Rebirth of Jiuyouyan

As soon as the Lantern Festival is over, the new year is over, and all businesses in Yincheng are busy, but the wine storage is gradually idle. We only need to wait for all the new wine to come in in mid-February, and then we will completely end the year's wine making .

Xia Yue took advantage of this spare time to have people dig up Xi Jiuzui's backyard.

He told Master Yun about the idea of ​​building an ice cellar, and Master Yun agreed very much.Luoyue people drink wine in summer, they always go to the newly drilled well water, drink cold wine, I have never tried iced wine, but just thinking about it, I feel that it is very refreshing. interest.

Xia Yue didn't make much fanfare, but if he just chilled the wine, he didn't need too much ice, and the ice cellar didn't need to be too big.Originally, Xia Yue wanted to dig a thick and deep dry well, pour ice cubes into the well, seal the wellhead, and reopen it in summer. As long as the well is deep enough, the ice cubes will still be as new and will not melt.

It was only after asking Steward Fang that he found out that there was an abandoned wine cellar in Xijiuzui's backyard, which was originally used to store wine.Later, the Yun family had more wine, and the wine cellar was not enough, so they opened another big one under Xi Jiuzui, and it took a few steps to get the wine, so the old one was put there instead.

Xia Yue went down to look at the old wine cellar, the size was appropriate, and although the depth was only about ten feet, it was not too bad.As long as it is repaired and modified to prevent moisture and heat insulation, it can be used directly.

The renovation of the ice cellar was quick, and it was strengthened. Xia Yue hesitated again and again, but still built stone bricks for heat insulation.It will still snow in Luoyue at the end of January, and the temperature difference between day and night is exaggerated. The daytime is not too difficult, but the temperature at night is extremely low. Putting a basin of water outside overnight can almost turn into ice.Xia Yue custom-made more than a dozen square wooden containers, which look like Musheng magnified dozens of times, so Xijiuzui’s backyard is always filled with large Musheng filled with water at night, which is especially spectacular when you wake up in the morning.

After one night, the water in Musheng froze, turned it upside down, carefully knocked out the ice, put it in the yard, sprinkled some salt water on the surface, let the cold wind blow for half an hour, the surface The water is frozen, and then transported to the ice cellar.There are straw mats between the ice cubes to avoid sticking together.

Considering that winter is coming to an end and it is too late to make ice by yourself, Xia Yue had asked someone to find the most experienced ice picker in the city before, and asked him to follow him into Qilin Mountain, from a deep cave The groundwater in the lake gathers to form the ice.The location is hidden and underground, no matter what the temperature on the ground is, the low temperature lasts for a long time, and the ice produced is quite hard. According to the ice pickers, it will not melt even at noon.Originally, that place was a stunning scene, and the ice pickers never told anyone, and wanted to keep this secret place for themselves, but seeing that it was the young master of the Yun family who spoke, he thought that he would be blessed if he survived a catastrophe, so he wanted to get some good luck Well, if the cooperation goes well this time, it's hard to say that many big families will be able to do business in the future.

By the time everyone filled the ice cellar, January had already passed.

Seeing that there was still room in the yard, Xia Yue built a hut at the entrance of the ice cellar to avoid the direct sunlight in summer. He hung thick cotton-padded clothes with velvet in the hut, prepared lamps, and put the big ice-making log into the hut. Shengdu piled in, pulled off the cloth cover and tightened it.

The ice cellar was built, and the ice cubes were collected. For several days, Xia Yue went down to check, and there was no sign of the ice cubes melting at all, so he finally felt relieved.If it can last until the hottest summer, then as long as you pay attention to maintenance in the future, it should be able to use it for a long time.Xia Yue mentioned it to Manager Fang, and added an item of cleaning and renovating the ice cellar in autumn to Xi Jiuzui's arrangement.The matter of the ice cellar is considered appropriate.

Entering February, the new wines in the wine cellar began to come in one after another. On the fifteenth day of February, after the last new wine came in, all of them were sent to the wine cellar.

The wine cellar is also built with heat-insulated stone brick walls. It is shady and cool, and people will shiver when entering it, but this low temperature environment is very suitable for wine storage, even if it is hot in summer, there is no need to worry.In modern times, the brewed wine will be put into the refrigerator. Although Luo Yue does not have this condition, it is still possible to keep the temperature low.

As the day-to-day homework came to an end, the tension in the wine store gradually dissipated. Finally, on this day, all the wine was tidied up, and the wine store ushered in the day of complete production.

The so-called Kaizo means that all the work of brewing sake is completed.The Tibetans looked relaxed and joyful, and cleaned the wine cellar quickly with their hands and feet. All the utensils were cleaned, drained and put away, and the floors and walls were carefully scrubbed.After some cleaning, the wine storage suddenly became empty. If it wasn't for the unique aroma of wine brewing wafting in the air, it wouldn't be clear that not long ago the place was bustling and busy.

Xia Yue went to help scrub the floor of the koji room. He didn't mind being dirty and tired. He bent over with his sleeves rolled up and focused on his work, which gave great encouragement to other Tibetans. Maybe it was because he felt that he couldn't lose to the pampered young master, or maybe It's because I feel that the master of Shaozang is so serious, and I can't be lazy anymore. In short, I work harder one by one.

Master Koji was also mopping the floor, smiling and chatting with his little apprentice: "Little ghost, how is it, this is the first time you come to brew wine, are you tired enough? Do you think the brewing season is very long?"

"I'm not tired," the little apprentice's voice was extremely energetic, "It's not long at all, I still think it's so short, it's coming to an end, it's so lonely."

When the other Tibetans heard it, they also teased him: "It's not long? You still think about brewing wine for a whole year?"

"I want to!" The little apprentice stood up, his eyes bright, "I want to keep making wine, and I want to make more wine!"

Amidst the cheerful laughter of the Tibetans around, Xia Yue looked at the young apprentice who had just turned 16 with a smile, thinking that his brother-in-law would look like this if he came to Tibet, right?A child who is passionate about wine is really cute in the eyes of the brewer.

After they finished cleaning, the koji room, which had been kept at a temperature of about [-] degrees throughout the winter, was already clean, not a single grain of rice could be found.All that remains in the koji room is the chilly air, and this coldness announces the end of sake brewing.

The yard is covered with white cloths, and these dozens of white cloths used to wrap steamed rice and koji rice have also been scrubbed clean, and most of the yard was dried in the sun when the weather cleared.This is the last time to wash and dry the white cloth in this wine-making season. After being exposed to the sun in the noon and afternoon, the white cloth has been completely dried in the evening. It feels very dry and smells like sunshine and rice fragrance, which is unique to the wine storage. fragrance.

After cleaning the wine cellar, Master Yun and Xia Yue took the Tibetans up to the attic again to worship the god of wine, and thank the god of wine for blessing this year's smooth brewing.

In the evening, Xia Yue brought the wine store and the crowd once again filled the largest inner room of Xi Jiu Zui.Tibetans are free to eat and drink, and no one has to worry about getting up late the next day and delaying work. Everyone's face is flushed from drinking, and they have to make up their own money to pay the bill.

"Young Tibetan master, you can't ask for anything this time. We have been paid, and we have money, so we will pay for it ourselves."

Xia Yue was amused to see the Tibetan man smiling until his eyes were threaded and talking with his tongue out, so he let them chip in and pay the bill by themselves.

On the second day of Jiezao, Tibetans all returned to their hometowns.Most of the Tibetans in Yunjia Winery are not from the vicinity of Yincheng, and some Tibetans even have to climb two or three mountains to reach their homes.Most of the brewers are farmers, and they leave their hometown for half a year every year. Before the harvest, they go to the wine storage where they work. After the wine is finished, they return to their hometown and start spring plowing. This cycle continues every year.

Xia Yue admired and felt sorry for the Tibetans. In order to support their families, they had to abandon their father, husband and children, and go to a distant place. They stayed for nearly half a year. During this period, they could not go back if anything happened at home.No, it should be said that the Tibetans are ruthless and never go back no matter what happens at home. In their eyes, winemaking is ranked first.

It is also necessary to make wine to support the family, and I can meet with my husband every day. This is probably more enviable to the Tibetans than the status of the young master. If Shi Yan did not have such ability and talent, Xia Yue would never bring him into the wine making season. wine storage.

Before leaving, Master Du smiled and made an appointment with Xia Yue to make wine together this autumn.

Xia Yue bowed and saluted: "Xia Yue is dull, please teach Master Du carefully."

"Young Tibetan master, your self-effacing is really arrogant." Master Du laughed, "If the Tibetans in Tibet hear this, they will have to cry. You learn so quickly, it's not good for them. Little thrills."

Xia Yue smiled and said nothing.In fact, it's not that he learned quickly, it's just that he took advantage of it. He already knew a lot about wine making, and learning it at this time is tantamount to linking theory with practice, and he naturally accepted it much faster.If he really had to learn from scratch, he would probably be no different from other Tibetans.

Early in the morning, Master Yun and Xia Yue escorted the Tibetans out of the city gate.Everyone wanted to go on their way, and they didn't say much goodbye, they just expressed their expectation to make wine with Master Shaozang this year, and then they hurriedly set off on their way home.

Xia Yue watched the figures of the Tibetans disappear at the end of the road, and then turned around and walked back to the city with his father.

"The post for the tasting party has been delivered," Master Yun said, "The date is March [-]th, and it will take about five days to go to Beijing from here, so we will set off on the fifth and sixth day of the lunar new year."

Xia Yue nodded. It will take at least half a month to go to the wine tasting meeting. Before that, I need to explain the matter here.Xijiuzui's spring menu needs to be finalized, and two more batches of peach bottles need to be added. There are two or three new wines that are suitable for immediate release, and they must be selected.

When Xia Yue was thinking about these things carefully, a gust of wind blew by, and he squinted his eyes, only to notice that the spring breeze in February had already warmed up a little, and flowers had already bloomed on the trees beside the road.

"Spring is here..."

Looking up at the unknown flowers on the tree, Xia Yue sighed inexplicably.It wasn't until Master Yun called him that he came back to his senses and continued to walk forward.