Tasting the First Distillate

"I'll be in charge of making the candy, and you'll handle the sales. We'll split the profits sixty-forty."

"Sixty for you, forty for me!"

"No way!!!" Fisher quickly refused upon hearing this.

His brother-in-law was not to be underestimated.

Handling the sales and then splitting the profits sixty-forty—Fisher was no fool. A distribution channel supported many people, and his sixty percent share would likely be less than twenty percent after all was said and done.

This arrangement would essentially be dressing Fisher up for Corvinus's benefit.

"Sixty-forty is too much. How about ninety-ten, ninety for me and ten for you?" Fisher suggested.

"Corvin, let's go. Why should we collaborate with him? We could collaborate with anyone else. This brother of mine is just too ruthless!" Agif complained.

Fisher was getting a headache!

So, she was upset that her husband would be at a disadvantage, but didn't she care that her own brother would be at a disadvantage?

However, since she was his sister, what could Fisher say?

Corvinus patted Agif; he was quite touched. This woman hadn't even married him yet, and she was already completely taking his side.

If it had been anyone else, he would have naturally gotten up and left, as this was also a negotiation tactic to maintain the upper hand.

But after all, the person across from him was his brother-in-law.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "How about this, Fourth Brother, you don't agree with sixty-forty, and ten-ninety is too difficult for my side, so let's try a different way of collaborating."

"Go on!" Fisher nodded and leaned in to listen.

"I'll make the candy, and you'll take it directly from me. Cash on delivery. As for how you sell it, at what price, and where you sell it, that's none of my business!" Corvinus said.

"This method is not bad!"

"But I want to know the price you'll sell it to me at, and also, will you supply to anyone else besides me?" Fisher asked.

"The price can't be determined right now; I need to go back and calculate the costs."

"As for whether I'll supply to other merchants, that depends on your volume. If you can't handle it or can't sell it, I'll definitely supply to other merchants," Corvinus explained.

"Is that so?"

"I need to think about it!" Fisher said after hesitating for a moment.

"Alright!"

...

Since he and Agif's fourth brother were discussing business, the sky quickly grew dark. Coupled with the enthusiastic invitations from Agif's family, Corvinus had no choice but to stay for dinner at Agif's house.

However, everyone knew Corvinus couldn't hold his drink, so no one tried to get him drunk this time.

The next morning!

Yesterday, Corvinus had discussed the collaboration with Fisher regarding maltose, and he believed Fisher would definitely choose the second method of cooperation.

So he needed to prepare for large-scale candy production.

Early in the morning, under Corvinus's command, nearly a hundred orcs, including Cadia and Tyton, began to work on their respective tasks.

This time, Corvinus directly bought a thousand pounds of wheat and renovated the rather spacious kitchen, adding six large earthen stoves.

He also made a variety of miscellaneous tools.

With a hundred people bustling about, the day quickly passed.

The only thing that puzzled Cadia and the others was that the chieftainess, who came every day, didn't show up today.

...

"The seventh day!"

Corvinus looked at the four fermentation barrels, which were tightly covered.

The rice had been fermenting for seven days!

Corvinus was a bit excited and slowly began to dismantle the first fermentation barrel.

A faint aroma of fermented wine wafted out.

"Smells good!"

Corvinus took a deep breath; the fermentation was clearly successful.

The next three fermentation barrels were the same, and soon the entire kitchen was filled with a faint, fragrant wine scent.

"Wow, that smells so good!"

Tyton and the other two orcs ran into the kitchen and came over to Corvinus in surprise.

"You're up!"

"By the way, get the fire going, for four stoves!" Corvinus instructed Tyton and the other two orcs.

"Yes, sir!"

The three orcs inhaled the wine aroma deeply, feeling as if they were already in a state of bliss.

While the three orcs were tending the fire, Corvinus was also busy setting up four sets of distillation equipment and began to load the materials.

In fact, two hundred pounds of fermented rice could be handled with just two pots, but stacking it too thickly could lead to uneven distillation, leaving some of the alcohol in the mash unextracted.

Soon, the distillation preparations were complete!

To watch how the wine was made, the werewolves and boar men under his command surrounded the kitchen tightly.

Corvinus didn't stop them; these orcs under his command would be his core brewers in the future.

Naturally, he wanted them to see the process!

About half an hour later, the four distillation pots began to steam up one after another.

"Move aside!"

"Let me through!"

...

A figure squeezed through the tightly packed werewolves and orcs.

It was Agif!

"Is this how you make wine?" Agif came to Corvinus's side and asked curiously.

Corvinus had told her that he would be making wine today, so she remembered the date, and she was very curious about how wine was brewed.

"Yeah, where were you yesterday?" Corvinus nodded and then asked curiously.

"What, did you miss me?" Agif cooed, hugging Corvinus's arm.

Corvinus glanced at Agif but didn't speak because the tube of one of the distillation pots had already started dripping a clear, white liquid.

"So fragrant!"

"Is this wine?" Agif's eyes lit up with excitement as she looked at Corvinus and asked immediately.

"Yeah, this is wine!" Corvinus nodded.

The liquid flowing from the pipe was getting faster and faster, now forming a straight line and thickening.

At the same time, the pipes of the other three distillation pots had also begun to flow with wine.

Instantly, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of wine.

While everyone was amazed, they also greedily inhaled the wine scent from the air.

"This wine is so clear and fragrant!"

"Why is it different from the wine we usually drink!" Agif looked at the layer of liquid at the bottom of the wine barrel. At first glance, it looked like water, but the wine aroma was unmistakable.

Corvinus didn't explain. Fermented wine is turbid, while distilled wine is made from water vapor, which is the purest and clearest form of water.

"Can I taste it?" Agif couldn't help but ask.

Instantly, Cadia, Tyton, and the others swallowed their saliva; they wanted to taste it too.

"Not yet!" Corvinus shook his head and then explained, "This is called the 'head distillate.' It's very strong. Even someone with a good tolerance for alcohol could get drunk from just a small taste."

"Is that true?"

"I can drink five pounds of wine and not get drunk!" Agif clearly didn't believe it.

Corvinus shook his head. Fermented wine is less than twenty degrees, and five pounds is similar to drinking beer, about seventy to eighty bottles of beer.

But the head distillate from distilled wine is usually around seventy to eighty degrees.

Ordinary people can't even smell it without getting dizzy.

Distilled wine is divided into three parts: head distillate, middle distillate, and tail distillate.

Wine collected at different times has different alcohol contents, which is why there is a crucial step: blending.

It involves mixing the three parts—head, middle, and tail—to create specific alcohol contents, such as fifty-eight degrees or forty-five degrees.

"How about you give it a try?" Corvinus knew he couldn't dissuade this woman. As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

"Okay!" Agif nodded. Her tolerance for alcohol was much better than Corvinus's.

Without counting, Corvinus took a wooden bowl, filled it with about two ounces, and handed it to Agif.

"So fragrant!" Agif sniffed, then quickly poured it into her mouth.

Corvinus was about to stop her when he heard a gulp; it was already too late.

What a stubborn woman, always needing to learn the hard way!