My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 240 The Unexpected Incident with the Wine
"This is the kind of fruit wine that you put on the table for the bride's family when you hold a full moon celebration for your baby."

Liu Xiangqian smiled slightly awkwardly, then pointed to the two female leaders behind him and explained to Chen Ling.

One of the female leaders, whose hair was tied up, was someone who had visited before. She was from the same county, around thirty years old, and relatively young.

The other one was sent down from the city to be in charge of flood control command for the entire Lingyun County. She was a middle-aged woman around forty years old, with neat short hair, wearing military green pants, black short high heels, short and very thin. Her name was Li Min.

The gist of it is that they were preparing a welcome banquet for Commander Li today. The county official, who had drunk the fruit wine from Chenling Farm, couldn't forget it and told the instructor sent down from the city about it. Curious, the instructor came over with him.

These people didn't come all this way specifically to find us.

Instead, severe flooding occurred in surrounding provinces and cities, which the city took very seriously, issuing a notice at the end of last month.

Now, nearly half a month has passed, and flood control command tents have been successively set up on various sections of the dikes of the Jinshui River, Nansha River, Beisha River, Xiaocang River, and several rivers in the surrounding counties.

Personnel have also been assigned to the reservoir in Chenwangzhuang, and they will all be in place within the next two days.

This is to facilitate timely observation of the flood situation, timely prevention, and timely reporting. It also includes appropriate preliminary flood prevention preparations, and in the event of an emergency, organizing the evacuation of nearby villagers and other related tasks.

Otherwise, most ordinary people won't even understand signal flares, and they'll be slow to realize danger. If they run too late, they'll suffer loss of life and property.

After listening to the introduction, Chen Ling, holding his son, greeted the group briefly and said, "I have plenty of fruit wine here, but there are several different kinds. I don't know which kind you drank that day. Come and take a look with me."

In the past, people would come to buy chicken and duck eggs, eels, and even initially, some wanted to buy dogs...

Chen Ling really didn't expect this group of people to come and buy wine today.

Because the fruit wine at home is rarely served to outsiders; it's mostly for relatives and friends when they come over.

So, they only held a banquet for their son's one-month celebration, and that's why they're still thinking about it?
I was a little surprised and also a bit stunned.

I've never sold this before, how do I sell it?
He brewed wine just for his own consumption and never thought about selling it, so he didn't know what price to set.

Since they've come knocking, I thought I'd show them around first. If they only wanted a small amount, I'd just give them some to get rid of them.

So he handed his son to Wang Susu.

Chen Ling then led these people toward the back of the farm.

"Young comrade, you've done a really good job here. It's beautiful, quiet, cool, and pleasant."

Listening to the birdsong and the babbling of the stream, Commander Li from the city looked up at the bamboo and wooden houses and said with admiration.

Several county leaders also nodded in praise. Last time they came, the farm was full of people, noisy and chaotic, and they were not in the mood to observe it. Later, when it rained heavily, they were even less interested.

This time, the feeling was very different from the last time. The place was full of birdsong, fragrant flowers, and lush greenery. Small fish and tadpoles swam back and forth in the canal, and ducks and geese quacked by in the distance. It was full of indescribable vitality.

The further you go into the back of the farm, the cooler it gets. Listening to the rushing water, even on a hot day, your body and mind feel comfortable.

"It's alright. My farm was just built this year, so some parts are still a bit rough. The trees in the orchard haven't grown up yet, so it's not that much cooler."

Chen Ling's words were partly modest, but also partly true.

At least next year, when the orchard grows lush enough to cover the area around the farm, and the bamboo grove grows taller, it will finally meet his and Liang Yuemin's previous expectations. At that time, living here in the summer will be truly pleasant.

It's only cool now, far from being pleasantly comfortable.

“Young comrade, you have high standards. I just saw a lot of information posted outside your farm, including information about banquets. The writing is quite poetic. If we would like to have lunch here today, would it be convenient for you to cook for us?” Commander Li Min asked.

Chen Ling was immediately embarrassed. This was a pretentious poem by Liang Yuemin, which combined the words from the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion and the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng and added a few extra strokes to it.

Since his farm is doing so well, the introduction couldn't be too rough, so I added a few lines to the title.

Otherwise, even if a normal person opens a farm and provides food and lodging, no one would write down what kind of banquet it is, since no one in the countryside would understand what that is.

Since the topic had come up, Chen Ling had no choice but to explain, "I do have this project, but it's not finished yet, so I can't entertain guests right now..."

The family just had a full-month celebration, and while they were very happy, they also felt quite exhausted afterward. He doesn't want to entertain any more outsiders now.

Furthermore, he plans to open the farm's food and lodging facilities to the public in a few years, since no one comes to this remote mountain village to play now.
But to his surprise, as soon as he said this, a bald, round-headed cadre in the group of county leaders became displeased. With his belly protruding, he said in an official tone, "Hey, you little brat, you're not very perceptive. Your farm is such a big place, you can hold a full-month celebration for your own baby, how come you can't even entertain Commander Li with a meal?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling glanced at him and recognized his identity.

Wang Laishun had introduced him before; he was in charge of the county's flood control command, so I glanced at him but ignored him.

He was already unhappy inside, and his smile disappeared from his face. He said to Commander Li, "I'm sorry, the crops in the fields haven't been planted yet, and the children are still young. I've been busy with everything lately, so I really can't entertain you."

He had been thinking that if these people only wanted a small amount of alcohol, he would just give it to them for free, but now he didn't even want to lead any more to the back.

"It's alright, it's alright. I was the one who was presumptuous." The female leader smiled at him.

Then, with a serious expression, he said to the cadre who had just spoken, "Old Feng, you go out and wait for us."

"I...this..." Old Feng's face changed instantly. He wanted to explain, but looking around, none of the people accompanying him spoke up for him, and no one offered him a way out.

After standing there stunned for a few seconds, he had no choice but to leave with a grim expression.

After reprimanding Lao Feng, Commander Li seemed even happier and subtly apologized to Chen Ling again, asking him to lead the way to continue selecting wine.

Chen Ling's expression softened considerably. After leading them to the farm, he went into the kitchen and then opened the storeroom door.

The warehouse contained two large wine vats filled with a mixture of grape wine and kiwi fruit wine. The other several medium-sized wine jars contained mulberry wine and plum wine that Wang Susu's father-in-law had been making at home for the past two months while she was pregnant, as well as two jars of corn wine that he had bought from the county.

Besides these wine vats and jars, there are also sauerkraut vats, rice vats, flour vats, grain vats, and oil drums, all of which are common and readily available items in mountain households, nothing special.

Although there are many items, they look well-organized and not cluttered.

"These two large vats contain wine and kiwi wine, which are the most commonly consumed fruit wines here."

Chen Ling pointed to the two most conspicuous vats and then introduced the wine jars: "These are mulberry wine, plum wine, and corn wine. Take a look..."

"Brother Fugui, can we all have a taste? Just a little is fine, we'll pay for it later."

Liu Xiangqian, who hadn't spoken before, rubbed his hands together and asked.

When he came last time, he saw several people with rather intimidating identities who had close ties with Chen Ling. Old Feng, who came just now, also came last time and even gave a gift of money.

Unfortunately, he was too slow-witted and had developed a habit of affected mannerisms, which was difficult to change in a short time, and he suddenly acted foolishly.

"Sure, could you please get me a few wine glasses from the kitchen, brother?"

Chen Ling nodded and called out to the people behind him, "Okay, thanks."

After the wine glasses were brought over, Chen Ling first poured mulberry wine and plum wine. The female leader from the county drank them and immediately said that these were the two kinds of wine she had drunk that day.

"The plum wine tastes even better, but it has some unknown medicinal herbs in it, giving it a faint medicinal taste. I can't even tell it's plum wine."

How much is this wine?

Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Chen Ling thought for a moment and quoted a price: "Plum wine and mulberry wine are the same price, five yuan per 50 grams."

"Huh? Five yuan a tael? Young comrade, you're selling this for a lot of money, more expensive than some wines in the city." Commander Li was slightly taken aback.

"It's not expensive. This is a liquor that my father-in-law makes for our family. He's an old herbalist from Fenglei Town, and he puts all the best ingredients in it. We only bring it out for the baby's full moon celebration; we don't usually take it out."

Chen Ling shook his head and said seriously.

He told the truth.

This statement might become a cliché ten or twenty years from now, but at this moment, everyone present subconsciously believed it.

But they all said, "It's too expensive, young comrade. Do you have a misunderstanding about us? We are cadres who serve the people, not feudal old rich people. How can we afford such expensive wine?"

Chen Ling shook his head: "It's really not expensive, it's a fair price."

He said it was a fair price, and it really was a fair price. For example, health wines sold two or three years later don't even have one percent of the effects of these two kinds of wines, yet they dare to charge exorbitant prices. Compared to that, the fruit wine made by Wang Cunye with real ingredients is only priced like this, which is indeed the fairest of fair prices.

"What about the wine and kiwi wine here? We'd like to buy a few kilograms of plum wine and mulberry wine from you. Could you give us a couple of jars of wine as a gift? We don't often get to drink fruit wine made by farmers," Commander Li asked.

"I'll give you two jars?"

Chen Ling laughed: "These wines and kiwi wines are more expensive than the previous two. If I were to sell them, they would cost at least fifty yuan per ounce. I wouldn't lose money then."

This was made by him using diluted spiritual water. It's very nourishing and much better than the fruit wine his father-in-law made with medicinal herbs.

The price is naturally higher.

"What? Fifty yuan? One ounce?"

"This is outrageous! One ounce costs fifty yuan just for swallowing a drop of saliva."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiangqian couldn't help but shout loudly.

He was secretly cursing the kid for asking such a high price, treating people like livestock to be slaughtered.
Commander Li was also surprised, but he didn't react as strongly as Liu Xiangqian. Instead, he said to Chen Ling, "Can we try these two kinds of wine? I'd like to see what's in them and what's the catch."

"Okay, you can have a taste."

Chen Ling walked to the wine vat, opened the wooden lid, scooped out a little, and poured half a glass for each person: "This is on my behalf for your leaders. Actually, this is almost a hundred yuan."

The crowd was speechless, but their curiosity grew, and they carefully picked up their cups to taste the wine.

then……

They took just a small bite, and their eyes lit up.

Those accustomed to eating at Chen Ling's house and drinking his water might not notice anything amiss with these two types of wine, but for those unfamiliar with them, the first taste is truly amazing.

"Hiss, no wonder they dare to ask for such a high price. This wine is really delicious, and the aftertaste is so rich and refreshing." Li Min swallowed a few times, squinting her eyes as she savored the taste.

The other leaders weren't as cultured as her; they just kept saying how delicious the wine was.

Indeed, this wine is quite palatable for people who aren't used to the taste of medicine.

"This one is more expensive, but why doesn't it taste like herbs at all?"

After hurriedly finishing his drink, Commander Li asked.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling made up a story: "Because the medicinal flavor has been completely absorbed, and the wine is aged enough. Good wine is judged by its age."

This statement actually goes against common sense.

But now these people have been fooled and actually believe it to be true.

Then we tried the kiwi wine. After tasting it, we thought for a moment before deciding which one to buy.

In the end, two jin each of wine and kiwi wine were sold, at fifty yuan per liang. Four jin of wine were sold, which brought in two thousand yuan.

Mulberry wine and plum wine are cheaper and sell more, but their prices are far lower than the first two.

After doing the math, I realized that selling some wine had brought in over two thousand yuan, almost three thousand yuan.

These people weren't short of money; they had enough in their purses, so the money was given to them on the spot, saving them the trouble of going to the county town to get more.

Chen Ling carefully packed the wine into a wine jar for them, saw the group off, and then counted out ten bills to give to Wang Cunye. This was to cover the mulberry wine and plum wine; giving more wouldn't have been much more.

But when his father-in-law saw him bring the money, he absolutely refused to accept it.

The mother-in-law also said, "The money you make from selling it is yours. We're family, so why are you giving us this?"

"Also, your second brother went into the mountains with that professor last year. He gave him some money for guiding you out of respect for you, and he hasn't said anything to you about it. Take it back. Your father and I appreciate your kindness, but we shouldn't do this kind of thing as family."

Last year, Wang Qingzhong guided Han Ninggui and his family, and he paid them 150 yuan a day, which was a lot of money in those days. The old couple knew this and appreciated their son-in-law's kindness. Now that Chen Ling had brought them the money, they were overjoyed. For them, this was more gratifying than receiving any other money.

Chen Ling had no choice but to take it back.

"Where did this leader come from? How come he's so rich? Buying some fruit wine and spending two or three thousand yuan, even if it has some medicinal effect, it's not worth it. I really don't understand these people."

Wang Cunye frowned and asked, while also worrying that his son-in-law was asking for too much and that the other party might come after him.

"Hey, you don't know this, but my friend in the city told me that last year, there were floods everywhere, food was extremely scarce, there was a shortage of food, and some people were even causing trouble, while others were eating big fish and meat every day, like a whole sea bass in one meal."

"So, we ordinary people can't even imagine how they live."

Chen Ling had heard Zhao Dahai and Shanmao talk about it quite a bit, and when he told his father-in-law about it, the old man was so angry that he glared and cursed the group of bastards.

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P.S.: Some names and titles have been changed, but these are not typos, and the traditional Chinese characters are not typos either.

(End of this chapter)