Chapter 144: Fetching the Wine and Delivering the Bottle

Wei Zhiliang personally tested the clairvoyant scope, and liked it immensely in his heart.

How wonderful it would be if they could assign one to him exclusively.

Wei Zhiliang probed cautiously, "Marshal, how do you plan to distribute these nine clairvoyant scopes?"

Wei Zhiliang wanted to see if he had any chance of securing one for himself.

"I will have the three generals each recommend three men from under their command," Wei Shining replied.

An idea immediately formed in Wei Zhiliang's mind. Viewed this way, he still had a fighting chance to get one.

Reluctantly, Wei Zhiliang handed the scope back to Wei Shining. "Marshal, I shall take my leave now."

Wei Shining nodded. "Go ahead."

After Wei Zhiliang left, Wei Shining read the letter written by Wei Shian once more, very carefully.

...

Wei Qi led a troop of men and horses to Ningxin County.

"Seventh Brother, according to our intelligence, this should be the place."

Wei Qi nodded. "Find a place to settle down first."

While the others went off to find a place to rest, Wei Qi took the letter and headed straight for the Li family residence.

Noticing that Wei Qi was a stranger, the villagers of Apricot Blossom Village took the initiative to question him.

Upon learning that he was looking for the Li family, they immediately chimed in, "Looking for the Li family? I'll show you the way."

"The Li family is easy to find. The largest and most distinctive house in the village belongs to them."

Two matrons enthusiastically led Wei Qi right up to the Li family's front gate.

"There, this is the Li family's place. What business do you have with them?" one of the women asked curiously, probing for information.

Wei Qi brushed the question aside vaguely and thanked the two of them.

Seeing that Wei Qi was unwilling to elaborate, the women did not press further.

After all, visitors came to the Li family frequently nowadays, and they were already accustomed to it.

Wei Qi knocked on the door, and Li Zhengping pulled it open with a swift motion.

Thinking it was yet another shopkeeper from the county town coming to their home, she was surprised to find a stranger standing at the door instead.

Upholding the principle that guests should be treated with courtesy, Li Zhengping asked, "Who are you looking for, may I ask?"

Wei Qi quickly replied, "I am looking for Li Zhengping. Does she live here?"

Li Zhengping raised her eyebrows slightly. "I am Li Zhengping."

Wei Qi had not expected that the person in charge of the Li family's distillery would be a young woman.

However, showing no contempt whatsoever in his heart, he spoke respectfully, "Miss Li, please take a look at this letter. Young Master Li instructed me to bring it to you."

Wei Qi respectfully presented the letter with both hands.

Young Master Li? Little Si?

Li Zhengping hurriedly took the letter and unfolded it; it was indeed Little Si's handwriting.

"Please come inside first," Li Zhengping invited Wei Qi in.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Seeing that Wei Qi was a stranger, Feng Cuicui asked, "Pingjie, who is this?"

"He's a man sent by Little Si's adoptive father. His name is..."

"Good day, Madam. My name is Wei Qi," Wei Qi promptly introduced himself.

Upon hearing that he was a man sent by Li Su's adoptive father, Feng Cuicui became extremely warm and welcoming toward Wei Qi.

Little Si had already informed the family about recognizing an adoptive father.

It was precisely because of this that they felt much more at ease.

Little Si's master had now also gone to the academy, and the academy's headmaster happened to be Little Si's adoptive father.

With them around, Little Si should not be bullied by the other students at the academy.

Their Little Si was truly promising. He had merely gone to the academy to study, yet the headmaster had taken him in as an adoptive son—this showed just how highly the headmaster regarded and appreciated their Little Si.

Feng Cuicui enthusiastically pulled Wei Qi along and peppered him with questions about Li Su's life at the academy.

In truth, Wei Qi did not really know much about that; he only knew a few general things.

After finishing the letter, Li Zhengping said, "The quantity of liquor your side requires is rather large. It might take me a day or two to prepare. Would that be acceptable?"

"That is perfectly fine, perfectly fine."

Li Zhengping nodded slightly. "Did Little Si say that the custom wine bottles he ordered have been delivered by your people?"

"Yes, Young Master Li had us bring them. They are still in the county town right now, and we will bring them along directly when we come to haul the liquor."

Li Zhengping paused for a moment. "Won't that be too much trouble?"

"Not at all. The carts will be empty when we come to transport the wine, so we can just deliver the bottles at the same time."

Li Zhengping immediately signed a contract with Wei Qi, giving him a substantial discount on the price, exactly as Li Su had instructed.

After Wei Qi left, Feng Cuicui said to Li Zhengping, "Pingjie, is Little Si worried that we won't be able to sell our liquor, which is why he asked his adoptive father to buy it?"

Li Zhengping fell silent for a moment. This was the first batch of liquor, and Little Si's adoptive father had already purchased the vast majority of it.

Quite a few shopkeepers wanted to obtain liquor from her, but the quantities they requested were all quite small.

She could sense that these shopkeepers were not necessarily that eager for the liquor itself; the only reason they wanted it was because of Little Si, as they wanted to grant him a favor.

While Li Zhengping had absolute confidence in her family's liquor, she could not help feeling a twinge of anxiety.

This was the first task Little Si had entrusted to her, and since he trusted her so much, she wanted to handle everything impeccably without messing it up.

Now that Wei Qi's side had taken the bulk of it, what remained of this first batch was basically just the pre-ordered amounts from the local shopkeepers.

Sister Jiang had also requested a fair amount of liquor; before Little Si's adoptive father entered the picture, Sister Jiang was the one who had asked for the most.

As for how the Li family's liquor would fare afterwards, it would depend entirely on how well the shopkeepers performed after receiving their stock.

Composing her mind, Li Zhengping replied, "Mother, Little Si's adoptive father's side genuinely seems to need it; they aren't buying it out of concern that we can't sell it."

"You can rest assured. Our family's liquor is bound to sell extremely well."

Only then did Feng Cuicui settle her mind somewhat. "That's good, then."

Over the next two days, Li Zhengping tallied and gathered all the liquor Wei Qi had requested.

When Wei Qi arrived with a substantial retinue of men and horses, the villagers eagerly gathered around to watch the commotion.

Upon learning that Wei Qi was here to purchase liquor, everyone felt quite happy inside.

After all, if the distillery's liquor sold well, the business wouldn't fail; and as long as it didn't fail, everyone working as hands inside the distillery would continue to receive their wages.

Perhaps they would even hire more staff, giving others in the village a chance to work at the distillery as well.

In just this short span of time, the living conditions of many families in their village had already improved.

Especially the households with members working at the distillery—their vitality and spirits had visibly improved, and days where they could afford to eat meat had become much more frequent.

Efficient and decisive without any hesitation, Li Zhengping checked the final quantities and said to the arriving Wei Qi, "Young Master Wei, you may recount the inventory to make sure there are no issues."

"There's no need for that; I trust Miss Li."

"Where would Miss Li like these wine bottles to be placed?"

Li Zhengping had already cleared the space beforehand. "Right over here."

She called the distillery workers over to help move the wine bottles.

"Handle them with care," Li Zhengping instructed.

The wine bottles were packed in crates, so the workers did not get to see what they looked like.

Once all the bottles were unloaded, they began loading the inventoried jars of liquor.

Wei Qi glanced at Li Zhengping, who was directing operations with calm poise and methodical organization. He felt a slight wave of astonishment; truly worthy of being Young Master Li's elder sister, she was indeed far from ordinary.

"In that case, Miss Li, we shall take our leave now. Once the next batch of liquor is ready, we will return."

Liquor was a consumable item, whether given to the soldiers in the military camp or used to distill high-proof alcohol; no matter how it was used, it required a steady, long-term supply.

Li Zhengping nodded. "Safe journey."

After Wei Qi departed, Li Zhengping opened the crates containing the wine bottles Li Su had sent.

The eyes of everyone in the distillery instantly turned toward those exquisite wine bottles.