It was rare for Du Qi to make perfume by himself. After all, this was for Li Yanyun and Qianxue, so he did it himself. The most complicated part of making such a simple perfume was the distillation and purification of the wine.
This was the most tricky part.
For this reason, Du Qi spent a lot of effort and searched for many distillation methods from his memory. Finally, he had a series of tools for distillation. From the steamer, to intercepting the wine vapor, and then condensing the vapor into the raw liquor. This was a raw liquor with at least seventy degrees.
The alcohol content of today's liquor was very low. It was only about ten degrees, and there were even liquors with lower degrees. In terms of the highest alcohol content, the one Du Qi encountered was only about twenty degrees. It didn't feel much when drinking it, and the fragrance was not as strong as this raw liquor.
Du Qi only managed to purify two jars of the original wine. He took out half a jar of liquor, which was divided into two halves. Usually, one half was used to soak the dried roses, and the other half was used to soak the dried jasmine flowers. After soaking the two kinds of flowers and sealing them, he just needed to wait for the fragrance of the flowers to soak in.
Du Qi soaked the flowers, put the bottle in a cool place, and took the rest of the raw liquor. He took a small sip. When the liquor entered his throat, it was full of the fragrance of the liquor, but it also made it more spicy and strong. For people who liked to drink strong liquor, this was definitely a good liquor. But for people who were not used to drinking strong liquor, one or two glasses of liquor would probably faint.
Such liquor would taste better after being shelved for a while, especially after being stored in a cellar.
Du Qi thought about the problem of distilling the liquor. In order to make purer liquor, a large amount of liquor was needed to be purified and distilled. But the raw liquor obtained in this way was actually very little, and the loss in the process was too great.
If he made liquor on a large scale, the consumption of food would be incomparably huge, which was an astronomical figure. In the Western Region, the land for farming was even more scarce, and it couldn't be compared with the Central Plains. It was definitely unrealistic to make liquor on a large scale. After all, he couldn't ignore the storage of food just to make liquor.
But the liquor could be purchased.
Du Qi had an idea in his mind. He immediately arranged for people to summon Shangguan Yi and other cabinet members to the main hall. This was to let everyone have a taste. Shangguan Yi, Ma Zhou, Lai Ji, and Guan Zhilan entered and sat down.
Shangguan Yi asked, "Your Majesty, why have you summoned us?"
Du Qi said, "I called you all here today because I just discovered some bejeweled nectar. That's why I called all of you here to taste it carefully. "
He waved his hand, and the attendant immediately picked up a tray. On the tray were four small jade wine cups. There was not much wine in each cup, less than half a tael of wine.
Shangguan Yi picked up the wine cup and sniffed it. "Your Majesty, the taste of this wine is too pure. This is the first time I've smelled such wine. It makes me feel as if I'm floating in the air. "
As a disciple of a famous family, Shangguan Yi came from Chang 'an. He had tasted many fine wines, but this kind of wine made Shangguan Yi's mind sway.
Ma Zhou, Lai Ji, and the others also put it in front of their noses and sniffed it lightly.
The fragrance was rich and assailed their noses.
Du Qi waved his hand and said, "Have a taste."
Shangguan Yi put the wine cup to his mouth and took a sip. The strong taste in his mouth made Shangguan Yi's eyes widen. He had an incredulous expression on his face. Immediately after the wine entered his throat, Shangguan Yi couldn't help but hiss. However, the fragrance of the wine spread in his taste buds. At this moment, Shangguan Yi let out a long breath. He felt as if he was floating in the air.
Comfortable!
It was too comfortable!
Ma Zhou, Lai Ji, and Guan Zhilan also tasted it gently. Among the three of them, Guan Zhilan could drink strong wine. He opened his eyes wide and said, "Your Majesty, this wine is wonderful. When I was in Puchang County, I drank wine behind my father's back. I boasted that I've tasted all kinds of wine, but there's never been a wine that can compare to this wine. Delicious, it's too delicious. It's rich and strong, and I feel as if I'm floating in the air. It's very comfortable. "
After Ma Zhou and Lai Ji drank it, they also felt that it was good. However, the two of them didn't drink strong wine. Therefore, although it was delicious, after taking a sip, they felt as if their heads were floating.
Shangguan Yi couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, where did you get this wine?"
Ma Zhou and the others also looked at Du Qi.
There was curiosity in their eyes.
Because the wine tasted really good, but they felt a little dizzy after drinking it.
Du Qi looked at their expressions and shook his head inwardly. The original wine that was distilled and purified was indeed more delicious, but it hadn't been stored in a cellar and hadn't been precipitated for a long time. In fact, it wasn't pure enough. However, to Shangguan Yi and the others, this was already a peerless wine, an extremely pure wine.
Du Qi said, "The production of wine is quite complicated. It's not something that can be explained in a few words. In short, a jar of wine that weighs more than five kilograms will probably be made into a pot of wine. The production of wine like this is far more food consuming than wine brewing in the past. "
After hearing this, Shangguan Yi frowned and said, "The wine is good, but according to what Your Majesty said, this wine can't be brewed on a large scale because it consumes too much food. Nowadays, although granaries have been built in various places in the Xia 'Xia to store food in case of natural disasters that may occur at any time, our Xia's foundation is not enough. However, our country's foundation isn't solid enough. We can't make wine on such a large scale and can't withstand the torment. "
In the past dynasties, there were even situations where wine brewing was prohibited.
Because it consumed too much food, ordinary wine brewing was not a big problem in Xia's current situation. However, the wine given by Du Qi could not be brewed on a large scale.
Ma Zhou echoed, "Your Majesty, I also agree."
Lai Ji said, "I also agree."
The three of them all held the same opinion. After all, drinking wine was only to satisfy the desire for good food, but in the end, they still had to consider the long-term development of Xia 'Xia. They couldn't ignore the livelihood of the people just for some wine.
Du Qi said, "The wine is brewed from domestic production, so it can't be brewed on a large scale. However, the food needed can be bought from other places, or from the Tang dynasty or Tianzhu. Or we can buy wine in large quantities from the Tang dynasty. No matter what, it's beneficial to us. After all, we can buy the wine at a low price and sell the purified wine at a high price. We can definitely make a lot of money. "
Shangguan Yi said, "Although this wine is delicious, it's easy to get sick after drinking too much."
Du Qi said, "The wine now is too pure. It's definitely impossible to sell it directly. After a little blending, it'll be softer. So there's no need to worry about this. "
Shangguan Yi asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, do you mean that the government should be involved in the management?"
Nowadays, there were many state-owned industries. The finance of the entire Xia 'Xia came from them. If it weren't for the financial resources of various industries, Xia 'Xia wouldn't be as rich as he was today.
Du Qi shook his head and said, "The management of wine is no longer the responsibility of the imperial court. It's independent of the Ministry of Revenue and will be my palace treasury. The people in charge are the Empress and the Imperial Concubines. Since then, the palace treasury and the national treasury have been separated. All my expenses will be taken from the palace treasury. It's also a rule that the Emperor can't take money from the national treasury at will. "
When Shangguan Yi heard this, he said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The money in the national treasury was related to the long-term stability of Xia 'Xia. If the Emperor interfered at will, or if the Emperor wanted to renovate the palace, or if the Emperor wanted to build large buildings, the national treasury wouldn't be able to withstand the turmoil. The separation of the national treasury and the palace treasury meant that the Emperor wouldn't interfere with the financial operations of the national treasury. This was beneficial for Xia 'Xia. Even if the Empress was in charge of the wine, it was still worth it.
In fact, this was also the reason why Du Qi called them over.
Ma Zhou and the others also expressed their agreement. They all praised Du Qi's wisdom. They didn't care whether Du Qi's palace treasury could make money or not. As long as Du Qi didn't take money from the national treasury at will, and even set a rule that he wouldn't interfere with the national treasury, they all agreed.
After the discussion between Du Qi and Shangguan Yi and the others, they divided the responsibilities of the national treasury and the palace treasury. When Shangguan Yi and the others left, Du Qi called Li Yanyun and Qianxue over and told them about the purification of the wine and the preparation of the wine business.
The business of the wine business mainly depended on the wine purchased from the Tang dynasty, purified it, and brewed it himself.
Li Yanyun and Qianxue had both seen the world. They also took a sip of the wine and felt the purity of the original wine. They both hurriedly agreed. The two of them were even more grateful to Du Qi.
Because they had a second business.
Glass was one.
Wine was another.
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