thirty-plus catties of liquid were reduced to less than one catty, Du Rui tasted it once more. He estimated the alcohol content had reached forty percent, and only then did he stop.

Thirty catties of rice wine reduced to less than one catty—the cost was indeed quite high. Of course, if he could replace this wooden distillation apparatus with glass, the results would be much better. But this was the Tang Dynasty; never mind glass, even opaque colored glaze was a priceless treasure, let alone using glass to craft distillation equipment.

Just as he was carefully pouring the less-than-one-catty of white liquor into a bottle, the whole family gathered around. By now, the rich aroma of the alcohol had spread. Du Zhong and Du Gui were already swallowing their saliva, while the ladies, including Madam Ma, could no longer withstand the fumes and were already showing signs of intoxication.

Du Zhong stepped forward, eyes fixed on the small bottle in Du Rui’s hand, still confused. "Young Master! What... what is the meaning of this?"

Du Rui smiled. "Selling wine!"

At these words, Du Zhong’s expression changed instantly. Although the status of merchants was slightly better than in previous dynasties, in the eyes of the common people, it remained very low. In the entire feudal society, the order of "scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant" placed merchants at the very bottom.

Seeing the confident look on Du Rui’s face, Du Zhong didn't want to discourage him too harshly, so he spoke timidly: "Young Master! The late Lord was from a prominent Shandong clan with a deep scholarly heritage. Since ancient times, the order has been scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant. When the late Mistress was alive, she hoped you would study hard. Even if you couldn't become a high official or bring glory to the family, you could at least serve the imperial court. Furthermore, merchants have long been known to value profit over righteousness, which is held in contempt by scholars. For you to engage in trade, this old servant fears it is inappropriate!"

Du Rui understood that Du Zhong’s long, stuttering speech was simply trying to tell him that studying for the imperial examinations was the only proper path. Once he entered the world of commerce, it would be difficult to be accepted by the scholar class again.

Du Rui, however, didn't care at all. He had never intended to become an official or save the country; he only wanted to live a good life with his family. But he couldn't completely ignore Du Zhong’s opinion, and seeing the grave expressions of Madam Ma and the others, he knew they were all of one mind. Thinking of how the whole family had pinned their hopes on him, he couldn't be too reckless.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Aunts, Uncle Zhong, do not worry. There is no harm in me wanting to sell wine. In Chang'an, which high-ranking family or official household doesn't have some business interests? Since you believe commerce is not the proper path, then I will leave the management of this business to Uncle Zhong!"

Du Zhong thought about it and felt this was a viable compromise. "If the Young Master trusts this old servant, then I have nothing more to say. But this one bottle of wine—even if it is 'immortal nectar'—how much could it possibly be worth?"

Du Rui smiled, poured a little into a bowl, and handed it to Du Zhong. "Uncle Zhong, taste it first."

Du Zhong took the bowl and stared at the liquid, dazed. This wasn't wine; it looked like water. But the rich, intense aroma wafting into his nose dispelled his doubts. Having spent many years in the military, he was a lover of strong drink. Enticed by the scent, he couldn't resist; he tilted his head back and downed the half-ounce of liquid in one gulp. It was no wonder he drank so recklessly—by the standards of the popular wine of the day, even a child could finish half an ounce in one go.

But as soon as the liquid hit his stomach, Du Zhong felt a ball of fire burning from his chest down to his gut. He doubled over, coughing violently; the half-ounce of liquor had choked him severely.

Seeing this, Du Rui remembered he hadn't warned him and hurriedly patted Du Zhong’s back.

Du Zhong couldn't care about propriety anymore. He gestured an apology to Du Rui, coughed for a long while, and finally caught his breath. "Young Master, what kind of wine is this? As soon as it hit my throat, it burned like fire, and once it reached my stomach, it felt like a knife scraping inside."

Du Rui had a sudden flash of inspiration. "Uncle Zhong! The wine I’ve crafted is called 'Burning Knife' wine. It’s a method I found in an old book during my spare time."

Du Zhong didn't doubt him. "But this wine is so fierce—will anyone drink it?"

"Uncle Zhong, as the saying goes, 'to each their own.' Even if this wine is fierce, there will certainly be those who want to drink it."

As he spoke, Du Rui poured a little more from the bottle and handed it to Du Gui. "Du Gui! You try it too!"

Du Gui was an honest man. Although he had been dying to try it after smelling the aroma, he didn't dare take it until Du Zhong nodded. He thanked Du Rui and took the bowl. Having learned from Du Zhong’s lesson, he was more cautious, sipping the wine little by little. Immediately, a rich, intense fragrance seemed to explode in his mouth. Though spicy, it was undeniably excellent liquor.

"Refreshing! Truly refreshing!"

Seeing Du Gui’s reaction, Du Rui knew he had succeeded, but he still had one concern.

"Uncle Zhong! Now that I intend to open a distillery, how does one go about obtaining a liquor permit?"

Du Zhong was puzzled. "What is a 'liquor permit'? This old servant has never heard of such a thing. Salt and iron are the lifeblood of the state; ever since the Retired Emperor established the capital in Chang'an, they have been nationalized, and merchants do indeed need salt and iron permits to trade. In years past, there were restrictions on brewing, but with the consecutive bumper harvests in Guanzhong in recent years, the ban has relaxed significantly. If the Young Master wants to open a distillery, you only need to report it to the Chang'an County office!"

Only then did Du Rui realize his worries were groundless. Since the Tang Dynasty’s control over alcohol was so lax, it seemed he was destined to make a fortune.

"In that case, Uncle Zhong, go to the county office now to handle the paperwork. Tomorrow, our distillery will open for business!"