Chapter 7
Because he had previously come with them to put away empty porridge buckets, Ye Yihe was able to easily find the location of the kitchen under the cover of darkness.
Although he wasn't entirely sure of the exact year of the current era, judging from the phone the guard had earlier, the current timeline was most likely the late 1990s, or at most the early 21st century.
His observations during the day largely corroborated this conjecture: there were very few utility poles along the road, the houses were generally low, and the only lights that came on after sunset were gas lamps.
Because they were using gas lamps, which were expensive to burn, no one wanted to leave them on all night. But this made it easy for him to hide and get to the kitchen door without making a sound.
It was located deep inside the church, in a secluded corner, allowing Ye Yihe to confidently come over and stir-fry shredded potatoes without worrying about making too much noise and being discovered.
Whether it was out of trust in the clergy's sense of self-discipline or something else, the kitchen door wasn't locked; it was simply secured with a bolt.
Ye Yihe easily found a bag of potatoes on the wooden shelf in the kitchen, and there was salt and oil on the stove. He even found chili powder in a ceramic jar and pickled cucumbers in another jar.
Now I can make hot and sour shredded potatoes! My rumbling stomach was overjoyed and said, "Bring it to me right away!"
The kitchen had an open window that was quite conspicuous, and it wouldn't be good if someone got up in the middle of the night and found him eating there. So Ye Yihe simply squatted behind the stove, buried his head and slowly scraped the potato skins clean with a spoon, and then carefully cut them into shreds on the wooden cutting board with a knife, using the little light that the moon shone through.
I need to eat a good meal tonight, because I might not even have anything to eat tomorrow.
He had heard of fasting before. Some fasts allow you to eat some vegetables; others are abstinences, which involve fasting for an entire day, making you so hungry that your soul leaves your body.
Ye Yihe didn't even dare to put in too many firewood to start a fire. He squatted behind the stove the whole time, raising one hand to hold the spatula and stir-frying the potato shreds blindly. He would only occasionally peek out to look at the situation in the pot. When he saw that it was almost done, he would quickly sprinkle some salt with his other hand, and then scoop in a spoonful of roasted chili powder and pickled cucumber juice.
After plating the food, he immediately washed the pots and wiped the stove, hiding under the window to quickly show off how clean it was—because there were no chopsticks, he ate with a fork.
This is the first time I've ever felt so heartbroken and guilty about eating this dry rice... But the hot and sour shredded potatoes are really delicious, much better than mashed potatoes that have been put in a deadly amount of salt and then cooled down and clump together!
Ye Yihe washed the plates and put them back in their original places. He then sneaked back to his dormitory along the same route and finally fell asleep, full and satisfied.
Even though he was woken up early the next morning to help with the mass, Ye Yihe did it without any complaints. After all, he had just eaten two big potatoes from them the night before—even though they were the cheapest among all the ingredients, he felt bad if he didn't do something in return.
Because it was an important ceremony attended by many believers, Ye Yihe also needed to help set up various things: crosses, copper-printed images of people, candlesticks, gold cups, earthenware jars filled with water, heavy wooden boxes...
He roughly figured out that his identity was something like an acolyte—or perhaps a priest in reserve. He really couldn't understand the difference between these positions. When he was given two ribbon-like strips of cloth, he was stunned for a moment. Only after looking at others did he realize that they were a kind of identity accessory to be draped over the left shoulder, just like the elaborate drapery embroidered with gold thread worn by bishops.
Fortunately, everyone is busy, and apart from people coming over to order them to move this or clean that, no one comes over to chat with him.
There's not much to say about the rest of the ceremony. Ye Yihe stood with the group of believers the whole time as punishment, and when it came to the part where they had to chant hymns, he would open his mouth and pretend to make a sound.
The only explanation was to let him know that the two huge pieces of bread he saw yesterday were actually called "holy bread"—a small piece would only be given after Mass, and the dark red "holy blood" in the golden cup was also wine; after taking a sip, he discovered it was actually wine.
It doesn't taste very good; it has a strange sour and astringent taste, and it's also bitter.
After the Mass ended, the heavy and solemn atmosphere slowly dissipated, and the group of people who had served porridge with Ye Yihe the day before began to chat in a relaxed tone.
What's for dinner tonight?
"Are you asking me this hoping for good news? Well, that's a shame. Listen carefully—it's still carrots and turnips with vinegar, pickled cucumbers, and baked potatoes without oil, eggs, or yogurt."
Ye Yihe, who was sweeping the floor nearby, lost all appetite after just one listen.
Moreover, so far, his breakfast consisted of only a small piece of dry bread and a small glass of wine, and lunch was skipped altogether; he didn't even get a sip of water.
If he couldn't return this body to its original owner by nightfall, Ye Yihe felt he might be so hungry in the middle of the night that he'd have to go to the kitchen for an extra meal...
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard someone bring up the topic.
“Well, I have some news to tell you. It’s not a big deal, but it’s quite interesting. Vadim told it to me as a joke…”
One of them lowered his voice and said, "When he was taking stock of the ingredients this morning, he found that two potatoes were missing."
Ye Yihe remained expressionless, but the alarm bells in his brain made his fingers tighten slightly as he gripped the broom.
The kitchen contained not only a sack of potatoes, but also ingredients like flour, onions, eggs, and beets. I never imagined the chef could count them all so precisely!
“Oh dear, someone went to steal the food,” another person guessed with interest. “But why last night? I really can’t figure it out.”
"Vadim was also curious about this, because we all knew he would make extra food today and leave it in the kitchen for us to take, but we didn't expect that someone would be so impatient as to eat raw potatoes in the middle of the night."
The other person let out a mocking laugh, "Just like a rat."
Ye Yihe: It's not about eating raw potatoes... never mind.
So that's why the kitchen is never locked—these people can't stand the hunger of Ramadan. They claim that they need to eat less and eat vegetarian food today, but in reality, they secretly have the chef make an extra portion and put it in the kitchen, so everyone can have an extra meal without knowing it.
So they didn't think it was a big deal that two potatoes were missing from the kitchen; they just assumed someone had gone ahead and gotten a late-night snack.
Ye Yihe's heart, which had been pounding, finally gave in and returned to its original place.
After exchanging a few more words and ending the topic, they brought up another news story, which was supposedly published in a very authoritative newspaper.
"The security situation is indeed worrying. At least we have the church so we don't have to worry about our lives, but it's not like that outside. Do you know about that news a while ago? There was a riot in a prison in Siberia, and many people died—even several guards died!"
"Even the guard is dead! Where's his gun?"
"Yes, that's right. The newspapers say it was done by lawyers, those sinners who should have been in hell long ago! They attacked the guards, clashed with other gangs in the prison, and declared they wouldn't rest until they killed the other gang's leader..."
"So they succeeded?"
"Yes, they won't stop until they get what they want."
At this point, the man deliberately turned his gaze to Ye Yihe, and then emphasized to the other person, "Don't look at me with that questioning look. Cyril also knows about this. He was also surprised that the boss was dead—right, Cyril?"
Ye Yihe, who was suddenly called out, was speechless.
Fortunately, this guy was a gossipy and talkative fellow. Before Ye Yihe could even nod, he turned back to continue chatting with his friend.
Not daring to continue eavesdropping, Ye Yihe immediately seized the opportunity to leave the hall.
Since it was already certain there would be no lunch, and there didn't seem to be any targets for him to do good deeds here, he might as well go outside and look for something.
Even if the result is nothing, he can still experience local customs and culture that he has never seen before.
The idea was wonderful, but when Ye Yihe arrived at the church entrance, before he had even stepped out the threshold, he noticed several devout, older ordinary believers staring straight at him. Startled, he turned around and quickly went back inside.
His clergy attire was too conspicuous, but he couldn't find any ordinary clothes to change into in his wardrobe... so he had no choice but to stay in his dormitory.
[Xiao Ai, you've successfully completed your good deed.]
After wandering around the dorm for a couple of hours with nothing to do, Ye Yihe started tapping the system: "[Is there a notification for failed good deeds?]"
"[Of course,]" the system popped up familiarly when called by name, "[So the host hasn't failed yet, please rest assured.]"
Why does it take so long?
Though he outwardly maintained his composure, Ye Yihe couldn't help but sigh inwardly, [Do you know how hungry I am right now? There isn't even a skewer of Sichuan-style boiled chicken for one yuan here.]
[Generally speaking, the longer the host appears before the event, the more difficult the event is.]
The system said, "[Of course, the future is not static. If the host's actions trigger a chain reaction, events that were originally scheduled to occur may be postponed.]"
[This system will only declare failure when the host has absolutely no chance of resolving the event, leading to the worst-case scenario.]
"[...Sigh," Ye Yihe murmured, "[If I wait a few more days, won't I turn into a potato fairy?]"
The alien system, unable to understand the joke, voiced its confusion.
In short, Ye Yihe, having received the answer from it, realized that he had no choice but to wait patiently. The only good news was that the kitchen didn't care at all about someone stealing food, allowing him to have an extra meal late at night.
During the day, he would avoid work as much as possible. Even when the bishop here called him, he would just lower his head and obey without saying a word. His long bangs covered his eyes, which made this body a persona of an extremely taciturn and socially awkward individual.
After finally getting through four days, Ye Yihe, who was cooking shredded potatoes in the kitchen late at night for the fifth time, was completely familiar with the whole process. Holding a fork in one hand and the plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes in the other, he was too lazy to even squat behind the window this time. He turned over and sat on the windowsill, enjoying the moonlight while eating.
Then his eyes met those of a man dressed entirely in black, who was sneaking through the courtyard.
Ye Yihe's gaze fell on his unfamiliar bearded face, then moved down to the sharp knife he was gripping tightly in his hand.
When they moved back, the other person's eyes clearly became fierce.
Unlike him, Ye Yihe's eyes instantly brightened, and his dejection vanished completely.
Ah, finally, the real work he's supposed to do has arrived!
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