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

Chapter 808 Dragon Ointment
The New Year is approaching.

Luoyang is becoming more and more lively.

The influx of a large number of nobles and officials from Chang'an, bringing their families with them, suddenly revitalized the Eastern Capital, which had been quiet for several years.

Housing and land prices in Luoyang have risen significantly, and the value of farmland in the suburbs has also increased considerably.

Although it is said that there may be drought, locusts, and famine next year.
However, many nobles from Chang'an were still busy buying land, buying houses, renovating, and building new ones.

Even the horse market was bustling with activity.

The nobles, who wanted to summon slaves, would buy slaves directly in Luoyang.

Prices in Luoyang were still slowly rising; if it weren't for Li Yi beheading thirty-six gang leaders,
I'm afraid it would have gone crazy by now.

The apricot-yellow flag at the entrance of Yutai Restaurant in Nanshi fluttered in the cold wind.

This newly opened restaurant is doing very well.

Now that the imperial court has banned private brewing, the quantity of officially brewed wine is small, and the price has soared while demand still exceeds supply.

Luoyang was suddenly flooded with over 100,000 people from Guanzhong.

The official liquor was in even greater demand and short supply.

The newly opened Yutai Restaurant received a wine voucher and was given a fixed supply of alcohol.

Although the quantity wasn't much, at least there was alcohol.

Moreover, their advantage lies in the fact that they have many non-grain-based brews, such as persimmon liquor, wine, pear liquor, and sweet potato liquor. These non-grain-based brews can be sold openly with the help of wine vouchers.

For those who appreciate fine wine,
This is undoubtedly a treasure trove.

Besides, this place is newly renovated, and the restaurant is large, with both open seating in the main hall and private rooms upstairs.

There were also women from the Western Regions performing the Hu Xuan dance, and musicians from Kucha playing the pipa.

Beautiful Silla maids and Kunlun slaves served as attendants.

There are also performances such as storytelling, wrestling, and women's sumo.

There are also public bathhouses and hot springs, offering a one-stop shop for eating, drinking, entertainment, bathing, and rest, and the basic costs are not high.

But if you have money, you can enjoy many activities.

A group of young noblemen entered the restaurant, where a dark-skinned, curly-haired Kunlun slave waiter greeted them in fluent Mandarin.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?"

"No, find us an Accord." The young leader smiled and turned to his companions, saying, "This old black man has a good tongue; he speaks fluent Mandarin."

Another young man dressed in a sable fur coat said, "I have a parrot at home, which was brought from the Kingdom of Lin Yi. It is very good at mimicking speech. This old black man is also from the South China Sea. He is comparable to my parrot."

The group entered the restaurant, chatting and laughing.

Despite being mocked, the Kunlun slave maintained a smile, revealing a set of white teeth.

His dark skin made his teeth appear even whiter and brighter.

Lobby

The manager of the main hall was a Sogdian man wearing a flowered hat and a narrow-sleeved robe. Upon seeing the elegantly dressed gentlemen enter, he immediately beckoned to a Silla head maid.

"Go and greet our distinguished guest quickly."

The petite and slender head maid of Silla swayed her hips as she stepped forward to greet her.
The leading young master slapped her on the buttocks first.
"Ouch, young master, you've hurt me."

The head maid from Silla led the group of young men upstairs and selected a large private room.

What kind of wine would the guests like?

"What good wines do you have here? Do you have Persian Sanle wine or Gaochang wine?"

The head waiter from Silla was pulled into the young master's arms. She let out two soft cries, half-rejecting and half-accepting, "Young master, Yutai has both Sanlejiang (a type of fermented liquor) and wine, as well as Longgao wine."

The young master pinched the Silla woman whose skin was so tender it seemed to drip with moisture. "Dragon oil wine, I think I've heard my father mention it before. Which country sent it as tribute?"

"Wuyi Mountain Kingdom is located south of the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu in the Western Regions, and even past Tokharistan. They once presented giant eggs from Tiaozhi as tribute, each egg weighing three or four catties."

This dragon's blood wine was also a tribute from them; it was as black as pure lacquer, and drinking it made one feel refreshed.

"Why is it called Dragon's Oil Wine? Is it made from dragon's oil?"

"Young master is truly wise. This wine is indeed made from the local swamp dragons. It can replenish qi and blood, strengthen muscles and bones, and is a good health-preserving wine."

The Wuyi Mountain Kingdom is tens of thousands of miles away from us, so transporting it here is extremely difficult. This wine, in our Great Tang Dynasty, is far rarer than Sanle wine or Gaochang wine; it's practically impossible to find.

The young master laughed and said, "I like rare things like this. Quickly bring me a jar."

"Young master, I'm really sorry, this wine is too rare and the price is too high, ten thousand for a jug of wine."

The young master pushed the Silla head waiter aside, his face cold. "Do you think I'm short of money? Ten thousand coins is a lot. Ten thousand is nothing."

"Serve two bushels first."

"No, there are seven of us today. Giving each of us a dou (a unit of volume) is like making it seem like we can't afford it."

Not only this Dragon's Blood Wine, but also the Persian Sanle Wine and Gaochang Wine, one dou (a unit of volume) each.

"Young master, you can't possibly drink that much at once, can you?"

"If you can't finish it, just leave it here. Stop talking so much nonsense."

Although the Silla maid was secretly pleased, since Yutai Restaurant had a rule that offered commissions for selling drinks, she was also somewhat disappointed.
"Young master, I am truly sorry, but this Dragon's Blood Wine is extremely rare and precious. Our restaurant currently only has one bushel left. However, I would like to recommend a new wine to you, called Locust Wine, which is made by soaking overwintered locust eggs with old persimmons in a fermented cellar."
Honey was added for further maturation, along with Panax notoginseng, Gastrodia elata, and Eucommia ulmoides.

This wine not only tastes good, but it can also relieve wind and pain, and nourish the kidneys and replenish essence.

The servant secretly told a few people,
This wine, I've heard, was made by the legendary physician Sun, the Medicine King, at the Li Situ family's winery.

"Wine produced by Li Situ's family distillery?"

"Is wine made from locust eggs drinkable?" another young master asked.

"If lambs can be used to brew wine, and fine wine at that, why can't locust eggs? I heard that a few days ago, His Majesty, along with the prime ministers and over a thousand imperial guards, spent a day digging for locust eggs on the Yellow River beach, bringing back over a thousand catties."

Then, at Li Situ's house, they even held some kind of locust egg feast, making many dishes.

His Majesty and all the prime ministers praised the food highly.

The Silla foreman then added, "I heard that this locust wine, after being brewed, was presented to the palace, and even His Majesty praised it after drinking it."
The old imperial physicians from the Imperial Pharmacy of the Palace Secretariat, along with the physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, all tested this wine and said it was very effective.

"This wine is extremely rare these days. Our restaurant went through many connections to finally get a batch."
It's even rarer than dragon's blood wine.
"Why don't you gentlemen give it a try?"

Initially, the young noblemen were reluctant to drink the wine, which was made by soaking persimmons in locust eggs. However, upon learning that it was brewed by the Li family and even presented as tribute to the imperial court, praised by the emperor, and endorsed by the imperial physicians of the Imperial Pharmacy and the Imperial Medical Bureau, they were quite surprised.
I definitely have to try it.

As for the price, that's not a problem at all.
They're all sons of noble families; who would be short of that little bit of money?

In reality, these young men were only fifteen or sixteen years old, and the older ones were just over twenty. They were in the prime of their youth, too young to know the meaning of sorrow, and were forced to feign melancholy for the sake of writing poetry. They didn't know anything about good or bad wine.
They only know how to choose the most expensive drinks.

Soon the shopkeeper himself arrived with his staff to deliver the wine.

The wine is in a specially made porcelain bottle, and each bottle contains only one liter of wine.

"Gentlemen, this is the locust wine that is now extremely rare."

One bottle costs a thousand coins.

This is definitely not cheap. Some dry land costs only a hundred or so yuan per mu, but this bottle of wine can buy ten mu of land.

Even at the Luoyang horse market,

A maidservant only costs a few thousand coins, but a young and beautiful maidservant can fetch ten thousand coins.

Those high-class Silla maids were only worth twenty or thirty thousand coins.

Open the wine.
The Sogdian shopkeeper, Hu, even specially invited a band of musicians from Kucha and Persian women to perform songs and dances for him.
The Kunlun slave waiter, shouting at the top of his lungs, called out to the entire restaurant: "VIP No. 9, open ten bottles of locust wine!"

"Gentlemen,"
Our restaurant is pleased to offer a complimentary locust egg banquet, a feast prepared by the Li family to entertain His Majesty and the prime ministers, featuring eighteen different ways of preparing locust eggs, accompanied by eighteen other desserts and cold dishes.

Drink locust wine and eat locust eggs.
We ordered a Persian orangutan dancer and a Kucha musician to play the zither.
Then, a Silla maidservant accompanied them while they drank.

This purchase cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The young noblemen didn't care at all; they were only interested in the locust wine and locust egg feast that the emperor and prime ministers drank.
It seems that by eating these things, one immediately becomes a higher class.

"I must say, this liquor is potent, yet it tastes quite good, and it's even slightly sweet. Not bad."

Another person said, "I never imagined that locust eggs could be used to make so many dishes. They're delicious whether you fry, stir-fry, boil, or steam them."

"I think this giant grasshopper eagle is very lifelike and beautiful."

The young men drank to their hearts' content.

The Sogdian shopkeeper, Mr. Hu, smiled and presented the fruit platter.

"Are you gentlemen satisfied with this locust wine and feast?"

"Indeed, no wonder your Yutai Restaurant has been so successful since it opened. You're quite capable. Who's your owner?"

The innkeeper smiled and said, "I am the owner of this restaurant."

"you?"

"The little An Lushan."

The young master just chuckled. How could someone open such a large restaurant in the South Market of Luoyang without a solid background?

However, the other party refused to disclose the details, and he was unaware of the situation and dared not offend them.

"Gentlemen, we have some news to share. We've heard that Minister Li has proposed transporting grain from Lingnan to the Central Plains, not only through government-run transport but also by encouraging private individuals to trade grain."

The benefits of successfully trading grain are numerous: bestowal of titles and honors, posthumous honors as teachers, monetary rewards, and even the right to operate lucrative businesses such as salt, iron, tea, and wine.
Currently, the leaders of the 220 trades in the southern market are discussing how to respond to the imperial court's call and pool their resources.

They organized caravans, prepared carts, boats, and men, to transport grain to Lingnan.

Now, as long as you invest money, you're considered a member. When the money and grain are sold, you can receive dividends and profits.

"Gentlemen, would you be interested in investing some of your pocket money? This would not only be responding to the imperial court's call, but also earning you some extra cash."

"Such a thing is true?"

The shopkeeper, An Lushan, said, "Everyone says there will be a famine next year, and who knows how many times the price of grain will increase then."

As long as grain can be transported, it will definitely make a fortune. If a lot is transported, it can even be exchanged for official titles and honors in the imperial court.

Now that the imperial court is leading the effort to organize teams to transport grain south, many people who previously lacked connections can now join in. As long as they raise enough capital and organize the carts, ships, and personnel...
With the full support of the imperial court, allowing them to pass through without any obstacles, this business opportunity is truly once in a lifetime.

We only need to invest some money; there's no need to go to Lingnan. We can just sit back and receive dividends. Isn't that great?

"This meal has cost tens of thousands of coins, so you must all be quite wealthy. Why not contribute a little?"

(End of this chapter)