Chapter 46: Does the so-called weird store really sell snail noodles?

Lily had been doing much better recently. It wasn't that she had made any significant progress from practicing in the abandoned underground passage, but Emma had lent her a children's flying broom. The broom had two small wing-like stabilizers on the tail, which allowed the broom to fly steadily at low altitudes.

Lily was very happy. She flew two low circles in Honey Alley with her toy broom every day, which greatly boosted her confidence.

Youan noticed that Ye Wan had been a little distracted recently, and even tried to sprinkle salt into the chiffon cake base, but was stopped by Pancake with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, thank you for the muffin," she said, and scooped a spoonful of lard from the countertop as if it were butter.

He was hit on the head by Youan.

"What?" She covered her head and looked at him, who frowned. "That's not cream."

Ye Wan sighed.

The sunny autumn weather is really good for people's appetite. Ye Wan was extremely craving for snail noodles. She even went to the second-hand warehouse twice, where she could occasionally find goods from other worlds. Ye Wan found a small electric fan in the summer, but it broke after only two days.

In response to this, know-it-all Emma said: "What is snail rice noodle? I know snails. Sometimes when the moat is silted, a lot of them are fished out, but no one knows how to cook them, so the cleaners throw them back into the river."

"That's such a pity! Stir-fried snails are a great dish to go with wine," Ye Wan said.

A pot of spicy and fragrant snails stewed in a pot, the snail meat is sizzling with oil when you pick it up with a toothpick, it is the best time to pair it with ice beer.

Emma's mouth watered at what she said. "Oh, that sounds really delicious. When the moat is dredged again, I'll ask the cleaner for a basket to take away."

The topic turned to stir-fried snails, but what Ye Wan actually wanted to eat was snail noodles, which were simmered in a small copper pot. The rice noodles were smooth and the broth was rich and fresh. It would be best if it could be topped with a fried egg.

Ye Wan sighed.

She could cut some potatoes and fry them as a substitute for foods like potato chips, but she could not make snail noodles, a delicious food that would never appear in any other world. It was the kind of snail noodles that even the gods would forgive the sins of mortals.

Ye Wan sighed again.

Amid her continuous sighs, Ye Wan didn't notice that a small signal bird flew out from the attic of the tavern.

The next morning, before dawn, there was a knock on Ye Wan's door. She went to open the door with her hair like a bird's nest. You An had already washed and dressed and was standing there waiting for her.

He wore a simple white shirt today, with two buttons open at the collar, which highlighted his beautiful collarbone. The pure black trousers made his long legs look even more upright.

Because he was facing away from the morning sun, Ye Wan felt that the ends of his golden hair were shimmering with tiny bits of light. Occasionally, the autumn breeze would blow through, lifting his hair and revealing his beautiful emerald earrings.

Ye Wan praised: "Oh my god, Youan, you are so beautiful. If you were in a fairy tale, you would be the pretty Rapunzel girl that the prince fell in love with at first sight."

The latter was not moved by such sincere praise. He looked down at his pocket watch and then glared at her: "Stop calling me that stupid name."

He gracefully put the pocket watch into his pocket and turned around: "Now, shut up and follow me."

He stuffed the vegetable basket into Ye Wan's arms and turned to go downstairs. Ye Wan wanted to follow him down with the vegetable basket in her arms, but she hesitated and looked towards the bedroom. Muffin was still sleeping with his legs spread out, and a huge snot bubble was coming out of his nose.

She quietly closed the door and turned to go downstairs. Youan walked in front, but he didn't forget to explain to her: "The owner is allergic to furry creatures, so it's not convenient to carry muffins."

"Shopkeeper?" Ye Wan asked puzzledly, holding the basket.

They boarded a public carriage, which rattled through the beautiful maple forest, as if they had entered a warm golden oil painting. Perhaps because it was early in the morning, there were not many people on the carriage. Apart from Ye Wan and You An sitting side by side, there was only a peasant woman with a basket of blueberries eating a piece of Baumkuchen in the diagonal corner.

Ye Wan swallowed her saliva. She came out right after brushing her teeth and washing her face without having any breakfast.

A sandwich was brought to her nose at the right time. It was a slice of white bread filled with fresh cream and strawberries. It had the softness of white bread, the sweet fragrance of fruit and the thick and dense cream.

The sandwich was cut very precisely, with very neat cuts. You could tell it was cut by Youan, because he almost had a ruler to measure it while he was cooking.

"This is so delicious, Youan, you can start your apprenticeship now." Ye Wan said.

Youan silently took out five more sandwiches from the bag: "If it's not enough, there are more."

Ye Wan: "...No need. I'll take one. You can eat the rest."

He silently took the sandwiches back and ate all five of them elegantly on the stagecoach.

The carriage was driving on the road and accidentally ran over a large puddle. The carriage swayed violently to the right. You An held Ye Wan's arm steadily.

Ye Wan felt a suffocating warmth in his arm. It was strange, considering it was autumn...

She turned her head to look at him, and her smoky crystal eyes were so beautiful and bright.

Youan was also looking at her, as if hesitating to say something, but he didn't speak.

So Ye Wan decided to say something humorous to break the silence, so she pointed at his face:

"There's cream on the corners of your mouth."

Youan threw her arm away in frustration.

The carriage stopped in front of the "Big Waterwheel", a famous landmark in District B of the Royal Capital. Before the magical industrial revolution and before people invented electric flour mills, District B of the Royal Capital was full of water mills that used waterwheels, and the huge stone mill shafts would make a dull "dong dong" sound.

Because the whole area was covered with flour, there were many rats and cats. After walking in the streets for a while, Ye Wan had already seen five or six beautiful cats.

"Are they all stray cats?" Ye Wan looked up at the black cat squatting on the eaves and wiping its face.

"No, according to the Kingdom's Animal Protection Act, citizens are not allowed to abandon animals. These cats are just going out for a walk. You can't ask them to stay at home forever." Youan explained.

This area was entirely made up of narrow, winding red brick walls. They walked around in a circle and reached the end of the alley, where there was only a large brick wall and a small, closed cafe.

There is a dark green rain curtain at the door of the small cafe, covered with dust accumulated over the years, like a foggy gauze.

"Where are we going?" Ye Wan asked.

She looked at the large brick wall in front of her, and then it suddenly dawned on her: "Oh, I get it. I've read about this in novels. You take out a magic wand and tap a few corresponding bricks on the wall. Then the wall will open, and a beautiful magical world will appear before my eyes."

You An was surprised for a moment. He looked down at Ye Wan and said, "Where did I get the wand from? I'm not a wizard."

After saying that, he knocked on the cafe door a few times.

Then the door opened.

Ye Wan: "...I think too much."

They walked into the cafe. Unlike the outside, the inside was a grand three-story shopping mall, as if it had been enlarged by a spell.

In the center was a large fountain-like ornament, with several magic brooms circling back and forth. Several people stood with their hands behind their backs, observing the brooms. "They say they're the official brooms for the tournament. The tails are made of ostrich feathers, and they can reach speeds of 60-70 kilometers per hour..."

On the mahogany display cabinet next to it, there were various exotic plants. Ye Wan saw the glowing, beautiful magic stone and various butterfly specimens.

A white rabbit in a formal dress came rushing down from the third floor on a mine train. "Oh, two more customers are here. What would you like to buy?"

It rubbed its paws excitedly: "I've just got some new feathers from strange birds and beasts, some new claws from sphinxes, and..."

You An interrupted its chatter: "We don't need any of this, let's buy food from another world."

The enthusiastic smile on Rabbit's face froze for a second, and then he said, "Food from another world... OK, OK, please go to the third floor."

There are no stairs on the three floors here. There is only an aerial track built in the air, and people need to take a small mine cart to go upstairs.

Ye Wan felt that the small mine cart was a little too small, not to mention the tall You An, who huddled inside like an adult riding a small train in a shopping mall.

Mr. Rabbit sat in the first row: "Two customers are going to the third floor in a small mine cart!"

The car rushed up like an arrow, circled in the air and reached the third floor.

Unlike the mysterious first floor, the third floor is completely decorated like a supermarket, with piles of crowded shelves and a few customers pushing carts around.

The shelves are filled with various condiments and snacks.

The closest thing to Ye Wan was a row of chocolates and some chocolate bars similar to Pocky. Ye Wan was very happy: "I haven't eaten this kind of chocolate bar for a long time."

There are many kinds of chocolate products in the Kingdom of Oceana, but Ye Wan has never seen a chocolate bar that is well packaged and ready to eat.

She immediately took out her favorite red wine flavor and matcha flavor.

"Great! Youan, look, this place has everything you need." Ye Wan said.

The prices are a bit high, more expensive than the market outside. Mr. Rabbit explained: "Some of them are shipped from another world, and we have to pay for shipping and taxes. Please understand."

Ye Wan silently kept only one box and put the rest back. You An threw the two boxes she had stuffed back into the car and said, "It's a rare trip for you, take it."

Ye Wan walked around the shelves again and immediately took three bags of snail noodles, three bags of fatty rice noodles, as well as ready-made marinade packets, sauerkraut fish soup packets, and hot pot base packets.

"I haven't eaten hot pot and snail noodles for a long time." Ye Wan walked around the third floor several times as if he had entered heaven. There was even a fresh food area with three lively king crabs.

"So expensive." Ye Wan looked at the sign in front of the king crab in surprise. The crabs were produced from both sides of the North Pacific.

"Aside from the price, this place of origin looks incredibly friendly." Ye Wan shook his head helplessly: "I don't know when I can go home."

She took the cart to the checkout counter to pay, and the cashier at the checkout counter was still Mr. Rabbit.

Ye Wan said, "You're quite busy."

Mr. Rabbit said, "I can't help it. The boss is at the branch store and I'm too busy to handle it here."

It skillfully took an abacus and began to calculate. Ye Wan stared at the abacus for a long time: "You have purchased goods from the other world, didn't you buy a calculator or something?"

Mr. Rabbit counted on his abacus quickly: "Oh, because I think this thing called an abacus is very interesting."

It looked at everything Ye Wan bought, and then saw the box of red wine-flavored chocolate bars: "You need to show your ID to buy something like this, to make sure you're an adult."

Ye Wan expressed her understanding. In the Kingdom of Oceana, one must present relevant age certificates when purchasing alcoholic products to ensure that minors cannot access alcohol. However, as an oriental girl who is not too tall, Ye Wan looks too small in the eyes of the tall people of Oceana.

But... Ye Wan complained, "You guys are too strict. Why do red wine-flavored chocolate bars also require ID? I thought the red wine flavor was just a flavoring, not real wine."

Mr. Rabbit quickly shook his head and pointed at a suspiciously large pink heart on the chocolate packaging. "Oh, it's not because of the alcohol. It's mixed with a witch's love potion①, with lots of fairy ears. That's why we don't sell it to minors."

It added: "Because this is a pre-made product, it does not contain personal items from your crush and is much less effective than a genuine love potion."

Ye Wan silently pushed the chocolate towards it: "I don't want this. Please recalculate the bill, thank you. Also, there's nothing weird in my snail noodles, right?!"