Chapter 19

With the wholehearted assistance of Yaoji and her family, the "Peach Blossom Brew" was soon crafted—precisely one hundred jars, no more, no less. It simply needed a period of fermentation to truly reach its peak flavor, growing all the more fragrant, mellow, and sweet with time. Yaoji suggested that Weining bury them deep beneath the peach trees, as this would allow the wine to better absorb the spiritual essence of the trees and make it even more delicious. To Yaoji, this would normally have been no more difficult than lifting a hand, but at Yang Erlang's instigation and with the enthusiastic participation of the three Yang children, Weining had no choice but to join them, hefting hammers and digging pits to bury the wine. Weining had no experience whatsoever with such labor, and she had assumed the Yang children would know how. As it turned out, they were just as clueless as she was. At first, the four of them didn't even know how to use the hammers. Flustered, they tried to learn as they dug, inadvertently damaging several peach trees in the process. The once-pristine grove ended up looking as though it had smallpox. In the end, it took them a full half-month to finish this grueling task, and all four of them were utterly exhausted.