Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 461: Arty

So, when there was fresh food, Hualei would always make some extra and send it to her, making Zhenzhu very happy.

While picking cucumbers at Yuanying Village, Hualei saw a pond full of lotus flowers. This year, Yuanying Village has planted a lot of lotus roots, and now is the season when lotus flowers are in full bloom.

Although it is not as large as the Lotus Garden in the west of the city, it has many ponds, so there are ponds here and there dotted around the farm, and there are quite a few of them.

Without the pressure of money, the flower buds now began to become more refined. So she prepared to pick some fresh lotus flowers and make lotus pure water.

In the morning, when the lotus flowers had just bloomed, I picked a large bunch of them and then carefully picked off the lotus leaves and petals and washed them with clean water.

Then put the lotus petals in the ground pot, put the sky pot on top, and pour cold water into the sky pot. Then start to heat and steam the lotus with high fire. This distillation process is very similar to the distillation process of sweet potato wine.

After a while, the first lotus dew begins to flow out. Then add fresh lotus petals to the pot again, and the original lotus petals do not need to be removed.

The first flower dew forced out is also poured on the lotus petals, and the steaming continues over high heat. Once the water in the pot becomes hot, it must be replaced with cold water in time to ensure the smooth flow of the flower dew.

After a while, the second flower dew slowly flows out. When the second flower dew is almost gone, pour the flower dew back onto the lotus petals in the pot and start the third re-steaming.

The fire below should also be turned down to a low flame, and the fumigation should be started slowly. This will take longer. Generally, it takes five or six hours to complete. Then fill it in a small porcelain bottle and seal it.

Lotus flowers bloom in summer, and their fragrance is very fresh and elegant. However, the distillation of pure water cannot restore the original fragrance of lotus flowers 100%.

Therefore, the distilled lotus pure water does not have the strong and rich fragrance of the original fresh lotus. It has a faint lotus fragrance, but it is also very pleasant.

Lotus pure dew can be applied directly on the face to moisturize, no matter what season it is. It is suitable for all skin types and can also be drunk directly.

However, no matter how elegant the flower buds were, she was reluctant to drink the lotus pure water. Otherwise, one sip would cost several taels of silver, which was really the behavior of a money-eating beast.

So, after the lotus pure water was made, Hualei put it in Yinghua Pavilion for sale. The small porcelain bottle, which was just a little more than a few tears, was priced at two taels of silver per bottle.

However, what was unexpected was that it was selling very well. The young ladies from the aristocratic families were really wealthy and often came together to buy several bottles at a time, taking them home for their own use, as gifts for their sisters at home, and as gifts for their mothers.

Therefore, even though there seemed to be a lot of lotus flowers when they were picking the buds, the lotus pure water after it was made was still not enough to sell.

There was no other choice. For the sake of money, Hualei went to pick a lot of lotus flowers and made several batches. However, it was still far from enough.

There was no other way. The lotus was out of season, and the daughters of the aristocratic families sent their maids to buy the pure water. So, the flower buds were processed in the same way, and pure water of other flower species was made with other flowers and sold.

In autumn, it is the sweet-scented osmanthus dew, which is rich and warm and refreshing. In winter, it is the plum blossom pure dew, which is icy and pure, and the fragrance fills the sleeves.

Before I knew it, Yinghua Pavilion was just like its name. Every season, it would welcome different floral essences and attract young ladies from wealthy families to spend money.

Before they knew it, the business of Yinghua Pavilion surpassed that of Hua Qianbian Shop and was comparable to that of Huaxianzi Shop. Soon, the two shops kept pace with each other and brought in a steady stream of money to Hualei.

Inspired by the distillation of lotus pure water, Hualei decided to try to make distilled alcohol. Because the manor had been making sweet potato wine, which was selling well, but because Hualei got the lowest level of winemaking order, he had to pay 50% tax, plus transportation fees, so the profit was not great.

Alcohol was a new thing, and if I made it myself, there should be a market for it. So I took the sealed sweet potato wine from the farm, poured it into the pot, and heated it over low heat until the alcohol reached its boiling point to evaporate it.

When the alcohol vapor meets the sky pot with cold water on it, it condenses and turns into liquid alcohol, flowing into the ceramic jar placed outside in advance.

In this way, you can collect alcohol liquid with relatively low purity. If you need to further purify it, you will need more equipment. Since Huabud doesn't have it, you can give up the idea.

After the alcohol was made, Hualei took it to the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion to find Old Marquis Pei. After listening to Hualei's words and understanding the purpose of alcohol, Old Marquis Pei looked at the alcohol in the pottery jar and frowned.

To be honest, Hualei was talking about the uses of alcohol in life, such as disinfecting the surface of objects or physically reducing fever.

However, Lord Pei, who had just retreated from the battlefield, immediately thought that the alcohol could be used to disinfect the wounded.

In the past, when they were in Mobei, there would be occasional frictions with the nomadic peoples in the north, and the soldiers would often be wounded by swords and knives.

Military doctors usually use liquor with a higher concentration to disinfect soldiers. If the concentration of this alcohol is higher than that of liquor, wouldn't the disinfection function be better?

Then the uses of this alcohol will be very wide, and the demand will increase exponentially. The Great Sheng Dynasty has hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Although it won't hurt often, it can be used to disinfect other places. So should Hualei make and sell this alcohol?

Lord Pei, Pei Jingxuan, and Rong Jin discussed for a long time in the study room. Finally, they decided to take the initiative to report the alcohol matter to Emperor Shengwu.

Even the Zhenbei Marquisate would not dare to take the risk of brewing wine privately and refining alcohol to sell. If they were not careful, it would be a serious crime that would lead to the execution of all nine clans.

Not to mention Hualei herself, who is weak and powerless. In this era where one can lose her head if she is not careful, she should be more restrained and earn the money she can.

If something goes wrong, the Zhenbei Marquisate will not be able to protect her. It is not worth it to earn this money in fear. Maybe she will lose her head before she earns the money.

Hua Lei also knew the interests involved and agreed with the old Marquis Pei's opinion. However, how to talk to Emperor Shengwu about the alcohol issue was also a technical job.

I can't make it look like I made it on purpose, lest the suspicious Emperor Shengwu think I have ulterior motives. I can't pretend I know nothing, otherwise how would you know that this is different from wine, and how did alcohol get its name?