Chapter 70: Would you like some rich bacon and vegetable rice for Cupid's Day?

The origins of Cupid's Day can be traced back to a thousand-year-old legend: a fairy from the fairy tribe and a human knight fell in love, but due to racial hatred, they could not be together. So they sacrificed their lives on a high tower to break the curse with true love. Since then, every spring day, the first day of the week after the ringing of the Cupid's bell is the legal Cupid's Day.

"But Cupid's bells are ringing really early this year," Emma sighed. She was browsing a magazine and selecting and ordering chocolates. The chocolates were exquisitely crafted. Emma hesitated for a moment and said, "Oh, I'm going to get some raspberry champagne white chocolate and some nut caramel dark chocolate."

Emma sat cross-legged on the patio reading a magazine, with a cup of hot cocoa and cookies next to her.

Ye Wan stood on tiptoe in the courtyard to get some bacon. It was still winter and cold, so she and You An bought a lot of meat and ham, then piled them with salt and hung them on a tall wooden drying rack in a corner of the courtyard.

She removed the bacon and took a thick-backed, narrow-bladed carving knife. "Who's going to ring the Bell of Cupid? Why is it ringing so early this year, and so loud?"

Ye Wan felt very sorry. She thought the atmosphere was so good when they went out for an outing to avoid the rain that day, but it was broken by the bell.

"It is said that the Cupid's Bell will ring automatically when it senses the strong love between a man and a woman," said Emma.

"I see. That's amazing."

Ye Wan lowered his head and began to process the piece of bacon, while Emma had already begun to imagine what dress she would wear to dance the waltz under the Tower of Love on Cupid's Day.

Emma looked very excited. "Oh, you can borrow your sweetheart's lock, write both your names on it, and hang it on the tower. Then, on the evening of the festival, your sweetheart will come and invite you to dance under the tower. It'll be a romantic waltz."

"It does sound romantic." Ye Wan said.

Today's main course in the tavern is tofu with green onions and bacon rice.

In order to make Chunri's dining table more abundant, Ye Wan and You An went to the market to buy vegetables.

The market was infected by the Cupid Festival. The fountain in the center of the square sprayed pink water from time to time. I heard that the city hall added strawberry powder. The sweet fragrance of strawberries could be smelled from a long distance away. Many flower vendors pushed carts and sold roses along the street.

Because according to custom, lovers dancing under the tower on Cupid's Day must wear rose wreaths on their hands, and if they are in love with each other, the wreaths will emit light.

Ye Wan picked up a lot of crisp spring bamboo shoots and juicy greens at the market. The spring onions were also tender and sweet. She also picked a bunch of beautiful winter jasmine flowers to put in a vase when she got home.

Cook the rice first. Ye Wan pours oil into the pot, puts the bacon and spring bamboo shoots into the pot and stir-fry until slightly charred. Then pour them into the rice and simmer together. The pot used to stir-fry the bacon does not need to be washed. Pour some lard and then stir-fry the cabbage hearts. After the cabbage hearts are half cooked, add them to the rice and cover the pot.

The first person to come to the tavern today was Arthur. He looked a little melancholy today, which was very inconsistent with his hilly physique. Ye Wan served him some tofu with green onions as a side dish, and he ordered a whiskey soda.

"Want to try the bacon risotto, Arthur?"

"I don't think so..." He seemed to hesitate for a moment: "I can't really eat it."

He looked like he was in love.

Feeling that the time was almost up, Ye Wan opened the lid of the casserole, and white mist and hot steam filled the air. Ye Wan picked up the rice spoon and stirred it, and the rich aroma of oil immediately burst out.

The bacon with alternating fat and lean meat is cut into thin slices and simmered to release translucent fat. The fat seeps into the rice and vegetables, making the whole pot of rice and vegetables look oily, salty and fragrant.

Arthur swallowed.

Ye Wan only took the choy sum and chopped it into small pieces. Because it was added last, it still retained its green and sweet taste, and neutralized the heavy and greasy taste of the bacon.

Ye Wan served the guests rice and shoveled off the crispy rice crusts.

Arthur stretched his neck to look at the diner who was enjoying his meal. "I think I'll have one too."

He regretted it.

Ye Wan also served him a bowl. Arthur couldn't wait to pick up the bowl of oily rice. The bacon swayed and the fat quickly melted in his mouth. The meat became more and more fragrant the more he chewed it. The rice was full, the vegetables were sweet, and even the rice crust was crispy. Arthur finished it in one breath.

"Oh, I feel powerful again," he said.

Ye Wan was chopping green onions: "So you've mustered up the courage to confess to Kiara again?"

He quickly sat back down like a deflated ball.

"Oh maybe ask her for a lock or something first," he said sheepishly.

The doorbell of the tavern rang again, and this time it was Kiara who came in, followed by the big iron block. Today, it had put a pink love sticker on its heart to follow the fashion of Cupid's Day.

"Hey, Kiara, if someone asks you for the lock, will you give it to them?" Ye Wan asked.

"Lock?" Kiara seemed completely lost. She took the ginger cola Ye Wan handed over and took a swig. "You want my lock? I don't think so."

Arthur looked very lost.

Ye Wan was also shocked: "Why?"

Could it be that Kiara has a lover?

Kiara scratched her head: "Because there is no padlock on my door, hahahahahahaha, who dares to come to my Kiara Duncan's house to steal things."

Everyone was speechless, but Arthur was obviously relieved.

Ye Wan wanted to say something when there was a loud commotion outside. With the mentality of just watching the show, all the guests in the tavern rushed out.

The bustle came from Leo's bakery, and the Cupid's parade was standing at his door.

They were a group of dwarfs dressed as Cupid, about as tall as Leo's knees. They had a pair of feather wings on their backs, cheap golden wigs on their heads, and a ribbon hanging around their waists with the words "Special Envoy of the God of Love" written on it.

They carried wicker baskets and kept throwing pink heart-shaped pieces of paper into the air.

The dwarfs looked unhappy, and Leo himself didn't look unhappy, but he was clearly very embarrassed.

Ye Wan had never seen such a rich and colorful expression on Leo's face.

The dwarfs said with faith: "Dear Mr. Leo, ever since I ate the salted butter coconut bread you made, my heart has become as smooth as butter. In my heart, you have expanded like fermented dough, filling every corner of my heart..."

The neighbors and passers-by who were eating watermelons nearby burst into good-natured laughter.

Ye Wan laughed so hard that his stomach hurt and he choked several times. Emma regretted not recording this historic moment.

In short, Leo listened to the love letter recited by the dwarf awkwardly, and went into his bakery without looking back.

And closed the door and drew the curtains.

Seeing that everyone around him had plans for Cupid's Day, Ye Wan also wanted Youan's lock. Since they lived in the same house, Ye Wan decided to go directly to the third floor to remove the attic lock and replace it with a new one.

Simple and crude.

She thought so and did so. She chose twelve o'clock in the night and quietly went to get the lock, but found that the lock was firmly embedded in the door and could not be taken off.

"Damn Youan, he actually closed the lock ring."

"Squeak!" Pancake said indignantly.

"Come on, Muffin. I'll go to the kitchen and get a lock pick tomorrow." She left with Muffin.

Youan had not slept yet and was sitting at his desk reading a report. When he heard the noise at the door, he thought it was an enemy attack, so he quickly stood up and picked up the sword on the table.

Then Ye Wan's mumbling voice came from outside: "Why is the lock closed..."

Ye Wan's footsteps moved from near to far and soon disappeared.

He rubbed his brows: "This idiot."

Thinking of the customs of the Tower of Love, Youan couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

The next day, when Youan was out, Ye Wan went upstairs with the tools and found that the lock that was originally closed was open and was hanging loosely on the door.

She easily removed the lock and asked in confusion, "It wasn't like this last night?"

Ye Wan went to see Songbing: "Did I not come last night? Was it a dream or was I sleepwalking?"

Muffin Claw said it didn't know either.

But it doesn’t matter, I have the lock anyway.

Next, Ye Wan began to prepare chocolate. On Cupid's Day, men and women would give each other gifts. She bought a whole piece of baking chocolate, melted it over water, and made hazelnut chocolate in the shape of a heart.

Emma came to her and dragged her out to buy clothes for Cupid's Day: "It's such an important festival, are you wearing a sweatshirt?"

Emma took a fancy to a long dress embroidered with many violets, and enthusiastically recommended to Ye Wan a long dress with puff sleeves, red strawberries, similar to the Bavarian style, with pink ribbons interwoven at the back, cinching her waist.

The hem of the skirt is embroidered with large pieces of strawberries.

Ye Wan felt uncomfortable, but Emma kept praising the dress.

"It suits you perfectly," she said.

The weather was very sunny on Cupid's Day. Youan was still wearing a linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. A breeze blew by, slightly lifting the corners of his clothes, bringing with it a faint scent of cedar.

He leaned against the door, holding an exquisite pocket watch in his left hand, the watch chain gleaming with tiny gleams of light.

He opened and closed his pocket watch with a few "clicks", rubbed the cover lightly with his fingertips, and looked up at the second floor of the tavern. A pot of bright forsythia on the windowsill swayed at him.

Youan curled the corners of his lips.

There was a "tat tat" sound coming from the stairs, and the first one to come down was the furry pancake. Its short legs were moving very fast, and it ran in front of Youan and suddenly stopped, almost bumping into his calf.

It was wearing a pink little gauze dress today, and a small hat was tilted on its head.

Muffin tiptoed around in place, puffed out his chest, and proudly raised his head to show off his new outfit to Youan. He looked at Youan with his round black eyes, looking forward to his praise.

You An closed his pocket watch, crossed his arms and nodded: "Not bad, it has the style of an aristocrat."

Muffin was very happy.

There was a slight sound at the corner of the stairs, and Youan looked up again.

Ye Wan was wearing that strawberry-colored Bavarian-style long dress today. The pink color made her skin look even whiter, and she looked as cute as a big, ripe strawberry.

She obviously felt Youan's gaze and felt a little uncomfortable. Then she pretended to be calm and looked into Youan's beautiful eyes. Her voice was a little tense: "Does it look good?"

He suddenly turned his back to her and said, "Let's go."

Ye Wan: "? Is that all?"