Ten-Year-Old Highland Barley Wine

Not long after Xue Xi went in, the brewing gift pack Xu Xin had sent arrived as well.

Now that she had reached the peak of the apprentice level, Xue Xi felt as if she had endless strength in her body. Using her mental power, she precisely placed all the brewing supplies in the brewery she had picked out.

Then she entered the Virtual Culinary Practice Space to get some practice in first. After all, she couldn't afford to waste ingredients. She chose a highland brewing environment, which was better suited to making authentic Highland Barley Wine. Outside, she could use the sealed brewing jars she'd bought as a substitute.

Xue Xi chose whole grains of highland barley. She soaked them in water, quickly washed them, and scooped them out. Then she poured the washed grains into a pot and boiled them until fully cooked. After draining off the water, she steamed them again to remove any moisture left in the grains.

Xue Xi kept busy throughout the process, occasionally reaching out with her little hand to pinch a barley grain. When they were about eighty percent cooked, she took the pot off the heat and let it cool for half an hour. By then, the barley had absorbed all the water in the pot.

After absorbing the water, the barley looked even plumper and more translucent, like tiny jade beads.

The next step was to add the brewing starter, which was crucial. The barley's temperature had to be carefully controlled: if it was too hot, it would kill the starter, but if it was too cool, the starter would be less active and its ability to break down the grains would decline. This called for precise, practiced temperature control.

Xue Xi simply used her mental power to cheat, precisely measuring the temperature between the grains. Once the temperature reached an even 30°C, she added the Brewing Starter. Then she put the barley into a jar, sealed it and kept it warm, waiting for it to ferment and saccharify.

Steamed clean, fermented in earthen jars, and steamed again to collect the liquor—by all rights, this fragrant-style liquor, Highland Barley Wine, wasn't suited to long-term storage. But could the Catalog Recipe be wrong? Impossible!

She turned the Time Dial in the brewing area. The space where the wine jars were stored in the virtual space didn't change, but the jars inside began to transform rapidly, as if time had washed over them. The labels stuck to their surfaces quickly yellowed and curled.

A minute later, a ding like that of a microwave rang through the space. The time acceleration ended, and Xue Xi hurried eagerly over to the jar.

Since it was sealed tightly, she couldn't smell a thing. Xue Xi rubbed her hands together, then eagerly twisted open the seal on the Specialized Wine Jar.

With a hiss, a rich aroma of highland barley spread out. Its fragrance was pure and fresh, elegant, and free of any other notes.

Xue Xi scooped up a spoonful of wine and poured it into the clear glass in her hand. The liquid flowed from the spoon into the glass, clear and bright. As it swirled, it looked visibly thick, clinging together in unbroken drops.

Even though Xue Xi didn't like drinking, she couldn't help praising it. "Good wine!" A chef was always the first to taste a dish, and brewing wine was no different.

She slowly brought the wine to her lips and took a small sip. The tip and root of her tongue felt only a fresh, gentle, smooth purity. After swallowing, she opened her mouth to breathe in and closed it to breathe out, savoring the crisp aftertaste.

After that mouthful, Xue Xi's cheeks flushed an intoxicating red, bright and dewy. She shook her head hard and used her mental power to dispel the effects of the alcohol. Only then did she look at the Great Book's evaluation: Highland Barley Wine (Desolate Rank).

She'd succeeded! Although it was only the lowest rank, Desolate, it was still an achievement for Xue Xi, who had barely ever worked with alcohol before. Besides, given that the strongest people on Earth were currently no higher than Stellar Rank, this was good enough.

She immediately left the practice space and repeated the process, preparing more than a dozen large jars of fermenting barley. Then she used the new Time Regulator function of the Gourmet Anchor to cover the area and set it to maximum acceleration. All she had to do was wait a day, and she'd have ten-year-aged special-brew liquor.

Once the drinks were taken care of, Xue Xi prepared ingredients for the other dishes as well. She spent the whole evening practicing the four new dishes in the virtual space until she had mastered them all. Finally, satisfied, she came out of the kitchen carrying a small plate of Pear Syrup Candy. She turned off the first-floor lights, leaving only the Gourmet Anchor's faint glow to illuminate a small patch in the middle.

She went upstairs and turned on the television. It was showing the inspiring success story of some War God.

After putting down the remote, Xue Xi went into the bathroom to wash up. Then she wrapped herself in a bathrobe, lay down on the sofa in front of the television, and found a cartoon about wolves on the prowl to watch with relish.

From time to time, she picked up a piece of Pear Syrup Candy from the plate and put it in her mouth. It tasted as sweet as honey, crisp and flaky, neither greasy nor sticky, with a pleasant fragrance. "No wonder I'm so good!" she praised herself silently.

The next morning, Xue Xi used Myriad Manifestation Water and Culinary Spirit Fire, along with the Magic Seasoning Pouch, to work on upgrading her dishes in the virtual space. Cooking was like cultivation: to stop moving forward was to fall behind.

It was nearly afternoon, and almost a full day had passed since she had started the time acceleration for the highland barley wine the previous day. Only then did Xue Xi leisurely leave the virtual space. After a full day's effort, all four of her new combat dishes had reached Hong Rank. Strangely, though, no matter how she prepared them, not a single dish had reached Cosmos Rank, as if some crucial ingredient were missing.