THD Chapter 7

Compared to Ye Shiying's simple confusion, the system had a far more ominous premonition.

Cautiously, it asked,

“Host... how exactly do you have a brewing recipe?”

Ye Xiqing tilted her head and looked at it.

As the system's anxiety grew more and more obvious, she slowly smiled.

“System, why are you asking me?”

“Whether I have a brewing recipe or not depends entirely on you, doesn't it?”

“As the pinnacle of technological achievement, obtaining brewing information should be a very simple task for you.”

“I need your help now.”

“So?”

“Will you help me?”

The system froze.

It stood there in stunned silence for a long time before finally realizing—

It had been tricked.

Completely tricked.

Was a brewing recipe valuable?

Of course it was.

For a winery, it was one of the most important assets imaginable.

But within the system store?

Not really.

Hadn't it just sold Ye Xiqing an entire set of high school textbooks and practice materials—literally a mountain of information—for only ten points?

If all that knowledge cost merely ten points, how valuable could a single brewing manual possibly be?

The system was furious.

Not because the request was unreasonable.

But because it realized it had walked right into Ye Xiqing's trap.

Of course, it could refuse.

It could invent countless excuses.

It could cite regulations.

It could claim technical limitations.

It could sabotage the plan.

But it couldn't.

Because the audience comments were already exploding.

«Hahaha! Did the host just outplay the system?»

«She absolutely did! She baited it into revealing the rules!»

«This is way more entertaining than the usual romance plots!»

«Host, keep going! Defeat the system!»

«[Donation ×1]»

«[Donation ×1]»

«[Donation ×1]»

«The system can't be this petty, right?»

«It's just a brewing recipe. Why not give it to her?»

The scrolling comments flooded the system's backend.

That was why it couldn't refuse.

If it accepted the loss, people would laugh at it.

But if it openly refused, the conflict would instantly shift from a story between host and system into a direct confrontation between the production team and the audience.

The system had spent years cultivating a reliable image.

There was no way it would destroy its reputation over something this small.

So, swallowing its pride, it forced a smile.

“Ah, I see.”

“I thought the host had discovered some hidden storyline I wasn't aware of.”

“Since that's not the case... then naturally it falls under my responsibilities.”

“Please tell me what type of brewing materials you need.”

Heh.

Ye Xiqing smiled happily.

According to the usual rules of system novels, if she wanted a brewing recipe, she could simply ask the system for one.

There was no need for elaborate tricks.

But she knew very well that this particular system would never hand it over so easily.

Think about it.

The system had sent her back to the 1990s with over thirty years of informational advantage.

In an era overflowing with opportunities, she could become wealthy simply by exploiting future knowledge.

She barely needed to lift a finger.

She could reach the peak of success through information alone.

But the system didn't want that.

The system wanted her to marry the male lead.

So was a brewing recipe really some rare, precious cheat?

Of course not.

If she were already married to Lu Jing'an, the system would probably hand it over for free and call it a marriage benefit.

Would the system willingly give her a tool that might allow her to build an independent future?

Absolutely not.

Helping the male lead's career was acceptable.

Helping the heroine escape the male lead's orbit was not.

Ye Xiqing wasn't interested in diagnosing whether the system suffered from rigid programming or psychological issues.

But one thing was obvious.

The system didn't want her acquiring any advantages that might allow her to leave the designated storyline.

Fine.

Then she'd simply treat the system as an opponent.

Perhaps that sounded arrogant.

Fortunately, she wasn't actually a girl from the 1990s.

She came from an era of information overload.

An ordinary person, perhaps.

But not an ignorant one.

This was supposedly a livestream.

A higher-dimensional reality show.

And in a reality show, who held the most power?

The audience.

Regardless of its true nature, this livestream shared one characteristic with every variety show she'd ever watched:

The audience came to watch the participants.

Not the producers.

No production team willingly turned itself into the villain.

Because once viewers began attacking the production team, everyone lost.

The system had weaknesses.

And weaknesses meant opportunities.

Today, she had gently tested those limits.

The result satisfied her.

This round belonged to Ye Xiqing.

---

After dealing with the system, only Ye Shiying remained.

Sure enough, she looked puzzled.

“Where did you get this recipe?”

That question was much easier.

Ye Xiqing calmly overdrew the original owner's credibility once again.

“When I worked at the winery... there was a guy...”

“The one from the technical department...”

“Technician Wang?”

“Yes, him.”

“He wanted to date me before.”

“And he told me a lot of things.”

“What?!”

Ye Shiying's eyes widened.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Technician Wang has a stable job!”

“Marrying him wouldn't have been bad at all!”

“If I'd known, I never would've let you get involved with that ungrateful bastard Gu Pengfei!”

“I didn't like him.”

“So I never agreed.”

“But the more I rejected him, the more he tried to impress me.”

“And that's how I learned a lot of things.”

Ye Shiying immediately nodded knowingly.

“That's how men are.”

“The less attention you give them, the harder they chase.”

“Right?”

“Right.”

...

After a lengthy detour through romance gossip, the conversation finally returned to the brewing recipe.

Ye Shiying still looked doubtful.

“Are you really sure?”

“Have you ever done this before?”

“Will it actually work?”

For Ye Xiqing, convincing Ye Shiying that she possessed a recipe was enough.

Whether the recipe worked was a separate issue.

“Auntie.”

“Let's brew a small batch first.”

“If it works, then we continue.”

Ye Shiying was not a particularly decisive person.

Years of poverty had only made her more cautious.

But the words "secret recipe" and "selling liquor" were simply too tempting.

Would it really hurt to sacrifice one sack of corn for an experiment?

---

Ye Xiqing uncapped the fountain pen.

The nib was stained with dried ink, proof that it hadn't been used for a long time.

After cleaning it and refilling it from a half-empty bottle of ink, she tested it on a scrap of paper.

The pen scratched awkwardly across the page.

Still usable.

Good enough.

She opened a notebook and began writing.

Her pen moved smoothly.

Ye Xiqing wasn't unfamiliar with the principles of brewing.

After all, fermentation and alcohol production were classic topics in organic chemistry.

In a textbook, they appeared as little more than a few formulas and diagrams.

But viewed from a broader perspective, those simple lines of knowledge formed the foundation of entire industries.

There was something unexpectedly romantic about that.

A few scientific principles.

A few reactions.

And from them emerged wineries, businesses, fortunes, and livelihoods.

Knowledge was far more valuable than most people realized.

The real challenge, however... 

The real world was nothing like the neat equations printed in a chemistry textbook.

Brewing was far more complicated than anything written in a book.

Although the system had no choice but to provide the brewing manuals, it was more than happy to make things difficult for Ye Xiqing where the audience couldn't see.

When it pulled out the two brick-thick volumes, Ye Xiqing could practically hear the system snickering to itself.

"To better assist the host, the system has compiled the finest brewing knowledge from countless worlds into these books. However, there's rather a lot of information."

"Would the host like to purchase the [Memory Imprint] cheat?"

"The [Memory Imprint] cheat can directly convert knowledge into data and upload it to the host's mind. Fast, convenient, and effortless."

"As a premium cheat offered by a high-level system, it only costs 4,888 points."

"Unfortunately, the host probably can't afford it~"

Listening to the smug tone in the system's voice, Ye Xiqing could easily imagine the expression on its nonexistent face.

Unfortunately for the system, she was a high school senior.

A qualified high school senior not only possessed an endless capacity for reading, but also the ability to identify key information with frightening efficiency.

"I've finished reading them."

"No matter the world, brewing follows the same basic principles. The real differences lie in the ingredients and the production process."

"At my current stage, my resources are limited. I can't precisely control either of those factors."

"So if I want to achieve meaningful results, the only viable direction is the fermentation starter. It's smaller in scale, easier to produce, and much simpler to experiment with."

Ye Xiqing looked up calmly.

"System, I'm very grateful for the extensive brewing knowledge you've provided."

"Now please give me everything you have on wine yeast."

System: ...

And so, in addition to mastering a vast amount of brewing knowledge, Ye Xiqing acquired an equally impressive understanding of yeast cultivation.

Though used in small quantities, yeast was the heart of fermentation.

Without it, there would be no wine.

After sorting through countless pages of information, she condensed everything onto a single sheet of paper.

This sheet became her "secret recipe."

As for its name...

Ye Xiqing thought for a moment before writing:

Corn No. 90 — Developed by Ye Xiqing

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