Chapter Fifty: Decisiveness

Qin Hao struggled with the idea for a long time, but in the end, he did not do it.

He was afraid of being beaten.

Besides, he could not leave the Wind and Moon Pavilion just yet.

For the sake of his plans, Qin Hao stayed up all night tutoring Mei'er and Xue'er.

Given how wildly popular the famous wine White Creek currently was, Qin Hao had to raise its profile once more before the excitement died down.

According to the story he had invented, there was only a limited amount of White Creek in existence.

So he needed to create another limited-release wine.

Two limited-release wines would be enough to make the name truly famous.

After that, any wine he sold would become a bestseller on reputation alone.

Bai Chenxi had also specifically arranged for Mei'er and Xue'er to remain at Qin Hao's side and assist him in everything.

At the top of the Wind and Moon Pavilion, Bai Chenxi hesitated before reporting Qin Hao's proposed cooperation to the true power behind the establishment.

She was authorized to use one hundred thousand taels of silver.

However, the matter also involved information about Qin Hao, and that information was highly unusual. It had to be reported.

This literary genius, Qin Hao, who had suddenly broken away from the Qin family and risen to prominence with such fanfare, was actually a business genius as well.

It was simply unbelievable.

Fortunately, Qin Hao belonged to the Grand Princess. Otherwise, Bai Chenxi would certainly have done everything in her power to win him over.

Most importantly, Qin Hao was not interested in women.

Although he had won Xue'er and Mei'er's hearts, he had not taken either of their bodies.

Otherwise, even if she had to offer him the eight great courtesans—Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum—winning him over would still have been worthwhile.

Courtesans could always be trained again.

But a business genius like Qin Hao was not easy to encounter a second time.

Qin Hao, of course, had no idea what Bai Chenxi was thinking.

If he had, he would have been the first to leap out and say, “You really do have a sharp eye. Gambling, drugs, and I are sworn enemies.”

Half an hour later, the guests who had already bought a jug of wine began purchasing more.

How could anyone ever drink enough of such immortal nectar?

Another twenty-six jugs were sold in no time.

However, this time Qin Hao only earned half the purchase price from the twenty-six jugs sold.

Since he was going to cooperate with the Wind and Moon Pavilion anyway, Qin Hao did not care about such a small profit.

After all, Bai Chenxi had to see the benefits first before she would be motivated to pay him, right?

What Qin Hao did not know was that Bai Chenxi, upstairs, was completely stunned.

She had originally thought that it would take at least two or three days to see any results.

But when she discovered that White Creek had sold another twenty-six jugs in just one hour, she could no longer sit still.

Such a repurchase rate was enough to prove how excellent White Creek's reputation was in the market.

She immediately sent someone to inquire about the details.

When she learned what Qin Hao had done, she was utterly astonished.

The famous wine White Creek had actually been tied to Xue'er.

It would only be sold when Xue'er agreed to host a tea gathering.

In other words, after drinking White Creek tonight, one might not be able to get another cup tomorrow.

And to the guests of the Wind and Moon Pavilion, how could anyone let such fine wine pass them by?

Thus, the wealthy patrons present hurried to buy another jug.

Bai Chenxi could not resist and took a sip herself.

She fell silent at once, intoxicated by its fragrance.

Indeed, the reason White Creek could become famous was that its quality was truly exceptional.

It was more than heavenly nectar and ambrosia. It was wine fit for the immortals of the Jade Pool.

Bai Chenxi could not help indulging in two more cups. Only after she had become slightly tipsy did she stop.

And in that short while, quite a few more jugs of White Creek were sold.

Once the guests had either stayed the night or departed, the final tally showed that more than seventy jugs had been sold.

This time, Bai Chenxi truly could not sit still.

She summoned Qin Hao again to discuss their cooperation.

After listening to Qin Hao explain his plans for the next three days, she exhaled deeply.

She no longer hesitated. She took out one hundred thousand taels in banknotes and immediately signed a contract with Qin Hao.

Qin Hao grinned. “Sister Chenxi, you have made a wise decision.”

After Qin Hao left, the maid beside Bai Chenxi could not help asking, “Sister, you really gave him one hundred thousand taels just like that?”

“Wasn’t that a little too hasty?”

Bai Chenxi smiled gently. “You don’t understand. After tonight, people seeking the source of White Creek will come one after another.”

“By then, Qin Hao will have more than just me as a business partner.”

“What if someone offers him more than we do?”

The maid uttered an acknowledging sound, but she still did not understand.

Was the famous wine White Creek really worth that much?

Bai Chenxi glanced at her. “Go and spread the word discreetly. Say that someone can provide the source of the famous wine White Creek, but will charge one thousand taels for the information.”

“The information should simply tell them to come to me. Then they will be able to obtain White Creek.”

“Yes, Sister.”

The maid finished speaking and respectfully withdrew.

When the sky began to lighten, the group left the Wind and Moon Pavilion.

Qin Hao, who had spent the entire night carrying out his plan, was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.

Ma Yingze and Zhao Guangnian, however, remained incredibly excited.

They kept muttering, “One hundred and twenty thousand! One hundred and twenty thousand!”

Qin Hao was speechless. “If the two of you aren’t sleepy, go buy some more wine and distiller’s grain.”

“At this rate, our stock won’t even last three days.”

“No problem. Leave it to me!” Ma Yingze agreed at once.

“Don’t worry. With the two of us handling it, there’ll be no problem.” Zhao Guangnian also readily agreed.

Qin Hao then returned to the Grand Princess’s residence.

He had no idea that every one of his actions had been watched.

At the Earl of Kaiyang’s residence, Yang Suxin was thrilled after hearing the report.

As expected, Qin Hao was selling wine.

And it was such excellent wine that he had sold more than ten thousand taels in a single night.

Yang Suxin was accustomed to enormous sums of money, yet even her breathing quickened.

But the most important fact was that Qin Hao was brewing wine.

Yes.

Yang Suxin did not believe any nonsense about a Wine Immortal.

If a Wine Immortal truly existed, why had Qin Hao bought so many wine jars?

He was obviously brewing the wine himself.

At last, she had caught Qin Hao by the handle.

She wondered whether she should report him to the authorities immediately and have him condemned to death.

After a moment's hesitation, she decided that she could not make the report herself, lest anyone notice something suspicious.

She would have to devise another plan.

But this time, Qin Hao was doomed to die.

He was brewing and selling wine, violating the prohibition on alcohol. Qin Hao would never be able to stir up any great trouble again.

...

The Grand Princess's residence.

As luck would have it, Qin Hao encountered Xiao Zhao as soon as he returned.

“Young Master Qin,” Xiao Zhao greeted him politely.

After witnessing Qin Hao's true abilities, Xiao Zhao no longer dared to look down on him in the slightest.

Exhausted, Qin Hao said, “Xiao Zhao, tell Li Qingyao to find a place. I want to build a distillery.”

Xiao Zhao stared at him in astonishment, unable to answer.

Although she had grown fairly accustomed to Qin Hao's audacity, the boldness of directly ordering the Grand Princess around was still too much for her to accept.

Before she could say anything, however, Qin Hao was already unable to resist his drowsiness. He rushed into his room and went straight to sleep.

With no other choice, Xiao Zhao told Li Qingyao what had happened.

Li Qingyao immediately grew angry and rose to her feet. “Come on. I want to see why he is so exhausted after staying out all night.”

“Could it be that he had too much fun with the courtesans?”

“And now he even dares to order me around. He is taking less and less account of me, the princess!”

Li Qingyao immediately strode toward Qin Hao's room.

When she pushed open the door, she heard Qin Hao's snores.

Li Qingyao grew even angrier.

She had sent him out to earn money. What had he done all night to become this exhausted?

However, as soon as she entered the room, she saw a sentence written on the white paper lying on the table:

“Before waking me, look inside the box.”

The ink was still wet, so Li Qingyao knew that Qin Hao had written it only moments ago.

What did this mean? Had Qin Hao known she was coming?

And he still dared to be so arrogant?

Yet she did not wake him. Instead, curiosity overcame her, and she opened the box on the table.

Inside was another sheet of paper, bearing the words:

“Look only. Do not take anything. Find a place quickly. I want to build a distillery.”

After reading it, Li Qingyao picked up the paper.

In an instant, her eyes widened.

Inside the box lay more than a dozen neatly arranged banknotes, each with a denomination of ten thousand taels.

Unable to resist, Li Qingyao picked them up and counted them.

Twelve bills!

That amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver.

Xiao Zhao let out a startled cry beside her, then hurriedly covered her mouth. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

One hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver!

Young Master Qin had been gone for only one night, yet he had actually returned with one hundred and twenty thousand taels!

How had he managed it?

He was incredible!