Goatee laughed. "No, the Amish don't want to be friends with people like me. But they like to barter, and I always have a lot of things they like in my car …"
"You're a smart guy," Li Du said.
"Maybe I'm just a smart b * stard. Everyone thinks I'm a b * stard," he laughed.
Li Du shook his hand. "I'm Li. Nice to meet you. Look around and see if we have anything you like."
Goatee said, "Nice to meet you too, Big Li. I'm Garter, Goat Garter. Similarly, you can see if there's anything you like in my car. "
The things in the car were messy. There were rusty iron tools, rusty copper tools, some wooden furniture, and some coarse pottery. It looked like they were all handmade.
Li Du felt that these things were ancient. After his experience with the dodo bird specimen, he was more interested in Amish things, so he let out the little bug.
This time, the little bug did not disappoint. After it flew out, it immediately flew towards a small machine that was made of iron cans and steel pipes.
Li Du controlled it to return, and then quietly reached out to touch the machine.
The small machine was divided into two parts. One part was an iron can, and the other part was something that looked like a pipe.
The iron can was connected to a coarse steel pipe. Li Du gestured with his hand. Through the steel pipe, the iron can and the pipe could be combined. It looked like a set of tools.
He did not know what this thing was for, so he gave Hans a look.
Hans walked over and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Li Du said, "Look at this. Do you know what this is?"
Hans looked at it and laughed. "It's not worth much. A distilling machine for moonshine. My house used to have this thing. It used to be very common in the countryside."
Li Du suddenly understood. "Oh, this is the tool used to make moonshine?"
Moonshine, as the name suggested, was alcohol brewed in secret. The reason for this was that some people wanted to avoid high taxes or the prohibition of alcohol consumption.
Moonshine has been around for a long time in the history of the United States. It was especially rampant in rural areas, and for a long time most of the whiskey or rum that was on the market was made with it.
Hans said, "Yes, what's wrong? Are you interested? "
Li Du released the little bug again. The little bug flew excitedly toward the distilling boiler. It seemed like this thing had existed for quite some time.
Therefore, he said in a low voice, "I feel like this thing is an antique. It gives me an unusual feeling."
Hans laughed. "Do you understand our moonshine culture? In fact, many of these distillers are grandfathered because they are very durable. "
Li Du asked, "Moonshine culture? This thing has culture too? "
Hans said, "Of course, buddy. Don't you know the history of moonshine? It's as old as the United States! "
Soon after the end of the Revolutionary War, the financial difficulties of the long war became apparent, and the United States government imposed a federal tax on distilled spirits to solve the problem.
But the people of the United States, who had just been freed from heavy British taxation during the War of Independence, were unhappy with this measure and decided to continue making their own whiskey, completely ignoring the federal tax.
For these early moonshiners, brewing and selling alcohol was neither a hobby nor a way to make some extra money. It was a way for them to survive.
When the harvest was bad, the farmers made whiskey out of their corn, and got by on the extra money they made from it.
To them, paying taxes meant that they were unable to feed their families. Therefore, even though the government issued strict laws, the farmers still thought of ways to secretly brew alcohol.
Under such circumstances, the government began to use extreme measures. At that time, the war had just ended, and many of the farmers were retired soldiers.
Faced with the government officials who forced them to their doorsteps, the farmers took up their guns and fought back.
"In the 1860s, the government used excise taxes to fund the American Civil War. This caused the fight between the moonshiners and the anti-smuggling officers to intensify."
"Back then, the society was very chaotic, buddy. Too chaotic." Hans shook his head as he said this.
Li Du asked, "How chaotic? Did the two sides have violent conflicts? "
Hans laughed coldly. "More serious! The moonshiners and the Ku Klux Klan joined forces and engaged in many fierce battles with the government army! "
Li Du was surprised. "These guys are crazy!"
The Ku Klux Klan was the most notorious local evil force in American history. They followed the policy of white supremacy, discriminated against people of color, liked to use violent means, and committed many evil deeds.
Hans said, "What's even crazier, buddy, is that in order to protect the information of their brewery, the moonshiners intimidated and threatened the local residents. They also attacked the IRS officials and their families. They are violent lunatics!"
Li Du said, "Then they are too evil. I know a little about the situation of the moonshiners. They later became gangsters, right? I've seen them use the Chicago typewriter as a weapon on TV. "
The Chicago typewriter was the nickname of the Thompson submachine gun. The reason was that the sound it made was as clear as a typewriter.
In the 1920s and 1930s, this gun was the favorite of the American gangsters. It was only 85 centimeters long and weighed only five pounds when empty. It could be hidden in a coat and had a fierce firepower.
Hans shook his head. "What you know is not the real situation. Later, the number of moonshiners increased. Most of them were rural farmers who brewed alcohol."
In the early 20th century, the United States passed several laws to prohibit the sale and purchase of alcohol.
In 1920, alcohol prohibition was officially in effect nationwide. Suddenly, there was no legal alcohol on the market, and people's demand for moonshiners skyrocketed.
But in 1933, when alcohol prohibition was abolished, the market for moonshiners began to shrink.
Although moonshiners were still a problem for the federal government in the 1960s and 1970s, there were few cases of illegal moonshiners in court nowadays.
Nowadays, moonshiners were rare in the market because of their poor taste and unstable quality. The tools for making moonshiners were also not very popular in the market.
However, there were still people who liked to reminisce about the old days who would buy these tools. They bought them to brew for themselves or just to reminisce about the past.
Among them, the Amish had always insisted on brewing in private. They did not participate in the circulation and operation of the market economy. They were active in their own small circle and mainly relied on their own brewing of alcohol.
Therefore, the Amish's moonshiners were better preserved and had a better market.
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