After the matter of suppressing the bandits was over, Wang Weizhen happily wrote a good news and sent the chief flag officer Jia Hongyu to send it to the Qianqian Household Office in Xiahe Village.

Soon the defensive officer Zhang Hailin gave a reply: Liu Yan, the first commander of Dapan Fort, was the first merit, and was rewarded with one hundred and twenty taels of silver, and a set of winter clothes, and Shen Tuo, the chief of the Huangshan Dun, was awarded eighty taels of silver for the second merit.

In addition, Wang Weizhen commanded well, in addition to rewarding one hundred taels of silver, Zhang Hailin also gave a promise to recommend and report to Lingshanwei.

Liu Yan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh after learning the news, he annihilated hundreds of thieves in a battle, and such a battle was only given some silver. Although it is said that at this time, the reward of the Ming military merits is the first level of Jiannu, followed by the head of the Mongolian soldiers, and then the head of the thief, and the thieves in Tiepu Mountain are just thieves, but after all, they are hundreds of heads, and they are so perfunctory, it is no wonder that the soldiers of the Ming army are generally not high.

After Liu Yan returned to Dapanbao, he no longer bothered about these, and the one hundred and twenty taels of silver that were rewarded were also distributed to the soldiers of the Three Banners, and he didn't keep a tael of them.

It is said that six or seven days have passed since Liu Yan led his troops to suppress the bandits, and Miao Shao, the small flag official, had already recruited dozens of craftsmen, carved a place in the southwest corner of Dapanbao, and began to build a winery.

In a few days, the walls of the winery and the cellar had been built, and the craftsmen were building houses.

Liu Yan has been staring at this side for the past few days, and the matter of winemaking is the next major event in Dapanbao, and he must not be sloppy.

"Chief, you see, these houses have been capped, and only the doors and windows are needed. A few houses over there will be finished in seven or eight days. ”

Miao Shao asked himself to supervise the construction, and with a few dun soldiers, he was here to supervise the construction of the craftsmen, and he was very clear about the progress of the winery, and kept introducing it to Liu Yan.

Liu Yan looked around, this winery was indeed built according to his own requirements, and without the slightest opportunism, he said with satisfaction: "Okay, tell the craftsmen, work overtime for me to work quickly, if it is completed within five days, everyone's wages will be doubled." Of course, the quality must be guaranteed, if I find out that I am in a hurry to cut corners, don't blame me for being unkind! ”

Miao Shao said with a smile: "Don't worry, these craftsmen don't dare." But with double the salary, these craftsmen are going to be happy, and they must be doing their best! ”

"That's good."

Liu Yan said again: "There is another matter that is more urgent, you will take someone to do it today." ”

"Commander A, please."

"You take people to the Ancient Town Inspection Department and Xiahezhai Qianqian Household to go, and give me a high price to hire a wine-making master to come back, the number is not limited, the more the merrier, as long as the wine-making technology is good, you can give as much as the salary, you can make your own decisions according to the actual situation, and I will recognize it when I come back."

Miao Shao was slightly stunned when he heard this, and said secretly in his heart: "It seems that Chief Jia's determination to open a wine shop is really great, so impatient." ”

"Don't worry, Captain A, I'll explain the matter here, and I'll take someone to set off immediately."

In a blink of an eye, on the fourth day, Miao Shao, the little flag official, rushed to report: "Chief A, the winery has been completed, please go over and have a look." ”

Liu Yan said with a smile: "There must be a brave man under the heavy reward, and sure enough, it was completed in four days." I'm going to check the quality of the construction. ”

Miao Shao said: "Don't worry, my subordinates have already seen it, and the quality is passable." ”

Liu Yan asked, "By the way, has the master of brewing been hired?" ”

"My subordinates have hired seven brewmasters, and they have brought fifteen apprentices, I don't know if these numbers are enough."

Liu Yan nodded and said: "It's enough for the time being, but it's still not enough in the future, no matter what, let's slowly pass it on in the future." ”

After speaking, Liu Yan got up and cleaned up, preparing to follow Miao Shao to the winery to have a look, and at the same time remembered something, and said: "By the way, you will take someone to Wangjiazhuang tomorrow, and invite the shopkeeper Wang and Miss Wang of Wanfu Oil Mill to me, and say that I have a big business to talk to them." ”

"Yes."

Liu Yan and Miao Shao looked at the winery, which was a one-entry house, but there was a row of back wings behind the main house, which was used for storage.

The two entered the courtyard, and there was a row of side rooms on each side, on the left was the storehouse, where all the stored sorghum was stored, and on the right was the residence of the craftsmen, as well as the kitchen, and the place where all kinds of miscellaneous items and utensils were stored.

The main house is divided into four rooms, and the two houses on the left are where the sake cellar is located, where the sake lees and koji ferment are located. The two houses on the right are where sake is brewed and produced.

Liu Yan and Miao Shao looked at it and were very satisfied, and immediately ordered seven winemakers and fifteen apprentices to start brewing wine immediately.

The lees and koji in the brewery, as well as the half-finished grains, were purchased at a high price, and all of them were fermented, and these things cost a lot of silver, more than the construction of this brewery. However, the money is well spent, and these winemakers say that they are okay when they see it, and they can start working directly.

So Liu Yan ordered to start making wine: "First make the wine as soon as possible, don't be too careful, as long as it's fast, I will see the wine tomorrow." ”

Several brewers were very surprised, among several people, a brewing master named Qian Soap was the leader, this person is a capable man in his forties, it is said that he has worked in a famous winery in Jinan Mansion for more than ten years, and his winemaking skills are very good.

At this time, Qian Soap hesitated, but still clenched his fists and said: "Lord Zongqi, this wine is like being a person, everything must be stable, don't be impatient, otherwise the wine will become spicy and bitter." ”

Liu Yan said with a smile: "What Master Qian said is very right, but I have something to do tomorrow, and I must use the new wine, so Master Qian still takes everyone to work hard, and you will know my intentions tomorrow." ”

Subsequently, Liu Yan appointed Qian Soap as the steward of the winery and temporarily presided over the wine-making business.

In the morning of the next day, Miao Shao came back with two dun soldiers driving the ox cart, and Wang Jing and Wang Yunhe sat on the ox cart and came to Dapanbao together.

The last time Wang Yunhe came to Dapan Fort was a few months ago, and now Dapan Fort has been completely completed, and the fort is thriving, and the people of military households everywhere have ruddy faces and rich lives, which is in stark contrast to military households elsewhere, which makes Wang Yunhe admire, and at the same time admires Liu Yan even more in his heart.

Soon the ox cart came to the door of the General Flag Office, and Liu Yan came out to greet him with a smile when he got the news: "Hehe, shopkeeper Wang, Miss Wang, I haven't seen you for a long time, how are you doing lately?" ”

Wang Jing clenched his fists and said: "With the invitation of Mr. Lao Liu, the old man can just observe the style of Dapanbao." ”

Wang Yunhe said with a smile: "Is Liu Zongqi good? This Dapanbao is really prosperous, and I think it's almost time to catch up with the Ancient Town Inspection Division. ”

Liu Yan laughed and said, "The Ancient Town Inspection Division is a well-known and prosperous place, and I can't compare with it here. But since Miss Wang likes it here, it is better to stay with Shopkeeper Wang for a few more days, I happen to have a big business to discuss with Shopkeeper Wang. ”

"Oh?"

As soon as Wang Jing heard that there was business, his eyes suddenly lit up, while Wang Yunhe was a little shy.

Liu Yan said: "Let's talk while walking, let's go to my newly built winery first." ”

Wang Jing said: "It seems that the business that Liu Zongqi said is winemaking, I don't know if Liu Zongqi has a good wine cellar?" ”

"Haha."

Liu Yan said with a smile: "The brewing master over there has already started to dry, and the wine can be made today, let's go over and see how it goes." ”

Wang Jing agreed with a smile, and Wang Yunhe also said with a smile: "Liu Zongqi is really capable, not only can lead troops, can build such a good tunbao, but also can make wine, what a talent!" ”

Soon several people came to the wine shop, and the steward Qian Soap hurriedly came out to greet him when he heard the news, and stood aside respectfully.

Liu Yan asked, "Steward Qian, did you drink today?" ”

Qian Soap clenched his fists and said: "You can definitely drink today, please go to the chief to guide." ”

Everyone surrounded Liu Yan and came to the main room, although it was very cold outside, but it was very hot in the main room, and several winemakers and apprentices who were busy inside were already shirtless and sweating.

The wine and food in the winery are all old, and the surrounding air exudes a faint aroma of wine, Qian Soap and several winemakers followed Liu Yan with a smile on their faces, giving a detailed introduction to the various situations in the winery.

Qian Soap is very familiar with the operation of the winery, he doesn't think that this newly built winery can be done for a long time, but Liu Yan's deeds are also heard every day, he feels that with Liu Yan's prestige, not to mention wine, even water can be sold at a price in the Wangjiazhuang area, so he thinks that this newly built winery can still be done for a few years.

"Chief, please see, the koji in our winery is good, the wine cellar is good, and the sorghum is good, so the wine and grain that will be distributed in the future will definitely be good. Now, although these wine grains are ready-made, the quality is very good, and they can be sold as wine when they are pressed out directly. Qian said with a smile.

Miao Shao on the side said with a smile: "I heard that those heroes drink one jar and more than a dozen bowls at a time, and they drink that kind of muddy wine." If it is the soju produced by our liquor shop now, it is considered a hero to drink a pound. ”

Wang Jing and Wang Yunhe didn't speak, they both listened very carefully, and the wine-making business was very new to them.

The apprentices of the winery were shoveling the wine and grain into the wooden barrel with a wooden shovel, and then transported it to the house, Qian Soap bowed down and said: "Captain A, there is a place for steaming wine in front, although it is cold outside, but it is very hot inside, and not long after entering, the whole body is soaked with water, are you waiting outside?" ”

It turned out that this place was not the hottest, and the place where the wine was steamed was even hotter, but Liu Yan waved his hand and said: "It's all men, it's naked when it's hot, I just want to see how you make the wine, and I'm going to show you a hand today!" ”

Then Liu Yan smiled and said to Wang Yunhe: "If Miss Wang dislikes it, you might as well go to the teahouse later." ”

Wang Yunhe raised his head and said unconvinced: "The process of making wine is very interesting, isn't it just hotter, I want to go in and have a look." ”

"Haha, okay, let's go in and have a look."

Hearing Liu Yan say this, everyone was speechless, just follow up, and when he walked to the door, Liu Yan saw sweat on his forehead, and the hot steam inside came to his face, which even made Liu Yan feel a slight feeling of suffocation.

"How many times have I told you, pulling the bellows is not a saw, you have to hold it down and take your time." As soon as he entered the door, Qian Soap shouted, and on the edge of the steaming wine stove, the apprentice who was pulling the bellows hurriedly slowed down.

When Liu Yan came, he once instructed, saying that he didn't understand many things in the winery, and he wanted to explain it in detail, and when he saw this scene, the money soap on the side said by the way: "A chief, the steamed wine must be steamed slowly and carefully, so that all the wine can be steamed out. ”

Liu Yan nodded, indicating that he knew.

At this time, Liu Yan saw a large cauldron with a diameter of seven feet placed on the stove, but only the edge of the pot could be seen outside, because there was a large wooden barrel more than five feet on the pot, and the pot was completely covered inside.

In the upper part of the barrel there are several small openings, and several copper pipes protrude from it, and directly above the barrel is a large cauldron with a shallow bottom, and a wooden ladder is erected on the side.