Chapter 161 (Patreon)

‘This is quite good, right?’ Tianan thought to himself as he took a sip of his new spiritual wine.

‘It has a deep flavor, at least. I guess I’ll have to ask Dad for the specific effects.’

Tianan poured out a few bottles from the barrel and placed them in his storage pouch. He then walked up from the cellar where he stored most of his wines and made his way outside.

‘What a clear sky.’

Tianan came to a stop as soon as he stepped outside, shielding his eyes from the sun as he took a moment to appreciate the weather.

‘I wonder if it’s an effect of the formation they have covering the city.’

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and Tianan realized that there rarely were. It rained from time to time, of course, but it was like it only rained when it was supposed to. It felt a bit orchestrated.

There were no grey days with cloudy skies just for the sake of it. Only sun, or rain.

Tianan didn’t mind it, though; it was better than back home. Those cold winds could ruin a day of running around playing with friends back in Baishu Village. But here, there was no need to worry about the weather. If you woke up to rain, then you knew that would be a rainy day. And if it was sunny, then it would be sunny all day; no need to worry about a sudden shift.

Taking a deep breath, Tianan started walking over to his parents' house. He wanted his father to judge the new wine before he went around treating people to it.

Tianan was well-versed enough in wine-making by this point that he wouldn’t make something dangerous to consume; he just preferred to have his father’s detailed description of its effects so he could retell it to anyone he gave it to.

‘I guess it shouldn’t differ much from the Shu Clover Rice Wine; I just let it age a bit more this time, and added a few herbs.’

The Shu Clover Rice Wine was the most successful wine Tianan had produced thus far. He had used the same Clover Rice that they used back home, except this time, he had let it grow in their Shu Estate, curious about the effect spiritual qi would have on it.

As it turned out, there wasn’t any big change. It didn’t magically evolve to a 2nd-stage spiritual plant. It did, however, make it so his wine was useful both to Innate warriors and 4th-stage Qi Refiners for the first time.

He finished the first batch five years ago, just in time for Tianhu’s and Tianyi’s ceremony. 

There wasn’t a whole lot of it, as he couldn’t exactly fill the Shu Estate with rice paddies, but it was enough for one night of drinking. Especially considering that it was only given to the weaker cultivators in attendance. His father had to buy some fancier stuff to give to the Foundation cultivators who attended.

Since then, Tianan had been trying to perfect the Shu Clover Rice Wine as much as possible, tweaking some things here and there each year.

His father had actually urged him to be a bit more extravagant, and make use of some more precious spiritual medicines to make the wine reach a higher tier.

But Tianan wasn’t very interested in that. He knew he couldn’t control those resources very well, and would probably waste them. Even if he managed to make a more powerful wine, he definitely wouldn’t be able to make it more effective than each of their parts. That was something only an experienced alchemist could do.

So Tianan really didn’t see the point. There would be no joy in it if he did it that way.

He preferred to use the ingredients he was confident in using, the ones he had a good grasp of, and make something spectacular out of something ordinary. 

That had been what got him so excited about winemaking when he was young. Seeing that boring old rice being made into a magical liquid that tasted like heaven, strengthened the body, and danced with the mind.

There was an art to it, and Tianan enjoyed the process just as much as the results.

‘We’ve saved up money for a while now. I think we’ll be good to rent a plot of land soon.’

Tianan and his wives got a lot of spirit stones every month, and they had been saving up to open a wine shop. 

They should have made enough a long time ago, but there were unexpected expenses that would crop up from time to time. And as time passed, Tianan’s plans grew bigger. He wasn’t as content with opening a small shop in the outer city anymore. He wanted to rent some farmland, preferably above a 2nd-tier spirit vein, as that was what he had gotten used to now, and then grow his own ingredients, not purchasing materials and just brewing the wine.

He wanted control over the whole process.

The only issue was that rent for a place like that was incredibly expensive. And Tianan really couldn’t make wine of such a high caliber to make up for that price.

‘Maybe I should start experimenting with some higher grade spiritual medicines after all. Just because I’m not used to them now doesn’t mean I won’t be in the future.’

‘Who knows, I might actually be able to make something out of the ordinary if I’m lucky.’

Tianan arrived at his parents' courtyard and stepped around to the back, as they wouldn’t be inside when it was this nice outside.

“Mom, is Dad around?” Tianan asked, seeing his mother bent over some flowers she was tending to.

“You just missed him. He has gone out with Duo Wengze and his brother-in-law,” His mother answered.

“Oh,” Tianan said, nodding. “Well, I just finished my latest batch of wine. How about giving it a taste?”“You know I’m not much of a drinker. Besides, that stuff is a bit too strong for me now,” His mother said, shaking her head with a smile.

‘Right. Maybe I should look into something more nourishing, without as much focus on body refining. It would be nice if Mom could enjoy it as well.’

“Oh, well,” Tianan said with a shrug. “What are you doing? Planting something?”“I’m looking for weeds. I found a Clover Rice Plant growing here a few days ago, you know,” His mother answered.

Tianan chuckled, “My bad. Let me help you.”Tianan pulled up his sleeves and started looking for weeds to pull. He had grown up on a farm and had spent most of his recent time tending to his own plants, so he had a knack for it.

The two of them worked side by side in silence. It was quite relaxing.

“Alright, alright,” His mother said after half an hour, patting him on the back. “You have taken care of everything.”“I can go get some spiritual water, the stuff Dad brought back a while ago,” Tianan suggested.

“You think he didn’t give me any?” His mother asked, rolling her eyes. “Go on, leave me something to do myself, or I’ll just grow bored waiting for your father.”

“Are you sure?” Tianan asked.

“Yes, go. Bring your grandchildren next time if you want to stay longer,” His mother said.

Tianan laughed, “Alright. I’ll be sure to bring them over for a visit tomorrow.”“Good,” His mother said, nodding. “You should head over to Luzei and have him taste some of that new wine.”“Alright, I’ll swing by Tianyue’s place,” Tianan said, nodding. He wasn’t really that close to Luzei. He didn’t dislike him or anything; they were just not very similar, so they had never spent that much time together.

But if his mother asked him to, Tianan wasn’t going to argue.

He said goodbye and walked back to the center of their estate. On the way, he passed his daughter Xinqian’s house. She had moved out of Tianan’s courtyard three years ago, after she had married a young man from the Zhi Family. 

Tianan decided to make a stop, so he stepped up to the house and knocked on the door.

“Grandpa!” A little boy just over two years old called out as the door opened, his head popping out between his father’s legs.

“Hey there, little Jizhi, what are you up to?” Tianan bent down and asked, rubbing his head.

“Grandpa, I wrote my name. Come look,” Jizhi said, pulling Tianan’s hand.

Zhi Zhang, the boy’s father, shook his head with a smile. “Come on in.”“Dad? What are you here for?” Xinqian asked, seated in the kitchen. She was holding a baby in her arms, the couple’s second child. On the table there were some scattered papers, seemingly for Jizhi to practice with.

“Just walked by, thought I’d stop and say hello,” Tianan answered, patting his daughter on the head. “You never come to visit, so what choice do I have?”“We come over several times a week,” Xinqiao said, rolling her eyes.

“You do? Still. Visit more often in the future,” Tianan said.

His children were getting married and moving out one after another. When they had arrived in Jingli Immortal City, all his eleven children lived together with their parents, and Tianan missed having such a packed home. 

Of course, it was inevitable that they would eventually move out. His youngest, Xinshi, was already 20 years old now. Time had passed quickly.

“Alright, alright,” Xinqian agreed, swinging the baby in her arms from side to side.

“Grandpa, look!” Jizhi proudly showed off the characters he had written. They were a bit rough-looking, but they were very impressive for such a young child.

‘He seems quite bright. I wonder if he has spirit roots.’

Zhi Zhang had 8th-grade spirit roots, so it was very possible. 

Unfortunately, Tianan’s father had stopped making statements about children’s talents a long time ago now, so Tianan would have to wait until the child grew up before he would know.

“Well done, kid. You’re quite the little genius, aren’t you?” Tianan asked.

“I am,” Jizhi said, nodding happily.

Tianan suddenly got an idea. He turned to Zhi Zhang. “Hey, Zhang. Are you busy?”“No. I just finished cultivating,” Zhang answered.

“Then come with me for a moment,” Tianan said, grasping his shoulder and pushing him to the door.

“Where are you going?” Xinqian asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back,” Tianan yelled back, and then left the house.

Tianan was a bit worried about drinking with Qu Luzei. If Tianyue was at home, he could manage, but if she was away and they had to drink alone, Tianan was sure things would be awkward. They just didn’t have that much in common.

But Tianan thought Zhi Zhang was quite similar to Qu Luzei; he knew the young man liked to read, at least. 

If he brought him along, he could help keep the conversation going.

‘Maybe I should take a look around and grab some more in-laws. Who knows what they get up to all day; they might as well help their father-in-law get along with his brother-in-law.’