Chapter 72: Second Attempt at Brewing

  He put a bag of prepared grain into the wine jar that Zhao Fei had previously prepared, and Zhao Fei let out a deep breath. "This is also a tiring job!" Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Zhao Fei sat down on the bed without any image, having been careful and focused just now, but now that the important task was done, he couldn't help but relax a lot.

  After resting for a while, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, Zhao Fei got out of bed. He came to the wine jar and was somewhat dazed, not knowing how to proceed with the next step. This was inevitable, as he had only seen this far in the workshop. Recalling Zhang Guang's words, it seemed that there was only so much to it. Thinking about this, Zhao Fei couldn't help but secretly regret that if he could have persisted for a little longer, his success rate should have been even higher. But now, regret was too late.

  "It's useless to think about it now, I reckon Zhang Guang thought he had an ace up his sleeve because of this. If only I could Baidu it now, how great would that be!" Zhao Fei nodded to himself in dismay, thinking Zhang Guang was despicable to the extreme. He also didn't think that in the end, it was his own fault for not looking carefully.

  Staring at the wine jar for a while, Zhao Fei made an effort to think about what to do next. "Right, cellar storage, of course, it should be placed in a cool cellar. Thinking of the advertisements from my previous life, a good wine is always stored in a cellar." After saying that, Zhao Fei couldn't help but laugh happily. With an idea in mind, Zhao Fei took action immediately.

  First, Zhao Fei needed to fetch some water. As soon as he thought of water, he remembered the boiled water he had used for steaming rice. "That's boiled water, it should be better than raw well water." Thinking of this, Zhao Fei hastily ran back to the kitchen. When he arrived at the kitchen, he found that there was still no one inside, and he let out a sigh of relief. "No one is here, that's good." He went to the stove and found that the water in the pot had not been touched by anyone. Zhao Fei quickly fetched a bucket and poured all the water from the pot into it.

  Just as Zhao Fei was preparing to carry the bucket away, a chef from the kitchen walked in. Seeing Zhao Fei, he asked: "Little Fly, what are you planning to do with this bucket of water?"

  "It's okay, it's okay." Zhao Fei chuckled and walked around Teacher Fu, carrying the water bucket towards his own hut.

  Watching Zhao Fei's receding back, Teacher Fu couldn't help but shake his head and say: "This kid is mysterious. Don't know what kind of tricks he's up to."

  He carried the water into the house, slowly pouring the water from the bucket into the wine jar. All the water was poured into the wine jar, and Zhao Fei sealed the lid. He patted his hands together excitedly and said: "Finally, it's all done! Now all that's left is to let it age. But where should I put it? Where can I find a cellar?" Zhao Fei helplessly sat back down on the bed.

  Just as he was about to go to bed, Zhao Fei's mind suddenly moved. He slapped the back of his head and said with a self-deprecating smile: "I'm really stupid, looking for a wine cellar, it would be better to just put it under the bed." After finishing speaking, he busied himself with something. Finally, everything was ready, and Zhao Fei's heart also became worried. "I don't know what kind of wine will be brewed in the end," Zhao Fei shook his head, thinking to himself.

  Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhao Fei was also tormented during these fifteen days. Fortunately, within these ten or so days, Zhao Fei did not see Zhang Guang, otherwise, with his poor mental state, he might have caused some trouble. Every day, lying on the bed, imagining that there was fine wine brewed by himself hidden under the bed, Zhao Fei often wanted to open the wine jar to take a look and see if he had really brewed good wine, but he restrained himself every time. On this day, Zhao Fei carried out the wine jar that had been sealed under the bed for fifteen days, with a nervous heart, walking towards the workshop. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw Zhang Guang already waiting for him at the door, with his usual playful smile on his face.

  He tightened his grip on the jar in his arms and gave himself a boost. Zhao Fei strode towards Zhang Guang with big steps.

  "Not bad, pretty punctual." Seeing Zhao Fei coming over with a face full of anger, Zhang Guang put away his playful smile and said calmly. However, what he received in return was a cold hum from Zhao Fei.

  Zhang Guang didn't blame Zhao Fei, but smiled and said: "The temper is quite big, but I don't know how the skills are!"

  "It's clear who will win once the lid is opened, do you need to be so anxious about losing?" Zhao Fei said with a gloomy face, showing no kindness towards Zhang Guang.

  "You're not big, but your tone is huge and ridiculous. I really don't know where you got this attitude from, you little devil." Zhang Guang still didn't mind, and said calmly, "Alright, stop being so precious about it, open it up. After reading it, see if you can still be so arrogant."

  "Hmm!" Zhao Fei let out another cold hum, but his hands didn't stop moving. He still followed Zhang Guang's words and put down the wine jar. With a nervous heart, Zhao Fei slowly opened the lid of the wine jar. The moment he opened it, a whiff of wine aroma entered his nostrils. "It's done!" Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel ecstatic in his heart, then looked at Zhang Guang with great satisfaction. He handed the wine jar to Zhang Guang and said proudly: "This is the fine wine I brewed."

  Zhang Guang took over the urn, first smelled it, then looked inside along the mouth of the urn, and finally drank a mouthful from the bottom of the urn.

  "Pffft!" Zhang Guang spat out the wine he had just drunk and looked at Zhao Fei with a strange expression, saying: "This is what you call fine wine?"

  Zhao Fei saw Zhang Guang spit out the fine wine he had brewed himself, and looked at him with such a strange gaze. He was furious on the spot. He thought that Zhang Guang did not cherish his own labor achievements. He snatched the wine jar from Zhang Guang's hand, hugged it in his arms, and roared angrily: "This is the fine wine I brewed, what's wrong with it?"

  Zhang Guang did not expect Zhao Fei to be so excited, and saw that Zhao Fei was like a protective old hen, tightly hugging the wine jar, and even staring at him fiercely. "Alright! Now I've become a bad guy." Zhang Guang couldn't help but shake his head secretly.

  "Since you say it's good wine, have a taste yourself." Zhang Guang didn't get angry and calmly said to Zhao Fei. It was as if Zhao Fei was also calm when talking to him. It's hard to imagine that a rough-looking Zhang Guang has such a good temper.

  After listening to Zhang Guang's words, Zhao Fei gradually calmed down. He looked at Zhang Guang with a puzzled expression. Zhang Guang nodded and gestured for Zhao Fei to try it himself.

  He brought the mouth of the urn to his own, and Zhao Fei felt a little strange, feeling that something was missing. Without thinking much, he lifted the bottom of the urn, tilted his head and took a sip. Zhao Fei only felt that he had drunk a mouthful of clear water, without any flavor. Suddenly, Zhao Fei was stunned.

  Seeing Zhao Fei's expression, Zhang Guang didn't feel surprised. "How about it, are you still saying that your wine is good?"

  But Zhao Fei seemed to have not heard Zhang Guang's words, his expression was quite dejected, and he looked a bit disheartened. Zhang Guang saw this in his heart and secretly cursed. "How can this kid still not admit defeat, being so disheartened?" He thought, then walked to Zhao Fei's side and patted him on the shoulder.

  "Alright, kid, what's the point of being so disheartened? Cheer up, who hasn't failed before?" Zhang Guang couldn't help but offer some words of comfort as he looked at Zhao Fei's dispirited appearance.

  After hearing Zhang Guang's words, Zhao Fei lifted his head. Facing Zhang Guang who was comforting him, Zhao Fei didn't know how to respond. Just a moment ago, he was blaming and even hating this person, but now this person was consoling him. Zhao Fei was at a loss, not knowing where to put his hands.

  "Haha, you little brat." Zhang Guang pointed at Zhao Fei and laughed heartily. "Now you know that brewing wine seems simple but is actually not that easy."

  Zhao Fei nodded, suddenly enlightened. It turned out that everything Zhang Guang did was for himself. Thinking back on his own actions over the past few days, Zhao Fei couldn't help but lower his head in shame. These days, everything had been going too smoothly for Zhao Fei, and a hint of arrogance had begun to emerge. Some time ago, Zhang Bao had also warned him, but he hadn't taken it to heart. It wasn't until today's incident that Zhao Fei finally realized the truth.

  "Thanks for your timely reminder, otherwise I would have regretted it too late!" As he spoke, Zhao Fei sincerely gave Zhang Guang a bow.

  Looking at Zhao Fei with a respectful gaze, Zhang Guang nodded in satisfaction. Smiling, he said to Zhao Fei: "You can do this, which proves that you still have some self-awareness. It's not in vain that I've been lecturing you all along. How about continuing to learn the art of winemaking from me?"

  "Of course!" Zhao Fei nodded. "As long as you don't mind my attitude a few days ago."

  "No harm done. As the ancients said, 'Knowing one's mistakes and being able to correct them is a great virtue.' Since you young man have already acknowledged your mistake, I welcome you back anytime." Zhang Guang patted Zhao Fei's shoulder heavily again, while Zhao Fei could only force a smile.