Chapter 113 Fruit Wine

In August, the grapes and dates planted at the foot of Jiarong Mountain are ripe and ready to be picked.

The vineyard is divided into eight plots by paths, interspersed with Summer Black grapes and Crystal grapes.

Now that the grapes are ripe, Li Chang'an stands in the octagonal pavilion in the center of the vineyard and looks out. He sees patches of purplish-black and crystal-clear green grapes side by side, a pleasing sight to behold.

He suddenly understood the purpose behind Tianxuan's original design and planning.

Neat and clean, it looks very pleasing.

Li Chang'an picked a bunch of grapes, casually drew a cleansing talisman, picked up a crystal grape, put it to his lips, and gently squeezed it with his fingers. The glistening flesh was squeezed out and fell into his mouth.

The thin skin still has sweet flesh veins that can be sucked out.

Summer Black grapes can be eaten directly. The skin is slightly thicker than that of Crystal grapes, making it a little harder to peel, but you can eat the skin and flesh together.

When you bite into it, you'll find it crisp, sweet, and juicy. It has no seeds, and the skin isn't sour or astringent; instead, it has a slightly milder sweetness than the flesh, making it very delicious.

After walking around the vineyard and finishing two bunches of grapes, Li Chang'an took dozens more bunches of grapes back to the house. He used some to make wine and washed the rest to put on the dining table.

The wines made from other fruits are now ready to drink.

Li Chang'an drew a heat-preserving talisman and "chilled" a bottle of bayberry wine and peach wine. After lunch was prepared, the wines had become ice-cold, just the right time to drink them.

The purplish-red bayberry wine was poured into a white porcelain glass, immediately releasing a sweet aroma. The wine, filtered through the glass, was clear and free of impurities, making it both fragrant and visually appealing.

The peach wine is pink and contains crushed, fluffy fruit pulp, like juice. It's sweet and very popular with mushroom lovers.

The group of people and the spirits sat at the table eating, while Li Xiaoguai, who had grown into a big cat, curled up in a cat bed not far away for a nap.

This batch of wine was brewed using the spirit plant, the wine flower, so even spirits and monsters would still feel drunk after drinking it.

A large bottle of peach wine was finished, and the slightly tipsy fungus spirits gathered around Li Xiaoguai, playing and grooming its fur. After a while, some of them fell asleep next to Li Xiaoguai, gently stroking its fur with their tiny tentacles, while others accidentally got drunk and fell asleep on the floor, scattered about.

Tianxuan and Chajing were cleaning up the dishes and leftovers on the table. Li Chang'an went into the living room, picked up the mushroom spirits that were sleeping everywhere, and put them in another empty cat bed, which was also where the mushroom spirits often slept.

The two cat beds were placed together. When Li Chang'an came over, Li Xiaoguai stretched and meowed, then gently rolled over to reveal her furry belly.

Li Chang'an smiled, reached out, and stood there petting the cat for a while.

Li Xiaoguai tilted its chin up, enjoying the moment. Li Chang'an then scratched its chin and stroked its belly for a while. Noticing something, he squinted and withdrew his hand.

This cat, Li Xiaoguai, spends most of its time running around, and is quiet for a small part of the time. Occasionally, it will take the initiative to cuddle and rub against people, but after being petted for a while, it will suddenly become impatient and slap people with its claws.

Li Chang'an was used to it and had now found the perfect time to back down, preventing Li Xiaoguai from succeeding.

Sure enough, at the same moment he pulled his hand away, Li Xiaoguai flailed its claws twice, but failed to catch Li Chang'an at all.

"Alright, go to sleep." Li Chang'an chuckled, patted the cat fur off his hands, and left with his hands behind his back.

*

Grapes and dates from Xianshan Farm are now on the market, while previous fruits are still being sold in batches every two weeks.

The Sanhua plums in Cangxuan Realm are past their season, but the Sanhua plums on Jiarong Mountain still produce thick, plump fruit with no change in quality, and the fruit shape is getting better and better.

Even though Li Chang'an said that the quality of the fruit from Xianshan Farm was just average, those who bought it were still amazed by the taste and praised it online.

More importantly, you don't have to worry about the risk of insects when eating fruit sold at Xianshan Farm.

Before each batch is sold, Li Chang'an will draw a purification talisman, so buyers can eat it with peace of mind when they receive it.

Therefore, just like vegetables, fruits are always sold out as soon as they hit the shelves, and this is also the case in several of our partner supermarkets.

In this live-stream vegetable sale, in addition to the new grapes and dates, Li Chang'an also brought out his homemade fruit wine.

He repackaged each type of wine into small bottles, each containing 500 milliliters.

He introduced each of the wines one by one, and then glanced at the comments section. Some viewers were worried that his live stream might be banned if he sold wine.

Without registering the relevant certificates and information, the streamer cannot sell alcoholic beverages during the live broadcast.

Li Chang'an smiled, took out a stack of documents from the side, and said, "Don't worry, the business license, tax registration certificate, food production license... all the documents are ready, and it's all legal and compliant."

"Moreover, this batch of wine is not for sale today, but will be given away in a lucky draw, and minors will not be included."

In the live chat, netizens finally relaxed, but when they heard it was a lottery, they got excited again.

"This batch of fruit wine is not large, about fifty bottles of each kind. If the winners like it, I will make more, and next time there will be wine."

He paused, then somewhat embarrassedly announced beforehand, "My brewing skills are average, so please lower your expectations. Only participate in the lucky draw if you think that's acceptable."

Last time you said the fruit quality was so-so, but I managed to snag three pounds of Yingzui peaches, and I haven't been craving them for a month since.

It's impossible not to participate; even if you don't drink, you have to participate. If you win, you might as well give it a try.

The comments were scrolling by at breakneck speed.

Li Chang'an clicked on the screen to set up the lottery.

The app allows users to set up lotteries that require real-name registration. When viewers click to participate, a pop-up will appear to verify their facial recognition against the backend identity verification. Those who do not meet the requirements or are minors will not be able to participate.

With tens of millions of viewers in the live stream, the odds of winning are extremely low.

The lottery results were announced three minutes later, and soon it was 11 o'clock again, so netizens switched to Fairy Mountain Farm to grab the deals.

After the broadcast ended, Li Chang'an first packed up the hundreds of bottles of wine that he was going to send out.

The bottles containing the wine are made of glass, but he used spiritual energy to protect them, ensuring they remain intact during delivery.

...

Geng Caichun is a rogue cultivator.

She is now over ninety years old, but she is stuck at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and has been unable to establish her foundation.

Geng Caichun was initially very anxious about this matter and tried every means to break through this bottleneck. He even sought out other cultivators to compete with, but he was still unable to break through.

She started cultivating because she awakened the three spiritual roots of fire, earth, and wood. The people around her and the staff of the Cultivation Alliance all told her that she had three spiritual roots, which was already considered very talented in the current Cangxuan Realm. They said she would definitely be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and perhaps even form the Core.

At that time, she was just a six-year-old girl. Hearing such words, she felt that being able to cultivate was a wonderful thing.

So she entered the cultivation academy and, like other cultivators, began to cultivate with all her might.

As she grew older, she witnessed the helplessness and predicaments of cultivators and gradually understood that the Core Formation, which she thought was incredibly honorable when she was a child, was something that could only have happened thousands of years ago. For cultivators today, it was a legendary thing, a peak that was difficult to climb in a lifetime.

Of course, she refused to accept her fate and devoted herself to cultivation and practice.

What others might consider to be a gifted individual with three spiritual roots was actually considered mediocre thousands of years ago.

At that time, the path of cultivation was already difficult for cultivators with three spiritual roots.

With spiritual energy now scarce, it is even more difficult for cultivators with three spiritual roots to establish their foundation.

On her ninetieth birthday, Geng Caichun suddenly realized that her obsession with achieving Foundation Establishment seemed to be too strong.

Throughout her life, she was obsessed with spiritual cultivation and rarely cherished the time when her family and friends were still around. When she realized this and looked back, her parents, siblings, friends, and younger relatives who were close to her had all passed away.

Geng Caichun suddenly felt a little lost, but soon decided to let go of the fact that she couldn't establish a foundation.

For cultivators, each breakthrough and tribulation depends not only on the accumulation of spiritual power but also on opportunities.

She may not live to see that opportunity, but if she can live peacefully to the age of one hundred, and possibly even beyond, she seems to be luckier than many others.

After gaining a clearer understanding, Geng Caichun was no longer so eager to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

She lives in her old house in her hometown, practices her skills every day, and lets things take their course.

Recently, her brother's great-grandson came to her hometown, wanting to practice martial arts with her to improve his health.

Geng Caichun did not refuse.

The boy's name is Geng Yuan. He is eighteen years old and just finished the college entrance examination. He will go to university to register on September 15th.

That morning, after Geng Caichun finished practicing her skills with Geng Yuan, Geng Yuan looked at her phone excitedly, then rode off on her electric scooter, leaving behind the words, "Aunt Zeng, I'll be back soon," and headed towards the town.

During this period, Geng Yuan frequently shopped online, and the express delivery could only be sent to the town. He often rode his electric scooter to pick it up, and Geng Caichun got used to it.

So I didn't pay attention at the time and finished my work and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

Half an hour later, Geng Yuan returned.

He was carrying a delivery box in his arms, and he couldn't wait to open it as soon as he entered the door.

Inside was a glass bottle containing a pink liquid.

Geng Caichun took a sip of soy milk and casually asked, "What is this?"

Geng Yuan smiled brightly: "Aunt Zeng, this is wine from Xianshan Farm. Do you know Xianshan Farm?"

Geng Caichun nodded.

She occasionally goes online, so of course she knows.

She even tried to snatch vegetables from the Immortal Mountain Farm, hoping they could help her build her foundation, but unfortunately, she never succeeded.

Later, having let go of his obsession with Foundation Establishment, he stopped trying to steal it.

Geng Yuan: "Yesterday, during Li Chang'an's live stream, there was a giveaway. I used several alternate accounts to participate, a total of five accounts. I didn't expect that one of them would actually win!"

God knows how happy he was when the "Congratulations on winning the prize" message popped up in the live stream.

If he hadn't been thinking of giving Geng Caichun a surprise today, he would have wanted to yell and shout on the spot yesterday to vent his excitement.

Geng Caichun put down her bowl, somewhat curious: "Five numbers, don't you find it troublesome?"

"It's not troublesome at all. As long as we can win, five numbers are already quite easy."

As Geng Yuan spoke, he opened the bottle of wine.

Immediately, a sweet aroma of wine wafted out of the bottle.

The aroma of this wine is not overpowering; it even carries the fruity fragrance of peaches, which is refreshing and delightful.

Geng Caichun also sensed a spiritual energy.

Then he realized that this was wine brewed by Li Chang'an, so he wasn't too curious about the spiritual energy.

"It's really good," Geng Caichun couldn't help but say.

Geng Yuan chuckled and put the lid on: "Aunt Zeng, this is all for you. I don't drink alcohol."

Geng Caichun smiled helplessly: "You're not going to drink, yet you're opening five accounts to participate in the lottery."

"It's because I'm thinking of taking care of you, my dear elder."

Geng Caichun also brewed a lot of wine himself, and would have a small sip every night.

When participating in the lottery, Geng Yuan had already planned to give the wine to Geng Caichun.

Seeing Geng Yuan's sincere expression, Geng Caichun didn't refuse and accepted the gift, saying, "Okay, thank you."

She accepted the small bottle of wine and placed it on the cabinet in the restaurant.

＊

After dinner, Geng Yuan went to her room to play games. Geng Caichun habitually walked to the cabinet and found that the bottle of wine she had opened earlier had been finished.

She wanted to open a new bottle, but instead saw the peach wine that Geng Yuan had won in the lottery.

This bottle of wine was already opened this morning.

Thinking of that aroma, Geng Caichun decided to finish the bottle of peach wine first.

After taking the wine, Geng Caichun sat on a recliner in the courtyard, sipping it intermittently.

Fruit wine is generally not intoxicating, and she has a good alcohol tolerance, so she didn't deliberately control her intake.

Moreover, the wine brewed by Li Chang'an not only smells sweet, but when you taste it, the first thing you taste is the natural peach flavor, followed by the mellow wine flavor. The two are well-balanced, and you can taste the layers when you savor it carefully.

Geng Caichun couldn't stop after taking the first sip, and soon the 500 ml of wine was gone.

Geng Caichun turned the bottle upside down to make sure there wasn't a single drop left inside.

A pang of regret rose in her heart, and she slowly got up, intending to go back to her room to sleep.

However, just as she stood up, she suddenly felt a faint burning sensation in her lower abdomen, and a hazy white mist seemed to appear before her eyes.

Geng Caichun thought she was drunk, but then realized that she was actually quite sober.

She frowned and saw the figures of her parents, siblings, and friends emerging from the fog.

As you walk forward, the fog grows thicker and thicker, until you see the silhouette of a little girl at the end of the path.

Geng Caichun slowly stopped in her tracks.

She saw the little girl looking up at the adult in front of her, who was asking her, "Xiaochun, are you really determined to cultivate? Cultivation is very hard."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little girl clenched her fists and said excitedly, "Mom, I'm not afraid of hardship. Being able to cultivate is a wonderful thing! I can do it!"

Geng Caichun stood there, stunned, her eyes wide open.

Over the years, she has been obsessed with achieving results in cultivation and establishing a foundation, but she has forgotten why she initially decided to cultivate—simply because being able to cultivate is a wonderful thing.

This scene seemed to awaken her, making her realize that what she valued most was the process, not the result.

The child's voice echoed in her ears, and the fog grew thicker and thicker. Geng Caichun seemed to have no idea where she was or how old she was.

She looked at the fog, listened to that child's voice, so confident and pure, and unconsciously repeated after him, "I can..."

Then came an even more resolute voice: "I can!"

The fog suddenly dissipated.

Suddenly, several dark clouds appeared in the clear night sky, obscuring the moon and stars, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

However, immediately afterward, lightning, brighter than moonlight and starlight, struck down!

"Boom—"