Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 1076: Vanguard

"Yes." Erqing took the mask, wetted it, and distributed it to Xiao Ji and Ye Jingzi. After everyone put on their masks, they continued their work.

The four of them stayed in the pharmacy, busy for a whole two hours. When the entire workshop was filled with the aroma of alcohol, Gu Jinli said, "Xiao Ji, stop the fire."

Xiao Ji immediately removed the firewood from the stove and buried it in the ash pile.

"Young Master? Can we open the pot now?" Erqing asked, already holding a knife in his hand, ready to peel off the rice mud.

Gu Jinli nodded, "Yes, peel off the rice mud and open the pot."

Upon hearing this, Erqing swiftly used a knife to pry open the hardened rice mud, tearing it off with one hand and tossing it into a wooden bucket beside him.

Shortly after, Erqing had pried off all the rice mud that sealed the pot.

After Erqing moved the pottery basin aside, Gu Jinli took out a large ladle, scooped a generous amount of alcohol into two bowls, and placed them in a water basin nearby. The alcohol was cooled with water, and then they said to Erqing, "Drink up."

With that, they picked up a bowl and took a sip of the alcohol. The spicy taste surged straight to the forehead, yes, it’s quite strong.

"Not bad, it should be over fifty degrees." Gu Jinli was quite pleased with the concentration, as long as it’s over fifty degrees, it can be distilled directly into alcohol.

Erqing also picked up a bowl and took several sips of the alcohol, surprised and said, "Young Master, this alcohol is really strong, it can already be used to disinfect wounds, right?"

The Great Chu people used strong liquor to disinfect wounds, but even the strongest liquor in Great Chu wasn’t as strong as what Gu Jinli had distilled.

Gu Jinli laughed, "Not yet, you need at least eighty-plus degrees of alcohol to disinfect wounds, but this liquor is strong, Grandpa Qin should like it."

Brother Qin will also probably like it.

"Erqing, bring over the wine jars, I want to store a few jars of liquor."

One jar for Grandpa Qin, and the rest for Brother Qin, so he can drink with the soldiers at the Military Office, the garrison at the prefecture camp, and with General Guo and the deputy generals, establishing good relations with these groups will make things easier for him at home.

"Alright." Erqing brought over the wine jars that had been prepared in advance and, together with Gu Jinli, filled five jars of alcohol before stopping.

By the time they had filled five jars of wine, there was no more alcohol in the pot.

Xiao Ji was puzzled, "Young Master, are we making alcohol or refining liquor? We’ve run out, and that was eight jars of liquor."

After distillation, the moisture in the liquor evaporates, so eight jars of turbid alcohol can only produce five jars of strong liquor.

"Third Grandma was right, making alcohol is really a waste of grain." Xiao Ji said with a bit of distress.

Gu Jinli remarked, "...Just distill more, there’s plenty of time."

But it does waste liquor.

Xiao Ji had no choice but to continue stoking the fire, starting the distillation of the second batch of liquor, which was another long two hours before it was refined.

"Young Master, I’ve brought you liquor." Tong Dayu’s voice came from outside the courtyard gate, and Ye Jingzi went to open the door for them.

Tong Dayu, along with the pharmaceutical workshop’s servant, came in carrying buckets of filtered liquor.

"Dayu, put them under the eaves." Ye Jingzi directed them towards the eaves under the pharmacy.

"Alright." Tong Dayu, along with his subordinates, carried the buckets of liquor to the eaves and placed them neatly, then asked into the pharmacy, "Young Master, do we still need to filter the remaining liquor?"

"Yes, filter it all!" Gu Jinli replied.

Tong Dayu responded with an "Okay," "I understand."

"Xiao Yu, has the alcohol been made?" Mrs. Cui came with Tong Xiaoxue to deliver them food, and as soon as she entered the courtyard, she could smell the pungent alcohol aroma.

Xiao Yu had said that alcohol is twice as potent as strong liquor, so smelling the sharp alcohol scent throughout the yard, she thought Xiao Yu had already made the alcohol.

Mrs. Cui was delighted, "If it’s done, that’s great. That way, Third Grandma won’t scold you."

Third Grandma couldn’t stand Xiao Yu wasting grains like this and had been worried at home all morning.

"Mother, you’re here. The alcohol isn’t made yet, we just distilled the liquor, it’ll be afternoon before we can make alcohol." Gu Jinli, wearing a cotton mask, opened the pharmacy door, came out, and took the food box Mrs. Cui was carrying, asking, "What’s been made for lunch? Is there meat?"

Mrs. Cui laughed, "Of course, your food has to have meat. It’s stuffed buns filled with plenty of meat, you can eat them quickly without interrupting your work."

Gu Jinli laughed, "Thank you, Mother, you’re the best."

She brought the food box inside, placed it on the table, took out the food, and started eating the meat-stuffed bun.

Mrs. Cui poured a bowl of warm water and placed it in front of her, asking, "You’ll start making alcohol in the afternoon, how long will it take? If it’s too long, let Jingzi, Erqing, and Xiao Ji handle it, you should head home, you can’t stay overnight at the pharmaceutical workshop."

Gu Jinli smiled, nodded, and agreed, "I understand, Mother, I won’t stay overnight here, you’re too cautious."

She asked, "Mother, are Big Sister and Brother Luo Wu’s engagement preparations almost done? The day is near."

Speaking of this, Mrs. Cui was pleased and laughed, "Everything’s ready, the invitations have been sent, and we’ve invited families like the Jiang Family, the Shang Family, the Yuan Family, the Xu Family, and the Zheng Family."

Mrs. Cui always felt sorry for her eldest daughter, Gu Jinxiu, because Sister Xiu had suffered the most in the family and didn’t even have a coming-of-age ceremony. Therefore, she was determined to make her engagement ceremony grand and splendid.

Gu Jinli nodded, "Good, that’s great. Zeng Biao and his gang have been apprehended, the village is no longer under lockdown, it’s time to invite everyone for a celebration."

The matter of the family being targeted by mountain bandits was not hidden from Mrs. Cui and Gu Dashan, as Gu Jinli and Gu Jin’an informed them after Gu Jin’an returned with Village Chief He from the government office.

Upon hearing it, although Mrs. Cui and Gu Dashan were frightened, they were not overwhelmed by fear, and instead wanted to help. However, Zeng Biao’s gang turned out to be useless and was caught by Uncle Jiang Qi that very night, leaving only half-dead. So Mrs. Cui and Gu Dashan didn’t need to help, they just needed to be aware and vigilant in the future.

However, Fan Tu and his gang were still in the mountains. After Qin San Lang rushed to the prefecture garrison camp to inform General Guo, he was appointed as the vanguard to fight the bandits, bringing along a hundred new recruits. They were still in Hukang County, not yet returned.

Mrs. Cui worriedly asked, "Will San Lang be able to make it back?"

He mustn’t get into trouble.

However, Mrs. Cui didn’t say these words out loud, thinking them inauspicious, so she kept them to herself.

Gu Jinli noticed her worry and smiled, "Don’t worry, Mother. Brother Qin is so capable and he’s leading over a hundred people; how could he not handle a few dozen bandits? Moreover, that gang of bandits is really not that capable, can’t be compared to fierce bandits. They only bully common folk, but they cower in the face of soldiers."

And added, "Brother Qin will definitely be back by May 19th."