Chapter 101: The Two Pillar Industries of Jin Prefecture

How could a transmigrator not brew wine?

This was a money-making artifact!

Although the mainstream drinks of this era were yellow wine and rice wine, and the Western Regions preferred grape wine, fruit wine, and mare milk wine.

Facts had proven that strong spirits also had a huge market demand in this era.

Especially in a place like the Northern Frontier where the weather was freezing cold, taking a sip of strong spirits in winter would make one’s whole body feel warm and extremely comfortable.

It was simply an artifact for keeping warm through the winter.

Especially the men in the army preferred this kind of strong wine.

For them, women were better the spicier they were, and wine was better the stronger it was.

Strong spirits could help them quickly forget the fear and pain brought by war, numb their nerves, and make them bold and uninhibited, fearless on the battlefield.

As for the rule forbidding alcohol in the army, it had never applied to nomadic peoples. Drinking was not prohibited in the Western Liao army.

Even in the Central Plains, what was prohibited was not soldiers drinking, but generals.

After all, in the history of the Central Plains, one only heard of generals ruining matters by drinking, never of a war being lost because soldiers drank.

Or from another perspective, prohibiting soldiers from drinking was purely because of food shortages, making it impossible to brew wine on a large scale to supply the army.

However, regarding this point, it was not a problem at all for the West Wind Fury brewed by Li Xiao.

Because the cost of West Wind Fury was lower than other wines.

Mare milk wine required a large amount of animal milk, fruit wine required a large amount of fruit, and yellow wine required grains like millet and glutinous rice, and the quality of the grain couldn’t be poor.

But strong spirits didn’t have these troubles.

Coarse grains like sorghum, sweet potatoes, and highland barley could all be used to brew wine.

Even bran and chaff could be used as a source for brewing it, as long as it could ferment to produce alcohol.

These coarse grains had high yields and didn’t require careful cultivation, so the price was naturally much lower.

Therefore, the cost of West Wind Fury brewed from coarse grains would inevitably be far lower than yellow wine, fruit wine, and others that had strict requirements for various conditions.

As a transmigrator, Li Xiao certainly wouldn’t forget such a money-making artifact as brewing wine.

Since he already knew there was market demand for white spirits in the Northern Frontier, on the steppe, and among the military men, Li Xiao certainly had to get this industry up and running.

Developing the commerce of Jin Prefecture and making white spirits one of its pillar industries.

Looking at Xiao Tuladuo’s flushed face and his head steaming with heat, Li Xiao chuckled and said:

“This is the latest strong spirit brewed in my Jin Prefecture; it has never been sold externally. It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it, Old Xiao.”

“When you leave, I can give you two cartloads, no problem.”

With a cup of wine in his stomach, Li Xiao put his arm around Xiao Tuladuo’s shoulder, calling him Old Xiao and himself Old Li.

Hearing that Li Xiao wanted to give him two cartloads of West Wind Fury, a look of excitement instantly appeared on Xiao Tuladuo’s face.

He laughed, “That’s great.”

“I said it before, you, Li Xiao, are the most generous.”

“You’re a real friend.”

Xiao Tuladuo gave a thumbs up.

Li Xiao laughed heartily and took the opportunity to ask, “Old Xiao, based on your experience, is my West Wind Fury sellable?”

Xiao Tuladuo nodded repeatedly: “Sellable, of course it’s sellable.”

“It will definitely sell big.”

Although the temperature in the Northern Frontier felt quite comfortable now, once autumn passed, the temperature would drop suddenly, cold enough to freeze people to death.

Heavy snow would seal the mountains and wouldn’t thaw for several months.

Therefore, people in the Northern Frontier liked to drink a little wine to warm their bodies.

And once Li Xiao’s West Wind Fury came out, it would inevitably quickly replace those low-concentration mare milk wines and fruit wines.

Becoming the most fashionable drink for the middle and upper classes in the Northern Frontier.

It would definitely sell like fire.

Li Xiao smiled happily, patted Xiao Tuladuo’s shoulder, and said with an air of soaring heroism, “Alright.”

“Just based on your words, Old Xiao, I, Li Xiao, will cover all the wine you drink in the future.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s words, Xiao Tuladuo instantly became alert in his heart, his drunkenness dissipating by more than half.

As the saying goes, one who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions.

Li Xiao being so generous to him was definitely not because their relationship was ironclad, but because there was something he needed Xiao Tuladuo to do.

“No, no, no…”

“This West Wind Fury is so strong; brewing it must require a lot, and its value is not cheap.”

“One shouldn’t accept a reward without merit; I, your brother, am ashamed to accept it.”

Xiao Tuladuo waved his hands repeatedly to refuse, afraid that Li Xiao would make some excessive request.

Seeing this, Li Xiao pretended to be displeased and said, “Old Xiao, you are treating me like a stranger.”

“Just a little wine, not worth much money.”

“It’s just a token of my regard as a brother.”

Xiao Tuladuo continued to decline. The two played Tai Chi for a while before Li Xiao pretended to be anxious and said.

“How about this? If you really feel embarrassed, Old Xiao, just do me a small favor.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s words, Xiao Tuladuo instantly understood that the main act was coming.

Pretending to be drunk, he said, “Brother, tell me. As long as I can do it, I won’t hesitate.”

Although sounding straightforward, he left plenty of room in his words; the premise was that he could do it.

“For you, Old Xiao, it’s just a matter of lifting a hand,” Li Xiao said with a loud laugh.

“Although I have brewed this West Wind Fury, to turn it into money, it must be sold.”

“So, I plan to open a few shops in the Desert specifically to sell wine.”

“When the time comes, I’ll trouble you, Brother, to look after them.”

“I won’t let you help for nothing. For those wine shops, I’ll give you twenty percent of the dry shares as a labor fee for you, Brother.”

Among the four prefectures of the Northern Frontier, Yin Mountain had the largest population, Beihai had the largest area, and Jin Prefecture had the toughest folk customs.

But if talking about which was the richest, it must be the Desert.

After leaving Yangguan Pass, the Silk Road faced two choices of routes.

They were the two corridors at the southern and northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains respectively.

The essence of the Desert was located in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains.

From the foot of the Tianshan Mountains northwards, all the way to the edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert.

This was an oasis corridor more than a thousand li long and two hundred li wide.

Because of the existence of the Silk Road, this oasis corridor north of the Tianshan Mountains became very prosperous.

Famous great cities of the Western Regions like Changbali (Changji), Bishbalik (Jimasaer), and Yanghibali emerged.

The commercial atmosphere in the Desert also became exceptionally strong.

Therefore, when Li Xiao chose where to sell West Wind Fury, he definitely set his sights on the Desert first.

Using the Silk Road to sell West Wind Fury to the Central Plains and the West.

And in this era, doing business also required background.

If the backer wasn’t strong, one would only be bullied.

So in the Desert, Li Xiao prepared to cooperate with Xiao Tuladuo, the Military Governor of the Desert, giving him twenty percent of dry shares as protection money.

After all, the profit margin of West Wind Fury was huge. Even after deducting twenty percent dry shares, Li Xiao would still make a bloody profit.

After listening to Li Xiao’s words, Xiao Tuladuo heaved a huge sigh of relief in his heart.

He thought Li Xiao had some troublesome matter for him and was wondering how to refuse.

Unexpectedly, it was such a simple matter.

“Sigh, brother, isn’t it just looking after your business?”

“This isn’t a matter at all? For me, it’s just lifting a hand.”

“Giving twenty percent dry shares too? Isn’t this slapping my face?”

“No, no, take it back quickly; I don’t want it.” Xiao Tuladuo refused righteously.

Li Xiao desperately shoved it into his pocket. Finally, unable to twist Li Xiao’s persistence, Xiao Tuladuo could only reluctantly accept it.

And he guaranteed that as long as he was in the Desert for a day, no one would dare to make trouble for Li Xiao’s business.

Thus, it was directly a situation where everyone was happy.

Both sides continued to toast and exchange cups.

Xiao Tuladuo also drank West Wind Fury, refusing no comers, getting buzzed.

Although Li Xiao’s request was indeed just a matter of lifting a hand for Xiao Tuladuo, accounts couldn’t be calculated like that.

Relationships maintained by sentiment alone were unreliable.

It didn’t matter if West Wind Fury made little money, but once it started making money like water, and Xiao Tuladuo saw cart after cart of money being pulled to Jin Prefecture…

Could he feel comfortable in his heart?

Therefore, interest relationships were the most stable.

Li Xiao only paid twenty percent dry shares, but what he gained was several times the money.

“In the Desert, there is Xiao Tuladuo. The protection money for the Yin Mountain side will be given to Xiao Yanyan; after all, keep the goodies within the family.”

“She is a dignified princess and Xiao Sima’s sister; she can definitely cover Yin Mountain.”

Li Xiao thought secretly in his heart.

Currently, because the production of West Wind Fury wasn’t high, he could only distribute goods in Yin Mountain and the Desert.

As for other places, he could only look for candidates for local strongmen later.

Besides wine, Li Xiao had another business to cooperate with Xiao Tuladuo on.

“Opening cloth shops and fur shops?”

“No problem.” Xiao Tuladuo patted his chest and guaranteed.

At this time, he was already drunk, his eyes red, and he said to Li Xiao with a chuckle: “Let alone cloth shops, even if you open gold shops, I can definitely cover them.”

“Good, Brother Xiao, you are straightforward.” Li Xiao clapped his hands and said.

“Same as West Wind Fury, counting twenty percent dry shares for you, Brother.”

“No, no…” Xiao Tuladuo shook his head.

“You are slapping my face again.”

Finally, under Li Xiao’s persistence, Xiao Tuladuo could only reluctantly accept the twenty percent dry shares.

He was chuckling secretly in his heart; going to the Desert to be Military Governor was truly an incredibly correct decision.

Making money was too convenient.

Xiao Tuladuo had fought wars all his life. Now that he was old, what was wrong with making some money and enjoying himself?