Rice wine, also known as sweet wine, is made by fermenting steamed glutinous rice with yeast. It has a low alcohol content and can almost be treated as a beverage. In Daocun, almost every household grows glutinous rice every year.
Perhaps due to the village’s exceptional environment—rich in natural resources and blessed with fertile land—the glutinous rice grown there is of excellent quality, perfect for brewing rice wine. Jiang Fei had purchased some from the villagers.
With top-quality glutinous rice and his mastery-level brewing skills, the rice wine Jiang Fei produced was naturally extraordinary, enough to astonish anyone.
When Jiang Fei was brewing the wine, Lin Moli had been busy handling some paperwork, so she wasn’t aware of it.
“Come on, everyone, try it and see how it tastes,” Jiang Fei said after pouring the wine for the women.
The women, already captivated by the enchanting aroma, eagerly picked up their bowls and took a sip. Jiang Fei also poured himself a bowl, ready to taste his creation for the first time.
“Cheers!” Jiang Fei raised his bowl with a smile. The women followed suit, bringing their bowls to their lips and taking small sips.
As the sweet, fragrant wine touched their tongues, it filled their mouths with a warm, delicate flavor that stimulated their taste buds. For a moment, everyone fell silent. They weren’t unwilling to praise the wine’s deliciousness—they were afraid that opening their mouths would let even a hint of this exquisite brew escape. They couldn’t bear to waste it!
After savoring the lingering aftertaste for a while, they finally swallowed the wine.
Then, the women burst into chatter, praising Jiang Fei’s rice wine as the best they had ever tasted in their lives!
Among them, Ye Yuanyuan was the most knowledgeable about wine. Unlike typical wealthy socialites who frequented nightclubs, she had a refined palate and could appreciate fine wines from around the world.
She looked at Jiang Fei in astonishment and asked, “How did you brew this? Did you really make it yourself? It tastes even better than the special reserve wines my grandfather keeps! It’s sweeter and more fragrant than some of those expensive red wines that cost tens of thousands per bottle!”
Jiang Fei smiled.
He had also taken a sip and was well aware of the quality of his brew. Although he hadn’t tasted the wines Ye Yuanyuan mentioned, he didn’t think she was just flattering him. Given her personality, she wouldn’t bother with empty compliments.
The rice wine carried the unique fragrance of glutinous rice, warm and soft, as if a beautiful woman from the Jiangnan water towns was whispering sweet nothings in your ear. It was an indescribable sensation.
Jiang Fei didn’t know how to explain it, so he just brushed it off casually. Like his cooking and medical skills, his brewing was simply top-notch, something rarely seen in the world.
Now that he had brewed such an incredible wine, it wasn’t hard to accept.
“Woof… roar, woof… roar~~~”
Even Simba, the Tibetan Mastiff, couldn’t resist the enticing aroma of the wine. Wagging his tail and flapping his ears, he nuzzled against Jiang Fei’s legs, looking up at him with pleading eyes, as if begging for a taste.
“Uncle Jiang, give Simba some too. He’s so smart—I bet he can drink wine!” Xia Xiaozhi suggested, though she didn’t dare reach out to pet Simba.
Simba was intimidating, resembling a lion more than a dog. As he grew older, his natural instincts as a Tibetan Mastiff began to show, and he wasn’t as gentle as before. Not everyone could get close to him, even if Jiang Fei allowed it.
This spiritual beast of a dog could indeed drink wine. He was practically human in his behavior. However, Jiang Fei couldn’t give him too much, so he poured a small bowl and set it down for Simba to enjoy.
“By the way, Xiaojing, you can drink a bit more of this rice wine,” Jiang Fei suddenly said, turning to Xu Jing.
Xu Jing’s face turned red. She immediately guessed the reason but was too shy to say it out loud. Instead, she gave Jiang Fei a coy, flirtatious glance.
Jiang Fei’s eyelid twitched.
This mature-minded, unhealthy little temptress! Her allure was truly something else!
Tan Yuan, sitting next to Xu Jing, also figured it out and asked curiously, “Uncle Jiang, is this rice wine not only delicious but also good for treating menstrual irregularities?”
“Ahem…” Jiang Fei coughed awkwardly. He was usually quite open-minded and had no problem discussing such topics, but in front of these high school girls, he felt a bit restrained.
“Rice wine is warm in nature and helps improve blood circulation and metabolism. It has benefits like nourishing the blood, beautifying the skin, and relaxing the muscles and joints,” Jiang Fei explained, adopting a professional tone. “And yes, it can help with menstrual irregularities. In fact, many women drink rice wine to recover after childbirth.”
Lin Moli and Ye Yuanyuan, who were also at the table, glanced at Xu Jing, whose face was still flushed.
They hadn’t known about Xu Jing’s condition.
Lin Moli didn’t react much, but Ye Yuanyuan felt a twinge of schadenfreude. She had always been envious of Xu Jing, who, despite being much younger, had a much larger bust.
Hearing that Xu Jing had menstrual issues, Ye Yuanyuan couldn’t help but think, “Serves you right for having such a big chest at such a young age! Now you’ve got menstrual problems!”
Of course, there was no actual connection between the two, but Ye Yuanyuan stubbornly believed there was.
Just as Ye Yuanyuan was secretly gloating, Jiang Fei turned to her and said, “Ye Yuanyuan, you can drink a bit more too.”
Ye Yuanyuan, who had just taken a bite of the crab roe lion’s head, nearly choked. She swallowed quickly and glared at Jiang Fei. “Why? I don’t have menstrual irregularities!”
Although she didn’t mind drinking more of the delicious wine, she absolutely refused to let anyone imply that she had any health issues!
Jiang Fei scratched his nose, feeling a bit awkward, but he still offered a kind reminder. “This rice wine also has another benefit… it can help with breast enhancement.”
“What! Did! You! Just! Say!” Ye Yuanyuan slammed her hand on the table, her face icy and her eyes glaring daggers at Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei was startled and mentally scolded himself for his slip of the tongue.
He knew better than to comment on a woman’s chest size, yet he had blurted it out without thinking—and in front of the other women, no less!
Ye Yuanyuan might be tough, but she was still a woman at heart.
She was probably about to explode…
It seemed she cared more about her bust size than he had realized.
“Nothing, just a slip of the tongue. Pure accident. Let’s keep eating,” Jiang Fei quickly apologized, then tried to appease her by serving her some food.
It wasn’t that Jiang Fei lacked backbone—it was just that Ye Yuanyuan had helped him out earlier, and he couldn’t afford to offend her now. Better to stay on her good side.
Otherwise, she might just tear his apartment apart in a fit of rage.
…Okay, maybe Jiang Fei was a little intimidated by this fierce woman.
Ye Yuanyuan struggled to contain her anger, but when she noticed Xia Xiaozhi and the others staring at her in shock, she forced herself to calm down.
She cared deeply about how others perceived her figure, but she didn’t want them to know she cared…
Such was the complicated, ever-twisting nature of a woman’s heart.
After shooting Jiang Fei a sharp glare, Ye Yuanyuan withdrew her hand from the table and silently resumed eating.
However, as the meal went on, she subtly drank more and more of the rice wine…
The minor incident was quickly forgotten. Faced with a table full of delicacies, everyone let go of their reservations and indulged heartily. They ate with gusto, raising their bowls and clinking them together frequently. Even Ye Yuanyuan, who usually maintained a cold, aloof demeanor, occasionally showed her true self, smiling genuinely.
Surrounded by five beautiful women of different personalities, Jiang Fei felt thoroughly content.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the table was nearly cleared, and the two bamboo tubes of rice wine were almost empty. The group finally slowed down, leaning back in their chairs and chatting leisurely.
There’s a saying about “wine and dine friends,” which, while not entirely positive, highlights how sharing food and drink can bring people closer and foster camaraderie.
Over the course of the meal, Jiang Fei and Lin Moli got to know Ye Yuanyuan better, and even Xia Xiaozhi and her friends became less intimidated by her, daring to ask their idol questions.
However, Ye Yuanyuan wasn’t particularly interested in high school girls, especially when one of them was the busty Xu Jing, whom she secretly envied. So, while she wasn’t as cold as before, she only responded to their questions half-heartedly.
Eventually, Lin Moli had to leave to check on the hospital, and Xia Xiaozhi and her friends went home. They didn’t have classes on Sunday afternoons, but they had evening study sessions and needed to return to school.
Ye Yuanyuan, however, lingered behind. After the others had left, she hesitated for a moment before deliberately putting on a cold expression and asking Jiang Fei, “Do you have any more of that rice wine left?”
“Not here. There’s plenty at the villa in the countryside. Why?” Jiang Fei asked, not catching on at first.
But when he saw Ye Yuanyuan’s deliberately aloof yet slightly evasive gaze, along with her faintly blushing cheeks, he understood.
He decided not to tease her further and replied seriously, “Next time. I’ll bring you some next time. But…”
“But what?” Ye Yuanyuan immediately asked, her eyes widening.
“But while the rice wine does have some effect, it’s not that significant. For that particular issue, acupuncture and massage are more effective…”