Chapter 48: Is This Brewing Method Real or Fake?

Standing beside the podium, Xu Shuangyi was frozen in place after hearing Xu Mu's words.

What did Xu Mu just say? He actually wanted to package and sell the Drunken Cloud Pavilion and the Xu Family Winery? He even wanted to auction off the Xu Family's brewing technique along with them?

Didn't Xu Mu know that the Xu Family's brewing technique was their greatest asset?

The Xu family had been brewing wine for generations, and the recipe for Huangteng Wine, in particular, was improved by her adoptive father in his youth.

For the Xu family, the brewing method of Huangteng Wine was a business with boundless profits.

It would be one thing if Xu Mu wanted to sell the Drunken Cloud Pavilion and the Xu Family Winery, but how could he sell the brewing technique as well?

Xu Shuangyi finally understood why Xu Mu had her gather these items.

He was trying to sabotage his own father!

If her adoptive father found out that Xu Mu was going to sell the Xu Family's brewing technique, wouldn't he immediately disown Xu Mu and drive him out of the house?

Unable to hold back any longer, Xu Shuangyi stepped up onto the high platform and pulled Xu Mu aside.

"Xu Mu, do you know what you're doing?!" Xu Shuangyi asked through clenched teeth in a low voice.

"I know."

"Do you know what the brewing technique means to the Xu family?"

"I know."

"Then you still dare to sell it? Once this brewing technique is sold, the Xu family will have a new competitor in the future! It will be difficult for the Xu family to monopolize Huangteng Wine then," Xu Shuangyi said anxiously.

"I know."

"You know and you still do this? Are you out of your mind?"

Was Xu Mu showing any trace of being out of his mind?

He simply wanted to stick a knife in that old bastard from a thousand miles away.

As for whether the old bastard would spit blood from anger, Xu Mu couldn't care less.

"The Drunken Cloud Pavilion and the winery have long been taken over by the people sitting down there. What's the point of keeping them?" Xu Mu said.

"Selling just the Drunken Cloud Pavilion and the winery would be fine, but how can you sell the brewing technique? Aren't you killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?" Xu Shuangyi said urgently.

"How much is it worth to sell just the pavilion and the winery? It only becomes valuable when bundled with the brewing technique. This is called bundled sales, do you understand?" Xu Mu said.

So this was what Xu Mu meant when he said he was going to pull off something big.

"If you do this, adoptive father will punish you!"

"Just tell me if what I said makes sense."

"Your adoptive father asked you to take charge of the Liangzhou industries, and this is how you take charge of them?"

Xu Mu twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Since the industries are under my management, I have the final say. Without gathering a bit more capital, how can I afford to support a money-guzzling beast like you?" Xu Mu retorted ungraciously.

"But you..."

"Alright, enough nonsense. I told you when you came: I have the final say in business matters. Just watch from the side."

Although the Liangzhou industries had been infiltrated to the point of resembling a sieve, didn't Xu Mu have the means to reclaim them?

At this moment, Xu Shuangyi suddenly thought of how Xu Mu had handled the Brocade Splendor Pavilion.

After Xu Mu cleared out the inventory of the Brocade Splendor Pavilion, he never mentioned running it again, and now the pavilion was still left vacant.

Now Xu Mu was going to package and sell the taverns and wineries, which certainly matched his style of action.

Selling off all the industries would undoubtedly earn him a lot of money.

But what about afterwards? How would he make money continuously?

Meanwhile, down below the stage.

The crowd remained stunned for a long time, and then began to whisper among themselves.

"Did I hear wrong? Xu Mu said he wants to sell the brewing technique for Huangteng Wine?"

"Huangteng Wine is a royal tribute wine, a business with endless profits! Is he crazy to do this?"

"He must be driven to a desperate corner, which is why he's resorting to this move, right?"

"The brewing technique of Huangteng Wine is wonderful, but it's also a hot potato. That is the Xu family's strictly guarded secret technique, who would dare to take it?"

"What is there to fear? Since Xu Mu dares to sell it, we dare to buy it!"

"Buy my foot! Buying the tavern and winery is not a big problem, but adding the brewing technique changes the price entirely."

...

Zhao Zhipeng looked at the box placed on the desk, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

If the Zhao family could master the brewing technique of Huangteng Wine, wouldn't they be able to soar to the skies in the future and rank among the top-tier aristocratic clans of the Great Xia?

Buying the brewing technique might offend the Xu family.

But the Xu family had long since moved their base to the capital; could they possibly take back the brewing technique?

They wouldn't dare to steal the Xu family's brewing technique, but wouldn't they dare to buy it?

Zhao Zhipeng was just waiting for Xu Mu to name his price. As long as the price was within an acceptable range, he would definitely buy it.

At that time, his Zhao family would surely become the core of the Liangzhou gentry.

"Everyone, the commodities sold by the Xu family today will be sold through a bidding process. As the name implies, the highest bidder wins," Xu Mu proclaimed loudly.

"Young Master Xu, what qualifications do you have to sell the Xu family's assets? Especially the brewing technique of Huangteng Wine, can you really make that decision?" someone asked aloud.

Xu Mu smiled faintly.

"Since you don't believe that I, Xu Mu, can make this decision, let Xu Shuangyi express her stance."

Xu Mu gave Xu Shuangyi a meaningful look.

Xu Shuangyi walked up to Xu Mu, her expression deeply conflicted.

She thought for a long time, but still felt that the brewing technique should not be sold.

"Hurry up and speak, stop hesitating like a mother-in-law. They don't believe me, they believe you," Xu Mu urged in a low voice.

Xu Shuangyi truly did not want to stab her adoptive father in the back, but considering that Xu Mu had been generally quite good to her, she found herself saying under some strange impulse:

"Everything Xu Mu said is true. Today, the Xu family is publicly and openly selling the taverns, wineries, and the brewing technique. With all of you dignitaries present to witness, if this were a falsehood, wouldn't I be destroying the Xu family's reputation with my own hands?"

With these words from Xu Shuangyi, the crowd finally believed what Xu Mu had said.

From this, they could also tell that Xu Mu must hold a rather special status within the Xu family.

Either Xu Mu was a relative of the Xu family, or he was a member of the Xu family himself.

Since it was a public sale, everyone felt more assured in their hearts.

If they truly obtained the Xu family's brewing technique in the future, brewed Huangteng Wine, and sold it, the Xu family wouldn't be able to pin the blame on them.

"Everyone, I will give you half a quarter of an hour to consider. After half a quarter of an hour, we will officially begin the bidding," Xu Mu announced in a ringing voice.

"Young Master Xu, is this brewing technique real or fake?" someone else asked.

"That I cannot let you verify. This is a state secret; only the person who buys it can verify its authenticity themselves. If you don't believe it, you can voluntarily give up today's auction opportunity. The doors are right behind you, I won't stop you," Xu Mu said with a smile.

Things had reached this juncture, who would willingly leave now?

Even if they didn't have the confidence to buy the brewing technique, they wanted to see whose hands this brewing technique would ultimately fall into.

The crowd whispered and exchanged opinions privately.

Xu Mu and Xu Shuangyi stood on the stage, one calm and collected, the other tense and anxious.

"Alright, the time for consideration is up. Next, we will enter the main event of today, and the auction begins. The starting bid is one hundred taels, with increments of one hundred taels."