PCJ – Chapter 152 We need to use Extra Jar to hold the Wine

“If the spell works later, you are not allowed to hit me with the bamboo switch anymore,” Zhang Jiaohua said, pouting unhappily.

“We’ll still discipline you, but we won’t use the bamboo switch anymore,” Zhang Youping promised resolutely.

Zhang Jiaohua felt that Zhang Youping made this promise too quickly and it sounded insincere, so he quickly added, “And you can’t use any other thing to hit me either.”

Zhang Youping was taken aback, and Liu Qiaoye came in, saying first, “Alright, we won’t hit you with anything anymore. But if you’re tricking us today, be careful or I’ll break this bamboo switch into two.”

Zhang Jiaohua quickly bowed to the ancestral master, “Ancestral Master, please bless me. Make sure my spell works perfectly, or I’ll be in big trouble.”

“Scared? If you’re scared, just admit your mistake,” Liu Qiaoye said, almost unable to hold back her laughter seeing her son’s worried look.

“I did nothing wrong. I’m just asking the ancestral master for a favor; it’s none of your business,” Zhang Jiaohua said determinedly.

Zhang Jiaohua lit incense and burned some paper money in front of the ancestral master’s statue. Then he went to the big stove in the kitchen to start chanting the spell: “By the order of the ancestral master, I descend the mountain with a golden lock. Today, I brew wine, sealing it tightly. By this command, the wine fills the brewing jar without stopping. I humbly invite the six stars of the Southern Dipper and the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. I invoke the great sage, Laozi, to make it so.”

While chanting, he continuously drew wine-brewing symbols on the wine jar, combining symbols and spells.

Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye didn’t know if their son’s wine-brewing spell would work, but they were slightly hopeful yet skeptical. Even if the whole pot of wine, including the distillers’ grains, was counted, it would be less than fifty catties. How could there be no distillers’ grains in the brewing process? If the spell really produced so much wine, where would it come from?

However, shortly after Zhang Jiaohua started chanting, a fragrance of wine began to waft through the kitchen.

“Smells so good. Could the wine jar be leaking?” Zhang Youping glanced at his wife.

“Maybe,” Liu Qiaoye nodded.

The two walked over to take a look. The wine jar was connected to a bamboo tube from the brewing pot, which had a water-filled cap on top. The brewing pot below contained the distillers’ grains. When heated, the alcohol, which has a lower boiling point than water, vaporized first, condensed in the cold cap, and gathered at the bottom to flow into the bamboo tube, and then into the wine jar. If there was a leak, a lot of alcohol would escape, affecting the yield.

But as they approached the wine jar, they heard a continuous dripping sound, like running water. The sound suggested that the wine jar was already nearly full.

Zhang Youping opened the lid of the rice wine jar. Usually, during brewing, opening the lid would let the gaseous alcohol escape, reducing the yield. But Zhang Youping had to check. He was stunned to see the wine jar filled to the neck.

“Quick, change the jar,” Zhang Youping, remembering his son’s earlier warning, signaled to his wife without speaking, afraid she might say something wrong. They cooperated seamlessly to replace the full jar with the newly borrowed one. The wine continued to flow from the bamboo tube like a mountain spring, steady and unending.

The couple was completely amazed; such a miraculous thing was actually happening.

“Hey, taste it and see how the wine is,” Liu Qiaoye nudged her husband.

Zhang Youping fetched a small enamel cup, filled it with wine from the jar, and took a sip. The wine was cool, as if it had been brewed for some time, different from freshly brewed wine. It tasted excellent, seemingly stronger than usual, purer, without the typical bitterness of rice wine. The color was very clear, unlike the usual murky rice wine.

“How is it?” Liu Qiaoye, seeing her husband silent for a while, asked urgently.

“Good wine, very good wine,” Zhang Youping said, finding it much better than any rice wine he had ever tasted. The initial sweetness was followed by a rich, mellow flavor that lingered in the mouth. Zhang Youping had never drunk such fine wine.

“Let me try,” Liu Qiaoye, tempted by her husband’s expression of enjoyment, took the cup from him and sipped. She was immediately captivated by the smooth, mellow taste. “It’s really good!”

In Meizi’ao, not only men but also women were accustomed to drinking from a young age. Liu Qiaoye’s drinking capacity was on par with Zhang Youping’s.

“Quick, seal the jar to prevent the wine from evaporating,” Liu Qiaoye urged.

Zhang Jiaohua continued drawing symbols on the wine jar and chanting spells. The clear dripping sound indicated the wine level inside the jar.

The flow seemed to increase, and before long, the second jar was also full.

Prepared in advance, Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye quickly replaced the full jar with the last empty one.

Liu Qiaoye pulled Zhang Youping aside, “Think of something quick.”

Liu Qiaoye pointed to the wine jar. Zhang Youping immediately understood her concern about running out of containers. He glanced at the large water vat, capable of holding over three hundred catties of water. Liu Qiaoye’s earlier suggestion to use buckets and vats for the wine might indeed come true.

Zhang Youping decisively scooped the water out of the vat to empty it.

“Use this?” Liu Qiaoye whispered in his ear.

Zhang Youping nodded. Liu Qiaoye didn’t say anything more. They had no other containers for the wine.

After emptying the vat, Zhang Youping poured the wine from the two full jars into it and covered the large vat with a clean plastic sheet to minimize evaporation.

Fortunately, Zhang Youping acted promptly; the wine jar soon filled up again.

Liu Qiaoye pulled her husband and pointed to the stove. The firewood had long burned out, leaving only embers, but the bamboo tube continued to pour out wine. Truly mysterious.