Three days passed quickly. The high-ranking officials connected by Reno arrived at the site one after another – they were to issue licenses for the winery and determine the tax rate.
This time, two groups arrived. From the Administratum – an Officer-Conductor with five officials. From the judicial bailiffs – a Senior Judicial Bailiff, accompanied by five subordinates.
Three vehicles stopped at the winery gates. Reno was the first to get out, opened the metal doors, and said to both delegations with a smile:
"Please, gentlemen! Here it is – the winery, ready for launch. All that's left is your approval!"
The Officer-Conductor turned out to be a thin, pale old man with a perpetually sour face, as if his body had long forgotten what balance looked like.
He cast a brief glance at the building and snorted with displeasure:
"There's barely enough natural food in the Hive now, and someone decided to open a winery... Hmm."
The Senior Judicial Bailiff, on the other hand, was a tall and sturdy man. The dark blue uniform fabric with black trim fit his muscles tightly, and a heavy, large-caliber pistol gleamed on his belt.
But as soon as he crossed the threshold, he stopped – a long table was already set up in the spacious workshop, laden with fresh vegetables, meat, and still-hot bread, from which aromatic steam rose, and a golden piece of butter was melting.
"Sss!" he exhaled, drawing in air in astonishment. The bailiff's eyes were glued to the feast, as if the rest of the world no longer existed.
The Officer-Conductor stepped in after him and froze just the same, with wide eyes.
For people of their rank, middle and even senior officials of the Middle Hive, such a sight was a rarity – they themselves had long been eating corpse starch, and could afford fresh vegetables and meat only once or twice a week.
Faced with such luxury, they both seemed to lose their footing – the beauty of the aromas stunned their minds.
Li Qingwu, beaming with good nature, approached and said:
"Please, valiant gentlemen, rest after your journey! It's not time to talk business – after tasting the fruits of labor, it's easier to serve God-Emperor!"
With these words, he seemed to relieve the tension: the guests' faces softened.
The two leaders exchanged a brief glance, nodded, and, calling their subordinates, sat down each with their own group.
At Li Qingwu's invitation, Captain Rudolf also sat at the head of the table – not only a guest of honor but also a vessel of authority, balancing the presence of the civil servants.
He was needed here not for an empty feast – with his rank, Li Qingwu didn't have to humiliate himself by pouring tea or refilling glasses. Alone, he would have looked like a simple merchant, but next to an officer, the situation changed.
When everyone was seated, both leaders instinctively noticed his epaulets and spoke animatedly with the Captain – it was clear they were flattered by the acquaintance.
From each group, two young clerks jumped up, obligingly filling the others' glasses.
Appetizers followed wine, laughter sounded more and more often. Reno and Li Qingwu inserted short phrases, keeping the conversation flowing.
Warm and cheerful – the atmosphere was maintained steadily thanks to the awareness of mutual benefit: associating with Captain Rudolf was useful to each of them.
The Officer-Conductor drank particularly willingly – his pale face turned rosy, a smile never left his cheeks, and his laughter now flowed easily.
The feast lasted for more than an hour – they ate their fill. After the dry, tasteless corpse starch, the fresh vegetables and meat seemed to reawaken their taste buds.
As the meal neared its end, one of the Administratum clerks, carelessly moving a plate, noticed something underneath it. He lifted the edge – and froze: under the dish lay a wad of money, over three thousand.
The young man quietly hid the find in his fist, counted it under the table, and nudged his neighbor with his elbow – as if to say, look under your plate.
A minute later, all the subordinates on both sides were holding banknotes under the table and exchanging glances with equally strange faces.
The leaders, whose experienced eyes missed no details, noticed the commotion, easily lifted their plates – but their plates were empty.
This is where a sense of bewilderment stirred in them – how could this be? The juniors were thanked, but they themselves – weren't?
Li Qingwu stood up, with the same gentle smile, and said:
"I believe everyone has had their fill? Well then, it's time to get down to business."
The leaders of the two services, though with a shadow of doubt, quickly understood the hint: this man was not so foolish as to forget the main thing. So, a surprise was still ahead.
Without haste, they ordered their subordinates to begin inspecting the equipment and calculating tax parameters.
The inspection concerned production permits – documents, water and power supply. The tax calculation was supposed to depend on area, product category, and capacity, but thanks to Captain Rudolf's tax exemption, this point was quietly omitted.
As soon as the inspection was completed, all the necessary papers were drawn up on the spot – both seals, from the Administratum and the Department of Justice, were affixed to the documents in red lacquer.
Li Qingwu presented the Officer-Conductor and the Senior Judicial Bailiff with a crate of liquor each.
"Gentlemen, I am merely a winemaker – please, try my drink. Tell me what needs improvement."
They exchanged glances. The crates, though wooden, seemed too light – clearly not bottles inside.
The Conductor, an expert in such matters, estimated the weight – at least ten "W"s. Smiles flashed on both faces: the man turned out to be understanding.
"Drop by if you have any questions about production," one said.
"Our doors are open to business partners," the other added. After which, both cars drove back – and Li Qingwu officially received the winery.
Soon, two army trucks drove onto the territory – they delivered a whole cartload of grapes, grown by the rebels.
Thanks to the fertilizers, the harvest ripened surprisingly quickly – the first batch yielded 3.5 tons of fruit.
The factory is ready, the raw materials are ready, the people – too. Three days ago, Li Qingwu had arranged with Captain Rudolf for personnel: he needed families of his soldiers who were unemployed. He hired the first ten people immediately.
So now ten men and women, relatives of Public Safety Service employees, worked under his instructions – washing grapes, crushing berries, starting the must for fermentation. Production began.