Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 88 Wise Old Lady Sheng

The eunuch standing nearby took the paper and handed it to Sheng Wei.

Sheng Wei took the paper and started to read it. He saw words and pictures on it, which made him confused.

"These two pieces of paper, the one with the picture is a distiller. Using this to distill wine can make the wine stronger. The other one is a method of making soap balls. It is cheaper than the current soap balls, but easier to use." Zhao Xing said.

The ancients loved wine, and many poets wrote about wine in their poems.

Just by looking at those poems, you would think that the ancients had a very good alcohol tolerance.

But in fact, the alcohol content of ancient liquor was not high. For example, the best liquor on the market in the Song Dynasty is only about ten degrees.

The alcohol content of wines like rice wine and fruit wine is even lower.

However, Zhao Xing made distilled liquor not to sell it in the Song Dynasty, but to sell it to the Liao Kingdom.

The Liao Kingdom was located in the north where the weather was cold and the people loved wine very much, especially the stronger the wine, the better.

The Liao people restricted the flow of war horses into the Song Dynasty. If some strong liquor could be produced, it would definitely be very popular with the Liao nobles, and it would not be impossible to exchange liquor for horses at that time.

As for soap, it is for making money. The Song Dynasty now has something called soap balls.

However, according to Zhao Xing, soap balls are made from crushed natural soapberries, fine salt, spices and other ingredients. They are not cheap and only wealthy families can afford them.

If you can make soap and sell it cheaper than soap balls, you won't have to worry about selling it.

Moreover, this thing is a consumable and can make money continuously.

"Your Highness, the court has a ban on alcohol," Sheng Wei reminded.

"Of course I know this. Since I asked you to do it, I naturally have a solution." Zhao Xing said.

Winemaking requires the consumption of grains. In ancient times, grain production was low, and Yu the Great even called wine "the thing that will destroy a country." Therefore, every dynasty has issued decrees to limit or prohibit alcohol.

Of course there was also a prohibition on alcohol in the Song Dynasty, but the prohibition on alcohol in the Song Dynasty was different from that in other dynasties.

Other dynasties aimed to reduce wine production, but the Song Dynasty aimed to monopolize it.

The imperial court strictly prohibited the people from brewing and selling wine, and also prohibited the purchase of privately brewed wine.

You can brew your own wine, but you can only buy wine from the imperial court.

Zhao Xing had no intention of selling wine in the Song Dynasty, so he naturally didn't have to worry about these things.

But since nothing has been done yet, he didn't tell Sheng Wei about his plans.

Sheng Wei smiled bitterly when he heard this. Although he didn't know what Zhao Xing was going to do, he already knew some of Zhao Xing's plans. Was there any possibility of refusing?

He somewhat regretted taking the two pieces of paper. Originally, he asked Zhao Xing what kind of business he wanted to do, and wanted to wait for Zhao Xing to tell him and then tell Zhao Xing that it would not work, so as to discourage Zhao Xing's idea and achieve the purpose of rejection.

However, he did not expect that Zhao Xing directly handed him two pieces of paper, and what was written and drawn on them were completely non-existent now.

Sheng Wei didn’t know where Zhao Xing got it from, nor did he know whether he could make it.

But he looked at it, which meant he had no room for refusal.

"Your Highness, I can give it a try, but I have never heard of what you mentioned, and I don't know if I can make money." Sheng Wei said.

"Haha, don't worry, just do as I say." Zhao Xing said with a smile, "I have prepared a house for you, as well as a royal farm outside the city. You can use the people from the royal farm."

After Zhao Xing moved out of the palace, his father gave him more than a dozen imperial farms, and the output of these farms was used to supply the expenses of the Eastern Palace.

There was no patent protection law in ancient times, so confidentiality was particularly important.

"Yes." Sheng Wei replied.

Next, Zhao Xing explained to Sheng Wei in detail the distiller, the method of making soap and the things that need to be paid attention to.

He only knew the theory of these things, and Sheng Wei had to find someone to experiment over and over again to figure out how to do them specifically.

After chatting for more than an hour, they stopped talking until their mouths were dry. "I have said everything I need to say. It depends on you whether you can make the product." Zhao Xing said.

"I've made note of it."

Sheng Wei couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, as he always felt that this was a joke.

But now that he has agreed, he can only go ahead with it.

……

On the way back, Sheng Changbai did not ask Sheng Wei what Zhao Xing had said to him.

Since Zhao Xing sent him away, it was because he didn't want him to know. If he asked, it would make Sheng Wei embarrassed.

When we got back to the Sheng family, it was almost noon.

During lunch, Sheng Hong also asked Sheng Wei if he was having a good time.

Sheng Wei was a little absent-minded and just answered casually.

After the meal, the servants took the leftovers away and served tea.

"Second Aunt, I plan to go back to Youyang early tomorrow morning." Sheng Wei said.

Mrs. Sheng was stunned when she heard this, and asked in surprise, "Didn't we agree to go back after Hualan returns home? But you are not happy at home?"

As he spoke, he looked at Madam Wang.

Madam Wang has always looked down on the first wife's family. She thought that Madam Wang had said something that made Sheng Wei feel uncomfortable, so she was in a hurry to leave.

"That was my original plan, but seeing that Bianjing is so prosperous, I decided to do business in Bianjing and make arrangements for my family when I return. Maybe my mother will come to Bianjing with me, and then I can come and talk to my second aunt often." Sheng Wei said with a smile.

When Mrs. Wang heard that Sheng Wei was leaving, she was a little happy at first.

Now, when he heard that Sheng Wei was coming to Bian Jing to do business, his face immediately fell.

She felt that the reason Sheng Wei wanted to develop in Bian Jing was simply because Hualan married into the Earl's Mansion and Rulan was also designated as the prince's concubine.

Seeing that the second wife has become rich, he wants to take advantage of her.

"It would be a good thing if eldest brother could move his family to Bian Jing. Then we brothers would be close to each other and could visit each other often." Sheng Hong said with a smile.

To his current status, the support of the Wang family is important, but the money provided by Sheng Wei to help him is also very important.

If Sheng Wei could come to Bian Jing, it would be more convenient to help him in the future.

Old Madam Sheng's eyes moved slightly. She could tell at a glance that there must be something wrong and was not as optimistic as Sheng Hong.

"You have important things to do, so I won't keep you any longer. Since you are leaving tomorrow, just talk to me for a while. Hong'er, ask someone to help pack up and arrange the boat." said Old Lady Sheng.

"Yes." Sheng Hong bowed and left with Madam Wang and the Sheng Changbai brothers.

"You two should take a nap." Old Lady Sheng looked at Ruolan and Minglan and said.

After everyone was sent away, only Old Lady Sheng and Sheng Wei were left in the room.

"You're not telling the truth, are you?" Old Mrs. Sheng looked at Sheng Wei and asked.

Sheng Wei smiled bitterly and said, "I knew I couldn't hide it from Second Aunt."

"This is not your first time in Bianjing, but you suddenly proposed to go out for a trip. After you came back, you said you wanted to move your family to Bianjing. Although I don't know much about business, I know that business in Bianjing is not that easy to do. You have been running your business in Youyang for many years and have laid a foundation. It is impossible for you to change places rashly. You and Bo Ge'er went out, you must have gone to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right?" said Old Lady Sheng.

"Yeah." Sheng Wei nodded and told him about Zhao Xing asking him to help with business.

However, he did not say what Zhao Xing asked him to do specifically.

(End of this chapter)