Moreover, the taste of the wine wasn't important. What mattered was whether this unique aroma of red plum wine could lure out Zhou Yuanning.
However, judging from Mo Li's reaction, the answer was obvious.
Bai Zheng's slender fingers reached out to grab a ladle beside her. She scooped up half a ladle of wine and took a small sip. A sweet and mellow taste gradually spread from the tip of her throat to her internal organs.
The taste of this red plum wine that hadn't fully fermented was somewhat different from what Bai Zheng had imagined. But because the alcohol taste was a bit lighter, the natural sweetness of the red plums stood out, creating a unique flavor.
Seeing Bai Zheng enjoying another sip, Mo Li couldn't help but swallow his saliva again.
"How does it taste?"
Even the words he blurted out carried an eagerness that he himself didn't notice, a rarity for someone as calm and steady as him.
Bai Zheng's lips curved slightly, a faint smile on her face. "You should have a taste."
With that, she picked up another wooden ladle and handed it to him.
Mo Li took the ladle and impatiently scooped up a large spoonful, pouring it all into his mouth.
The clear wine mixed with the fragrance of red plums suddenly rushed into his stomach, and then, along with the alcohol fumes, it surged upwards, making Mo Li's face turn bright red. He coughed so hard that he could hardly catch his breath.
"Slow down. There's plenty for you." Bai Zheng said, half - amused and half - exasperated, and quickly stepped forward to pat his back.
"This wine... cough... this wine is really... cough..." Mo Li gasped for breath, stuttering and unable to finish a sentence.
Bai Zheng asked with a smile, "Really what?"
Mo Li nodded vigorously. "It's extremely delicious!"
After Mo Li finally caught his breath, Bai Zheng composed herself.
Now that the issue of the wine was settled, the next thing to do was figure out how to let Zhou Yuanning know about this wine and use it to draw him out.
Qinghe County was neither too big nor too small, and it was mostly mountainous. It wouldn't be easy to spread the news of the red plum wine to every corner of Qinghe County and into everyone's ears within just five days.
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng frowned tightly and asked in a low voice, "Is one day by carriage enough to get from Qinghe County to Yongding?"
"If riding a horse, it would take only four hours. But if by carriage, it would take at least six hours," Mo Li said, looking at the large vats full of wine in the yard with a troubled expression on his face.
"If we also need to carry all this wine, it will probably take at least a day and a night."
Bai Zheng put down the ladle, walked straight to a sealed large vat, sat down cross - legged, and leaned against the edge of the vat.
The coolness of the vat seeped through her thin spring shirt onto her back, but she didn't seem to notice. She simply propped her chin on one hand and lowered her eyes in deep thought.
Mo Li didn't dare to interrupt and stood silently to one side.
The soft spring sun shone in the yard. Under Bai Zheng's scattered fringe, there were faintly glistening beads of sweat sliding down her smooth and gentle cheeks.
Before long, Mo Li saw her long eyelashes suddenly flutter, and her eyes lit up.
"Let's take all this wine with us," Bai Zheng clapped her hands. "You go and prepare the carriages, and get me some more ropes. We'll set off tonight!"
Mo Li was slightly taken aback. He clearly wasn't quite used to a woman being so decisive.
He looked at the wine vats all over the yard and immediately realized what Bai Zheng's order meant. So he asked carefully, "Do you need me to prepare some soft things like cotton wadding and quilts?"
Everyone knew that transporting so many wine vats from Yongding to Qinghe County would be a huge project.
The carriage would bump along the mountain roads all the way. If there weren't any soft things to protect the vats, once they hit something and broke, all their efforts would be in vain.
Bai Zheng clearly knew what Mo Li was worried about. She smiled slightly. "No need. I have my own plan. Please get the carriages ready as soon as possible."
Having been by Feng Linyuan's side for a long time, Mo Li was used to firmly following his master's orders. Now hearing Bai Zheng say this, he quickly replied, "Yes."
Bai Zheng only felt a blur in front of her eyes. By the time she stood up completely, the person in front of her had disappeared.
Sure enough, he was trained by Feng Linyuan.
Bai Zheng smiled faintly, called the long - term workers on the estate, and began to make preparations.
On the other side, Mo Li also acted quickly. Before long, one spacious carriage after another galloped into the estate.
When Mo Li drove a simply - decorated carriage into the estate, he saw Bai Zheng working with the long - term workers to load one dark - brown bag after another onto the carriages.
"What's this?" Mo Li jumped off the carriage and quickly stepped forward to take over the work from Bai Zheng, helping to carry the bags while asking.
He didn't even realize that he, who was usually taciturn, had become like a curious child since he had been by Bai Zheng's side. He found everything new and asked about everything he saw.
"Wine skins," Bai Zheng replied, taking the opportunity to wipe the sweat off her forehead when Mo Li took over her work.
"Wine skins?" Mo Li looked at the large bags in shock.
There were indeed wine skins in this era, but they were generally very small and only used by travelers on the road to replenish water.
Mo Li had seen them before, and neither the shape nor the size of those wine skins was similar to the things he was carrying in his hands.
This was understandable for Mo Li. When Bai Zheng first thought about opening a wine shop, she had already studied the containers for holding wine in this era. They were either pottery or large vats, and none of them were portable or suitable for transportation.
Bai Zheng would have liked to use plastic bottles, but unfortunately, making plastic required extracting ethylene from petroleum as the basic material.
She had no intention of expending so much manpower and resources to dig for petroleum at present.
So she had to find another way and choose the most feasible and cost - effective option - modifying the wine skins.
A large bag was sewn from a whole piece of cowhide and sealed with a wooden stopper. It was both portable and not afraid of bumps during transportation.
Although Mo Li didn't show it on his face, deep in his heart, he had a sense of admiration for this future mistress of his that was no less than his admiration for Feng Linyuan.
He suddenly understood a bit why his master valued this woman so much.
She was like a mountain full of endless treasures, always able to surprise people unexpectedly.
As the sun was setting in the west, all the wine in the yard had finally been poured into the wine skins and neatly placed on the carriages. Bai Zheng dusted off the ash on her clothes and nodded in satisfaction. "Let's set off."
"Miss Bai, I've asked the brothers from Tianyi Pavilion to lead the way. Please take this carriage from the Marquis's Mansion," Mo Li said quickly.
Bai Zheng's gaze swept over the simply - decorated carriage. She knew that since Mo Li had specially found this carriage for her, it must be filled with soft cushions and very comfortable.
However, thinking of what Mo Li had said earlier, that it would take more than two hours longer by carriage than by horse, Bai Zheng waved her hand and said three words.
"I won't take it."