frightfiction Chapter 112 Grape Valley
Chapter 112 Grape Valley
"Are you just going to let this place go to waste?" Shen Lingzhu stood on the hillside and observed that this area where grapes grew was a real ditch. It was less than 15 feet wide, but long enough and the grass was lush enough.
It doesn't look like seven or eight acres, but it must be at least four or five acres.
Everyone tried to walk down, pushed aside the grass that was half a person's height, and actually found several bunches of fruit in the deep green.
Zhuang Baibu asked everyone to pick some and taste them, and saw Shen Lingzhu's face wrinkled with sourness, "Hahaha, now you know why we let it go to waste, right?
When we were redeployed here, we all thought this place was fantastic for having a piece of fruit, and just like you, we complained about the previous garrison wasting good things."
Normally, the soldiers under his command don’t have much spare money to buy peaches or other fruits.
But the boss led everyone to pull weeds and apply fertilizers, hoping to sell some after the harvest so that he could give everyone an extra piece of cloth.
As a result, in the autumn, we harvested a bunch of grapes that were so sour that even horses wouldn't want to eat them.
"A few years ago, the grapes in this area didn't taste like this." Old boss Geng became more and more disappointed as he walked down.
He asked, "Is there not a single sweet one?"
"Yes, but not many. In the spring of the following year, we removed the sweet grape plants." Unfortunately, only half of them survived. Zhuang Baibu regretted not listening to his boss and asking a fruit farmer for advice. He led his men to transplant the grapes, but damaged a lot of them.
Fortunately, the boss spent a lot of money to hire someone to remove the strong and sweet ones. In the past two years, by selling those fruits, the people under him have been able to eat more meat.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Geng hurriedly bowed and asked about the yield of the removed grapes. He could buy a small amount of fruit now, but making wine required large-scale practice.
Shen Lingzhu and his elder brother caught up with their senior sister who had gone down to the middle of the ditch.
During this time, they discovered that the grape vines growing wildly in the weeds were full of small green fruit beads.
She picked another one to taste, but it was still so sour that it made her teeth ache. "Second sister, can such a small grape be used to make wine?" Shen Lingzhu had the impression that sour grapes could be used to make wine, because there was a substance that affected the taste of the wine, mainly concentrated in the skin and seeds.
"Second sister, is the wine made from such sour and seedy fruits also sour?" Shen Xianzhu asked immediately.
Shen Miaozhu kept pulling away the weeds and looking at them, "It's not a big problem. Look, there are always some bigger ones on each plant.
However, more sugar will be used during the brewing process."
She stood up and scanned the area, revealing a determined smile: "Whether we succeed or not, we must first clear the weeds in this ditch.
"Well, let's ask the village captain if we can bring someone in to weed."
When the three of them returned to the slope, they saw Mr. Geng and the village captain negotiating the price of purchasing a pound of grapes.
After listening to the prices mentioned by the two, Shen Lingzhu felt that Mr. Geng was really eager to make wine.
But the price charged by the village chief was too high, forty coins per catty.
She whispered to her senior sister: "Second sister, at this price, we might as well go to the capital to buy it."
"Or, they are talking about those that were moved and planted." If it was the ones behind her, Shen Miaozhu would rather listen to her junior sister and run more than a hundred miles to the provincial capital to buy them.
Fortunately, after agreeing on the price, the two men talked about another grape field that produced sweet fruits.
Mr. Geng made his own top-grade five-spice wine, and he felt a little guilty in front of the two girls from the Shen family. After all, he was playing a trick by asking the buyer to deliver the receipt.
Fortunately, Master Shen Wu did not pursue the matter any further and even approached me to partner with me to develop a grape field.
Although this place is deserted, it is a pleasant surprise to learn that the village chief still has an acre of sweet grape field.
So when Shen Miaozhu proposed to rent this grape valley, he hesitated. After apologizing to the village captain, he walked a little further away with the three Shen brothers and sisters and said, "Miss Shen, can the fruits on this land still be used?
As you said on the way, can it be saved by pruning, thinning out and grafting next year?
If that doesn't work, why don't I collect some seeds and we can find a good field to plant them and wait for a few more years for them to bear fruit."
"No!" Shen Lingzhu and her senior sister objected in unison. They both knew that there were many uncertainties in replanting with seeds.
One is the instability of new seeds, and the other is the uncertainty of the fruit yield.
Shen Miaozhu explained, "It would be better to rent a ready-made place. It would be convenient for us to conduct trial brewing while looking for land for replanting."
"Renting and planting can go hand in hand." Shen Lingzhu felt that the area behind his house next to the mountain could be turned into a grape field. There was rotten soil available and there was stream water so he could be safe.
Old Master Geng pondered for a moment and said, "As far as I know, it will be exactly five years before this group of soldiers are redeployed.
If the rent is not expensive, we'd better rent it for five years. If it is very expensive..."
"When you plant grapes from seeds, they take root and grow branches in the first year, they bear fruit in the second year, and the third year is the peak fruit-bearing period.
If we brew the wine we need this time, can Mr. Geng wait for three years?
There shouldn't be much difference between renting for three years and renting for five years, right?
Or are you willing to run around buying grapes every year when you make wine?" Shen Miaozhu asked three times in a row.
Boss Geng thought about it and agreed. There are so many liquor sellers that Zuixianfang has to sell more liquor at a lower profit.
He hoped to continue selling wine and make up for the profit: "I'll go ask the village head for the price."
"Wait a minute, after we rent it, we still have to ask whether we can come and go freely?" Shen Miaozhu was more concerned about this and asked him to make sure this was clarified, and it would be best if it was written in the deed.
She said, "Why don't I go and ask with you?"
"I'll go." Shen Xianzhu, who had been silent all this time, thought it would be better for him to go.
But Shen Miaozhu said: "Big brother is not suitable, it is just right for Xiao Zhuzi to follow.
Let's go to the front and see how the grapevines are growing." There are some things that a younger sister can say, but the older brother in front of her cannot.
……
Zhuang Baibu had already discussed this with his boss. He said, "You can rent it, and the price can be discounted, but you can't let just anyone in.
You should know that this place is too close to the horse farm, and outsiders are not allowed to enter or leave."
"This... how can I weed, fertilize, and trim the grass if no one can enter?" Mr. Geng thought to himself, am I renting this just for decoration? He thought of a possibility and hesitated.
Shen Lingzhu saw the unexpectedly deep smile on the face of the village captain across from him. His mind raced, and he tentatively asked, "Could we hire the military households at the horse farm to prepare the land, and buy some horse manure as topdressing?"
Haha, Miss Shen, you’re on to something!
Zhuang Baibu almost slapped his thigh to praise her, but he held back. He nodded reservedly: "I can make some concessions for you."
"In that case, could you please clear the grass now and let the grapes grow bigger while the sun is shining.
How about daily wages of 20 wen a day?" Shen Lingzhu took advantage of the situation.
The boss Geng next to him couldn't stop him in time: the rent hasn't been finalized yet, and the other party won't think twenty cents a day is too low?