Zhang Nuo became more and more excited as he thought about it. This business was simply tailor-made for him!
This was the First City in the World, the Chang'an City under the Emperor's feet, where all kinds of people could be found, from wealthy merchants traveling from north and south to high officials with deep connections and profound backgrounds.
In this era of relative material scarcity and extreme spiritual poverty, eating and drinking became one of the few leisure activities for people.
Since he had already make the unique delicacy of Scorpion Cake, why not pair it with an exclusive brew? It would be perfect!
In the future, wealthy customers like Li wouldn't have to run around anymore. Once Zhang Nuo's fine wine hit the market, everything from food to drink would be taken care of, and all they had to do was pay up.
It was definitely a fine wine and delicacy that could not be found elsewhere!
Maybe they could even have a lottery or a queue for it in the future. Learn from the tricks of Penguin House, cut in line by adding money, use income to create happiness, and for those without money, too bad for them.
Thinking about the crowded scene in the future, with people scrambling to pay, Zhang Nuo laughed like a little fox who stole a chicken, feeling very pleased.
If he wanted to do it, he could do it. The common wine in the store was still stored in several large jars and could be used as the first batch of raw materials for purification.
It was a pity that the wine at this time, with an alcohol content of generally less than ten degrees, was not much stronger than the beer of later generations. It was probably the same as low-alcohol rice wine.
No wonder they kept drinking it by the jar, feeling especially bold.
Upon careful consideration, for Zhang Nuo, who was familiar with middle school chemistry, alcohol purification was really quite simple, using the characteristic of alcohol's lower boiling point than water, evaporating it and then condensing it.
As he was thinking about how to make a condenser with the materials on hand, he suddenly saw an experiment in Activity 8 of Unit 11 of the ninth grade chemistry textbook from the People's Education Press that he was very interested in.
[Removing Insoluble Impurities from Coarse Salt]
Wow, it turned out that all the tricks in the future were just a scam. You don't need to be an engineering PhD, a science genius, or a history master, just finishing middle school is enough to time-travel?
With just two skills, optical alcohol purification and coarse salt purification, one could easily thrive and become rich in ancient times.
It seems that learning science, mathematics, and physics is really useful because it can take you anywhere.
However, the process of purifying coarse salt is more complicated than purifying alcohol, and it requires finding ancient substitutes for chemical reagents. For now, let's focus on perfecting his recipe for fine wine!
He found two bamboo poles, one long and one short, and punched a hole through the middle of each node. He then opened a hole on the short pole and inserted the long pole into it.
This created a primitive right-angle pipeline.
Excitedly, he ran to the place where the family usually heated bathwater and directed his mother to wash the large pot clean. He also took the lid from the side and began to drill a hole in it.
He wanted to connect the bamboo pole pipeline to the lid so that when the alcohol boiled and evaporated, the steam would escape through the bamboo pole pipeline. In this long bamboo pipeline, a primitive and rudimentary condenser was formed with the current cooling temperature.
At the end of the bamboo pole, high-purity alcohol was produced.
Although Zhang Er niang didn't know what the master was doing, she could only follow his arrangements and work hard.
Soon, the pot was cleaned and the primitive condenser pipe was ready.
Zhang Nuo poured a large jar of wine into the pot and instructed Zhang Er niang to start the fire. Zhang Xiaomei, on the other hand, was arranged by Zhang Nuo to hold a clean porcelain bottle to collect the alcohol at the end of the pipeline.
As the flames continued to burn, the pot began to boil.
Soon, drops of strongly scented liquid began to flow out of the primitive condenser pipe.
Zhang Nuo was both happy and heartbroken when he smelled the strong aroma of the alcohol.
He was happy because he had successfully purified the alcohol, but he was heartbroken because the strong scent was actually the alcohol evaporating, and it was money going up in smoke!
In no time, Zhang Xiaomei had about a pound of alcohol in the porcelain bottle.
It was painful to think about it because this pound of alcohol was exchanged for ten pounds of wine. And that doesn't even include the cost of labor, site, firewood, etc.
This batch of wine produced by Zhang Nuo was relatively good, and a jar of ten pounds of wine was worth about 500 coins.
This means that the raw material cost alone for the one-pound high-concentration alcohol in Xiaomei's hand was 500 coins.
However, this product could not be sold yet. If consumed directly, it would be fatal because alcohol poisoning is no joke.
Moreover, despite the fact that many online novels in later generations feature protagonists who travel back in time to sell high-proof alcohol and get rich, Zhang Nuo is now a serious veteran in the Tang Dynasty catering industry and a representative figure in the field.
After careful consideration, he realized that for these Tang people who are used to drinking low-proof rice wine, suddenly introducing them to a 60-proof liquor may not be so well-received.
He needs to gradually introduce higher-proof liquor, starting with around 20-proof, and offering a series of different varieties with 30-proof and 40-proof, each with different flavors.
He believes that it is something to be proud of when one can learn from study materials and think of top-notch business ideas while learning.
He approaches the matter with a serious, academic perspective and recognizes the intricate commercial thinking and profound chemical knowledge involved.
However, Zhang Nuo still has many things to consider, such as how to arrange personnel, how to allocate space, and how to find a stable supplier of raw materials in bulk.
He understands that if he does not carefully consider all these things, even if he produces a good-tasting liquor, it will only be a small business.
He wants to make the wealthy people of the Tang Dynasty truly understand what makes a good wine.
When he becomes successful, he plans to occasionally release a limited edition of high-proof "Zhang's handcrafted" liquor, targeting the wealthy class and reaping profits.
The high-proof liquor will have a grand packaging design and target the wealthy class.
While the low-to-medium proof liquor will target the common people, making them buy it once or twice a month without feeling guilty.
This way, he can continuously earn money and not be known as just restaurant owner.
If he can produce a widely-praised wine, it would be a very elegant and prestigious achievement.
He even imagines giving a unique tasting collection as a gift to Li Shimin and advertising it as the imperial brand, driving up its price.
He can only imagine the potential profits that could come from launching a cellar collection, a banquet collection, and a special edition collection, like the ones seen in the alcohol industry of later generations, and may even become the richest person in Chang'an City just by selling liquor.
Enough daydreaming, he should stop before he starts to drool!
When people are immersed in their own emotions and thoughts, time always seems to pass quickly.
Zhang Nuo felt like he was just thinking about his future career development when Doggy had already brought back the two brothers, Liu Dazhuang and Liu Erzhuang.
These two brothers seemed to have intentionally cleaned themselves up before coming over. Although their clothes were worn out, they were cleaned and ironed, and their hair was neatly combed. They just had a circle of green fluff around their mouths, which didn't make them look very old.
Zhang Nuo first asked about the situation of the two brothers, and Liu Dazhuang, the elder brother, answered for them, while Liu Erzhuang, the younger brother, stood obediently by the side without saying a word.
It turned out that the Liu family had also suffered from the ravages of war. The father of the two brothers had also followed Li Tang to conquer the world, and had worked hard to establish a small family business.
Unfortunately, they didn't enjoy the good life for long. Shortly after Liu Erzhuang was born, he fell seriously ill and died after a year, leaving his wife and child alone.
Fortunately, people were kind-hearted at that time, and their fellow soldiers each gave a little help. Liu's mother also worked hard to do odd jobs such as washing clothes and cooking for others, and managed to raise the two brothers who were a year apart from each other.
The two brothers started working at the age of seven or eight to help reduce the burden on their family.
By now, one was sixteen and the other was fifteen years old. Their mother had been worried about finding a proper job for them and getting them married in the future.
Before they had a chance to look for opportunities, Doggy brought good news to their doorstep.
Liu's mother was very familiar with Doggy, who had been their neighbor for many years. A few days ago, Doggy helped them pack up and move to a new place, and Liu Dazhuang and Liu Erzhuang had also helped out.
They learned that the two brothers had found a good employer who paid well and was generous.
Doggy proudly took out the relocation fee given by Zhang Nuo and praised the generosity of the employer, making the neighbors envious.
However, Liu Dazhuang's family never expected that Doggy would bring them news that the employer was looking for a cook's apprentice the next day.
Liu Dazhuang's mother was overjoyed and quickly prepared her sons for the opportunity.
With the help of Doggy and his family as guarantors, Zhang Nuo was not worried about hiring the wrong people.
However, being a cook is ultimately a skill, and whether they can do the job well depends on their ability.
A donkey or a horse can be taken out for a walk to see what level they are at.
When they arrived at the kitchen, there was no need to light a fire on the stove.
A large carrot and a kitchen knife were used to cut the carrot into thin slices and then into shreds, and the quality of their knife skills became apparent.
The two brothers were not intimidated and earnestly took over the kitchen knives to get to work.
In no time, the two carrots had been turned into fine shreds.
Zhang Nuo carefully checked and nodded slightly. It was acceptable!
In normal circumstances, knife skills actually don't require much technical expertise. It's a craft that improves with practice.
There's no secret to it either - with patience and practice, knife skills will naturally improve.
Zhang Nuo just noticed that even though their movements were not entirely standard or quick, at least the two brothers were earnestly trying to cut the radish into similar thickness.
That's already pretty good!
When it comes to cutting vegetables in the kitchen, impatience is the biggest taboo. The more impatient you are, the more mistakes you'll make.
You can take your time to make the cuts, as long as they can be used. Even if the chef points out a mistake or two, it doesn't matter - after all, speed can be improved over time, and proficiency is what matters.
But impatience won't cut it. You may seem quick and efficient, but when you pick up the cut pieces, they may be too thick or too thin and unusable. An apprentice who works like this is likely to be shown the door after only one or two attempts.
After examining the homework of the two brothers, Zhang Nuo spoke with a slightly nervous expression, "You two can go back now. Come early tomorrow morning, and we'll go to the government to sign the contract!"
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be working in the kitchen. We'll start with knife skills, and you'll help me as an assistant. Make sure you pay attention and learn well."
"The monthly pay is like that of a Doggy - 500 coins, and I'll cover your food and lodging. If you see anything that needs help with, make sure to lend a hand when you have the time!"
When the two brothers, Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang, heard Zhang Nuo say that they could leave, they almost cried. However, they realized they had been hired when they heard the rest.
They were grateful to Zhang Nuo and took the one strings reward he gave them and rushed back to pack up their things and report their good news!