Shopkeeper Chen’s suicide was wildly discussed in Zhuma Town for quite a while, and nobody knows from which doctor the rumor started, but it was said that he had once taken Shopkeeper Chen’s pulse and warned him about his infertility. Chen, however, wouldn’t believe it and even went so far as to hire someone to beat up that doctor after Lady Chen bore him a son.
When Lin Yuan heard about this, she was somewhat surprised but felt not the slightest sympathy. She was only curious whether Shopkeeper Chen ever thought of his first wife before he killed himself since it was clear she had never wronged him. Just like the doctor had said, the fact that the first wife and several Little Concubines couldn’t conceive was not an issue with the women, but with the man himself.
However, the answer to this question was something Lin Yuan would never know. After all, the man was gone, and it was time to let all grudges drift away with the wind.
When Liu Limin first thought of opening a winehouse, she was merely yearning for it without the slightest idea of how to brew or how to stand out against the dominant influence of the Meng Family Wine House. Fortunately, she had Lin Yuan.
The Meng Family Wine House was known for its strong liquor, and Lin Yuan wasn’t too clear about the An Family Winehouse in Yecheng, though from what Shopkeeper Wu said, it seemed potent as well, just not as intoxicating.
Therefore, Lin Yuan decided to do the opposite: while everyone else was making strong liquor, she insisted on brewing a clear wine. Of course, it’s not that she wouldn’t have any strong liquor, just that it would not be the main focus.
At that time, all the wine was made from sorghum and came in various flavors but were generally very strong. So, Lin Yuan planned to make rice wine from glutinous rice. Known as sweet fermented rice, this type of rice wine had a sweet taste and was very nutritious, especially during winter, when drinking a cup could warm and invigorate the body. Not only could men enjoy it, but women also could have some.
And the process for making rice wine was far simpler than that of making sorghum wine, so the requirements for recruiting workers were not too demanding.
To brew rice wine, one must first soak the glutinous rice for a day and a night, then rinse it clean and let it dry for over ten minutes before steaming it in a steamer. The cooked glutinous rice is then poured into a vat, mixed with clean water, and stirred with a wooden stick. Since making rice wine was best in winter, but the temperature couldn’t be too low, one had to wrap a thick layer of straw around the vat and cover it with a straw mat to allow the rice to ferment. After about ten days, lift the mat, add some more water, and in four or five days, the glutinous rice will have turned into rice wine.
Rice wine could not only be drunk as a beverage but also used in cooking, in dishes like sweet fermented rice balls and quail eggs, which were very nutritious. Especially the sweet fermented rice with quail eggs, which was not just nutritious but also could enhance breast fullness.
After the first vat of rice wine was ready, Lin Yuan quietly brought a jar home; she wanted to nourish the two patches of flesh on her body. Previously, she hadn’t thought much about it, but after meeting Su Qiuyu, she suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Although Xia Zheng and Princess Anle both liked her very much, she realized that her slender physique wasn’t that appealing.
She used to think that with improved nutrition, her body had started to put on some weight, but as it turned out, she had just gotten a bit chubbier. Those areas were still somewhat flat, even Lan Hua had more curvature than her.
Furthermore, Lin Yuan still had not started menstruating, and the absence of menses was not a sign of maturity. While twelve years old was not very old, the New Year was almost upon them, and she would turn thirteen after. If her menses did not start by then, it might really impact her future fertility. Even Lady Liu and Liu Limin had asked her several times about it, both openly and in secret, and had become somewhat anxious.
Xia Zheng observed Lin Yuan’s seemingly secretive behavior, and although he was curious, he thought with amusement that the girl must have come up with some clever cooking ideas.
Liu Limin also noticed what Lin Yuan was up to and, as someone who couldn’t keep things to herself, immediately pulled Lin Yuan aside and badgered her with a mix of coaxing and questioning.
Lin Yuan’s face turned as red as a monkey’s behind, and she hemmed and hawed, unwilling to speak, which only fueled Liu Limin’s curiosity. Cornered by this extremely clingy person, Lin Yuan had no choice but to look around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Then, she cautiously whispered the reason into Liu Limin’s ear.