Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen
Regarding Su Shaobai’s explanation of stomping grapes with feet, some believed him, some doubted, and others grew hopeful. The voices of skepticism in the livestream lessened considerably.
[He speaks so convincingly, maybe it’s really true.]
[I also think it’s quite believable. I remember the streamer said he’s been brewing with his grandfather since he was young. Wow, could it really be some noble young master playing around?]
[He looks rosy-lipped and white teeth, maybe so!]
[Heh, what, riding on our little prince Hera’s fame and trying to create a noble heir persona? Shameless.]
[Exactly. I’ve never heard such things before. Does he really think he’s the only one in the empire brewing by hand?]
[Whether it is true or not, let’s wait until the wine is ready. And hey, just don’t go buying wine from outside and pretending it’s yours.]
[I don’t care about you guys—I believe it. Streamer, you said we can ask brewing questions, right?]
“Of course. And I’m not some noble heir. I’m fleeing from trouble,” Su Shaobai said without looking up, eyes fixed on the basin so as not to step wrongly. “But I don’t recommend you all brew at home yourselves. Fermentation is never 100% safe. Mistakes can produce trace methanol and bacteria—or even toxic gases. Methanol causes poisoning, and toxic gases can explode.”
[Wow, is that true? History books say that three thousand years ago, the empire forbade private brewing. Could it be for this reason?]
[Don’t joke. Not all wine explodes. What about white liquor? Why was it banned then?]
[This—streamer means homemade hand-brewed wine, right? Nowadays most home brewing use machines. Cry, poor folks can’t afford that.]
[Fleeing? Any noble brewing family would fight to get someone who can brew by hand. Fleeing, huh—finally, the truth comes out!]
[Yeah, maybe that’s why he’s come out to scam money? What about his family? No guidance?]
[Can you guys stop? Hera’s fans, leave, please! We want to be here and choose to believe it’s real.]
[Right. Speaking of which, I’ve never tried hand-brewed wine before. Streamer, do you sell your wine?]
[Ah, I want to order a bottle too. Streamer, please sell some.]
[Hey, you’re joking, right? Taking what he says so seriously? You’re so gullible.]
[Isn’t the important part that he stomps the grapes with his feet? Don’t you have any psychological barrier?]
[Not really. Watching the streamer stomp, it actually looks kind of fun. I want to try it too.]
The livestream viewers, perhaps unable to endure some of the attacks, began to fire back, and soon the chat was in chaos.
Su Shaobai pressed his lips tightly, lowered his head, and stomped on the grapes silently.
On the terrace swing frame, the little kitten sat upright, dignified and serious. Seeing Su Shaobai’s wronged expression, it furrowed its brows, seemingly deep in thought.
Soon, all thirty-five pounds of grapes were stomped. Su Shaobai’s fair feet were stained with deep red juice. He sat down in a chair and lifted his feet—the crimson juice trickled down his ankles, running over the tops of his feet, splattering on the floor with vibrant red droplets.
The boy lowered his head slightly, his expression calm and indifferent. Morning sunlight poured over him, as if he were enveloped by a halo.
Those arguing were stunned by this scene, suddenly silenced.
[I… I inexplicably feel…]
[Shut up! No, shut your brain! Remember this one thing: the young master is underage.]
[Stop, stop, stop… ah, I can’t stop! I’m done for.]
Many viewers stared blankly, strange emotions swelling in their hearts.
“Meow!”
A cat’s meow came from outside the livestream. Before the viewers could react, a milky-white ball of fur dropped from above. Its sharp black eyes looked over coldly, snapping the audience out of their trance.
“Tuanzi,” Su Shaobai smiled, patting the little kitten suddenly nestled in the cup. Lifting his head, he spoke to the livestream: “I know many don’t believe me, but I’m serious. From now on, I won’t explain. Twenty days later, when the wine is ready, we’ll debate again. I will make you all…”
The boy stood barefoot, his scarlet feet seeming to press down on blood. He said firmly, “I will make you all take back what you said today.”
The viewers felt their hearts tremble, stunned into silence.
After finishing, Su Shaobai tucked the kitten into his T-shirt and began putting the thirty-five pounds of stomped grapes into barrels.
The viewers finally snapped out of it, eyeing the kitten with curiosity. Who was it?
[Streamer, is that little kitten your little brother?]
Su Shaobai: “…”
Why? Do I really look that much like Tuanzi?
Many people brew their own wine precisely because the process is relatively simple—but to make good wine, as Su Shaobai said at the start, it all begins with the grape harvest.
One pound of grapes yields about seven taels of wine. From thirty-five pounds of grapes, roughly twenty-four pounds of wine were produced, filling five small wooden barrels.
The livestream chat immediately had questions.
[Wait, young master, you’re not adding sugar?]
[Yeah, what about yeast?]
The viewers were stunned. While detailed brewing recipes were rare, grape wine is among the simplest wines to make and fairly well known.
“Grapes ferment naturally, so no need to add sugar. Adding sugar produces sweet wine, but I’m making dry wine—so no sugar,” Su Shaobai explained. He suddenly realized that knowledge about brewing seemed very scarce in the Empire.
[Learning something new again! Are there other types of grape wine? I thought there was only one kind.]
[Oh god, I don’t know if what he says is true or not.]
[Why do I suddenly feel like a fool?]
[What interests me more is that he doesn’t use yeast—can that wine even ferment? I’ve never heard of brewing without yeast.]
[I’ve got a thought: why is it that even when we know the methods for making grape wine, we still can’t produce those high-end wines in the market, even though we follow the brewing families’ official methods?]
[They say it’s because of spiritual power.]
[Some spiritually powerful people have tried it too!]
[What does that mean?]
[Stop, don’t say anymore, or it’ll cross a line.]
Many suddenly seemed to realize something but were quickly interrupted by others. Su Shaobai was confused but didn’t dwell on it. After carefully filling the wooden barrels with the crushed grapes, he sealed them with wax, which amazed the viewers.
Standing at the door, Tang Xinghe listened and began to worry. Su Shaobai’s uninhibited display of his complete brewing technique on camera might change something—maybe the brewing elite who control the technology, or perhaps the Empire itself.
With all five barrels successfully sealed, the brewing livestream concluded. Whether the wine would succeed had to wait twenty days. The first fermentation period was critical; if successful, the second fermentation would determine the wine’s quality.
Su Shaobai set the date for the next livestream to unseal the barrels and said goodbye. Some viewers grew impatient—it was a long wait of twenty days, much to the despair of his fans.
[Young master, you won’t make it. The livestream will be offline for ten days, and your small fanbase won’t hold up.]
Today’s peak viewers hit 12,000 when he was stomping grapes, but as he went on, the audience dropped back down to over 8,000—and now only about 5,000 remain, two-thirds of whom are here just to troll him.
As some concerned viewers pointed out, after ten days without a stream, maybe no one will come back. But Su Shaobai had already spent almost all his credit points. Without tools, he couldn’t do a second round of brewing, and he was worried.
The viewers saw Su Shaobai’s troubled expression and became suspicious.
[Hey streamer, you said you’re fleeing from trouble—is it that you don’t have the money to buy materials anymore?]
[Oh yeah, didn’t he still owe money for the barrels he bought earlier?]
Once someone mentioned it, others remembered too—and they all realized that during their time here, they hadn’t sent even one gift.
[Usually when I join streams, the streamer reminds everyone to send gifts, but here with this streamer, I totally forgot. I’ll send a spaceship first!]
As soon as those words came out, spaceships started flying across the screen, one after another. [Ah! I want to send one too, but I’m just a student, so only a flyer.]
[I’m broke as well, just one spaceship from me.]
Although some viewers really liked Su Shaobai, most seemed young, with modest finances and a relatively small crowd. Gift giving looked lively but after the platform took half, the actual amount received was small. Hearing many were students, Su Shaobai quickly asked them not to send gifts.
[Streamer, don’t worry, you haven’t made me blindly like you to the point of sending too much.]
Su Shaobai: “…”
Honestly, the gift money wasn’t much; he wouldn’t be able to afford a second brewing. Then he remembered browsing the wine market on Starnet while researching before and had an idea.
Su Shaobai smiled: “Tomorrow the livestream will continue, but moved to 7 PM.”
Chat: [Brewing?]
Su Shaobai: “Nope, tasting. I’ll share some of today’s market wines with you all.”
The chat lit up, thrilled at the idea of a tasting. The crowd excitedly cheered.
Hidden in the chat, brewers and distillers logged in with alternate accounts, suddenly uneasy.
Tang Xingchen: Su-gege sounds straightforward. Opening a tasting stream… will their family get into trouble?
Tuanzi the Tyrant: Should I contact Leng Xun and mobilize the troops?
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I’m currently translating these novels as well~
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