Although Dong Ling himself was only a Hu merchant, he had opened such a high-class hotel and had seen who knew how many truly rich and powerful people. He actually didn't care too much about a nouveau riche like Madam Yao. However, he only smiled and lightly waved his hand. Immediately, a woman dressed in a crimson dress gracefully walked onto the stage.
This Hu Ji was tall and slender, graceful and beautiful. She had golden hair and blue eyes, and was filled with an exotic charm. Her beautiful eyes looked around, and there was a gentleness like flowing water. Her breasts were high and her waist was slender. A fiery red pomegranate skirt was tied around her slim waist, swaying her beautiful round bottom that could cause the downfall of nations and people.
In her hand was a light blue glazed wine goblet. The mouth of the goblet had a stopper made of poplar wood wrapped in red silk. The Hu Ji raised the goblet high and leisurely circled around the round stage. The shape of the goblet was seventy to eighty percent similar to the enchanting figure of this beauty.
Dong Ling raised his voice and said, "Everyone, I said that this fine wine is rare because of its brewing method. This wine's brewing method is very different from other grape brews. Its alcohol strength is more than two times that of ordinary wine. Therefore, the taste of the wine is very sweet. Such a fine wine can be said to be priceless. Everyone, you have come today. Now, I invite all of you to bid."
The Dong Ling Wine Seller was a famous wine tasting master. If he said that this wine was more delicious than all the other wines in his shop, then it was definitely true. No one would question his evaluation, and it was not appropriate for them to ask to taste it first. There was only one goblet of wine, and if the customers in the shop each took a sip, how much would be left?
What everyone was concerned about was who this goblet of wine would belong to.
In reality, this goblet of wine was indeed different from the wine commonly seen on the market. At this time, ordinary wine was heated and sterilized before adding yeast to ferment it into wine. However, this bottle of wine was made using a rare distillation method, a grape wine.
Regarding the brewing of grain distilled wine, there had always been a saying that it originated from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. In reality, with the discovery of antiques, there was physical evidence that proved that distilled wine had already existed in the Song dynasty. If one was a little more daring, they could even speculate that it had already appeared in the late Tang dynasty.
However, it was absolutely impossible for it to be any earlier. Otherwise, how could there be no records of high-alcohol liquor among the many poems left by the Tangs? But distilled spirits still did not exist at this time, but the technology to steam wine with grapes had already appeared. However, this technology currently only existed in the Western Regions and was in the hands of an extremely small number of Hu.
These winemakers knew that this distillation technique was better than the traditional way of making wine, but once they expanded their business, this exclusive technique would inevitably spread, so they kept it a secret. As a result, small workshops could only produce a limited amount of distilled wine.
The transportation of wine was very troublesome, and the production was very low. Therefore, the appearance of this fine wine in Luoyang made it especially precious. The few scholars in loose robes discussed in low voices. They pooled together some money, and then one of them shouted, "We'll pay ten thousand taels."
In this era, ordinary officials could buy a bucket of rice wine for three hundred coins. Wine worth ten thousand coins was already the highest grade wine on the market. Later on, the Immortal of Poetry, Li Bai, drank fine wine that cost ten thousand taels a bucket. As for Du Fu, who was in dire straits, he often drank inferior wine that cost three hundred taels a bucket. The price offered by these people could be considered fair.
Madam Yao sat at the back of the table, curling her lips into a cold smile.
Liu Junfan covered her mouth and laughed. "These people actually dare to compete with Madam's wealth. They really overestimate themselves. Why don't we see how much more others can raise the price? I'll go bring the wine over and offer it to Madam to taste, so that we don't have to raise the price again and again and disturb Madam's mood. "
Madam Yao nodded her head with a smile, appearing extremely arrogant.
At this time, the two Hu merchants who were discussing business also excitedly joined the competition. One of them shouted, "Fifteen thousand coins!"
This price was already extremely high. Furthermore, these two Hu merchants had raised the price to five thousand coins. It would not be good for others to raise the price by three hundred and five hundred coins. Was there a need for such a price just for a cup of wine? The atmosphere immediately turned cold.
Seeing that no one was raising the price so quickly, Madam Yao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She slightly raised her chin. Liu Junfan understood and loudly shouted, "Twenty thousand coins!"
Immediately, a wave of dejected sighs could be heard from all around. The Hu merchant who had raised the price slightly knitted his brows and hesitated for a moment. However, he had just negotiated a large business deal and originally wanted to win this cup of good wine to share with his business partners. At this time, it was naturally not good for him to show his cowardice. Thus, he said, "Twenty-five thousand coins."
This price was somewhat unreasonable. No matter how good the wine was, it was not worth this price. Liu Junfan hesitated for a moment and turned to look at Madam Yao. Madam Yao angrily said, "Trash, do you think I can't afford it?"
Liu Junfan immediately raised three fingers and proudly shouted, "Thirty thousand coins!"
The Hu merchant groaned inwardly. Although he was extremely wealthy, taking out thirty-five thousand coins just to buy a bottle of wine was still too extravagant. However, in front of an esteemed guest, it was not good for him to back down. He could only grit his teeth and shout, "Thirty-five thousand coins."
In the private room to the south, Yang Fan frowned and said to Tin Aino in a low voice, "This is bad. A Hu merchant has appeared out of nowhere. If the two of them can't compete and Madam Yao withdraws, it will be difficult for us to proceed with the next step of our plan."
Tin Aino quickly glanced outside and said in a low voice, "That shouldn't be the case. Since this Madam Yao is used to being domineering, even though the price is a little high, she will still buy it for the sake of her pride."
Tin Aino smiled and softly said, "Men care about their face, but in reality, women care about their face even more than men do."
Just as Tin Aino finished speaking, Liu Junfan fiercely shouted, "Forty-five thousand coins!"
It seemed that Madam Yao was also worried about cutting her own flesh with a blunt knife. If she increased the price by fifty-five thousand coins, the two sides would not be able to come to an agreement. If she gave up, she would lose face. If she didn't give up, she would feel the pain of spending the money. Thus, she might as well raise the price by ten thousand coins and hope that the other side would back down.
The Persian was now riding on a tiger's back. He was about to raise the price when the merchant next to him pulled him back and whispered a few words to persuade him. The Persian took the opportunity to get out of the situation. He put on a resentful look and stopped bidding.
Dong Ling stood on the stage, beaming with joy. That person who had consigned the fine wine for sale insisted on selling it in public. At first, he didn't think much of it, but since he had received a 'commission' of five hundred coins, all he had to do was help the seller sell the wine, so he didn't mind. He didn't expect that this bottle of wine would actually sell for a high price of forty-five thousand coins.
Although the price was fixed at the beginning, no matter how high it was sold, he wouldn't be able to take a cut from it. However, once this news spread, it would undoubtedly raise the reputation of his' Golden Hairpin Drunk '. This profit would truly belong to him. Dong Ling's face was full of smiles as he said, "Forty-five thousand coins, Madam Yao bids forty-five thousand coins. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price?"
The surroundings were completely silent. Dong Ling shouted twice, but no one responded. He then said, "If there is no one willing to raise the price, then this bottle of fine wine will belong to Madam Yao."
Yao Yun lightly raised her chin again, her expression incomparably arrogant. Liu Junfan hurriedly stood up and walked quickly to the stage. As he walked, he looked left and right, immensely proud of himself. Liu Junfan jumped onto the stage. Just as he was about to take the wine bottle from the hands of the gaudy Hu Ji, an extremely clear and melodious voice suddenly came from one of the private rooms, "Sixty thousand coins!"
Just as Liu Junfan's hands touched the wine bottle, his smile froze on his face. He slowly turned his head and looked towards Madam Yao.
The surrounding guests all looked towards the source of the voice. Madam Yao's eyebrows twitched as a wave of anger suddenly rose. Her pair of sharp eyes fiercely glared around, suppressing all the discussions that had arisen. In a loud voice, she shouted, "Seventy thousand coins!"
Almost as soon as her voice fell, that melodious female voice rang out again, "Eighty thousand coins!"
"Hong!"
The clamor that had just been suppressed by Madam Yao's gaze could no longer be stopped. Sounds of exclamations, gasps of cold air, and the sounds of people craning their necks to inquire about the identity of the buyer rose one after another. Madam Yao was so angry that her entire body trembled. She fiercely glared towards that private room. Yang Fan was sitting to the side and was also in a lower position. Thus, Madam Yao did not even glance at him. Her gaze was firmly fixed on Tin Aino.
This was a little girl with a sweet smile. She was younger than her, prettier than her, and wealthier than her. Competition had already made her angry. The other party was also a woman, which made her even more hostile. Furthermore, this person of the same gender was far superior to her in all aspects. Madam Yao could no longer suppress the jealousy in her heart.
Madam Yao clenched her teeth and said word by word, "Ninety thousand coins!"
"Hundred thousand coins!"
The manager of "Golden Hairpin Drunken", Dong Ling, felt as if she had suddenly drunk a cup of the highest quality wine. Her head was a little dizzy, her hands were trembling, and her body felt a little light.
Hundred thousand coins for a cup of wine!
The women of the Tang dynasty were truly heroic!
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