Chapter 10 Strange Man Pork Ginger Stew and Dry Stew Rice
The world suddenly became very quiet, with only the sound of Ye Wan digging his feet into the ground in embarrassment, making a sound of building a castle.
She should have fainted on the spot, or run away screaming, or even better, hang herself at the door of the bakery.
Finally, under the other party's extremely oppressive gaze, Ye Wan slowly spoke.
"I'm here to visit my new neighbor. I heard you took over Ryan's bakery." Ye Wan tried to make his voice sound relaxed: "My name is Ye Wan."
"Eavesdropping is very rude, little girl." The man squinted his eyes and looked at her.
Ye Wan maintained a half-squatting position. She soon noticed that there was a large mark of wear on the sword at the man's waist, as if he was deliberately covering up some pattern.
The man reacted quickly and immediately moved the sword behind him.
Fortunately, Grandma Katya quickly came out to smooth things over and pulled Ye Wan's arm: "She's here to pick me up. Please don't be suspicious of everyone, Leonard."
Ye Wan asked, "What do you doubt?"
Grandma Katya didn't answer, but just pulled Ye Wan out of the bakery and all the way back to her jam shop.
She wore a floral headscarf and held a long-handled wooden spoon in her hand to stir the shiny syrup in the copper pot. There were several clean glass jars on the table.
Grandma Katya's hands looked old, but they were kept clean and her nails were short.
"I've just made some honey grapefruit jam. Try some, Xiao Wan. Can I call you that?"
"Of course, of course." Ye Wan responded hurriedly.
Grandma Katya took out some fresh honey grapefruit jam, scooped a spoonful into the white porcelain cup, then picked up a pot of boiling water from the stove and made a cup of tea for Ye Wan.
"Thank you, grandma."
Ye Wan soon smelled the refreshing scent that burst into the air when the fresh grapefruit peel was cut. It was slightly bitter, but was quickly enveloped by the sweetness of honey.
Ye Wan took the teacup and explained, "I'm sorry, Katya, I didn't mean to pry into your privacy. I was squatting outside the bakery because I was worried that the rude man might do something bad to you..."
Grandma Katya was obviously moved. She looked at her with melancholy and sorrowful purple eyes. "Xiao Wan, oh, it's inappropriate for me to say this. If my daughter could survive, she would be about the same age as you. I was in my forties when I conceived her... If she were alive, she would worry about me like you do."
Ye Wan felt embarrassed and a little sad, so he had to comfort Grandma Katya. He returned to the restaurant when it was almost time for dinner.
Emma was already waiting in the restaurant. She played with Pancake for a long time until her patience ran out. Only then did Ye Wan return home.
"where have you been?"
Ye Wan told her what happened.
"This is terrible. There's a potentially dangerous person in the alley. Maybe we can ask the guards to patrol Honey Alley more often." Emma said whimsically.
Ye Wan had already put on her apron: "This is a really good idea. When I become king, I will give this order immediately."
She was busy grinding ginger and onions into a paste, then mixing them with white wine, soy sauce, miso and other seasonings, and finally marinating the cut pork slices with the sauce.
Ye Wan finally found a bag of pickled plums and miso at the flea market two days ago. The merchant said that they were shipped from Fuso Island in the east. Coincidentally, she also bought dried whitebait at the harbor, so she wanted to try ginger pork and dry-roasted rice.
Soon, the wind chimes on the door made a crisp sound, and someone came in. It was the guards Justin and Orion, and they brought a senior with them.
Justin, the senior, has orange hair and a square face, and looks very steady.
The two men introduced enthusiastically, "This is our senior, Lassen. He used to be a guard, but now he's been promoted to law enforcer!"
The system of the Kingdom of Oceana is very interesting. The lowest level is the guards, whose weapons are sticks shaped like baguettes. When arresting bad guys, the sticks will emit the aroma of sedative herbs to stun the enemies.
The next level up is the enforcers. Each team of guards is equipped with an enforcer. Their weapons are ice and snow swords, which are taken from the ice and snow continent next door. This sword can freeze the bad guys, but it is not easily displayed.
The highest rank is the Paladin Order, which only appears when there is an emergency in the kingdom, such as facing an out-of-control dragon lizard or arresting a unicorn...
Emma was curious: "What do the people of the Paladin look like?"
Lassen shook his head. "All I know is that the emblem of the Paladin Order is a purple fleur-de-lis, and that the requirements for joining are very strict. But it's a supreme honor, and the King himself will personally bestow the sword upon you. Therefore, brave men across the country dream of joining the Order."
Ye Wan served the three of them a glass of beer and gave Emma a glass of orange juice: "Would you like to try the ginger pork set meal? It goes well with beer."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The iron plate has been preheated. Ye Wan poured oil on it and put the thick-cut pork belly that had been marinated in the sauce into the pot. Soon, the fragrant oil splashed everywhere, and the pink and white pork belly curled up into waves in the oil.
Ye Wan noticed that the edges of the meat were beginning to form a crispy crust. She gently pressed the meat with tongs, and the juices gushed out, dissolving with the fat to form fine bubbles on the edges of the meat. The charred aroma of roasted pork filled the room.
The shredded ginger and onion under the meat are mixed with oil and then caramelized by high temperature baking, making them very suitable for eating with pork.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Ye Wan quickly brought out four servings of braised pork and ginger.
Lassen had always heard from the guards that this small restaurant was delicious. Because he was busy with work, he finally had time to come here today. Out of curiosity, he picked up a piece of pork belly. The meat covered with sauce trembled slightly between his chopsticks. He swallowed and then took a bite.
In a trance, Lassen felt like he had fallen into a pork belly playground, with countless pork bellies lining up and offering him beer to taste.
The pork belly exudes a rich and mellow meaty aroma, the outer layer is crispy and the meat inside is tender, while the ginger juice and onion effectively eliminate the greasiness brought by the fat part. The sauce is a mixture of sweet and salty, and tastes great, very suitable for pairing with beer.
At this time, drink a large glass of ice-cold beer. The malt aroma will immediately wash away the mellowness of the meat, and the numbness brought by a large number of dense bubbles will make you want to breathe a sigh of relief.
All the fatigue from work disappeared, as if the summer heat had been suppressed, leaving only the comfort brought by the clear wine.
Ye Wan asked, "Would you like another bowl of dry-fried rice? It goes really well with the ginger pork stew."
Use overnight rice, eggs, chopped plums and dried whitebait to stir-fry. The whitebait is delicious, the eggs are tender, and the sour chopped plums can stimulate your appetite.
Lassen took the coarse porcelain bowl filled with rice, picked up a piece of meat, and poured some steaming hot sauce on it at Ye Wan's suggestion. The tempting, sticky and rich soup quickly covered the rice. He took a big scoop with a spoon and tasted the solid and delicious thick-cut pork belly, the spicy shredded ginger, and the sour plum pieces at the bottom that stimulated the appetite. He ate a whole bowl of it without realizing it.
The three guards praised the meal highly. When paying the bill, Emma took the opportunity to bring up the strange man who had just arrived at the bakery. Lathan patted his chest and assured them that the guards would pay extra attention when patrolling Honey Alley.
Ye Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It was already late at night, and she sent Emma home. Emma was holding a broom and kept saying that she was full. She insisted on dragging Ye Wan for a walk in Honey Lane.
Ye Wan carried a small night light, which was also bought at the market. The handle of the lamp was a moonlight vine, and at the end of the vine was a large, shiny pumpkin-like fruit. According to the stall owner, it was picked in the Moonlight Forest. It would stay lit at night and could last for two months.
It's very cheap, only 10 copper coins. The downside is that it will get dimmer and dimmer later on. For example, the one in Ye Wan's hand can only emit a faint light.
Emma took the opportunity to suggest that she replace the guide lamp with a new one. The guide lamp was made of brass and was cast with magic by the Wizarding Association. The lamp would jump in front by itself to act as a guide and there was no need to hold it by hand.
Many taverns hidden deep in the alleys will send lights to the alley entrance to guide customers in, which is very convenient and easy to use.
Ye Wan was tempted at first, but after Emma quoted the price, he immediately gave up the idea of buying one.
Emma was still persuading her, and the two of them soon walked to the rusty, talking road sign.
This time the sign was bent at a strange angle: "Left is Honey Alley, right will make you fall flat on your face!"
"Don't worry, this is not accurate. Last time it told me that if I go right I will meet my true love, Prince Charming." Ye Wan said wittily.
Emma confidently followed her and turned right. "Oh, that's right. These enchanted road signs start to talk nonsense as they get older. I encountered one in front of the Raven Messenger Post Office last time. It insisted that I would be unlucky that day, which made me nervous all day. In fact, nothing happened that day."
There was a loud "bang" sound.
Emma fell to the ground.
Ye Wan hurriedly helped her up. Emma uttered “Ouch” twice: “I tripped over something.”
Fortunately, nothing happened to her, not even a scratch on her skin. She stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and started jumping around again.
The ground in Honey Lane was all smooth cobblestones, so it shouldn't trip people. However, Ye Wan looked at the road with a dimly lit lamp. There was a small piece of cobblestone that was tilted up, and there was little light in that area, so he got caught in it if he wasn't careful.
Emma was a little worried: "This place should be fenced off or have a sign or something."
The two men discussed it and decided to go back to the restaurant to find a piece of cardboard to write a reminder and hang it there. Unexpectedly, when they came back, the raised place had been covered by a bamboo cage with a note on it that read "Danger Here". The handwriting was elegant and beautiful, and it could be seen that the writer had a good cultural background.
Emma praised: "This handwriting is really beautiful, who do you think wrote it?"
There are only a few ladies and one fierce-looking man in this row of Honey Lane. Of course, we have to exclude the sloppy, fierce-looking man first.
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