PCJ – Chapter 153 Jar is Full

Zhang Youping placed his index finger to his lips, signaling Liu Qiaoye to remain silent.

In rural areas, people had heard various legends about Meishan magic. Some things shouldn’t be spoken of openly, as breaking the silence would cause the magic to fail.

The wine flowing from the bamboo tube not only didn’t decrease over time but increased, as if all the wine in the world was gathering here.

Initially, it took over twenty minutes to fill a distilling jar, but the time shortened to just over ten minutes for subsequent jars. Soon, the water tank was filled to the brim, as were two buckets, all the plastic containers for storing wine, and three distilling jars.

Liu Qiaoye, seeing everything filled to the top and sweating with anxiety, couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s full, it’s all full!”

Amazingly, as soon as Liu Qiaoye spoke, the wine stopped flowing from the bamboo tube, which instantly dried up as if no wine had ever flowed from it.

“No more?” Liu Qiaoye stared in surprise at the now dry bamboo tube.

“You said it was full, so the ancestor took the wine back,” Zhang Jiaohua said without regret. Such things had to be left to fate and couldn’t be forced.

“Ah?” Liu Qiaoye felt a pang of regret.

Zhang Youping smiled, “One shouldn’t be greedy. With so much wine, how are we going to handle it all?”

Looking at the room full of wine, Zhang Youping was at a loss.

“It’s simple. Take it to the market and sell it. But first, we need to buy some large plastic barrels. We can’t keep storing wine in the water tank,” Liu Qiaoye suggested.

Zhang Youping nodded and was about to head out when Zhang Shicai walked in.

“Hey, Youping, sister-in-law, are you brewing wine today? Lucky me!” Zhang Shicai sniffed the air, enjoying the scent.

“Yes, we brewed some wine. Here, have a dipper,” Zhang Youping scooped a dipper full of wine from the bucket and handed it to Zhang Shicai.

Thinking Zhang Youping was joking and had given him a dipper of water, Zhang Shicai, who was thirsty, took it and drank. As soon as the liquid touched his lips, he realized it was indeed wine, and a good one at that. However, drinking over a pound of wine on an empty stomach could be overwhelming.

Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye laughed until their stomachs hurt, while Zhang Jiaohua clapped and laughed.

“Youping, why are you storing wine in buckets? You have so much you can’t find a place for it?” Zhang Shicai asked, having been fooled because he couldn’t imagine storing wine in water buckets.

“Indeed, we have no place to store it all. Every container we have is filled with wine. Take a bucket home with you,” Zhang Youping, being straightforward and close to Zhang Shicai, offered generously.

“No, no, we just brewed a jar of wine for the New Year. You can’t drink all that wine. Why not sell it at the market?” Zhang Shicai suggested, puzzled.

“We didn’t expect to brew so much. Now we’re wondering how to transport it to the market,” Zhang Youping explained.

Zhang Shicai looked at Zhang Jiaohua, “I’ve heard of such things, but this is the first time I’ve seen it. Youping, take my bicycle to the town and buy some buckets. This wine needs to be dealt with quickly. After the New Year, we’re heading to Guangdong. Are you going to leave all this wine for Jiaohua?”

“By the way, Shicai, what brought you here?” Zhang Youping asked.

“I came to invite you to dinner at my house. Last time, Jiaohua saved my life, and I’ve never properly thanked him. With the snake disaster, it was Jiaohua who helped us avoid calamity. We slaughtered a pig and wanted to invite your family. But with all that’s happening here, we’ll have to postpone. Deal with the wine first,” Zhang Shicai smiled helplessly.

“Shicai, we’ve been like brothers since we were kids. If it were me, wouldn’t you help? No need to stand on ceremony,” Zhang Youping said, punching Zhang Shicai playfully.

“Alright, alright, I won’t mention it again. A meal together is just normal between our families,” Zhang Shicai, genuinely moved, could tell Zhang Youping was sincere.

Zhang Youping went to the town and bought a dozen 50-pound white plastic barrels, just enough to store all the wine. He kept three distilling jars of wine, leaving one for the New Year and giving the other two to his father and elder brother. He couldn’t send them back empty-handed during the holiday season.

Receiving the jars, Zhang Manyin was shocked, “Youping, you brought all your wine. What will you drink for the New Year?”

“We still have a jar left. We brewed a few jars. After the New Year, we’re going to Guangdong, and we can’t drink it all. Enjoy it,” Zhang Youping laughed.

Ma Donghua was puzzled, “Didn’t Qiaoye only brew one pot of wine?”

Zhang Manyin realized and wanted to ask Zhang Youping, but he had already left.

Liu Qiaoye was worried, “Jiaohua, how did we brew so much wine? Could it be that we took someone else’s wine?”

She feared being accused of stealing if someone else’s wine went missing. Buying so many barrels to store wine would surely attract attention.

“The wine flowed from our stove, not from someone else’s jar. How could anyone blame us? Do others brew wine with such a good taste?” Zhang Jiaohua, not knowing where the wine came from, had no better explanation.

Still worried, Liu Qiaoye said, “I hope it’s not taken from someone else’s.”

“Would the gods do such a thing?” Zhang Jiaohua’s words reassured Liu Qiaoye.

With the power to turn stone into gold, turning water into wine was nothing for the gods.

The dozen barrels of wine looked impressive lined up. Transporting them by bike to town meant four barrels per trip, requiring several trips. Selling fifty-pound barrels of wine wasn’t easy, but fortunately, the wine was much better than regular rice wine. Otherwise, Zhang Youping would have been troubled.

“Dad, can I go with you to sell the wine tomorrow?” Zhang Jiaohua wanted to experience being a small business owner.