Chapter 68: The Price of Shumulin Liquor

After the meeting at the county government, Yuan Ping invited the vice-county magistrate in charge of agriculture and poverty alleviation, Wang Shengli, to have dinner together. The purpose of this dinner was for Yuan Ping to target the county's poverty alleviation funds. Shumulin Township was one of the poorest in the county, and as the township head, Yuan Ping had to work tirelessly to ensure that the monthly salaries of the township staff were paid on time. If Shumulin Township were compared to a large family, Chen Shuli would undoubtedly be the head of the household. Regardless of how tight the township's finances were, Yuan Ping would always set aside a sum of about 10,000 yuan for Chen Shuli, a fixed amount that never changed. Yuan Ping's role was much like that of a steward, ensuring that Chen Shuli was not constrained by financial issues and that the township officials' salaries were paid in full every month.

In other places, this might be different, but in Shumulin Township, only those who could achieve this were considered qualified township heads. Both the previous township head and the current one, Yuan Ping, had racked their brains to achieve this goal. They would intercept part of the poverty alleviation funds and the retained funds from the lower levels whenever possible, ensuring that a portion of these funds reached the township government.

"County Magistrate Wang, shall we go to the First Reception House or Xiangshan?" Yuan Ping asked. The First Reception House was the designated reception venue for the county party committee and government, while Xiangshan referred to Xiangshan Villa.

"Let's go to Xiangshan." Wang Shengli casually replied. In fact, Xiangshan Villa had become an unofficial designated dining venue for the county party committee and government in recent years. Even people from lower levels who came to the county for business considered it an honor to dine at Xiangshan Villa. Of course, the consumption at Xiangshan Villa was more expensive than in other places, but since it was usually paid for with public funds, who cared about the price? After all, a higher price indicated a higher class and standard.

As the township head of Shumulin Township, Yuan Ping had visited Xiangshan Villa multiple times, both when he invited others and when others sought his help. However, as soon as he walked into the lobby today, he immediately felt something different. The biggest difference was a huge bottle of liquor standing in the center of the lobby. Although he was not familiar with the bottle, the words on it were very eye-catching: Shumulin Liquor.

Shumulin Liquor was now a sore point for Yuan Ping. Ever since Zhu Daodong paid the full year's management fee of 10,000 yuan to the finance office, he had not mentioned it again. The township staff were also very careful and never mentioned Shumulin Liquor in front of him. However, he did not expect to see it today, and in such a setting.

Yuan Ping then remembered that Liu Wei had called him a while ago and told him that Zhu Daodong had delivered all 500 boxes of liquor to Xiangshan Villa. At the time, he was also hearing from the finance office director, Xu Rui, that Zhu Daodong had paid the full management fee, so he did not pay much attention. Now, seeing the bottle that was almost as tall as his shoulder, he recalled it.

"Township Head Yuan, your township's economy is doing well. Shumulin Liquor is even being sold at Xiangshan Villa," Wang Shengli said with a smile, not noticing Yuan Ping's unusual expression.

"Where, where." Yuan Ping's face was stiff, and he tried to smile but could not manage it.

After entering the private room, Wang Shengli gave Yuan Ping face by ordering two bottles of Shumulin Liquor. However, Yuan Ping was extremely embarrassed when he saw the beautifully packaged Shumulin Liquor placed on the table. He had once thought this liquor would never sell, which was why Liu Wei had let it sit in the warehouse for several years. But after Zhu Daodong's efforts, it took only three days, plus the time for repackaging, new bottles, and labels, to sell it, and it was even sold to one of the best hotels in the county. Now, when he was the one hosting, it was proudly displayed in front of him.

"County Magistrate Wang, this liquor is actually the premium old white spirit from our township's distillery. It's not very good. How about we change it to Wuliangye?" Yuan Ping said with a bitter smile.

"Premium old white spirit? Township Head Yuan, do you know that the premium old white spirit produced in your township is now more expensive than Wuliangye?" Wang Shengli said with a half-smile.

Yuan Ping's face turned red, and he was greatly surprised. How much did Wuliangye cost per bottle? It was sold for 12 yuan in stores and 20 yuan at Xiangshan Villa. How much did the premium old white spirit cost per bottle? Only 1.5 yuan. Even with the new packaging, bottles, and labels, it would not exceed 2 yuan per bottle. Could this liquor really sell for more than 20 yuan per bottle?

"Take a look at the menu," Wang Shengli said, noticing Yuan Ping's genuine surprise. He was also quite surprised that the township head of Shumulin Township did not know about Shumulin Liquor.

Yuan Ping quickly flipped through the menu and saw that Shumulin Liquor was listed after Maotai and before Wuliangye, priced at 30 yuan per bottle! He rubbed his eyes, trying to see clearly if the decimal point after the 30 was really there. He wondered if he had mistaken 3 yuan for 30 yuan.

However, no matter how much he rubbed his eyes, the decimal point was there, and the number 30 could not be changed. He had not seen it wrong; it was indeed 30 yuan. A bottle of premium old white spirit that cost less than 2 yuan was now priced at 30 yuan on the table. The huge difference was hard for Yuan Ping to accept.

"Township Head Yuan, you seem unfamiliar with this liquor. Have a glass; it's quite good," Wang Shengli said with a smile, pouring a glass for Yuan Ping. Yuan Ping did not dare to let his superior pour for him and quickly took the bottle, respectfully filling Wang Shengli's glass.

"I haven't really tasted it," Yuan Ping sighed. When he visited the distillery, Liu Wei had offered him a taste, but seeing the familiar packaging of the old white spirit, he had no appetite. Now, just looking at the bottle made him feel it was of high quality. Yuan Ping could not help but reflect that one should not judge a person by their appearance.

"How is it?" Wang Shengli asked with a smile.

"It's good. If I didn't know the background, 30 yuan per bottle would be worth it!" Yuan Ping said with genuine surprise. The liquor was indeed good, and he was speaking from the heart.

"The reason this liquor is so expensive is that it is only sold at Xiangshan Villa. It's the only place you can find it," Wang Shengli explained.

"These are the distillery's inventory, sold in one go. They are not available elsewhere," Yuan Ping nodded, feeling guilty. He knew nothing about these matters and now had to be introduced to them by a superior, and not even the one in charge of industry, but the vice-county magistrate in charge of agriculture. This made his face burn with shame. What did it mean? It meant he knew less about the township's situation than the county leaders, and that he was not competent!

"No wonder Xu Jun boasted that if you want to drink Shumulin Liquor, you should come to Xiangshan Villa. It turns out this liquor is aged for ten years. At 30 yuan per bottle, it's not expensive at all," Wang Shengli said. In fact, whenever he came to Xiangshan Villa, he would always order Shumulin Liquor.

"County Magistrate Wang, although the distillery's inventory was all bought by Xiangshan Villa, I can still manage to bring a couple of boxes next time," Yuan Ping suddenly remembered the dozens of boxes of liquor in Zhu Daodong's office. At the time, he had dismissed Zhu Daodong's actions, but now he realized that Zhu Daodong had made a wise decision. If he had known a bottle could sell for 30 yuan, he would have kept even more boxes.

Because of Yuan Ping's promise, today's matter was handled exceptionally smoothly. Deputy County Magistrate Wang agreed to let him handle the procedures in two days, and of course, Yuan Ping would bring a few boxes of Shumulin Liquor at that time...

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