novelraw Chapter 18: Distilling Alcohol
Chapter 18: Distilling Alcohol
Chapter 18: Distilling Alcohol
The alcohol content of wine was generally not high in this era, but strong liquor did appear.
The set of equipment found in Steward Li’s estate was intended to distill and purify low-alcohol brewed wine to produce high-alcohol strong liquor.
In Wen Gu’s eyes, the equipment was crude, but it didn't matter as long as it served its purpose.
Daoist Master Qingyi frowned, "We're only refining these two jars of wine?"
Was this small quantity worth my effort to operate the furnace and distill wine?
"No. Tomorrow, we will search this estate again for any usable items, and also look for other sources of wine. If we find any, I will trouble you, Daoist Master."
"Very well, that can be arranged."
Although Daoist Master Qingyi was not entirely willing, he agreed after weighing the pros and cons, maintaining his dignified facade.
The sky outside had darkened. They did not touch anything else in the house and decided to let the large donkey stay there for the time being.The two jars of wine were not taken but were locked in a separate room to prevent the donkey from ruining them.
They returned to the kitchen.
Compared to the messy wine cellar ruined by the donkey, the kitchen and woodshed were more suitable for them to spend the night. There was plenty of firewood in the woodshed, so they didn't need to skimp on lighting a fire.
After fumigating with herbs and lighting a fire, the aroma of wine occasionally wafted through the air, deterring any nearby evil creatures.
"Little Liu, tomorrow, have Ma Tuaner send a message to your father, telling the village not to drink all the stored wine," Wen Gu said.
Falcons were diurnal raptors, so it was better to send messages during the day.
They would be staying in the estate tomorrow and would not go out, so they could let Ma Tuaner fly a trip.
It had only been a day since they left the village. They had to be cautious of their surroundings on the road, push their goods, and even stop for a rest during the hottest part of the day. With their walking speed, they hadn't gotten too far.
Little Liu the Hunter was already thinking about this. Knowing that wine could ward off evil, he wished he could tell the village immediately. They should not drink all the wine. No matter how much they liked wine, they should use it sparingly to save their lives.
For writing the letter, he asked Wen Gu for help.
Using a small notebook he carried with him, he wrote a few lines with a charcoal pencil, briefly conveying the information. Ma Tuaner would deliver this short message back in the morning.
After a good night's rest, on the second day, they searched the estate for supplies and decided what could be taken.
The estate was large. In addition to the owners, there were maids, servants, guards, and other laborers and hired workers who had lived there previously.
"What the superior likes, the inferior will follow."
As the saying goes, "when the superiors act, the inferiors follow." Many of the servants also enjoyed wine.
When the people here evacuated, they could take away rice, valuable goods, gold, and silver, but it was difficult to take all the wine jars with them.
Even the owners could only leave the wine in the house, making it even harder for the servants to carry.
From other rooms, they found over ten jars of wine, three of which had been opened.
The quality of the wine varied, and the ingredients for brewing were diverse.
It didn't matter, as it would all be refined by the Daoist Master.
In addition, during the process of collecting supplies, they discovered a basement containing nearly a hundred jars of excellent wine!
The entrance to the secret room was well-hidden and easily overlooked. Daoist Master Qingyi was the first to discover it.
Wen Gu looked at Daoist Master Qingyi with a meaningful gaze at that moment.
The Daoist Master's past travels must have been full of ups and downs and rich experiences.
Judging by the old marks left here, the secret room used to be piled with many chests containing the owner's private property. During the urgent evacuation, the chests were all moved away.
This good wine was difficult to carry, so it was left in the secret room as it was.
They would not be staying here for too long, and the wine the Daoist Master needed for distillation was not that much.
Wen Gu did not move them all out.
They couldn't take them all away.
Wen Gu said to Little Liu, "Send a message to the village. If something unexpected happens in the village, they can come here to take shelter."
Little Liu also liked this place, but it was a pity that it was too far from their Ge Village. The falcon could fly back and forth quickly, but it was different for them walking. They still had to guard against dangers along the way.
"Alas, what a pity. I wonder who will end up with this in the end," Little Liu lamented.
"Not necessarily. If you make a name for yourself in the North and return home in glory, you can bring your people to the North to escape the disaster, and you can take all the wine from here then. In the end, it will still fall into our hands," Wen Gu said.
Little Liu the Hunter's expression turned dreamy upon hearing this, and he said with determination:
"Yes! That's right! It will all be ours in the end!"
Daoist Master Qingyi, standing beside them, looked at Wen Gu and then at Little Liu, feeling speechless.
"You actually believe the pie he's drawing in the sky?!"
This was just the beginning, and he was already dreaming?
What a fool!
Impatient with their nonsense, Daoist Master Qingyi selected what he needed and went to distill the wine.
In addition to wine, they also found some leftover rice, salt, and sugar, as well as other items.
There were no finished weapons, but there were some farming tools that could be useful with a little modification.
The intact wooden carts had already been taken away. Two broken ones were left. By dismantling and repairing them, they could assemble one complete cart.
Wen Gu calculated how much a donkey cart could hold and began selecting the items they had found.
Large wine jars were inconvenient to carry, so they would only take some of the products refined by the Daoist Master.
While the Daoist Master refined the wine, Little Liu repaired the cart, and Tietou went to help with the heavy lifting.
Occasionally, when Little Liu was stuck, Wen Gu would come over, point out the critical issues, and offer solutions.
The wooden cart was soon repaired.
As for Wen Gu, after consulting with Little Liu, he went to build trust with the large donkey and conduct some simple training to allow the donkey to pull the cart better.
As they had guessed, this large donkey had pulled carts and carried goods before. Even if it hadn't worked for several months, it adapted quickly despite being a bit rusty.
It just lacked motivation.
Thinking that it would soon have to pull a loaded cart, Wen Gu asked Little Liu to make some concentrated feed using the existing supplies, such as the beans they had found that day, or some edible by-products from the Daoist Master's wine distillation.
Wen Gu also found a small-mouthed porcelain bottle, filled it with wine, and stoppered it with a wooden cork. A small amount of wine vapor would seep out.
A rope was tied to the neck of the bottle, and it was hung from a long pole in front of the large donkey.
Well, the large donkey pulled the cart with much more vigor!
As expected of an experienced worker.
Trust between man and donkey was also established.
Wen Gu was very satisfied and even learned how to drive from Little Liu.
Among the six arts of a gentleman, "li, yue, she, yu, shu, shu" (rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, arithmetic), driving a horse-drawn carriage was a skill that needed to be mastered.
He had never driven a donkey cart before, so he needed to learn the techniques.
In such chaotic times, mastering another skill meant a greater chance of survival.
Little Liu couldn't help but exclaim, "Scholars are really amazing!"
Not only could he drive, but he could also repair cars. Wen Gu was very proficient when he guided him in repairing the wooden cart.
Over there, after learning to drive the donkey cart, Wen Gu went to check on the progress of the Daoist Master's wine distillation.
Daoist Master Qingyi was indeed reliable in his professional field.
Alchemists were familiar with distillation technology.
What a talent!
It would be even better if more such talents could be found.
The wine collected from various rooms in the estate was processed according to the Daoist Master's own habits.
Originally, the Daoist Master only intended to distill the strong liquor and ignore the rest. However, Wen Gu had "pointed out" in advance, not only suggesting refinement techniques but also reminding the Daoist Master not to try to cut corners.
Considering the future benefits that the "dog scholar" could bring him, the Daoist Master put in some effort. The distilled wine was mainly divided into three categories:
The foreshots, the heart, and the tails.
The heart was the strong liquor, which was drinkable.
The foreshots and tails had more impurities, but they would not be wasted and had other uses.
Wen Gu looked at the separated distilled products.
The brewed wine here generally had a low alcohol concentration; the unted wine could not be ignited directly.
The heart liquor, after distillation, had a higher alcohol concentration and sufficient flammable components.
It also had a certain disinfecting and sterilizing effect. Although not comparable to the medical-grade in Wen Gu's original world, it could be used to treat minor injuries in the current situation.
The collected foreshots and tails, if they could be ignited at room temperature, would be kept as offensive weapons.
If they could not be ignited, such as wine tails with low alcohol content, high water content, or stimulating odors, they would be used as defensive weapons, with their smell serving as cover.
Keep them!
These were all things that could turn the tide of battle!
Although the results of the wine distillation did not meet Wen Gu's original expectations, the equipment was crude, so one could not demand too much. It was good enough for practical use.
When Wen Gu was conducting combustion tests, Little Liu happened to come over. He knew that this was wine refined by Daoist Master Qingyi and originally thought Wen Gu had asked the Daoist Master to refine strong liquor so they could drink it to ward off the cold when the temperature dropped.
He had heard people say before that in the harsh, cold border regions, some people drank alcohol to keep warm.
He thought Wen Gu had the same idea.
It wasn't until he saw Wen Gu ignite a small spoonful of wine that he poured out.
It was ignited!
So, as long as the wine was strong enough, it could be ignited!
What did evil creatures fear?
Besides low temperatures, it was fire!
If they encountered a crisis and did not have enough firewood at hand, they only needed:
One of the Daoist Master's [perfect fire tinder] and a small bottle of strong liquor...
Little Liu looked at Wen Gu: Scholars are really amazing!
Wen Gu did not hide his actions from Little Liu, saying, "Take everything with you when we set off. Be careful then, and absolutely do not go near the fire source."
Little Liu nodded repeatedly.
They definitely had to be careful, otherwise, they would end up burning themselves.
Wen Gu turned around and looked at the equipment.
It was a pity that the things they could take were limited, and they couldn't take this distillation equipment with them.
Therefore, Wen Gu used his portable notebook to draw pictures of this equipment. Once they had the conditions in the North, they would find artisans to manufacture and improve upon them.
Food was precious. Whether it was from grain brewing or fruit wine, it would definitely be harder to obtain. But the tools could be made and used for other purposes, not just limited to wine.
Alas, that was a matter for the future. They would think about it once they safely reached their destination.
Having obtained what they wanted and prepared the donkey cart, the four of them set off again.
With the donkey cart, they left the wheelbarrow at the estate.
If the team had more people, they could have had someone push the wheelbarrow along, but with only four people now, there was no need to occupy a combat-ready member.
When they set off in the early morning, the feral cat they had encountered before was squatting at the door, watching them.
It would continue to guard this estate. It was unknown when its owner would return, or when a new owner would arrive.
On the road to the estate, the large donkey, enticed by the small wine bottle hanging in front of it, pulled the cart with great vigor.
Only when they rested would Wen Gu give it a little wine to drink. It would not be fed while working.
No drinking while working, no working while drinking.
(End of this chapter)