Wine

Therefore, local officials all knew that among the six ministries in the capital, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue were the most dangerous to offend, as they were related to their future careers.

The Ministry of Personnel was relatively well-off. The appointment of officials was not something Wu Huaisi could decide alone. The emperor would often discuss the appointment plans with the cabinet ministers. Among the cabinet ministers were people associated with the crown prince who would speak on his behalf. Therefore, even though Wu Huaisi was the Minister of Ministry of Personnel, it wasn't so easy for him to get rid of him.

However, the Ministry of Revenue could audit accounts without going through the Emperor or other ministers. After all, the accounts from each region were submitted every year. As long as the officials of the Ministry of Revenue said they wanted to audit the accounts of Nanyang, Nanyang's accounts had to be submitted without exception. If the Ministry of Revenue said there were problems with the accounts and submitted them to the Emperor, and Wu Huaisi put in a little effort, then he would definitely be in trouble.

Overwhelmed with grief, Cai Yaozong felt that he was no longer able to escape Zhao Ruxi's clutches.

This isn't a little girl at all; it's clearly a man-eating monster.

His heart was ashen, and he said expressionlessly, "In that case, Lord Zhao, you may take on official duties while reviewing the files. It's only spring now, the rice seedlings have just been planted, and the harvest season is still far off. There aren't many matters to attend to regarding grain requisition, and the others shouldn't be too busy either. Just follow the established procedures; you have ample time to review all the files and accounts."

Zhao Ruxi was overjoyed and stood up again to bow to Cai Yaozong: "Zhiwei thanks Lord Cai for his kindness."

Cai Yaozong stood up to return the greeting, a stiff smile appearing on his face, "Lord Zhao 're too kind."

He didn't want to stay there for even a moment longer, and without sitting down, he said, "Lord Zhao has distinguished guests to entertain, so we won't disturb you any longer. Lord Zhao also doesn't need to rush back to the yamen. Lord Liu is not an unreasonable person. Lord Zhao can stay at home and keep Mister Kumu for a couple more days, and it won't be too late to go to the yamen on the date set by the court for his new post."

Zhao Ruxi had originally said he wanted to go to the yamen, simply because he hadn't settled things with Cai Yaozong yet, and he was worried that if the files and accounts were left for another day, Cai Yaozong would cause trouble.

Now that Cai Yaozong had surrendered, she naturally wouldn't force herself and said with a smile, "Thank you Lord Cai. In that case, I'll take two days off and go to the yamen in a couple of days."

Chen Kang stood up and said with a smile, "If Lord Zhao has any questions while reviewing the files and accounts, he can simply call me over to inquire. I've worked in the yamen for twenty or thirty years, in every department, and I'm a local of Nanyang, so I know this place very well. If Lord Zhao needs anything, please feel free to send someone to fetch me; there's no need to stand on ceremony."

"Alright, alright, I'll have to trouble Administrative Clerk Chen then." Zhao Ruxi smiled, appearing very easy to talk to.

After seeing the two off, Zhao Ruxi returned to the hall and told everyone what had happened.

Kang Shilin was very pleased and said, "Before you came, your senior brothers and I were very worried about you. Now that I see you can handle things well, I'm relieved."

Zhao Ruxi sighed, "To be an official, one inevitably has to deal with all sorts of people insincerely. It's too difficult to remain untainted. With Zhiwei like this, I'm afraid we'll disappoint our master, tutor, and fellow disciples."

"I disagree with Zhiwei's statement," Gan Lun waved his hand and said, "You need to remember that this world is not black and white; the gray area not only exists, but it is also quite large. And being too rigid is easy to break. Many times, as long as it does not violate principles, you still have to compromise, otherwise you will not go far at all."

Kang Shilin sighed, "What do you think your senior brothers and I were worried about? It wasn't that we were worried you lacked the ability to handle things, but that you were too naive in your view of the world, intolerant of any flaws. If you take this world too seriously, you'll only end up hurting yourself. Now that we see you can handle problems this way, knowing when to take a step back, we're relieved."

Xiao Ruotong sat to the side, listening silently to everyone's words without making a sound.

In the past, she might have argued with Gan Lun and Kang Shilin, encouraging Zhao Ruxi to bravely fight against corrupt officials. But now she is no longer the naive woman she once was.

Even someone as noble and powerful as the emperor has to compromise with his subjects every day and tolerate their various petty thoughts, right?

That evening at dinner, Zhao Ruxi took the yellow wine that Chen Kang had brought and gave it to Kang Shilin. She even took a few sips despite Lady Zhu's angry glare, and then she was greatly disappointed.

She was an extremely curious person. Although she didn't like drinking, she would always try the local specialty wines wherever she went. In her previous life, she had been to Danyang and tasted Danyang's yellow wine, which was indeed as Chen Kang had described—fresh, sweet, fragrant, mellow, and refreshing. But the yellow wine she was holding now tasted very different.

She asked Zhou Wenbai, "Mister Zhou, what do you think of this wine?"

Kang Shilin was worried that his shaky hands would prevent him from painting, Gan Lun was worried that it would affect his thinking, so they didn't drink much alcohol.

Only Zhou Wenbai had a few drinks with every meal. He even managed to shirk a lot of the tribute wine from Kang Shilin's household. When it came to wine, Zhou Wenbai was the most qualified to speak on the subject.

Zhou Wenbai said, "It's acceptable."

Zhao Ruxi was surprised.

However, considering the brewing techniques at that time, she thought it was normal.

After the meal, the group returned to their courtyards to rest. Zhao Ruxi wrote a letter, called Yang Jie over, and handed him the letter. "To Fifth Master." She added, "It's not urgent, you don't need to work too hard."

"Yes, thank you for your consideration, young lady." Yang Jie accepted the letter, bowed, and took his leave, returning to the capital that same day.

The next day at noon, Zhao Ruxi received a reply from Xiao Lingyan.

In his letter, Xiao Lingyan wrote that because wine is more profitable, he bought a winery in Jiangnan and planned to use distillation technology to brew high-proof liquor for sale. However, wine needs time to be aged in cellars, and many new products have been launched in the past two years, so he plans to put the wine on the market next year.

Therefore, he has done some research on ancient winemaking techniques.

In the letter, he included the general brewing method for yellow wine, noting that it was made using the process for tribute wine.

He was based in the Ministry of Works, so it was very convenient for him to look into any technology he wanted. If the Ministry of Works didn't have the relevant files, he could also investigate in the name of the imperial court. In short, whatever technology he wanted, he could always obtain it because of his status.

Zhao Ruxi closed the letter, called Lu Yun, and asked her, "How's the investigation into the distillery I asked you to do?"

Lu Yun and Yang Jie had been researching various information in Nanyang for the past two days, so they were able to get started even faster after receiving the new task.

She said, "Miss, the most famous winery in Nanyang is Dong Family Wine Workshop. This winery has been passed down through the Dong family for over a hundred years. Currently, four generations of the Dong family, numbering several dozen, rely on this winery for their livelihood. The Old Master Dong, is sixty-five years old and is shrewd and capable. The Dong family values their brewing skills extremely highly, passing them down only to sons, not daughters, and the most crucial secret recipe is only passed on to the eldest grandson of the direct line."