Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 47 Huge Profits (Please continue reading)

Zhang Xian had never imagined that even distilled liquor could be considered high-proof.

Huang Zhong adjusted the blending ratio, and the mixture of wine and water, which was almost 2:1, actually had a higher alcohol content than the wine of this era. This means that the alcohol content of wine in this era was extremely low.

Even though he doesn't drink often, he could tell that this mixed wine, made with cooled boiled water, was more intoxicating than the fruit wines he had tasted before.

Roughly estimated, this blended liquor has an alcohol content of around 11%.

In modern times, this would definitely be considered a low-alcohol beverage, but here it is considered to have a high alcohol content.

No wonder Huang Zhong was speechless when he tasted the undiluted second-distilled liquor.

It seems that high-proof liquor will not have a high market share in this era.

Dilute it with water, dilute it all with water!
The ratio of fermented material to distilled liquor is close to 3:1, meaning that 60 catties of fermented material yields 20 catties of liquor. Even if we assume that 10 catties of the liquor is from the second distillation, it can be diluted with water.
Thirty catties of blended liquor were obtained.

Distilled liquor is stronger, so you need to use four catties of water to dilute one catty of liquor, which means you get fifty catties of liquor!
The case is solved! The case is solved!
Brewing wine does not concentrate the essence of grains; rather, it is a process of multiplying grains.

Sixty catties of fermented material can yield eighty catties of liquor. If the dilution technique is improved, it is not impossible to achieve two catties of liquor from one catty of grain.

The price is calculated based on the current price of 13 qian per jin of ordinary liquor (in the Han Dynasty, liquor was 5 qian per jin, but this was calculated based on 225 grams per jin; this book uses 500 grams per jin, so the price has been adjusted).
That is, 60 catties of fermented material yields 120 catties of wine, which is equivalent to 1,500 coins.

Moreover, judging from its color and taste, the wine I brewed myself is more similar to a fine wine. (In the Han Dynasty, "xingjiu" was a cloudy wine containing lees, more similar to modern sweet wine but of lower quality, while fine wine was a clear, purified liquid.)
Then the price will increase seven or eight times.

That is, 120 catties of wine would cost around 10,000 coins.
"Wow, no wonder they say the liquor business is incredibly profitable," Zhang Xian exclaimed in amazement.

His vat of fermented material weighed 262 jin (approximately 131 kg) including the vat itself, and the vat itself weighed about 60 jin (approximately 30 kg), so the fermented material weighed 200 jin (approximately 100 kg).

This is similar to the conclusion he reached by shoveling fermenting matter himself.

Two hundred catties of fermented material yields four hundred catties of blended liquor. Calculated at the price of pure liquor, that's over forty thousand yuan. However, the two hundred catties of sorghum used in one vat of fermented material costs only ten coins per catty, so one vat costs no more than two thousand yuan. Even if you add the yeast and let it be two thousand one hundred yuan, that's still exorbitant profits! Absolutely exorbitant profits!
One vat is worth more than 40,000 yuan. There are more than 30 vats in the fermentation room behind us. We have 1.2 million yuan.

They had enough money for seventy warhorses, and even had some left over.

Overjoyed, extremely overjoyed, Zhang Xian felt completely at ease at that moment.

"Patriarch?" Huang Zhong looked at Zhang Xian, who was deep in thought but occasionally chuckled, with some confusion.

Called and snapping back to reality, Zhang Xian realized he had been rude and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, I'm calculating the price."

"Should we continue mixing the wine?"

"Keep going! Keep going! Hansheng, this isn't just wine, these are all live warhorses."

Amused by Zhang Xian's words, Huang Zhong chuckled and said, "Then I must treat you well."

After saying that, he continued his wine-drinking business with Zhang Xian.

While they were mixing the ingredients, Zhou Cui was also distilling the liquor. The fermented material, weighing over 200 jin, produced more liquor than Zhang Xian had estimated at 400 jin, yielding a total of 420 jin.

There were forty-two earthenware jars for holding wine stacked at their feet, each weighing about ten pounds.

But the sun had already reached noon.

That's all the distilled spirit and blended spirit produced by noon. The production capacity of one distillery is limited; it looks like we'll need to set up a few more this afternoon.

There are as many as ten iron pots and five or six hollow barrels made by the Guo family craftsmen. When all of them are set up, there are five steaming pots. In one afternoon, they can steam five vats of fermented products.

Today was just an experiment; the fermented material had only fermented for twelve or thirteen days. Zhang Xian planned to wait a little longer, as he was not sure if the twelve or thirteen-day fermentation time would be enough to fully extract the alcohol from the fermented material.

So we decided to wait another fourteen or fifteen days, during which time we could train a group of workers to distill and blend the liquor.

Now that Taoyuan has plenty of food and over 200,000 coins, it's time to recruit more refugees.

That afternoon, after lunch, Zhang Xian sent Huang Zhong and Huwa and a few others out to recruit refugees.

He himself selected ten women from the Taoyuan farmhouses and began training them in distillation and blending techniques, with Zhou Cui as their foreman.

There are still 34 earthenware jars in the fermentation room, and he plans to use the extra four for training.

In the afternoon, they set up an extra cauldron, and he and Zhou Cui took turns teaching the women their techniques.

The training covers everything from how to lay the materials and when to add water to how much material to add at a time, ensuring that every participant gets hands-on practice at least two or three times.

And just like that, a new industry was added to Peach Blossom Spring.

For this purpose, Zhang Xian even went to the township office to report the distillery, and he had to pay several thousand kilograms of liquor as liquor tax every year.

This was already the most preferential policy that the township head Zhou Da and Zhou Renkuan had given to Zhang Xian, and he had also specifically stated that ordinary liquor could be used for the liquor tax.

Zhang Xian was extremely grateful, as this was a typical exchange of gifts among powerful families, embodying all the social etiquette and human relationships.

If it were an ordinary person, the alcohol tax would be several times higher.

Of course, Zhang Xian could have brewed privately without reporting it, but private brewing has its risks, and he is now a well-known figure in Zhengding, so it's not worth offending a powerful clan for such a small amount of profit.

Moreover, the prominent families in Zhending County might very well be his potential liquor customers.

Zhang Xian has already planned to continue brewing wine as one of Taoyuan's sources of income. He has now arranged for people to start collecting wine from the market. Since he wants to get involved in this highly profitable industry, he naturally has to give up some profits.

However, the discounts are not actually that much. Taoyuan is small, but its small size has its advantages, as it can keep a craft well hidden.

If outsiders can't see the foundation of his skill, they naturally won't understand the profit margins involved.

He only needs to shift from selling alcohol to wholesaling it, and the wealthy families who have benefited from following him will naturally become his supporters.

Although the profit would be lower if I didn't personally sell the wine, the cost of a 200-jin vat of fermented material was only 2,000 coins. Even if it cost 3,000 coins including labor, there would still be a difference of more than ten times between the cost and the profit.

He could make over 40,000 coins from a single vat of fermented material. Even if he sold it wholesale for 30,000 coins, he would still have a tenfold profit. Moreover, it would make everyone happy. This small sacrifice of profit could guarantee more stable production and greater prestige. Why wouldn't he do it?

Almost on the same day he went to the township office, he made his first deal with the Zhou family, a family of salt and iron merchants.

Zhou Dayuan was willing to purchase 3,000 jin of fine wine from him at a price of 70 coins per jin. This was a trial transaction. If the Zhou family caravan found it profitable, they would naturally increase the quantity later.

Han Zhu coins: 210,000 coins deposited into the treasury.

(End of this chapter)