RL (AT) Chapter 6: Making Wine

Chapter 6: Making Wine

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

Lin Mo, with Mama Lin’s consent, moved the pot out, poured in a little pickled plum, and then washed the pot several times before soaking it in water. Lin Mo put yesterday’s grapes into a basin and washed them, then took out the water and drained the surface with a bamboo sieve.

“Fourth Brother, what are you going to do? Pickling grapes?” Lin Xing asked as he ate the pickled plums from the pot.

Lin Chen helped his nephew and niece as he handed them a grape for them to eat. He was also confused. Pickled grapes? There was so much juice in grapes, and it seemed that there would not be much flesh left after pickling them. Could they still be eaten?

“Making wine.”

After all the preparations were finished, Lin Mo waited for the grapes to drain. Lin Mo looked down at his niece, who was licking the grape juice off her hand and took out the half-ripe peaches in the basket.

“Do we have sugar at home?” Lin Mo asked.

At present, the condition was too poor. Lin Mo was completely in a state of ‘no martial arts can be exerted when he is free,’ so he could only do some simple things.

“Yes, I’ll get it.” Lin Xing licked the juice off his finger and walked into the kitchen.

“A-Chen, go wash the pot and boil some water.”

“Oh.” Lin Chen scratched his head. He didn’t know what to ask, so he stopped.

Lin Mo rinsed the peach’s surface with saltwater, then cut them into small pieces and put them on a plate.

“Fourth Uncle, want to eat.” Lin Xiaoya grabbed Lin Mo’s pants with both hands and stood on tiptoe to look up at the fruit on the table. Lin Xiaonan, standing next to his sister, though he didn’t say anything, looked up at Lin Mo expectantly, his big eyes blinking.

Lin Mo put a small piece of peach in each of their mouths and told them. “Sit on the stool and wait. I’ll make delicious food for you.” 

“Oh,” Lin Xiaoya’s mouth was stuffed with a piece of peach. Her mouth was bulging, so she could only nod her head and reply vaguely.

Lin Mo looked at them sitting on the stools, carried the basin, and went into the kitchen. Lin Xiaoya chewed the pulp in her mouth with her mouth bulging. After eating, she hummed at the sweetness of the peach.

“Brother, I still want to eat.” Lin Xiaoya sat on the bench with her hands on her knees and looked at her brother.

Sitting next to her, Lin Xiaonan thought and then shook his little head and said, “No, you can’t. We have to wait for Fourth Uncle.” 

“… All right.” Lin Xiaoya puckered her mouth, rested her chin on the back of her hand on her knee, her eyes fixed on the other side of the kitchen.

Once the water was boiling, Lin Mo put the peach pieces and white sugar in, and stirred until the peaches were soft, and then took them off of the fire. Lin Mo went out of the kitchen with the peach syrup. Lin Chen cleaned the pot, washed several bowls and wooden spoons, and quickly stepped back into the kitchen.

“They’ll be served cold.” Lin Mo set it aside.

The grapes in the pot had drained completely. Lin Mo cut them one by one and put them in the pot on the stove. Two layers of grapes and one layer of sugar were put in. After a little space was left, water was added until it hit the mouth of the pot, and then was covered with the lid.

Lin Mo moved the pot to the shade of the kitchen, went to the table and sat down to eat the rest of the grapes while the peach syrup cooled, the four children were eating around the table.

“Fourth Uncle, delicious.” Lin Xiaonan looked up at Lin Mo, who was sitting, eating grapes. The milky voice sounded tender.

Lin Mo reached for his little head and touched it. He didn’t talk. He had put a drop of spring water into the grape water, how was it not good?

“Fourth Uncle, can Xiaoya and brother eat this tomorrow?” Lin Xiaoya asked, holding a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, licking the sugar water off of both.

“Yeah.” The twin brother, who was eating with his head down, heard this and looked up at Fourth Brother with a happy face. Then he looked at his sister for a few seconds and continued to eat.

“After a while, I will go to catch fish on the other side of the river. After dinner, I will go to pick fruit on the other side of the fruit orchard.” Lin Mo said.

“Do you want to pick grapes?” Asked Lin Xing.

“Not just grapes…” Lin Mo shook his head.

The fruit on the other side of the fruit orchard was almost ripe. If he didn’t pick it, they would fall in a few days. Lin Mo thought that, in addition to making wine, other fruits could be made into other fruit products. 

“Forget it. I’ll ask our parents tomorrow.”

In addition to fruits, he had to prepare containers that could store everything. Large ones would be used for brewing. If he sold them, he would have to use containers with a good appearance. He just didn’t know if there were transparent containers in this era.

Lin Mo wanted to find a chance to talk to his parents at lunch.

“Save some for lunch.” Lin Mo wanted to eat the third bowl, but he saw his two stupid brothers.

Now it was an hour before lunchtime. It was really a loss to have too much. Lin Xing put down his spoon.

After washing the bowl, Lin Xing and Lin Chen grabbed their bamboo baskets and fishing tools. Lin Mo took the rest of the peach syrup into his Elder Brother’s room, and the two children followed him.

Lin Mo put the big bowl on the table and said, “A-Xing and I are going to catch fish on the other side of the river. We will make lunch when we come back.” 

“Ah, this is it?” Just finished cooking Lin Cheng’s medicine, sister-in-law Lin stood up and nodded in response, looking at the thing in his hand with some doubts.

“Honey peach syrup, you can both eat it.”

Lin Mo had nothing else to say and left. Before going out, he looked at his Elder Brother, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. His heart was stagnant.

Now it was the season with the most fish and shrimps in the river, and there were several small rivers in the village. Children often went to the river to catch shrimps and fish for home. Some villagers who couldn’t eat meat all year round sometimes went there.

Lin Mo followed his two younger brothers to the river near their home. It was a long time before lunch, and other people were still probably working in the fields, so they didn’t meet anyone on the way.

When they got to the river, Lin Xing and Lin Chen took off their shoes and pulled up their trouser legs. They carefully placed their catching tools in the downstream direction of the river.

“Fourth Brother, just watch. Don’t come down.” Lin Xing was a little uneasy.

Lin Mo had been sick for half a month before because he went down the river to catch fish and got his clothes wet. They dare not let Lin Xing try again. Although his Fourth Brother seemed to be getting better recently, he had to take precautions.

Lin Mo waved, “Okay.” 

There was no obvious boundary between the river and the ground, but the shallow water was very clear, they could see the pebbles at the bottom. On both sides, there were adult height weeds and some wild vegetables recognized by Lin Mo.

Lin Mo glanced at Lin Xing and Lin Chen, who was bending down to catch fish. He took off his shoes, pulled up his trouser legs, and went to the river. He picked the herb he knew, placed a bundle on the ground, and then walked forward.

Cheng Yan, who came back from the town, was carrying something in both hands. When he passed by the river, he heard the sound of splashing water. He glanced at the two children of the Lin family and a boy by the river.

When Cheng Yan was about to look away, he saw the bent young man stand straight. When he saw his face, he remembered that the young man was Lin Mo.

Cheng Yan had lived in Daling Village for a year. He usually didn’t have contact with the villagers. He was only familiar with the eldest son of the Lin family, Lin Cheng, who went up the mountain to hunt.

Lin Mo was also famous in the village because he was weak and didn’t need to work when he was young. He once envied him very much, but because he was weak and easily fell ill, he took medicine in small and large amounts and was often a topic of conversation.

The first time Cheng Yan and Lin Mo met was yesterday. Yesterday, the father and son of the Lin family were attacked by a wild boar on the mountain. Father Lin’s body was only scratched because of his son’s protection, but Lin Cheng’s situation was more dangerous.

Fortunately, when Cheng Yan heard the noise, he got there in time and gave the boar a fatal arrow. Otherwise, he was afraid there would be two seriously injured people besides Lin Cheng.

After taking Lin Cheng back to the Lin family’s house, Cheng Yan stayed in the Lin family’s house till night. When he was ready to go back, he saw Lin Mo entering the house. Cheng Yan’s first impression of Lin Mo was very deep because of his temperament and his eyes. Because he made money by hunting, Cheng Yan often went to the town to sell prey and buy food. He met all kinds of little brothers with different looked and personalities, but Lin Mo was the only one who impressed him.

Although Lin Mo’s eyes were very calm, Cheng Yan could see a puzzled look at the bottom of his eyes. At the moment when he saw it, there seemed to be a voice in his heart: those kinds of eyes couldn’t appear on a farmer, let alone a ger.

Cheng Yan had only one year’s memory, and he didn’t have any other memory. However, he knew that his previous identity was definitely not simple. Because of his body instinct and his martial arts, he believed in his intuition.

Cheng Yan took a quick look at the young man standing by the river. He was thin, and his skin looked very white. It might be because he didn’t get much sun exposure, but he was paler from insufficient blood color.

Cheng Yan thought that the rumor was true, that Lin Mo was really sick all year round. When his eyes looked at Lin Mo’s feet on the rocks by the river, his ears were hot, and his face showed some embarrassment, but it soon disappeared.

Lin Mo, who stood up and put the wild vegetables and herbs aside, seemed to see a familiar plant. He looked at it carefully and found that it was something he was familiar with.

Lin Mo’s eyes were bright. This kind of plant only grew near the water, and unexpectedly, he found it here. The most valuable part of this plant was its tuber. It could make a wound heal quickly when the patient ate it and had certain medicinal properties. In the past, because of its small quantity, its price was very high.

Lin Mo’s previous life’s knowledge was also a result of his father’s desire to get better, and he went to look for it. It happened that a person who wanted to cooperate with Lin family had goods in his hand. Lin Mo thought to understand it after his father recovered quickly.

Because Lin Cheng would need it, Lin Mo could bear the pain of stepping on the pebbles and walked quickly. When he heard the strange footsteps approaching, he didn’t turn to look.

Lin Mo put his hands in the tall weeds in front of him, found a foothold, and stretched out his feet to walk there. The villagers, whether children or adults, knowing that the big stones half immersed in the water in the weeds, could not be stepped on, because it was easy to slip on them.

However, Lin Mo, as a fake villager, naturally didn’t know, so Lin Mo’s foot slipped after exerting effort, and his body fell forward when he didn’t respond to the situation.

“Ah…” Lin Mo called out in fright and immediately shut up. There was nothing to support him except weeds, and his body was too weak, even if Lin Mo reacted in time, his sensitive body could not keep up.

Falling was inevitable. Lin Mo quickly closed his eyes to prevent the weeds from stabbing into his eyes.