The Return of the Genius Farmer - Chapter 160



Only Noblemtl

Episode 160

80. Established a new farm – 2

Drying ingredients is also necessary when making other dishes.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to ask Phoenix to do the job for me.

As Shredder said, the dragon has been busy lately.

I was so busy that I couldn’t even come down to the cabin for a cup of coffee.

I heard from Letish that there is a lot of research going on these days.

But I thought it was a bit too much to entrust him with even this kind of drying work.

“If Phoenix says he can’t do it, we’ll have to ask dragons or other water creatures.”

Lee Han took the lead in making beer.

If he decided to ask Phoenix, then he had no choice but to do so.

When everyone nodded, Lee Han immediately stood up from his seat.

“Are you going to Phoenix?”

“huh.”

“Let’s go together.”

As Lee Han took the fairy honey, Seol Myung-hee stayed next to him.

So the two headed towards where Phoenix was, and as usual, Phoenix, which was flying in front of the canyon, leisurely flew towards Lee Han and Seol Yi.

-What’s going on?

“I have a favor to ask.”

-Please? What is it?

“Can you dry it with your power?”

Phoenix, hearing Lee Han’s request, kept his mouth shut for a moment.

Are you hurting your pride by making a spirit do this?

While he waited with his mouth shut, Phoenix spoke slowly.

-It’s not difficult to do, but why do you want to do it?

“I’m going to make beer. And I’m going to try making other things too.”

Barley that has sprouted and been dried is called malt, and is also called malt syrup.

Since malt syrup is used to make jocheong and sikhye, it can be used in many different dishes.

-Wow. Sikhye and Jocheong. What are those? I’ve never heard of them before.

“Sikhye is a beverage with the fragrant aroma and sweetness of grains, and a unique refreshing taste, while Jocheong is a natural sweetener made from grains. It is good to eat on its own, but you can think of it as an ingredient in the process of making taffy.”

-oh…….

“It tastes better when you dip it in rice cake.”

-Better than honey?

“I think it’s better than honey… … .”

Phoenix swallowed.

I have tried many dishes made with honey by Lee Han, and even Phoenix acknowledges their taste.

But what if there’s something that fits better?

-Help me.

“Thank you. Then, would you please come to the cabin? There are a lot of things that need to be dried, so it would be difficult to bring them.”

-Okay. Okay. Let’s go.

There was no need to waste time.

Phoenix transformed into a small form and sat on Lee Han’s shoulder.

Lee Han, with Phoenix on his left and Seol-i on his right, returned straight to the cabin, and those who had been waiting cheered when they saw Phoenix.

“Oh!! Phoenix! Are you helping me too?!”

-Yes. I became interested in Jo Cheong.

“What is that?”

To those who were puzzled, Lee Han gave a simple explanation.

It was true that everyone was looking forward to it as they all liked Lee Han’s cooking.

“Then do it quickly.”

Sprouted barley was spread on a wide mat.

The moment the phoenix, which had been staring at them, spread its wings, the sprouted barley began to slowly dry up.

-I need you to give me a signal because I don’t know at what point I should stop.

“All right.”

Lee Han, who was examining the sprouting barley that was slowly drying up, raised his hand.

At that moment, Phoenix stopped using his power.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah. That’s great. But it seems better than the malt I’ve seen… … .”

Could it be because the spirit Phoenix used his power to create it?

It looks much better than what I’ve seen on Earth.

Lee Han looked at the malt in his hand and put it in his mouth.

It’s delicious because it’s crunchy and savory.

-Don’t expect it.

“Then let’s get started right away.”

All the supplies are ready.

Malt, hops, and yeast from Dwarven City.

After examining the other ingredients, Lee Han handed the malt over to Seol Yi.

“Please crush this.”

“Is it okay if I just turn it into powder?”

“No. Let’s see… I think this will do.”

Let’s show him how to use the mortar and pestle to grind it to an appropriate level. He used the grinder skillfully.

The ground malt was placed in a large vat and purified water from a purification tank was added.

“Are you boiling this?”

“yes.”

Lee Han, who was making wort while checking the temperature, continued boiling it after adding hops to add flavor.

“Phew… … .”

Lee Han, who had been boiling the malt for a long time, stopped.

When we took out the boiling pot and left it to cool, everyone tilted their heads.

“What do you do now?”

“There’s nothing to do until it cools. Can you wash the bucket?”

“Ooh! Got it!”

I prepared a vat to ferment the beer as instructed by Lee Han.

While the dwarves were washing the wooden barrels they had made clean with the water of purification, Lee Han collected the remaining malt that had not been ground into powder.

“What are you going to do with it?”

Lee Han smiled brightly at the tree that approached him with curiosity.

It was also made for Leticia and Tree, who don’t like alcohol that much.

“To make shikhye.”

“Sikhye?”

“Yeah. It’s a drink made with malt syrup, so I think you’ll like it because it’s sweet.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Just wait a minute.”

Before we started making beer, we soaked the malt in water.

Lee Han rubbed it with his hand to make the malt syrup come out, and when the malt syrup stopped coming out, he took out the dried seeds and threw them away.

“Are you just using this water?”

“Yeah. I guess I’ll have to let it settle down a bit. I’ll have to leave it like this until the grudge completely settles down.”

“I guess I’ll have to wait… … .”

“I can’t help it. In the meantime, let’s just work.”

While watching the people washing the buckets move busily, Lee Han started doing something else.

By the time we had made more wort, visited the greenhouse, harvested some honey, and made some simple edibles, the first batch of wort had completely cooled.

“Bring me the barrel!”

“here!!”

A large wooden barrel was placed next to him.

Lee Han put the wort in there and added the yeast he bought from Dwarven City.

“Now just close the lid and let it ferment.”

It ended sooner than I thought.

Hongryeon stared at the barrel containing the malt, then quickly turned her gaze to Leehan.

“That’s it?”

“Yes. That’s it. The rest is up to God.”

Success or failure depends on how fermentation takes place.

In the worst case, fermentation may not proceed properly, resulting in a beer with no alcohol or foam.

“I guess I have to pray hard.”

“Go back to your bath and do it.”

Schrader, who had been looking at the beer keg with a serious expression, nodded and headed to the bathroom.

Lee Han, who saw that and chuckled, filtered out only the clear upper part of the malt syrup.

“Okay. Now… … .”

I need to make rice to use as porridge.

Lee Han cooked rice in a pot, took out the container to keep it warm, and then put the rice and malt syrup in it.

“Why did you put sugar in the rice?”

“Then the fermentation time is shortened.”

When I was on Earth, the old lady next door made me some shikhye.

Because it was so delicious, Lee Han learned how to make it from start to finish, and recalled his experience of making it himself, and explained it briefly to the curious Tree.

“I think I can do this too.”

“Let’s do it together later.”

Lee Han left the rice and malt water in the thermos to ferment well and continued with the rest of the work.

As the number of kegs of beer filled with wort increases, everyone’s hopes and expectations grow.

This was especially true for shareholders.

“I think I should pray for this too.”

“You go back and take a bath too.”

Shredder, who was praying earnestly in front of the beer keg he had placed in the fermentation room the dwarves had built, said:

As he said, Hongryeon headed to the bathhouse, and Seolhyun was dumbfounded.

“Why did you bring the statue of the goddess Gaia and pray to it?”

Lee Han placed the statue of the goddess Gaia that he had obtained last time in front of the fermentation room, prayed earnestly, and then turned his head.

“Isn’t Goddess Gaia the goddess who takes care of the earth and producers?”

“Beer is also a product, so it should naturally be a good product,” Schroeder said proudly, adding that he prayed for it.

“Oh my god. Aren’t you following Morpheus, the god of animals and the hunt?”

“Morpheus is a merciful being, so I’m sure he won’t say anything if I pray to Gaia.”

Shredder spoke confidently and began to concentrate on his prayer again.

The dwarves who had been watching him closely naturally approached him and began to pray.

‘It’s like seeing guys who go to Christianity, Buddhism, or Catholicism just to eat a Choco Pie in the military.’

Are you saying that seeing something like this makes you want to eat ashes rather than offer sacrifices?

“Hey. Wouldn’t this work better if you put divine power into it?”

“I don’t know about that either.”

“Let’s just try it on a few cans.”

Lee Han poured his divine power into only a few large containers.

The soft glow of the beer keg slowly begins to fade.

Now all that’s left to do is wait.

Lee Han chuckled as he watched the believers praying on mats.

After making beer, finishing the rest of the work, and eating dinner, Lee Han opened the thermos.

A subtle fragrance was emanating from the milky white liquid that had been well fermented.

“Are you done?”

“huh.”

Lee Han transferred the finished sikhye to a large pot, added a little more sugar, boiled it, and placed the sikhye in a bowl.

“frost.”

-Oh my god… … .

The hot shikhye froze in an instant.

We shared shikhye with ice cubes floating on it with everyone, and everyone looked at it with anticipation.

“The color is similar to makgeolli?”

“It’s a sweet drink. Try it.”

Tree and Leticia carefully lifted their glasses.

Was it because it was frosted? Just holding the bowl made me feel cool.

“wow!”

Tree’s eyes widened as he took a sip of the cold shikhye.

I really liked the sweet yet savory taste.

“This is really delicious?!”

The same was true for Leticia.

I’ve tried all the drinks that Lee Han made, but this is the most delicious.

The mysteriously deep taste and the scent that tickles the tip of your nose are really good.

“Oh… is this okay?”

“It sticks to my mouth.”

Hongryeon and Shredder seem to like it too.

Red and Willem were also okay, gulping it down in one go and munching on the rice on the floor.

“I want to bring it to you, Master.”

“I’ll give you some, so bring it over later.”

“yes!”

I was worried that he wouldn’t eat properly and would only do experiments, so I used to bring him some snacks in the evening. I decided to bring this today.

Thinking like that, Lee Han took some shikhye.

-Hmm… … This is delicious.

Phoenix, who had also eaten dinner while he was there, gulped down his shikhye and said.

At this point, Jo Cheong’s expectations are even higher.

“I’ll prepare some for you tomorrow so you can eat it. So you can eat it as a snack.”

-What are you trying to make?

“What?! What?!”

Lee Han spoke calmly to those who were curious.

“I’m thinking of making some medicine.”