“General Sheng brought this wine himself,” the brothel keeper blurted out anxiously.
“General Sheng? That General Sheng!”
“In River West County, which other General Sheng could it be? Of course, it’s the one who crafted the legendary ‘Cloud Garments and Flower Beauty’!”
“General Sheng knows how to brew wine too?”
“What a waste, such a waste. Such an exquisite wine, just ruined like that.”
In an elegant private room on the second floor.
Li Xunhuan chuckled, “Interesting! Quite the tactic.”
“Indeed, very beautiful!” Lin Tian had a lecherous look on his face.
“Snap out of it, the fairy is already gone,” Li Xunhuan laughed.
“Brother Li, who do you think is more beautiful, Fairy Isla Qin or Liu Shishi from the Capital City?” Lin Tian asked.
“Both are beautiful, each in their own way,” Li Xunhuan replied.
“If I could marry either one, I would have no regrets in this life,” Lin Tian said dreamily.
“Then your father would break your legs.”
……
“General Sheng is impressive. With just a small trick, he achieved such an effect. It seems this wine will become famous across the land,” Isla Qin said with a smile.
“Fairy Isla Qin flatters me,” Oliver Sheng replied modestly with a smile.
Having achieved his goal, Oliver Sheng quickly took his leave from Isla Qin.
Zane Wang and Magistrate Chen were reluctant to part, but Isla Qin didn’t even spare them a glance.
Outside the Misty Willow House, Xiao Chuyi remarked indifferently, “I thought you were going to spend the night with Fairy Isla Qin.”
Oliver Sheng glanced at Xiao Chuyi, “Do I look like that kind of person? I am a gentleman, never lingering in brothels, devoted in love, the epitome of a perfect man. I am the epitome of a perfect man.”
“Ugh…”
Xiao Chuyi made a retching gesture and walked away.
“Hey, Xiao Batian, if I don’t mess you up one day, I won’t be called Sheng,” Oliver Sheng couldn’t help but say.
After leaving the Misty Willow House, Magistrate Chen, who had sobered up, spoke slowly:
“If you mess her up, you’re done for too.”
“Old Chen, tell me about her background. Let’s see if I can afford to provoke her now,” Oliver Sheng said.
“Can’t say, can’t say,” Magistrate Chen shook his head and walked away.
“Mysterious, could her background be stronger than the Emperor’s?” Oliver Sheng scoffed. Once he broke through to Martial Saint, he would even dare to tease the current Empress.
After Xiao Chuyi and Magistrate Chen left, only a few personal guards and Zane Wang followed behind Oliver Sheng.
“Fairy Isla Qin is so beautiful, Brother Oliver, you must bring me along next time,” Zane Wang said.
“We’ll see next time.”
“Come on, we’re brothers who have been through life and death together.”
“That depends on your performance.”
……
The next morning, early.
After finishing his cultivation and freshening up, Oliver Sheng’s soldiers reported that a wealthy merchant was seeking an audience.
Hu Yan and Hu Xue, two brothers, were also at the Misty Willow House last night. Naturally, they knew that the exquisite wine that appeared last night was a huge business opportunity.
The two brothers were from the Hu family in the city, a family that had risen to prominence through business.
Seeing the enormous business opportunity, the two brothers couldn’t sleep all night and came to wait outside the military camp early in the morning.
They weren’t the only ones; several other business families in the city had also come.
These business magnates looked at each other with hostility, as they were now competitors.
Hearing his subordinates’ report, Oliver Sheng smiled. These merchants had come sniffing the opportunity.
He didn’t intend to keep them waiting and went to the camp gate after freshening up.
“General Sheng!”
“General!”
The merchants greeted him respectfully.
“Alright, no need for formalities. This isn’t the place to talk. Follow me to the brewery, we’ll talk there,” Oliver Sheng said.
“General Sheng is right.”
The crowd followed Oliver Sheng to the brewery, where two hundred soldiers patrolled, tightly guarding the place, making it impossible for outsiders to enter.
Under Oliver Sheng’s lead, Hu Yan, Hu Xue, and the others entered the brewery. Naturally, Oliver Sheng wouldn’t take them to see the brewing process but entertained them in the front hall.
“Gentlemen, I know why you’re here. The wine is right here. Have a taste first,” Oliver Sheng said, bringing out two types of wine.
“Then we’ll shamelessly have a taste first,” Zhang Yachun, a representative from the Zhang family, said.
As soon as the wine was poured, its fragrance filled the air, and everyone showed expressions of intoxication.
“Good wine, such a fragrance.”
“Such an aromatic wine is truly rare in the world,” everyone praised.
“Is this the Green Ant Wine? It’s indeed dozens of times better than ordinary wine.”
After tasting it, everyone’s eyes lit up, thinking to themselves that they must secure this wine.
“Try this one too,” Oliver Sheng said, opening a jar of Western Wind Blaze.
“The aroma is even stronger. This must be one of the wines from last night.”
Oliver Sheng poured the wine, and everyone eagerly drank it in one gulp.
“Ah…”
“So spicy, so strong.”
That was everyone’s first impression.
“General, what is this wine called? Such a strong wine, it’s an exquisite wine,” Hu Yan asked with shining eyes.
“This wine is called Western Wind Blaze. The previous one you drank is called Green Ant,” Oliver Sheng replied.
Since everyone called it Green Ant, it would be called Green Ant.
“Western Wind Blaze? Good name, good wine.”
Everyone couldn’t help but praise it. Such exquisite wine was truly unique in the world.
“Now that you’ve tasted the wine, let’s talk about the price. I brew wine to sell it and raise military funds,” Oliver Sheng said.
Everyone looked at each other.
Oliver Sheng didn’t mention a price, clearly wanting them to bid.
It seemed this young general was not only good at warfare but also had a sharp business mind.
“How about thirty taels of silver for a jar of Green Ant and forty taels for a jar of Western Wind Blaze?” one person offered first.
“Old Feng, are you so stingy? I’ll offer forty taels for a jar of Green Ant and fifty taels for a jar of Western Wind Blaze.”
“Agreed, we’re willing to pay that price,” another person said, looking at Oliver Sheng.
The others didn’t speak, waiting to see Oliver Sheng’s reaction. This price for a jar of wine was already very high.
A jar of wine was only two or three jin, after all.
Oliver Sheng said calmly, “I only sell my wine exclusively. The one who offers a satisfactory price will get it.”
Everyone’s hearts sank. They didn’t expect Oliver Sheng to play this card. He wanted to do exclusive business.
“My wine production is limited, so I won’t sell it widely. Think carefully before you bid.”
“I can offer seventy taels for Green Ant and one hundred taels for Western Wind Blaze,” Zhang Yachun gritted his teeth and offered.
Oliver Sheng didn’t speak but looked at everyone with a calm expression.
Clearly, Oliver Sheng was not satisfied with this price, but the others didn’t dare to bid higher.
One hundred taels per jar meant they had to sell it for at least one hundred fifty taels to break even.
But how many people would be willing to spend one hundred fifty taels on a jar of wine?
This was the border, not the Capital City.
The Hu brothers exchanged a glance and made up their minds.
“General, we’ll offer one hundred taels for a jar of Green Ant and two hundred taels for a jar of Western Wind Blaze,” Hu Yan said through gritted teeth.
At this price, the others looked at the Hu brothers and couldn’t help but give them a thumbs up. These were ruthless men.
Daring to offer such a high price, weren’t they afraid of losing their family fortune?
“Anyone else want to bid? If not, I’ll give the purchasing rights to them,” Oliver Sheng said, scanning the crowd.
The others remained silent. They couldn’t afford such a high price.
“Then please, gentlemen, leave for now,” Oliver Sheng said, making a gesture of invitation.
Except for the Hu brothers, everyone else left the brewery.
Outside, someone said, “Hey, those Hu brothers are really bold.”
“Buying wine at such a high price, even if it’s exquisite, if they can’t sell it, their family will be ruined.”
“Just wait and see.”
“Exactly, I don’t believe such expensive wine will sell. If it doesn’t, they’ll have to lower the price.”
Zhang Yachun didn’t speak and left silently. He wanted to compete with the Hu brothers, but they had raised the price too high, and he didn’t have the courage.
After everyone left, only the Hu brothers remained.
“Gentlemen, how much can you handle?” Oliver Sheng asked, looking at them.
Facing Oliver Sheng’s gaze, they felt pressured.
“General, we plan to buy two thousand jars of Green Ant and one thousand jars of Western Wind Blaze. Is that…” Hu Yan said cautiously.
He mentioned this quantity, fearing Oliver Sheng might get angry.
Hearing the numbers, Oliver Sheng smiled. Seeing his smile, the Hu brothers felt relieved.
“Alright, but I don’t do credit. Pay immediately, and you can take the wine,” Oliver Sheng said, satisfied.
Two thousand jars of Green Ant at one hundred taels each meant two hundred thousand taels of silver. One thousand jars of Western Wind Blaze at two hundred taels each also meant two hundred thousand taels of silver.
A total of four hundred thousand taels of silver, this profit was astronomical.
The cost and labor were less than ten thousand taels of silver. It was indeed a huge profit.
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