Chapter 51

Chu Huan approached at this moment, and he could clearly see that the man's skin was very dark, his beard was thick, almost covering half of his face. However, it was evident that the man had a high nose, a slightly protruding forehead, and eyes that were larger than those of ordinary people. His pitch-black eyes were like stars in the night sky, exuding a faint aura of divine power.

The bearded man suddenly stood up, glaring fiercely. If it were an ordinary person, they might have been frightened, but Chu Huan remained calm, extending his hand with two plum blossom cakes in his palm, smiling. Since he knew the man was deaf, he did not speak, but the gesture was very clear.

The bearded man glanced at the cakes in Chu Huan's hand, his anger slightly easing, but he did not accept them. Instead, he lay down again, covering his head with the blanket, behaving very strangely.

Huang Fu said, "Brother Chu, you don't need to pay attention to him. The master brought him back from outside a while ago. Seeing that he had some strength, he left him in the granary to move grain. I heard that this guy doesn't get paid, he just gets three meals a day... But this guy has a bad temper, and he treats anyone who approaches him as an enemy." He had called Chu Huan by his name earlier, but now that Chu Huan had given him the cakes, he called him brother.

Chu Huan frowned slightly, staring at the bulging blanket, lost in thought.

At this moment, the sound of a wooden clapper came from outside, and someone called out, "Everyone, go to bed, blow out the lights and go to bed...!"

Huang Fu found a piece of cloth to wrap one of the cakes, took the other, and whispered, "Brother Chu, blow out the light and rest!"

Chu Huan put away the cakes, returned to his bed, blew out the lamp, and lay down. However, he still felt very strange. He had seen the bearded man's face clearly just now, and it seemed different from that of the people of the Central Plains, more like a foreigner, though not so obvious.

The bearded man's thick beard covered most of his face, and if one did not look closely, it would be hard to notice the difference from the people of the Central Plains.

The lamp was extinguished, and soon, Huang Fu and Niu Jin began to snore, clearly very tired.

Chu Huan closed his eyes, half asleep and half awake. He did not know how long it had been, but he faintly heard a very slight sound from the side. He opened his eyes slightly, but did not move his body. In the dim light, he saw the bearded man getting up from his bed, moving very quietly. If it were not for Chu Huan's excellent hearing, it would have been hard to notice the movement.

After getting up, the bearded man walked quietly to the door, opened it, and went out, carefully closing the door behind him, then disappeared without a sound.

Chu Huan was very puzzled. He had just arrived at Heshengquan, and he never expected to encounter such a strange person. It was already deep into the night, and he did not know where the man had gone.

He wondered if he was being too suspicious, and the bearded man might have just gone to the toilet.

The autumn night was quiet, and the courtyard was already completely silent. Everyone at Heshengquan was in a deep sleep. Chu Huan waited for a while, half asleep and half awake, but the bearded man did not return, making him even more suspicious. He was sure the bearded man had not gone to the toilet.

Huang Fu and Niu Jin were sleeping very deeply, snoring loudly.

Chu Huan then smiled bitterly. The bearded man had nothing to do with him, so why should he meddle in other people's affairs? Whatever the man wanted to do, it had nothing to do with him.

Thinking this, he stopped thinking and fell into a deep sleep.

...

He did not know how long it had been, but the sharp sound of a wooden clapper woke Chu Huan from his sleep. He opened his eyes and saw that it was already slightly light. A ray of dawn was shining through the only window of the wooden house.

Huang Fu and Niu Jin had already gotten up hurriedly, and the courtyard was already noisy. Niu Jin said to Chu Huan, "Brother Chu, get up quickly, follow me to the drying hall!"

Chu Huan knew that Niu Jin also worked in the drying hall, so he nodded and got up. Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to look at the bearded man's bed, just in time to see the bearded man getting up and walking towards the door.

Chu Huan frowned, remembering what had happened last night. He did not know when the bearded man had returned. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, who would have known that the bearded man had gone out in the middle of the night.

Huang Fu and Niu Jin were already walking out the door, and Chu Huan followed. When they went outside, it was just beginning to get light, but the courtyard was already full of Heshengquan's workers, all heading towards the kitchen.

Chu Huan followed Niu Jin to the kitchen, where he saw the workers lining up to receive their breakfast, which was just two steamed buns.

In front of the kitchen was a large table with a steamer on it. Master Chen stood beside it, while Xiao Sanzi and another worker were distributing the buns to the Heshengquan workers. The workers took the buns, ate them, and then went to the workshop.

Chu Huan and Niu Jin took their buns and also went to the workshop, joining a group of people who entered a large, spacious room. Chu Huan smelled a pungent moldy smell and saw that the room was piled with half-processed grain.

This was the drying hall, the place with the most workers in the entire workshop, with nearly forty people.

As they entered the drying hall, a middle-aged man wearing a hat came forward. Niu Jin whispered to Chu Huan, "That's our drying hall's assistant master, you can call him Master Xu... Remember, don't call him 'assistant master' in front of him, it will make him unhappy."

Chu Huan nodded, understanding that this was similar to the modern concept of a deputy, where even though one holds a deputy position, they do not like to be called 'deputy' in their title.

The middle-aged man came forward with his hands behind his back, looked at Chu Huan, and asked, "You are Chu Huan?"

"Yes!" Chu Huan nodded and smiled, "Chu Huan greets Master Xu!"

Master Xu nodded slightly, called Niu Jin over, and instructed, "Take him to mix the ingredients!" Without saying more, he left.

At this moment, everyone had finished eating their buns and started working. Niu Jin led Chu Huan to a pile of grain, found a shovel, and handed it to Chu Huan, whispering, "Follow me to stir this wheat mixture, you need to mix the koji and the ingredients evenly." He then took the shovel and demonstrated.

Chu Huan watched and realized that the task was actually quite simple. He started helping, and Niu Jin whispered, "The wine we brew at Heshengquan is a bit different. Our main ingredient is wheat... You can see there's also corn and sorghum, but in very small amounts!" He pointed to a few other piles nearby, where workers were also stirring the grain, and whispered, "Those are mainly sorghum, for sorghum wine... That's barley wine... Different grains require different koji, and the taste is also different...!"

Chu Huan, in his previous life, was a bartender and had extensive experience with various types of alcohol, from red wine, white wine, and yellow wine, to different categories. He could determine the age and brand of a wine just by smelling it.

Chateau Margaux, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Romanée-Conti... Whisky, brandy, rum... Maotai, Fenjiu, Wuliangye... These names were familiar to Chu Huan.

Although Chu Huan was very familiar with various famous wines, he knew nothing about the wine-making industry. He had only dealt with finished wines and had never been to a winery, let alone such an ancient one.

Undoubtedly, everything in the winery was new and strange to Chu Huan, but also very intriguing.

"What kind of wine is Bamboo Clear?" Chu Huan asked, "Is it barley wine or sorghum wine?"

"It's neither barley wine nor sorghum wine, it's rice wine!" Niu Jin smiled, "Bamboo Clear is our Heshengquan's signature, but rice is expensive, so the production of Bamboo Clear is limited, and it's also very expensive. Out of ten jars of wine we produce, only one is Bamboo Clear!"

Chu Huan nodded. He had tasted Bamboo Clear at Yipinxiang, and it was indeed a top-quality wine, sweet and clear, with a rich aroma.

At this moment, a cold voice came from behind, "If you don't want to work, get out of Heshengquan! We can't afford to feed someone who eats but doesn't work!"

Chu Huan frowned and turned to see that the petty manager Yuan had come to the drying hall and was looking at them coldly from nearby.

The drying hall was bustling with people, and Chu Huan and Niu Jin had not noticed Yuan's arrival.

Niu Jin's face turned pale, and he lowered his head, not saying a word, and hurriedly started working.

Chu Huan glanced at Yuan coldly. He remembered Han Yuan's advice not to easily offend Yuan, so he ignored him and continued working. However, his cold reaction made Yuan's face even darker. Yuan, with his hands behind his back, looked at Chu Huan, a sneer on his lips, and walked away slowly.

The workers in the drying hall were busy, and before long, Chu Huan felt sweat on his body. He stood up straight, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and saw out of the corner of his eye that a worker was holding a porcelain jar and coming towards him very quickly.

Chu Huan frowned, not knowing what the worker intended to do. Suddenly, the worker walked up to him and deliberately bumped into him. Chu Huan reacted quickly, sidestepping, and the worker stumbled and fell to the ground, the porcelain jar shattering and spilling yellow koji.

The sudden incident caused the sound of the broken jar to spread, and many people turned to look, their faces showing confusion.

The worker who had fallen to the ground now sat on the ground, pointing at Chu Huan and shouting, "You... Why did you bump into me? Do you know... This is unprocessed koji, you... It's all your fault...!"

Chu Huan frowned, and when he saw Yuan quickly approaching, he understood what was happening. A cold look flashed in his eyes, and a sneer appeared on his lips.

Before Yuan even got close, he pointed at Chu Huan and shouted, "I knew you were a troublemaker! Did you take offense at what I said and take it out on someone else? Do you know how much this jar of koji is worth?"

Chu Huan looked at Yuan calmly and said, "I didn't bump into him!"

"You're still trying to argue!" Yuan sneered, "I saw it clearly, he was walking past you, and you deliberately bumped into him. Are you still denying it?"

"Did you see it with your own eyes?" Chu Huan put down the shovel, crossed his arms, and looked at Yuan with a mocking expression. "If you saw it, you should know what happened. You say I bumped into him, but... are you blind?"