Don't Misunderstand, I'm Truly a JAN Merchant

Old Zhou left the Lin Family under Madam Lin's orders to go to the Capital City and pull strings to save Lin Dingnan. He approached over ten high-ranking officials and spent all his money without achieving anything. Old Zhou returned to Haining covered in dog bites, having had to beg his way back.

Lin Su valued such a loyal person greatly.

Therefore, he decided to entrust Old Zhou with a crucial task.

Making wine!

He fully delegated the tasks of making the starter culture and steaming the Ting Rice to Old Zhou, without holding anything back.

And what about himself? He sat in a reclining chair made by Old He, teaching Xiao Tao arithmetic.

Xiao Tao, perhaps driven by the grand ambition of becoming a bed-warming maid, studied with exceptional diligence. Furthermore, having managed the Lin household's finances for a long time, she had some foundational knowledge. Thus, under Lin Su's guidance, her progress was rapid. She could perform addition and subtraction within ten, and even two-digit addition and subtraction, without needing counting rods.

As for the multiplication table, she had memorized it after several days of practice. Madam Lin remarked that the girl had gone mad, even reciting the multiplication rhymes in her sleep.

The direct consequence was that an arithmetic prodigy (by the standards of this world, of course) was steadily rising within the Lin household.

He had everything arranged meticulously. His second brother, Lin Jialiang, would bother him whenever he had free time, constantly bombarding him with information from the materials Zhang Haoran had left behind. Lin Su finally gained a clear understanding of the Provincial Examination.

The date for the Provincial Examination had been set: the eighteenth of June.

Exactly forty days from now.

Although there were no "countdown to the college entrance examination" signs here, his second brother served as a human countdown, reporting the time precisely every morning: "Third Brother, there are ** days left..."

When there were thirty-eight days left until the imperial examination, Old Zhou entered. "Young Master, everything is ready. We can begin!"

"Good!" Lin Su sprang up.

Lin Jialiang's eyes also lit up. "We can make wine?"

"Let's go!"

The two brothers walked into the backyard. Old Zhou grabbed Old He. "Guard the gate. No one is allowed in."

"Got it!"

Old He stood guard at the courtyard entrance. Xiao Wu actually climbed a large tree outside the courtyard wall. They even had knives strapped to their waists.

Damn!

Lin Su exclaimed and began making the wine.

Fire was kindled. The prepared starter culture and the Ting Rice, steamed twice, were mixed and placed into the newly used still. As the temperature rose, a fragrance wafted from the courtyard.

This was a fragrance the world had never known.

Lin Jialiang kept sniffing. "Third Brother, why does it smell so good? Is it the natural aroma of the Ting Rice, or..."

"This is the smell of wine! It's done!"

"It's really done? Where's the wine?"

"Look!"

In the direction Lin Su pointed, a thin stream of clear liquid flowed from the iron pipe. At first, it was just a trickle, then it became a steady stream, flowing faster and faster.

Lin Su picked up a small ladle, scooped some, and tasted it. He closed his eyes. Not bad. Mellow and fragrant, even more so than in my previous world. Perhaps it's due to the ingredients. This Ting Rice itself has a natural essence, otherwise, it wouldn't produce flowers used to make perfumes, right?

This kind of wine would be considered good wine in his previous world, let alone here.

Lin Jialiang took his small ladle and took a sip. After drinking, his face suddenly flushed red, and he exclaimed, "Good wine!"

"Old Zhou, you try some too!"

Old Zhou, who had been one of Lin Dingnan's trusted aides and had witnessed many grand occasions and tasted countless fine wines, took a small sip. His eyes widened, his face instantly turned flushed, and he tilted the ladle, draining it completely.

He opened his mouth, and a gust of alcoholic breath erupted. "Good wine! How can it be this good? I can't even describe it, Young Master. This wine shouldn't be an earthly thing..."

"This doesn't seem like an earthly thing? Heh heh, you'll have plenty more surprises in the future!" Lin Su patted his shoulder. "Follow the original procedure. I need to make some arrangements... Oh, right, this wine is extremely potent. You two, don't drink too much, or getting drunk won't be fun."

"Understood. This wine is so precious. Just to have a taste is already a tremendous fortune. I would never dare to drink another drop."

"That's not what I meant! I'm just afraid you'll get drunk. As for the wine itself, what's the big deal about brewing your own? Drink as much as you want."

Lin Su left the backyard. Xiao Yao trotted over. "Brother, when are you going to make that hot pot you mentioned?"

"Don't you have any ambition? All you think about is food! Hot pot is impossible right now because I can't find any chili peppers. Hot pot without chili peppers has no soul; it's better not to eat it! ... Go, call Xiao Xue for me!"

Xiao Yao ran off and went to Madam Lin, directly calling out, "Sister Xiao Xue, Third Young Master wants you to come over quickly."

Xiao Xue exchanged a glance with Madam Lin.

"Go ahead."

Xiao Xue entered the west courtyard and bowed to Lin Su. "Young Master, what are your orders?"

"Xiao Xue, there are over a hundred thousand refugees by the riverbank, and they are living very hard lives. There's something that can change their destiny. You need to go back and do something..."

Xiao Xue's heart pounded. "Young Master, you really intend to purchase Ting Rice in large quantities?"

"Yes!"

"Madam... Will Madam agree?"

"Of course, she will!"

Xiao Xue suddenly knelt down, kneeling heavily.

"What are you doing?"

Xiao Xue looked up. "Young Master, I know you don't like people kneeling, but this time, I must kneel. I thank you on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Baiji Plain for your immense kindness..."

Lin Su pulled her up. "Xiao Xue, you're part of the Lin Family. I won't hide it from you, acquiring Ting Rice wasn't purely to help the refugees. This commodity can bring me tenfold, a hundredfold profit. We're doing business here, not charity..."

Huh? Is that true? Xiao Xue looked up in surprise.

"Believe me, leave the good deeds and charity to your mother. I'll handle the JAN merchant business, and she'll handle the charity. Mother and son, cooperating with a division of labor, we'll gain both fame and fortune..."