Chen Mian pushed open the workshop door. Inside, the space was partitioned into several areas by wooden planks, with a bronze plaque hanging on the door of each area.
【Processing Room】【Fermentation Room】【Aging Cellar】【Wine Storage】.
He walked into the Processing Room. In the center sat a wooden machine with an inlet at the top, a wooden pressing arm on the side, and a pipe connected at the bottom that ran all the way to the neighboring Fermentation Room.
It looked like a modern object manufactured using magical principles.
Loviki walked in, carefully observing the machine before her. “Is this place used for brewing wine?”
“Mhm.”
The three of them followed the direction of the pipe into the Fermentation Room, where several large ceramic vats stood. The walls of the vats were covered in faint golden lines, and the pipe extending from the Processing Room connected to the mouth of one of the vats.
In the Aging Cellar, a row of oak barrels lined the wall, similarly covered in golden lines.
The Wine Storage was empty, but the floor inside also had golden lines, and the room was filled with dense life mana.
“What's the difference between this and direct brewing?” Loviki leaned against the doorframe, asking very directly.
“That wooden machine can quickly process the ingredients for brewing. Other than that, the brewing cycle will probably be shorter, and the resulting quality will be better.” Chen Mian looked at it and said, “We'll have to test it out to see the exact effects. Right now, there are so many grapes in the orchard that we can't possibly finish eating them all.”
Loviki nodded with a smile and didn't ask further.
By the time the three of them walked out of the workshop, the sun had fully risen.
Louise walked at the very back. She glanced back at the closed wooden door, her steps lagging for a beat before she caught up again.
That morning, the wine that Tina and the others had fermented was poured into the oak barrels inside the Brewing Workshop to age. The oak barrels they had originally crafted were instead left idle, serving as backups in the workshop's aging room. The Brewing Workshop only came with a small number of oak barrels—fifteen in total.
Yeast also had to be manually added to the ceramic vats during the fermentation process. Chen Mian spent some Points to buy yeast. With the machines, the most labor-intensive part of the brewing process became simply harvesting the fruit. Sorting was entirely unnecessary, as there was no such thing as poor-quality fruit grown in the Mana Orchard.
The moment they could drink their first barrel of wine was drawing closer and closer.
After breakfast, Chen Mian took Louise to Linyu Port. His main goal was to buy her some well-fitting clothes and shoes, and to stop by the Morris Chamber of Commerce to discuss cooperation on selling their crops.
The anomaly in the Forest of Death had ultimately brought some impact to the city of Linyu Port.
In Linyu Port's marketplace, the bustling noise of the crowd was nearly cut in half. Many stalls were empty, and canopies hung askew. It seemed that quite a few people had left Linyu Port over the past few days.
Louise walked by Chen Mian's side, her purple-gold eyes curiously taking in her surroundings.
“This is the city where we met, right?” She turned her head to look at Chen Mian. “It's very similar to the scene in those memories, but it's different now.”
“Yeah,” Chen Mian replied with a smile. “It's normal for it to be different. After all, fifty years have passed. Though, the Adventurer's Guild hasn't changed much.”
“We can go take a look after we finish our business.” Chen Mian gestured with his chin toward the end of the street.
“Sure.” Louise looked toward the end of the street. “Visiting places I've been to before might help me remember faster.”
Before they knew it, the two had walked to the clothing store he and Flora had visited a few times.
The shopkeeper was still that round-faced, middle-aged woman. Seeing Chen Mian push open the door, her eyes lit up. “Are you here to buy clothes again, young man?”
Her gaze landed on Louise, lingering for a couple of seconds before she smiled again. “This young lady has such a unique aura. I recently got a batch of fine silk shipped in from the south.”
Louise had already walked over to the racks, quickly scanning the clothes.
She stopped and picked up a black dress, holding it up to herself to measure it. “How about this one?”
Chen Mian glanced at it and nodded. “It works.”
“Then I'll go try it on.” Louise turned to walk into the fitting room, but after a couple of steps, she looked back. “No peeking.”
“When have I ever peeked?”
“Just in case.”
The wooden door of the fitting room closed, and the soft rustle of fabric rubbing together came from inside.
“I can tell this young lady is very close to you.” The shopkeeper lowered her voice, a trace of playfulness in her eyes. “The way she looks at you is very similar to how that elf lady did when she came last time.”
Chen Mian didn't respond.
Seeing this, the middle-aged woman changed the subject. “But Linyu Port hasn't been very peaceful lately. Aren't you two going to another city to take shelter for a bit?”
“I just got back to Linyu Port, so I'm not sure what's going on.”
“The outskirts of the Forest of Death have been in absolute chaos lately. A large number of magical beasts are fleeing outward. Now the city gates are tightly shut, and the only way to leave is by water. Yesterday, I heard from a guard that the city defenses are under immense pressure.” At this point, the middle-aged woman's face showed some worry. “More and more magical beasts are roaming outside the north gate. If a high-rank beast breaks out, it'll be dangerous. If I didn't have so much stock piled up here, I would have gone to another city to take shelter too.”
“It's fine. It should settle down soon. Besides, given Linyu Port's defenses, the likelihood of it being breached by scattered, low-rank magical beasts is very low.” Chen Mian's tone was calm.
“I hope so.”
Not long after, the fitting room door was pushed open.
Louise stepped out, wearing the black dress.
Her long, silver-gray hair draped down her back, and the black hem of the dress fell right around mid-calf.
She stood barefoot on the floor, looking down at her dress, then looked up at Chen Mian. “Does it look good?”
Chen Mian looked her over. “Yeah.”
“Just a ‘yeah’?”
“It suits you well.”
With a smile playing on her lips, Louise looked at herself in the mirror. “Did I used to dress like this?”
“Yes. You said dark colors made you feel more like a vampire.”
By the time they walked out of the clothing store, Louise was holding a bundle of clothes, which she quickly tossed into her small wooden storage box.
The two of them quickly arrived at the Morris Chamber of Commerce.
Seeing Chen Mian push open the door, Morris immediately put down his ledger and quickly walked over to welcome them. “Mr. Chen Mian! You've finally come! The quality of your magical crops is much higher than the vast majority of similar crops on the market. They were snatched up the moment they were put out.”
Louise stood behind Chen Mian, nibbling on a skewer of fried fish, completely indifferent to the conversation.
Chen Mian took out a list from his storage space and placed it on the counter. “This is the variety and quantity of goods we can stably supply for the foreseeable future.”
Morris picked up the list and read it carefully, his expression filled with pleasant surprise. “This quantity... is nearly three times the previous amount?”
“Yeah, we planted quite a lot.”
“That's wonderful!” Morris carefully folded the list and tucked it into his breast pocket. “Lately, quite a few merchants from the Royal Capital have been asking about our source. Rest assured, my lips are sealed. I haven't let a single word slip.”
“Good.” Chen Mian paused. “Exchange one-third of the transaction amount for fish fry. I want both saltwater and freshwater fish, and the more varieties, the better.”
“Fish fry?” Morris was taken aback for a moment, but quickly nodded. “No problem. There are several fisheries to the north of Linyu Port, and their varieties are quite complete.”
“However...” He hesitated before continuing, “The activity over by the Forest of Death has been getting louder and louder lately. To maintain order, many fishing boats are no longer allowed to go out to sea, so the varieties of fish fry we can buy definitely won't be as many as before.”
“Furthermore...” Morris walked over to the counter and checked the shop door to make sure it was closed before turning back to say, “In the next few days, passenger ships will probably be temporarily suspended as well. If too many people leave, it will affect the operation of the city.”
“Over the past two days, many wealthy merchants have already been planning to move away.” He paused, his expression growing even more solemn. “The night before last, a horde of magical beasts rushed right outside the north gate. The guard unit struggled for most of the night before repelling them, and several cracks were smashed into the city walls... It has caused a lot of panic among those in the know.”
“You're not leaving?” Chen Mian asked.
“I've always done business in Linyu Port. My roots are all here.”
“Then I'll leave the fish fry to you. If you want to expand your business scale, seize this opportunity to acquire the assets of the merchants who are leaving.” Chen Mian nodded and said, “I still have plenty of resources on my end, and Linyu Port will not be overrun by magical beasts.”
Morris was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up with obvious delight. “Alright! You can leave the fish fry to me with peace of mind!”
He didn't doubt Chen Mian's words at all. Years ago, when he was robbed by bandits while traveling for business, he had witnessed Chen Mian's strength. And after so many years, Chen Mian still looked exactly the same as he did back then. Humans were not a long-lived race like elves... unless they reached an extremely high level.
After wrapping up their business, Chen Mian took Louise toward the Adventurer's Guild.
“Aren't you going to take a look inside the Forest of Death?” Louise asked, looking up as she ate her grilled fish.
“I am.”
Rate on N.U.
