He slept very deeply that night, and when he woke up the sun had already risen.
Perhaps the distillation process had eliminated a lot of dirt. After waking up, he did not feel an unbearable headache. Instead, he felt a sense of emptiness all over his body, as if he had been rowing all day long and slept soundly all day.
Feel.
But when he remembered the ecstasy he felt after being drunk, he got up, ate some bacon, and hurried to Clavarson's blacksmith shop to take away the last part of the distilled liquor.
Since enjoying it for the first time, Otto has really fallen in love with it.
In the following days, the ale of the entire Ross tribe was concentrated in the hands of the leader.
Generally speaking, the market price of a barrel of ale in Roseburg is often ten silver coins. If you have the most mellow-tasting one, it is normal for the price to rise to twenty silver coins.
Usually the price is constant, but this year the situation has changed dramatically.
In this era, ordinary civilians obtain wealth either from accidents or from war dividends. Don't expect them to save. It is normal to spend immediately to improve their lives.
This is what Malos' theory of spiritual needs describes. In layman's terms, people need to eat enough and then eat well.
How does one eat well? Eating wheat cakes and grilled meat every day, accompanied by ale, is a life full of joy.
The merchants deliberately raised the prices, and the Russians were also very fierce in fighting.
The earliest ales that entered the port had been sold out long ago. Merchants took the opportunity to raise prices. After more merchants inquired, they began to spontaneously transport Mälaren's ales to Roseburg.
Otto bought ten oak barrels of ale at a price nearly half higher than the market price, for which he spent one hundred and fifty silver coins. These wines were not good wines, but even the most common things, he felt that the carat
Wasson is perfectly capable of turning them into vodka.
The so-called vodka today is just the exact name given by Rurik to the distilled liquor that the Russians processed themselves.
In Rurik's view, only something that is close to pure alcohol, without any aroma and only has the smell of alcohol, is worthy of being called vodka.
Inappropriately speaking, vodka can be said to be industrial alcohol without added acetone. Rather than being a drink, it is more appropriate to say that it is a fuel that makes cars run wildly.
Therefore, the burden of processing and distilling vodka suddenly fell on Klavasen.
The sudden work can be said to add fuel to the fire of this busy blacksmith family.
Is there any other way? That is the order from the chief of the tribe. The order is strict, but it also means that huge benefits can be obtained.
What mission did Otto give them?
That is, one oak barrel of ale must be processed every day and turned into flammable vodka in three glasses. Although Otto was exposed to real spirits for the first time, a real alcoholic’s taste for wine does not need to be tested too many times.
.He will personally try to light the spirit to verify whether the maker has filled it with water.
To be more precise, he also followed his son Rurik's explanation. The reason why ale cannot burn but the flame of vodka can burn beards is because one has more water and the other has less water.
Under pressure, what else can Klavasen do? It seems that the most important thing in distilling wine is supervision.
He gave the student Kamnier the job of supervisor, and a magical thing happened under the pressure.
Far in the east, people at the White Tree Manor in Novgorod would never have imagined that Kamni, an orphan whose parents had died, was being trained by the Varyag people to become the best winemaker.
Good thing Otto didn't indulge in personal enjoyment either. He put the newly acquired vodka into water bags made from the stomachs of beasts, and then distributed them to his most important friends.
Fortunately, Klavasen's reputation became even greater. Many good people learned about the origin of vodka in the name of ordering swords. They still couldn't understand how ale became a "good wine that can burn".
In short, the leader regarded lighting the vodka as a miracle that could be played with, and by the way, he once again proved his son's nobility.
Otto was certainly not an alcoholic. He did long to enjoy wine every day, but he knew after all that his life would not last long.
"Burning Vodka" is a miracle. He is in the tribe, and his elderly cronies, who are also a very important group of people in the tribe, promote and display this miracle.
However, every night, his father became a little drunk. Rurik looked at this old guy and couldn't help but worry.
Of course Rurik is eager for his new house to be built. Now the new house that imitates the Novgorod-style wooden house has finally reached a very critical stage. Over there, the gaps deliberately left in the wooden walls are filled with compacted moss. And
On the hard wooden beams arranged in a herringbone pattern, wooden logs are laid. After laying the moss, a layer of logs is pressed to serve as the energy supply for the tiles.
This is the wood-carving house, a wood-carving house with a stone fireplace. It was probably completed in the past few days.
Rurik gradually focused on the new house. It was obvious that his father was originally interested in the new house, but now his thoughts were all on wine.
Finally, one quiet night, while his father was still in good spirits, he talked about his worries at the dinner table.
"Dad, you've been drinking too much during this time."
"Oh? Is it really a lot? I feel like during this period, every night, my soul is wandering in Valhalla. I... even met Brynhildr. The Valkyrie told me..."
"Brünhilt?" Rurik thought it was ridiculous. It was just a legendary figure. The Russians generally recognized this god, and it seemed that no one except the priests claimed to be able to compete with this god. Rurik deliberately
Question: "So, what did the Valkyrie say?"
"Oh. He said he would die in a war many years later and die as a true warrior."
Niya was startled when she heard her husband say such words. She coughed twice hurriedly: "Stop talking nonsense, you are a man who wants to die at home."
Otto shrugged, not caring about his wife's words. He looked into his son's eyes, and as a warrior, he carefully educated Rurik: "Do you know where the best destination for a man is?"
"It's a battlefield, I know it!"
"You know?" Otto was greatly surprised.
Rurik really knew what his father liked to hear. He deliberately said: "A true warrior will die at the last moment of the last war. In this way, he will die in battle instead of aging like a man."
A dead branch dies quietly."
Rurik just quoted a famous saying from a certain general a thousand years later. At this moment, it really shocked Otto the most.
To be fair, the words he quoted were really shocking, and they were really meant for the soldiers.
The excited Otto suddenly stood up, and under the attention of his family, he suddenly raised his son high, with a happy smile on his face.
After a while, Otto reluctantly calmed down and continued the previous topic: "My soul did go to the door of Valhalla. It was not a dream. The Valkyrie told me that I will die in the war many years later, and you, Rurik,
You will take my place. Don't worry, these are all fates. The Valkyrie said, I enjoyed the wine of Valhalla in advance, which is a proof! It proves that I have been chosen. Maybe anyone who drinks this wine
, can all become heroic spirits after death. My child, did you know? Your uncles all feel that you gave them this opportunity!"
Rurik's eyes suddenly opened wide, and he felt that things had become very strange.
Of course Otto, the old guy, was dreaming, but when he popularized the dream to his "uncles", that is, important figures in the tribe such as Haro Zuosen, the situation completely changed.
After so many years, Rurik has long recognized Otto's fatherly role.
The current situation is also very clear. Although in the past, the leader of the Ross tribe was selected through a public process, but now, who has the courage to challenge the "person chosen by Odin"?
He will personally govern. Once the leader Otto dies, no matter what his age, he will definitely take over.
Rurik's biggest need now is to have the greatest power of the tribe. Now Otto is becoming more and more addicted to the hallucination caused by alcohol, and Rurik is increasingly enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by people and worshiping him.
Of course he will become a new leader, or even be upgraded to a prince, or a new title like Caesar or Augustus.
However, before that, Rurik felt that his father Otto must pave a broader and more solid road for his future.
In other words, the Ross tribe that he takes over must be strong.
Therefore, Otto must not die suddenly because of drinking.
Seeing Otto's excitement and his mother Niya's wry smile, Rurik grimaced, grabbed the sleeping bag around Otto's waist and pulled it off forcefully.
"Oh? Rurik, you want to drink too?"
"No, Dad, you can't drink any more tonight."
"Why?" Otto said in surprise: "I wish you would grow up a little bit more so that we can drink together."
"Forget it. I'm just afraid that if you drink too much, your soul will go to Valhalla and never come back again."
"How is this possible?!" Otto could tell that his son was afraid that he would die from drinking.
Can drinking kill people? Otto didn't know the power of alcohol at all. He thought it was very ridiculous.
But Rurik just held on to the water bag and refused to let go, and said seriously: "Actually, Kanuf told me everything. You old guys are all drinking, and Klavasen also told me many things. You are very fond of vodka."
The desire is so strong.”
"Is there anything wrong with this? We should have fun because we are noble."
"No! Although vodka is good, it will erode your heart and make you forget your responsibility as a leader. Dad, you should lead the tribe to become strong, so that the poorest tribe members can also eat and drink well. Since it is about enjoyment, if you
Bringing all the clan members to enjoy together is the most perfect thing."
Otto was a little embarrassed. Hearing his son's opinion, he felt that his son's words made some sense, but he couldn't tell how.
Rurik was still holding on to the water bag: "Dad, I must limit your drinking from now on and make sure your mind is clear."
"But you can't restrict your father. My child, you should listen to me on this matter."
This is true, because he only has his only son. To put it bluntly, Otto dotes on Rurik. In many things, he deliberately accommodates his son. Rather, it is entirely because of his son that Otto treats the maid Rumia.
polite.
He was supposed to be a leader with one word, but as a result, because of Otto's deliberate laissez-faire, Rurik already had great freedom at a young age.
Rurik is actually already doing things that only the leader has the authority to do, such as training the army! Even if those armies are just a group of eight or nine-year-old boys. Even in this way, sensitive warriors can estimate that a battle-filled army
The future of sex.
Rurik shook his head: "Dad, we should make an appointment."
"what is that?"
"An agreement about how much alcohol you should drink each day."
"Okay." Otto breathed a sigh of relief: "It's whatever you say."
"This..." Rurik suddenly came up with another good idea. He hid his latest plan in his heart and returned the water bag to Otto for the time being.
Rurik pointed to the glass on the table: "One glass a day, no more."
"Oh! That's it? Too little."
"Is it less? Dad, for three glasses of vodka, we took away the essence of a barrel of ale. If things go on like this, the ale in the entire alliance will not be able to withstand the consumption of us Russians. You must at least be restrained."
"Okay, okay, I won't argue with you. What you said makes some sense. At least you want to give me an exception today. Is this my last indulgence?"
"That's fine." Rurik shook his head helplessly, and then he saw in shock that his father unscrewed the cork of the water bag and poured strong alcohol into his big mouth.
This move shocked Rurik and even more shocked Niya.
Otto, he indeed enjoyed his last drinking binge of the day.
It was not simply a matter of self-restraint in response to his son's good intentions, but precisely because he really could not continue to indulge in drinking.
Just because the next day, Rurik only arranged a simple training for his men in the morning, ended the training hastily, ran to the blacksmith shop, and explained his new plan to Klavasen.
It was something that Klavasen found unreliable, but the prospect was quite promising.
Specifically, it was a brand new invention that combined spirits and glasses.
Ever since Klavason invented the "suppressing glass and restraining bottle mouth technique" in a short period of time, Rurik had the idea of instructing Klavason to make small glass bottles.
Moreover, for the sake of efficiency, you should try blowing glass bottles.
The work of glass blowing is a test of skill. Indeed, if a person who lacks training does it rashly, the backlash of hot air can instantly destroy a person's lungs and eventually lead to a tragic death.
What if what is blown up is not a human lung, but an air sac?
In other words, the existence of the lungs itself is an air sac. The birth of the lungs comes from the buoyant air sacs evolved by ancient bony fish. The essence of the lungs is a retractable air sac. Breathing with the lungs can be said to be an evolutionary operation that has turned a side job into a main job.
Rurik thought of using the existing bottle blower to blow air and make bottles.
According to his own understanding, it seems that blowing glass bottles is not difficult at present.
Originally, Rurik felt that it would be difficult for Klavasen to make a bronze tube. Who knew that this old guy would first cast a bronze plate, forge it thinner, then curl it up and heat-weld it to become a tube?
.This tube has now become the core component of the distillation equipment.
This time, Rurik simply acted as an engineer and called all the Klavasen family to the blacksmith shop.
Including the future sister-in-law Lilia, and the only manservant Kamne.
Rurik ordered Lilia to sweep the gravel floor with a broom, and then he ordered everyone to sit down with leather cushions.
He held a wooden stick, drew sketches on the ground, and explained in his mouth.
Any craftsman has a very high level of logical understanding, and can even make up the appearance of the finished product in his mind just by describing it.
This was the case for Klavasen and Kawei, and even Lilia and Kamne expressed some understanding.
Even though Lilia and Kamne were children, to be precise, they were still illiterate. Since they had been living as craftsmen during this period, they had already been exposed to a lot of practical knowledge.
Children's imitation ability, determination to pursue excitement, curiosity, and need for a sense of achievement are all extremely high.
Lilia became an expert at making glassware, and her hands also had many calluses, and even some areas of her delicate hands were molted due to exposure to alkaline substances.
Kamnier is even more incredible. This child has learned many skills and has now begun to supervise the production of distilled liquor.
Everyone present is a craftsman, and of course Rurik is an engineer.
Rurik made several such requests.
First: Make a bronze tube. A ball of soft molten glass is stuck to one end of the bronze tube, and the other end is connected to an airbag blower. Use the blower to blow it up, forcing the molten glass to become a hollow existence.
Second: Make a special bronze mold, which should have the shape of a small narrow-mouth bottle. The mold can be divided into two. When the bronze tube drags the glass liquid into the hollow interior of the mold, the mold can fit. And the mold
It cannot be big and the finished product must be very delicate.
After Rurik made some gestures, Klavasen realized what was going on inside just by imagining it. He naturally felt it was amazing, but he still had doubts about the wonderful results Rurik showed.
Doubt it? Then use the finished product to verify whether the suspicion is reliable.
In fact, there is nothing magical about Rurik's request, because the mass-produced glasses of later generations all followed this routine.
That is a mechanical blowpipe, which blows molten glass into a bottle with a constant capacity in a metal mold. Because of this operation, it triggered a global explosion of mass production of glass containers at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.
This is the power of industry!
Wouldn't it be better to just make molds and fire clay? At present, nothing is faster than casting bronze.
It was August 14th. Rurik asked his father to drink less yesterday. This afternoon, when the sun set, Klavasen had already made the mold.
In just half a month, the Russian people's wine-making technology has completed technological innovations, and even the wine vessels have changed.
This mold is really extraordinary!
Because Rurik required that the clay molds be specially processed. In addition to having a special shape, they also had characters engraved in reverse.
The clay mold used as the inner tank was chiselled with the Roman letters "RUS" and "VODKA", and Rurik had no intention of engraving the letters Ron.
In any case, the big trend in the future is indeed that the Roman alphabet will become the mainstream in the world. The reason is that it is the script of the Roman Empire, nothing more!
Besides, Rurik felt that the modern Roman alphabet he knew about later generations was a very mature alphabet system.
The Yin characters on the clay mold will become the Yang characters on the bronze as the casting is completed.
The words RUS and VODKA are raised!
Since the bronze mold cools down instantly after quenching and is formed, Klavasen is eager to experiment now.
A bronze pipe was to be made, and this work was undertaken by Kawei.
There are two senior blacksmiths in the family, and they are also excellent smelting talents. When Klavasen completed the bronze mold, Kawei also completed the task.
The gaps in the bronze tube fuse under high temperature, and the tube can completely withstand the heat of the molten glass.
After all, Rurik asked for lead oxide to be added to the glass liquid. Lead is of course poisonous. Since he is poisoning other people's heads and he is trying to make money, that's what the saying goes. Besides, there is also the issue of dosage.
This night, the highly motivated Clavarson family embarked on a great feat!
A ball of viscous liquid glass, or a ball of sticky hot substance, adheres to one end of the copper pipe.
The soft glass ball was put into half of the mold, and the other half was immediately closed. Rurik was afraid that the glass liquid would escape from the gaps on both sides of the mold during blowing, so a stone was pressed against the mold.
Kawei, who controls the air bag blower, takes action!
This man with strong arms is good at rowing and blacksmithing. His wife Lilia admires his strength. Now, this is a slightly slow but absolutely powerful suppression. The strong air pressure from the air bag completely changes the glass mass in the mold. appearance.
As a result, some soft glass overflowed from the mold entrance.
As the mold was opened, Rurik smiled...
Klavason smiled, Kawei smiled, and Lilia and Kamne couldn't believe their eyes for a moment!
Because, a glass container is finished!
Klavason held the dagger and cut the glass attached to the bottle mouth along the copper pipe. Because the glass is still very hot now, its softness makes it easy for people to cut.
Besides, since a layer of carbon powder is applied inside the mold before blowing, the glass bottle can be released from the mold without any hindrance.
Now, Rurik pinched his hairless chin and was satisfied that he could see the characters he needed.
"Rurik, this is good, I think we have succeeded!" Klavasen said excitedly.
"Yes, there are also the characters you want. This proves that it comes from the characters of our Rus tribe? Or is it the characters of the Romans?" Kawei said in surprise.
"You are all right." Rurik grabbed a piece of leather and put it on his hand, playing with the bottle that could still scald the flesh. Although the tower was hot, it had now cooled to the point where it could no longer be plasticized.
As long as the cold wind blows, it will cool down faster! Such glass bottles are easily broken, or they will collapse immediately after being filled with boiling water.
However, if it hits the cooled liquor, there will be no problem.
"What are you going to do next? Just hold the wine?" Klavasen asked comfortably.
"Of course! It has to be filled with wine, because it is engraved with VODKA! If it is filled with something else, we have to modify the mold." Rurik said enthusiastically, "Next, after it cools down naturally, we have to clean the inside of it.
Then, pour the distilled wine made today into it."
"Is it for the chief to enjoy?" Clavarson asked with a smile.
"Of course! I made an agreement with my father. In order to prevent my father from being addicted to wine, just like the Bona who was killed by him, I can only do this to restrain him!"
Klavasen didn't care about Rurik's decision. He continued to mutter: "In this case, in order to restrain the leader, why make such a unique bottle? So that we have learned a new skill."
"Of course it's to make money!"
"Yo! You are really not humble at all."
"Of course." Rurik lost his temper: "Klavasen! Kawei! Do you know what I think?"
"Selling wine? You can't put vodka in a bottle and sell the bottle together?!" Kawei asked knowingly.
"You are absolutely right." Rurik immediately introduced the bright future: "I just want to sell wine! You know Gould's glass bottle, it was a treasure of the Romans. In order to get it, Gould used
Thirty gold coins! What’s more! The Romans also knew how to make good wine, but they were not as clever as us. A bottle of Gould’s wine is worth at least forty gold coins, what do you think of us?”
"This..." The excited Klavasen's heart almost exploded: "We also sell it for forty gold coins?"
"No need. Not many people can afford that price. In my opinion, ten barrels of ale can be processed into one barrel of vodka. One barrel of vodka poured into this bottle is enough for fifty bottles."
Rurik's estimate was quite accurate. It was completely reasonable for ten barrels of ale to be turned into 50° vodka. The capacity of the glass bottle he created was about 200 ml, which must be said to be a real small bottle.
It is precisely because of its small size that it looks very delicate, which caters to people's needs for babies. Babies should be compact.
Besides, it is a treasure and a very good daily necessities.
Anyone who owns this bottle can use it to hold honey, ordinary ale, or even pure water.
Especially pure water, at first glance, others might think it is filled with fine wine!
In this way, Klavasen made five such small bottles in one go. They did not undergo annealing at all, and were all cooled naturally very quickly. Experience and a theory that he could not fully understand led him to conclude that this kind of bottle would not be durable for the time being.
hot.
Anyway, it’s just a bottle of wine, and it’s an experiment anyway, so you don’t need to ask too much.
As a result, the spirits from a barrel of ale distilled today were completely filled into five glass bottles with the words "Ross Vodka" printed on them. Its appearance does look a bit like the glass of a certain coffee sold in Rurik's impression in the supermarket.
The appearance of the bottle, with the oak stopper on it, gave Rurik a strong sense of dislocation.
It's as if a product of the industrial age after a thousand years appeared in the barbaric ninth century.
Look! There are still traces of the mold on it! It is a dark line running through the entire bottle, which is the closing line of the two-part mold, which also shows its manufacturing principle. Of course, only the best craftsmen can realize that it is
How was he created? There were probably only a handful of people like him in Eastern Rome.
And this was the gift Rurik planned to give to his father. He then told Otto to drink one bottle every day.
Even though it is only one bottle, it is equivalent to two or two Guotou.
But Rurik thought of its commercial value even more.
They are all selling wine, so they must reap more profits.
What are the costs here? Finished ale, distillation labor costs, glass bottle production costs, packaging costs, and sales costs, etc.
So adding up all these, a bottle of wine can be sold for one hundred and fifty silver coins, right?
After all, the glass bottle alone is worth another hundred silver coins.
Is it really only 150 silver coins? Isn’t it still too expensive? If I only sell to big merchants, it won’t be easy to make money from small merchants.
Rurik was still undecided, but he had already made an agreement with Klavasen, which was to mass-produce new glass bottles and make distilled wine as much as possible.
Rurik thought he could set up a company called "Ross Vodka", and the inscription on the bottle would be his trademark!
As for the price, he made an acceptable range, that is, a bottle of strong wine, one hundred silver coins to one hundred and fifty silver coins.
It is indeed very expensive. One bottle of wine is enough for an ordinary man to live for four years! Spirits are not something ordinary people can enjoy anyway.
Prices can also be reduced in the future, but the prerequisite is that production capacity must explode!
Production capacity explodes? He feels that grain production capacity must explode first, otherwise everything will be delusional.