"Son-in-law, take a look. Did you miss anything?" Fang walked in from the outside carrying a large bag, took out the things inside, and placed them in front of Li Yi.
Bezoar, peppermint, honeysuckle, spices, a few jars of wine that Old Fang had bought from the prefecture city … Looking at the pile of items in front of him, Li Yi counted them and nodded. Old Fang was very reliable. He did not miss out on any of the items that he had been instructed to buy.
As the autumn deepened, the mosquitoes became even more rampant when night fell.
For this body with a special physique, every night was the most torturous time for Li Yi.
Now that the candied haws business was on the right track, Fang and a few others could handle it. There was no need for Li Yi to worry more. He finally had time to solve the biggest problem that troubled him.
"Son-in-law, it's not New Year's Day. Why did you buy so much wine?" Fang's gaze was fixed on the wine jar on the ground. He involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked at Li Yi.
In the past, when the family had no money, there were only a few times a year when they were willing to spend a few coins to buy a bowl of wine at the wine shop in the market at the foot of the mountain to satisfy their cravings. The taste was enough to be remembered for several days.
Although he did not have to worry about food and clothing these days and had a lot of surplus, Fang, who was afraid of poverty, was still very thrifty in life. It was easy to earn copper money, but it was harder for him to spend it. Naturally, it was impossible for him to be extravagant enough to enjoy wine and meat all day long.
"Who said it's not New Year's Day?"
Li Yi raised his eyebrows, looked back at Fang, and said, "Isn't it the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days? These days, I have been busy with the candied haws business. Everyone has worked hard. I will reward everyone."
When Fang heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Is this wine for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"No." Li Yi said very simply.
This wine was used to make floral water to repel mosquitoes. He could not let Fang spoil it.
Fang's expression froze, and he was speechless for a moment.
Ignoring the bitterness in Fang's eyes, Li Yi opened his mouth again and said, "Go find some iron pots and some empty bamboo tubes. We're about to start working."
Li Yi originally wanted to postpone the purification of the alcohol for a while and make the soap first. However, his plans could not keep up with the changes, so he had to put the purification of the alcohol first.
There was no other reason. To make a mosquito repellent floral water, it was necessary to use a high concentration of alcohol.
Fang was very efficient. He found the iron pot very quickly. Under Li Yi's guidance, it took him half a day to build the alcohol distillation device.
Distilling alcohol was not as simple as heating it in a pot. If the temperature was too high, the alcohol and water would evaporate together. After condensing, the alcohol would still be of a low concentration, and it would not be purified.
This was a simple distillation device. It first heated the water and used the water temperature to evaporate the alcohol. The alcohol vapor condensed above and entered the bamboo tube. What flowed out was the purified alcohol.
Li Yi could easily find the schematic diagram of the distillation device in the book, but the equipment such as flasks and glass tubes could not be realized at present. In desperation, he could only settle for the next best thing and replace it with these simple things in front of him. Although the effect would definitely be a lot worse, as long as he could get alcohol with a concentration of more than 75%, it would be enough.
After all the preparations were done, Li Yi ignited the flame below. The next thing to do was to wait.
Fang scratched his head. He looked at Li Yi for a while, and then looked at the strange thing his son-in-law asked him to make. His brain was a mess.
As drops of wine flowed out of the hollow bamboo tube, gradually, the kitchen began to fill with a strong wine aroma …
"Gulp."
Fang swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Li Yi turned his head and glanced at him. Fang immediately wiped the corner of his mouth and looked away from the bowl under the bamboo tube, pretending that nothing had happened.
When the speed of the wine flowing out of the bamboo tube became extremely slow, Li Yi knew that the wine in the pot was almost distilled. He took out a chopstick and dipped it into the bowl. After tasting it, he frowned slightly.
Although the alcohol content after distilling was much higher than before, it still did not meet his requirements.
"It seems that this distillation device is still too simple. If I want to produce it on a large scale in the future and increase the efficiency, I need to improve the distillation device." Li Yi murmured. He poured all the distilled wine into an empty jar and replaced it with fresh wine for the second distillation.
Smelling the fragrance in the air, Fang's throat kept trembling. He wanted to pick up the jar next to him and drink to his heart's content. However, he thought that this wine would definitely be of great use to his son-in-law, so he restrained this thought.
The alcohol content after distilling was far from enough. The device was simple and crude, and he had to make up for the number of times. Li Yi repeated the distillation over and over again. This way, the alcohol content would increase a little every time.
According to the book, using the distillation method to distill alcohol could only achieve a maximum alcohol concentration of about 95%. Of course, it was impossible for Li Yi to achieve such a high alcohol concentration with a few broken pots, but 80% was enough for him.
After repeated distillation a few times, Li Yi found that the alcohol content did not increase much. Only then did he give up.
"Gulp …"
Fang, who was beside him, swallowed a mouthful of saliva again.
Glancing at Fang, Li Yi really could not stand it anymore. He divided a small bowl of distilled alcohol and handed it to him. "Alright, don't be greedy. Have a taste of this wine."
Hearing this, Fang's eyes lit up. After taking the bowl, he couldn't wait to drink it.
Li Yi watched as Fang's face turned from black to red. He let out a comfortable moan. The expression on his face was extremely satisfied. He said loudly, "Good wine!"
Plop!
After saying these two words, Fang's body swayed a few times and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Uh …"
Looking at Fang who was lying on the ground and snoring, Li Yi could not help but feel some contempt in his heart.
This guy looked so strong, but it turned out that he was also an embroidered pillow. One gulp and he was not much stronger than himself!
Putting the distilled alcohol to the tip of his nose and smelling it, a spicy smell rushed straight into his lungs. In just an instant, Li Yi felt a little dizzy …
He quickly moved the wine bowl away. At this time, he realized that the alcohol in front of him was more than 75% alcohol concentration … In the previous world, alcohol with a concentration higher than 60% seemed to be prohibited from being sold in the country …
Looking down at Fang who was lying on the ground, Li Yi could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth …
"You're already an adult, but you still can't resist the temptation. You deserve it!"
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