TFS – Chapter 78 The Brewery

When Li Feng and Tang Chunming arrived at the village chief’s house, Shen Fulang was busy hosting the clan elders and other influential men who had gathered. Seeing the couple arrive, he smiled and said, “I just came from your house. Don’t worry, the two children are with Zhang Xiu and Wang Mo.”

Both Li Feng and Tang Chunming nodded in relief. When things got busy, they barely had time to check on the children, only managing to go home briefly now and then. Fortunately, Elder He was there to help, along with other households pitching in.

“Ah, Li Feng and Ming Ge’er, you’re here! Come, have a seat. We’ve been waiting for you.” The Li clan elders greeted them warmly. The two men didn’t decline and sat down beside the village chief. Shen Fulang winked at Tang Chunming, a signal that Tang Chunming understood immediately.

The meaning was clear—these elders needed something from them, which was why they were being so courteous. There was no need to be overly humble. They should negotiate properly and stand their ground; otherwise, they might let others grow too comfortable taking advantage.

Shen Fulang had mentioned this to Tang Chunming before. Tang Chunming was beginning to realize that he sometimes oversimplified matters. He assumed that holding the key resources was enough, and thus didn’t concern himself with other things. But not everyone thought the same way. Understanding people’s minds was a lifelong study—even if he lived another lifetime, he still couldn’t claim to see through them completely.

However, today’s main figure was Li Feng. As the head of the household, he was the one who had to take charge in front of the Li clan. Tang Chunming had to ensure that Li Feng maintained his authority—not because Li Feng personally sought power, but because it was crucial for the clan members to see it. No matter how capable a ge’er was, in the outside world, the one in charge had to be the man.

“Was that really a traveling merchant at your house discussing wine sales? Did you finalize a deal?” someone asked Li Feng directly.

Li Feng wasn’t offended by the bluntness and responded calmly, “Yes, and although he is a ge’er, his background is far from ordinary. He is the head of the Rong family, an imperial merchant of Daqing. With his support, we won’t have to worry about selling our wine. What we should be concerned about is how to produce more wine while maintaining quality. Especially the latter—Master Rong made it clear that if the quality declines, he will immediately cut ties with us.”

Li Feng deliberately emphasized Rong Yue’s status while also stressing the risks. The first part reassured everyone, while the second made them realize that just because they had secured a connection, it didn’t mean they could sit back and relax. If they failed to produce high-quality wine, they wouldn’t make any money at all.

As soon as he finished speaking, murmurs spread throughout the group. Their faces flushed with excitement, and some of the older men with beards nearly yanked them out in disbelief. Imperial merchant—that term had always been something distant and unreachable for them. They never imagined they would one day have a connection to such a prestigious status.

“So it’s the Rong family, the imperial merchants!”

“Who would’ve thought an imperial merchant would be led by a ge’er?”

“What does it matter if he’s a ge’er? Imperial merchants have the emperor backing them. A ge’er in that position is still far more prestigious than any ordinary man!”

Seeing how they were caught up in their excitement, completely forgetting about Li Feng and Tang Chunming, the village chief chuckled at them and said, “Look at them. This is why I didn’t tell them earlier—I knew they’d react like this.”

“And you’re one to talk?” Shen Fulang shot him a glance, exposing him in front of Li Feng and Tang Chunming. “You were pacing back and forth in excitement last night. I couldn’t even sleep properly because of you.”

The village chief’s face flushed red, but he quickly regained his composure. Though he was only a village chief, he would now be dealing with an imperial merchant, so he needed to present himself with more dignity. He couldn’t afford to act small-minded—otherwise, wouldn’t he be letting down Li Feng and Ming Ge’er, who had entrusted him with such an important responsibility?

Not knowing a better role model to emulate, the village chief looked around for inspiration. Since Li Feng was a military man and not easy to imitate, he ended up settling on the officials he had encountered at the local government office in the past.

Tang Chunming tried to suppress his laughter, rubbing his stomach, while Shen Fulang shook his head with an amused smile. This old man was now full of enthusiasm. But Shen Fulang also understood that his husband enjoyed taking charge and basking in the respect of others. To put it plainly, he had a bit of a hunger for power.

While they chatted, the others—who had been caught up in their excitement—finally realized they had neglected Li Feng and Tang Chunming. A few of the older men, much like the village chief, blushed in embarrassment. These young ones sure handle things better than us old-timers, they thought.

After that realization, the clan elders began looking at Li Feng and Tang Chunming with growing affection. What good juniors they are! Even after earning money for themselves, they haven’t forgotten about their clan and fellow villagers. Seeing this, many of them resolved not to act foolishly in the future.

Under such gazes, Tang Chunming felt a chill run down his spine. If he had known this would happen, he would have let Li Feng come alone.

The village chief tapped his smoking pipe and began speaking, *“Setting up the brewery in our Pingshan Village is a must, so there are several matters we need to handle. First, we need to decide on a location. As Li Feng and Ming Ge’er mentioned, the brewery must be built in a sunny, wind-sheltered, and clean area.

Second, the sorghum for brewing must be grown by our village. The seeds, like the wheat seeds before, must be purchased from Li Feng’s family. Once the sorghum is harvested, the brewery will buy it at a set price. However, villagers must take good care of their crops—if the quality is poor, the brewery cannot accept it just out of goodwill, as that would affect the quality of the wine. This is a critical matter and must be handled first. Once we make a public announcement, families interested in growing sorghum must report to us immediately. Just like with the wheat seeds, growers must register and sign a contract. We cannot allow anyone to use their old seeds to grow sorghum and try to pass it off as the high-quality variety.”*

The villagers exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. “That’s absolutely necessary. We must ensure strict quality control. If someone tries to cheat, we can’t show leniency. Whatever punishment is needed, we must carry it out—even if it means expelling them from our village. We cannot let a few bad apples ruin Pingshan Village’s future.”

Since their own interests were now at stake, everyone took the matter seriously. They realized that if they didn’t set strict rules, people might indeed be tempted to cut corners. It was better to plug any loopholes from the start.

With the villagers’ full support, the village chief became even firmer in his stance. He continued, “It’s not that we’re being too ruthless, but once our village starts making money from the wine, outsiders will become envious. If they try to bribe someone from our village with silver, how can we be sure that person will prioritize our collective interests over personal gain?

That’s why I propose adding this clause to the contract: if anyone is caught betraying the village by working with outsiders to harm our business, they will be expelled immediately. No exceptions will be made, even if the offender is from one of our own families.”

The people present hadn’t thought as far ahead as the village chief. Now that he pointed it out, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy. However, after thinking about it further, they realized that such situations weren’t impossible. Some people were indeed short-sighted—just like how Old Madam Zhao had been coaxed into agreeing to a marriage proposal from the Shen family just because the matchmaker offered him silver. In the end, it had ruined Zhao Laosan’s good prospects.

With that in mind, many of them decided they needed to have a serious talk with the elders and younger generations in their households. If trouble really arose, even their old faces wouldn’t be able to protect them.

“Alright then, let’s do as you say, Village Chief. Make all the rules and conditions clear to everyone in the village. That way, if anyone breaks them later, there will be nothing to argue about—they’ll be expelled from the village immediately.”

Someone nodded in agreement, and as soon as one person spoke up, others followed suit. At this moment, no one wanted to voice any opposition. After all, speaking against it would be the same as admitting that either they or their family members might be the type to be tempted by quick gains. No one wanted to be seen that way.

“Next, we need to discuss the investment in the brewery and how the profits will be divided.”

This was the most important topic, the one that everyone truly cared about. After all, without sufficient personal gain, how could they expect people to fully commit to running and protecting the brewery’s interests?

After thorough discussion, they decided that half of one-tenth of the brewery’s profits (0.5%) would be allocated to Pingshan Village. Initially, when setting up the village school, the village chief had planned to have a few households contribute additional funds to buy a few acres of communal farmland to support the school’s expenses. But now, that wouldn’t be necessary. The brewery’s profits could sustain the school, as well as fund road and bridge construction, benefiting the entire village.

When the village chief proposed this, no one objected. After all, everyone would use the roads, and every family had children who would attend the school. Furthermore, following Tang Chunming’s suggestion, if the brewery’s profits became substantial, the village children could eventually attend school without paying tuition fees. Additionally, students who ranked at the top in examinations would receive rewards as encouragement to study harder. And if anyone managed to pass the imperial scholar exams (Xiucai), the reward would be even greater.

As for Li Feng and Tang Chunming, who possessed the brewing expertise, they would receive a 40% share of the profits. The villagers glanced at each other but did not object. After all, the entire brewery only existed because of this couple. Even if they had chosen not to set up shop in Pingshan Village, they could have easily established a brewery elsewhere and hired workers. In fact, doing so might have been even more profitable for them. So, a 40% share wasn’t excessive—it was actually quite reasonable. Protesting against it would just be ungrateful.

As for how the remaining profits should be distributed, that was no longer Li Feng and Tang Chunming’s concern. That decision involved the entire village, and the two of them had no intention of sticking around to sort it out. Without any sympathy for the village chief and his wife, they left them behind to deal with the debate, knowing that no matter the outcome, the villagers wouldn’t dare bring in anyone unsuitable.

After leaving the village chief’s house, the two of them went up the mountain to check on things. Dashan and a few men were hard at work. Seeing that the branches they had grafted onto the trees were in good condition, Tang Chunming stayed behind for a while to help and offer guidance before heading back down the mountain with Li Feng.

As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they heard incoherent babbling from Elder He’s room, accompanied by Ah Lin’s cheerful giggles. When they walked closer, they saw that Elder He and little Ah Lin—one old, one young—were mischievously teasing baby Ah Sen.

At this stage, Ah Sen had already learned to roll over and was full of energy. Each time he managed to roll halfway, Ah Lin would gently push him back onto his back. But instead of getting upset, Ah Sen thought his big brother was playing with him. He giggled foolishly for a long time before stubbornly attempting to roll over again.

“Grandpa, why is my little brother so dumb?”

“Hehe, Ah Lin, you were definitely the same when you were little. That’s how babies grow quickly,” Elder He chuckled and explained seriously. Then, he glanced sympathetically at little Ah Sen. This poor child was always being called dumb by his mother and brother—hopefully, he wouldn’t really end up that way.

“Ah ah…” But Ah Sen was quite sharp. Just as he was halfway through rolling over, he spotted the doorway and saw his father and mother. Instantly, he stopped trying to flip over, smacked the mat with his little legs, stretched out his chubby arms, and called out eagerly in their direction, drooling all over himself.

“Mother! Father!” Ah Lin also noticed them and called out excitedly.

“Hey! My good boy!” No matter how exhausted he was, seeing his son’s sweet smile made Tang Chunming feel that all his hard work was worth it. He picked up Ah Lin and spun him around joyfully, while Li Feng walked over to little Ah Sen and silently wiped the drool off his mouth. Ah Sen was already kicking his legs excitedly, eager to climb onto him. He babbled in an incomprehensible language, as if trying to have a deep conversation with his father.

“How’s everything? Is the situation on the mountain alright?” Elder He poured them each a cup of hot tea and asked with concern about their work outside. He was growing more and more accustomed to this lifestyle.

“Mm, it’s going well. If you have time, Elder He, you should come up to the mountain to take a look. Oh, and we finalized the plans for the brewery today.” Li Feng explained while picking up little Ah Sen. In these matters, Elder He had more experience than both of them. Even the village chief often came to seek his advice. For example, it was Elder He who had warned the chief to prevent villagers from selling their homegrown grains outside while substituting inferior ones for the brewery. The chief and the villagers still didn’t fully grasp the potential of Tang Family Brewery the way Elder He did.