Rebirth of Jiuyouyan

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, the first barrel of Yun Qi was about to go into the trough.

This day, after Xia Yue finished steaming rice and making koji, he felt a chill when he walked down the corridor. He looked outside, and it turned out that it was raining lightly at some time, but when he looked carefully, it seemed that there were some snowflakes caught in it.

"The weather is very suitable for going to the trough." Du Shi came to him and looked outside together with him.

Xia Yue nodded and said: "There is no wind, it is very good weather."

The days with humid air and no wind are the most suitable for tanking. The aroma of the new wine will not drift away and can stay in the wine. Otherwise, the aroma will escape and affect the flavor of the wine.

It has been 30 days since the first barrel of Yunqi made the mash, and the aroma of the wine mash is very mature. Xia Yue scooped it up and took a sip, the taste of the mash instantly filled his mouth.Leaning over the wooden barrel, you can smell the sweet smell coming from your nostrils. The surface of the mash looks very calm, but when you put the stick into the mash and stir gently, you can still see some small bubbles coming out, which proves that the mash Also very lively.

"The condition of the wine mash is very good, it's ready to go to the tank." As soon as Master Du gave the order, everyone began to orderly divide the mash and transport it to the tank.

Xia Yue is responsible for bagging the mash at the tank farm and carefully putting it into the tank.The mash bag feels very soft to the touch, and leaves a strong aroma of wine on the hand after touching it.

The process of transporting and bagging lasted half an hour. After all the mash was put into the bags and neatly stacked in the tank, Master Du ordered the jack to be put down.The jack made of heavy opalite is slowly pressed onto the mash bag, and pressed down bit by bit. The first barrel of Yunqi this year will happily rush out of the small channel and fall into the wooden barrel.

This pressing took more than half an hour. In order to let all the wine flow out, after the weight of the jack was completely pressed on the mash bag, Master Du waited for a while, and after confirming that there was no more drop out, he announced the end of the vat.

The new wine in the barrel was clear and clear, Xia Yue picked up a glass, handed it to Master Du, and then took a glass for himself.When the wine cup is close to the mouth and nose, you can smell a very prominent aroma. When you drink it in your mouth, you can feel the right sour taste after the unique astringency of the newly poured wine. The multiple aromas and tastes that are Yunqi’s characteristics are still somewhat Messy, but I believe it will stabilize after precipitation and fire.

"It's better than last year." Master Du smiled with satisfaction.

Xia Yue also nodded in agreement, the performance of the new wine is very good, he is looking forward to what it will taste like after precipitation...

After the two Du masters had tried the new wine, the Tibetans began to bottle the new wine and transport it to the small warehouse specially for storing the new wine in the upper tank for temporary storage, allowing the remaining slight dregs in the wine to settle and wait for the fire to enter.

When all the work was successfully completed, it was already past noon, and the rain was still falling, not heavy, but fine and dense.Xia Yue casually took an umbrella from the storage, put the small gourd that had been filled with new wine into his bosom, and left the wine storage to go home.

When I went out of the gate of the wine store, I saw a boy waiting by the door, holding an umbrella, standing with his back to the gate, Xia Yue looked at him and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Master, have you come out?" The servant turned around when he heard the voice, and when he saw his master, he smiled, "Hey, I'll wait for you here."

"I'm asking why you came here and waited for a long time? I think your face is pale, is it cold?" Xia Yue frowned at him.

The boy shook his head vigorously: "Not long ago, I only stood here for a while. It was the young lady who asked me to pick you up. She said that it was raining so that you might get wet."

As he spoke, the boy handed over the umbrella he was holding in his arms.

Xia Yue felt very upset in his heart, he took the umbrella and said with a smile: "I even ran here specially, there is an umbrella inside, don't you think I'm holding it right?"

"Then how can it compare with the umbrella at home, young master, I will hold it for you, you are about to change it. Look at the door of the wine store, your cloak is almost wet." The boy took it as he spoke. The umbrella in Xia Yue's hand.

Xia Yue looked down, indeed, the umbrella in the possession was a bit small, and he was wearing a cloak, which couldn't cover it completely, and was a little wet from the rain.So he had no choice but to smile and nod, and opened the big umbrella at home, covering his whole body now.

The boy put away the umbrella in the wine store, held it for Xia Yue, and then followed Xia Yue to the gate of Yun's house with the umbrella in his hand.

Back in the room, Xia Yue didn't dare to go into the inner room right away, first took off and hung up the wet cloak in the outer room, and changed the boots.The little attendant listened to Shi Yan's order, and handed over a hot towel. Xia Yue took it and wiped his face and hands, making sure that there was no moisture on his body, before approaching Fu Lang.

"Drenched?" Seeing how careful he was, Shi Yan couldn't help asking.

Xia Yue shook his head: "It's just that the rain has drifted onto the cloak and made it a little wet. I'm afraid I'll pass on the moisture to you. A considerate husband sent someone to send an umbrella. How could I be drenched? Today I feel How is it, is the baby still making a fuss?"

Since last night, Shiyan has been tossed and tossed by the child from time to time, and she didn't sleep well at night. When Xia Yue got up in the morning, she saw that Fulang's eyes were a little blue.

"After waking up in the morning, I didn't make trouble anymore. I just don't know where he is pushing me. I don't feel uncomfortable no matter what, and it's not serious. I just feel a little uncomfortable in my body." Shi Yan stroked her swollen abdomen , a little sickly and authentic.

Xia Yue also reached out to touch it, with a worried tone: "Have you let Dr. Shen see it?"

Shi Yan nodded.Dr. Shen told him that everything was normal, maybe there was a commotion last night, the position of the hands and feet changed, and they were pressed somewhere, maybe it will be fine when the child moves again.

Fortunately, it didn't press the stomach, and it didn't affect Shiyan's eating, so Xia Yue was relieved.

After lunch, Xia Yue took out the little gourd from his arms.At first glance, Shi Yan still looked confused, so when her husband pulled the plug, a long-lost fragrance rushed into his nose, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"Is this... the wine from today's vat?" He fluttered his nostrils, smelling the clear scent of wine, he didn't dare to reach out to take it, he just looked at his husband and asked.

Xia Yue came over with a small wine glass, poured the wine and said, "It's the first bucket of Yunqi this year, and it just finished loading an hour ago, so I came out a little."

As he spoke, he handed the wine glass to Shi Yan: "Taste it, but don't drink it down."

Shi Yan had a happy expression on his face, he took the glass carefully, leaned closer to smell it, and then took a sip with his head down, then exhaled lightly, and tasted the wine carefully on the tip of his tongue.

Xia Yue squinted his eyes when he saw him, with a happy expression on his face, and a smile appeared on his face.

Yunqi's soft taste made Shiyan a little intoxicated. The new wine in the tank is very lively, which slightly discounts Yunqi's elegant feeling, but it can be imagined that after it stabilizes, it will be even better than last year's wine.

Because he couldn't swallow it down, Shi Yan reluctantly held the wine in his mouth for a while, and when he finally opened his eyes, he saw the gentle smiling face of her husband staring at him.Shiyan's heart trembled suddenly, and he almost swallowed the wine in his mouth. No matter how much time passed, when he looked at her husband with tenderness, his face would still blush and his heart would beat.

Spitting the wine into a small cup, Shi Yan was satisfied after tasting the good wine: "This year's Yunqi is really good, I don't know if it's because it just went to the vat, it seems that all kinds of flavors are more vivid than last year's, and the taste seems It's more delicate. I look forward to the taste of this wine being stabilized, and it will definitely be more delicious than last year's."

"I think so too," Xia Yue took a sip himself, the taste of the wine was slightly calmer than when it was first poured into the tank, and he could feel the aroma and taste more carefully, "When all the wine in the store is on fire, It's almost time for you to give birth to a child, and if you bear with it for a while, you won't have to wait too long to drink it."

Knowing that her husband was afraid that she would want to drink more after tasting it, she comforted her thoughtfully, Shi Yan nodded, her eyebrows and eyes crooked with a smile.

After the first barrel of Yunqi went up the trough, it was followed by the second barrel of Yunqi.

The second barrel was fermented for two days longer than the first barrel, and there was a wind on the day of going into the vat. Zangli waited until the wind subsided for a while before starting to go into the vat.

Xia Yue still packed a small gourd and brought it home for Shi Yanpin.The taste of this barrel of Yunqi is not much different from the first barrel, not inferior at all, and the taste is stronger than the first barrel.

Shi Yan and Xia Yue had a private discussion, and they both felt that it might not be possible to ship both barrels of Yunqi together.Now I can already feel the subtle difference, after the fire enters, maybe the difference will be more obvious, it seems a little inappropriate to serve wine as Yunqi.It’s just that now I feel that the two barrels of wine are very good, and I think it’s a pity to reserve one barrel for maturation and only one barrel to be released.

Xia Yue and Master Du also mentioned this matter, and Master Du seemed very distressed.The two stood under the wine storage corridor for a long time, but they still couldn't make up their minds in the end.

"Simply, wait for Shaozangzhu's Yunqi to go into the trough, and compare the three together," Du Shi said, "I always feel that Shaozangzhu's Yunqi is different from the two barrels I brewed. Maybe it will be more troublesome. However, old wine is also very attractive, and it may perform even better after aging. It’s just a pity that people can’t taste it for so long.”

Xia Yue also knew that was the only way to go.In fact, he didn't think that the Yunqi he brewed could surpass Master Du's, and he had already thought that his barrel of Yunqi would wait until it matured to produce wine.He thought, what would bother him at that time would still be Master Du's two barrels of Yunqi.

"The third bucket of clouds will go up the trough, won't it be after the Lantern Festival?" Master Du asked him.

"Yes," Xia Yue replied, "Now the mash is still very lively, and there are still bubbles emerging on the surface, I think we should wait a few more days."

"Well," Master Du nodded, "I think the condition of the barrel of wine is very good, the timing of the vat is up to Master Shao Zang to decide, after all, Master Shao Zang brews the wine."

The timing of entering the trough is a test of Master Du's understanding and grasp of Mash. Xia Yue is not confident that he can do well, and he also thinks that his Yun Qi is in a very good condition. It is precisely because he is not bad that he is even more afraid.If you enter the slot too early or too late, all the efforts so far will be in vain.Even if it has been going well, if you can't do your best in the end, it can't be considered a success. Xia Yue put a lot of pressure on himself.

He looked at the still bubbling wine mash in the big wooden barrel, and kept persuading himself to suppress his fear.It’s okay, it’s okay, it can’t be put into the tank now, it must wait until after the Lantern Festival, until the surface of the mash is calmer, if it is still bubbling, it means that the yeast is still continuing the alcoholic fermentation, there is no rush, let alone fear , he said to himself.

Negative emotions will affect one's judgment, Xia Yue felt that if he continued to stay in Tibet and guard his Yunqi, it would have the opposite effect.He turned around and wanted to leave, but hesitantly returned to the barrel, took a sip of the mash.After confirming that there was no problem, and that the situation of the mash was as he had imagined, he finally felt more at ease.

After putting down the long-handled spoon, he stared at the mash in the barrel for a while, before finally turning away.