Chapter 294: Grapes Ripen, Time to Make Wine! Make Wine!
After the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls unloaded the river sand from the flatbed cart and the carriage, they all washed their hands and sat down on the open ground to rest. Shi also started a fire and began cooking with a few others. Having dug the foundation all day, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls were already feeling hungry. So, when they smelled the aroma of Gnocchi Soup, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls all looked at the pottery pot and started to drool.
The Gnocchi Soup was soon ready. Lin Ye sat to the side, holding a bowl of Gnocchi Soup and watched the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls eagerly drinking the soup. He thought that the next few days would be very tiring for everyone. So Lin Ye stood up and said to the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls. “From tomorrow on, everyone will eat two meals a day, one at noon and one in the evening.” “You should also eat some berries in the morning.” “Otherwise, if you work so hard all day and only eat one meal, you won’t be able to bear the hunger.”
Hearing Lin Ye’s words, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls all looked over. Then, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted. Shi tilted his head and thought for a moment. He thought of the mountain of potatoes and dried meat in the cave; even eating two meals a day wouldn’t finish them. With this in mind, Shi also joined the other Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls in their happy cheers. Lin Ye smiled as he watched the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls’ happy expressions. He then sat back down on a rock and drank his Gnocchi Soup.
Lin Ye was actually a little puzzled. Why was everyone still only eating one meal a day when food was plentiful? Those potatoes in the cave, even if eaten non-stop, couldn’t be consumed before they sprouted. Moreover, there was still a patch of potatoes being grown in the vegetable garden, and the harvest would begin again soon. If the potatoes in the cave weren’t eaten quickly, they could only be fed to the wild horses. The three puppies had already grown quite a bit. Lin Ye also started having Sakura and the others feed potatoes to those puppies. Once wolves started eating vegetables, they could never turn back into wolves.
After finishing the Gnocchi Soup, there was still some time before dark. Sakura, along with Diona, Setsuna, and Ling, went to the vegetable garden to use their Talent Abilities. Soon, Ling was seen flying back from the sky with Sakura in her arms. Setsuna and Diona also ran back below. Everyone had an excited expression on their faces. Before Ling even landed, Sakura shouted to Lin Ye, “Ye, the grapes are ripe! The grapes have all turned purple!”
Hearing Sakura’s voice, the few Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls who had tasted grapes before looked over with shining eyes. Lin Ye’s face also showed a look of pleasant surprise. He then stood up from the rock and replied to Sakura, “Alright, you don’t need to come down. We’ll go to the vegetable garden to take a look!” With that, Lin Ye strode towards the vegetable garden. Upon hearing Lin Ye’s words, Ling and Sakura circled in the air before turning and flying back towards the vegetable garden.
The other Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls also heard Sakura and Lin Ye’s voices. One by one, they excitedly got up from the ground and followed Lin Ye towards the vegetable garden. Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, Lin Ye saw the grapevines laden with clusters of crystal-clear, plump grapes. Each grape was about the size of a ping pong ball and had now completely turned a purplish-black color, with a thin layer of white frost still clinging to them. Lin Ye thought that with the strong sun and ample light these past few days, these grapes would surely be delicious.
So Lin Ye walked into the vegetable garden and picked a cluster of grapes. Holding this cluster in his hand, Lin Ye clearly felt the exaggerated weight of the grapes. Moreover, there were a lot of grapes on this single cluster. When Lin Ye saved seeds, he had saved three different types of grapes: one with the highest sweetness, one that produced the largest fruit, and one with moderate sweetness. Now, it seemed these grapes were a hybrid of those three, being large, sweet, and producing abundant fruit.
The Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls stood to the side, watching Lin Ye pop a grape into his mouth. He immediately closed his eyes in comfort, savoring the sweetness. Although they had just finished eating, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls all swallowed their saliva as they watched Lin Ye. After eating one, Lin Ye picked two more and then handed the cluster of grapes in his hand to the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls. The Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls eagerly accepted the grapes with joy and immediately started eating one each. “Oh~! It’s so sweet!” “It really is, it’s so sweet, but not sickeningly sweet like white sugar.” “Mmm, mmm, mmm! These grapes are so delicious, much better than berries!”
Lin Ye smiled as he looked at the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls. However, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls had just eaten their fill, and after eating two grapes, their stomachs couldn’t hold any more food. No matter how delicious these grapes were, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls couldn’t eat any more. But with so many people, after each person ate one or two, the cluster of grapes was almost gone.
Lin Ye looked back at the grape trellises behind him, gazing at the clusters of grapes hanging there, and began to worry. It was a good thing that so many grapes had grown. But the storage of the grapes became a major problem. There was no refrigerator here. Even if they made ice every day to replace it for the grapes, it wouldn’t last for more than a few days. Lin Ye stood there, rubbing his chin and pondering.
The Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls saw Lin Ye standing in the vegetable garden, deep in thought. They immediately quieted down. Then, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls all looked at Lin Ye doubtfully, wondering what he was suddenly thinking about. Lin Ye was pondering how to store these grapes so they could be preserved longer. However, preserving grapes was a difficulty even on Earth, let alone in a primitive society. As one plan after another was dismissed by Lin Ye himself, he realized there was no way to preserve fresh grapes for a long time. They could only be sun-dried into raisins.
Just as Lin Ye felt there was no solution other than sun-drying them into raisins, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him. A smile then appeared on Lin Ye’s face. The Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls saw Lin Ye suddenly smile and looked at each other, full of doubt. Lin Ye had thought of what these grapes could be used for. Grapes this large and sweet were best used for making wine. Furthermore, wine only required two ingredients: grapes and sugar. Both of these were now available in the tribe, so they could directly ferment these grapes into wine.
Having made his decision, Lin Ye turned to look at the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls standing at the side. He saw them all looking at him with confused expressions. Lin Ye was slightly taken aback. But he quickly regained his composure and, with a smile, said to the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls, “Mingyun, take the Winged Girls to the cave to get all the empty pottery jars.” “The rest of you, pick all the grapes from the grapevines.” “Be careful when handling them, don’t crush the grapes, and don’t let them fall to the ground.”
Hearing Lin Ye suddenly start assigning tasks, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls were momentarily stunned. But soon, they all reacted. Mingyun led the Winged Girls and quickly flew towards the cave. The remaining Beast-eared Girls began picking the grapes from the grapevines. Lin Ye also picked grapes along with them. The Winged Girls soon returned with the pottery jars. The grapes on the trellises had just been picked. Seeing that the pottery jars had been brought, Lin Ye spoke to the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls again. “Take the pottery jars to wash them, then pick the grapes one by one and put them into the pottery jars.” “After all of them are picked, wash the grapes.” “Oh, and leave a few clusters, we can still eat them tomorrow.”
Hearing Lin Ye’s words, the Beast-eared Girls and Winged Girls immediately looked at him doubtfully. Although they looked bewildered, they began to move according to Lin Ye’s instructions.
