C16 Second Pot Head

At lunch that day, Li Xin only had half a fish in his bowl. It was said that Wang Gui had specifically instructed the kitchen to do so, saying that the remaining half would be served only when the prince wanted to eat it in the evening. Li Xin was speechless as he picked up a bowl of fish and put it in his mouth while thinking, "Damn, am I, the dignified Lord Chu, really so poor that I have to conserve my food?" "Looks like I must get my hands on the money. Otherwise, it would be too miserable to split a fish into two. What's the point of being a prince?"

Two days later, the two blacksmiths asked to see Li Xin as promised. Li Xin was very excited to meet the two of them outside the kitchen. His gaze moved past their shoulders and landed on the cart they were leading. There was something on the cart, covered with a tarpaulin. Only a rough outline could be seen.

"Your Highness' things have been completed, please have a look." The two of them said respectfully.

Li Xin nodded his head and walked to the side of the cart. Lifting up the tarpaulin, the iron grade equipment under the tarpaulin was displayed before his eyes. He picked up an iron tube and looked from side to side, nodding with satisfaction. These two blacksmiths were really skillful. Without the assistance of a stamping machine, they were actually able to forge such a suitable piece of metal. Furthermore, they rolled the metal into the type of iron pipe that Li Xin wanted.

"Not bad, not bad, very good. Wang Gui, everyone rewards me with a consistent amount of money! " Li Xin waved his hand and generously offered a large bounty.

The two blacksmiths did not expect that they could get the usual reward just by making a set of pots and a few iron pipes, and almost fainted on the spot. Their faces were full of joy, and they quickly expressed their gratitude, "Thank you, your highness! Thank you!"

Li Xin smiled as he waved his hand. Then, he carefully examined the other components.

The only one who didn't look too happy was Wang Gui.

He expressionlessly took out two silver cakes from his pocket and gave them to the blacksmiths one by one. Then, he watched the two of them leave gratefully. After that, he revealed a pained expression, looking at Li Xin who was so excited that he seemed to have obtained a new toy. He silently calculated in his mind where he should get the two lines of money from.

"My lord, I can't be so generous!" Wang Gui sighed softly. However, no matter how much he lamented, even if he had any more objections towards the extravagant actions of the prince, he would definitely not say it in front of outsiders, lest he embarrass the prince, as this was his duty as a servant.

Li Xin was amused by the pitiful expression on Wang Gui's face and said, "Alright, stop feeling sorry for it. When you see how powerful this thing is later, you will feel that a reward of two credits won't be much!"

Wang Gui expressed his doubts. However, his master was already busy assembling these things, and he couldn't help, so he didn't say anything more and quietly withdrew to do something else.

When dusk approached, a maidservant ran over to Wang Gui and said, "Butler, the prince has asked you to go to the kitchen to look for him." Wang Gui put down what he was doing and rushed over to the kitchen.

When Li Xin saw Wang Gui, he immediately smiled and waved his hand. He brought a bowl of fragrant wine in front of Wang Gui and said, "Taste it."

The prince definitely wouldn't poison him. Wang Gui didn't hesitate and immediately picked up the bowl of wine to sniff. The strong scent of the wine entered his nose and lungs, causing him to feel relaxed and happy. He looked at Li Xin in shock and asked, "This was done by the Prince?" "Use that pot?"

Li Xin nodded and urged, "Drink it quickly."

Wang Gui wasn't polite either. He raised his head and took a big gulp. His face immediately flushed red as he cried out, "What a strong wine!" He had always liked strong liquor, so it was not difficult for him to casually drink three to five catties of it. However, the liquor that he had just drunk was much stronger than any wine that he had ever drunk before. Compared to it, most of the strong alcohol on the market could only be considered clean water with a slight alcohol taste.

Li Xin laughed loudly. He already knew that Wang Gui, who was used to drinking Tang Dynasty wine, would be embarrassed if he drank it for the first time. That was why he urged Wang Gui to drink it. It was just a little prank.

"How is it? "Is the taste good?" Li Xin asked with a smile.

Wang Gui held the remaining wine in his bowl in one gulp, let out a long breath, and said, "Good wine! It's the best drink I've ever had in my life. "

Li Xin gave a thumbs up and praised, "Good taste!"

That's right, the thing Li Xin had the two blacksmiths forge was a simple device to distill wine. After he assembled it, he sent a servant to the winery to buy two or three cups of wine. After distilling them twice, he obtained the legendary Erguotou.

If it wasn't for the fact that the quality of the original wine wasn't high enough, Li Xin wouldn't have had the time to properly store the wine and wait for its alcoholization. He could also produce a more perfect wine with a sense of export and flavor.

"What do you think, if I sell this wine, how much would be appropriate for it?" Li Xin asked with a smile.

Wang Gui thought for a moment before replying, "Each fight will cost at least eight or nine kuai."

Li Xin patted Wang Gui on the shoulder and proudly said, "Do you still think that I'm giving too much of a reward to those two blacksmiths?" Wang Gui's price was about the same as Li Xin's prediction. According to his estimations, the cost of these simple second-rate pots made by him was not more than five hundred gold coins per eight percent of the profits. It was simply a windfall.

Wang Gui happily accepted and said, "Not much, not much. "Prince, you have a brilliant idea. I can't even catch up to you."

This flattery caused Li Xin's entire body to feel comfortable. The fatigue from living for an entire afternoon had completely disappeared.

"In the future, find out where in Chang'an City are those poor wineries. Make them cheap and find some blacksmiths to make a few more sets of this distillery. It'll be easy to produce a few dozen bottles of wine a day." Li Xin casually calculated and said, "One day can earn at least a few hundred slots, which is more than enough to cover the expenses of our King's Manor.

"Your Highness wants to manage this wine by himself?" Wang Gui asked.

Li Xin rolled his eyes at him and said, "That's right. Otherwise, if I spent so much effort to get this thing out, could it be that I want to give it to someone else to manage?"

Wang Gui hurriedly said, "That's not what I meant." What I mean is, this wine is too good. I don't think that the Chu Clan could handle such a large business. "

Li Xin frowned and asked, "Why?"

Wang Gui laughed bitterly, "Changan City has the backing of large clans." The taste of the wine was excellent for the princes. Once they started selling it, it would definitely affect their business greatly. At that time, their eyes will definitely be red with envy. If they were to form a group to deal with the Prince, it would be very difficult to deal with. "

Li Xin had originally thought that he had Li Shimin as his backer, coupled with the fact that he was an incomparably respected prince, it was already enough to support his wild ambition to monopolize the wine industry in Chang'an City. Now that he heard Wang Gui say it, it didn't seem like it was the case.