A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 189 Li Zhi's Diary

"November 17th, today is Minor Cold. When I woke up this morning, I saw magpies building nests in the yard with branches in their mouths, chirping. When I went out, I saw many more magpies busy building nests.
I don't know what to shout about.

The weather is getting colder and things are going wrong these days.

That evil creature should have been hanged on the wall in the first place. I shouldn't have felt sorry for that bitch Zhang who sent him here. I shouldn't have sent that evil creature to the gate of Xuandu Temple. I should have thrown him directly into the East Office cesspool and drowned him.

This evil creature actually killed my horse, a fine horse from Hexi that I bought for 80,000 coins. Even the saddle and bridle cost me 50,000 coins. I should have asked the servant to take the saddle and bridle back that day. 50,000 coins could have bought me several Persian girls.

At noon, while eating in the cafeteria, Cao Song from Yierfu was actually talking about me behind my back. This Sogdian dog slave, who used to be just a horse-raising servant in the saint's house, has now risen to prominence and become the head of a government office. How dare this bastard laugh at me?
I was granted the title of marquis and promoted to prefect more than ten years ago. You Sogdian dog slave deserve to be killed.

As a result, I didn't have lunch. I went back to the public housing and ate two cakes. After finishing my shift in the afternoon, I went to Liu Ruyan's place in Huaiyuanfang. There I had glutinous rice with fried bacon, which was very delicious.

After dinner, I went to her to vent my anger, but she got her period.

This bitch still wants to do it, I don't want to touch this bad luck, I've been too unlucky recently,
She bit me..."

night,

Pingkangfang House,

Li Zhi, the chief minister of Zuowei Yifu, was sitting in his study writing in his diary.

Li Zhi was a brave and powerful man, skilled in riding and shooting, and could shoot two geese with one arrow while riding. However, he was unwilling to study since childhood. Although he was handsome, he had little knowledge.

But this guy has a habit of keeping a diary, and he writes it every day without missing a single one.

If I have time, I will record it in detail. If I don’t have time, I will just keep a simple account of the current situation. I have kept this record for twenty or thirty years.

His diary was very straightforward, recording everything as it was, never writing anything exaggerated. Most of what was recorded in it was his affairs with women, such as where he saw a beautiful woman, when he took a concubine, which prostitute he fell in love with in a brothel, or which widow he had an affair with.
This guy is tall and handsome, and has a good family background. Although he is about forty years old, he looks more mature and charming. He also held a high official rank in the past, so he is quite capable in this area.

Before marrying Yang, he had already taken in several concubines and even a number of maids, and he also slept with many prostitutes in the outer courtyard.

Later, Zhang regretted marrying Yang Su's daughter.
He did restrain himself for a while, kept a low profile, and acted secretly. After Yang Su died, he returned to his old ways. After his brother-in-law Yang Xuangan rebelled, Li Zhi became even more unscrupulous.

In addition to liking women, Li Zhi also likes making money and drinking.

His diary recorded all kinds of ways he made money, including embezzlement, bribery, and accepting gifts. The Li family was not short of money, but this guy loved money very much.

Finished writing today's diary.
Li Zhi waited until the ink dried and put it away carefully, still cursing.

He cursed Li Yi, the evildoer, and also cursed General Cao Song who was talking about him behind his back today, and even cursed his concubine Liu Ruyan in Huaiyuanfang.

Scolded everyone.
Li Zhi leaned there and couldn't help but take out a small silver pot. The flat small silver pot was exquisitely made and could be put in the arms or tied around the waist.

Unscrew it and the aroma of wine fills your nose.

Li Zhi took a big sip.

He couldn't help scolding Li Yi, "This wicked son, I asked him to recognize his ancestral roots, but he turned against me and became my enemy. How hateful! If he had honestly recognized me, this persimmon liquor that has recently become popular among the military officers in Chang'an would also become my property.
How much money will he make in a year, and how many women can he sleep with, this bastard?"

Drink one sip after another,
The more I drink, the more energetic I feel, but also the angrier I feel.

He was originally willing to acknowledge this evil son, but who knew that he was still unhappy.

Now the emperor intervened.
The ancestral temple was built for that wicked son, and he was even registered in the Zongzheng Temple.
What does this mean?
That evil boy actually became a member of the royal family?

What should I do with my relative?
This wicked son now owns more than 5,000 acres of land, a fort in Yusuchuan, and several houses in Chang'an.
These should all belong to you.

Li Zhi finished drinking a silver pot of wine, his eyes were red.
He sat there like a ferocious wolf.

······
Li Yi, who is suspended from work and at home, is quite relaxed.

During the Lesser Cold season, the wine is warm and the soup is hot. At the end of the year, we have nothing to do and look forward to the New Year.

Persimmon wine has begun to be processed in batches.
After batches of persimmons are fermented, they are distilled in the winery on the Mijuku River.

"Our persimmons ferment very well and produce a lot of wine." Cunli is now in charge of the winery. His sister has not been found yet, but the young man already has the temperament of a shopkeeper.

"How long does a pot of wine take?"

"From heating the pot, filling it with stuff, to making the wine, and then removing the ingredients, it takes about an hour and a half to make a pot of wine. One pot can make 20 kilograms of wine, but the head wine needs to be processed a little bit. Each stove can make four pots of wine a day.

Now there are five distillery rooms, each with five stoves."

Li Yi nodded.
Twenty-five stoves can produce up to one hundred pots of wine a day, which together can produce two thousand kilograms of wine.

This amount is quite large.

However, the head and tail of the wine need to be processed further, and there is a special wine room.

"Our current persimmon-smoked wine is also divided into three grades. According to Alang's instructions, the best wine will be mostly stored in the kiln first, and a small portion will be used for gifts and sales."

"How are the liquor stores in the East and West Markets doing?"

"Our Mishukugawa Persimmon Shochu is quite famous now, and many people like it. However, the high-quality and low-quality ones sell better, especially the low-quality ones. The medium-quality ones are not so popular."

"That's okay. Persimmon shochu is strong, so not everyone likes it. Of course, those who like it include the rich and the poor."

Nowadays, wine is expensive and the imperial court has banned private brewing. Many ordinary people can no longer afford to drink wine, but they still want to have a taste of it. The appearance of persimmon-burned wine has

For many wine lovers, it is an excellent substitute. A small cup can give you the same feeling as a large bowl, and the price is even cheaper.

The price of low-grade persimmon-smoked liquor is now one piece of silk per liter.

That is to say, one liter of persimmon cake is sold at the price of one dou of rice, which is a discount of more than three hundred coins.

It is not expensive, but it is also expensive.

I say it's not expensive because everything is expensive nowadays due to inflation. I say it's expensive because it costs one piece of silk to buy one liter of wine.

But if you drink half a liang or one liang of persimmon wine at a time, you can drink it ten or even dozens of times.

A liter of other kinds of wine, whether turbid or clear, would only be enough for one or two drinks, but nowadays, the best persimmon-smoked sake would cost ten pieces of silk per liter.

However, Li Yi plans to launch high-quality products such as kiln-stored and aged wines in the future, adopting a limited-edition, high-end model and selling them at higher prices. If successful, the premium could be staggering.

"We can add some more wine rooms and stoves, etc."

Two thousand kilograms a day, even if we only count the lowest quality ones, that's still two thousand pieces of silk income, but the cost of making persimmon wine is very low.
It is much cheaper to buy persimmons than to buy soybeans for making bean curd sheets, and it doesn’t cost much to pull a cart full of them.

As for the cost, it means buying a fermentation tank, a stove and a pot, a griddle, a steamer, etc.

The remaining costs are the workers' wages, the shop rent, and the wages of the shopkeeper and his assistants.

No matter how you calculate it, it's very profitable.

Especially since this is an exclusive business now,

Others used grain to make wine, and the imperial court was still in a special period of prohibiting private brewing.
He, Li Yi, brewed wine with worthless persimmons.
"In the suburbs of Chang'an, there are thirteen markets in the hundreds of villages under the jurisdiction of Chang'an and Wannian counties alone, and people can be sent to the markets to sell wine."

With a daily wine output of 2,000 kilograms, we still need to sell it quickly.

"You can also find some wine merchants and cooperate with them. We can sell the wine to them and wholesale it to them at a cheaper price than ours."

Compared with the winery and wine shop, it is now on the right track and has a promising future.

Li Yi's soap workshop was not doing well. He made many kinds of scented soaps and asked craftsmen to make many new molds.

But it is quite difficult to carve out a niche in the traditional bath bean market.

Different from the uniqueness of persimmon-yaki,

Although soap is quite special, its functions are similar after all. Over the years, everyone has become accustomed to traditional bath beans, and even those bath bean businesses are quite famous.

It is not easy to replace or stand out now.

Many bath beans are not as effective as Li Yi's soap.

But many bath beans are no longer just sold for their efficacy, but have adopted various marketing methods to sell brands, luxury, and status.

The cost of soap is much higher than that of persimmon wine, so Li Yi can only take it slowly. Anyway, soap can still make money now, but it just hasn't become a big hit and made a lot of money.

All I can do is to maintain the shop, the employees and the workers first, and then focus on marketing later.

Li Yi is not so short of money now.

There has always been a steady flow of income, so there is no need to worry at all.

This money can never be spent.

Building a private temple would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the emperor helped him build it without spending a penny.

I've only been at home for a few days.
Li Yi received an imperial edict early in the morning that the emperor was going to Zhoushipo, Fengzhengyuan, Gaoling, to revisit his old residence, and specially summoned Li Yi to accompany him.

Put on casual clothes and a fur coat,
He took Zhao Yongan and the other three with him to accompany the emperor.

I met my senior brother Sun Fujia who was also traveling with me.

"I'm already suspended, why are you calling me?"

"That's called suspension, not dismissal. The court didn't remove you from your position as director of Fengyi Palace. It just asked you to go home and reflect on yourself." Sun Fujia said with a smile.

He said to Li Yi, "Li Zhi is accompanying the emperor today as a guard. You must be restrained. After all, everyone knows he is your biological father. If you are disrespectful to him, it will give others a handle to attack you. Even if the Saint admires you, he cannot always favor you."

"I will pretend not to know him,"

"That won't work either. The Saint has issued an order for you to build a private temple, and has also stated that your private temple is dedicated to your great-grandfather Li Chao, great-grandfather Li Jing, and grandfather Li Shimo.

This is to tell you that your father is Li Zhi, and this cannot be changed."

"Does the saint want me to return to my roots? That's impossible." Li Yi shook his head.

Sun Fujia said: "Why did you, the saint, order you to be registered as a member of the imperial clan? In fact, it is because I know that you refuse to recognize Li Zhi, so I asked you to register in the royal clan genealogy. Now you are a member of the royal clan.

Your great-grandfather is Li Chao, your great-great-grandfather is Li Jing, your grandfather is Li Shimo, and even your father is Li Zhi.

However, you are no longer from the Tianshui Li family, and you are not from the same family as Li Zhi. You are now a member of the royal family.

This is the saint protecting you."

Li Yi was confused.
I can't understand why you keep going around in circles.

Li Zhi is his father, but he is not a member of the Li Zhi family?

"Prince Yi'an Li Xiaochang was originally from the Tianshui Li family, but Li Yuantong refused to acknowledge Li Jing as his father and never returned to his ancestral home. But who in the world doesn't know that he is Li Jing's son?

But now that Li Xiaochang has made great contributions to the country, he has been specially granted the title of Prince and is listed as a member of the Zongzheng clan. That means he is no longer a member of the Tianshui Li family, but a member of the royal Li family.

You are in the same situation as him."

Li Yi seemed to understand, "What it means is that I am no longer a member of the Tianshui Li family."

"Yes, you built a private temple to worship your great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, and grandfather. You only acknowledged your ancestors, but did not return to the clan."

"Can I not recognize Li Zhi?"

"That won't work. Li Zhi is still your father, but you are a bastard and cannot recognize your ancestors. From now on, you are no longer a member of the Tianshui Li family, but you still have to be polite to Li Zhi. After all, you are father and son."

Li Yi nodded, "I understand. We have to be polite on the surface, but in reality, he is him and I am me."

"Of course, you are not a family, so of course he is him and you are you."

(End of this chapter)