Old Zhou had left the Lin Family on Madam Lin's orders, heading to the capital to pull strings and rescue Lin Dingnan. He had sought out more than a dozen high-ranking officials, spent every last coin, yet failed to get anything done. His body was covered in dog-bite wounds, and he had only just made it back to Haining after begging all the way.
Lin Su valued such loyalty greatly.
So he intended to give Old Zhou a most crucial assignment.
Making liquor!
The yeast starter and steaming the Ting Rice were all entrusted to Old Zhou. Lin Su held nothing back...
As for himself? He sat in the reclining chair Old He had made and taught Xiao Tao arithmetic.
Perhaps driven by the lofty ambition of becoming a bed-warming maid, Xiao Tao studied with exceptional diligence. She had also managed the Lin Residence's finances for a long time and had some foundation, so under Lin Su's guidance, she progressed rapidly. She could now do addition and subtraction within ten, as well as two-digit addition and subtraction, without counting rods.
As for the Nine-Nine Multiplication Table, she had recited it for several days and memorized it too. Madam Lin said the girl had gone mad—even in her dreams, she recited the formulas.
The immediate result was that an Arithmetic Genius—by this world's standards, of course—was slowly rising within the Lin Residence...
He had arranged everything in perfect order. His second brother, Lin Jialiang, had nothing better to do than torment him, stuffing Zhang Haoran's materials into his head every day. At last, Lin Su had thoroughly learned the details of the Provincial Examination.
The date for the Provincial Examination had been set: June eighteenth.
Exactly forty days remained.
Though there was no countdown board for the college entrance examination here, his second brother was a human-shaped reminder. Every morning, right on time, he announced, "Third Brother, there are ** days left..."
When thirty-eight days remained until the imperial examination, Old Zhou came in. "Young Master, everything is ready. We can begin!"
"Good!" Lin Su sprang to his feet.
Lin Jialiang's eyes lit up as well. "We can make liquor now?"
"Let's go!"
The two brothers entered the rear courtyard. Old Zhou grabbed Old He. "Guard the courtyard gate. No one is allowed in."
"Got it!"
Old He stood guard at the courtyard entrance, while Xiao Wu had actually climbed a large tree outside the courtyard wall. They even had blades at their waists.
Damn!
Lin Su sighed and began making liquor.
The fire was lit. The prepared yeast starter was mixed with Ting Rice that had been steamed twice, then placed into the distiller, which was being used for the first time. As the temperature rose, a fragrance spread through the courtyard.
It was a scent this world had never known.
Lin Jialiang kept sniffing. "Third Brother, why does it smell so good? Is this the fragrance of Ting Rice itself, or..."
"This is the smell of liquor! It worked!"
"It really worked? Where's the liquor?"
"Look!"
In the direction Lin Su pointed, a thread of clear spring water flowed from the iron pipe. At first, it came drop by drop, then gathered into a thin stream, growing faster and faster.
Lin Su picked up a small ladle, scooped up a little, and tasted it. His eyes closed. Not bad—fragrant and mellow, even more mellow than in that world. Perhaps it was because of the ingredients. This Ting Rice itself contained essence; otherwise, how could it produce flowers used to make fragrance?
This would have been fine liquor even in that world, let alone here.
Lin Jialiang took the small ladle from him and drank a mouthful. The instant it went down, his face flushed red. He shouted, "Good liquor!"
"Old Zhou, you try some too!"
Old Zhou had originally served at Lin Dingnan's side. He had seen grand occasions and drunk countless fine wines. After taking a small sip, his eyes bulged wide, a flush instantly rising to his face. He tipped up the ladle and drained it without leaving a single drop.
He opened his mouth, and a blast of liquor fumes poured out. "Good liquor! How can it be this good? I simply cannot describe it. Young Master, this liquor should not belong to the mortal world..."
"This already doesn't seem mortal to you? Heh heh, you'll have plenty of chances to be astonished in the future!" Lin Su patted his shoulder. "Follow the original procedure to the end. I need to make some arrangements... Oh, right, this liquor is extremely strong. You two had better not drink too much, or it won't be fun if you get drunk."
"Understood. This liquor is so precious; being able to taste one mouthful is already a tremendous blessing. I would never dare drink another."
"That's not what I mean! I'm just afraid you'll get drunk. As for the liquor, what does it matter when we brewed it ourselves? Drink as much as you can handle."
Lin Su left the rear courtyard, and Xiao Yao hurried over. "Brother, when are you making that hotpot you mentioned?"
"Could you have a little ambition? All you think about is eating? Hotpot isn't possible right now because I can't find chili peppers. Hotpot without chili peppers has no soul, so it's better not to eat it at all!... Go, call Xiao Xue over for me!"
Xiao Yao ran off, raced to Madam Lin's side, and called out directly, "Sister Xiao Xue, Third Young Master wants you to go over right away."
Xiao Xue exchanged a glance with Madam Lin.
"Go on."
Xiao Xue entered the western courtyard and bowed to Lin Su. "Young Master, what are your instructions?"
"Xiao Xue, there are more than a hundred thousand refugees by the riverbank, living bitterly. There is something that can change their fate. Go back and do something for me..."
Xiao Xue's heart pounded wildly. "Young Master, are you really going to purchase Ting Rice in large quantities?"
"Yes!"
"Will Madam Lin... will she agree?"
"Of course she will!"
Xiao Xue suddenly dropped to her knees, kneeling heavily.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Xue raised her head. "Young Master, I know you dislike people kneeling before you, but this time, I must kneel once. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of refugees on Baiji Plain, I thank you for your immense kindness and virtue..."
Lin Su pulled her up. "Xiao Xue, you're one of the Lin Family, so I won't hide it from you. Buying Ting Rice isn't purely to help the refugees. In my hands, this stuff can bring tenfold, even hundredfold wealth. We're doing business, not charity..."
Ah? Was that really true? Xiao Xue looked up in astonishment.
"Just trust me. Having one person in the family do good deeds and accumulate virtue is enough—my mother can handle that. I'll be the JAN Merchant, and she'll handle charity. Mother and son divide the work and cooperate, reaping both fame and profit..."
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