Chapter 269: With Wine, All Is Well
The gate of Aunt Yang Liu’s house was wide open. Aunt Yang Liu sat in the courtyard mending clothes, while the team leader was crouched by a grindstone, sharpening a knife. Beside him were scattered tools — a pair of scissors, a hoe, and others.
Last year, all of Aunt Yang Liu’s children had gotten married and moved out to build their own homes. Now, only Aunt Yang Liu and the team leader lived here — just the two of them.
That made it convenient for Ning Xiyue to come over for a drink — only three people at the table, no interruptions, easy to talk business afterward.
Ning Xiyue poked her head through the doorway, smiling brightly into the courtyard.
“Auntie, guess what good stuff I brought you today!”
She shook the bamboo wine flask and the lunchboxes in her hands, then greeted the team leader, “Hello, Captain!”
“Xiyue! Come in, come in!” Aunt Yang Liu looked up, her eyes lighting up as she waved warmly. Seeing what Ning carried, she immediately thought of their previous conversations — and already had a guess. “I think I know what that is! Quick, come show me!”
Ning Xiyue stepped into the courtyard and held the bamboo wine flask up to Aunt Yang Liu’s nose. “Auntie, smell this.”
“Alright, let me have a sniff.”
Aunt Yang Liu twisted the cap slightly open, and even before it was fully removed, a familiar aroma drifted out. Her face instantly lit up with surprise and delight. “This is the glutinous rice wine brewed by Old Zhang, isn’t it?”
“Let me smell!” The team leader’s eyes brightened. He set down the kitchen knife he had been sharpening and walked over in a few quick steps. Taking the flask from Aunt Yang Liu, he opened the lid fully and looked inside — the wine was golden and clear. After a deep sniff, he nodded. “Yes, this is indeed brewed by Old Zhang himself.”
Zhang Jianguo’s grandfather, with age catching up to him, rarely brewed wine personally anymore. He usually just helped stoke the fire while his son did the work.
This batch of yellow rice wine, however, was an exception — made entirely by Old Zhang himself, from start to finish, as a favor through Ning Xiyue’s connection with Zhang Jianguo.
Old Zhang was the true master craftsman of the family, though most of the villagers only ever drank the wine made by his son.
Hearing that this was the old master’s brew, Aunt Yang Liu grew even more excited. She snatched the bamboo flask from the captain’s hands, held it to her chest like a treasure, and pulled Ning Xiyue by the hand toward the house.
“Xiyue, come on! Let’s go inside and have a good drink together!”
The team leader looked down at his now-empty hands, then at his wife hurrying off with Xiyue, and sighed with a helpless little smile.
“With wine, all is well,” he murmured.
Ning Xiyue turned and called out cheerfully, “Uncle Dawei, I fried some peanuts for you too! Don’t forget to come eat!”
She certainly hadn’t forgotten her real purpose today — the team leader absolutely couldn’t be left out. Whatever happened, he had to join them.
“Alright,” the team leader replied, still eyeing the flask longingly. He gestured toward the tools beside the grindstone. “You two go ahead first, I’ll tidy up here and join you.”
“Don’t mind him,” Aunt Yang Liu whispered to Xiyue with a knowing smile. “He acts calm, but he’s dying to drink. Old Zhang hasn’t brewed himself in over a year or two — the moment your uncle smelled that wine, his heart must’ve itched. Thanks to you, he’ll get to taste this rare glutinous rice wine again. He’s probably grinning inside already.”
Aunt Yang Liu herself was glowing with joy. Especially since it was Xiyue — the child she was so fond of — who had brought the wine to share with her.
Though life was better now than before, every household still had elders and children to care for. The small harvest of glutinous rice each year was either saved for the young ones or sold for ration coupons. It had been ages since she’d last had glutinous rice wine — much less one brewed by Old Zhang himself. To drink it today, she thought, her life had no more regrets.
When Ning Xiyue saw tears glistening faintly in Aunt Yang Liu’s smiling eyes, she was momentarily stunned.
Moved to tears — by wine! This auntie truly loved her drink. Xiyue couldn’t help but admire her passion.
“Auntie,” she said warmly, “let’s take our time today. I brought two jin of yellow rice wine — plenty to share. In these boxes, one has peanuts, and the other has fermented lees poached eggs. Let’s start with that to whet our appetites before drinking.”
As she spoke, she set the lunchboxes on the table, opening the one filled with peanuts first, then the one with the poached eggs in fermented lees.
A rich aroma immediately filled the air, making Aunt Yang Liu swallow hard.
“Smells amazing! You sit — I’ll get the cups and bowls!”
She quickly cleared the table, then hurried to the kitchen.
But instead of fetching tableware right away, she picked up a kitchen knife, walked to the stove, and took down a piece of dark, smoke-cured pig’s ear hanging above the hearth. She sliced off a chunk, and just as her husband walked in, she tossed it to him.
“Wash this pig ear, boil it, and bring it in for drinking snacks,” she ordered briskly.
Then, washing her hands, she grabbed a ladle, three pairs of chopsticks, three bowls, and three small wine cups, and rushed back into the main hall.
“I’m back!”
Ning Xiyue was already serving — she ladled one egg and some of the fermented soup into each bowl. The large lunchbox was just enough for three small servings.
“Auntie, try it while it’s hot. I made it with the lees left from brewing this very wine — it’s really nourishing.”
“Alright, I’ll try! It smells delicious — I can tell it’s good just from the scent.”
Smiling broadly, Aunt Yang Liu took a sip of the soup and instantly brightened. “Delicious! You’ve got real skill — you must’ve added a lot of brown sugar, huh?”
Ning Xiyue smiled and nodded, picking up the wine cups. She poured wine for all three of them.
Then she clinked glasses with Aunt Yang Liu and took a sip.
“Ahh—this taste! I’ve missed it for so long. It’s wonderful!”
Aunt Yang Liu let out a long, satisfied sigh after swallowing.
The wine cups were small — one sip per cup. Ning Xiyue didn’t just take a light sip but drank the whole thing in one go. The pale golden wine was clear and bright. Upon entering her mouth, it was sweet yet rich, mellow and aromatic. After swallowing, it left a lingering warmth spreading all the way to her stomach — fragrant, smooth, and endlessly pleasant.
Compared to the famous modern cocktails and fruit wines, Ning Xiyue found she much preferred this glutinous rice wine. It didn’t make her uncomfortable — it even soothed her stomach.
“Xiyue, come on, another round!” Aunt Yang Liu said happily, raising her cup again.
“Alright!”
The two of them drank and chatted with cheerful energy, their laughter filling the hall.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Captain Zhang Dawei caught whiffs of that sweet, mellow aroma drifting his way. He sped up his work immediately.
He lifted the pot lid, poked the meat with his chopsticks — nearly done. He turned the pig ear over, covered the pot again, and pulled some of the firewood out to let the flames die down to embers. Then he sealed the stove hole with a stone slab, leaving just a small gap for air. Dusting off his hands, he hurried toward the hall.
The smell from inside was far too tempting — his craving for wine had already been lit aflame. He couldn’t wait a moment longer.
