Chapter 109: Brewing Wine

Chapter 109: Brewing Wine After breakfast, Yao Zhi started washing the millet and wheat. When the grains were washed, she lit both stoves and put a large bamboo steamer on top. She then steamed the millet and wheat.

While waiting for the wheat and millet to be fully steamed, she went to feed her donkey before taking out a hose from her system’s river to water the garden. Since it was still early, no one saw the hose in her hand.

When she was done, she mixed a bucket of water with 1 drop of spiritual spring water and sprinkled it on the garden to nourish the soil.

An hour later, the millet and wheat had become tender and were ready for the next process. She spread them on a tray to let them cool down.

While waiting for the grains to cool, she took out a bag of Qu and ground it into a fine powder.

Afterward, she opened her system’s store and bought 2 large ceramic vats. Each vat cost her 5 points and could hold around 120 liters. She took the ceramic vats out from her system’s storage, cleaned them, and dried them for later use.

When she was done, she took out 5 kilograms of longan from her system’s orchard granary.

Compared to normal longan, the ones produced in her system’s orchard were sweeter, bigger, and juicier. So, she didn’t need to add too much longan to the mixture.

Yao Zhi sat on a low stool and started peeling the longan. Soon after, the fragrance of longan filled the air. When she took a breath, she felt refreshed.

After she peeled 2 kilograms of longan, she thought for a moment and decided not to add too much. She kept the rest of the longan in her system’s orchard granary and removed the seeds.

The size of the seeds of the longan was smaller than that of ordinary longan. So, after she finished cleaning the longan, there were around 1.5 kilograms of longan flesh.

Yao Zhi washed her hands and went to check the grains. Since they still needed more time to cool down completely, she went to mash the longan flesh.

Half an hour later, the ingredients were ready, and the ceramic vats were dried. Before she started, she mixed the steamed millet and wheat. Then, she prepared a bucket of boiled water and added 1 drop of spiritual spring water.

She started layering the mixture. First, she put a layer of mixed millet and wheat, mashed longan, and sprinkled the wine starter evenly.

Afterward, she added the prepared water into the ceramic vat and mixed it gently but thoroughly until all dry spots were gone. She used a total of 50 liters of water and 2 drops of spiritual spring water for 1 ceramic vat.

When she was done, she covered the vats with cloth and tied them with hemp rope. To allow fermentation, she needed to store them in a cool place. But with the current weather, there was no cool area in her house.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to put the wine mixture in her system’s farmland. The temperature in the farmland and orchard was suitable for making wine. Next, she only needed to wait for a few months until the wine was ready.

Yao Zhi stretched her sore muscles and took out her watch to check the time. It was already 9 o’clock in the morning, and she had to prepare lunch for her husband.

Compared to yesterday, today’s weather was hotter. To improve her husband’s appetite, she made wood ear mushroom salad, cold tofu salad, stir-fried bitter gourd with eggs, and winter melon soup.

For the staple, she made scallion pancakes. Besides lunch, she also prepared dessert for her husband, mung bean soup. Then, she filled a waterskin with boiled water and added 5 drops of spiritual spring into it.

When she finished cooking, it was already 11 o’clock in the morning. She quickly washed her hands and face, led the donkey out, and connected the cart. Then, she loaded the food boxes into the cart and secured them with a rope.

Recalling her husband’s request yesterday, she packed a jar of moisturizer, a jar of toothpaste, two toothbrushes, a jar of shampoo, a jar of facial cleanser, and two pieces of body soap.

This time, she didn’t give him a liquid body soap but a bar soap. After she locked the doors, she wore a straw hat and went to the military barracks.

It was lunchtime when Yao Zhi arrived at the military barracks. After she parked her cart, she walked over to the entrance while holding 2 pancakes wrapped in clean fabric.

Seeing her coming, the guards smiled and greeted her, "Sister-in-law, are you here to send lunch for Squad Leader Fu?"

Yao Zhi nodded and replied, "Please help me inform my husband." After she said that, she handed the pancakes to the guards and said, "I made extra pancakes today. It’s not much, but please have them."

The guards thought that the pancakes were made with mixed flour and tasted the same as the ones served in the military cafeteria. Although the taste was not good, they were filling. So, they didn’t refuse and accepted them.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law."

While one of the guards informed her husband, she returned to the cart and took out the food from the lunch boxes. She also brought out a small table to make it easier to eat.

10 minutes later, Fu Chen’an walked toward his wife while carrying a bamboo basket. He had finished all the food and water given by his wife.

Seeing him coming, Yao Zhi smiled and said, "Husband, you are here."

Fu Chen’an nodded and looked at the food his wife brought. Seeing the dishes, he was surprised. While there was only 1 meat dish, there were a total of 4 dishes, including 1 egg dish.

"Wife, why did you make so much?" he asked as he sat on the cart.