The Koi Wife of the Prime Minister

Chapter 126: Drink some good tea

Wang Lin is an ambitious little girl. At such a young age, she can order a dozen children to help her collect firewood. What will she be like when she grows up?

Shen Yan is a businesswoman and wants to expand her business in the future. Wang Lin is her sister, so of course she hopes that this girl can follow her example.

However, doing business is not that easy, and Shen Yan still hopes that his younger brothers and sisters can have an easier time.

Soon, the glutinous rice was steamed.

Shen Yan began to cool the glutinous rice and then use it to make rice wine.

Shen Yan poured the steamed glutinous rice into a large wooden basin with a wide mouth and gently stirred it with a wooden spoon to spread the glutinous rice evenly so that it could dissipate heat faster. She found a well-ventilated corner in the room and placed the wooden basin there to let the glutinous rice cool naturally.

The glutinous rice exuded a sweet aroma as it cooled down. Shen Yan quietly stood by, waiting for the glutinous rice to reach a suitable temperature for brewing. She observed the state of the glutinous rice to ensure that it would not be overheated and affect the subsequent fermentation process.

When the temperature of the glutinous rice drops to the right level, Shen Yan begins to prepare the ingredients for brewing rice wine. She takes out some high-quality Aspergillus flavus, which is an essential fermentation agent for making rice wine. Shen Yan sprinkles the Aspergillus flavus evenly on the cooled glutinous rice and stirs it gently with a wooden spoon to ensure that every grain of glutinous rice is covered with the fermentation agent.

Then, Shen Yan covered the mouth of the wooden basin with a clean cloth to allow the glutinous rice inside to fully contact with the Aspergillus flavus to promote fermentation. She placed the wooden basin in a well-ventilated place, away from direct sunlight and a humid environment, to ensure the quality and taste of the rice wine.

Shen Yan knew that the fermentation process would take some time, so she patiently waited for the starch in the glutinous rice to be converted into sugar, and then fermented into alcohol by Aspergillus flavus. During this period, she checked the status of the rice wine from time to time to make sure everything was under control.

After several days of fermentation, the wooden basin exuded the aroma of mellow rice wine, and Shen Yan knew that the rice wine was brewed.

She opened the cloth cover, took out a spoonful of rice wine to taste it, and smiled with satisfaction.

The brewed rice wine was mellow and rich with a sweet taste, which was exactly what she had been expecting.

Shen Yan poured the rice wine into a clean wine jar, sealed it, and prepared it for use.

After completing a busy day of work, Shen Yan felt satisfied and fulfilled.

She knew that behind these bottles of fine wine was not only her hard work and efforts, but also many expectations for the future. Shen Yan was very happy.

In the town, Shopkeeper Li waited for a long time.

Manager Li of Li's Embroidery Workshop originally wanted to wait for Shen Yan to come to the market so that they could meet and worship Shen Yan as her master. But half a month has passed and Shen Yan still hasn't come to the market in town.

However, the owner of the pork shop in the town knew Shen Yan. Shopkeeper Li learned from him that Shen Yan lived in an alley not far away and her husband was a county magistrate, so he followed the information and went to find her.

Shopkeeper Li set out early in the morning. Although Shen Yan's residence was not far from the town, it took Shopkeeper Li nearly an hour to get there by carriage, mainly because the road was difficult to travel on.

She felt quite tired after the bumpy ride.

Because he was unfamiliar with the road, Shopkeeper Li took the wrong path several times. Finally, he got to the official road.

When I arrived, it was almost noon and my stomach was already rumbling at this time.

As it happened, the official road was full of stalls, and Shopkeeper Li followed the smell and went there.

Before I knew it, I came to a stall selling roujiamo. The food looked good, so I wanted to buy two to try.

Soon, Shopkeeper Li had the roujiamo.

"Hmm, so delicious!" As soon as she took a bite, the gravy came out. It was so delicious that she wanted to take a second bite. It was so intoxicating.

The cakes in this village are much better than those sold in the town market.

They also sell bamboo shoots here. The bamboo shoots she ate felt were much more delicious than those in the town’s restaurants. Not only were they crisp and refreshing, but they also had the sweet flavor of the bamboo shoots themselves, as if they were made by a chef.

After eating, Shopkeeper Li felt his stomach was full. This place is called "Xiangxiang Shop", a small stall, and the leftovers can be packed up and taken away.

When Manager Li was about to leave, Xiangxiang Shop was already surrounded by people, and it seemed that business was good.

After having a full stomach, Shopkeeper Li was in a good mood and felt very satisfied.

In order to find where Shen Yan lived, Manager Li asked several people and finally got the answer.

She came with Chunjuan. The two anchors were carrying large and small bags of things and came to become disciples.

After hesitating for a long time, Shopkeeper Li knocked on the door of Shen Yan's house.

Shen Yan's voice sounded from inside: "The door is open, just come in."

Hearing this voice, Shopkeeper Li felt much more at ease. It seemed that Shen Yan was indeed at home.

The coachman at the door was waiting outside with food in his hand. The food was given to him by Manager Li just now, free of charge.

The driver was so happy that he couldn't express it in words. The sesame cake he bought from Xiangxiang Shop was delicious.

When Shen Yan saw that it was Shopkeeper Li and his companion, he immediately stood up to greet them.

"Manager Li, why are you here?"

Shen Yan thought that it was the helper that Sister Xiaolan had found, but she didn't expect that it was actually Manager Li and Chunjuan who had found them in the town. This was too surprising.

Shopkeeper Li half-jokingly said, "Why can't I come?"

Shen Yan smiled and said, "Of course I can come. I'm sorry for not welcoming you, Manager Li. But my poor place is not worth the trip from town. You must be tired after the journey. Come sit down and have a rest and drink some tea."

Manager Li sighed helplessly, "If we hadn't asked the driver along the way, we wouldn't have been able to find your residence. Little did we know that you haven't been to town for half a month, so I had to come to look for you."

After sitting down, Shopkeeper Li drank a cup of tea. Although it was not a good tea, it was brewed carefully by Shen Yan and had a unique flavor.

Shen Yan explained: "I have been too busy in the past half month. I was planning to go to town tomorrow, and it just so happened that you came today."

The two of them were talking happily, and Shen Yan roughly guessed why Manager Li came to see her.

Manager Li runs an embroidery studio and is extremely busy on weekdays. He must have something going on if he took the time out today to come and see her.

Could it be that he wanted her to embroider something again?

Shopkeeper Li came straight to the point and did not hide anything: "Miss Shen, I will not beat around the bush. I came here today to ask you to be my disciple."

As she spoke, she and Chunjuan presented large and small packages of gifts.

"I know that this may scare you, but I really don't want to miss such a good master like you. I'm afraid that if I miss this opportunity, I will never see this shop again, so I can't wait and come here in a hurry."

If he had missed out on a good embroidery master like Shen Yan, Shopkeeper Li might have felt a little regretful for the rest of his life.

Shen Yan thought she had misheard at first, but after confirming it, she was a little confused.