Chapter 159: Rare Snake Wine

Aside from Lei Bang, several junior officials from the town also chimed in to say that this stuff was fantastic, and that it would be even better if they could get some snake wine. People in the mountains loved brewing wine, and the mountains were rich in medicinal herbs; the wine they brewed themselves was far superior in quality to anything bought in stores.

"We actually do have snake wine. The young man is skilled at raising snakes, and his family has passed down the recipe for brewing the wine through generations. I've been to check it out myself—he has seven or eight kinds of snake wine. If you're interested, I can have him come over and talk with you."

This wine did not belong to the Zhang family, and they couldn't possibly buy that much of it just to give away as gifts. Besides, while these individuals did not hold very high official ranks, interpersonal connections were valued much more in small communities. If that young man could build a good relationship with them, whether it was securing a loan or finding sales channels, it would undoubtedly be much better than him blindly fumbling around on his own.

The distance from Linshan Village to Zhangjia Village was not short, but it wasn't far to Second Sister Zhang’s agritainment resort. Upon receiving Second Sister's call, the young snake farmer thought it over, promptly borrowed a vehicle, and brought over three or four bottles of his homemade snake wine. The bottles were not large, each holding slightly less than three to four catties. Judging by the color of the wine and the condition of the snakes inside, they were aged liquors that had been steeping for a year or two.

The young man brought two different methods of preparation and two distinct types of snake wine.

The first was wine brewed with the red-banded watersnake. This type was further divided into two methods: fresh-steeping, where the snake was killed, thoroughly washed, and sterilized before being immersed in the liquor; and dry-steeping, which required the snake to be processed into dried snake meat first and then submerged in the alcohol. Most of the snakes used for brewing materials sold in traditional medicine shops were processed dried snakes.

The other two varieties were Three-Snake Wine and Tortoise-Snake Wine. True to their names, the former was brewed using the banded krait, the cobra, and the Chinese rat snake, while the latter combined a golden tortoise and a cobra with various medicinal herbs. Both of these utilized dried snakes. The medicinal ingredients for the latter were expensive, and finished products were rarely seen on the open market. Most people brewed it exclusively for their own consumption, treating it as a deeply cherished, special reserve.

The Three-Snake Health Wine possessed the effects of dispelling wind, promoting blood circulation, dredging meridians, and strengthening tendons and bones, and could treat rheumatism, neuralgia, hemiplegia, and other ailments. Meanwhile, the Tortoise-Snake Wine nourished Yin and replenished the kidneys, dispelled rheumatism, strengthened tendons and bones, and promoted longevity. It was frequently used in dietary therapy for conditions such as insufficient liver and kidney function and the invasion of rheumatic afflictions.

Most people in the small town had heard the reputations of these two wines, though very few had ever tasted authentic snake wine. The maternal family of the young man from Linshan Village had been experts in catching snakes and brewing wine since ancient times, and after marriage, his mother brought this craftsmanship to her husband's family, ultimately passing it down without reservation to her son.

"I've heard of this. Isn't your mother known as Snake Aunt?" Sister Jia possessed an exceptionally vast network of contacts and had earned the nickname 'Know-It-All'. "We had a temporary worker at our station who went to your village to assist with inspections last time and accidentally got bitten by a snake. It was your mother who stepped in and cured them."

The incident Sister Jia mentioned had happened three years ago, back before the young man had returned home to raise snakes, so he wasn't entirely clear on the details. However, his mother's surname was She, and she was indeed skilled in treating poisonous snake bites and similar conditions. The younger villagers addressed her respectfully as Granny She, while the elders and her peers affectionately called her Snake Aunt.

Having shared a couple of drinks with everyone here, the group of grown men practically wanted to become sworn brothers with him on the spot. Lei Bang, in particular, didn't even let the young man open the bottle of Tortoise-Snake Wine, directly claiming the entire thing for himself.

Even if the others had wanted a taste, they knew the wine was of considerable value and felt it improper to take such advantage. While drinking some ordinary snake wine was one thing, this Tortoise-Snake Wine—according to Lei Bang—was easily worth a hundred per sip.

The purchasing power of a hundred yuan at that time was still quite strong, meaning a three-to-four-catty bottle was likely worth tens of thousands. If it were aged even longer, Lei Bang declared that anything under a hundred thousand yuan wouldn't even be open for discussion.

He had never expected that simply supplying a bit of snake meat to Second Sister Zhang would open up such an unexpected sales channel for him. The young man beamed from ear to ear, rubbing his hands together, completely at a loss for how to express his gratitude to Second Sister Zhang.

"Don't mention it. We're all fellow villagers and neighbors. Just make sure you don't cut off my supply once you make it big," Second Sister said heartily, unaccustomed to fussing over trifles. She was genuinely thrilled that the young man had found an outlet to continue his snake-farming enterprise, as it meant her source of snake meat would remain secure.

To make snake wine, the raw material—snakes—was not a problem, and the medicinal herbs could be purchased at pharmacies, but the quality of the liquor itself also had to meet strict standards. In the past, their village had its own distilleries, but their production capacity was eventually too small, causing them to be phased out by the market. Nowadays, all the liquor was sourced from the winery in the town; not only was it expensive, but there was also no guarantee it was genuine grain-brewed alcohol.

"That's easy to handle. Just leave it to me, and I'll get it sorted out for you. There's a winery in the neighboring town with a modest production capacity, but their quality is reliable. I'll pull some strings for you, and you can order your wine directly from them. I can't promise how much cheaper it will be, but at least we can guarantee it's authentic grain liquor." A junior official from the town had a wife whose family was from the neighboring town, so he was quite familiar with the situation there. Moreover, grassroots officials constantly shared resources—you never knew when someone might get promoted, and having more friends meant having more paths open to you.

With the source of the liquor settled and the snakes raised by his own family, the orders he had received today already exceeded what he had earned in the entirety of last year—to say nothing of the bottle of Tortoise-Snake Wine, for which Lei Bang had immediately asked for his account details, promising to wire the money the moment he returned. The young man felt completely at ease; after all, Lei Bang’s lavish generosity was legendary among the surrounding villages, and everyone had envied Zhangjia Village for managing to hook such a distinguished benefactor. He never imagined he would share in that good fortune today.

After the meal, the people from the town headed straight back, while Zhou Hao and Lei Bang stayed behind to spend the night at the agritainment resort.

The young snake farmer was named Lin. As soon as the meal ended, he hurried back to check on his snakes and, along the way, share the joyous news with his elderly parents.

"This kid is very reliable. I've inspected it—the medicinal herbs and the tortoise and snake have been aged for a good number of years, and the liquor has been stored for two or three. Here, I'll pour you a small cup, and the two of us brothers can have a first taste."

Lei Bang certainly wasn't going to drink this bottle himself; he intended to take it back as a gift for the old man at home. The medicinal potency of this wine was formidable, and drinking it straight was far too fierce. It needed to be diluted with some cooled boiled water to be palatable, and the old man's security guard would naturally find an expert to verify the proper ratio. Furthermore, the snake wine had to be tested in a laboratory beforehand to ensure it was completely non-toxic before the old man could be allowed to taste it.

After merely touching it to his lips, Zhou Hao, whose alcohol tolerance was inferior to Lei Bang's, already felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He dared not drink any more of the remaining wine, leaving it entirely to Lei Bang's benefit.

"Are you really getting serious with Chen Xin?" Sipping the fine liquor and nibbling on appetizers while gossiping on the side—this comfortable lifestyle caused Lei Bang to temporarily shed his usual dignified persona. Dressed in a tank top and shorts, he chatted with Zhou Hao out on the balcony.

"I do have that intention. We're taking it step by step for now; I'm still not certain if Xiao Xin will say yes."

Lei Bang popped a few peanuts into his mouth, looking somewhat concerned: "Have you told her about your family's situation? That eldest maternal aunt of yours is no good. Don't let her seize the opportunity to torment Xiao Xin. If she ends up refusing to be with you because of that, don't come crying to me."

"Rest assured, I haven't told them yet. Only my grandfather knows a little bit." Thinking of this, Zhou Hao felt a wave of annoyance. He wanted to completely break ties with his eldest maternal aunt, yet felt it would somewhat hurt his eldest uncle's pride, leaving him caught in a dilemma.