CHAPTER 360: CHAPTER 5: THE MAGICAL FLOWER

The tea had barely touched her lips when Yue Jinghua’s expression changed abruptly.

Sitting aside, Ximing was taken aback and hurriedly picked up the teacup to sniff under her nose.

"Ziqing, how many times have I told you not to serve this kind of tea to our guests," Ximing said with a bitter face, offering Yue Jinghua an apologetic smile.

Upon hearing this, Shalman glanced at the tea brought over by Guo Ziyu, seeing that the tea was yellowish-orange and seemed to have a bitter taste.

Just as Ximing was about to stand up and pour out the tea, she was stopped by Yue Jinghua, "The proprietress, this tea is quite enjoyable," she said as she drained the cup in one go. After finishing, Yue Jinghua smacked her lips, clearly relishing the taste.

"See that, you blockhead? I told you, there will always be someone who appreciates my skills," Guo Ziyu said sternly, shooting Ximing a white look, finding the young person in front of her even more pleasing to the eye.

Other than raising Dark Beasts and running the Xuan Beast Store, Guo Ziyu harbored another great hobby—she enjoyed cultivating all kinds of unique and bizarre spirit wood, then using the newly grown spirit wood to concoct various dishes or brew tea. If she lived in modern times, she would be the very definition of a curious baby, wanting to try everything.

In her early years, she even wanted to run a pastry shop, but unfortunately, Ximing was, no matter what, unwilling to help manage it, so she had no choice but to turn to running the Xuan Beast Store.

The tea served to Yue Jinghua was acquired unintentionally from a mercenary a couple of months ago; on a whim, she used it to make tea leaves.

These past few days, regardless of whether they were regular or new customers, everyone who visited had tasted that tea, but no one had liked its flavor; Yue Jinghua was the first to say it was good.

Listening to this, Shalman also took a sip, and as soon as the tea entered her mouth, she spat it out twice and exclaimed, "Proprietress, this tea is both bitter and astringent, it’s not tasty at all."

"The flavor is just like that of beer, initially unpleasant to the palate, but after a little while, it leaves an endless aftertaste, and if paired with..." Yue Jinghua carried on fluently, which left Guo Ziyu and Ximing with differing expressions.

"Hey hey, don’t stop, keep going," Guo Ziyu sat excitedly beside Yue Jinghua.

On the side, Ximing’s face had already fallen.

After all, Yue Jinghua was presently dressed as a man, and just by looking at the left side of her face, one could tell she was a handsome beauty, so it was no wonder Ximing felt jealous.

Realizing this, Yue Jinghua could only smile helplessly.

What she had actually wanted to say just now was that this tea should not be used for brewing, but rather for fermenting alcohol, as she had identified from just one sip that this so-called spirit wood was in fact hops, a type of hop well-known in the history of alcohol brewing in modern times.

In her memory, on Earth, the earliest use of hops for beer brewing was by a monk, but to her surprise, here on the Canglong Continent, hops were discovered by a mercenary.

Having arrived on the Canglong Continent, Yue Jinghua had also found that, despite being lands with completely different customs and habits, there were still many similarities between the Canglong Continent and Earth during the Western Era.

For example, people in the south eat rice, while those in the north consume wheat, sorghum, corn, and other crops. Even many Dark Beasts are derived from the animals of the Western Era.

After arriving at Canglong Continent, especially when dealing with the mercenaries of the Rebellion Mercenary Group, Yue Jinghua had several times drunk the local alcohol and found it too strong for her taste, which made her miss beer.

Unfortunately, whether in Shang Kingdom or Shaba Mercenary Town, she could not find beer anywhere. Ultimately, the reason was that there were no hops on the continent, an indispensable plant for brewing beer.

It wasn’t until today, when she tasted the tea served by Guo Ziyu, that Yue Jinghua excitedly discovered that hops did exist on Canglong Continent, and they were likely to be found in the Xuan Beast Ridge area.

"Boss, don’t misunderstand. I happen to have some research in the cultivation of spirit wood, and this spirit wood should not be used for tea but for brewing. Sister Zi Qing, could you please fetch some of this spirit wood for me to examine," Yue Jinghua changed her form of address and with a smile warmer than an early spring March day, Guo Ziyu felt an immediate fondness for her and happily fetched the dried hops.

After examining the dried spirit wood, Yue Jinghua was even more certain that it was hops, and her heart surged with excitement.

No one understands better than she does the appeal of alcohol to mercenaries, and beer, distinctly different from strong spirits and consumed in great quantities, would undoubtedly become all the rage within the Mercenary World once it is brewed.

"Sister Zi Qing, these are just dried flowers. Do you know where these dried flowers were picked from?" Yue Jinghua inquired, only to find out that Guo Ziyu didn’t have many fresh hops; she had bought them casually from a female mercenary.

According to the female mercenary, she picked them from somewhere on Xuan Beast Ridge, originally intending to study their medicinal properties. However, she needed money and sold them to Guo Ziyu, who was known in town for liking to tinker with fresh novelties.

"Do you know where that female mercenary is now? Or can you tell me her name?" Yue Jinghua planned to find that female mercenary, and she was determined to locate the fresh hops picking site, even if it meant spending a substantial amount of money.

As long as she could find the site where the hops were picked, with Yue Chen and the water from Death Lake at her disposal, mass cultivation of hops would be imminent.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ziyu pondered for a moment, blinked and said, "I could tell you, but on one condition: you must collaborate with me to develop this special kind of alcohol."

Guo Ziyu was no fool. Just from Yue Jinghua’s expressions and persistent inquiries, she could surmise the preciousness of the alcohol brewed from this spirit wood.

"This..." Yue Jinghua hesitated, then reconsidered. Since Mr. and Mrs. Guo had been well-established in the town for a long time, and she herself wanted to successfully introduce beer into the mercenary market of Five Saints Town, it would be far better to have their help in the Imperial City than to stubbornly proceed alone.

With that thought, Yue Jinghua chuckled, "Alright, after the new brew is developed, Sister Zi Qing and I shall each hold a fifty percent share."

"A person of quick words and quick action indeed. I truly appreciate your straightforwardness, young man," Guo Ziyu liked Yue Jinghua’s character and immediately divulged the identity and background of the female mercenary.

"The name of that female mercenary is Weiwei, belonging to a small Mercenary Team. She hasn’t been in town long and I can’t recall at the moment. Dear, can you remember which Mercenary Group she’s with?" Guo Ziyu showed a look of difficulty.

"Second Generation Soldier, a newly established Mercenary Team," Ximing shook his head helplessly, yet his tone was filled with indulgence, and the affection for his wife was evident in his words.

"Second Generation Soldier!" Yue Jinghua and Shalman exchanged glances. Could it be that this Weiwei was the Reserve Team Member Weiwei from the Soldier Second Generation Mercenary Corps?