Chapter 65 of 100

Chapter 65

17 min read4,191 words

With the rise in grain and sugar prices over the past two weeks, the Zhang family's rice wine shop indeed saw a significant drop in business. For the wealthy, a few copper coins and a few silver coins might not make much of a difference, but for the lower-income strata of society, even a slight price increase could translate into a significant survival pressure. They were much more sensitive to price changes. A single copper coin increase in a bowl of rice wine, for some, meant a 20% price hike, which was hard to accept.

Watching the noblewoman drag her child, who was drooling, away from the rice wine shop, Zhang Tie could only smile bitterly. The little boy used to come often, but now, with the rise in rice wine prices, his mother had to drag him away. For ordinary families, the increase in grain prices affected not just the price of a bowl of rice wine, but the entire cost of living. With grain prices rising, everything from firewood to salt and oil also went up. It was rumored that the coal prices in Black Flame City had also started to rise, with the delivery of coal balls increasing by five copper coins per cart. As grain and coal prices rose, the steel produced by the steel mills would also increase in price. Although the current price hikes were still small, it was not a good sign for many ordinary people.

The Zhang family's ugly three-wheeled vehicle, which had been modified, was borrowed by a neighbor early in the morning to buy some grain. Several families had already borrowed it in the past few days, all to transport goods. Mother and the eldest sister-in-law went to the hospital this morning because the eldest sister-in-law said she wasn't feeling well, and Mother became worried. They left early in the morning. Zhang Tie was left alone at home, watching the rice wine shop, idly swatting flies with a fan.

Although Zhang Tie was at the rice wine shop, his mind was elsewhere. His entire focus was on the interesting changes happening in his mind. After his mental energy increased sevenfold, the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" (Abacus Mental Calculation) technique, which he had been practicing for two weeks, underwent a dramatic transformation. Before yesterday, it took Zhang Tie a long time to visualize a three-rod abacus in his mind, and the abacus was unstable. The speed of mental calculation using the abacus was not fast, and it was not as convenient as manual calculation. It had not yet reached a practical level. However, this situation changed completely this morning.

In Zhang Tie's mind, a seven-rod golden abacus was steadily suspended in his mental sea. The beads on the abacus were moving up and down without hands, outputting calculation results.

36 multiplied by 98 equals... 3528!

1269 plus 9621 equals... 10890!

362 multiplied by 125 equals... 45250!

639 divided by 12 equals... 53.25!

98564 divided by 125 equals... 788.512!

At first, Zhang Tie needed to recite the formulas to get the results, but later, as soon as he saw the problem, the formulas flashed through his mind, and the abacus had already calculated the result. After more practice, Zhang Tie found that he didn't even need to recite the formulas. As soon as he saw the problem, the result was already there. It was incredibly fast. After using the abacus for two years, Zhang Tie finally realized the power of this ancient calculation tool. He didn't know where the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" book, which was listed as a recommended read for elementary school students, came from, but in terms of mental energy strength and quality, Zhang Tie didn't believe that any elementary school student could be as strong as he was now. His mental energy, after merging with the Radiant Fruit, had increased sevenfold, making it extremely powerful. With sevenfold mental energy driving the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan," its powerful side was fully revealed. For any addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division within seven digits, Zhang Tie only needed to glance at the problem, and the result would appear in his mind without any delay. Not only that, but the abacus he visualized was very stable, and he could even sell a few bowls of rice wine and do some small business without it affecting his calculations at all.

My current calculation speed should be faster than those hand-cranked metal calculators used in exchanges and banks, Zhang Tie thought happily. He never expected that the first benefit of his mental energy increasing sevenfold would be to bring his "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" to this level overnight. If he went to a grocery store now, he would definitely surprise Tang De.

Because the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" was so smooth and felt so magical and fitting, a bold and even absurd idea popped into Zhang Tie's mind—perhaps, in the distant past, before the abacus was invented, it was originally used this way. People in that era had very strong mental energy, so they could easily use this calculation tool in their minds. Later, for some unknown reason, people's mental energy declined, making it difficult to use the abacus in their minds, so someone created a physical abacus and started using it with their hands. Then, after several hundred or even thousands of years, when everyone was used to operating the abacus with their hands, someone had a sudden inspiration and thought that this tool could be visualized in the mind and operated with pure mental energy and consciousness, thus inventing the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" and inadvertently restoring the true method of using this calculation tool...

If that's the case, then I must be the only person who truly masters this magical calculation tool. I wonder if this magical calculation tool can evolve into a higher level of ability. Tang De once mentioned that in the mysterious East, there are some powerful professions, such as the enigmatic fortune-tellers, who possess a more magical calculation tool called "Yi," which calculates not numbers but the fortunes and misfortunes of people and the evolution of all things. Is there any connection between the two?

While Zhang Tie was lost in thought, Mother and the eldest sister-in-law returned. Zhang Tie quickly dispersed the abacus in his mind and rushed over to ask, "Mother, what's wrong with the eldest sister-in-law?"

As soon as the words came out, Zhang Tie realized he had asked a silly question, which sounded a bit awkward. The eldest sister-in-law's face turned slightly red, and Mother glared at him, giving him a hard tap on the head. "What's wrong with you? Hurry up and make lunch..."

...

In the afternoon, as usual, Zhang Tie helped Mother make rice wine at home. With the eldest sister-in-law's help, the work became relatively easier. After lunch, the neighbor returned the three-wheeled vehicle. Zhang Tie went to buy rice and sugar, and as expected, the prices of these two items had risen slightly. Because the rice wine business wasn't good last week, he only bought two bags of rice this time. When he got home, Mother was teaching the eldest sister-in-law how to make the yeast solution.

"The yeast solution is very important. The final taste of the rice wine depends entirely on it. Our family's yeast is homemade. Before using the jars for yeast, they must be sterilized with boiling water and then cooled. We usually have two jars, one in use and one fermenting. Once a jar is ready, when it's almost used up, add water and some chopped fruit, peels, and seeds. Open the jar lid and shake it daily to let it breathe. After about a week, a new jar of yeast solution is ready. Each jar of rice wine needs about two spoons of the fermented yeast solution before sealing. Try a little; the yeast solution is very tasty. Zhang Tie used to sneak and eat it often..."

Zhang Tie was already very familiar with this content and hadn't paid much attention, especially since Mother was also pointing out his past misdeeds, which made him feel embarrassed. However, for some reason, as he listened to Mother, a sudden flash of insight struck him, and a thought abruptly appeared in his mind...

Yeast—Rice Wine—

Mutated and Evolved Yeast—Mutated and Evolved Rice Wine—?

Zhang Tie remembered that there was a special option in the Black Iron Castle that could promote the mutation and evolution of all living things. When he first entered the Black Iron Castle, he tried it with a sprouted potato from a pit, but he hadn't received any results in the past few days and had forgotten about it. Today, as he watched Mother teach the eldest sister-in-law how to make the yeast solution, he suddenly had an idea—what if he could make the yeast used for making rice wine mutate or evolve, creating a new yeast solution? Would the rice wine taste better? If so, it could open up a new market for the family's rice wine business.

The more he thought about it, the more he believed this method should be feasible. At least, it was worth a try. The Zhang family had been making rice wine with the old method for over twenty years, so trying something new wouldn't be a big deal. Even if it failed, it wouldn't be a significant loss.

With this in mind, Zhang Tie became excited. In the evening, while Mother wasn't paying attention, he found a clean glass bottle in the kitchen, quietly filled it with half a bottle of yeast solution, and took it to his attic room. He quickly went to the Black Iron Castle, opened the "Biological and Species Management" panel under "Carbon-Based Biological and Species Management," and selected the "Microorganisms" management panel. After selecting the bottle of yeast solution, he invested 300 spirit points, 5 merit points, and 0.1 basic energy reserve, and began the first attempt to mutate and evolve the yeast.

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