12dz Chapter 735 Sweet Wine
Chapter 735 Sweet Wine
Lin Ping had gotten used to organizing the accounts every day, and Meng Qingge had gotten used to helping him organize the accounts every day.
Rou'er was overjoyed whenever she saw the two of them acting in perfect unison.
Yun'er's opinion of Lin Ping also changed greatly. At the very least, she no longer thought of Lin Ping as a good-for-nothing country boy.
This was a period of passionate, no, no, it should be described as a warm and romantic time.
Ten days later, Meng Qingge was awakened by exciting news.
The winery manager rushed over early in the morning, excitedly reporting, "Young Miss, the sweet wine is ready!"
"It worked?" Meng Qingge's heart jumped into her throat.
She was thrilled every time a batch of wine was successfully brewed, let alone this new attempt.
However, judging from the distillery manager's good mood, it seems to have been a success.
"You'll see when you get there!" the manager said, keeping everyone in suspense.
The reason he was keeping it a secret was because he couldn't find a precise word to describe this success.
"Rou'er, go and call Young Master Lin here. But never mind, I'll go myself." Meng Qingge became increasingly agitated.
The idea of making sweet wine was entirely Lin Ping's, and whether it succeeds or not should be up to him.
Lin Ping had heard the commotion in the courtyard long ago and came over on his own initiative.
Along the way, Meng Qingge was so excited that she was almost anxious, wishing the carriage could sprout wings.
"A carriage with wings? Perhaps it will exist in a few hundred years," Lin Ping muttered to himself, referring to an airplane.
In fact, with his current abilities, he could make Meng Qingge fly in the air, but the hot air balloon wasn't very fast.
When I arrived at the distillery, a group of distillers were gathered around a wooden barrel, the scarlet liquid inside gleaming with an alluring light.
"The young lady is here! The young lady is here!" The group was extremely excited, but there was also a hint of wanting to take credit.
Although Lin Ping provided the method, they did the whole process; they deserve credit for their hard work.
"Bring me the big bowl!" Meng Qingge said excitedly, naturally wanting to sober up.
"Sweet wine can be drunk straight, only dry red wine needs to be decanted." Lin Ping smiled faintly, not wanting Meng Qingge to wait any longer.
She held a jade cup filled with scarlet liquid, and gently pressed it to her lips, letting the crimson liquid permeate every taste bud along her tongue.
It has the flavor of glacial meltwater mixed with yogurt, but even better, with a touch of richness and intoxication.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Meng Qingge finished her glass of wine. She didn't give an immediate evaluation, but instead drank two more glasses.
Everyone at the distillery knows that Meng Qingge doesn't like drinking; at most, she just tastes the flavor. But now she's drunk three cups in a row, which is the highest praise she could receive.
"Young Master Lin, please try it too, and see if it has the flavor you desire," Meng Qingge said eagerly.
"A satisfying taste?" Lin Ping was a little flustered. If there really was a satisfying taste, it would be similar to Italian sweet wine.
But he was a poor official and had never drunk such expensive wine before.
Lin Ping forced himself to drink a glass and praised it repeatedly, saying he had fallen in love with the wine. He shamelessly asked, "Could you save me a barrel? I'd even deduct half a year's salary for that."
His comical expression made everyone burst into laughter.
How could Meng Qingge deduct his monthly salary? The answer is... not a penny!
"The success of the sweet wine is inseparable from everyone's efforts, so I have decided..." Meng Qingge said loudly.
"So the young lady has decided to reward each person with five taels of silver and hold a celebration banquet at Qingfeng Tower tonight," Lin Ping continued, picking up where Meng Qingge left off.
Meng Qingge originally intended to give them a verbal reward, but she didn't expect Lin Ping to be so generous.
Also, what's with this "victory celebration banquet"?
Shouldn't this be a grand feast that only royalty and nobility could hold?
Even the winemakers were somewhat bewildered. They were just ordinary people with a skill, and had never received such hospitality before.
Furthermore, Qingfenglou is one of the top restaurants in Kyoto at the moment, so this is rather extravagant.
"The reward will be deducted from my monthly allowance," Lin Ping chuckled in Meng Qingge's ear.
What's said is said, and to save face for Lin Ping, Meng Qingge had to give him a reward.
When these winemakers received real gold and silver, they were so excited they almost cried.
This amount of money is more than their monthly salary; it's not just about adding a chicken leg, it could be enough for a year's worth of chicken legs.
After receiving their money, the workers were noticeably more motivated and filled all the wine jars in a single day.
As dusk approached, dozens of people marched into the city in a grand procession, clearly intending to capture Qingfeng Tower.
Inside the carriage, Meng Qingge couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why is Young Master Lin hosting a banquet for them?"
"Rewards are merely a means of motivation; sharing meals and drinks is what truly fosters camaraderie, just like a general who eats and lives with his soldiers. This will undoubtedly garner their strong support. The technique for brewing sweet wine needs to be kept secret, so we must play the emotional card and win people's hearts as much as possible."
Lin Ping explained his principles of employing people.
"You even understand how to lead troops into battle?" Meng Qingge asked, even more puzzled.
Lin Ping is more than just knowledgeable; he's practically a god of war!
He's the man who defeated Bai Tiantian!
Besides, there was an even more important reason why Lin Ping hosted a banquet for the workers.
He wanted to showcase the sweet wine at Qingfenglou and make sure that other guests could also enjoy it.
In a society where information is not readily available, never underestimate the power of word of mouth.
One person tells ten, ten tell a hundred, a hundred tell a thousand, and a thousand, ten thousand.
Moreover, Qingfenglou has become a trendsetter in the restaurant industry, and its new wine offerings are very likely to set a new trend.
Meng Qingge is quite experienced in business, but in terms of management, she is not on the same level as Lin Ping.
She thought Lin Ping's words made sense, so she didn't ask any more questions.
"Young Master Lin, what do you think is a reasonable price for a jar of this sweet wine? How about fifty coins?" Meng Qingge asked tentatively.
The price of grapes is ten coins per dou (a unit of dry measure), and the wine yield can reach more than 50%. Even with labor costs, the cost of a jar of wine is only thirty coins.
If sold at fifty coins, each jar of wine would yield a net profit of twenty coins, which is quite good. With just this one deal, Qingfenglou could earn two thousand taels of silver.
The sweet wine is Lin Ping's masterpiece, and he has a certain say in pricing it.
Lin Ping silently calculated that one jar of wine was roughly equivalent to ten bottles of red wine.
One coin is equivalent to six mao, and fifty coins is thirty yuan. That is to say, the sweet wine that Lin Ping painstakingly brewed costs three yuan a bottle.
Was this the sweet wine he couldn't afford before?
Raising the price by a hundred times wouldn't be an exaggeration, not to mention that they have a monopoly on sales, and even at two hundred times the price, they would still be snapped up.
Lin Ping even predicted that wealthy people would spend one hundred taels of silver to buy a jar of wine.
Of course, that's all in the future; first, we need to establish the reputation of sweet wine.
Lin Ping crossed his index fingers vertically to form a cross shape.
"Ten more coins?" Meng Qingge asked with some heartache, as this would cut the profit by half.
Lin Ping shook his head, still making the same gesture.
"Ten coins a jar? We'll lose money." Meng Qingge was somewhat reluctant; she couldn't accept that price.