Chapter 104
Ji Wenliang and Jin Kelu's marriage was set for the end of the year, and Ji Yangcheng family was very satisfied with this.
Not to mention that Jin Kelu's family business was good—in Lin Village, there were indeed fewer households than in their former Tongzhou, and whether it was men, women, or ger, there weren't many families available for matching and selection. Being able to arrange a marriage was already quite rare.
They were very happy, but Ji Wanglan was furious, implying in her words that his seventh brother's family was dishonest and had snatched her family's daughter-in-law away.
She also said that Jin Kelu was stringing one family along while thinking of another, accepting their kindness but now unwilling to associate with their family.
Jin Kelu didn't mind much. He had originally used Ji Wanglan and her son, and a few words from them wouldn't make him lose any flesh. But if they wanted to blame someone, they could only blame themselves for being insatiably greedy and offering their attentiveness and solicitousness on their own initiative.
Moreover, he was too happy about marrying Ji Wenliang to have any mind to listen to others' sour words.
Ji Wenliang, however, couldn't stand his third aunt speaking about Jin Kelu that way, so he took a basket of eggs to return to Ji Wanglan.
In total, they hadn't given Jin Kelu much, yet she made it sound as if half their family fortune had been spent.
In the final analysis, she still cherished Jin Kelu's wealth. It seemed within reach, but in the blink of an eye, it became someone else's, and she couldn't let go of it in her heart.
Although she held resentment and worry, Ji Wanglan ultimately didn't dare to do anything drastic. After all, her husband's family wasn't capable, and she still had to rely on her natal family. She didn't truly dare to offend all her brothers.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the seventh lunar month. The grain in Huo Shu's fields was ready for harvest. Several mu of sorghum yielded over ten dan (approximately 600 to 1000 kilograms in total). Since the family wasn't very accustomed to eating sorghum rice, Huo Shu kept two dan for animal feed and planned to use the remainder to brew liquor.
The village had a master brewer who had made a living with this craft back in Mingxun Village.
Ji Yangzong's alcohol tolerance wasn't great, but he always enjoyed having a little during meals.
Huang Manjing never liked him drinking. After coming to Lin Village, where every purchase had to be registered, he felt embarrassed to indulge. Except for drinking a bit during family events, he usually refrained.
Now that the sorghum was harvested, hearing Huo Shu say he would use it to brew liquor made him happier than anyone else.
Without Huo Shu needing to lift a finger, he eagerly went and invited the master brewer over.
When the villagers heard the Ji family was going to brew liquor, they all came to watch the excitement.
Soaking the grain, adding water, steaming it in a pot—these steps were almost known by all the men in the village who enjoyed drinking. But it still required a master to brew good liquor, as it was a skilled craft.
After the sorghum was steamed, the fermented yeast balls were ground into powder and sprinkled at the bottom of the vat. Then the sorghum was transferred in for fermentation.
After about two months, the fermented grains were boiled, and at this point, liquor could be distilled.
The fermented grains boiling on the fire already carried the aroma of liquor after fermentation. Boiling them made the fragrance carry for miles.
Now, whether busy or not, villagers followed the scent of liquor and drifted over.
"Sorghum-brewed liquor is still the most fragrant. After the new year begins, I'll plant two mu of sorghum to brew liquor too."
"That's still thanks to Master Zhang's skill. Ordinary people couldn't brew this flavor."
Everyone gathered around the liquor still, discussing animatedly.
Master Zhang, busy working back and forth, smiled and said, "My humble skill is only thanks to everyone saving my face. In Tongzhou, it wouldn't be worth showing off."
Ji Yangzong helped out: "Folks haven't had liquor for a long time, their mouths are craving it."
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Village Head, you've brewed so much liquor with all this grain, you probably can't finish it all soon. Do you need the folks to help share the burden?"
Ji Yangzong said: "Those who want to buy liquor can come. But let me be clear first, don't secretly take your wife's money to buy liquor. If it causes a dispute later, I won't be able to mediate fairly."
The courtyard filled with laughter again.
Huang Manjing and Ji Taoyu were sorting vegetables, preparing to cook lunch.
"Look at your father. Usually, he's unhappy about this and that, but once liquor brewing is mentioned, suddenly everything is fine."
Huang Manjing scolded: "He's just a hopeless drunk."
Ji Taoyu smiled. He had originally wanted to join the excitement too, but now that his pregnancy was advanced, his body was particularly cumbersome. He tried his best not to join crowded events. It wasn't just his own worry, his family worried even more.
After some time, the liquor was ready. Ji Yangzong generously drew out quite a lot and let the villagers who came to watch have a taste.
The courtyard became even more lively.
"Tastes good, but my palate is still more used to rice wine."
"Having something to drink is already good enough, and you can still be picky."
Ji Taoyu watched the villagers in the courtyard sipping liquor. The freshly distilled liquor was still warm, carrying the fragrance of grain. Even those who didn't drink found it aromatic.
"Where did A-Shu go again? I haven't seen him all morning."
He glanced around the courtyard but didn't see that tall figure.
Huang Manjing said: "The land allocated to each household in the village has almost all been cleared. Those quick with their hands have already planted vegetables. They will definitely be able to eat winter vegetables by the end of the year. In winter, you can't dig for wild vegetables to eat, but now with land to grow vegetables, worries about eating vegetables are gone. But everyone still longs for farmland and wants to clear a few plots before next spring's sowing season."
Cleared land was good for growing vegetables, but daily meals could not do without staple food—they also needed paddy fields to grow rice.
Sorghum could also be planted and did not require paddy fields, but folks were not used to eating it. Even if planted, the following year they would only have harvested it to sell in the county town in exchange for rice.
Since converting the sorghum harvest into rice through trade was such a cumbersome process, it made more sense to simply prepare paddy fields instead. After all, those fields would need to be cleared for rice cultivation eventually.
"A-Shu went early in the morning to check on the clearing of the paddy fields."
Huang Manjing lowered her voice a bit: "After autumn begins is the best season for hunting mountain goods in the hills. This year, everyone didn't plant crops and found free time to go into the mountains. With A-Shu leading the village men in training, the men's skills have improved. The autumn hunt yielded quite good results."
"According to your father, the villagers have come to depend on A-Shu for matters both big and small. Now that they've truly experienced the tangible benefits of his efforts, they feel guilty about constantly relying on his mental and physical labor. They've discussed it and decided to give A-Shu twenty percent of next year's autumn harvest grain as compensation."
Thank you for the update!!!
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