Chapter 32: Brewing BeginsJust as Lan Chi had suspected, the moment he received the brewing recipe, he was certain he had been cheated.
"Wash ripe wild fruits clean and let them dry. Mash them into a pulp and put them into a clay jar. Add a small amount of liquor to initiate fermentation. Once the bubbles subside and the fruit residue sinks to the bottom, filter the liquid. Then seal and let sit for about a month to stabilize the alcohol content."
"Isn't this just an ordinary brewing recipe?" Lan Chi nearly lost his mind, wanting to slap himself twice. He might as well not have bought it. One hundred Phosphorus Crystals had been completely wasted.
No wonder the other party had agreed to the trade so readily. With this traditional method, without sugar and yeast, it was completely unsuitable for brewing in the trial zone.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Lan Chi placed the recipe on the shelf. For now, he would have to use ancient brewing methods.
He found Kaelen and asked directly: "Kaelen, are there any edible sugar-producing plants around here, or any very sweet fruits?"
Kaelen thought for a moment and said: "Yes, there should be some in the nearby forest. We call them Sweetheart Fruits. They like to grow in the mountains."
"Go get some for me." Lan Chi instructed.
"Okay."
After Kaelen left, Lan Chi continued working. He poured the harvested mutated Wheat Berry Fruits and mutated wild fruits into a wooden barrel, used a wooden pestle to mash the pulp, and sealed it.
The hut watched Lan Chi busy for half a day. When he stopped, it asked curiously: "Is it done?"
"No, there's one last step—temperature." Lan Chi looked at the hut and reached out his hand. "Can you control your own temperature? Adjust it to match the temperature of my hand."
The hut touched Lan Chi's hand. "I can do that. Just body temperature is fine. My temperature is the same as yours."
"Alright, then make a cabinet and keep the temperature inside close to body temperature."
Hearing Lan Chi's words, the hut generated a cabinet next to the kitchen and placed the brewing jar that Lan Chi had prepared inside. "How long will this take to ferment?"
Lan Chi thought for a moment. "If everything goes smoothly, normally it should start fermenting in about 24 hours. The liquor should be ready in about two days." The sweetness of the mutated Wheat Berry Fruits wasn't as high as the mutated wild fruits. He hoped that combining the two would ferment properly.
...
Two days passed quickly. The liquor had finished fermenting. Lan Chi opened the lid, and a fragrant aroma drifted out from the jar.
He poured out the liquid. It was a pale reddish color with a faint, barely perceptible aroma of alcohol.
Lan Chi took a sip. It wasn't strong on the palate, didn't burn the throat. It only carried the slight sweetness and mild sourness of the fruits themselves. The alcohol content was extremely light, like fruit juice with a hint of alcohol. Even drinking several bowls only made him feel slightly warm, far from reaching the point of intoxication. It was completely different from the strong liquor sold in the taverns.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"You two try it too." He poured out two bowls and handed them to Nightshade and Kaelen.
Nightshade took a small sip and evaluated: "Not strong enough, doesn't go to the head. Can be drunk as fruit juice, but selling it would be difficult. The price wouldn't be high."
Lan Chi nodded, fully agreeing with his statement. Most of the liquor in Steel City was strong, even the low-quality stuff sold at street stalls was quite heady. This current brew was at most 5 percent alcohol—barely an alcoholic beverage.
"Kaelen, did you find those Sweetheart Fruits you mentioned?" Lan Chi asked. Over the past two days, he had also searched at local plant stalls, but hadn't found the fruit Kaelen had described.
Kaelen took out a dozen or so fruits from her backpack and placed them on the table. "These were freshly picked today. This is what we locals call Sweetheart Fruit."
Sweetheart Fruits weren't large. The skin was thin to the point of being nearly transparent, with a warm honey-yellow color. A light pinch with a fingertip released thick, sweet juice immediately. The sweetness was intense to the point of being pungent, the rich, mellow sweetness detectable from several paces away.
Lan Chi picked one up, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite.
The flesh was soft and tender, melting in the mouth. Without much chewing, the intense sweetness exploded on the tongue. It was sweet to the point of being cloying, with almost no sourness at all.
"This sweetness... works." Lan Chi picked up the water glass on the table and took a drink to dilute the cloying sweetness in his mouth. "Even if we don't brew liquor, just squeezing the juice and making sugar would be profitable."
Lan Chi picked up a Sweetheart Fruit from the table and activated his talent. His mental energy flowed through his palm into the fruit's flesh. The fruit soon began to change. Countless cells mutated. The originally smooth surface instantly became bumpy, proliferating outward.
Before long, the fruit's skin gradually became transparent from its honey-yellow color, finally taking on the appearance of a bump-covered surface. The long-missed system prompt appeared again:
[Mutated Fruit: Unnamed]
The essence of this fruit had been rewritten by an indescribable power. Just lightly licking it would leave a sweetness lingering in the mouth for three days without dissipating. Growth cycle: 1 day. Extremely high yield. Requires frequent fertilization.
"Damn, this is good stuff. It's been a long time since I've seen an item with a one-day growth cycle." Lan Chi shook the fruit sticking to his hand.
Mutated items with a one-day growth cycle were very rare. If the yield of this mutated Sweetheart Fruit was estimated based on the mutated wild fruits, the output from one day of growth should be considerable. Even if the yield wasn't high, just the system's description about sweetness lingering in the mouth for three days could be used in combination with other fruits to make high-concentration liquor.
He quickly got up and walked into the growing room to plant the fruit.
After planting, Lan Chi came out and gave Kaelen a thumbs up. "Kaelen, good job. What reward do you want?"
Two patches of burning redness rose on Kaelen's cheeks. Wild joy almost burst forth from within her heart. Being able to serve her master was her highest honor. Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly, the corners of her mouth curving into an almost obsessive arc.
"Nothing... nothing." Her entire face burned red. Her master actually wanted to give her a reward. Her heart was already wild with uncontrollable joy. How could she dare to ask for too much? "As long as... as long as you're satisfied."
Looking at Kaelen's flushed face, Lan Chi thought: Alright! Looks like she's a bit out of control again. He'd just give the reward directly. "Here, this is your reward." He pushed a half-meter-long wooden box in front of Kaelen.
Kaelen opened the wooden box. Inside was a finely crafted set of women's combat wear.
The top and pants were made of dark coarse cloth, dense and wear-resistant. Shoulders, elbows, and waist were spliced with leather material. Sleeve cuffs and pant legs had cloth straps. The waist came with a wide belt of the same material. Both shoulders had thin iron shoulder guards, the edges polished smooth. The overall outfit balanced protection and flexibility, specially crafted for actual combat.
Kaelen ecstatically clutched the combat wear, her fingertips trembling. "Thank you, master. I love it so much." With that, she rushed back to her room, her heart filled with joy at changing into the new outfit.
Nightshade watched Kaelen's disappearing figure, then turned to Lan Chi. "I never expected you to give her clothes. I thought you would..." Thinking about what often happened in cults, Nightshade closed his mouth.
Lan Chi scratched his head, not understanding what Nightshade wanted to say. "Didn't I prepare other clothes for her before? She always refuses to wear skirts. It's not good for a girl to always wear the same style as us. When I was shopping today, I happened to see someone selling combat wear, so I bought it. It suits Kaelen quite well."
Nightshade nodded. "It's really not bad."
