TATLC Chapter 22 – Selling Alcohol

The next day, Chen Xiaomi spent two hundred wen to buy twenty exquisite wine jars.

After bringing the jars home, Lu Lin opened a case of beer and poured it into the jars before sealing them tightly.

One case of beer filled about eleven jars.

“Great, that should do it. Tomorrow we can take these to the restaurant and try selling them,” Chen Xiaomi said, his eyes bright with excitement.

If we can sell this wine successfully, I’ll buy a mule cart. Having a cart would certainly be convenient. We could build a wooden canopy for it, so we wouldn’t have to worry much about wind and rain.

Lu Lin frowned and said, “We might not be able to sell it.”

Lu Lin believed that by ancient standards, this beer could be considered good wine, but without any reputation, people might not be willing to take a chance on it.

Chen Xiaomi replied carelessly, “If we can’t sell it, we’ll drink it ourselves.” He quite enjoyed the taste anyway.

“We could gift a jar to that young master,” Lu Lin suggested. With over a hundred cases of beer in his convenience store, he wasn’t particularly concerned about giving away a jar or two.

When Lu Lin went to town last time, he asked around and discovered that Young Master Yang was quite respected there. If he enjoyed the beer and helped spread the word, they wouldn’t have to worry about sales in the future.

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin went to town together. Although Chen Xiaomi carried a large basket on his back, they kept the wine stored in Lu Lin’s convenience store space during their journey, and only took it out when they were near the town.

Chen Xiaomi felt entirely confident about selling the alcohol, but his enthusiasm was quickly dampened.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi first visited Fuyuan Restaurant, where Lu Lin asked a waiter if they could meet the manager, only to be rudely turned away.

The arrogant waiter informed them that the manager wasn’t someone they could meet on a whim, leaving them with no choice but to leave.

Not only did they fail to sell the alcohol, but they were also mocked, leaving Chen Xiaomi feeling bitter.

“What kind of people are they? Looking down on us like that,” Chen Xiaomi grumbled.

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaomi and smiled. “Why get upset over them?”

Lu Lin had anticipated things might not go smoothly, but when they actually didn’t, he still felt somewhat bothered.

Lu Lin comforted him with a smile, “Today they may ignore us, but tomorrow they won’t be able to reach our level. We’ll make it big someday.” By then, such petty characters wouldn’t even be worth mentioning.

Lu Lin led Chen Xiaomi to a second establishment, Hongyun Restaurant, where the manager showed some interest when they mentioned selling alcohol.

“You’re selling alcohol? From where?”

“Brewed at home,” Chen Xiaomi replied.

“Home-brewed alcohol probably won’t fetch much of a price.”

Chen Xiaomi responded confidently, “The alcohol we brew at home is quite delicious.”

The manager smiled mysteriously. Wine made by country people probably wasn’t anything special, but these rural people had limited experience and always thought their own products are superior.

“Xiaomi.” The Yang family’s eldest young master walked out and, seeing Chen Xiaomi talking with the restaurant manager, became curious.

“Yang-gongzi¹, you’re here too! This is alcohol I brewed myself. This jar is a gift for you.”

Young Master Yang smiled and said, “That’s thoughtful of you, Xiaomi.”

The Yang family was extremely wealthy, and Young Master Yang typically drank only the finest wines. He wasn’t particularly interested in Chen Xiaomi’s so-called alcohol, but he didn’t want to hurt Chen Xiaomi’s feelings, so he accepted it directly.

When the Hongyun Restaurant manager saw that Chen Xiaomi knew Yang Hengzhi, his attitude toward Chen Xiaomi immediately improved.

“If you’re selling alcohol, we need to examine its quality first,” the manager said carefully.

Chen Xiaomi promptly opened a jar and poured two bowls of alcohol.

The only way to prove something’s quality is to show it.

Young Master Yang, who originally wasn’t very interested in Chen Xiaomi’s gift, was surprised when he saw the poured alcohol.

“This alcohol is brewed quite well! It looks almost like premium wine,” Young Master Yang remarked with astonishment as he fanned himself.

The restaurant manager took a sip and asked eagerly, “Are all your jars of this same quality?”

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yes, they all came from the same batch.”

Young Master Yang casually took a bowl for himself and took a sip. He was immediately surprised. “I never expected you to have such skill, Xiaomi. What if this alcohol…”

The restaurant manager realized that the young master was trying to snatch the deal and said helplessly, “Young Master Yang, this isn’t quite proper, is it?”

Young Master Yang smiled. “I was being impulsive. Manager Wang, you mustn’t take advantage of my little brother’s inexperience and cheat him!”

“How could I?” Manager Wang forced a smile.

Manager Wang glanced at Young Master Yang, feeling somewhat depressed. If the young master wasn’t present, he could have negotiated the price down, but with him here, if he tried to lower the price, he might lose the wine altogether.

In the end, including the opened jar, Chen Xiaomi sold all ten jars of wine to Manager Wang for eight hundred wen each, earning a total of eight taels of silver.

Manager Wang enthusiastically stated that if there was more wine available, Chen Xiaomi could bring it over.

Having earned eight taels of silver in one go, Chen Xiaomi was overjoyed. Knowing that Lu Lin still had plenty of beer they could sell made him even happier.

It was hard to say whether the two had good luck or bad. Chen Xiaomi had been determined to buy a mule, but unfortunately, there were no mules for sale in the market. Left with no choice, the two decided to buy some other items first.

Lu Lin went to the grain store and bought a batch of rice and flour. Although his convenience store also had rice and flour, those would eventually run out. Besides, Lu Lin felt that if they had money, buying natural, refined grain would be better, considering how much pesticide was used on crops in his previous life.

Apart from rice and flour, Lu Lin also caught six chicks. Eggs were being consumed very quickly, which gave Lu Lin a sense of crisis. Although they already had several chickens at home, buying more wouldn’t be a problem.

Besides the six chicks, Lu Lin also bought six goslings. Geese were good animals. They could guard the house and lay eggs.

Lu Lin decided that after bringing the goslings home, he would give them to Chen Xiaocai to raise. The kid was diligent and thrifty. If he was given the responsibility of raising the geese, he would take good care of them and make sure they didn’t die. With more tasks to do, the boy’s attention would naturally shift away from him.

Chen Xiaomi was undecided about buying a mule, but they still went to the livestock market to look around. There weren’t many animals available. They were either sick or old. Seeing no suitable options, the two reluctantly gave up.