Chapter 1052, A Remarkable Plant
Chapter 1052, A Remarkable Plant
Translator: Silavin
Su Bai was examining a new plant that had been sent over from the farmlands, one that reportedly no one had ever seen before.
A plant that no one in a Primitive Tribe had ever laid eyes on was certainly worth taking a closer look at.
“Shaman, what kind of plant is this?” Yu Ying asked, tilting her head with curiosity.
“It looks oddly familiar. Let me study it a little more.” Su Bai examined it with great care.
“The leaves look rather pointed, and it is quite tall as well. Truly strange.” Yu Ying could not resist turning it over in her hands.
“It really is. I know what this plant is called. Back in my homeland, this is known as jiuqu grass (酒曲草).”
Su Bai was visibly excited, and said, “This plant is a significant discovery. It will be enormously helpful to our Tribe’s development.”
Yu Ying looked entirely puzzled and asked, “Shaman, what is jiuqu grass? I only know jiu (酒 – wine/alcohol). Surely this plant can be used to make wine?”
The reason Yu Ying knew about jiuqu at all was because Su Bai had drawn it from the System on a previous occasion.
Of course, Yu Ying knew nothing of the System itself. She only knew that Su Bai had used jiuqu to brew wine, which was why the term had lodged in her memory.
After all, this unfamiliar word had been behind the creation of wine, and wine had done a great deal to help the Flame Dragon Tribe flourish.
“Exactly. As it happens, the jiuqu I supplied to the brewery is nearly exhausted, so this could not have come at a better time.” Su Bai said with evident excitement.
He had been quietly fretting over what to do once the jiuqu ran out.
Though the stores held a reasonable supply of wine at present, without continuous production it would inevitably sell out one day.
Now that jiuqu grass had appeared, the timing was perfect, and it could be used to produce jiuqu going forward.
“Shaman, can wine be brewed simply by putting jiuqu grass directly into wheat?” Yu Ying asked with innocent curiosity.
“Ha ha ha ha… you foolish girl, of course it is not done like that. We must use the jiuqu grass to make jiuqu first, and only then can wine be brewed.” Su Bai laughed openly and warmly.
“Shaman, what do I need to prepare?” Yu Ying’s pink fox tail swished with anticipation.
“Bring me some glassware, along with some rice flour and Wheat Straw.” Su Bai said calmly.
He intended to attempt making jiuqu himself. If it succeeded, all the better, as it would free him from depending on the System for such things every day. No one could ever know what tomorrow’s daily Check In might yield. Though the System had been fortunate enough to produce jiuqu on several previous occasions, such things could not simply be summoned at will.
“Yes.” Yu Ying immediately turned and hurried off to gather the materials.
Ten minutes later, Yu Ying had everything prepared and stood neatly to one side, watching.
Su Bai took out a wooden basin and began plucking the jiuqu grass leaf by leaf, along with the flowers blooming from the plant.
“Shaman, can it not be used whole?” Yu Ying also began helping to strip the leaves.
“Only the leaves and flowers are needed. Everything else is to be discarded.” Su Bai said with a smile.
“Yes, I will help.” Yu Ying’s hands quickened immediately.
Half an hour later, the wooden basin was filled with jiuqu grass leaves and flowers, green and lush.
“Shaman, what do we do next? Should all these leaves be steamed?” Yu Ying could only think in terms of cooking.
“No. The leaves and flowers all need to be pounded to a pulp, the finer the better.” Su Bai picked up a wooden pestle and began working.
“Understood.” Yu Ying sprang into action at once.
In short order, the entire basin of jiuqu grass had been pounded to a mash. But simply pounding it was not enough; it needed to be worked to an extremely fine and smooth consistency.
And so, the two of them stood at the basin and kept at it, alternating hands when one tired.
Of course, the one switching hands constantly was only Yu Ying. Su Bai felt no fatigue at all, and in fact pounded with increasing force as he went.
Another half hour passed, and the entire basin of jiuqu grass had been reduced to an extremely fine pulp, looking rather like a pool of soft mud.
“Shaman, is this ready? The smell is quite peculiar.” Yu Ying’s fair hands had been stained green by the plant’s juices.
Beads of sweat had begun to form on Yu Ying’s delicate face, and several strands of hair along her forehead were damp and clinging to her skin.
“Not yet. Did I not ask you to bring rice flour? Pour it straight in and keep mixing.” Su Bai smiled as he continued the work.
Yu Ying moved to help and was promptly stopped.
“Go and rest for a while, or just watch from the side. Look at how much you’re sweating.” Su Bai said warmly.
This was, after all, a labour-intensive task, and it was genuinely tiring work for a girl to undertake.
In this Primitive Era, without any advanced tools available, pounding jiuqu grass to a fine paste was purely a matter of manual effort.
The thought prompted Su Bai to begin sketching designs in his mind, thinking through what kinds of tools might be built to replace such labour. Not necessarily fully automated devices; even semi-automated ones would make life a lot easier.
“Then I will just watch from the side.” Yu Ying felt something warm bloom quietly in her chest.
Once Su Bai had tipped the rice flour into the basin he began mixing, keeping the proportions of the two roughly equal.
Since the pounded jiuqu grass released a great deal of liquid, mixing was not difficult, and the two components blended together thoroughly. It looked very much like kneading dough: before long, the white rice flour had taken on a deep green colour, and a large round mass of dough sat in the basin.
“Shaman, what a large lump. Is this what jiuqu is?” Yu Ying said in astonishment.
She had the distinct feeling it resembled her own cooking quite closely. When she kneaded the dough it went just like this, after which she would press it flat with a rolling pin and cut it into strips.
“More or less, though, we need to divide this large mass into small round balls.” Su Bai said, and set to work immediately.
Since Yu Ying’s hands had rested enough, and since this particular stage required far less physical effort, she immediately joined in and began rolling the dough into small balls as well.
Another half hour passed, and the large mass of dough had been divided into over a hundred small, neatly rounded balls.
“That is more or less it. It is starting to look like the real thing.” Su Bai brushed his hands together with satisfaction.
“Shaman, can these be taken straight to the brewery? Shall I call the people from the wine house to come and collect them?” Yu Ying asked with curiosity.
“They are not quite finished yet. They still need to ferment. About forty-eight hours of fermentation should do it.” Su Bai thoroughly washed his hands clean.
“I know about fermentation. It truly is an amazing process. So many things depend on it.” Yu Ying suddenly recalled many things she had learned before, a great number of which had involved a fermentation step.
“Let us wait for forty-eight hours and see whether it has worked.” Su Bai said with a smile.
“I will keep a close watch over all these little jiuqu balls.” Yu Ying swished her pink fox tail happily.