Chapter 25 Takeaway and Guests
"The takeout is here!" Angris Ho Bryman, an employee of the Eston West City Municipal Office, took out a number of emerald green oval lunch boxes and cylindrical bamboo tubes from the Raven's parcel box. "Hey, there's also a drink today."
The contents of the meals were easily identifiable on the lids. Gris sorted the boxes into two batches by flavor: "The one on the left is steamed pork ribs with fermented black beans and rice, and the one on the right is braised chicken with scallion oil and rice. The drinks are all winter melon tea. Everyone pick up the meals according to your order."
Ever since the brewery started its takeout business, employees have gathered together to order meals at noon every day. From just one or two people placing orders in the beginning, to the entire office joining in now, their lunch has gradually evolved from a daily routine to fill their stomachs into a treat worth looking forward to.
Gris himself ordered scallion oil braised chicken with rice. He returned to his workstation with his lunch box and winter melon tea, took out his fork and spoon, opened the bamboo lid with anticipation, and exclaimed "Wow" with joy.
On the right side was a layer of translucent white rice, while on the left lay amber-brown, oily chunks of scallion chicken, sprinkled with emerald green scallions. As soon as the lid was lifted, steam gushed out, and the overpowering aroma of scallions filled my nostrils.
"It smells so good!" He casually opened the lid of the bamboo tube. It was also a cup of amber drink, icy and cold with a hint of chill, and smelled sweet.
He glanced at the handwritten label on the bamboo tube again: "Winter Melon Tea...a drink I've never tried before..."
However, he was a bit busy with official business this morning. He had been receiving guests all morning and had been talking without having time to drink water. Now his throat was already dry and he couldn't wait to take a big sip.
The refreshing liquid instantly moistened his throat, washing away the heat from his body. A moment later, his tongue belatedly sensed a refreshing sweet fragrance. Delicious, sweet, and not cloying, it made him want more!
The bamboo tube was not big, and he almost finished half of it in one gulp. He quickly stopped himself from drinking it all in one gulp and put the bamboo tube on the table.
"Try the scallion-braised chicken and rice first. Wow, they're so delicious!"
He picked up a fork and shoved a piece of chicken into the air, examining it carefully. Each piece, though from a different part of the chicken, was cut to nearly identical sizes. The rich brown sauce coated the chicken evenly. He took a bite, and the first thing his lips and tongue felt was the delicious scallion oil.
Fresh, salty and sweet, the multi-layered flavors are perfectly blended together. When you chew it again, the soft and elastic chicken massages your mouth, and the full chicken juice bursts in your mouth. Combined with the scallion oil sauce, the deliciousness is elevated to a higher level.
"It's so delicious!" He swallowed a piece of chicken and put a mouthful of rice into his mouth. The rice, with its light aroma, absorbed the remaining sauce in his mouth. The light and rich flavors once again combined to create a wonderful balance.
Gris thought for a moment, mixed the amber sauce with the white rice, stuffed it into his mouth, and immediately let out a happy moan.
"This is so delicious!" A feeling of happiness filled his whole body. Before the brewing workshop opened, Gris had never known that rice could be so delicious. Although the price would be more expensive than black bread, it was not unaffordable for employees like them.
A daily lunch like this would cost about three coppers, or less than a silver coin a month, yet it would bring him far more happiness than simply munching on black bread and bacon. Of course, considering that a serving of black bread and bacon together only cost five nickels, it was a case of "you get what you pay for," and expensive things have their merits.
For Gris, who earned seven gold coins a month, this additional expense wasn't enough to burden him financially, but it significantly improved his quality of life. Now, his boring workday had something to look forward to. He'd start thinking about lunch in the morning, and dinner in the afternoon. The happiness of a working person was simple and unpretentious.
The brewery closed early, so if you wanted to get dinner, you had to order takeout. He'd heard the menu for the restaurant and takeout were quite different, so Gris planned to wait until he had a day off, take his savings, and go eat there, specifically ordering those novel and expensive dine-in dishes!
After finishing his meal, he burped contentedly and happily took the last half of the bamboo tube of winter melon tea, sipping it. Then he saw his colleague take his empty lunch box to the tea room to wash it, and after a while he returned with a clean lunch box.
"Hmm? Are you planning to keep this lunch box?" Gris asked curiously.
"Yeah," a colleague took out the takeout order from the Brewing Workshop and pointed to the note below: "Look, the Brewing Workshop encourages customers to reuse their lunch boxes. Just clean the lunch box yourself each time, mark your name or nickname on the box, and ask Raven to bring it with you next time you order food. They will use the lunch box you gave them for the food!"
"Some people use custom-made boxes, while others wash the boxes after ordering once, write their name on them, and reuse them next time. Using your own boxes eliminates packaging costs, saving you about three nickels each time! It's quite cost-effective!"
My colleague pointed to a small piece of bamboo on the outside of the lunch box and said, "Look, the store has even prepared a place for us to engrave our names!"
"Wow, that's thoughtful." Gris suddenly had an idea: "Wait, if I order a special lunch box, will the restaurant give me extra food?"
"What are you thinking? The food here is fixed in portions, and every portion is exactly the same weight. Even if you take a bigger bowl, it won't be full." My colleague laughed. "Of course, you can also pay a little more and ask the store to give you a larger portion."
Gris couldn't help but laugh a few times, then put away his lunch box and washed it. The three-nickel packaging fee for each can, if eaten for a few months, would save enough money for a whole meal! Tonight he planned to order the steamed pork ribs and rice combo, which would be perfect for him!
However... this approach gave Gris a new idea: the small bamboo tubes they served with their meals were too small, and the winter melon tea wasn't generous enough for him to enjoy. If he got a large kettle and had the store fill it up for him, I wonder how much it would cost? Hey, come to think of it, the Knights, frequent travelers, and hunters all had those oversized travel water bladders. Maybe he could buy one!
In this kind of summer, how comfortable it would be if you could drink a big cup of cool and refreshing winter melon tea whenever you want!
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