Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 482: Chapter 474 Scorpion Spirit and Wild Fruit_1

“Yes, all of them are mine. The two older ones are twins, and the little one is just two years old,” Liu Shengli doted on his children, his gaze especially tender when he looked at the three of them. “You three, come here and greet Master Qin.”

But the three children didn’t dare to come out; instead, they hid further inside the room.

“They’re a bit shy, I hope Master Qin won’t take offense!”

“Haha, no worries, no worries. When I was young, I wasn’t even as brave as they are! At least they dare to stick out their heads and sneak a peek,” Qin Niu said, chuckling and waving his hand.

Seeing other people’s children, Qin Niu looked forward to the birth of his own child with great anticipation.

When the time comes, he would certainly give them a good upbringing.

With his conditions, there was no need to worry about not being able to afford it.

Even if he had ten or eight children, he could certainly support them.

Qin Niu’s sense of family and kinship was very strong. As Old Man Liu lay dying, he clutched at Qin Niu’s hand, unwilling to close his eyes. He hoped Qin Niu would find a wife.

Because Old Man Liu had never married in his life, and if he hadn’t found Qin Niu, the abandoned baby, there would have been no one to mourn him upon his death.

The concepts of family and lineage had deeply rooted themselves in Qin Niu’s heart.

The bonds of blood-related kinship were the best ties.

They could give him an unbreakable foundation in this harsh world.

“Sigh, that’s true, but the fees for the private school in Jade Stream Town are very high, and three children would really be too much to support. As for letting them cultivate, that’s even more unthinkable. Just managing to feed them enough to avoid hunger is already not easy,” Liu Shengli sighed dejectedly.

With the meager two mu of land at home, coupled with what he earned from chopping wood and other odd jobs, he barely made enough to support his family.

“Work hard for me, and when the time comes, I will have someone teach you some advanced farming techniques. As long as your skills improve, your income will increase too, and then anything might be possible,” Qin Niu promised him, painting a big picture.

It wasn’t entirely empty talk—provided Liu Shengli was willing to learn, to study hard, and to be loyal to Qin Niu, it was not impossible that he would be promoted to be a steward for the Qin Residence in the future.

Even if he didn’t become a steward, just advancing to a higher level of farmer would provide an income of at least ten Silver Money; Liu Shengli’s family’s situation would greatly improve.

“Master Qin, from now on, my life is yours! Just you watch, I will show you my best performance,” Liu Shengli said, after all, a youth from the countryside.

Although he was already the father of three children, the vision Qin Niu painted instantly fired up his zeal, making him wish to devote himself completely.

At that moment, Liu Shengli’s wife came over, holding a freshly opened jar of liquor.

“This jar of sour liquor is said to strengthen masculinity and replenish vitality! Now that Master Qin has married two beautiful wives and bought several maidservants, you might well drink this to revitalize,” she said boldy.

This woman really dared say anything.

She removed the paper seal from the jar, and a unique fragrance of liquor immediately filled the entire hall.

She poured a large bowl for Qin Niu and then a small one for Liu Shengli.

The liquor was a bright yellow color, distinct from the clarity of white liquor.

Sour liquor is usually made by collecting wild fruits from the mountains and fermenting them with some nourishing herbs. As Liu Shengli often went into the mountains to chop wood and sell it, he encountered wild fruits which he would bring back, hence having the materials to brew sour liquor.

Qin Niu picked up the bowl and sniffed; it gave off a refreshing aroma rather than the strong scent of white liquor.

It smelled very comforting.

He licked a tiny bit with his tongue; it tasted a tad sour and a little sweet, similar to the flavor of rice wine.

He tried taking a sip.

The taste was mellow and smooth, with a slight spiciness as it went down the throat, quite delightful indeed.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Sour liquor was not commonly sold because it was challenging to brew, so most people kept it for themselves to drink.

The main reason was that it wasn’t expensive to sell.

People who enjoyed drinking found sour liquor too mild, much preferring the taste of white liquor. As for sour liquor’s reputed power to strengthen masculinity and replenish vitality, they could choose to soak tonics, along with snakes and centipedes, in white liquor instead.

This kind of liquor is even more nourishing.

Because of this, the sour wine was not well-received in the market, and its price could not rise.

That is also the main reason why sour wine was seldom sold in the market.

Qin Niu took a sip of the sour wine and quickly felt a very unique energy slowly surge into his limbs and bones. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the power of the Everlasting Spring Technique and Medicine King Sutra had both gained some growth.

After combining with this special energy, they became more refined.

“Good wine!”

Qin Niu could not help but praise it, lifted the bowl, and drank the remaining sour wine in a few gulps.

“Master Qin, please drink slowly. The sour wine I brew is different from what others make, it’s very refreshing to drink, but it has a strong aftereffect.”

Now that Liu Shengli had tied his prospects to Qin Niu, he naturally tried his best to please him.

“Oh, is your brewing method different from others?”

Qin Niu asked deliberately.

The sour wine was very beneficial to him, so he could ask Liu Shengli to specially brew some for him in the future.

Power gained from cultivation normally requires repeated tempering to become increasingly refined. This process is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and extremely slow.

Now it seemed he had found a shortcut.

Little Shuangfeng Village really was full of hidden opportunities everywhere.

Qin Niu realized that he had lived in Shuangfeng Village for more than a decade, growing up here, yet he knew nothing about it.

Perhaps what he could see before were only the superficial aspects of people and events.

Previously, the chance of him getting to drink the sour wine brewed by Liu Shengli was almost impossible.

Liu Shengli was a very opportunistic man, would not reveal the wine to Qin Niu without seeing any great utility in it.

“The method of brewing sour wine is the same, there’s nothing special about it.”

Liu Shengli’s eyes flickered, he leaned in close to Qin Niu’s ear, and continued in a low voice, “To tell you the truth, I accidentally found a very special fruit tree while chopping wood in the mountains. There was a scorpion spirit as big as a calf guarding it, and its fruits only mature in deep autumn.

I always try to distract the scorpion spirit and then hurriedly pick some fruits before quickly fleeing for my life.

This sour wine, after being drunk, is greatly nourishing, and I usually can’t bear to let anyone drink it.

If you like it, this jar is for you. From now on, I hope for your greater support and care.”

The fruit used for brewing was something Liu Shengli risked his life to pick.

No wonder he treasured it like a gem.

When Qin Niu heard Liu Shengli mention a scorpion spirit the size of a calf, he perked up.

Fire Phoenix had also told him about a scorpion spirit lurking in this area, but could the one Liu Shengli mentioned be the same one Fire Phoenix had referred to?

“Don’t worry, as long as you work diligently for me, benefits will surely come your way. Do you have any of those fruits on hand?”

Qin Niu asked.

He wanted to see what kind of fruit it was.

Liu Shengli might not recognize some special herbs and spirit fruits, but Qin Niu had specifically studied them and might be able to identify them.

“The size of the fruit is about as big as a pellet, with ten to twenty on a string, and the color is dark purple. They are green before they ripen. Once picked, they cannot be left out, and must be used to brew wine on the same day. The first time I picked some, I worried they might be poisonous and didn’t dare to eat them, so I thought to try feeding one or two to the chickens and ducks at home first. After a couple of days, when they were still well, then I’d try them myself.

To my surprise, the next day, all the fruits had turned into yellow liquid.

When I saw that the chickens that ate the fruits not only didn’t die but grew stronger and more robust than the other chickens, I knew the fruits must be something good.

The following year, I picked some and was worried it might be too nourishing, so I didn’t dare to eat too many. After eating two, I felt overwhelmed.”

As Liu Shengli spoke, he instinctively glanced at his wife.

His wife’s face was red, and she was looking down.

It seems that after Liu Shengli ate those wild fruits, he had not spared her from his vigor.

“At that time, I thought I still had over thirty wild fruits left, which couldn’t be eaten all at once. Wouldn’t that be a waste? These were fruits I risked being eaten by the scorpion spirit to pick. So, I had a flash of inspiration and decided to use them to brew sour wine.”