The wizard starts with the get inspiration panel

Chapter 200 Hops

As the atmosphere of the exchange meeting reached a climax, the fruits and cold salads originally on the table were removed.

All kinds of hot dishes and delicacies were brought out one by one by the young and beautiful maids.

Many of the dishes, just in appearance, were something that Richard had never seen before.

For example, a main dish of meat called suckling pig and chicken is served on a huge plate with a diameter of nearly one meter. The upper part is half of a suckling pig, and the back half is the lower part of a chicken.

When this dish was first served, Richard was confused. Could it be that there really is such a creature in the Underdark?It shouldn't be, this shape is too inconsistent with the body structure of biological evolution.

Obviously, the two thin legs of the chicken are completely unable to bear the weight of the upper body of the pig.

Looking at Richard's confused expression, the dwarf witch Fana seemed to understand something. She smiled and introduced softly:
"Master Li Wei, this dish is made from two different ingredients. Compared to the preciousness of the ingredients, I think the creativity is more worthy of praise."

"The upper body of this dish is from a low-level monster, the cliff wild boar's cub that has just given birth to a baby within half a month. The lower body is from a domesticated low-level monster, the black water chicken, but this black water chicken must be castrated. rooster and then carefully cooked for several hours."

"Mixed with the deliciousness of chicken soup and the tenderness of suckling pig, Master Li Wei can try it." Fana motioned to the maid on the side and cut a large piece for Richard.

Richard took a piece with a fork and tasted it. It was indeed very delicious.

Even if it is not as good as my own golden horned frog eggs purely in terms of freshness, this is meat.

Being able to achieve this level shows the preciousness of the raw materials and the skill of the chef.

After drinking glasses of wine, the wizards became more talkative and the atmosphere became more lively.

After having enough wine and food, the second part of the exchange meeting began in the afternoon, the free trading stage.

In order, each wizard first introduces the various items to be traded this time one by one. At the same time, he can state his needs, such as what he wants to exchange, etc. The transaction cannot be started at this time.

After everyone has been introduced, free trade can begin.

Richard had just bought a villa, so he was short of money, and since this was his first time to attend a gathering and exchange between wizards, he didn't originally want to buy anything.

But when he saw all kinds of rare materials, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Everyone present except him were first-level high-level wizards. Most of them had been official wizards for decades, so they had a lot of experience.

The items taken out are generally relatively rare materials, witchcraft tools, etc., and each item is valuable.

Moreover, the other party usually seeks to exchange items for items. Otherwise, if they are simply used to exchange magic stones, they can send most of the items to the auction house to obtain higher magic stone returns.

"Mimetic metal, 5359 grams, I want to exchange it for ten mana thistles." Angeles, who is also a gray dwarf wizard, introduced.

Mimic metal?This immediately made Richard's eyes light up. Hey, originally he wanted to wait until this period of time was over to see if he could improve some of the high-end and top-level witchcraft props he had on hand.

After all, many low-level witchcraft weapons can be modified by top-level witchcraft props and thus upgraded.

Richard had had this idea before. This would have the smallest cost but the biggest improvement.

It’s just a little more troublesome, and you need to be proficient in the relevant fields. For example, if you want to upgrade witchcraft weapons and witchcraft props such as weapons or shields and armors, you need to be proficient in rune forging. If you want to upgrade witchcraft weapons and witchcraft props such as leather armor, You need to be proficient in elemental leatherworking.

Elemental Leatherworking uses various elemental energies to make leather armor.

This is why Richard was very interested in the blacksmith there who could use rudimentary rune forging skills to create weapons in Gray Fern Town.

Perhaps, for ordinary wizards, it would be good to be proficient in one or two fields in a lifetime, but Richard is different. With the inspiration panel in hand, as long as there are enough energy points, time and energy are not a problem.

Bringing his thoughts back to the scene, Richard guessed that Angeles wanted to exchange for the mana thistle, most likely to make a powerful flame protection potion.

A powerful flame protection potion, after drinking it, can form a spherical shield on the surface of the body, which can absorb quite high flame energy. It is almost the same as the defense of two to three fireball spells of a formal wizard who specializes in the fire system.

Strictly speaking, it can absorb fire energy by 110 degrees.

Generally, the power of a first-level wizard's fireball spell is [-] to [-] degrees, so to put it vaguely, it is not wrong to say that it can absorb the damage of two to three fireball spells.

It's a pity that Mana Thistle itself doesn't have it, nor does it have the recipe for a powerful fire protection potion.
It seems that this piece of mimetic metal, which is nearly several times heavier than the mimetic wristband, has no connection with him.

"Oh, Angeles, are you going to make a powerful flame protection potion? Why, are you planning to enter the Scorched Earth Secret Realm in the near future?" said a gray dwarf wizard with a maroon beard.

After the trading session ended, it was around three or four in the afternoon, and Disol was still chatting away.

Richard just bought a villa. Although it was once the residence of a wealthy gray dwarf businessman, it was luxurious in every aspect and had nothing missing, but everyone usually modified it slightly according to their own style.

Although Fana is a dwarf woman, her vision of beauty has many things in common with Richard. For example, the layout of the entire hall environment is what Richard likes.

In addition to the decorations on the walls, various flowers are also planted in the corners. Since the hall is illuminated by flaming stones of different sizes all year round, many of the flowers are species that are not common in dark areas, and many of them require strong light to grow luxuriantly. Flowers are naturally more colorful.

Huh!Richard casually passed by a few hanging small green hydrangea flowers mixed with white spots.

Why does this look so much like hops from a previous life?
Hops, also called hops, are an important raw material for brewing beer.

Out of curiosity, Richard stepped forward and smelled the smell. His face immediately condensed, he picked one, rubbed it open, and looked at it carefully.

After a while, although Richard's face was calm, his heart was already filled with joy.

What he picked was the ear of the female plant, which was shaped like a green pine cone and similar in size. The most important thing was the yellow powdery substance attached to the axils of the bracts inside.

The smell, color and appearance are very similar to hops from a previous life.

"Master Li Wei, why are you here? Why, do you also like flowers?" At this time, the petite Fana came over.

Following Richard's line of sight, Fana introduced: "This is an unknown hemp grass, which is rare in the Dark Area. I found it near Tuge City. It looks rare and very beautiful. , I transplanted it here.”

Richard was stunned and immediately realized that hops like light. Logically speaking, most areas in the Underdark would not meet this growth condition.On the contrary, large cities like Tuge City have always had radiant lighting from flame stones, so it is rare to find these alien versions of hops.

Rare!
"Yes, Ms. Fana, I am very interested in the various flowers you grow here. I wonder if you can sell me some." Richard said with a smile on his face. Of course, he couldn't only have one kind, otherwise it would be too conspicuous. .

"Of course it's no problem. It's my honor that you like Master Li Wei." Fana said with a smile.

"Also, these are ordinary flowers. They are just more beautiful. Whichever ones you like, just take them."

"Thank you, Ms. Fana." Fana's generosity seemed to make Richard a bit petty.

However, after Li Cha thought about it, he already had a plan in mind, but it was not the right time yet.

"Pack this one, this one, and that one for me." Richard turned to the gray dwarf lady who was always accompanying him.

"As you command, Lord Levi." With the master's consent, the housekeeper naturally obeyed and carefully began to transplant the plants one by one into independent flower pots.

After the party was over and Richard returned to his villa, he immediately walked into the newly built alchemy room with hops in his hand.

Although many of the utensils and equipment inside have not been purchased in place, it is obviously enough to determine whether this otherworldly version of hops can produce the effects of hops.

After half an hour.
Richard had a smile on his face.

It's really hard to find a place to break through the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it.

I didn't expect that I would get such an unexpected surprise when attending a wizard's gathering.

Although I couldn't buy the mimetic metal because I was short of money, I got an unexpected bonus from hops.

It can be regarded as the east corner of the loss, and the mulberry elm of the harvest.

Since getting to know Disol, Richard has discovered the gray dwarves' huge alcohol consumption capacity, but the beer they drink most often does not have the faint fragrance and bitter aftertaste of his previous life.

If you can add this otherworldly version of hops, the taste of gray dwarf beer will be greatly improved.

The ingredients for making beer are very simple, and the same is true for the gray dwarves. They are all made from malt and water as the main raw materials, and are fermented wine with a low concentration of carbon dioxide and made through yeast fermentation.

However, since there is no flavor substance such as hops, the taste is a bit sweet and cloying, and over time, it will also have a slight sour taste.

This is why when the wizards gather, Fana brings out high-concentration wine.

Because even the most high-end beer in Tuge City does not taste as good as high-concentration wine.

Now that he has hops, Richard believes that he will bring about earth-shaking changes in the gray dwarf beer industry. At the same time, it also means that he can make a lot of money.

The gray dwarves have a wide variety of beers. Some are suitable for civilian consumption and are only worth a few copper coins. Some are suitable for middle-class people and cost one to two silver coins. There are also beers for wealthy businessmen, nobles and even high-end wizards like Dissol. Beer is worth several gold.

Richard planned to start with high-end beer first. He had made preliminary calculations before. If he could capture one-third of Tuge City's high-end beer market share, he would be able to earn thousands of gold coins every day.
Converted into magic stones, there is an income of two hundred to three hundred magic stones every day, excluding various costs, labor and other expenses. Since it is a high-end beer, the profit margin is quite large. Richard estimates that at least about 80% of the net profit should be retained.

At first glance, 200 yuan of magic stones a day does not seem to be much, but firstly it is safe, and secondly it can be accumulated over time. Even if it only costs 200 yuan of magic stones a day, it is not a small amount in a year.

The last thing is share. If this beer sells well enough, the share can obviously be expanded. At the same time, this is just Tuge City.

What if it can be expanded to other cities?
It is not an exaggeration to describe it as making a fortune every day!
Even in the later stages, he may not be able to control this business just by relying on his reputation as master alchemist. He must rely on the big tree of the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood.

However, let's not consider this problem for now. What I need to solve now is to brew a small amount of beer for trial drinking and attract a group of heavyweight customers.

Naturally, the large-scale cultivation of hops must be left to professional natural wizards, but this can be left alone first.

Regarding brewing beer, although Richard knew the general principles, such as crushing, saccharifying, boiling, adding hops, and then fermenting, etc., the current specific beer making process of gray dwarves was not very clear.

Fortunately, Richard was not alone now. He immediately summoned Stephana, Fingart and Gorkan.

"Among the three of you, is anyone familiar with beer brewing?" Richard asked, focusing on Fingart and Gorkan.

After all, these two people had once served as prophets for an entire fishman tribe. If the tribe had brewed some alcohol, they should also be familiar with the process.

Fingart and Gorkan looked at each other. Although they couldn't figure out why the master suddenly thought of brewing beer, they both shook their heads and said: "Master, fishmen rarely drink beer. I'm afraid this should be The duergar know best."

Stephana also looked confused, but after thinking for a moment, she said: "I don't know much about the beer brewing process, but... Master, why don't you ask that perverted old man Dissol?"

"He is an alcoholic. He must know how to brew beer. He may even have many different beer recipes and techniques."

Richard closed his eyes and slowly tapped the wooden armrests of the large chair with his fingers.

Stephana and the other three knew that this was the habit of their master Richard when he was thinking. They immediately stood with their hands down, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing their master's thinking.

Richard's original idea was to make a small amount of hops-based beer first, and then invite Disol over. At that time, he could spread the word through his big mouth.

But now it seems that I still have to go find him first.

It's not that the beer brewing process is difficult, but that Richard doesn't want to waste too much time, energy and the most important energy points on this matter.

He would rather share more profits in various aspects. After all, if the market is as big as expected, he, a human being in the gray dwarf region, will never be able to absorb such a huge profit market.

In this case, why not find some existing friends to cooperate early, and Disol, an alcoholic wizard, is one of the best choices.

"Fingart, go and ask if Mr. Dissore is here. If so, please invite Mr. Dissore to come over."

He originally wanted to use the communication mark to contact Dissol directly, but after thinking about it, Richard decided to let Fingart go alone.

(End of this chapter)