v2c36 - How to harvest grapes and why the story about the bath is connected?
Although the Shadow Wolves appeared along the way, we were able to enclose one field with a stone wall.
Then, using Nina’s farming tools, enhanced by her Blacksmith skills, we plowed the hard ground.
“Monica. Next, we’re going to grow grapes now, but do you have a specific variety or something?”
“Let’s see. I would like to have grapes with thicker skins. By variety, for example …….”
When I asked Lydia, she told me that it was possible to specify the variety to a certain extent, and she used her spirit magic to grow a vine for the grape wine.
“Ehehe, I wonder what it tastes like.”
“Oh, Miss Nina! That grape is ……”
“…… they’re so sour!”
The taste of the grapes is very different between the variety suitable for eating and the variety suitable for making wine, according to what I heard, and Nina looks sad after tasting them.
Still, it’s great that you didn’t waste the food and ate all of them, but you could have put them in there because they will be harvested for grape wine later on, right?
At any rate, we had a few vines growing for Nina to eat, and we’re moving on to harvesting the grape varieties for the wine as soon as possible…
“I’d like to put them in the biggest bucket possible, but do you have any?”
“No, I’m afraid we only have small bowls and pots and pans for cooking.”
“I see. …… what can I do?”
When I told her about the lack of large containers, Monica began to have trouble.
We could cut a tree from the forest that Shelly made for us and make one …… I mean, I tried to make a hand bucket for the bath, but it didn’t work.
If I couldn’t make a small hand bucket, there was no way I could make a big bucket.
“Nina, can you make something like a big bucket out of leftover iron?”
“I think I can if I make it thinner, but it’s heavy, you know?”
“Well, it’s just a temporary solution, please?”
“Okay!”
We decided to ask her to make a bucket out of iron for the time being.
While Nina was making the bucket, we brought pots and cooking bowls from the cabin to harvest the grapes.
Incidentally, Monica went straight to the vineyard empty-handed, saying that she did not need pots and other containers because of the way she had been harvesting since she was a child.
After a while, I found Monica holding a large amount of grapes and continuing to harvest, but how on earth does she do it?
“Monica, how are you holding those tons of grapes with your left hand only?”
“Do you want to see it? But, as you can see from the side, I’m rolling up my skirt and spreading it out like a furoshiki (a wrapping cloth).”
“No, if I do that, I’ll see your underwear, won’t I? There’s no way that I can peek at it. Anyway, you explained it to me, and I understood, so it’s fine.”
“No, you definitely won’t be able to see my underwear, okay? I didn’t we- …… Ahem, ahem. Go ahead, take a look from the side.”
“Really? Well, I’m sorry, but just a little …… hmm? Ellie?”
Monica was so confident that I was about to go around to her side to see what was going on when suddenly Ellie interrupted.
“Alex …… what the hell are you trying to peek at!”
“Nice one, Ms. Ellie! Mr. Alex, if you want to take a look, you can look at mine!”
“What are you talking about at this moment, Ms. Lydia! I mean, Alex and I used to take baths together when we were kids, and we’ve seen each other before!”
No, I have bathed with Ellie many times, but I don’t think there is any connection between that and the grape-picking thing.
“Damn …… I was so close.”
“No, what are you three talking about? We’re talking about making wine, right?”
“T-That’s right. I wonder what both Ms. Ellie and Ms. Lydia are talking about.”
Wondering why Monica’s words had made Ellie and Lydia both look at each other with a cold stare, we put the grapes we had gathered into the iron bucket Nina had made.
“Then, we have to step on the grapes with our feet, but the bucket is too big, so I will do it.”
“N-No! I know exactly what Ms. Monica will do! I’ll do it too!”
“Miss Ellie! It’s going to be difficult for two adults to get into this bucket.”
“I-In that case …… Nina! Let’s step on the grapes with Ms. Monica!”
Although I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of stepping on food, I was told that this is the traditional way of making grape wine, and most of the wine sold in the market is made this way, so I asked them to do it.
Lydia got the water out and carefully washed their feet, but Nina was a little too messy with the washing, or she didn’t like the water …… a dwarf’s weakness to cold is quite a problem.
“Nina. Come over here for a minute …… and sit on my leg. I’ll wash you more carefully. Lydia, get some water over here.”
“M-Mister!? Hyah! …… That tickles!”
“You’re going to step on the grapes with your feet, you know. We need to wash them cleaner.”
I sat down on one knee on the ground and let Nina sit on my propped up leg and washed her clean down to between her toes.
Nina wiggles her body, saying she’s ticklish all the time, but I can’t compromise this with this one.
So, I held Nina firmly with my left arm so that she could not escape, and carefully washed her…
“Okay, Nina. This is good …… Eh, what’s wrong? Nina?”
“Ugh …… Mister. Nina can’t take it anymore ……”
Maybe it was too much, because a limp Nina came up to me and hugged me.
But I couldn’t let Nina’s feet touch the ground after I had washed them, so when I held her as if she were a princess in my arms…
“Master, I want you to wash me too. I want master to wash me too.”
“Ms. Monica, you can wash yourself!”
“…… Ms. Nina. I envy you ……”
For some reason, the other ladies started to make a fuss.