Treading music and Making Wine

"So many grapes!"

"This stuff grows very fast at 25-30 degrees, and is also the main food for the parrots here. Having a lot is normal. It looks like they can't even finish eating them."

Lu Zhe nodded.

Indeed, they would rot before we could finish eating them.

He picked up a clean grape and threw it in his mouth to chew.

Sweet, slightly sour, soft and tender.

The texture was three parts similar and seven parts different from the grapes bought in supermarkets.

But still pretty tasty.

"Well, maybe because of the decreased rainfall, the sweetness of the grapes has increased. It feels more delicious than before. Do you want to try it?"

Lin Qianqian also tried a grape: "Yeah, the taste is indeed evolving in the direction we like!"

"This is not evolution. With sufficient sunlight and less rain, the sweetness of fruit will naturally increase! Grapes need increased sunlight and paused watering before ripening in order to enhance the taste."

"Oh yeah... I remember watching a Korean drama when I was little, the guy in the vineyard had this theory."

Lu Zhe smiled: "It’s quite normal for you to watch TV shows when you were little! How did you end up obsessed with yuri later?"

"Because I already liked Yun Eun-hye back then."

Lu Zhe nodded: "I see!"

"Should we just let these rot away? It's a bit of a waste."

"After rotting, they will ferment into alcohol, but there is a lot of bird droppings here. Even if we make it into grape wine, it won't be drinkable."

"It is quite a pity..." Lin Qianqian sighed regretfully, and suddenly said, "Oh, that's right, we can wash them clean and make our own wine!"

"Make our own wine?"

Lu Zhe thought about it and felt Lin Qianqian also had a point.

Since we can't eat them all and they would rot anyway, we might as well take them back and make wine. Grape wine can be stored for a long time.

"The idea is not bad. The only problem is... are you not worried that Tang Xiaoguo will make trouble if she drinks too much?"

Lin Qianqian said, "I think she's very cute when she's drunk!"

Lu Zhe didn’t want Tang Xiaoguo to drink alcohol. There's no telling what silly things this girl might do when drunk.

But if these grapes were left here, it would be a total waste.

The self-brewed wine has low alcohol content. Sometimes it can be drank to quench thirst.

There was another problem - how to get all these grapes out of the hot spring cave.

After all, not many bags were sealed.

Lu Zhe thought about it.

"Let's do this - wash them clean, then bottle them up and tighten the lids to take them out of the hot spring cave. We can make multiple trips if needed!"

Lin Qianqian nodded: "Good idea!"

The two discussed and then started selecting, washing, and transporting the grapes together.

After over two hours of busy work, Lu Zhe made five trips through the 40°C hot spring, and finally moved over 50 kg of wild grapes out.

Even so, a large number of grapes were left behind.

In a big pile on the rocks, too much to fit in the plastic bags.

What to do?

Lu Zhe brought over a basket!

This was the basket Shen Bing had previously used to collect minerals. Sometimes the minerals Lu Zhe collected could fill up a basket, so hers was left here.

But the gaps in the basket were a bit too large, and the grape berries were too small and would fall out.

No problem, Lu Zhe lined the inside with his clothes and plastic bags before putting in the grapes.

Carrying the basket, Lu Zhe returned to camp with Lin Qianqian and 50 kg of grapes.

Shen Bing, Ning Shu, Tang Xiaoguo and Jiang Yao all came over.

Tang Xiaoguo exclaimed: "Wow, how did you get so many grapes!"

Jiang Yao nodded: "Are you opening a factory?"

Ning Shu ate two: "Hmm, not bad! Grown in our test fields?"

"No, wild ones!"

Shen Bing picked one up to look: "Don't tell me you're taking them to make wine!"

Lin Qianqian happily said: "As expected, Sister Bing is so smart!"

Lu Zhe nodded: "Anyway they’ll just rot if left there, so Qianqian and I discussed taking them back to make wine. The alcohol content of homemade grape wine is low, sometimes it can even be drank to quench thirst. Of course, except for Xiaoguo."

Tang Xiaoguo protested: "Why not?"

Jiang Yao smiled faintly: "It’s illegal for minors to drink alcohol."

Tang Xiaoguo frowned: "I'm eighteen, an adult okay!"

Jiang Yao glanced at her chest: "Theoretically an adult doesn't count."

"Hmph, meanie Yao Yao!"

Shen Bing thought for a moment: "My hometown makes grape wine by just putting them in bottles to naturally ferment, but I saw on a TV show that this fermentation method will produce methanol, which can affect eyesight and nerves if you drink too much."

"Health comes first?"

"Uh-huh!"

"It's not that there’s no possibility at all, but with proper operation, there is absolutely no need to worry!"

"How do you plan to brew it?"

Lu Zhe checked the manual in the system, which had very good methods for homemade fruit wine.

"First we need to prepare containers!"

"Plastic bottles?"

"Canned glass jars?"

Lu Zhe shook his head: "These things easily attract a lot of harmful bacteria, which can make the grape wine moldy and produce toxins. We can use natural containers to brew grape wine. Like bamboo tubes!"

"That sounds good!"

"Then we also need a grinder to crush the grapes!"

"Never heard of that!"

"Can't we just put them straight into the bamboo tubes?"

"The texture will be much worse!"

"How about using a stone mortar?"

"The stone mortar will crush the grape seeds, making the wine astringent and bitter. And it's too small. With 50 kg of grapes, grinding them all with a stone mortar would take up the whole day."

"Then what should we use?"

Lu Zhe brought over the bowl used for washing vegetables: "Use this, crush all the grapes, then put them into the bamboo tubes to ferment!"

Ning Shu held a small pestle: "Use this to crush them?"

Lu Zhe shook his head: "Although this may be hard to accept, in order to make the most delicious grape wine, the best method is to use your feet to stomp on them!"

"What??"

The girls were all stunned.

"Stomp with feet? Would that be drinkable?"

"Of course!" Lu Zhe calmly explained:

"In fact, the highest grade wines abroad are basically made by stomping grapes with feet. There is a legend that the bacteria on feet speeds up fermentation and brings out unique flavors in the wine."

"As expected, only you could think of this..."

Lin Qianqian looked at Lu Zhe with eyes full of admiration and respect.

Like a young woman just coming down the mountain, looking up to a senior who had roamed the martial world for many years!

Ning Shu said: "Lu Zhe, you're kidding, right?"

At this time, Shen Bing spoke up again.

She shook her head and said, "Actually, Lu Zhe is right. The force applied by feet is just right to break the grape skins and pulp without crushing the seeds. It allows the fermented wine to have a better texture. Not only countries abroad do this, our most authoritative wineries do it too! And they have strict requirements for education, age, gender, etc."

The girls were surprised: "Sister Bing, you actually know this?"

"Well, this is..."

Shen Bing hesitated, then sighed and said, "Fine, I have a friend! She... she worked in a winery for a month after graduating from college to earn some pocket money..."