Chapter 9 There is no such thing as a free lunch
"Of course you can," Wan Lao Er said with a puzzled look, "What do you want these for?"
"Thank you, boss!" Qi Huan ran to the corner of the yard and found an empty backpack. He happily picked up the thick-skinned animal feet, tails, and bones and put them into it. "I want to try to make it into food."
Seeing Qi Huan was going to make 'junk' to eat, Lao Wu frowned, and Wan Lao Er also felt a little bit reluctant, "That thing is not delicious, and it's all bones. If you are really short of money, I will talk to my eldest brother and ask you to pay less every day."
"It's okay, I'll try." Qi Huan was busy picking up the broken bones, and didn't notice the expressions of Lao Wu and Wan Lao Er. Finally, the small basket couldn't hold any more, so he stood up reluctantly.
With the smell of braised sunflower feet in his mind, Qi Huan's steps towards home became more cheerful.
There was no sun in the sky, only the decayed yellow of the plaster remained, casting heavy shadows on the houses along the road, like an ancient painting with yellowed ink, dim and dilapidated, with a gloomy atmosphere.
A team of red uniforms flew low in an airship, still looking so arrogant that the whole world had to make way for them. Qi Huan skillfully followed two passing native residents of the base and stood against the wall.
"What a sin." The black-haired man standing in front of Qi Huan sighed.
"Just be patient. You won't be here for long anyway." Another haggard man whispered.
Qi Huan listened to their conversation silently for a few sentences before he realized that those people were the ruler of the abandoned star - the star lord's personal guards. They were all brought directly from the Jiufang family when he took office. It seemed that the star lord had lost something these days and asked them to come out and find it.
When Qi Huan walked to the door of his house carrying a basket full of animal feet and tails, he suddenly discovered that the note he had posted in the morning looking for the owner of the kitten was missing.
After searching for a while without finding it, he had no choice but to go in, rubbing his aching shoulder, and decided to write another one and post it more securely tomorrow.
The little guy sleeping on the second floor heard the noise, ran quickly to the first floor, squatted on the third to last step, and looked at him eagerly.
"Don't worry, I'll get you something to eat right away." Qi Huan put down the backpack, glanced at the clean plate, and said soothingly. In the morning, he specially cut some more meat and marinated it with egg white and put it in the refrigerator. Now he just needs to put it in the oven and set a timer to bake it.
The little guy seemed to understand what he was saying. He squatted on the steps obediently, and his furry tail hit the railing again and again, making a clicking sound.
So cute! Qi Huan couldn't help but reach out to touch its head, but the kitten nimbly turned its head away.
"You're not doing this right," Qi Huan, who had touched nothing, put on a serious face and said confidently, "There is no such thing as a free meal in the world. I'm a businessman, and I care about profits in everything. You've been eating and drinking at my house for two days. Even if you're staying temporarily, you have to pay some costs, right?"
The kitten froze in the act of wagging its tail, and its fat, dark, furry face remained stern. Its big, glass-like eyes flickered, as if it was really thinking about what he said.
"You are so young, and I don't ask you to make money or work, but you should at least do something within your ability, such as letting me rub your head and touch your fur, and provide some emotional value. People always say it's an equal exchange, and my request can even be regarded as a discounted exchange."
He is a chatterbox. He keeps talking trash when playing games. He can chat with his quiet roommates about cooking for a long time while cooking. He has practiced talking to himself in the live broadcast room for several years and his ability has reached the pinnacle. Now he catches the kitten and keeps talking in a PUA style.
"Tell me yourself, is this too much?"
kitten:……
Qi Huan stretched out his hand again, and his fingertips had already touched the fur, but the little guy still jumped away half a step at the last moment.
"If you don't listen, I'll have to consider selling you." Qi Huan threatened while rubbing his fingers.
The kitten moved its ears, and after a moment of stalemate, it lay down miserably.
It was so cute that Qi Huan was so cute that the little man in his heart screamed crazily, but his face was still pretending to be serious. "We humans have a lot of sayings. The nicer one is that he who knows the times is a hero, and the more unpleasant one is that when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. It's the same for being a cat. You need to judge the situation."
He reached out his hand for the third time and tentatively touched the cat's back. It was silky and soft and felt great. The little guy wagged his tail twice, but ultimately resisted the urge to walk away.
"Hey~ That's right." A forced melon is still sweet! Someone wanted to touch it again, but the little guy bared his teeth at him and took two steps away from his hand. Qi Huan understood that it meant one touch for one meal!
"Stingy! You must be a profiteer in business." Qi Huan nodded its head from a distance, turned around and went into the kitchen to roast the meat for it. It's okay, at least I touched it this time, it's good to have progress, and chatting with the little guy for a while, it seems that most of the fatigue of the day has dissipated.
The kitten squatted on the second floor and ate his meal. Qi Huan continued to cook the things he brought back today. He threw the cleaned spine into the pot to blanch it and remove the blood foam. Although the bones had little meat, they had spinal cord, rich nutrition and calcium, which should be good for the recovery of his arm, so he took some too.
He directly selected seven or eight kinds of seasonings and spices from the kitchen. Although some spices were not complete, after mixing and tasting, it was at least 70% to 80% of the ideal taste, which was acceptable. Moreover, there was plenty of time at the moment, and slow-cooking would make the meat more fragrant and flavorful.
After preparing the marinade and filling a basin with warm water, he used two boning knives to pin the tail and began to deal with the remaining scales. His family lacked the professional nailing, hooking and clamping tools used in the butchering yard. He would have to cut the meat into pieces later anyway, and he would eat it himself, so he didn't need to care too much about the integrity of the skin.
"What are you doing?" Quan Hai came over to deliver the nutrients and was surprised to see the animal feet and tails piled up on the chopping board and in the basin.
"Cooking." Qi happily raised the knife covered with scales in his hand towards Quan Hai.
Smelling the aroma of the braised bones in the pot, Quan Hai sniffed and looked at the animal feet hesitantly, "Are you sure it's edible?"
"Qi's secret recipe, the braised insoles are delicious." Qi Huan, who had just tasted the marinade, raised his chin 15 degrees confidently, "If you're free, help me for a while. I'll give you half when I'm done."
Quan Hai is even thinner than the original owner, so it's just right for them to replenish their body together.
"Okay." Quan Hai put down the nutrient solution, rolled up his sleeves and sat down quickly.
"Aren't you afraid it's bad?" Quan Hai was so happy that Qi Huan was a little confused. Who was the one who refused the dinner invitation as if facing a great enemy before?
"Quan Yu kept talking about the delicious green snail you sent over last night. He wanted to leave half for me, but he couldn't help but eat it all."
"If she likes it, I'll make it for her next time." Qi Huan threw the peeled animal feet in his hand into the basin, and then changed the tail to nail it down.
"She will be so happy if she knows. By the way, where did you go this afternoon? I came back early today and wanted to find you and Rondo at the Communicative Hall."
"I have been unable to open the store normally recently, so I have to work part-time." Qi Huan told the store that he was heavily in debt and owed money to the food store, and that he planned to work there temporarily for two months to clear his account.
But I will go to the command hall when I have time. The personal terminal I have is too simple. It is OK for checking the base announcement or some data, but it is stuck like a PPT when watching live broadcast. If I really want to do food live broadcast, I have to save some money to buy a high-end personal terminal.
"If you're really in a hurry, I still have 500 silver coins here, Quan Yu doesn't know." Quan Hai lowered his voice and looked back at the kitchen door guiltily as he spoke, as if he was afraid that his sister would pop up from behind.
"Not for now. I'll tell you if I need it." Qi Huan smiled bitterly. His debts and emptying of Quan Hai's coffers were of no help. Why drag his friend into this? "But there is another thing. Can you ask Quan Yu if he can make me two masks when he is free?"
The stone beast's internal organs and blood had an unpleasant smell, which he was not used to.
"Of course." Quan Hai made the decision on behalf of Quan Yu.
"I often saw those guards in red uniforms on my way home these past two days. I heard that the Star Lord lost something?" Qi Huan casually asked about the gossip.
"I didn't hear any rumors. I guess he's going to be replaced and he's unhappy and wants to find something to vent his anger."
"Replaced?" The steam rising from the kitchen was a bit humid. Qi Huan walked over and pushed open the side window. He had only seen this kind of round-moon-shaped window in the Qingming Shanghe Tu before, and he never thought that he would be able to use it one day.
"Well," Quan Hai lowered his voice, "I heard that the transfer order has been issued. Once the new star master arrives, he will have to pack up and leave."
"It would be a good thing for him to leave here, right?" The conditions here are so bad, who would want to stay here?
"It's probably a good thing for us not to know about him." Quan Hai sighed, "He's always bullying us, and we've had enough of him. We're all hoping for a better Star Lord."
"It's best not to have too high expectations. Most crows are black." Qi Huan didn't believe that changing someone would be better. If you want to change your life, you have to rely on yourself and can't pin your hopes on others.
Quan Hai was the equivalent of three people. After learning how to handle it, he was much faster. By the time the animal's feet and tail were chopped into small pieces and put into the pot, the braised bones were almost cooked. Quan Hai followed Qi Huan's "instructions" and tasted a piece of spinal cord, then immediately took the braised bones that Qi Huan had fished out for him home to "present" to Quan Yu.
Qi Huan also tasted two bites and felt that the taste was a little too strong when eaten alone, so he planned to make another pot of noodles to go with the braised animal feet. On a hungry night, what could be more soothing than a bowl of hot red soup animal feet noodles?
It just so happens that I now have a flour processor that the original owner spent a lot of money to 'borrow' to buy. It is very convenient for making noodles. Just put the flour and water in proportion, knead, let it rest and then cut it. It is a fully automatic one-stop process. The extra ones can be put in the freezer.
He personally prefers to eat the "two-width" noodles that are one finger wide. He was adjusting the noodle mode in the settings when the little guy upstairs smelled the smell and ran down, squatting at the kitchen door and howling at him. After teaching it a few times, it finally understood that the kitchen was its "forbidden area" and stopped rushing in.
"Little greedy cat, this tastes a bit strong. I'll get you something with clear water later." Qi Huan remembered hearing from his friends that cats can't eat things that are too salty. He wasn't sure whether the cats in this world could eat it, but for safety's sake, it was better not to put it in.
The little guy swung his tail aggrievedly and assumed a 'squatting and waiting' posture again.
After picking up a few pieces of chopped tail for it, washing it and stewing it in a pot of water, Qi Huan finally had time to rest for a while.
He lay on the bed for about ten minutes, and couldn't help opening his personal terminal and starting to clear out the pile of messages.
The original owner's account was named 'The Third Best Chef in the World', and the diary also explained the meaning of this account. In the original owner's mind, the master chef was the best in the world, Uncle Lin Sen was the second, and he himself would be the third in the future.
The account style is very childish, but the social relationships are very simple. There are only about ten accounts with relatively high frequency of contact. Apart from a few friends such as Quanhai and Lunduo, who are related to restaurants, there is even an account that publishes base announcements.
After Uncle Lin Sen passed away, the original owner was probably tied up in the restaurant's affairs and contacted others even less. The content of the messages was mostly about purchasing energy stones, repairing kitchen utensils, and discussing the time to pick up ingredients.
Turning to the back, there were two people without a suffix, one was called Jitianmodi, and the other was called Kaisen. Qi Huan curiously clicked into the contact box and flipped through it, and found that these two people were the "net friends" that the original owner had met when playing Star Tour in the Tongling Hall.
He lived in the triple star field and said that he was a technician who repaired the star network and often went on business trips to various star fields, but the network would be disconnected from time to time. The original owner happily said that his family opened a restaurant on the waste star No. 7 and invited him to come and sit next time he passed by, and he would treat him then.
Kaisen lived in the Nine Stars Region, the center of the alliance. He was a freshman at the Nantian Military Academy and a third-level sentinel. The two chatted enthusiastically for a while, and also mentioned that when they had a holiday, they would find friends to form a hunting team and visit the original owner. Although many of them were voice calls and not saved, some ambiguous atmosphere could still be felt from those scattered text messages.
In addition, Qi Huan also felt that Kaisen's attitude had an inexplicable sense of superiority. Isn't a sentry just a guard post? What's there to be proud of? He was about to search when the light green interface of the terminal suddenly twisted and disappeared.
Qi Huan was stunned for a moment, and ran to the window to look towards the sky. Sure enough, bright silver light balls were exploding one after another on the hemispherical transparent cover of the base. The photomagnetic storm was coming again.
Well, tonight's Internet time is over. Qi Huan sighed and turned to walk into the kitchen.
The noodles were just pressed and the animal's feet were almost cooked. He tried a piece. The soup was smooth and flavorful, and the skin and tendons were soft and tasty. The fresh and fragrant taste was even better than pig's trotters.
It's a waste to throw away such delicious food. Qi Huan shook his head and decided to save it in the future. Although the cost of the marinade is not low, the old marinade can be reused, so it will be cost-effective after it is flattened.
Qi Huan took the kitten's clean version of the beast tail to the second floor without complaint. The little guy had already fallen asleep. Qi Huan put it on the food plate and turned back downstairs.
Scooping out some of the marinade and cooking it in a small pot, Qi Huan sent a message to Quan Hai asking him to come back for the beast-foot noodles. Just as he sent it, he heard a knock on the door outside. "Is anyone there?"
"Yes." Qi Huan wiped his hands, walked out of the kitchen, and turned on half of the lights in the living room.
Perhaps Quan Hai did not close the door tightly when he went out, so the door of the restaurant was half open. In the thick night, two young men, one tall and one short, were standing at the door.
The man in front was about 1.7 meters tall, looked very young, and was only a few years older than Qi Huan. He was wearing a black jumpsuit, with red hair down to his chin, and a black mask on his head like sunglasses. The edge of the mask hooked the small braid of his hair on the left side, which was perky and raised like antennae. He had a faint smile on his face, and his eyes were round and bright, like those of a smart little animal, with a bit of natural and cute cunning.
The guy behind was a head taller than the guy in front. They were wearing the same overalls as the guy in front. It was the same style as the hunting team's overalls and was very common in the base. But when he wore it, it made his shoulders look broad, his back narrow, his waist narrow and his legs long. The visual effect was comparable to the best-proportioned figures in the glass display cabinet on his wall.
The man was wearing a mask that looked like a ferocious beast, which covered most of his face from forehead to nose, leaving only his dark eyes and a chin as smooth as jade.
The light from the photomagnetic storm rose and fell, reflecting on the cold metal mask and his beautiful silver hair like brocade, shining like stars and looking handsome and extraordinary.
For the first time in his life, Qi Huan felt astonished by a real three-dimensional person. Four words popped up in his mind inexplicably, "stunning". Although he couldn't see the other person's face, he still felt that the person in front of him had an extraordinary temperament. If he were put in a game, he would definitely be the top BOSS or the most important NPC that the game's chief artist took great pains to portray.
Unfortunately, he is now the NPC who serves the players.
"Excuse me, have you seen a child with silver-gray hair these days? About twenty years old." The red-haired man spoke with a smile, breaking the quiet atmosphere in the store.
A 20-year-old... kid? Qi Huan was stunned by his question.
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