"The aroma of this wine is amazing!" Xiao Zheng could not help but drink softly. Although he has not drank alcohol for nearly two years, he has an instinctive ability to identify the aroma of wine.
"Mayor Xiao said it smells good, I am so happy!" A slightly older voice came from the factory. Xiao Zheng looked up and saw an old man wearing a blue cotton shirt already standing at the door.
It is Mr. Cao, the old winemaker of Baokang Village. Next to Mr. Cao is Li Qingcha, who is elegant and graceful. Her smile is always faint.
Xiao Zheng hurriedly stepped forward and took Mr. Cao's hand: "Hello, Mr. Cao! Long time no see!" Mr. Cao smiled and patted the back of Xiao Zheng's hand gently with his skinny hand.
"We people in Baokang Village all know that Mayor Xiao is busy. However, no matter what others think, I, Old Man Cao, have to thank you! Without you, how could we have such a good winery in our village?"
ah!"
Mr. Cao stretched out his right hand and waved towards the winery in the mountain. Xiao Zheng followed the old man and looked at it. Although the building was not high, the factory building behind it was large and already somewhat large-scale. Xiao Zheng looked at Wei Xishan
Looking at it, he looked at Li Qingcha again, and he couldn't help but feel doubts in his heart, and asked: "Which of you invested in this factory? Or is it a joint investment?"
Li Qingcha smiled and said: "Mayor Xiao, don't bother asking. Let Mr. Cao take you to see this factory first? After you see it, we will explain it to you." When Xiao Zheng heard this, it was exactly what he wanted.
.If ordinary people go to a winery, they may only care about whether the wine tastes good and whether it is expensive. However, as the mayor, Xiao Zheng is concerned about whether the product of golden liquor millet wine can create an industry.
Because of this, the factory was a must-see for him, and he was also very interested in the entire brewing process, so he said, "Okay, then I'll visit first. I haven't seen the entire brewing process yet, and today is just the day.
I’ll have a chance to see it with my own eyes.”
So, Mr. Cao walked slowly in front with a cane, followed slowly by Xiao Zheng, Wei Xishan, Li Qingcha and others. As he walked, Mr. Cao introduced: "The brewing method of our golden liquor millet wine is called ancient brewing.
These things are very important. The first is grain, the second is water, and the third is music. For a long time, the land in our mine has been barren and the water has dried up, so naturally we can’t make good wine. My family has hidden it in the cellar.
Good wine was brewed a long time ago. However, in the past two years, the mountains have turned green again, and the tree roots have trapped the water and soaked it into the reservoir. We in Baokang Village can drink sweet spring again.
Food is also in short supply. We chose the factory in this mountain valley because there are springs flowing from above and millet growing below. This place was perfect for us to choose."
"It turns out that this is the reason why I chose the mountain col instead of the mountain pass." Xiao Zheng nodded slightly and walked forward. The factory areas turned out to be connected to each other, more than a few hundred meters long and fifty or sixty meters wide.
meters, there is a heavy iron door that can be opened and closed at the connection. Most of them have been opened today, and the lights in the house are bright. It is almost 8 o'clock in the evening, and there are still workers wearing blue short-sleeved clothes working. The environment in the factory, regardless of the floor, walls and
The ceiling is clean, and the aroma of wine in the air is even stronger, as if you'll feel tipsy if you smoke too much.
I just heard Mr. Cao say again: "There are 'sixty-six thirty-six' processes and one hundred and eighty-eight links in brewing millet wine. Each link must be done well. The most important ones are wine making and koji making."
There is no room for sloppiness in the three steps of production and coordination. The factory is too big, so today I will take you to these three main workshops to have a look."
At this time, the wine-making workshop was not making wine, but there were two workers cleaning it. According to Mr. Cao, the best time to make wine is at 5:08 in the morning at Mizi Winery.
The workers will start working in full swing before dawn, stirring up the fermented fermented grains that have been sleeping in the cellar all night to bring out the mellow aroma after fermentation! At that time, the aroma of the wine will be steaming everywhere.
Xiao Zheng regretted that he couldn't see such a lively scene at this time, otherwise he might not be able to help but grab a shovel and use it.
"The second very important link is making koji." We continued walking and came to the koji making workshop. The workers in this workshop, mainly female workers, were finishing their work. When they saw a leader coming over, they looked shy.
With an expression on his face, he walked towards both sides. The work of making koji also starts at dawn. 4 o'clock in the morning is considered the best time to start. There will be a shift change in the middle to complete the entire process of making koji. It is even more puzzling.
The strange thing is that making music actually requires stepping on it. The white and tender female feet step on it, and within a few dozen seconds they will create a "tortoise-shaped" piece of music that is tight on the four sides and loose in the middle.
Many people who don’t know the truth will say that the wine made by stepping on the koji will smell like feet. Is it edible? It’s too unhygienic! But in fact, in traditional delicious crafts,
For example, traditional recipes such as udon noodles, pickled mustard, tea, pickles, sea salt, wine, sour plum soup, and flatbread are all made with feet.
At this time, the koji has been made, part of it is spread out to dry in the drying hall, and some of it is transferred to the koji warehouse. These koji will then be sealed in the pit together with the steamed grains and fermented nine times for a total of 28 days, and then they will be called "lees".
The fermented grains are taken out of the cellar and distilled seven times in a wine steamer to produce the fragrant golden liquor millet wine!
They came to the wine cellar again and stopped in front of a huge steamer and barrel. "Mayor Xiao, come and get some wine!" Mr. Cao took a glass wine vessel from the barrel and handed it to Xiao Zheng.
.Xiao Zheng took it, put it under a stainless steel wine pipe, and gently turned the faucet with his hand.
The transparent, slightly yellow wine liquid flows out from the wine tube, just like the nectar from the sky. Beautiful hops bloom in the wine vessel, and the aroma of the wine comes to your nose, making you really happy.
I want to take a sip. "This wine is already close to the 53 degrees of our golden millet wine." Mr. Cao said, "But without blending, it can't become a good wine! We finally went to the blending workshop to have a look, and you guys also
Then you can go have dinner and drink rice wine."
In the hookup workshop, Xiao Zheng met an acquaintance. Because this person was wearing a white coat and dressed very differently from before, Xiao Zheng didn't recognize him at first, until the other person called Xiao Zheng, "Mayor Xiao, you are here."
!" Xiao Zheng looked at it carefully and then remembered: "Cao Yong? You also work in the winery?" Cao Yong is Jiang Xiaoli's husband and Jiang Xiaohui's brother-in-law. Xiao Zheng and Fang Ya lived in their cave dwelling before.
inside.
Mr. Cao said: "Cao Yong is my grandson. Ever since I was a child, he has been following behind me when I was making wine, looking here and touching there. Before my wine was brewed, he put a straw lid on the wine pond.
I opened the door and ate it secretly, and I didn’t know how many jars of wine I had spoiled. I thought how could the wine I brewed be sour, but later I found out that it was this kid who caused the trouble!" Everyone laughed after hearing this. After all, Cao Yong was sincere and was embarrassed.
Authentic: "Grandpa, can you please stop talking about these sesame seeds and rotten millet things in front of the leaders?"
"You did it and you still don't dare to admit it?" Mr. Cao said with a smile, "Leaders are also human beings. They won't take your little shit seriously!" Li Qingcha said: "Everyone has his or her own situation.
What a childhood. Cao Yong, if you didn’t have that kind of childhood, how could you be our bartender today?”
Mr. Cao said: "Look, what Mr. Li said is so good. You have followed me to make wine since you were a child, and you have a natural feeling for millet wine. This kind of feeling can't be learned by people who want to learn it when they grow up.
.I am getting older day by day, and this craft will eventually be passed on to others. You have learned 60% of what I have learned. If you study hard for a few more years, you can master my craft and teach more brewers in the factory.
Master, let the craftsmanship of golden liquor millet wine be passed down forever." At this time, Cao Yong solemnly nodded: "I will learn it seriously. Now that a factory has been set up in the village and the environment is better, the millet wine has the conditions to be passed on.
I hope this winery can continue to operate for decades or hundreds of years."
Xiao Zheng nodded and said: "Cao Yong, you have this belief, which is the first step for the inheritance of millet wine." Cao Yong said: "Mayor Xiao, let me make you a glass of wine. Can you take a sip?" Okay.
To achieve a wonderful taste of liquor, a bartender needs to rely on extraordinary skills and intuition to blend it. Mr. Cao said: "No original liquor is perfect, all have shortcomings and are monotonous. Only through different processes
Only after blending the original wines of different vintages and cellars can the taste of millet wine become indescribably good."
On the table in front of Cao Yong, there are one to two hundred labeled bottles, which should contain different types of original wine. The fact that he is so confident that he wants to make a cup for Xiao Zheng means that he must have the means to make a good cup of wine.
This really makes people a little greedy, but Xiao Zheng still gently waved his hand and said: "I really want to drink this wine. But, I can't drink it yet. When I can drink it, I will definitely be there
Murakami, come and drink." Xiao Zheng still clearly remembered that Fang Ya once asked him to drink with her for the first time he could drink.
Xiao Zheng had agreed at the beginning. It wasn't that Xiao Zheng's affection for Fang Ya was beyond the reach of others. It was just that since he had promised her, he didn't want to break his promise.
Since Xiao Zheng made it clear that he couldn't drink, everyone no longer forced them. The group left the workshop and came to the cafeteria. Because Xiao Zheng didn't drink and Wei Xishan had to drive, there was only Li Qingcha. Mr. Cao and Cao Yong drank the wine, and the fragrance was in the cafeteria.
Gently drifting away. Li Qingcha said: "Mayor Xiao, last time you told me about the gold liquor millet wine here, I came here in person and found Mr. Cao. He said that as long as someone opens the factory, he is willing
I donated the ancient brewing method of golden liquor millet wine free of charge. After I drank the wine collected by his old man, I felt that this matter could be done. However, I couldn't use this ancient brewing method in vain, so I asked Mr. Cao to use his technology.
He bought shares and held 10% of the shares. But the old man proposed that he didn’t want the shares himself, he could just take the workers’ wages. The 10% shares would be given to the village. When the winery makes a profit, it will pay dividends to the people in the village every year. Mr. Cao is
It’s really awesome.”
Mr. Cao took a sip of wine and said: "I am a dying man, and I still need this share. What will I do with this money? I just hope that our village and fellow villagers can have a way to get rich."
Xiao Zheng said: "Mr. Cao, you are so humble. You really think about everyone!" Li Qingcha added: "Now, our factory has been set up and production has started. But I used to make clothing.
, I’m not good at marketing wine, so I thought of Mr. Wei. She is in the hotel business, and I wanted to see if she could find a way, so I invited her here.”
Xiao Zheng looked at Wei Xishan: "Mr. Wei, is this your first time here today?" Wei Xishan nodded and said, "No, this is my second time here. Last time, I came here for a drink."
Xiao Zheng nodded: "What do you think of this winery?"
Wei Xishan said: "I came here this time because I wanted to invest 100 million first. However, I hope that Jinye Minzi Liquor can go public. I wonder, Mr. Li and Mr. Cao, what do you think?"