The First Military God of the Border

The winery of Shiweitian Restaurant is located in the backyard of the restaurant.

The distillery is not large, consisting of three brick houses.

One room is used to steam the grains, the second room is for fermentation, and the last room is for producing the liquor.

The door was open, and steam was wafting out.

An elderly man in his fifties was busy working in the distillery, accompanied by a young man of about seventeen or eighteen.

Upon seeing that it was Song Qingyan, the young man put down the wine jar he was moving and greeted her, "Boss, what brings you here?"

Song Qingyan nodded: "Where is your master?"

"Master, the master is arranging the lees in the back."

Not long after, the master craftsman from the distillery put down his work and came out.

"Master, would you like to try today's new wine?"

Song Qingyan introduced directly: "Old Chen, this is Brother Lin. He is also a master brewer and came to our distillery to take a look."

"Brother Lin, this is our Shiweitian brewing master."

When Old Chen heard that Lin Hui was also a brewer, he thought someone had come to take away his job, and immediately looked Lin Hui up and down with a serious expression.

Lin Hui chuckled and bypassed the winemaker, wandering around the various rooms of the distillery.

His gaze swept over each object, finally settling on the freshly steamed and cooling grain noodles.

Turning around, one could see a large amount of grain piled up in the room. This grain, which would be enough to sustain the villagers of Sigou Village who were starving, could only be used here to brew wine.

This contrast left Lin Hui feeling somewhat dazed.

He wondered whether it was the state of the world that forced ordinary people to go hungry and cold, or whether it was those in power and the wealthy who forced ordinary people to go hungry and cold.

Seeing Lin Hui deep in thought, Song Qingyan came up and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Lin? Is there a problem?"

Lin Hui shook his head, reached out and grabbed a handful of grain, smelled it under his nose, and then put some in his mouth to taste.

Old Chen followed Lin Hui closely, and the more he observed Lin Hui's actions, the more it seemed like Lin Hui was trying to steal his job.

When Lin Hui was about to try the new wine, Old Chen finally couldn't resist.

"Master, who exactly is he?"

"Master, no offense, but what could such a young lad possibly know about brewing? Master, don't let him mislead you and ruin the reputation of Shiweitian."

Song Qingyan ignored her family's winemaker, Lao Chen, and instead focused intently on Lin Hui's actions.

After tasting the wine, Lin Hui asked, "Master Chen, where is the yeast starter? I'd like to see it again."

Old Chen glared at Lin Hui: "You even want to see the yeast starter?"

Then he said fiercely, "What is yeast? That's a winemaker's livelihood. I bet you're just here to steal my recipe. You want my secret formula? No way!"

Lin Hui chuckled dismissively: "Master Chen, although I'm not as old as you, when it comes to brewing skills, I'm afraid you wouldn't be even one ten-thousandth as good as me in your next life."

"Stealing your secret recipe? You're dreaming."

Song Qingyan immediately said, "Old Chen, it's just yeast, it's not like we're watching how you make it. Even if Brother Lin wanted to steal it, he couldn't. Just let him see."

Hearing his employer say that, he reluctantly took out the yeast starter.

After smelling the yeast, Lin Hui clapped his hands and said, "Master Chen, I'm afraid your mixed fermentation of grains might cause the flavors to mix."

Master Chen snorted coldly: "What do you know? Stop pretending to know everything."

Lin Hui chuckled: "Master Chen, brewing wine doesn't actually require that much grain; sorghum is enough."

"Other grains are perfectly adequate for human consumption; there's no need to waste them on brewing."

"Like sorghum? Are you kidding me? How can you ferment sorghum alone to make a mellow wine? Naturally, the better the grain, the better the wine."

Lin Hui didn't refute, but instead asked with a smile, "So how many days did you ferment it?"

"Nine Heavens".

"Then let me ask you again, after you put it in the distillery, do you bottle the first and second batches of liquor separately, or mix them together?"

"Of course they're packaged separately, otherwise how can you tell the quality of the wine?"

Lin Hui nodded.

Then I went to check on the cooking pot.

The equipment is working properly, the sealing effect is excellent, and moisture will not escape.

This is a typical traditional brewing equipment, which still exists in rural areas today, but the wine produced by this equipment is generally mediocre.

"Master Chen, I'm afraid your method of brewing wine won't produce good wine. No wonder Shiweitian's wine is bland and tasteless."

Upon hearing this, Master Chen immediately became angry: "What do you mean? Do you think I don't have any skills?"

"Boss, if you want to replace someone else working at the stove, just say so. You don't need to send some young punk to bully this old man."

"I've been brewing wine for half my life, and this is the first time I've been questioned like this."

"Boss, just say the word. If you want me to leave, I'll pack my bags right now."

Lin Hui laughed heartily: "Master Chen, are you mistaken?"

"Why do you want to leave when you're doing so well here?"

Old Chen was even more confused and asked loudly, "What exactly do you mean?"

Lin Hui said to Song Qingyan, "Madam, Master Chen's skills are excellent, his brewing method is correct, and his recipe is perfect."

Song Qingyan was puzzled and quickly asked, "Brother Lin, since everything is fine, why doesn't our wine taste the same?"

Lin Hui nodded and said, "Madam, it's actually quite simple to solve."

"How do we solve this?"

Song Qingyan was very excited. If the problem of alcohol could be solved, Shiweitian's business could definitely become the best in Linjiang County.

However, Master Chen was no longer calm. Although Lin Hui said that his method was correct, which relieved him, now Lin Hui said that he could solve the problem.

Isn't this all just to steal his job?

"What nonsense are you talking about? These things were just purchased by the employer at the beginning of the year, how could there be a problem?"

"With so many distilleries in Linjiang County, which one doesn't brew wine this way?"

"Master, don't be fooled by him. If he damages the distillery and the brewing equipment, it will take at least half a month to repair. You'll be the one who suffers the loss then, Master."

Song Qingyan turned to Master Chen and said, "It's alright, Master Chen, the loss is mine, as long as you don't lose your wages."

As for Lin Hui, he ignored him completely and turned to the young apprentice beside him, asking, "Go find me a bamboo pole, and also a round cylinder, made of iron."

The young apprentice was unsure whether to listen, glancing at his master and then at Song Qingyan.

Master Chen also wanted to know what Lin Hui was up to, so he gestured for his young apprentice to go and find out.

Once the items arrived, Lin Hui began his work.

Master Chen, who was watching from the side, was immediately unsettled when he saw that Lin Hui was actually going to dismantle the entire wine dispenser.

"Master, we can't let him continue like this, he's ruining our distillery."

Song Qingyan disagreed, shaking her head and saying, "I trust him. Let him go ahead and do it boldly."

Master Chen opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He was just an employee; the disappearance of the distillery had nothing to do with him.

Besides, the boss just said that even if there are problems with the distillery, his wages will not be deducted.

So, Master Chen stopped trying to stop him and instead became relaxed.

After a while, Lin Hui had finished the renovation.

He improved the distillation pot using new-era distillation techniques, and the resulting liquor was absolutely the strongest in the entire Linjiang County.

Looking at the wok that Lin Hui had modified, Song Qingyan asked expectantly, "Is this all there is to it?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"How strong can the liquor be?"

"How should I put it? It must be very strong. In any case, as long as it's produced, it's the strongest liquor in Linjiang County."

Master Chen laughed heartily: "Young man, don't be so arrogant."

"The strongest liquor? The strongest liquor belongs to Shuangji's Shili Hong. You think you can make the strongest liquor by just messing around with it a few times?"

"That's a joke."

Lin Hui wasn't angry. Instead, he said seriously, "Master Chen, how about we make a bet? You'll be the first to taste the first batch of wine tomorrow."

"You'll see who's really talking nonsense then."

Lin Hui then greeted Song Qingyan and left in a hurry.

Song Qingyan was left in a mess in the winery.

If Lin Hui really brews a wine that's even stronger than Shili Hong, what does that mean?

This means that Shiweitian will be packed with customers every day, and business will get better and better every day.

Thinking of all this, Song Qingyan said to Master Chen, "Old Chen, I'll leave everything else to you. I'll personally taste the first sip of this wine tomorrow morning."