There is a trick

Chapter 18 "Ancestor Wen"

The morning mist gradually faded, but there were few pedestrians on the streets of Qingyi Town.

After having breakfast at home, Zhou Chang now lay on a cart, pulled by Zhou Sanji, and walked west along the street.

Yang Rui led Shi Danzi and walked on the right side of the cart.

Maybe because they had been getting up at five in the morning to chant sutras, several of them were not very energetic and had no interest in talking to each other. They just focused on getting on with their journey.

Zhou Chang had a tattered jacket draped over his belly and his head resting on a piece of wood. His eyes moved as he looked around at the houses and buildings on both sides of the street.

The people hiding in the house pressed their bodies against the papered window, spying on Zhou Chang and others passing by on the street outside the window. The dim light from the sky and the lights in the house cast dark outlines of their bodies pressed against the window, looking eerie and spooky.

The feeling of being spied on lingered in Zhou Chang's heart.

Every house along the street is like a pair of eyes, staring at the pedestrians passing by in the dark corners.

Zhou Chang looked at Zhou Sanji, Yang Rui and others who were walking forward in silence. He suddenly realized that the reason they remained silent and did not talk to each other was probably because they had lost interest in talking under the "public eye".

A deep and depressing atmosphere lingered on the deserted streets.

Until the end of the street, a noisy voice was faintly heard, and the people on both sides of the rickshaw also smiled slightly and quickened their pace.

The trolley rolled over the gravel road, making a rumbling sound.

The crowd walked through the long street, and at the end of the road, a tall entrance hall came into view.

There are three plaques hanging high in the entrance hall with six black-painted wooden pillars supporting the eaves. The left plaque has four golden characters "Famous in the Southwest", the right plaque has "Hundred Years of Reputation", and the center plaque has the three characters "Ancestor Wen".

Under the high-hanging plaque of "Ancestor Wen", there is another middle door.

On the lintel of the middle gate, there is a plaque with the words "Yongsheng Wine Shop" inscribed on it.

The towering foyer and spacious main lobby of Yongsheng Winery are a world apart from the surrounding low and dilapidated buildings.

At this time, the open space in front of the wine shop's gate was already full of people. It was crowded with all kinds of noisy shouting and laughter, as if it was a big market, making Zhou Chang feel a long-lost bustle.

"Sell yourself, sell yourself! Sell yourself for wine!"

Zhou Chang suddenly heard a hoarse shout from the crowd.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw many people squatting on the roadside in groups of three or four, holding straw signs in their hands. Most of them had their heads drooped and looked confused. At that moment, there was only an old man with a white beard, who stretched his neck and shouted, "Who will buy me? Just buy me a pot of wine!"

As the old man shouted, the people around him who were also holding straw signs in their hands seemed to have received some kind of signal, and they all competed to sell themselves to passers-by:
"Buy me! Buy me! I'm younger than him, and I only want half a pot of wine!"

"Buy me! I'm fair-skinned and tender-skinned, and I can be your servant!"

These people holding straw tags in their hands are actually here to 'sell themselves in exchange for wine'!

Zhou Chang looked around and saw that in the open space in front of Yongsheng Winery, there were quite a few people holding straw tags in their hands, selling their bodies in exchange for wine!

In front of the right door of the wine shop, people lined up in a long queue to buy wine from the shop. Many people could not wait to tear open the seals of the wine jars and drink from the jars. The satisfied and happy smiles on their faces were so real.
Some people gathered around the wine lovers who were drinking from the jars. When a little wine accidentally spilled, they would stretch out their tongues to lick the dirt stained with wine. The joy between their eyebrows was so real.

White mist rose from the backyard of the winery, carrying a hint of the aroma of wine lees.

The cold wind blew the billowing white steam from the front yard and spread it in front of the foyer. The people in front of the foyer stretched their necks to smell the aroma of wine in the steam. The hungry greed on their faces made Zhou Chang feel extremely horrified!

"Hiss—" Yang Rui also took a deep breath of steam, and an intoxicated look appeared on his face, "Wine is medicine, it can cure heart disease!
In this kind of world, living is a luxury, so if you want to drink, just drink.

I don't crave wine, I worry about the ups and downs..."

Such words sounded like Yang Rui was comforting himself, but also like he was advising Zhou Sanji and Zhou Chang, who were relatively silent among the crowd.

Zhou Sanji turned his head and looked at Zhou Chang on the rickshaw with a serious look in his eyes: "You'd better drink less alcohol."

"Okay." Zhou Chang nodded.

"Once you drink this stuff, how can you tell the difference?" Yang Rui patted Shi Danzi's shoulder, "Just use your discretion."

"..." Shi Danzi lowered his head, his face calm, showing a maturity beyond his age. Zhou Chang saw his hands quietly retracted into his sleeves.

The group arrived at the door on the left side of the winery.

The number of people queuing here is just as many as the customers buying wine on the right. Most of these people come to Yongsheng Winery to make a living.

Zhou Sanji was pulling Zhou Chang from the rickshaw when they got to the back of the line and were about to line up. Yang Rui pulled him back and said, "We have tickets. Why are we queuing? Let's go!"

As soon as Uncle Yang said this, the people in the queue turned around to look at Zhou Chang and his group.

The direct gaze hides danger and jealousy.

Zhou Sanji pulled the cart again and followed Yang Rui and Shidanzi through the long queue.

Walking from the end of the team to the front, Zhou Chang heard the arrogant voice of the steward who was sitting by the side door at the front: "Listen carefully!

If you want to work in our Yongsheng Distillery, you must first pay a hundred copper coins to the distillery!

Those who have enough copper coins can stay and continue to queue. Those who don't have any money, get out!" Hearing the words of the manager, Zhou Chang and Zhou Sanji both looked at Yang Rui.

Zhou Sanji pulled Yang Rui and asked him, "Do we need money to enter the winery?"

"We have tickets!" Yang Rui replied, but his tone was not as firm as before.

……

In front of the left door.

The manager of the wine shop squinted at Zhou Sanji, put one leg on the table in front of him, and said in a gloomy tone: "Your child is paralyzed and can't move at all. Logically speaking, the wine shop can't accept him. Do you understand?"

Zhou Sanji kept nodding his head with a flattering smile on his face: "I know, I know."

The manager of the wine shop rolled his eyes and suddenly smiled: "However, since you have the tickets given by the Wen family, the wine shop can only accept the matter.

Tell this paralyzed man to lie down in the cellar at the back.

See if his hysteria can be used to make wine.

But I have to say this first - if this man is not crazy at all, the winery can only keep him for three days at most!"

"Okay, okay." Zhou Sanji kept nodding his head with a flattering smile on his face. After he agreed to the wine shop owner's request, he turned around and said to Zhou Chang, "Then, youngest grandson, you will stay in this wine shop, right?"

"Okay." Zhou Chang nodded.

The steward put his legs down from the table, stood up, and waved his hand behind him casually: "Two people, help this paralyzed man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two young and strong winery workers came over and helped Zhou Chang down from the cart.

"You come with me." The manager pointed at Shidanzi who was standing next to him, then turned around and walked into the hallway with his hands behind his back.

The two young men supported Zhou Chang and walked inside, and Shidanzi hurriedly followed.

"Achang, you are fine in there!"

At this time, Zhou Sanji, who was standing in front of the hallway, shouted.

Zhou Chang listened to the old man's voice and did not look back.

He was supported by two winery workers and walked through the entrance lobby where wine jars of different sizes and qualities were placed, and entered the backyard of the winery.

The backyard is where Yongsheng Winery produces wine.

In the huge courtyard, there are several bungalows that can be considered simple compared to the front lobby.

Many empty wine jars were piled up randomly at the foot of the courtyard wall, and the entire yard was filled with the slightly sour smell of fermenting grains.

The walls of those bungalows were connected, forming an inner courtyard in the large yard.

The inner courtyard was locked behind high walls. The steward led Zhou Chang and a few others around the wall for a long time before they finally found a black lacquered wooden door in an inconspicuous corner.

He asked everyone to stand in front of the door, then knocked on it nervously.

Shortly after the door rang, a voice came from inside: "Who?"

"It's me, Zhu Gui...

Two people came today with work tickets stamped by the Wen family, wanting to work in the cellar—wanting to use the "Ganchunqu" in the cellar to treat hysteria and insanity." Manager Zhu Gui swallowed his saliva and said in a low voice.

After hearing what Zhu Gui said, the man behind the door was silent for a moment before saying, "Since there is a work ticket from the Dong family, let him in."

"Hey, hey!" Zhu Gui agreed quickly. He turned his head to look at Zhou Chang who was supported by someone, and then hurried to explain to the person behind the door, "One of these two people is paralyzed and can't move. Look at this..."

"They are not allowed to move around in the cellar anyway, so it's just good that he can't move." The person behind the door smiled, slowly unbolted the bolt, and pushed the door open to a gap just enough for one person to walk sideways.

Zhu Gui first pushed Shi Danzi, who was following behind him, through the gap, and then together with the two winery workers, pushed Zhou Chang into the crack in the door.

Bang!
The black lacquered wooden door suddenly closed again.

Zhou Chang fell on the slippery stone floor. When he raised his eyes, he saw that the inner courtyard was completely covered by a wooden shed.

Surrounded by wooden pillars supporting the roof, a mountain of grain that looked like a tomb stood in the center of the "inner room"!

In front of the "grave mountain" covered with mycelium and piled up with grain, there was a tombstone standing - "Ancestor Wen"!
"Ancestor Wen, this is the best wine from our Yongsheng Winery." A shirtless man with layers of fat on his body walked out from the shadows behind the door. He saw the frightened expression on Shidanzi's face beside Zhou Chang, and explained to Shidanzi with a smile.

There was no light at all, and in the dimly lit inner room, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard.

Rumble, rumble...

The dull and heavy sound was getting closer and closer.

Two more people pushed a cart carrying a coffin and approached Zhou Chang and Shi Danzi.

(End of this chapter)