stjorthotic Chapter 65 Learning to Brew Wine in a Hurry
Chapter 65 Learning to Brew Wine in a Hurry
The next morning, Xu Chunsheng drove his modified tricycle to pick up the Tang family father and son.
Tang Changping had ridden in Xu Chunsheng's tricycle several times and was already used to the bumpy dirt road from town to village.
Tang Yongnian was different. It was his first time riding in such a vehicle on a bumpy dirt road. His body was constantly being jostled along the way, and his face was a little pale when he got off.
Mr. Xu quickly brought the person a cup of tea:
"Master Tang, have some tea to calm down. The dirt roads in the mountains are just too bumpy."
After accepting the teacup and saying thank you, Tang Yongnian immediately took a large gulp:
"It's been so long since I've driven on such a bad road, I'm still not used to it."
"The road is still too bad. If it can be repaired someday, it will be much more convenient for everyone."
……
Seeing that the two were getting along well, Xu Chunsheng turned and went to the kitchen.
Xu's mother and eldest sister were preparing lunch for today.
Mother Xu was frying crispy pork, and her youngest sister was sitting in front of the stove helping to watch the fire.
Xu Chunsheng reached into the basin, picked up a small piece of crispy pork, and put it in his mouth:
"Mom, what's for lunch today? Your fried pork is still the best."
"Snapped!"
Xu's mother slapped Xu Chunsheng's hand with her chopsticks:
"They're frying something, so don't talk."
The little girl wanted to say that her brother had been beaten again, but remembering what her mother had said, "You can't talk when you're frying things," she quickly covered her mouth with her little hand.
Xu Chunsheng still doesn't know why he can't speak while frying food. He reached out and picked up a piece of fried crispy pork, put it in his mouth, and then moved closer to his sister.
The eldest sister was scaling the fish. The fish was bought live yesterday and kept in a basin overnight. This morning, Xu's father killed and gutted it.
"Sis, how about I go and you go talk to Teacher Tang?"
The older sister scraped the scales even harder:
"Get out of here, don't interfere."
Xu Chunsheng touched his nose and walked away awkwardly: "Okay."
Xu Chunsheng then took out the peaches and watermelons he had bought yesterday from the cupboard, and also found some plums he had picked from his own tree.
I found a basin, washed it carefully, put it in a soup bowl, and took it out.
"Uncle, Teacher Tang, have some fruit."
Tang Yongnian avoided the sliced watermelon and peaches, picked up a plum directly, and took a bite.
The crisp texture and the sweet and sour taste of the fruit instantly relieved most of the fatigue from his bumpy car ride.
He couldn't help but sigh:
"The ones from our own trees have the best flavor."
After eating two more pills, Tang Yongnian stood up:
"Let's go check out the equipment you prepared first, so we don't find out we're missing something when we try it out."
"Okay."
Xu Chunsheng led his men to the bamboo shed and introduced it to the Tang family father and son:
"We don't have enough room at home to put everything in, so we set up this shed a few days ago. All the stuff is inside. Take a look."
Tang Yongnian looked at the simple yet sturdy bamboo shed in front of him and nodded to himself: It seems they are taking this matter seriously.
Outside the bamboo shed was a newly built earthen stove with a large, clean iron pot on it. Next to it was a large earthenware jar with a bamboo tube on top for collecting water.
Stepping inside the bamboo shed, the ground was paved with a layer of red bricks, clean and free of mud. The brewing equipment was also neatly arranged: condenser, earthenware jars for receiving wine... even the coarse gauze used for filtering was cleaned and hung to the side.
After looking around but not seeing a steamer for cooking grain, and seeing that the Xu family didn't seem to have forgotten about this appliance, Tang Yongnian couldn't help but ask:
"Where are your steamers?"
Xu Chunsheng explained:
"We had someone make a new large steamer, which is being placed on the stove to steam the food and dissipate the odor. We haven't brought it here yet."
It is best to soak a new steamer in water for one or two days, then steam it over a high flame two or three times while it is empty, so that the woody smell can be completely dissipated before use. This process is generally called "nurturing the steamer".
Tang Yongnian nodded:
"New stills need to be aged for a while, otherwise they'll taste like wood when used for brewing wine."
"The tools are fine. Once the corn has soaked enough, we can steam it."
The group turned back to check on the corn they had soaked the day before.
Tang Yongnian grabbed a handful of corn, randomly picked a few kernels, pinched them a few times with his thumb, and called Xu Chunsheng to his side:
"Look, the corn is ready when it's soaked until it swells up and feels soft to the touch. Find a tool to pour the corn out and drain the water."
Xu Chunsheng walked over and, imitating Tang Yongnian, casually picked up a few ears of corn, squeezed them, and after memorizing the feel, poured the corn into a large bamboo basket to drain.
Watching Xu Chunsheng learn, Tang Yongnian's liking for the young man increased even more.
"Do you know why we made you wash and pick out the rotten corn?"
Xu Chunsheng answered while working:
"Is it to avoid affecting the taste?"
"That's only a minor reason. The most important reason is that mud and dirt can easily spoil the tank and prevent fermentation."
"Okay, I got it."
Watching Xu Chunsheng work, Tang Yongnian explained again why he had asked them to pick and soak the corn first, and why they only needed fifty catties.
"The reason I asked you to pick 50 jin of corn is because that's a better amount to control. If you fail, you won't feel bad about wasting the grain, and if you succeed, you can gain experience and learn the craft."
"If there's too little corn, the fermentation temperature will fluctuate easily, resulting in inconsistent alcohol production, and you won't learn anything from it."
"But if you use 100 jin at a time, you can't control the steaming of the grain, mixing of the yeast, and fermentation. If it turns sour, your whole vat will be ruined."
Not only Xu Chunsheng, but also Xu's father, who was accompanying him, said that he had learned something:
"It's all thanks to Master Tang's excellent skills. If we were to rely on ourselves, it would take us a long time to figure out these processes."
During a break, Tang Yongnian asked Xu Chunsheng to boil water in a pot. Once the water boiled, he put the drained corn into a large steamer.
The Xu father and son worked together to lift the still onto the pot, thus completing the first step of brewing the wine.
"Keep steaming over high heat, don't turn off the heat, and steam for one to two hours until the corn is fully cooked and no longer undercooked before turning off the heat."
Tang Yongnian stood aside and gave instructions.
"Master Tang, Teacher Tang, come wash your hands and have dinner."
Seeing that the matter was over, Xu's mother called out to the people gathered around the earthen stove.
Mr. Xu quickly invited:
"Master Tang, Teacher Tang, it won't be ready in a while, let's go eat first and chat."
Seven pairs of bowls and chopsticks were already set on the dining table in the main room, and the bowls were filled with rice.
Today's rice was plain rice, without any cornmeal or sweet potato added.
The aroma of rice mingled with the fragrance of the dishes, filling everyone's nostrils and whetting their appetites.
After everyone was seated, Xu Chunsheng poured Tang Yongnian a glass of wine:
"Uncle, thank you for taking the time to teach me how to brew wine. I'm a bit slow, and I'm afraid I won't be able to learn it in a short time. I'll have to trouble you to teach me more in the future."
Tang Yongnian nodded:
"As long as you are willing to learn, think more, and practice a few times, even if you can't become very good, someone will still buy your stuff."