The First Volume of Qinghe County

  Liu Neng and his father also took turns tasting the high-proof white wine, and indeed, this completely different style of intoxicating flavor immediately attracted the attention of the father-son duo.

  Jiang Jing was even more straightforward and directly poured a small calabash, went to the side to get some snacks to drink slowly.

  "Master, give it a name." Ximen Qing reminded him with an excited heart.

  At this time, as a winemaster, he didn't have the right to name the wine; instead, they would invite a man of letters or a poet to taste it and come up with a stunning name that was elegant and made people exclaim in admiration, only then could it be called a success.

  Ximen Qing thought for a while, but couldn't come up with a good name. The names of wines he knew flooded his mind: "How about Five Grain Liquor? Or Maotai? But then I'd have to explain what Maotai is... doesn't seem quite right either. Jian Nan Chun? No, no, that's an old name from the Tang Dynasty, it's like stealing. Er Guan Tou? That sounds a bit too common."

  Watching Ximen Qing not speaking for a long time, Liu Neng and his son stood with their hands down, while Xue Er also tried to take a sip, but was immediately overwhelmed by the spiciness, it seems that this good wine is not something everyone can enjoy.

  "Mr. Jiang, give me one?" Ximen Qing looked at him anxiously as he loudly exclaimed "Good wine!" and handed over the task to the self-entertaining god of calculation, Jiang Jing.

  "Many famous wines in the past were named after spring." Jiang Jing drank a small cup of wine, and now he was radiant: "Like Jian Nan Chun, I think this wine is produced in Qinghe County, why not just call it Qinghe Spring?"

  "Qinghe Spring, Qinghe Spring." Ximen Qing stroked his chin twice, feeling it wasn't loud enough. His eyes fell on Liu Mei and Laiyu, and suddenly a name came to mind.

  "It's better to say that this wine is from Jingyanggang than to say it's from Qinghe County." Ximen Qing took a sip, and his spirit suddenly soared. He immediately struck a pose of "Duijiu Shi Bai Pian" (A Hundred Poems on Wine): "Two Master Lius have worked hard to brew this wine, I think we should call it Jingyang Spring."

  "Jingyang Spring? Jingyang Spring!" The divine calculator Jiang Jing's eyes lit up: "This name is wonderful! It should float on top of the three great whites!"

  "Boss!" Liu Jie felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes became moist. Ximen Qing chose this name, obviously not forgetting the hardships he and his father had endured while brewing wine.

  Liu Neng was also excited, his own talent and innovation, only when he arrived at this Zhuangzi, under the door of Ximen Qing, did he truly come into play. The method of extracting the essence from wine was also brought out by Ximen Qing, but the name "Jingyang Spring" was an encouragement to himself.

  Qiu left a few hands holding Liu Neng, trembling and kneeling down, solemnly knocking three loud heads.

  Ximen Qing smiled and did not extend his hand to stop them. When the two men stood up, he spoke: "You two masters must remember not to disappoint the name of Jingyang Spring."

  "Don't worry, boss!" Whether it was Liu Qi or Liu Neng, they both felt a surge of energy in their bodies.

  "Ximen, my younger brother, I think your method is quite unique. The essence of the wine meets heat and vaporizes, overflowing and then condensing into dew-like droplets." Jiang Jing really took three big gulps, his eyebrows opening with a smile: "This technique can be called the 'Burning Dew Method'."

  "Good smell of Lou Fu!" Jin Qian Baozi Tang Long strode in with big steps, his face already covered in sweat: "I smelled the fragrance from outside, it's not easy to get my hands free, come on, I have dirty hands, pour me a bowl."

  Xue'er heard this and personally poured a bowl. Ximen Qing handed it to Tang Long: "Younger brother, this is Jingyang Spring, not like other wines, you must drink it slowly."

  Tang Long took a sip, first tasting it lightly, and found it refreshing and smooth. He couldn't help but take a big gulp, and suddenly a fiery sensation shot down his throat, making his stomach feel warm and cozy instantly.

  "Good wine!" Tang Long praised and picked up his bowl with Jiang Jing to drink quickly.

  "With this way of drinking, the wine is not enough for you two birds to drink." Ximen Qing ordered a few servants to bring over several small wine bottles: "Leave some for County Magistrate, he said last time that he wanted to taste it."

  "That old fox, what's left for him!" Jiang Jing seemed to have drunk a bit and was slightly tipsy: "Just give him a small bottle, the rest..." Jiang Jing patted the gourd in his hand: "Put it in here, leave... leave some for a certain family to drink!"

  The others could not help but burst out laughing...

  "Is this the Jingyang Spring wine?" Magistrate Zhu looked at the small wine bottle in front of him, feeling heartbroken: "I'm telling you, Brother Ximen, can't you take a bit more? This is only enough for a few sips."

  "Take small sips." Ximen Qing saw that the old fox also had a soft spot at times, and was overjoyed: "After a few days, it should be time for mass production."

  "Good wine! Good wine!" Zhu Zhi County took a sip and his eyes lit up: "Jingyang Spring is also a good name!"

  "Brother, how do you plan to sell this wine?"

  "Hmm, of course it's a pot for a pot." Ximen Qing was very surprised why Zhu Zhixian suddenly asked this.

  "Haha... Of course it's sold by the bottle! If you buy by the jar, that would be too much of a bargain."

  "A small bottle for one hundred coins, don't think it's expensive, in the whole Song Dynasty, there is only this family, nowhere else to go."

  I'm going, Zhu Zhixian this old fox is more cunning than a businessman, and more slippery than a businessman, this is obviously taking the high-end route.

  "Brother is impressed." Ximen Qing received the instruction and sincerely bowed.

  This old fox is indeed not to be underestimated.

  "In that case, from now on, the wine this county drinks..."

  "Even if we move to Brother's place, as long as the adults don't sell it on the street, that's all!" Ximen Qing didn't think twice and directly foiled the old fox's plan.

  If supplies were freely available and buying wine on the street was a thing, this Zhu Zhi County guy would really be able to pull it off!

  "By the way, did you hear about Bai Guang being trampled to death by the crowd on the street yesterday? County Magistrate Zhu stroked his beard and carefully took a sip of Jingyang Spring wine."

  "Oh, so he was trampled to death." Ximen Qing's face remained quite calm. Even if all the people in Qinghe County came out onto the streets together, it would still be impossible to trample a living person to death. This kind of fairy tale is not possible in reality.

  Although Ximen Qing did not see it with his own eyes, he understood that Bai Taoyi was definitely beaten to death by someone.

  "The cattle head has been to his home and seen that someone had already wrapped up the gold, silver and silk, all gone." County Magistrate Zhu continued: "And Bai Guang's only younger brother, Bai Song, is now also languishing in prison, so..."

  "Although Dr. Bai never came to my place for a consultation, we still have some connection. I'll give him 50 taels of silver as funeral expenses." Ximen Qing understood the implication behind Zhu's words - this old fox was always taking advantage of every opportunity to make money.

  Ximen Qing really wanted to ask, where did Zhu Zhikun put the money he had embezzled? However, it was impossible to get a truthful answer from this old fox's mouth. Ximen Qing took out an IOU and threw it directly on the table.

  "My dear brother has a kind and compassionate heart, truly hard to come by." County Magistrate Zhu took the letter from Jiao Zi, glanced at it briefly before putting it away: "The rest of the matters will be handled by this county official."

  Dispose of him? Have the bailiffs take White to a remote burial ground outside the city and bury him. If they're feeling lazy, they won't even bother digging a hole, just toss him in and be done with it.

  Can this be exchanged for ten copper coins? Not to mention the inn under Bai Taizhen's plate, Zhu Zhixian sold it and made a profit.

  Ximen Qing thought wickedly in his heart, wondering if he should find an opportunity to give this guy a roll-up meeting as well.

  "Does the younger brother know that the Jurchen in the north have established a country called Jin, with their capital in Ningjiang Prefecture? The ruler is called Wanyan Aguda." Zhu Zhi County drank two cups and suddenly became serious.

  "Our Great Song Dynasty borders with Liao State, conflicts never end. Unexpectedly, in the north of Liao State, Jin State rises again."

  "The news of the Jurchen founding a nation was still brought back by merchants, and now it has been over a year."

  Zhu took up the official document in his hand and pointed it out to Ximen Qing.

  Wanyan Aguda? Is he no longer the silly youth who called Xiao Feng brother, dug ginseng and hunted bear gall for Azhu to use?

  Ximen Qing thought for a moment, and it seemed that his understanding of Jin Guo, who had opened up the emperor, came entirely from Tian Long Ba Bu.

  Did you return all of them to the history teacher?

  "Adult, since the girl appeared in the northern part of Liao State, Liao State must regard her as a thorn in their eye." Ximen Qing touched the sheep fat white jade pendant at his waist: "Brother is ignorant, but for our Great Song State, this matter should be a good thing, shouldn't it?"

  Zhu Zhi County had a worried look: "The Jurchen people live in a harsh and cold land, they must be fierce and their horses strong, when fighting they charge forward bravely. The Liao State has a saying that goes: 'A hundred Jurchens are not to be feared, but more than a hundred is an enemy of no man.' The ferocity of the Jurchen people can be seen from this."

  "Liao State, if not gathering elite troops, has no way to annihilate the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty, but its conflict with my Great Song Dynasty will inevitably make Liao State hesitant and indecisive. When the time comes, the Jin Dynasty will take advantage of the situation and swallow Liao State whole, then point its sword at the Central Plains, putting our Great Song in danger..."

  Jin Dynasty! Liao Dynasty! Great Song!

  Ximen Qing suddenly thought of a very familiar historical event and was shocked into a cold sweat.

  That's the Jingkang Incident! No, it should be called the Jingkang Shame!

  "The shame of Jingkang has not been washed away, the hatred of ministers and sons, when will it be extinguished!" Although Yue Fei still didn't know where he was, nor did he know whether this "Man Jiang Hong" was written by Yue Fei himself or forged by later generations, in any case, the tune of "Man Jiang Hong" had already risen up in Xi Menqing's mind!

  Although history has returned everything to the teacher, when the music teacher was teaching this song, that old man sang with tears in his eyes, which is still fresh in Ximen Qing's memory.

  The mighty Song Dynasty suffered such humiliation! Emperors Huizong and Qinzong of Song were captured, a large number of royal nobles and court officials were tied up like a bunch of sugar gourds and driven to the Jin State like dogs.

  Empress! Concubines! Princesses! Palace maids! All were insulted and humiliated by the golden dog!

  What a great shame!

  Ximen Qing suddenly dug out many things that he thought had been forgotten from his memory, but these things have already been deeply imprinted on the soul of every Han person, how can they be forgotten?

  If Ximen Qing does nothing, then in ten years' time, when the Jin army marches south, the people of the Song Dynasty will fall into an endless sea of suffering!

  What a load of nonsense about an alliance at sea! Xi Menqing made a vow in his heart, he must make his own efforts to change the future of the Great Song Dynasty!