Chapter 31: Seven Crystals a BowlThe liquor at this stall sold quickly. The wooden barrel wasn't large—estimated at about nine to ten liters—and could hold around fifty to sixty bowls. In less than half an hour, one barrel was empty. The stall owner dragged out another barrel and continued ladling.
Lan Chi's gaze shifted from the barrels, sweeping across the surroundings. Liquor stalls weren't limited to this one; there was another across the way, and another a dozen or so steps ahead. Every liquor stall was doing excellent business, with long lines forming behind each.
Lan Chi waited a while longer until finally it was his turn.
The stall owner was a young girl, also a Dwarf of course, less than a meter tall. She stood on a ladder next to the liquor barrel, looking at Lan Chi: "How many bowls do you want to buy?"
"Two bowls." Lan Chi counted out fourteen Phosphorus Crystals and handed them over, took two bowls of liquor, and walked to the roadside to meet up with Kaelen.
"Here." Lan Chi handed one bowl to Kaelen, taking the other for himself to drink.
"Thank you." Kaelen set down the tools she was carrying, accepted the bowl with both hands, and took small sips.
The alcohol content wasn't particularly high. The liquid was slightly yellow, with a layer of fine white foam floating on the surface. The pungent aroma drilled straight into the nostrils, hitting the forehead as soon as he brought it close, making his scalp tighten.
The taste was harsh on the tongue, burning all the way from the mouth down to the stomach. But that impact didn't settle downward—instead it surged upward, making his head feel instantly dazed. The aftertaste was strong and rough, with no trace of mellow smoothness, nothing but an overbearing spiciness.
Lan Chi shuddered. What in the world had he just drunk? How dared they sell this for seven Phosphorus Crystals? The liquor he brewed himself was better than this!
He frowned, staring at the bowl he'd only taken one sip from. Several people nearby had already noticed him. Seeing his expression, they burst into loud laughter.
A red-bearded Dwarf, holding his own liquor bowl, grinned at him: "Hey, kid, first time drinking Dwarf spirits, huh?"
A half-elf dressed like a ranger joined in: "Everyone's like that the first time. Nine out of ten spit it out on the spot. You're doing alright—didn't spit, still standing."
A gnome leaned in, peered at the bowl in Lan Chi's hand with only a single sip taken, and clicked his tongue: "Seven Phosphorus Crystals for one bowl, and you only drink that much? If you can't finish it, how about giving it to me?"
"Look at your companion—she's already finished hers."
Hearing the red-bearded Dwarf's words, Lan Chi turned to look. Kaelen smiled at him apologetically, the bowl in her hands completely empty.
The red-bearded Dwarf raised his own bowl, tipped his head back and downed it, then set the empty bowl down and jutted his chin at Lan Chi: "Watch closely—this is how you drink. If you're a man, you should drink in big gulps."
"That's right! Big gulps!" The people around happily raised their bowls and drained them in one go.
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The festive mood infected Lan Chi. He steeled himself and downed the liquor in one gulp. The cheap alcohol's kick rushed straight to his head, leaving him feeling groggy and dizzy.
"Hahaha! Good! Now that's a man!"
The red-bearded Dwarf slapped him on the leg, nearly knocking him over.
Lan Chi barely managed a smile, set the empty bowl aside, nodded to the people around him, and pulled Kaelen away, heading out of the crowd.
Once they left the area clustered with liquor stalls, Lan Chi felt a bit better. Thinking about that low-quality liquor and the long lines of buyers, it seemed like there might be good potential here. He just didn't know how liquor was brewed in this other world.
With that thought, Lan Chi no longer felt like continuing to wander. He took Kaelen back to the rental house, planning to figure out this business opportunity.
That evening, when Nightshade returned, he didn't see Lan Chi. Nightshade asked Kaelen: "Where's the master?"
"The master went back to the hut. He said he wanted to find plants that can be used to brew liquor," Kaelen replied.
Nightshade went to the hut and saw Lan Chi sitting on a chair in the living room, gesturing in the air with both hands. He immediately recognized that Lan Chi was searching for something on his light screen.
"Master, what are you doing?" Nightshade asked.
"Back already? Did everything go smoothly today? Found the materials you wanted? I'm buying liquor recipes from that unscrupulous merchant." Lan Chi glanced up at Nightshade, then continued messaging. He had recently reconnected with that gnome merchant Gil Hammerforge—the one who had blocked him. After seeing that Lan Chi hadn't caused him any trouble, Gil later tentatively started messaging him again.
"Liquor?" Nightshade pondered for a moment. "Liquor is indeed a good thing. Dwarves love drinking."
"Yeah, I bought a bowl on the street today. It tasted no different from industrial alcohol." Lan Chi complained. "Oh, he just replied."
He opened the message panel. Inside was a reply from that unscrupulous merchant Gil: "I do have liquor recipes. Five hundred Phosphorus Crystals for a brewing formula using Wheat Berry Fruit."
"Wheat Berry Fruit is the most common plant, isn't it?" Lan Chi thought for a moment, then puzzledly asked Nightshade.
Nightshade nodded: "Yes, the most ordinary wild fruit, worthless. The mutated Wheat Berry Fruits you grow actually have some value."
"So the liquor the Dwarves sell is made from Wheat Berry Fruit?" Lan Chi felt like something was off about the other party's formula.
"Dwarven liquor should be brewed from fermented grains, probably brought into the trial ground by the merchant association through spatial equipment when they entered." Nightshade considered for a moment, then said, "This trial has only been going on for two months. I doubt any trial participant has been able to grow enough grain to produce luxury goods like liquor yet."
Hearing this, Lan Chi became interested: "I thought you couldn't bring too many items into the trial ground?"
"That's the requirement for trial participants. For ordinary people entering, aside from not bringing items that exceed the trial tier requirements, restrictions on ordinary items aren't that strict. That's why there are so many people here who aren't trial participants. As long as a faction can open a teleportation passage and send people over, that's fine. These people don't count toward trial results anyway." Nightshade explained.
"Seven Phosphorus Crystals per bowl. Fifty bowls of liquor would be 350 Phosphorus Crystals." Lan Chi gestured with his hands, indicating the barrel. "One barrel holds about 9-10 liters. This is way too profitable." If he could seize this business opportunity, he'd be laughing in his dreams.
Nightshade chuckled softly: "This is indeed a good opportunity. Need me to help with anything?"
"I actually do need your help with something. Do you know what distillation equipment is? Nothing too fancy—just something about two meters in diameter, a little taller than me." Lan Chi raised his hand and gestured above his head. His height was 186cm, so two meters would be about 14cm taller than him.
"Distillation equipment, huh? Got it. Tomorrow I'll find a place to have one custom-made." Nightshade replied.
"Ding, new message."
The message box popped up again. Lan Chi opened the message panel. It was Gil urging him: "Do you want the recipe or not? I'm busy, don't have time to wait around forever. Yes or no, one word."
"Final offer, one hundred Phosphorus Crystals. Take it or leave it." Lan Chi replied.
"Fine, considering how many times we've traded, I'll take a loss this time and sell it to you." Gil's reply came quickly, along with a trade order attached.
"Damn, he agreed so readily. I didn't get ripped off again, did I?"
