Super Zoo

That day, Suming took the Macaque Group and the Gibbon Group to the back mountain. The Macaque Group was skilled in wine brewing, while the Gibbon Group's 'wine brewing' was purely an imitation done in a fit of pique, spurred by the macaques.

A big pile of rotten fruit, though it could ferment into wine, didn't equate to Monkey Wine. If it was that simple, there wouldn't be a need for monkeys to brew it—Suming could've done it himself. So he never really expected the gibbons to successfully brew any wine; after all, those few backpacks of fruit weren't worth much, and it was okay to let the gibbons have their fun and waste some fruit.

Unexpectedly, the gibbons actually managed to produce wine!

Suming, accompanied by one of the gibbons, arrived at the wine brewing site on the back mountain, only to see the fruits in two hollow old trees completely rotten, with the rich fermenting liquid seeping through the cracks in the dividers and dripping steadily into the large wooden barrels below.

The tree on the east was the one where the macaques made their wine. The barrel underneath was already more than half full. Suming dipped his finger in to taste it—it was the same old recipe, the same old taste, identical to the Monkey Wine he had drank before.

The tree on the west was used by the gibbons for wine brewing. Suming hadn't been hopeful at the start, but now he observed a shallow layer of liquid in the barrel below. It wasn't the emerald green of Monkey Wine but resembled something like yogurt—a milky white liquid.

He also sampled this with his finger and found it incredibly fragrant and quite strong in alcohol content, nearly approaching that of a clear spirit, and it also possessed the effect of enhancing spiritual power. Perhaps because its alcohol content was higher than that of the macaques' wine, it provided an even greater boost to spiritual power.

No wonder these gibbons rebelled! While the macaques lived in the semi-open Monkey Mountain and could come and go "freely," the gibbons were locked in cages and couldn't get out without Suming's help. Last time, the two groups brewed together, and now the macaques had sneakily drunk the clear spirit brewed by the gibbons. No wonder they were enraged!

Only a thin layer of gibbon wine was left in the barrel, indicating that the macaques had likely stolen most of it.

"Those little rascals!" Suming rubbed the head of the gibbon that followed him as a form of consolation.

No matter what, having one more species capable of brewing wine wasn't a bad thing. Gibbon wine was strong and more effective at enhancing spiritual power, Suming felt it was necessary for him to increase his alcohol tolerance. If he could drink clear spirits every day like he drank Monkey Wine, his spiritual power would certainly rise much faster.

…

"Here, Mr. Zhao, this is the recipe for Monkey Wine."

In Zhao Yun's home, Suming took out two pieces of paper filled with writing and handed them to Zhao Yun. During the time the two monkey groups were brewing wine, he had filmed the entire process, then summarized it into a written recipe to serve as the initial product formula for Great Sage Liquor Industry.

Of course, this was just a basic recipe. Whether it was Monkey Wine or Gibbon Wine, the authentic flavors were all achieved through the animals' own brewing, which Suming mainly used for personal consumption. Even if he had many gibbons and macaques, they couldn't possibly support the entire wine factory's brewing operation. In the future, the factory's wine would mainly be produced by man and machine. So even with the same recipe, the wine produced would be entirely different matters.

Using the two types of Monkey Wine as the base formulas, he would need to add the Tai Sui Water as an additive and conduct a series of professional experiments to determine how to best blend the Tai Sui Water with the current Monkey Wine formula to achieve the optimal effect.

Zhao Yun carefully examined the papers and expressed his curiosity, "Hmm? One is a fruit wine recipe, and the other is a clear spirit recipe?"

"Yes, this way we can have two products: clear spirit and fruit wine. Actually, both are fruit wines, it's just that one has a higher alcohol content and the other is lower," Suming nodded. The gibbons mastering high-proof alcohol brewing had brought him not only a new method to enhance spiritual power but also a new flagship product for the liquor factory. In the future, they could produce both high-proof and low-proof alcohol.

"These two formulas will be very interesting at the time. I've never seen wine made like this. Where did you get them from?" Zhao Yun, who was mainly into antiques, also had a basic understanding of other trades, and was somewhat of an all-around knowledgeable person. Naturally, he knew a bit about alcohol, and after reviewing the two formulas, he was utterly intrigued.

By this time, Suming was no longer intending to keep the source of Monkey Wine a secret from Zhao Yun. In the foreseeable future, although the monkeys and gibbons wouldn't be responsible for the entire liquor production, regularly 'pretending' to brew as a marketing stunt was essential. Over time, large groups of macaques and gibbons 'faking' the brewing process in the liquor factory, doing so very convincingly—more professionally than real workers—would make it quite obvious to any discerning individual working there. The true source of Monkey Wine wouldn't remain hidden from Zhao Yun, as a bit of thought would make it clear to him.

When Zhao Yun asked about the source of the formula, Suming could have chosen not to tell. But the relationship between Suming and Zhao Yun had changed from the beginning—on a personal level, they were good friends, and they were going to start a liquor factory together. On some minor matters of little consequence, Suming decided to be forthright.

He carefully chose his words, and with a mysterious smile, said, "Mr. Zhao, to be honest with you, these two formulas weren't acquired from human hands." In his speech, he emphasized the word 'human'.

"Not from human hands?" Zhao Yun was taken aback and looked puzzled at Suming. What did "not from 'human' hands" mean? If not from humans, could it be from ghosts? Or perhaps a family legacy?
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Suming simply smiled without saying a word.

Zhao Yun was quick-witted indeed. Although he initially went off on a tangent, seeing Suming's secretive smile, a lightbulb went off in his head. It felt like an electric jolt connecting many previous details all at once.

In Monkey Mountain, he used the family tradition of animal training to save Chengcheng;

Before long, he discovered Monkey Wine;

When they were originally discussing opening a liquor factory, Suming even said that they could send a few monkeys over to pretend to make wine as a publicity stunt;

Now, he was holding two strange fruit wine recipes, with a secretive look, saying they weren't obtained from "people"...

Linking all these things together, Zhao Yun already had a good idea and incredulously asked Suming, "Do you mean to say that these two recipes are the ones used by the monkeys to make wine? The Monkey Wine that appeared at the auction..."

"That's about the size of it." Suming roughly explained the events to Zhao Yun.

Of course, he didn't mention any animal friend abilities, simply stating that after saving Chengcheng, he found out the Monkey King had escaped. He followed and discovered the Monkey King knew how to brew wine, which led to the Monkey Wine at the auction. Later he had a brainstorm; if macaques could brew wine, perhaps gibbons could too. He tried it out, and it turned out to be true, hence the two new recipes.

"Oh, I see!" Zhao Yun listened intently to Suming's explanation and sighed a sigh of relief after hearing it all.

"Hehe, that Monkey Wine was too sensational at the time, and I was really too poor, so I kept it a secret from you. Don't hold it against me," said Suming with a chuckle.

"There's nothing to take offense at." Zhao Yun wasn't upset at all, instead, he said with a smile, "Besides, our relationship back then wasn't like it is now. If it were me, I would have kept the secret too. But now that you've got a regular supply of Monkey Wine each year, get me a few bottles."

"Sure, I can give you a bottle every month, no problem. But what do you need so much wine for?"

Monkey Wine was significant for Suming, but for everyone else, it was just a rare quality wine. Zhao Yun was into collecting, where rarity equals value. One or two bottles might be valuable, but if he were given a bottle every month, it would instantly become less precious.

Zhao Yun's eyes widened as he asserted valiantly, "Who said I'm saving it for a collection? Is it wrong to use it for drinking? Last year I had a sip, and it was to die for. I've been itching for more ever since. It's too precious; every sip lessens the amount left, and once it's gone, it's irreplaceable despite having the money. That's why I resisted the temptation and didn't indulge, keeping it locked in the safe. Now that you've got a stable source, of course I want some to satiate my cravings!"

"Uncle, it's worth several million a bottle, and you just want to satisfy a craving? That doesn't seem quite right," Suming joked.

"And yet you drink it every day like water without feeling a pang," countered Zhao Yun.

Zhao rolled his eyes and then seriously said, "First, I'm going to have the formulas tested by an institution to see if they comply with food safety regulations. There's another really important thing—since these two recipes are unclaimed, you should hurry up and file for a patent, so no one copies our wine or even outright steals it. If someone counterfeits it and patents it first, we'd be crying without any tears."

This was indeed a point of attention. The patent office didn't care who originally developed the formulas; whoever filed for the patent first legally owns it. There were too many bloody lessons where the real inventors neglected to file for patents, only to have their ideas snatched away by counterfeiters who patented them first. This left the inventors not only unable to reap the benefits they deserved but also unable to use their own formulas anymore.

Suming immediately called lawyer Zhang Si Ming to handle the patent application. It wasn't just about patenting the two basic formulas, but also about planning two product patents for the future, officially developed with "Ginseng Water" that Suming and the liquor factory would co-own.

Filing for a patent wasn't difficult with a clear process to follow. It could be managed by spending a little money. Zhang Si Ming readily agreed and then joked over the phone, "Mr. Su, didn't you just take over the zoo as deputy director? When did you start developing new wines as well? You truly are a Jack of all trades."

"Heh, it's a long story. I'll treat you to a drink when the wine is developed," Suming laughed.

"You got it!"

After finishing the call with Zhang Si Ming, Suming chatted with Zhao Yun about the current progress of the liquor factory's construction. Thanks to the low cost of the land, the factory's startup funds were fairly ample. With money paving the way, the construction was going smoothly, and in a month or so, the factory would be ready to start operations.

...

There will be another chapter tonight!