kingnovel Chapter 439 Fine Wines and Delicacies
Chapter 439 Fine Wines and Delicacies
After the planting of potatoes and cotton and related industries brought significant profits to the manor and the lives of the farmhands became increasingly prosperous, Chen Jia and Chen Jue did not stop exploring. They set their sights on the rich fruit resources in the manor and decided to use grapes, mulberries, green plums and other fruits to develop winemaking and specialty food production businesses, open up more sources of income for the farmhands' families, and further enhance the economic vitality of the manor.
On this day, the summer sun shines on the orchard of the manor. The grape vines are full of heavy fruits. The mulberry trees are bent by the purple-black mulberries. The fruits on the green plum trees are attractive green. Chen Jia and Chen Jue strolled in the orchard, admiring the harvest. Chen Jia looked at the bunches of crystal clear grapes, and her heart moved. She said to Chen Jue: "Husband, look at the fruits in this garden, especially these grapes, which are full and of excellent quality. I heard that wine is very popular in the market. Our manor has such good raw materials, why don't we try to make wine?"
Chen Jue nodded slightly, his eyes swept across every corner of the orchard, and said, "Madam, your idea is very insightful. Not only grapes, but mulberries and green plums can also be used to make wine. Mulberry wine is sweet and sour, and green plum wine is fresh and refreshing. They all have their own characteristics. In addition, we can also make green plum fruit and lotus root powder. These specialty foods can also attract many customers and increase income for the long-term workers' families."
Chen Jia bit her lip lightly and said thoughtfully: "Husband, brewing wine and other fruit wines requires professional technology and equipment. We can first send people to learn the winemaking process, and then purchase some necessary equipment. Making green plum fruit and lotus root powder is relatively simple, but it also requires mastering the method to ensure quality."
Chen Jue shook Chen Jia's hand in agreement and said, "Madam, let's do this. I will arrange for people to visit some wine experts and learn from their experience. At the same time, we can also invite some experts in making green plums and lotus root powder to come to the manor to guide the long-term workers' families."
In the following days, Chen Jue sent people to inquire around and visited many wine experts, learning the brewing techniques of grape wine, mulberry wine and green plum wine. At the same time, he also purchased fermentation barrels, filters and other winemaking equipment, as well as the tools needed to make green plum fruit and lotus root powder.
After the wine-making equipment and tools were delivered to the manor, Chen Jia and Chen Jue invited an experienced wine-making master and an expert in making green plum fruit and lotus root starch. After the master and the expert arrived at the manor, Chen Jia and Chen Jue warmly received them and took them to visit the site where they were going to start their business.
Chen Jia said to the winemaker, "Master, we want to make grape wine, mulberry wine and green plum wine. We hope you can pass on your experience and skills to our long-term workers' families so that they can master the method of making wine."
The winemaker smiled and nodded: "Mrs. Chen, you are too polite. The winemaking process requires patience and carefulness. From fruit selection, cleaning, crushing to fermentation and aging, every step is critical. I will try my best to teach you everything I know."
Chen Jue said to the expert in making green plums and lotus root powder: "Master, we also want to make some green plums and lotus root powder. Please give more guidance to the long-term workers' families to ensure the quality of the products."
The expert smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master Chen. When making green plums, you must pay attention to the seasoning and time of pickling. For lotus root powder, you must ensure the purity of the raw materials and the hygiene of the production process. I will teach you well."
The winemaking masters and experts began to teach the long-term workers' families, explaining in detail the steps and key points of winemaking and food production. "Sisters, to make wine from grapes, you must first select grapes that are highly mature and free of pests and diseases, clean them, remove the stems and grape seeds, and then crush them. Put the crushed grape juice into the fermentation barrel, add the appropriate amount of yeast, and control the temperature and time for fermentation." The winemaking master patiently explained.
A family member asked in confusion: "Master, how do you determine whether the fermentation is complete during the fermentation process?"
The winemaker replied: "When the bubbles in the fermentation barrel are significantly reduced, the wine becomes clear, and the sugar content is reduced to a certain level, it means that the fermentation is basically complete. This requires more observation and practice."
An expert in making green plum fruit and lotus root powder also explained in detail: "Sisters, to make green plum fruit, you must first wash and dry the green plums, then marinate them with salt for a period of time to remove the astringency. Then add sugar, vinegar and other seasonings, seal and marinate. The longer the time, the better the taste. To make lotus root powder, you must first wash and grind the lotus roots, then filter out the lotus root pulp, take the lotus root powder on the top after sedimentation, and dry it."
Chen Jia and Chen Jue listened carefully and wrote down the key points from time to time. They also often visited the site to check on the practice of the long-term workers' families and help them solve the problems they encountered.
Chen Jia watched a family member washing grapes, walked up to her and said, "Sister, be careful when washing the grapes, and wash away all the impurities and pesticide residues on the surface. This way, the wine produced will be safer and more delicious."
Chen Jue was paying attention to the pickling of green plums and said to another family member, "Girl, when pickling green plums, you have to control the proportion of seasonings. Too sweet or too sour will affect the taste."
After a period of learning and practice, the long-term workers' families gradually mastered the basic techniques of winemaking and food production. The first batch of wine, mulberry wine and green plum wine began to enter the fermentation stage, the green plums were slowly becoming flavorful during the pickling process, and the first batch of lotus root powder samples were also produced.
Chen Jia looked at the fruit wine fermenting in the fermentation barrel and said to Chen Jue, "My husband, look at this fruit wine. It has already started to ferment. We will be able to taste our own wine in a while. The samples of green plum fruit and lotus root powder are also very good. Let's ask the people in the farm to taste them first, listen to their opinions, and then make improvements."
Chen Jue nodded and said, "Madam, let's do this. We can also take these samples to some shops and taverns in the city to see if there are any merchants willing to cooperate in sales."
They showed samples of fruit wine, green plums and lotus root powder to the people in the village. Everyone tasted them and gave many valuable suggestions.
A young man tasted the wine and said excitedly: "Mrs. Chen, this wine is mellow and rich in fruit aroma. It is no worse than the wine sold in the city!"
An auntie tasted the green plum and said, "This green plum is sweet and sour, very appetizing. If you add some spices, it will taste even better."
After getting everyone's approval, Chen Jia and Chen Jue brought samples to the city and visited some shops and taverns. After tasting the fruit wine, the owner of a tavern was delighted and said, "Mr. Chen, Mrs. Chen, your fruit wine has a unique taste and high quality. We are willing to cooperate with you and sell these products on your behalf."
Chen Jia and Chen Jue were overjoyed and said quickly, "That's great. We also hope to cooperate with you to jointly promote these products to a wider market."
With the successive sales of fruit wine, green plums and lotus root powder, the income of the farmhands' families increased significantly.
A family member took the money he had just earned and said excitedly to Chen Jia and Chen Jue: "Mr. Chen, Mrs. Chen, thank you for giving us this opportunity. Now we have an extra income, and our lives are getting better and better."
Chen Jia smiled and said: "This is the result of everyone's joint efforts. We will continue to innovate and launch more and better products to take our manor and everyone's life to a higher level."
Chen Jue also said: "Yes, we must continue to improve product quality and taste to meet market demand. In the future, our specialty food and fruit wine industry will surely develop better and better."
Under the leadership of Chen Jia and Chen Jue, the manor's fruit wine and specialty food industry flourished and became an important part of the manor's economy.