Rebirth of Jiuyouyan

As more and more wines enter the production stage, Tibet has ushered in the busiest period.

There are nearly ten brewing barrels lined up in the brewery, and you can smell the unique smell of the brewery as soon as you walk in.A large amount of rice is steamed in the big steamer every day for making koji or adding ingredients, and the chimney of the sake storage is billowing white smoke almost all day long.

There were milky white bubbles floating in the wooden barrel where Yunqi was brewed for several days. Du Shi and Xia Yue went to check every day to taste the taste of the mash.

"Already smells like wine." Xia Yue tasted the mash in the long-handled wooden spoon, savored it carefully, and said.

Master Du nodded, looking at the mash in the barrel as if looking at a child: "Yunqi brewing is going well, judging from the bubbling situation, it will be ready to go to the vat in about half a month."

"Half a month..." Xia Yue felt excited, he put his hands on the barrel, and lowered his head to stare at the surging white bubbles.

The second barrel of Yunqi was filled yesterday, and today the mash is resting for a day. The white bubbles in the barrel are tumbling, very lively.Therefore, the first day of the first day is also called "joyful", which refers to letting the bubbles produced by the fermenting of the mash surge for a day. The bubbles look like they are dancing and dancing, hence the name.

After checking the two barrels of Yunqi, Xia Yue rushed to the market and began to fold the third barrel of Yunqi.

This year, the Yun Family Wine Store will brew three barrels of Yun Qi, and most of the Bai Family's wine rice will be used for the brewing of Yun Qi.

Master Du handed over the third barrel of Yunqi to Xia Yue Brewing.

"I'll make it?"

Xia Yue remembered very clearly that when he heard Master Du say that he wanted to brew a barrel of wine, his heart was full of surprise and excitement, and Master Du's firm smile that could not be refuted.

The Tibetans present were also surprised, but no one expressed any objection.

"Master Shaozang learned very quickly. You learned so fast, which made me believe that you are talented. We have brewed three barrels of Yunqi in total. From the first barrel, Master Shaozang has been following the brewing method. I think Shaozangzhu should have firmly remembered it. The third barrel will be brewed by Shaozangzhu. If you encounter difficulties, you can come to me, but I believe there should be no problem."

Master Du patted Xia Yue's shoulder, looking straight at him with very sharp eyes, Xia Yue had no thought of refusing at all.

Thus, the young owner of the Yun Family Wine Store became the second master Du in the store.

Although Xia Yue thought that he could only be regarded as an intern Du Shi at best, but in Luo Yue, who did not have the concept of an intern, the Tibetans called him the boss instead of the young Tibetan master.

A few days later, Xia Yue invited Master Du to have an evening drink together, and asked him why he suddenly handed over the third barrel of Yunqi to himself without warning.

"Master Shaozang is very sensitive to wine. When washing and steaming rice, he also mastered the time very well. He didn't just memorize what we taught. In different situations, Master Shaozang has his own corresponding judgment. This is not the case. Ordinary Tibetans can learn it after a few years of studying in Tibet. I had this idea when I was pouring the steamer in January. I thought that one day, the young Tibetan master would be responsible for brewing a barrel of wine. Once I had this idea, I am more and more looking forward to what kind of wine it will be and what kind of taste it will have.”

Seeing that Xia Yue listened seriously, Master Du rubbed his nose with a smile, and continued: "Actually, I am also looking forward to the Young Madam. If the master Shaozang's wine-making skills, combined with the taste of the Young Madam, we can brew a kind of wine together... just Just thinking about it makes me excited."

Master Du smiled happily, but Xia Yue felt a little uneasy. He looked at Master Du worriedly and opened his mouth, not knowing what he wanted to say.

The two drank a few glasses of wine in silence.

After a while, Master Du suddenly said, "Young Master, I'm almost sixty."

"Father still looks very young." Xia Yue said with a smile.

"Well," Master Du nodded, "I think so too, those little apprentices thought I was only fifty."

Master Du smiled triumphantly, the lines of laughter at the corners of his eyes were very deep.

"Actually, 60 years old is not too old for a Tibetan. The old Master Du I followed was still brewing wine in Tibet when he was 70 years old. My body is also strong, so you don't have to worry about it."

Xia Yue nodded, still asking: "Then why..."

He just always had the feeling that Master Du was arranging a successor, but Master Du still looked very healthy, and when he came to Yincheng after a long journey, he didn't see any tiredness on his face.Xia Yue was worried about whether Master Du was suffering from some kind of disease, and was also thinking about how to ask Master Du to show Dr. Shen a look.It's just that listening to Master Du now, it doesn't seem to be because of the body.

Master Du played with the wine glass and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Being an apprentice in a brewery for two years, you can remember the process of brewing sake; stay for a few more years, get familiar with sake rice, and become proficient in cooking, you can be promoted to Kamaya, familiar with koji rice, and you can become a koji master It's the same for Master Yu. All of these can be achieved by hard work and experience. But to be a Master Du, one must have talent. It doesn't mean that one can become a Master Du after working in Tibet for many years."

Xia Yue is very aware of this, and it is precisely because of this that he feels that he is not qualified.No matter how talented, how can a novice who has only been in the brewery for less than a year be directly in charge of brewing?

Master Du continued talking.

"Originally, there was no reason for Master Shaozang to be Du's teacher. It was too hard for the young master of a rich family to stay in the wine cellar all winter, getting up early and going to bed late. Not to mention Master Shaozang also had other families. Career needs to be taken care of. It's only been a year since we got married, and the young lady is pregnant again. I shouldn't have said such absurd things at this time. But, I'm a little anxious. Young master, we have no head If there is no chief, it means that there will be no next Master Du. I am still very energetic now, but I can’t hold back when I return to my hometown in spring, what will happen to Zangli if something happens?”

"Father... Did something happen to you when you came home this year?" Xia Yue asked.

Master Du sighed and nodded: "In our village, there is a Master Du who works in another winery. This year, he didn't pay attention when he went to the field, and fell from the ridge into the flooded field, hurting his waist. That brother is three years younger than me. The doctor told me that he would rest for a few months, but as soon as the harvest was over, he struggled and went to the wine cellar. He said he couldn’t do without the wine cellar, and no one could take his place. .”

Xia Yue understood, what Master Du meant was to plan for a rainy day, and he didn't know what to say. He thought a lot about words of relief, but he still couldn't say them.Thinking about his own previous life, didn't he also encounter unexpected disasters at a young age and lose his life? The world is always unpredictable, and Master Du's concerns are really very reasonable.

After pouring a glass of wine and drinking it with his head raised, Master Du returned to smiling.He knocked on the table with a smile, looked at Xia Yue and said, "Don't worry, Master Shaozang, I can still do it. If there is no accident, I can still stay in Tibet for several years. I am also selfish, and I want to drink Master Shaozang's wine." Liquor, so I was in a hurry to propose this idea. Let’s see if we can find the next Master Du of the Yun Family Wine Store in the past few years. You don’t need any seniority, as long as you are talented and responsible, you can be directly Master Du cultivated it."

Hearing what Master Du said, Xia Yue also smiled with relief. If he could share some of Master Du's work, it would be a way to keep Master Du from being too tired.It's not that he doesn't want to make wine, on the contrary, he is very eager, and now that he has the opportunity so quickly, he will naturally not let it go.

As for the next Master Du in Tibet, Xia Yue decided to start next year, and pay attention to the apprentices.This group of apprentices who can only clean tools this year will be able to enter the brewery in the next brewing season. At that time, together with Yi Ao, they can all think about it in secret.

The third barrel of clouds rose, making Xia Yue bury his head in the wine cellar for almost a whole day, leaving home when it was still dark, and returning home after a long time after dark.

Shiyan loves her husband very much. If she is not pregnant, he will definitely go to Tibet to help her husband.But now, not only her husband, but also his father-in-law and father-in-law won't let him go to the wine store.Dr. Shen also told him that the temperature in Tibet was too high, if he went there, it would be very bad for the baby in his stomach.Shiyan could only stay at home obediently, thinking of ways to make supper for her husband every day, so that he could replenish his energy.

Xia Yue also felt sorry for Shi Yan, but she couldn't be by her side when Fu Lang was in the most uncomfortable period of pregnancy.

"I'd better send a servant to serve you."

One night, while sitting on the bed and massaging Shi Yan's swollen legs and feet, Xia Yue said so.

Shiyan is not used to being served, and he feels uncomfortable if someone always follows him, so Xu has been here for almost a year. Although he is a young lady, he has never had someone to serve him.

Hearing her husband bring up this matter again, he habitually wanted to decline, but today her husband didn't give him any room to refuse, so he directly finalized it.

Seeing Shiyan's embarrassed expression, Xia Yue leaned down and kissed him, and coaxed him softly: "Shiyan, you are different now, your body is heavy, your legs and feet are swollen, I think you have to hug you when you walk Be careful. I've been out all day, and you don't have anyone to look after you, so how can I feel at ease? Just let me feel at ease, okay?"

The husband's kiss fell on Shiyan's face and lips delicately and densely, kissing away all the discomfort in his heart.Of course, Shiyan didn't want her husband to worry about her. The wine store was so busy and her husband was so tired, so he couldn't cause her husband any more trouble.

So Shiyan raised her head and kissed Xia Yue's chin back lightly, then nodded: "Well, I listen to my husband."

"Good." Xia Yue smiled with satisfaction, and then took Shi Yan's lips and kissed gently for a long time before continuing to massage her husband's legs and feet.

On the second day, a small servant came into the room to serve the young lady.

Shi Yan recognized this little servant, although he already knew all the servants in the house by name, but the round-faced child in front of him was the first servant he remembered the name of.He remembered that when he just promised to come in last year and went to the kitchen to cook the New Year's Eve dinner, it was this child who was caught by her husband and asked him to wait at the kitchen door, holding a cloak for himself.

Later, on the day of my birthday, it was this little attendant who stopped me at the door of the room, told me to eat some snacks and put on more clothes, and sent me to the carriage.

"Young madam, the young master ordered you to have a bowl of tremella and bird's nest porridge for breakfast. If you really can't eat lunch, you should also drink the chicken soup stewed in the kitchen. Ah, by the way, the young master said in Shanghai this morning that we will meet you in the evening." Come back as soon as possible to have dinner with you."

Shi Yan was very happy to hear that her husband would come back for dinner at night. Xia Yue hadn't eaten at home for several days, and he was also a little lonely.

After the little attendant finished explaining Xia Yue's words, the young lady nodded, began to drink porridge, and left.

"Young madam, I'll be waiting in the side room. If you're going somewhere, please come and call me."

Shiyan knew that her husband must have frightened the little attendant, probably because the young lady was the only one who asked any questions. Seeing the nervous look on the little attendant's face, he couldn't help laughing, and quickly promised him that he would He must be called to go out, and the little attendant retreated with peace of mind.

While Shi Yan was drinking the warm white fungus and bird's nest porridge, Xia Yue was warming up his cloud.

"It seems to be going well." Master Du walked to Xia Yue's side, looked at the meat in the barrel and said.

"Yes, Dad, so far it's been going well." Xia Yue responded, picked up the warming bottle, put it on the wooden bar that was horizontal on the barrel, and scraped the wine that was stuck on the bottle back into the barrel.

This is the fifth time it has been warmed up, and the third barrel of Yunqi will soon emit a sour smell. Xia Yue heaves a sigh of relief. He has been doing it all the way, and he is more and more confident in himself.Whether it's the hand feeling when folding or the temperature control of heating, he doesn't think there is any problem.

Master Du lowered his head and smelled the smell of the meat in the barrel, and nodded, "It looks like it should be inflated on the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month."

After warming up, Xia Yue's upper body was almost dripping with sweat, and he who was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief couldn't help being taken aback when he heard Master Du's words.

The twelfth lunar month swells?That is to say, today is the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month?

Xia Yue blinked, and suddenly frowned in annoyance.

So busy in the wine cellar that he almost forgot his wedding anniversary.