Chapter 236: Brewing wine and floating corpses

Chapter 236: Brewing wine and floating corpses

Chapter 236: Brewing wine and floating corpses (Please subscribe!)
Time flies, and it's another weekend.

Li Kailang got up early in the morning and entered the planting space early.

"After fermenting for so long, we should be able to distill the wine today."

Li Kailang looked at the pile of wine-making tools and utensils in front of him, poured the sorghum rice into the distillation pot, lit the fire and started distillation.

"I don't know what it will taste like when brewing wine for the first time?" Li Kailang asked to himself.

After leaving Mr. Hua last week, Li Kailang went to buy raw materials, but he couldn't make wine just by buying raw materials.

Li Kailang didn't have either of the tools or the yeast for brewing wine.

Especially the yeast, which is not easy to make and takes a lot of time. Li Kailang does not have that much time to make it, so he has to borrow some from Mr. Hua.

Of course, Mr. Hua knew Li Kailang's predicament, so he naturally gave Li Kailang some tools and yeast.

Li Kailang declined politely, "Mr. Hua, I can't take these things from you for free. After all, these utensils have been with you for so many years. So I'll pay for them from you!"

Old Hua blew his beard and glared, saying unhappily: "How can this be? Have you learned this from me and don't listen to me anymore?"

Li Kailang shook his head repeatedly: "Mr. Hua, how can you think like this? Don't you understand my character?"

"You spent money to buy these things. How can you give them to me for free? You will lose money then."

Old Hua puffed up his beard and said, "I am happy with it. I am also old and cannot make so much wine. It will just sit there anyway. I might as well give it to you!"

Mr. Hua refused to listen, and Li Kailang was helpless.

"Mr. Hua, you've said before that you can't make much money from brewing wine, because your son's family doesn't have much money."

"I feel bad for taking your things for free, so please accept the money. I will feel relieved to take these."

Mr. Hua stared at Li Kailang, but seeing Li Kailang's sincerity and determination, he had no choice but to accept it.

Given Li Kailang's previous persistent character, if he didn't want the money, Li Kailang might really refuse to accept it.

Mr. Hua said, "Okay, I'll listen to you! Just give me a few dollars. If I don't give you these things, they will go bad sooner or later."

It cost me more than ten dollars to give these tools and utensils to Li Kailang.

The most important thing is that these tools have been used for a long time and have unknowingly taken on the "smell" of winemaking.

These "aromas" are like the tea stains on a teacup, and are of great help to novices in brewing wine.

Mr. Hua still remembers that Li Kailang helped Hua Yaoqian pay off his debts and doesn't want him to lose money because of this.

"After all, these tools have been with Mr. Hua for quite some time, so their price cannot be the same as new ones."

Li Kailang thought for a moment and said, "Well, Mr. Hua, I'll buy it for 50 yuan. Is this price okay?"

"50 yuan?" Mr. Hua shook his head quickly: "It doesn't have to be so expensive. I didn't pay that much when I bought these. You don't have to raise the price."

"Okay, let's take this price!" Li Kailang didn't care and directly took out 50 yuan and stuffed it into the pocket of Mr. Hua.

Li Kailang deliberately raised the price, partly because of Hua Yaoqian, who had emptied Mr. Hua's family fortune.

On the one hand, Mr. Hua is old and we don’t want him to work so hard.

The most important thing is that after the New Year, it will basically be impossible for Mr. Hua to make wine.

After all, food is in short supply, so who would have the leisure to satisfy their appetite, and no one would use grain to make wine.

Now, part of the sorghum that Mr. Hua needs to make wine is bought by himself, and part is bought by customers and given to Mr. Hua to make wine.

When the wine is brewed, this part of the money will be replaced by the sorghum they bought.

As a result, Mr. Hua didn't make much money each time he sold wine. He just earned enough to make ends meet, and didn't have much money left at the end of a month.

"This, this. Too much!"

Old Hua looked at the money in his hand. He only earned this much money after brewing wine for a year.

In the past, he wouldn't care about this little money at all, but not now.

A penny can make a hero fall, and that's what Mr. Hua is like now.

Li Kailang comforted him, "Okay, Mr. Hua, don't worry about how much money it is. Just think of it as a token of my love. You can take the money and have a good New Year!"

"Okay, okay, Xiao Li, you are right, have a good new year!" Old Hua nodded repeatedly with satisfaction.

"Okay, Mr. Hua, you can go and have a rest. I'll go move the tools away. I know where they are!"

In this way, Li Kailang got all the tools and yeast ready, put them into the planting space, and then began to prepare for wine making.

Soak the purchased sorghum for 24 hours and then steam it in a boiler.

After the sorghum rice is cooked, it is placed in a cool area to cool. During the cooling process, husks are added to prevent the sorghum rice from being too sticky and to speed up the cooling process.

After cooling, add the koji to the sorghum rice, mix evenly, and then put it into the fermentation tank for fermentation for 10 days.

After 10 days, the first distillation begins and the "first wine" is obtained.

After distillation, add the accompanying koji and ferment for 12 days.

After fermentation, a second distillation is carried out.

All in all, it took nearly a month.

Among these, the fermentation time is the most time-consuming. Fortunately, the flow rate in the planting space is fast, and Li Kailang only needs three days in the outside world to complete it.

But including the previous preparations, it took Li Kailang a week to complete it.

"Tick-tock~~~"

"The wine is out!"

Li Kailang was delighted as he watched the wine flow out.

Time flies, and Li Kailang filled 4 kinds of sorghum liquor with different alcohol content.

Looking at the four types of wine in the glass bottles, Li Kailang took out a little from each to taste.

"Smash it, smash it~" Li Kailang savored it carefully.

"Well, it tastes okay, no peculiar smell, it should be successful."

Li Kailang was worried, so he opened the wine book to take a look to confirm whether there were any mistakes.

"It worked! It worked. I didn't expect that I would succeed in making my own wine the first time!"

Li Kailang was immediately overjoyed and cheered in celebration.

After a while, Li Kailang looked at the four kinds of wine and said, "Now all that's left is to mix them and it'll be done."

Li Kailang distills different alcohol concentrations in batches and mixes them in different proportions to achieve a balance in color, aroma and taste.

These were all recorded in the wine book, so Li Kailang just did as he was told.

Finally, before bottling, the blended wine must be stored for more than 6 months to allow the spicy flavor of the new wine to mature, remove the bad smell and improve the taste.

"You can drink it after waiting for another 18 days. This time is almost the Chinese New Year, so it's just right for drinking during the Chinese New Year."

After the winemaking was completed, Li Kailang finally relaxed and had a good rest, then he left the space.

"Knock knock—" there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

Li Kailang opened the door and saw that it was the third aunt, holding clothes in her hands.

"Xiao Li, I hope I'm not disturbing you. This is the dress you asked for. Try it on and see if there's anything that doesn't fit. I'll alter it for you."

"Auntie, wait a minute." Li Kailang took the clothes and tried them on.

The third aunt's craftsmanship was not bad. Li Kailang did not feel uncomfortable after putting it on and was naturally very satisfied.

After trying them on, Li Kailang took out the remaining half of the fabric.

"Third Aunt, the clothes you made are very good and fit me very well. There is nothing to alter. I still have some fabric. I would like to trouble you to make me another one."

As he said that, Li Kailang handed 2 yuan to the three aunts.

"Well, okay, it's still the same as before, right?" asked the third aunt.

"Just keep it the same! No need to change it!"

"Okay, I got it. I'll make it for you before the New Year." said the third aunt.

"Excuse me, Auntie!" Li Kailang thanked.

The third aunt nodded and took the cloth back to make it. With the experience she had once, she should be able to do it faster.

It took the third aunt 13 days to make this set of clothes. This was because Li Kailang did not urge her to do so, so the third aunt worked a little slowly.

"New clothes!" Li Kailang looked at the new clothes and couldn't let them go. Finally, he had a decent piece of clothing.

The three aunts also couldn't let go of Li Kailang's fabric.

"After making Xiao Li's clothes, there will be a lot of fabric left. With the leftover fabric from last time, I can make a set for Jie Di."

Both parties are very satisfied.

After getting the new clothes, Li Kailang washed them. It was nothing else to do.

At this time, Li Kailang was so excited that he couldn't sleep at all and was too lazy to make furniture.

"It's been a while since I went fishing. Today the weather is nice and the sun is shining. Let's go fishing."

Thinking of this, Li Kailang took his fishing box and rode his bicycle to Shichahai to fish.

After a while, Li Kailang arrived at the place.

"Wow, there are quite a lot of people here today! They all come here to fish."

On the shore, many people came to fish, with the same idea as Li Kailang.

The weather is good today and Shichahai is not frozen. Although January is not a good time for fishing, the fish are in a semi-hibernation state.

However, if you are lucky, you can catch a few crucian carp, bream and other fish.

After preparing the bait, Li Kailang started fishing.

After a while, Li Kailang didn't catch any fish, and the same was true for the others. There was no movement at all.

"smoke--"

Li Kailang pulled back the fishing rod, but the bait on the hook was gone. Li Kailang put it back on and swung the rod.

"Bang~" the fish hook enters the water.

"Hmm?" Li Kailang lifted the rod and suddenly felt the tip of the rod was heavy and there was a pressure.

"Could it be that a fish has taken the bait? It's so fast!"

Li Kailang thought about it, and his hands moved quickly. He grabbed the pole tightly and pulled it back with force.

"It's a big fish! It's so heavy! But it feels a little weird!"

"Never mind, let's catch the fish first!"

Li Kailang's rod formed a big bend, which immediately attracted the attention of a group of anglers, and they all turned their heads to look at Li Kailang.

"Look at how it's bent. It must be a big fish!"

"Yeah! This kid is so lucky, he caught a big fish right after he got here!"

"Go and see what fish this boy has caught. The fishing rod is already like this, but it's not broken yet!" Immediately, the crowd watching started talking.

Soon, Li Kailang was surrounded by people, waiting to see what fish he had caught.

"Um--"

Li Kailang gritted his teeth and pulled the fishing rod with his whole body tense.

"Big stuff! It must be big stuff!"

Li Kailang muttered to himself as he used all his strength to pull the fishing rod back little by little.

"Come out! Come out!"

"Comrade, give it a little more strength, it's almost out!"

I saw big bubbles popping up on the fishing rod, and then the fishing rod bent even more severely.

"Plop, plop~" As a big bubble came out, an unidentified object gradually surfaced.

"It's out! Look everyone!" someone shouted excitedly.

People around gathered around and stared at the "big fish".

However, when the object completely surfaced, everyone's expressions changed from curiosity to surprise.

"What is this?" Everyone was puzzled as they couldn't see it clearly from a distance.

In the sunlight, the object looked pale and swollen, and did not resemble a fish at all.

Li Kailang also felt a little uneasy. He carefully pulled the fishing line closer, trying to see this strange object clearly.

"Could this be a floating corpse?" a trembling voice said.

Everyone's mood suddenly became tense and they all stepped back.

"Oh my god! What the hell did I catch?" Li Kailang muttered.

As the fishing line pulled, the floating corpse slowly drifted towards the shore.

It lay facing the river bottom, motionless, as if it had lost its breath of life.

Li Kailang felt a strong sense of nausea, but he forced himself to remain calm.

Li Kailang was also frightened by the floating corpse and almost dropped his fishing rod.

The people around were terrified, and a few timid ones even ran away.

Most of them had never seen such a scene, and the mixture of fear and curiosity made them want to get closer but also want to escape.

If it wasn't broad daylight, they would have all run away.

"Well, is there any comrade who could please run errands and call the police?" Li Kailang shouted.

"Oh my god, comrade, don't move!" Someone shouted at Li Kailang, immediately got on his bicycle, and sped away to call the police.

It was also the first time that Li Kailang saw a floating corpse. He had heard of it a lot, but had rarely seen it.

Li Kailang pulled her closer, and from the back it was impossible to tell whether she was a man or a woman.

"Comrade, please give me a stick so I can turn it over and see."

"See? Comrade, you are in big trouble. Don't you think it's bad luck that you dare to touch it?" someone on the side advised.

If there weren't so many people around and it was broad daylight with plenty of yang energy, they wouldn't dare stand here.

"What's there to be afraid of? The person is dead. Could it be that she dares to come and take his life? Doesn't she know that Jianguo can't become a spirit?"

Li Kailang said carelessly, looking fearless, which made people around him feel at ease.

Just kidding, we have seen a lot of news like this in later generations, so there is no need to be afraid of it. It’s just that we have never seen it.

Now there is a food that I have personally experienced right in front of me, how can I give it up?

"Hey! Hurry up and give me a long stick!"

Seeing that Li Kailang was so skilled and courageous, no one dared to stop him and handed it to him.

"I want to see what kind of monster it is and what it looks like."

Li Kailang took a wooden stick, pulled the fishing rod, and turned it over.

"Bang!" With a dull sound, the floating corpse turned over.

"what!!!"

As the floating corpse turned over, a burst of terrified screams rang out.

Although they were mentally prepared, everyone was still shocked by the scene before them.

"male?"

The face of the floating corpse was obviously that of a male. His face and body were a little swollen, his eyes were closed, and there was no sign of decay.

Overall, he still looks like a normal person.

"Whoo~~~"

The people on the side couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although they were still a little scared, at least it was not as terrifying as before.

"How did this man die?" someone nearby asked curiously.

"How else could he die? He must have been killed by someone, otherwise it would be fine, who would die!"

"Look at that floating corpse. There are no injuries on its body. It doesn't look like it was murdered. Maybe it was drowned."

Everyone was talking and discussing the cause of death.

However, none of us were forensic doctors and no one dared to get close, so we could only speculate.

"The police are coming! The police are coming!"

As the shouting rang out, several policemen quickly rushed to the river where Li Kailang was.

As soon as they arrived, their attention was immediately attracted by the floating corpse on the river.

The police walked to the floating corpse, carefully checked the fishing line on the body, and then turned to Li Kailang.

"Comrade, did you fish up this body?"

"Yes." Li Kailang nodded in response.

Immediately, the police became serious, took out their notebooks and began to record in detail.

"Comrade, please describe in detail how the body was discovered," the police asked seriously.

Li Kailang succinctly recounted the entire incident and then added:

"This is the whole story. I and everyone present are witnesses."

"Yes, police comrade, this comrade is telling the truth." The people around him echoed.

The policeman asked again: "Comrade, do you know this person?"

Li Kailang shook his head: "No, I have never seen this person."

The police nodded, and then looked at everyone: "Does anyone know this person?"

Everyone looked at each other in silence, and no one answered.

Seeing this, the police frowned slightly. This matter was not that simple. There were no clues at all.

"Okay, comrade, please leave your name, address, and workplace so that we can contact you later."

Li Kailang nodded and wrote down the relevant information on the paper.

At the same time, the police began to drag the floating corpse ashore for further inspection.

"Comrade Li, there is nothing for you to do for now, you can leave now."

"Okay. By the way, can you please return my fishing line to me? I need it for fishing." Li Kailang said before leaving.

"Comrade, how can you still want such an unlucky thing? Why don't you just make another one?" someone advised kindly.

"Yeah! It's not good to bring this thing home! It's evil!" others also echoed.

"Ahem, comrade, this is the new China. There are no demons, ghosts, snakes or gods. What you said is feudal superstition and is unacceptable," the police reminded.

"Comrade, listen to this, even the police comrades say so, what else do I have to be afraid of?" Li Kailang echoed.

Hearing what Li Kailang said, the police nodded and said to Li Kailang: "Comrade, please wait a moment. I will go and give you the fishing line."

"Thank you for your help!" Li Kailang thanked him.

It's not that he doesn't believe in feudal superstitions, he just can't bear to part with his fishing line.

Although he had a lot of fishing lines in his fishing box, there were actually only a few of these lines, and they would be gone once they were used up.

This is a fishing line from later times, it is very tough and cannot be compared to the homemade fishing line of today.

However, at this moment, there was a sudden noise - "Bang!"

Li Kailang immediately turned around and saw that his fishing line had broken!
“Look, Comrade Fish, I said this thing is unlucky, even the fishing line is broken!

"Yeah, the fishing line is broken. Isn't this something that attracts evil spirits? It's better to just break it. I don't want it anymore."

Someone at the side whispered a reminder, with a tone of gloating.

"Comrade Li, I'm really not sorry!" said the policeman somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's okay, it's okay! It doesn't matter if it's broken!" Li Kailang waved his hands.

"What about this fishing line?" asked the policeman.

"You guys just handle this fishing line!" Li Kailang said.

"Okay!" The police nodded and shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, the police are investigating the case now. Please stay away from the scene and don't interfere with our investigation."

"Alas, there's nothing fun to watch!"

"Yeah, I also want to see what's going on. This is the first time I've seen it."

"Oh, what a bummer. I was expecting to see something new."

Everyone couldn't help feeling a little regretful; it was the first time they had seen a floating corpse that was so well preserved and not disgusting.

Although everyone's curiosity was satisfied, they all decided to leave quickly because of the bad luck that the floating corpse might bring.

Suddenly, someone asked a disturbing question.

"Oh, right, there's this floating corpse here. I wonder if our fish will eat him."

"It's not impossible!" The others also became nervous.

"Then let the fish go quickly to avoid harming your family!"

Suddenly, those who had caught fish released them, as if they were afraid that eating the fish at home would affect their health.

"Oh, what a pity for these fish!"

Everyone couldn't help feeling a little regretful and packed up their things to go home.

Li Kailang did the same, packing up and going home.

(End of this chapter)