“Everyone, do not underestimate this wine jar. This jar is an ancient Han dynasty pottery. To match the antiquity of this wine, I spent a great deal of money to acquire it, and it is brought out specifically for this competition.”

William Thompson’s words indeed quieted all the discussions. Everyone present was a high-ranking official or noble, and the items they usually used were exquisite and elegant. Such earthenware was rarely seen in daily life, so they couldn’t help but believe it a little.

Samuel Harris smiled slightly, cleared his throat, and said loudly to the crowd, “Since even the wine jar is an antique from the Han dynasty, I believe the wine inside must be extraordinary as well. After tasting this final wine, the results for this year should be decided.”

An attendant poured the wine into the special competition wine pot and filled the jade cups in front of the ten judges. The overflowing aroma of the wine drew exclamations of praise from those nearby.

Finally, a cup was poured for the plump old man as well. He half-opened his swollen eyes, glanced at the earthen jar, let out a cold snort, and closed his eyes again.

Before long, the final opinions of the ten judges were submitted. Samuel Harris tallied them, then respectfully placed the results before the red-nosed elder. The old man glanced at the top, looked up at William Thompson in disbelief, picked up the wine cup and tasted it carefully. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he leaned over to whisper a few words to Samuel Harris.

“Everyone! The last wine has been tasted, and the judges’ results are in. Now, let me announce: the second and third place winners of this year’s competition are the same as last year. Second place goes to Meishou Wine from Fengle Restaurant; third place is Tianchun Wine, recommended by the palace.” Seeing that no one spoke and everyone’s eyes were filled with anticipation, knowing they were all waiting for the announcement of the champion, he couldn’t help but announce with some pride:

“After unanimous selection by the ten judges, the champion of this year’s wine competition is: the last entry, the new product ‘Jinsi Yin’!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall erupted in an uproar. No one had expected that the champion this year would be an unknown new wine, and what’s more, it was brewed by two young men. William Thompson and Ethan Foster both shed tears of excitement at the same time. William Thompson could no longer contain his excitement. He strode forward, lifted the wine jar, and smashed it to the ground. A strange fragrance of wine instantly filled the entire hall, causing a burst of exclamations from the crowd, unsure whether they were intoxicated by the fine wine or regretting the loss of the Han dynasty pottery.

“You two young gentlemen, please come with me!” After the competition, William Thompson and his companion finally managed to escape the crowd of admirers, signed a few agency contracts at random, and followed Samuel Harris into the inner chamber. Inside sat a man—it was the plump old man with the red, pockmarked nose.

“Let me introduce you. This is the leader of our Great Song Wine Merchants’ Guild, His Majesty the Emperor’s own uncle—Duke Charles.”

Chapter 9: First Encounter with Sophia Carter

Half a month later, on the busiest street in Lin’an, a new wine shop, ‘Jinsi Lou’, officially opened for business. The legendary story of the new star ‘Jinsi Yin’ winning the championship had already spread throughout the city, becoming a hot topic among both the powerful and the common folk. On the first day of opening, the first jar of ‘Jinsi Yin’, numbered ‘Jia Yi’, was bought by Hele Restaurant in a fierce auction for five hundred strings of cash. Soon, the other three traditional wines from Jinsi Lou—‘Hanbi Wine’, ‘Ziqiong Wine’, and ‘Yangguan Wine’—also began to be supplied to the market.

On this day, it was Duke’s fiftieth birthday. Early in the morning, William Thompson loaded three jars of ‘Jinsi Yin’ onto a carriage. Duke was now also one of the owners of Jinsi Lou, and William Thompson, valuing his status as the leader of the wine merchants’ guild, had given him a twenty percent share.

Duke’s residence was not far from Jinsi Lou. Because the prince’s residence was distributing porridge today, the streets nearby were already crowded with beggars waiting to receive it. William Thompson’s carriage barely made its way through the crowd and stopped at the side gate of the residence, where two young servants were already setting up a porridge stall. Seeing William Thompson struggling, they helped him carry the wine into the kitchen.

Before even entering, they heard a burst of angry scolding from the kitchen:

“You blockheads! Do you even realize who’s coming today? This ‘Crystal Honey Pork’, this ‘Chicken Broth Eggplant’, and these, these—let me tell you, ordinary dishes just won’t do! Throw them all out and redo them, follow the menu from the last time His Majesty visited! This is already the second time. If you make another mistake, I’ll throw you all out of the residence!”

“But Steward Harris, both slop buckets are already full, there’s nowhere left to dump it!” a chef said nervously.

The steward became even more furious at these words.

“What! You need to ask me about such a trivial matter? Where is Seventh Brother Miller?”

“He went to the front yard.”

“He must be off looking for his sweetheart again. Go call him back immediately! Dock his pay for a month first.”

At this moment, a young servant came in to report, “Jinsi Lou has delivered the wine.”

The steward came out, his triangular eyes glancing at William Thompson, and asked:

“Why didn’t Ethan Foster come? Why did Master Thompson come to deliver the wine himself?”

“Xiao Yi is ill today, so I came to deliver the wine.”

Suddenly, a commotion came from the side gate, and someone ran in to report, “Steward Harris, a crowd of beggars has surged in outside and blocked the gate.”

“Hurry! Hurry! Close the gate! The prince is really something—there are so many beggars in the world, how can he feed them all? Go close the gate quickly!”