DreamersGN Chapter 572 The Winery is Completed
Chapter 572 The Winery is Completed
Lu Yao thanked Captain Lü a few more times, said a few polite words, and then rode his bike home first.
They pushed the cart into the yard.
You can hear the noisy chatter of women inside the house.
These past few days, a group of women have been coming to help with chores every day. You can tell how lively it is by the footprints coming and going in the yard.
It's completely different from how deserted it used to be.
Lu Yao didn't go inside either, otherwise he wouldn't be able to come out for a while.
I felt a little uncomfortable chatting with these aunties and older women, who were patting and shoving me around.
The car was left in the yard, so I went out and drove the jeep to the production team's location.
The production team's warehouse has been vacated.
Uncle Lao Ba and Wang Fugui, along with Gou Shengzi and Tie Zhu and other young men, cleaned the place up thoroughly.
Yuan Shumei and Grandpa Zuo were also there, and everyone was installing the utensils according to their request.
The warehouse floor was swept, and the windows were covered with broken panes of glass, but they were still brighter than paper windows.
Lu Yao hadn't turned on the power yet, but the power lines had already been pulled in.
There are also two 50-watt light bulbs hanging on the beam.
Grandpa Zuo, wearing a black cotton-padded jacket with yellowed cotton showing through the cuffs, was squatting on the ground, using an old wrench to tighten an iron pipe.
Wang Fugui tried to lend a hand, but he was pushed away.
"Don't move, this thread is aligned correctly, you're so clumsy."
Wang Fugui awkwardly withdrew his hand and turned to help Gou Shengzi carry the steamer.
The steamer was borrowed from the county winery; it was an iron contraption, consisting of two sections: a pot at the bottom and a steaming vessel at the top.
The pot was fine, but the steamer was made of wooden hoops, too big for one person to carry. It had three iron hoops on the outside, coated with tung oil, and gleamed.
Gou Shengzi and Tie Zhu each carried one side of the bucket, their steps faltering, as they swayed and placed it on the stove.
"Slow down, slow down, to the left, a little to the left... We've gone too far!"
Uncle Ba stood by the stove, his hands loosely supporting it, a pipe in his mouth but not bothering to light it.
Tie Zhu's face turned red, and with a bend in his knees, he steadily placed the steamer basket on the stove ring.
Gou Shengzi let go, clutching his aching back and panting heavily: "This thing... is heavier than a wild boar."
Yuan Shumei was squatting by the table near the window, sharpening a long-handled wooden shovel with an oilstone.
She wore a white cloth cap, like a nurse's cap, with her hair tucked inside, revealing a section of her fair neck.
Sharpen it a few times, test the blade with your thumb, and then sharpen it a few more times.
Liu Shuangyan squatted down to watch, wanting to reach out and touch it, but Yuan Shumei gently slapped her away:
"This shovel has been sharpened; don't scratch its name."
"Sister Shumei, is this the job you do at the winery?"
"I did everything. Steaming the raw materials, treading the yeast, watching over the fermentation pits—I did everything the men did."
Yuan Shumei is very low-key and doesn't boast like men. In fact, she is a technician in the factory and belongs to the cadre category.
She flipped the shovel over, sharpened it a few more times, checked the blade, and put it away with satisfaction.
"This shovel is made of good steel, but it's dull. Sharpening it will make it as good as new."
Cao Erdan stood on the ladder, holding one end of the condenser and hanging it on the bracket nailed to the wall, while He Wangcai handed him a wire.
Li Youtian handed over a piece of rubber tubing.
Cao Erdan took it and fitted it onto the outlet of the condenser, while the other end went into the tank in the corner of the wall.
This is the cooling water circulation system, taught by Yuan Shumei.
Uncle Ba was leading people to set up the fermentation vats again.
The six large vats, with their rims polished to a shine, are old objects that have been used for decades, and some of them even have copper clamps inlaid on their rims.
Gou Shengzi squatted at the stove opening, put two pieces of wood into the firebox, and tried to light a fire.
Flames leaped up, licking the bottom of the pot, and black smoke billowed out through the chimney.
He stared at the fire, his eyes filled with the glittering flames:
"Grandpa Zuo, when will our wine be ready?"
"What's the rush? Steaming the grain, adding the starter culture, fermenting—it takes at least twenty days. Do you think it's as quick as taking a piss?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Tiezhu tidied up the empty sacks piled in the corner, clapped his hands, and asked, "So, what should we call this wine?"
Everyone looked at each other.
I can't come up with a solution.
Yuan Shumei said, "Let's talk about it when Tuwazi comes back."
But Lu Yao had already returned and was watching everyone work from the doorway.
He couldn't bear to disturb everyone's lively scene.
Watching them bustling about, even the usually annoying Wang Fugui, He Wangcai, and Li Youtian were all beaming with joy, Lu Yao felt a deep sense of emotion.
To be reborn and witness this scene is truly a blessing from heaven.
It made up for many of the regrets from my previous life.
Seeing that everyone was about to name the wine, he blurted out:
"Let's call it 'Jiapigou Family Reunion Music'."
Only then did everyone notice that Lu Yao had returned, and they all swarmed over to ask him to check if the workshop layout was up to standard.
Lu Yao nodded: "With Grandpa Zuo and Shumei, two experts, how could we not be qualified? I can drink alcohol, but I can't brew wine, so I'll listen to them."
Grandpa Zuo felt he finally had a chance to use his skills and said happily:
"Shall we get started right away?"
Lu Yao smiled:
"No rush, I'll have Uncle Dahu collect some old grain from the various production teams first."
When Cao Erdan came over and asked about the fight, Lu Yao gave it a casual answer.
Cao Erdan had already told everyone that Lu Yao had shown great power in the city, even beating the director of the supply and marketing cooperative to his knees.
Everyone felt that Lu Yao had brought honor to the country folk, and they were very pleased.
However, Yuan Shumei was a little worried and complained to Lu Yao:
"Try not to have such a bad temper in the future. Try to be more patient. It's better to resolve conflicts than to make them fester. Don't keep offending people!"
Lu Yao nodded: "Don't worry, Shumei, I know what I'm doing. By the way, where's Uncle Dahu?"
Uncle Ba laughed and said, "He took his group of men into the mountains to hunt. They were in a real hurry and took several of our guns."
"Sigh, I was hoping he'd go into the mountains after the fifteenth, but will he be back before dark tomorrow?"
Ding Dahu is an impatient and opportunistic person. Once he got the gun, he wanted to go into the mountains and show off his skills.
Lu Yao asked Shumei, "Where's Youxiang?"
"I went to Sister Yuejuan's house."
"Oh, I'll go take a look."
"Go ahead."
Because of the fight on the way and going to Chen Da Hu Zi to ask for gold bars, Lu Yao forgot to go to the police station to ask You Xiang about the progress of her parents' case.
However, it's unlikely that results will be available so quickly.
Let's just make up a good story to fool her and put her mind at ease.
Walk outside.
As soon as Ding Mei's front door opened, Xie Chunfang walked out carrying a pile of scraps of cloth.
"Auntie, where are you going?"
"Tuwazi, you're back! I went to Xilian's house. Xilian asked me to draw a shoe pattern for her to make a pair of cloth shoes."
"Oh, then go ahead. Tell her that if the distillery starts operations, she can come over and help out with something; we'll pay her."
Actually, it doesn't matter who you use, Lu Yao just wanted to give priority to the widow.
To prevent her from becoming destitute and ending up on that path of prostitution.
After all, Aunt Xilian wasn't a bad person.
"OK."
Xie Chunfang agreed.
He then asked Lu Yao:
"When are you going to treat me? Your Uncle Tiger went hunting, how about... tonight?"
"You go ahead, I need to go to the clinic and also turn on the power to the village. The lights will be back on soon."
"Okay, it's a deal. Don't go back on your word."
"Definitely, but don't tell anyone. I don't want those old women in the village coming to me because they can't have children or can't pee. I'm very busy!"
"Hmph, look how arrogant you are, we just needed you!"
Xie Chunfang glanced at Lu Yao, then turned and left.
Watching Xie Chunfang walk away unsteadily, Lu Yao glanced at the open door.
Ding Dahu went into the mountains, and Xie Chunfang went out again...
So now Xiao Meizi is all alone at home.
Hehe, let's do it!