In other words, if they didn’t work the grapes, they wouldn’t get to drink the wine.
That instantly moved the men.
The big baby, Guo Bing, immediately argued, “Miss Lin, you can’t do this. It’s fine if you want us to go hunting or fishing, but this… Isn’t it a bit of a waste of our talent?”
Lin Yuelan glanced at Guo Bing. “A waste of your talent?” Then, she chuckled and said, “Then, it appears like your talent will be wasted here, no matter what. I don’t think my place is suitable for you. How about this? You can go to other places where your talents are needed. I don’t need you to stay.”
Guo Bing’s expression changed quickly. He immediately stepped forward and said, “Miss Lin, I didn’t mean that. I’ll go and crush the grapes, okay?”
Now that they were penniless, they could not return to the capital. More importantly, they had to hide their identities and not let those people find out that they were still alive. Otherwise, they would be hunted down again.
They were really pitiful. They had homes, but they had no home to return to!
Before Guo Bing could finish his words, Jiang Zhennan had already walked to the front of the clay pot, then squatted down and began to work silently.
However, when he held the grape, the grape exploded with a pop. The grape juice sprayed on Jiang Zhennan’s mask.
Jiang Zhennan was stunned for a moment, and he was at a loss.
“Pfft!” Lin Yuelan laughed.
“Masked uncle, it seems to me that you can’t wait to drink the wine.” Lin Yuelan teased, “But you won’t get the wine so soon.” Then, she walked to Jing Zhennan, squatted down, took a grape, and demonstrated it to Jiang Zhennan. She said, “You are too used to holding weapons. These grapes are very fragile compared to weapons. You have to be gentle. Think of it as peeling the grape skin. Just use the same amount of force to crush the grapes.”
Jiang Zhennan was okay because he had peeled the skin for Lin Yuelan earlier, but things were not that simple for the other men. They normally didn’t peel off the skin when they ate grapes.
Jiang Zhennan failed at first, but with Lin Yuelan’s demonstration, he slowly became more skilled.
Guo Bing’s bargaining was fruitless, so he could only hang his head in frustration and obediently squat in front of another jar, slowly and patiently pinching the grapes like Jiang Zhennan.
He kept mumbling, “I’ll crush you. I’ll crush all of you!”
Since the two bosses had started to work, the three little ones had to work too. There were only so many grapes. They’d be done with them in a while.
While the five of them were prepared the grapes, Lin Yuelan walked to a quiet place and took out the white sugar from her space.
The grapes were done very quickly.
Lin Yuelan gave the men 5.3 catties, 5.6 catties, 5 catties, 6.6 catties, 7 catties, and 7.5 catties of white sugar each. These white sugar were placed in separate clay jars, stirred and mixed, and then sealed.
After everything was done, it was already dark.
Lin Yuelan carried the jars one by one to the cellar.
Although the hut was small, it was once Lin Laosan’s family’s old house, so it had a cellar. The cellar was not big, so Lin Yuelan used her power to expand it further. Now, the cellar was even bigger than the hut aboveground.
Jiang Zhennan followed Lin Yuelan, also holding a clay pot in his hands. He still had some doubts as he asked, “Miss Lin, can you really make that wine with this?”
Could a few catties of grapes with some sugar really make the fragrant wine of the western region?
Lin Yuelan said mysteriously, “Just wait and see.”
Of course, wine-making was not that simple. The quality also depended on the fermentation process and time. Plus, Lin Yuelan had a secret ingredient. She had added a drop of her spring water into each jar.
After everything was done, Lin Yuelan planned to cook a few dishes to reward the men.