Chapter 176: The Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes Are Ready for Harvest

Wen Yao did not hide the matter of opening a winery from Qiu Rongrong. After discussing it with her family and marking out the land to prepare for construction, Wen Yao went to find Qiu Rongrong and told her about her plans.

"Really? The mountain spring just stops when it's full? And then continues to rise again when the water is gone? Yao Yao, to be honest with you, I've never seen such a magical thing in all my life. Take me to see it." Qiu Rongrong wasn't interested in the winery at all; instead, she was captivated by the mountain spring.

Wen Yao pulled her back and hastily said, "Elder sister, you can go see it anytime. That spring is right there and isn't going to run away. But this time, you really have to save your little sister. You must save me, please!"

With a pitiful expression on Wen Yao's face, Qiu Rongrong couldn't help but laugh.

She pinched Wen Yao's nose and smiled, "What were you doing before? Clearly knowing nothing about it, yet you insisted on gritting your teeth and brewing some wine. Now that big words have been spoken, you know you're in a rush, don't you?"

Wen Yao chuckled, "Not really." It wasn't that she didn't understand; she just wasn't proficient in it. She needed professionals while she provided technical references. Hehe, mutual improvement, mutual improvement.

After teasing her, Qiu Rongrong smiled and said, "I can certainly find people who know how to brew wine. My family also has its own winery, though business isn't very good. My older brother wanted to close it down a few years ago. However, with so many of our restaurants spread everywhere—although the wine isn't as good as Fairy Residence brew, it's cheap and a lot of people drink it—it's barely managing to scrape by. If you really want to set up some kind of winery, I'll talk to my older brother and hand all the people in the winery over to you. But I'll make this clear first: if you end up brewing any fine wine in the future, you must think of my Drunken Immortal Pavilion and the Qiu family first."

Oh, dear. She just wanted a professional technician, but doing this would put someone else's factory out of business. Was that really a good idea?

"Elder sister Qiu, that's not really necessary. I just need someone who knows how to brew wine, to understand the current brewing technology process and some points to watch out for. There's no need to put big brother Qiu's winery out of business, really no need," Wen Yao waved her hands repeatedly.

Qiu Rongrong let out a chuckle, "You really don't want them? The veteran masters in my brother's winery are all old craftsmen with a lifetime of brewing experience. If you miss this village, you won't find this shop."

Wen Yao said, "No, no, no. Such veteran craftsmen all have their own unique pride. They definitely wouldn't be able to stand my whimsical and bizarre ideas. When conflicts arise, gaps will easily form. Wine is something that goes into the stomach; we can't afford even the slightest mistake."

Qiu Rongrong frowned, "They wouldn't dare."

Wen Yao silently curled her lips, having completely forgotten about that. Anyone working in the Qiu family's winery must be a family servant. The notion of harboring double intentions simply cannot take root in the face of a deed of sale, unless one is tired of living.
Sigh.

"Elder sister, I really just need one person. Please help me find one. It's best if you can find someone, but it doesn't matter if you can't." Wen Yao shook Qiu Rongrong's arm coaxingly. Even if she couldn't find anyone, she could still figure it out herself if she spent a little time.

Qiu Rongrong didn't force the issue and nodded, "Alright then. I'll have Manager Lu ask around the winery to see who is willing to come. He's quite familiar with the manager there."

"Then many thanks, elder sister." Wen Yao immediately stood up and performed a proper bow to Qiu Rongrong, only to be pulled back down by her, and the two of them tumbled into a heap of giggles on the daybed.

"Rest assured, I'll definitely find you the most suitable veteran master."

Upon returning from the Xie family residence, Wen Yao buried herself straight into her pile of books on wine brewing. As for the winery?

Old Man Wen not only had to go up the mountain every day to inspect the wasteland reclamation, but he also had to supervise the digging of the foundations and the construction of the house for the winery. Whenever he had a moment, he had to go to the fields to check on his precious crops. He wished he could split himself into four parts to use at once.

Madame Luo's first and second batches of soybean paste had already left the warehouse. She had the people from the roast duck restaurant come and haul them away, settling the silver on the spot.

Ever since her eldest grandson told her she shouldn't overwork herself, Madame Luo and younger Madame Luo no longer did the physical labor themselves. For all those miscellaneous chores, they hired diligent daughters-in-law from the village with clean hands. The two of them only grasped the most crucial techniques, and those hired hands were all placed under the management of younger Madame Luo's daughter-in-law, Jiang Yuanniang.

With nothing to do, the two old grandmothers would crack melon seeds and chat while watching the others work. Instead, they became the two most leisurely people in the Wen household.

Seeing Old Man Wen running around all day like a spinning top, Madame Luo turned a blind eye as if she saw nothing.

"Elder sister, with brother-in-law like that, aren't you afraid he'll get worked to the bone?" Seeing her elder sister's amused expression, younger Madame Luo asked out of curiosity.

Madame Luo smiled, "He deserves it, he brought this on himself. I warned them long ago to pay less attention to that little girl, but they just wouldn't listen. Now they've dragged themselves into it, serves him right."

Younger Madame Luo looked at her elder sister smiling, noticing that although her words scolded the little girl, the doting affection in her eyes was almost spilling over.

Just as the two finished speaking, they heard a voice chime in, "That little girl is taking you guys out to play, are you going or not?"

Madame Luo was startled and only then saw Wen Yao stealthily leaning against the doorframe, peeking at the two of them and giggling.

"Dead child, you came and didn't even make a sound," Madame Luo scolded playfully, while younger Madame Luo also smiled and beckoned to Wen Yao.

"You must be tired. Little maternal aunt boiled some mung bean soup; I'll scoop you a bowl," younger Madame Luo said as she prepared to stand up.

Wen Yao hurriedly pressed her back down, ran to the kitchen herself to ladle out a bowl of mung bean soup, and gulped it all down in one go.

"Slow down, don't choke." Seeing her like this, the two old grandmothers were both amused and worried. For a young girl, she really lacked any ladylike demeanor.

After finishing, Wen Yao smiled and said, "My dad and the others are all in the fields. My dad said the potatoes and sweet potatoes are ready to be harvested, but my grandpa is arguing with him, insisting they need to grow a bit longer. Right now, the two of them are in the fields arguing until their faces are red."

The two exchanged glances, "Ready to be harvested?"

"Yeah, absolutely. My dad said if they grow any longer, they'll rot in the ground. Grandpa doesn't believe it, saying if they grow a bit longer, maybe they can get even bigger. By now, they've probably finished arguing, and my dad definitely won," Wen Yao said cheerfully. Could Professor Wen possibly be wrong?

Besides, she had secretly dug some up herself, and they were already quite large, practically ready to be harvested.

"Let's go take a look." Madame Luo stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked outside. Younger Madame Luo lagged behind a step to instruct Jiang Yuanniang to keep an eye on the house before following the two of them.

When the three of them reached the fields, they could already see a bustling crowd from afar, all squatting on the ground digging up soil. Old Man Wen was extremely anxious on the sidelines, shouting every now and then to go slower, be gentle, and not damage them.

When they got closer, they found that several sacks next to them were already filled. Madame Luo walked over and picked one up. Compared to the small potatoes they used to eat, the potatoes now in her hand were larger than her palm, and she estimated that a single one weighed more than a pound.

"Goodness, they grew this big? Elder sister, is this that bean thing you said could be eaten as staple food?" Younger Madame Luo was full of astonishment. She picked up an even larger one and weighed it in one hand; it was easily close to two pounds.

Madame Luo's grip on the potato gradually tightened. Looking at the field where less than a tenth had been harvested, she suddenly realized that what the eldest son had said might really not have been boasting.

These things could truly save lives.