The thought struck me during the banquet we held with the Wyvern meat.
I wanted sake.
I wanted alcohol.
What were the raw ingredients? Rice for sake. Grapes for wine. I had both, so things were looking up.
I knew the basics of how to make sake from TV and manga, but the real hurdle was the Koji mold. I wondered if I could do something about the mold using the Universal Farming Tool. It was going to require some research.
Since sake seemed difficult, I turned my thoughts toward wine. Wine was a much simpler prospect: you just crushed the grapes and let them ferment.
Wait... I couldn't just use any grapes. They had to be suitable for winemaking. The ones I was currently harvesting were the sweet, delicious varieties you’d find in a supermarket. While I might be able to make something with them, I knew there were specific cultivars meant for wine. I wondered if I could grow them if I focused on "wine grapes" while tilling the earth.
Regardless, it was clear I wouldn't be getting a drink anytime soon. I decided to give up for the moment.
And then, I went right ahead and plowed a vineyard for wine grapes.
Hahaha. Sometimes you just have to follow your impulses.
I expanded the eastern side of the New Field Area, effectively doubling its size. It was now a grid of sixty-four plots, eight by eight. Thirty-two of those plots were now dedicated to wine grapes. I thought I had calmed down, but perhaps I was still more frustrated by the Wyvern attack than I realized. I really needed to reflect on my impulsiveness.
Besides, if I was planting grapes, they should have gone in the Fruit Area. I had no idea why I’d put them in the New Field Area.
I eventually returned to my usual routine. First, I tried planting the additional seasonings I’d been considering in the empty spaces of the original fields near the house. I didn't think I'd need a huge supply, so I only planted a few of each. However, I wanted plenty of olives, so I cleared more space in the Fruit Area for them. That area was getting a bit cramped as well, so I expanded it to the north. The Fruit Area was now a four-by-eight grid.
Speaking of the Fruit Area, the bees Zabuton’s children were tending to were doing quite well. In fact, they had already begun swarming to form new colonies. Four new hives had been established, and at the spiders' request, I built small roofs over them to protect them from the wind and rain.
We managed to harvest a decent amount of honey from the first hive—about as much as a single can of soda. I had the high elves put it in a stone jar I’d carved, but it didn't look quite right. I really wanted glass bottles. I wondered if I could make those too... No, I shouldn't be greedy. One step at a time.
Once everyone had a taste of the honey, more than half of it vanished in an instant. It was a hit, which was the most important thing. I’d have to wait until the next harvest before I could use any for cooking.
One of the high elves, Rarasha, turned out to have a specialized skill: she knew how to make watertight barrels. I followed her directions to prepare the components, mostly handling the felling and rough-shaping of the timber. Rarasha then assembled the parts I provided, making fine adjustments as she went.
It was apparently her first time making a barrel in two hundred years, but her very first attempt was a success—not a single leak. Since I anticipated we would need plenty of barrels for water and other supplies, I asked her to help mass-produce them. The top priority, of course, was the alcohol. I needed those barrels to ferment the wine grapes I’d impulsively planted.
As Rarasha worked, I prepared a few dishes she requested, which eventually drew in the others. They didn't get the hang of it immediately, but after a few failures, they started cooking quite well. Honestly, they were more dexterous than I was. While no one could match Rarasha’s speed, the barrel-making progressed at a brisk pace. You can never have too many barrels, so we decided to make as many as we could while we had the momentum.
The most requested dish was hot pot. Since I lacked kombu and katsuobushi, I couldn't make a proper dashi stock. Instead, I made a soup by boiling meat and then tossing in a small amount of meat along with a mountain of vegetables. To me, it felt like a dish that was missing several key components, but everyone loved it.
Even without the kombu or katsuobushi, I wanted to expand my range of seasonings to make the food even better. I realized I needed to grow some yuzu as well... My previous world really was a land of plenty.
Currently, I’m researching whether I can create a dashi-like base using shiitake mushrooms.
Each character represents an area of roughly 50 x 50 meters.
Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Field Field Field Field ○ ○ ○ ○ Upper Waterway Pond Pond □ Field ◇ ◇ Field ○ Dog ○ ○ Drainage System Pond Pond □ Field ◇ ◇ Field ○ ○ ○ ○ Field House House Field ○ ○ ○ ○ ▼ Bath ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ SW ▼ △ New Field △ △ △ △ △ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △ △
The river is about five kilometers in that direction.