The three characters "Jiu Xian Ju" , meaning "Wine Immortal Abode") appeared, but the crowd fell silent.
What happened? Did Old Wang not carve it properly?
Qin Feng looked back. It was fine; it looked like the characters were directly printed on.
Old Wang, smiling, looked at Qin Feng. "Kid, you've got some nerve! You think you can just pick a name like 'Jiu Xian Ju'?
And that poem below... it's practically praising your wine to the heavens!
Such arrogance! Let's see how you handle this!"
Among the crowd were many wine lovers, but they had never seen such arrogance.
"Kid, you've got quite the nerve! Fine, since it's your tavern's opening day, I'll come in for a couple of drinks, as a way of bringing you good fortune!"
An old man in the crowd sneered at Qin Feng's signboard.
Qin Feng was about to refuse, saying the wine wasn't ready yet, when the system's voice rang out.
"Promise him, host, the wine from Jiu Xian Ju is the best!"
"But system, we don't have any wine right now."
"Host, hurry up and promise him."
"But we really don't have any wine! Wine isn't something you can just brew all at once; I don't even know the brewing process."
"A temporary task has just been issued; please check it." The system then fell silent.
A temporary task? Qin Feng immediately had a bad feeling.
He clicked on it, and sure enough, this system wouldn't stop until it had him completely ruined!
The old man, seeing Qin Feng standing there in a daze, became impatient.
"What kind of boss are you? Business is coming your way, what are you hesitating for? But let me tell you, if your wine doesn't live up to the name 'Jiu Xian Ju,' I'll smash your signboard!"
What? Smash my signboard? Qin Feng suddenly exploded.
"Grandpa, the wine from Jiu Xian Ju is the best! Please come in, and everyone else in the crowd, if you don't believe me, come in too. Jiu Xian Ju lets the quality of its wine speak for itself!"
Qin Feng finished speaking and turned to walk into the shop, leaving the old man, his face pale with anger, behind.
Old Wang looked at Qin Feng's back. Had this kid lost his mind? How could anyone do business like this?
Qin Feng didn't care about any of that now; he was already blaming the system.
"System, you've really put me in a difficult position! There's not a drop of wine! What am I supposed to do?"
That last sentence was the system's temporary task...
"Host has completed the first task. Jiu Xian Ju's signboard is up. Task reward: One set of the Undermar Galaxy Beginner Brewing System, one recipe for Pear Blossom White Wine."
"Host has completed the temporary task. Task reward: Five portions of Beginner Sandalwood."
Qin Feng looked at these two notifications and was stunned.
"System, where is the brewing system? And where are the brewing materials?"
"All task rewards are in the brewing workshop. Please check."
Qin Feng quickly ran to the brewing workshop at the back and found that it had changed drastically.
All the old, dilapidated brewing tools were gone. The entire brewery was spotless, except for a futuristic-looking machine.
This machine was about half a person's height. At the top was a funnel-shaped device connecting to the machine's interior. In the middle was a pull-out flat panel, and at the bottom were five faucets, labeled: New Wine, Five-Year, Ten-Year, Twenty-Year, Thirty-Year, etc.
On the other side of the brewery, a large cabinet stood against the wall, filled with various sizes of compartments.
"Host, the brewing materials and other mission rewards are in the cabinet. Please find them according to the labels. The instructions for using the brewing system are on the back. Please start brewing immediately." "Boss,
hurry up and bring the wine!" a strong voice called from outside.
"Coming right away," Qin Feng replied.
He didn't have time to study anything else and quickly followed the recipe to find the materials.
He didn't know what the materials were, but he just added them to the top and placed the yeast in the middle according to the instructions.
Seeing that everything had been put away, Qin Feng rubbed his hands together, preparing to fetch the wine jars and bowls he used at home.
"Host, the Wine Immortal System's wines come in specially made jars and bowls. Each type of wine must be paired with the corresponding jar and bowl to achieve the perfect effect."
What? So many rules for drinking wine?
"Host, please don't complain. The pear-blossom white wine jars and bowls are already in the cabinet. Please go and fetch them. Also, before drinking, you need to light sandalwood incense in the shop to create the perfect atmosphere."
"This sandalwood is Indian Old Mountain Sandalwood, taken from century-old sandalwood trees and then left to mature for another century, allowing the sandalwood's aroma to soften and become mellow and gentle, capable of calming the mind and refreshing the spirit. It is a top-grade sandalwood."
...Qin Feng was speechless. Drinking wine is just a matter of picking it up and gulping it down, why use a special wine bowl and light sandalwood? And such precious sandalwood at that!
He glanced at the brewing system; it would take five minutes. Fine, he'd go light the sandalwood first.
A cabinet on one side already contained sandalwood and an incense burner, which Qin Feng immediately opened and held in his arms.
Even before lighting it, a delicate fragrance wafted into his nostrils, soothing his entire mind.
"This is just basic sandalwood," Qin Feng thought to himself, amazed. If only it were higher quality!
Three people were already seated in the tavern: the old man who had been fuming earlier, Old Man Wang, and a middle-aged man in a suit, who looked quite distinguished.
"Young man, so much time has passed, and we've been sitting here for so long without even a bowl of water!"
Upon seeing Qin Feng, the old man roared furiously, his anger clearly building up for a long time, even his beard twitching.
The middle-aged man in the suit and Old Man Wang also looked at Qin Feng. This didn't seem like a proper tavern; customers had been left waiting for ages, the owner was nowhere to be seen, and there wasn't even water.
Qin Feng remained expressionless, completely ignoring the old man, and walked to the counter with the incense burner, placing it down.
He piled the sandalwood powder into a small heap, then inserted sandalwood sticks into it; otherwise, the sandalwood would be difficult to light.
He took out a lighter, lit a sandalwood stick, placed it in the heap, and then took a deep breath before turning around.
"Sir, don't be impatient. There's a line in Wang Anshi's 'Record of Baochan Mountain' that says, 'The most wondrous and extraordinary sights in the world are often found in dangerous and remote places rarely visited by people.' This applies to beautiful scenery, and it also applies to fine wine. If you want to drink fine wine, how can you do it without patience?"
Qin Feng, feigning nonchalance, returned to the brewery expressionlessly, completely ignoring whether the old man had suffered a heart attack from anger…
The old man was truly furious this time. You made someone wait for ages, and then you mock me for being impatient?
He slammed his hand on the table, took a few deep breaths to prevent his blood pressure from rising, and was about to point behind him and curse when suddenly, a delicate fragrance wafted to his nose.
The fragrance was warm and mellow, perfectly balanced, both refreshing and without causing discomfort.
The old man took a few breaths, and immediately felt clear-headed and refreshed; his blood pressure, which had been about to spike because of that young man, returned to normal.
He smiled inexplicably. Why was he angry with this junior? It was just a grudge over the "Wine Immortal's Abode" sign; at his age, what was there to be so bothered about?
Old Wang took a few deep breaths, and his expression changed.
"Did you two notice that the incense that young man just lit was unusual?"
"Indeed, if I'm not mistaken, it should be top-grade sandalwood." The middle-aged man in the suit took two brisk inhales and said with his eyes closed.
Old Wang couldn't sit still any longer. He had always been very fond of such things, and now that he had seen it, how could he not go forward to take a look?