Chapter Fifty-Four: The Immortal Brew of Jade Lang, Fragrance Wafting for Ten Miles (Part One)

Du Kang’s joyous brew fills the goblets of noble guests, pure and sacred, or strong and wise, like the elixir of sages. The green foam of fiery spirits becomes a broom to sweep away sorrows, while golden waves of black millet wine pour richly from the cup. Such evocative names and poetic monikers were countless in ancient times. Indeed, one could say that the culture of our nation, spanning thousands of years, is in many ways a culture of wine.

Cao Mengde, the formidable hero of a troubled era, once sang in a tone both desolate and generous, “With wine in hand, let us sing—how long does life truly last?” The mighty poet of the Tang, Li Taibai, could compose a hundred verses in a single bout of drinking. The revered Du Fu, too, found freedom in joyful singing by day, wine in hand and youth as his companion on the road home. There was also Su Dongpo, who raised his cup to question the heavens, and Ouyang Xiu, who rejoiced that a thousand cups were too few when drinking with a kindred spirit. The allure of wine has bewitched countless scholars and heroes alike. Its legacy runs through the whole history of the Chinese people.

Yet, after sampling those modern distilled spirits of high alcohol concentration, Zhang Yu found the so-called “wine” of this era utterly uninspiring—truth be told, it was rather like the rice wine he once tasted in his previous life: faintly sweet, pleasantly fragrant at first, but with a headache-inducing aroma if one inhaled too deeply, and a slightly astringent taste.

“If there were any other options in this era, why would I bother with this wretched orange tea?” Zhang Yu continued to sift through the system’s “General Store” menu, taking another sip from his cup. The peculiar taste reminded him of the dread inspired by a certain leaf-based drink that dominated two thousand years in the future.

“Found it!” For someone of modest means, price is always the first concern. “Two thousand to five thousand”—excellent, well within an acceptable range.

“‘Brewing Technique (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced)’: What matters most in ancient times? A thousand people would give a thousand answers, but all love their wine! Price: 2,000–5,000.”

Zhang Yu’s combined reputation and experience points totaled 7,600. With only a brief hesitation, he spent 2,000 reputation points to redeem the basic brewing skill.

“Where is it?” It was his first time redeeming a miscellaneous item, so Zhang Yu waited quietly for a while, but nothing seemed to happen. He immediately suspected he’d been tricked.

“Ding! Your ‘Basic Brewing Technique’ has been successfully matched! Based on the system’s automatic adjustment to your current circumstances and optimal solution selection, this ‘Brewing Technique’ has been converted into a skill. Please check your skill panel.”

“How advanced! If you’d given me a high-tech distillery, I’d never be able to explain it away.” Zhang Yu laughed. If this considerate system could take human form, he would embrace it even if it were his archenemy, and bestow a kiss even if it were a wilting flower.

He quickly pulled up the skill panel, and sure enough, his first skill now appeared in the top slot.

“‘Basic Brewing Technique’
Duration: Permanent
Activation: Stand before wine brewed in this era and shout three times, ‘What can dispel sorrow? Only Du Kang!’
Effect: The wine will acquire a certain degree of distillation, reaching the standard of fine spirits in later times.
Conversion: Automatically selects the optimal method.”

“So convenient, but what’s with the shouting three times?” He couldn’t help but grumble—an incurable habit. Still, eager to test this miraculous new ability, Zhang Yu could hardly wait.

“Yunü’er, you haven’t come of age yet—you can’t drink!” The ever-victorious Zhang Shiping had gone out at dawn, so when Liu Shi heard Zhang Yu searching for wine, she came over to deliver a lecture on underage drinking.

“The last time General Yuan was here, drinking a cup with you was understandable under the circumstances, but this habit of indulging in wine must never take root.”

Hmm? Something seemed off.

A mother knows her son best. Seeing the suspicious look in Zhang Yu’s eyes, Liu Shi didn’t bother to hide the truth. “It was Ying’er—”

“She tattled on me to you? That little rascal is getting out of hand. Must I bring her to justice?”

“Ai, Yunü’er, why so hasty? Ying’er only mentioned to the servants how dashing you looked when you downed that cup with such bravado.”

“...As expected, if you want the whole world to know a secret, just tell a woman first.”

Zhang Yu pressed his palm to his forehead in resignation, then added, “Mother, I’m not asking for wine to drink it. While sipping tea just now, I suddenly recalled a distillation method I learned in another world, one that can make wine wonderfully fragrant and intoxicating. If I can put it to use, the Zhang family will have nothing to fear!”

Though Liu Shi was hesitant about Zhang Yu developing a taste for wine, she reasoned that since it was a technique from another world and could help the family, she would allow it. She whispered to Yumo to have a servant fetch a small jar.

To Zhang Yu, his ability to brew superior wine was top secret, not to be revealed even to Zhang Shiping or Liu Shi. In this era, the value of wine was simply too great. If word got out that he was a walking wine-brewing machine, every warlord in the land would want to keep him locked away, brewing day and night.

However, if the Zhang family produced excellent wine, the risk was much less. The Zhangs were already the leading power in Zhongshan, with no real rivals— the Wang family had fallen, he was the son-in-law of the Zhen family, and Su Shuang of the Su family was his father’s close friend. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Zhangs’ influence now reached every corner of Zhongshan’s economy.

As for the warlords—Liu Bei was his uncle, Gongsun Zan his sworn brother, and Yuan Shao had a strong bond with him as well. At least in Hebei, he could sell his wine freely without worry.

He locked his door tightly and, after ensuring no sound came from outside, quietly addressed the wine jar, “What can dispel sorrow... Only Du Kang...”

He scooped up a taste—no change at all.

“Are you kidding me, I really have to shout?”

Zhang Yu opened the door, glanced around, then shut it again. Raising his voice, he cried, “What can dispel sorrow? Only Du Kang!”

Swish!

A sheen flashed across the surface of the wine, and immediately, a rich fragrance wafted forth!

Zhang Yu hurried to take a sip, nearly choking—fiery, mellow, aromatic!

This, now, this was real wine!

At last, tasting the flavor of modern baijiu, Zhang Yu was nearly moved to tears. He knew, from this moment on, the Zhang family’s fortunes would soar.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door resounded with knocks.

“Who is it?” Zhang Yu quickly called out, hastily covering the transformed wine jar with its lid.

“Yunü’er, have you been drinking?”

...

He placed the wine jar by his pillow, and even his dreams that night seemed to be perfumed and sweet. In his previous life, Zhang Yu hadn’t been much of a drinker, but here and now, such wine was a treasure beyond compare.

Early the next morning, he carried the jar out of his room to pay his respects to his parents, determined to recommend the wine to Zhang Shiping and perhaps open several wineries and taverns. He would let this fine brew spread across the land, stunning the world.

Such a high starting point—why not be willful?

“Mother, where is Father?” After greeting Liu Shi, Zhang Yu found Zhang Shiping’s room empty. “He’s out again?”

“No, he’s receiving a guest in the main hall. Yunü’er, look at you—still claiming you’re not a drinker, yet you can’t walk without hugging a wine jar. Honestly, it’s disgraceful.” Liu Shi seemed displeased.

“I’ll explain later, I need to find Father now!”

He hurried off, knocked on the main hall door.

“Come in.”

“Yes, Father.”

Zhang Yu pushed open the door. Inside, another middle-aged man, about his father’s age, rose with a smile to greet him.

“So few years have passed, and you’ve already grown so much, Yu’er! Good, truly worthy of being the Jade Young Master of Zhongshan!”

“This is,” Zhang Shiping introduced, “your Uncle Su.”