Chapter 291: Elder’s Lecture

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Tang Shan looked around from afar and saw that Grandpa Chu was also at the village chief’s house. He immediately ran over. “Village Chief, Uncle Tai, 1 didn’t expect that you are all here.”

The two of them heard the voice and looked at him together.

The village chief looked down on Tang Shan. When he saw him, his expression turned cold. “Why are you here so early in the morning?”

Tang Shan was immersed in his beautiful fantasy and did not notice the change in the village chief’s attitude. “Of course, 1 have something to tell you. It just so happens that Uncle Tai is also here. He can be an eyewitness.”

Grandpa Chu sized up Tang Shan and thought to himself, “1 can tell that this guy is up to no good. Let me see what he has to say. If he dares to say or do anything overboard, I don’t mind exercising my authority as an elder.”

“You look so happy. Is there something happy?”

“What happy things can happen to see?” Tang Shan’s expression slowly turned ugly. He said bitterly, “Village Chief, that unfilial son Tang Jinghong doesn’t acknowledge me as his father anymore!”

Being unfilial was a serious crime in the Baling Dynasty. Even the Emperor did not dare to be unfilial. The village chief immediately took it seriously. “Why do you say that?”

Tang Shan said sadly, “1 originally planned to call Tang Jinghong home for dinner yesterday, but not only did he not call me father, he even flew away. Tell me, is there a son who does this?”

The village chief and Grandpa Chu looked at each other…

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Grandpa Chu said, “Didn’t you already chase Jinghong out of the house? Since you don’t treat him as your son anymore, it’s normal for him not to call you father.”

Tang Shan secretly glared at Grandpa Chu. Now that Tang Jinghong was Chu Qingzhi’s fiance, he would definitely speak up for Tang Jinghong. “Even if 1 chase him out, we’re still father and son!”

Grandpa Chu asked, “If your father chased you out of the house for his new wife and stepson, would you still call him father?”

Tang Shan was stunned and didn’t know what to say.

The village chief felt that he should say something. “Tang Shan, put yourself in his shoes. If you treat Jinghong well, how can he not treat you well?”

Tang Shan snorted. “You don’t know, but he thinks that 1 killed his mother. He’s blaming me for this!”

Grandpa Chu immediately added, “You were the one who killed her. Yes, you didn’t do it with your hands, but your wife was bedridden for so long and you didn’t look after her. Not only that, but you actually flirted with another woman. Weren’t you forcing her to death?” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Tang Shan was not to be outdone. “Why should I be blamed? Yes, she was sick, but I’m a man, a man at his prime. Isn’t it normal for me to find women? You’re all men. You should understand how men feel!”

Both of them were speechless.

The village chief said helplessly, “Tang Shan, go back. Your words alone don’t mean anything. If you really want to reason, bring Jinghong here too.”

Tang Shan was very unhappy. His tone was a little harsh. “Village Chief, I’m his father. Am I not authoritative enough?”

“Tang Shan, I think you’re very abnormal.” Grandpa Chu could not help but speak again. “Other people are trying their best to protect their sons, but you’re trying your best to slander your son. Don’t you have a conscience?”

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Tang Shan glared at Grandpa Chu. “Uncle Tai, this has nothing to do with you. Stop talking.”

“What do you mean it’s none of my business?” Grandpa Chu was a little angry. “Jinghong is my Qingzhi’s fiance. Now that you’re slandering my granddaughter’s fiance, do you think 1 will just stay by and pretend I’m deaf?” “What are you talking about?” The village elder walked over happily with his walking stick. “Why is it so lively early in the morning?”

Tang Shan’s eyes lit up when he saw the village elder. The village elder valued etiquette the most. He would definitely speak up for him.

Hence, Tang Shan walked towards the village elder with a hint of flattery. “Elder, come and sit.”

The village chief went to bring out a stool.

The village elder sat on the stool and placed his hands on his walking stick. He glanced at the three of them. “What were you talking about just now?”

Tang Shan was the first to speak. “Elder, only you can discipline Tang Jinghong now. He is unfilial to me. You have to help me.”

When the village elder heard this, his expression darkened. “Jinghong is quite good. How is he unfilial to you?”

Tang Shan quickly added fuel to the fire and told the village elder what happened yesterday. Of course, he cut out the parts that weren’t beneficial to him. “Grandpa, you must punish Tang Jinghong.”

The village elder was almost eighty years old and had seen everything. Tang Shan must have come to defame Tang Jinghong because Tang Jinghong did not agree to his request!

“Do you have a blood feud with Jinghong?”

Tang Shan was stunned. For a moment, he did not understand what the village elder meant. “Of course no!”

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The village elder looked down on such a person from the bottom of his heart. “If there’s no blood feud, why are you always finding ways to make things difficult for him?”

Tang Shan was even more confused. “Elder, how am I making things difficult for him?”

The village elder glanced at Tang Shan. “You know that Jinghong has an official position in the army, right? You want Jinghong to help Tang Dengping find an official position in the army, right? Jinghong refused, so you called him unfilial, right?”

Tang Shan nodded subconsciously and quickly shook his head. “No, no…”

The village elder ignored him. “Do you know that once the crime of being unfilial is pinned on him, his official career will be cut off?”

Tang Shan’s expression changed slightly. “Is it that serious?”

The village elder’s tone deepened. “It’s that serious, and Jinghong is an official, so the punishment will only be more serious. You are killing him!”

Tang Shan only wanted Tang Jinghong to agree to his request, but he had never thought of the consequences. He immediately felt a little afraid. If Tang Jinghong lost his official position, his dream would be ruined.

“Elder, 1…”

“Tang Shan, we’ve all seen what you’ve done over the past year. It’s very disappointing,” the village elder said. “Now, your family is relying on Qingzhi to make a living, right? Jinghong is now Qingzhi’s fiance. If you harm him like this, won’t you let Qingzhi down?”

Tang Shan could not help but feel ashamed. “1…”

The village elder sighed. “Tang Shan, you’re a man. You can’t always listen to your wife. We all understand that you want your son to have a good future, but this kind of scheme will not get you anywhere.”

Tang Shan lowered his head. “Elder, but Jinghong has already cut ties with me.”

You deserve it, you know that?

The three of them muttered in their hearts.

The village elder did not want to see Jinghong have such a bad father causing trouble for him every day. He wanted to help Tang Jinghong. “Tang Shan, the only thing you can do now is not to disturb Jinghong, understand?”

If he didn’t disturb Tang Jinghong, how was he going to achieve his goal? Tang Shan was indignant.. “But he’s my son!”

Chapter 292: Good News

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“It’s useless to look for him.” The village elder was speechless. “If you want your son to work in the army, he has to have military merits. Otherwise, he won’t be able to hold that position for long. Do you understand?”

Tang Shan shook his head in disagreement. “As long as Tang Jinghong can help, 1 don’t think Dengping needs military merits to get a position.”

The three of them didn’t know what to say.

Since the soft approach did not work, they could only use the hard approach.

The village elder became stern. “Tang Shan, Jinghong is the only person in our village who is an official. He will bring glory to our village. If you dare to cause him trouble, you will be chased out of the village sooner or later.”

In this era, those who were chased out of their village would have a hard life.

Even if they moved to another village, they would also be ostracized.

Normally, such people could only become beggars.

A trace of panic flashed across Tang Shan’s eyes. “Elder, it’s not that serious, is it?”

The village elder narrowed his eyes and exuded a domineering aura. “I’m not joking with you. Tang Shan, do you know how difficult it is for a village to produce an official? You can’t bear the consequences!” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Tang Shan was very puzzled. “Elder, why are you so protective of Tang Jinghong? Did he give you something?”

This idiot!

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The village elder was so angry that his breathing quickened. “Tang Shan, remember this. You are not allowed to look for Tang Jinghong again.”

When Tang Shan saw that the village elder was angry, he immediately cowered like a quail and hurriedly agreed. “Got it, Elder. Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.” If he angered the village elder to death, he would probably be chased out of the village.

The village chief and Grandpa Chu were also speechless at Tang Shan. This guy had some brain issues.

Without saying anything else, Grandpa Chu returned home in disappointment.

In the new house.

“What’s wrong?” Granny Chu was puzzled to see Grandpa Chu’s unhappy expression. When he went out just now, he was bouncing and kicking.

Grandpa Chu explained briefly to Granny Chu, “This Tang Shan. Sigh, let’s not talk about him. He’s annoying.”

Granny Chu thought for a moment and immediately went upstairs to tell Chu Qingzhi about this.

Chu Qingzhi was looking at the account book…

While she was away for a month, the family had earned a net of 3,500 taels of silver. Coupled with the money she had earned previously, they had more than 7,000 taels of silver. It was not bad.

Just as she was feeling happy, she heard Granny Chu’s words and her mood took a dive. “Grandma, thank you for telling me.”

Granny Chu patted Chu Qingzhi’s shoulder and comforted her. “Qingzhi, don’t be unhappy. I told you because I wanted you to tell Jinghong to be prepared.” Chu Qingzhi nodded. “Grandma, 1’11 tell Jinghong.”

“Okay, I won’t disturb you anymore.” Granny Chu left.

Shen Ruyue said, “Qingzhi, why did Tang Shan suddenly start pestering Brother Jinghong?”

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Chu Qingzhi smiled faintly and closed the account book. “Tang Shan is just used as a tool.”

Hearing this, Shen Ruyue immediately understood. “All of this must be Zhang Xiuqin’s idea. This woman is not easy to deal with.”

Chu Qingzhi lowered her gaze and thought for a moment. “I have to think of a way to make this woman stop.”

Shen Ruyue agreed. “We can’t always let them stab us in the back.”

The new kitchen was brand new. At this moment, there was a burning fire in the stove. The pot was covered with a lid, and white steam was coming out from the edge of the lid.

An old woman from the village was sitting on a stool with a pair of fire tongs in her hand. The flickering red flames reflected on her face, making her look younger.

The sound of a kitchen knife cutting vegetables echoed rhythmically in the kitchen. It sounded very good.

Li Qingyu had already cut a lot of vegetables. At this moment, the chopping board was filled with meat, condiments, and vegetables. It looked very rich.

The kitchen was filled with the fragrance of meat, making people drool.

Wu Yaqing poked her head into the kitchen and saw a plain peasant woman cutting vegetables by the stove. She immediately walked in and called out sweetly, “Auntie.”

Li Qingyu turned over and smiled. “Yaqing, why are you here?”

“I’m here to help you.” Wu Yaqing looked around the kitchen. The new kitchen stunned her. The dishes made in such a nice kitchen must be delicious.

“I can handle it here. Go and play with Qingzhi.” This little girl’s hands were as fair and tender as onions. It was obvious that she didn’t work much.

“She’s busy now, so I can’t disturb her. Auntie, just let me help. 1 don’t know anything, but I can learn.” Wu Yaqing was very curious about life in the village and always wanted to try it.

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Seeing that Wu Yaqing insisted, Li Qingyu looked around and handed her a basket filled with vegetables. “Then help me wash the vegetables.”

“Alright,” Wu Yaqing replied crisply. Then, she carried the basket and walked to the sink by the window to wash the vegetables.

After taking two steps, she suddenly came back and stuffed a hundred taels of silver into Li Qingyu’s clothes. “Auntie, this is my food expenses. Take it.”

Li Qingyu thought of what Chu Qingzhi had told her and did not decline.

“Alright, make yourself at home. Don’t feel restrained.”

Wu Yaqing smiled and said, “I won’t stand on ceremony.”

As she was washing the vegetables by the sink, a magpie suddenly flew past the window. Wu Yaqing looked out and couldn’t help but smile. She really liked life in the village. It was not like the cold palace at all. This was the life of a normal human.

A few village women, who were helping in the kitchen, looked at Wu Yaqing with a smile, wondering if such a beautiful and cute girl was engaged.

A servant hurried to the Chu Village and ran directly to the old house of the Chu family.

Coincidentally, Shen Ruyue came over to arrange the delivery. When the servant saw her, he quickly stopped her. “Miss, is Miss Qingzhi here?”

“Why are you looking for her?”

The servant did not beat around the bush and said directly, “Her father has passed away.”

Shen Ruyue nodded. “You can go back first. I’ll tell Qingzhi.”

The servant didn’t have time to catch his breath and immediately ran back to the county.

Shen Ruyue watched the servant leave before going to look for Chu Qingzhi. “Qingzhi, the servant came to say that your adoptive father has passed away.” Chu Qingzhi raised her eyebrows. Dead?

“Ruyue, 1 got it. Go ahead and get busy.”

“Okay.” Shen Ruyue turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped. “Qingzhi, don’t be too sad.”

What a joke. She wouldn’t be sad, not in the slightest. She couldn’t wait to tell the dead Qingzhi this good news. “Ruyue, don’t worry about me.”

Shen Ruyue patted Chu Qingzhi’s shoulder. “Then I’ll go out first.”

Chu Qingzhi nodded. “Go ahead..”

293 A Swing Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Chu Qingzhi stood up and walked to the window. She looked at Tianhe Peak and took a deep breath. It felt comfortable…

The Chu Residence must be in chaos now. She decided to go and watch in the afternoon.

Host, I've already sent one to you. You can do whatever you want. They're demons, not adoptive parents. Don't be soft-hearted.

I'll send you the second one after a while, in case anyone becomes suspicious.

The breeze blew in through the window, and the curtains and tassels hanging by the window swayed gently. The bells and wind chimes gently collided with each other, emitting crisp sounds like a little girl's laughter.

…

"Qingzhi, Qingzhi…" Chu Rong's voice suddenly came from downstairs with a hint of urgency.

Chu Qingzhi replied, "Father, what's the matter?"

Chu Rong said loudly, "Come down and take a look."

"Coming." Chu Qingzhi walked out of the room. Seeing that Chu Rong was in a hurry, she thought that there must be something urgent and flew down.

Her figure was elegant and light, like a dancing butterfly. Flying down, she immediately attracted everyone's gazes.

"Sister Qingzhi, you're so awesome."

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"Sister Qingzhi is the most beautiful."

"Sister Qingzhi, can you teach us how to fly?"

Chu Qingzhi was so handsome that all the children in the village regarded her as their idol. They held their faces with both hands and shouted in admiration.

Chu Qingzhi landed lightly and waved at the children like a big star. Then, she walked towards Chu Rong. "Father, what's wrong?"

Chu Rong was a little embarrassed. "I made a swing for you. I heard that all the girls in the city like this. See if you like it. If you don't, I'll change it for you."

In the lower right corner of the rectangular courtyard, there was a thatched pavilion.

Under the thatched pavilion was a swing made of triangular wood. It was relatively wide and could seat three people at the same time.

There was a vine coiling up the rope of the swing. The vine had no leaves, but it was obvious that it was a grape vine.

The four pillars of the pavilion were also wrapped in grape vines, looking very symmetrical and beautiful.

The limestone floor was paved with cobblestones at the outermost area. The two colors contrasted with each other, giving off a refreshing sense of beauty.

Chu Rong had brought his two eldest sons to the river to collect these cobblestones. It took them a long time to collect so many.

From the door of the house to the door of the courtyard, there was a limestone road. This limestone road was connected to the thatched pavilion. Two paths were hidden among the flowers, giving it a unique charm.

From above, the entire courtyard was very beautiful.

"Father, your craftsmanship is superb. I like it very much." Chu Qingzhi really liked it and was very touched.

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In the cultivation world, many people worked for her in order to please her, but it was all for benefits. Now, it was purely for her happiness.

Chu Rong was especially happy to see that Qingzhi liked it.

He walked to the side of the thatched pavilion. "Qingzhi, I'll put a stone table here. We can put some fruits and books on it."

Chu Qingzhi smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Father."

Chu Rong said happily, "It's no trouble. Seeing that you're happy, my hard work is worth it."

The atmosphere at home was harmonious, but Chu Qingyue, who was learning embroidery at Cloud Embroidery Workshop, suffered some grievances.

Like usual, Chu Qingyue went to look for her master to learn skills, but she saw her master silently crying in the room. This shocked her.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Ying Zilan wiped her tears. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. "Qingyue…"

Chu Qingyue said with heartache, "Master, what happened? Who made you cry? Tell me and I will help you get back on them."

Ying Zilan touched Chu Qingyue's face lovingly. "You can't afford to offend her. Just learn embroidery well. You don't have to get involved in this mess."

Chu Qingyue insisted, "Master, I'm your disciple. I can't watch you suffer and do nothing. Just tell me, okay?"

Ying Zilan sighed and pulled Chu Qingyue to a stool beside her. She hesitated for a long time before speaking.

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The moment she opened her mouth, a long story began.

"I'm the daughter of a concubine of the Ying family in the capital. My mother is a famous embroiderer in the capital. I inherited my mother's talent and displayed extremely high embroidery talent at a young age."

"When my father saw that I had such talent, he hired a few famous embroiderers to teach me embroidery with my mother. I lived up to everyone's expectations and became the number one embroiderer in the capital at the age of 15."

Chu Qingyue was shocked. Was her master so extraordinary?

"I'm not lying to you. At that time, my embroidery handkerchief could be sold for a thousand taels. The most valuable one was sold for a hundred thousand taels."

"It was an embroidery drawing. There are only two prawns embroidered on it. Everyone told me that when they saw the embroidery drawing, they felt like they were seeing two prawns lying on a white silk handkerchief. It's very vivid."

Chu Qingyue's eyes were filled with admiration. She did not know if she could learn a tenth of her master's skills.

"After that, I entered the palace and became an embroiderer for the royal family. I was in charge of embroidering dragon robes. I remember very clearly that I embroidered a total of fifty dragon robes."

At this point, Ying Zilan sighed deeply. "As an embroiderer, that's as much as you can ever achieve. But when I was at my most glorious, I was framed."

Chu Qingyue's heart tightened. She asked anxiously, "Master, did you find out who framed you."

"This matter concerned the Emperor, so it was investigated thoroughly and they were able to clear my name. However, after that, I realized how dangerous a place the Imperial Palace was and decided to leave."

"After leaving the palace, I married a guard who had been guarding me in the palace. My life was quite peaceful. During this period, many people came to ask me to teach them embroidery."

"I thought that it would be a pity if my skills were not passed down, so I started to take in disciples."

"In about ten years, I took in nine disciples. The first eight disciples are all quite talented. In their own place, they are very famous. Only the ninth disciple."

"Luo Yinhuan is the daughter of my best friend. Her family was very prosperous when the late emperor was in power, but because they took the wrong side, their entire family was confiscated and imprisoned. All the women in the family were demoted to official slaves, and the men were sent to the army."

"After my best friend became an official slave, she realized that she was pregnant. When I found her, she happened to be in labor and gave birth to a daughter."

"She begged me to take her daughter away from that filthy place. I was soft-hearted and agreed. Later on, I found out that she passed away on that very day,"

"In order to avoid trouble, I discussed with my husband not to stay in the capital anymore. My husband agreed and we moved to Shuiyun County. Since then, it's been more than ten years."

294 Promoting Beer

She suddenly felt angry and slapped back.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang in Luo Yinhuan's ears. Her face was slapped to the side and she was also stunned.

Her master had always doted on her and had never hit her. This was the first time she had been hit.

Pain slowly spread from her face…

Chu Qingyue was worried that Luo Yinhuan would hit her again. She took two steps back and distanced herself. She said coldly, "I finally know why Master is unwilling to teach you embroidery!"

"You deserve it!"

These words stabbed into Luo Yinhuan's heart like a sharp knife. She glared at Chu Qingyue hatefully, her tone fierce. "What did you say? Say it again!"

Chu Qingyue's personality was no longer as introverted and weak as before. She stared straight into Luo Yinhuan's eyes and repeated what she had just said.

Luo Yinhuan was furious. She raised her hand to slap Chu Qingyue again.

This time, Chu Qingyue was on guard. She grabbed Luo Yinhuan's wrist and said coldly, "Luo Yinhuan, you won't be able to learn Master's embroidery in your life."

With that, she gave Yinhuan a push and turned to leave.

After she took two steps, the girl in pink and the girl in purple walked over. The two of them immediately bowed and did not even dare to look at Chu Qingyue. "Greetings, Martial Auntie."

Chu Qingyue walked up to them and said irritably, "I don't want to see you from tomorrow onward. I have enough of you."

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After saying that, she walked away. Her back was straight, and there was an aura around her.

The girl in pink and the girl in purple fell to the ground. Now, Chu Qingyue was no longer the same as before. She was no longer the person they could frame easily.

The two of them regretted their actions.

Chu Qingyue went to find some cold water to apply on her swollen face. It took a while for the swelling to subside, but the red fingerprints were still very clear.

Looking at the mirror, Chu Qingyue sighed helplessly. Luo Yinhuan deserved it. There was no cure for her. In the future, she would not interfere in the matters between her master and Luo Yinhuan.

Today's slap was a lesson.

She patted her face and smiled at the mirror. Her smile was still gentle and beautiful.

When Ying Zilan saw the palm print on Chu Qingyue's face, her heart ached. At this moment, she completely gave up on Luo Yinhuan.

In the future, she would focus on teaching Qingyue and let Qingyue inherit her mantle.

"Qingyue, let's ignore Luo Yinhuan. Learn embroidery well. I won't let you suffer this slap for nothing."

Chu Qingyue nodded. "Yes, Master."

…

Tongzi County.

Chu Yehui's restaurant was called Brilliant Cloud Restaurant.

Ever since Brilliant Cloud Restaurant started selling rice dumplings, business slowly improved and they had the strength to compete with the other two restaurants.

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They could sell 2,000 rice dumplings a day, but 2,000 was actually not enough. However, Chu Qingzhi's family could only make 7,000 rice dumplings a day. They could not make more, so they could only sell so much.

Shen Ruyue was already considering expanding the workshop. Everything was ready, and she was just waiting for Chu Qingzhi's approval.

Chu Xuhua and Li Zhangjie each carried a wine jar into the restaurant.

When the shop assistant saw that it was him, he immediately came over to greet him. "Brother Xuhua, put the wine at the counter. I'll go look for Young Master."

Chu Xuhua nodded. "Tell him that I brought him something good."

"Yes." The shop assistant glanced at the wine jar and hurriedly ran away.

Chu Yehui quickly walked out of the room. When he saw Chu Xuhua, he quickened his pace. "Chu First, why are you here?"

Chu Xuhua patted the wine jar. "I brought beer for you to try."

"Beer?" Chu Yehui was curious and immediately asked the shop assistant to bring a bowl over.

Chu Xuhua opened the clay seal of the wine jar and poured out a bowl. "Try it."

Chu Yehui picked it up and sniffed it before taking a sip. "This wine doesn't taste like wine. It's very refreshing to drink. This taste is very special."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burly man walked in. He looked around and walked towards the counter. "What are you drinking? Yellow wine?"

Chu Xuhua said enthusiastically, "Brother, this is our family's brewed beer. Do you want to try it?"

His mission today was to get as many people as possible to try beer.

The burly man said, "Sure."

Chu Xuhua immediately poured a bowl for him. "Brother, give me some comments after drinking it." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The burly man smiled and said, "No problem."

295 Expanding the Workshop

The burly man drank and finished the bowl of beer in one gulp. "How refreshing! If this beer is paired with those roasted meat, it will be better."

If Chu Qingzhi was here, she would definitely say that this person hit the nail right on the head.

The burly man's words gave Chu Yehui a hint. If this beer was easy to sell, the shop could introduce some roasted and fried dishes at the same time. The business would definitely be good.

When Chu Xuhua heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your comment, Big Brother."

The burly man smacked his lips. "How much is a jar of beer? Give me a jar."

Chu Xuhua was secretly happy. He said apologetically, "Brother, we haven't started selling the beer yet. Thank you for liking it."

The burly man nodded. "I see. When will you start selling it?"

Chu Xuhua said, "It will officially start in a month."

"I'll wait for another month then. But pour me another bowl today, will you?"

"Sure." Chu Xuhua poured another bowl for the burly man.

After that, many people tried the beer one after another. Two out of ten people were not used to the taste of beer, and the others liked it.

Two jars of wine, about 50 catties, were soon gone.

Chu Xuhua was grateful. "Yehui, thank you for letting me do this in your restaurant."

Chu Yehui waved his hand and said generously, "There's no need to be polite between us. Besides, it's a win-win for us."

Chu Xuhua smiled. "When the beer is brewed, I'll definitely let you sell it first."

Chu Yehui nodded.

…

In the central room of the new house.

Chu Qingzhi sat at the table and planned to expand the rice dumpling workshop. The expansion was not that simple.

The first problem was the raw materials. Ning Yuting had been constantly transporting glutinous rice to them from the capital. Now that the glutinous rice crisis was gone, the supply of bamboo leaves was a problem.

Chu Laipi and Chu Peipei plowed a new land and planted twice as many bamboo trees, but they had yet to grow.

She went to take a look. It would take another month to get the leaves.

If they wanted to make sure all three county cities had enough rice dumplings to sell, they would need to plant double the number of bamboo trees. Chu Qingzhi asked them to continue planting.

The two of them were full of energy and worked hard every day.

Now, this dumpling forest was their money tree. They took care of it like it was their child.

Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang each carried a wine jar to Chu Qingzhi. "Master, look at the beer we brewed."

Chu Qingzhi glanced at the two wine jars and looked up at the two of them in surprise. "Did you brew it?"

Yuan Hongjun explained, "Master, didn't you say that you wanted to test us? While you were away, the two of us competed to see who could make the better beer. We were busy previously and didn't show you."

Chu Qingzhi smiled. "Alright, let me try."

Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang immediately took bowls and poured wine. "Master, please."

Chu Qingzhi drank Yuan Hongjun's first. Then, she drank Bao Linjiang's. "Hongjun's beer tastes a little too bitter because you cooked the malt sugar for too long. Lin Jiang's is a little too light because you didn't cook the malt sugar long enough. However, it can still be considered good quality."

"Try your own first, then try the other one. Then, mix your beer together."

They did as they were told.

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Vichen

Yuan Hongjun said, "Master, our wine tastes the best when mixed."

Bao Linjiang agreed. "Master, I think so too." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Go and mix the beer you brew at a one to one ratio. Then, take it to the villagers to taste and record the results to see how well everyone accepts the beer."

"Yes, Master."

The two disciples left with the wine jars.

Chu Qingzhi looked at their backs and smiled. She continued to plan the expansion of the dumpling factory.

…

At the entrance of the new house.

Ten jars of wine were prepared, each weighing 25 catties.

Yuan Hongjun circulated his internal energy to his throat and shouted, "Everyone, come and drink beer…"

Bao Linjiang was startled and covered his ears. "Can't you tell me in advance? I'm going deaf from your roar."

Yuan Hongjun apologized insincerely. "I'm really sorry. I didn't consider the feeling of a delicate young master like you."

Bao Linjiang glared at Yuan Hongjun and suddenly roared, "Everyone, come and drink beer."

Yuan Hongjun was so shocked that his body trembled. His head buzzed as if someone had hit him in the head. "Vengeful, petty…"

Bao Linjiang glanced at Yuan Hongjun and smiled provocatively.

When the villagers heard about the beer, the idle ones rushed over…

"What beer?"

"Is it something good?"

"I've never heard of it. What is it?"

Yuan Hongjun went to maintain order. "Everyone, don't squeeze. If you line up, you can drink."

Bao Linjiang went to scoop beer. He took a sip from a bowl and brought it to the first villager in line. "Drink it carefully. Tell me how you like it after drinking it."

Chu Qingning brought a bucket of water over and washed the bowls for everyone.

The first person to drink was Chu Xuede. No matter what it was, he was always the first to join in the fun. After taking a sip, he felt as if his body was itchy for more. "It's not enough, Linjiang. Give me more."

Bao Linjiang took the bowl. "Tell me if it tastes good first. Then, I'll get you more."

Chu Xuede thought about it for a moment. "It's delicious. There's a faint smell of alcohol. There's a special fragrance. It's a little bitter. For people like us who don't drink much, it's good."

Bao Linjiang took the paper with the word "like" written on it and put down a tick. Then, he scooped a bowl for Chu Xuede. "Drink it."

Chu Xuede gulped it down and let out a long breath. "It feels good."

The second was Fang Cuiyun, the big mouth in the village. "Linjiang, let me try it." She was the most enthusiastic about the gossip in the village, so she was the second in line.

Bao Linjiang scooped a bowl for her. "Auntie, here."

Fang Cuiyun smelled it and tasted it.

Everyone looked at her, anticipating her reaction.

"This beer is not like wine and not juice either. It stings the tongue. It's refreshing to drink…" Fang Cuiyun paused. "How should I put it? I think it's quite delicious."

Bao Linjiang put down another tick and scooped beer for the next person.

The third was the village girl, Chu Xialan. After drinking it, she said, "I'm not used to it."

Then, the fourth, the fifth…

The ratio of likes and dislikes was four to one.

They immediately showed it to Chu Qingzhi. "Master, most people like it."

Wu Yaqing, who was walking over, happened to hear this. "Most people like it, which means that this is a success."