Chapter 32: Pumpkins, Candy, and Festive Pumpkin Cream Soup and That Not…
The next morning, Ye Wan posted a notice at the door:
"Our shop refuses any candies with magical effects. Thank you for your cooperation!"
After she finished pasting, she came down from the ladder and brushed off the paper scraps and dust on her hands with satisfaction.
"I advise you not to post this notice." A female voice came from behind.
It was Dorothy, who was wearing a long black dress and a tall hat with ostrich feathers. "It's a tradition to distribute candy during Shadow Moon. If you post this notice, it will bring disaster to the house."
Ye Wan didn't understand why refusing the magical candy would bring disaster to the house, but she soon found out.
Because Leo next door was roaring and raging, several children who came to buy bread yesterday didn't get any candy, so they threw several eggs outside his bakery overnight.
The egg liquid flowed down the red brick wall, and Leo turned around and cursed to get a bucket and a rag.
Ye Wan silently tore up the notice and said, "Hey, Dorothy, do you have any more candy? I want to buy two."
A large bag of colorful candies was put into a glass jar. Ye Wan picked up the basket and went to the market with You An to restock. The Shadow Moon Festival was a big festival, and the atmosphere in the market was very strong. There were people selling horror masks, bat lanterns, and hand-woven dolls. Almost every stall had some huge orange pumpkins.
In front of Ye Wan was a white fox wearing an apron. It put a hollowed-out pumpkin on its head and shouted, "Fox Fire, here it comes."
Indigo flames burst out from the hole at the bottom of the pumpkin, licking the hole above it like a pumpkin ghost.
The people around her applauded enthusiastically, and Ye Wan could smell the charred aroma of roasted pumpkins. She thought, why not buy a few pumpkins and make pumpkin cream soup at home?
Muffin fell in love with a chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a skull and insisted on buying it. There were too many people at the market, so she had no choice but to shove the basket into Youan's hands. "I'll buy pumpkins, and you go get the skull-shaped chocolate chip cookies. You can also buy some ghost and bat ones, but no spiders, no spiders, no spiders."
Several children gathered around a witch's cauldron fog machine, and the black cast iron cauldron emitted colorful smoke and a strong aroma.
Finally, Ye Wan picked three bright yellow pumpkins, but he couldn't find You An.
"Never mind, Muffin, let's go wait for him by the river."
"Squeak." Muffin sat on her shoulder and happily nibbled on a small piece of cooked pumpkin given to him for free by the stall owner, his cheeks bulging with food.
There were so many people at the market that it was practically shoulder to shoulder. Ye Wan was standing at the door waiting for You An when he was accidentally bumped into by an orc carrying a sack.
"Gurgle, gurgle" the pumpkin in Muffin's hand rolled out like a runaway wheel.
"Squeak!" It raised its little paw and pointed at the melon, its two big eyes filled with tears.
Ye Wan had no choice but to follow Pumpkin and ran all the way into the Golden Goose Park next to the market.
The pumpkin rolled along the park path and was finally blocked by a fern root. Ye Wan bent down to pick it up. The pumpkin was already covered with grass clippings and mud spots and was completely inedible.
Ye Wan discussed with it: "There's nothing else to do. Throw this away. I'll go home and cook another one for you."
Its two round ears drooped down: "Squeak..."
"I have some pumpkin cookies here. They don't have sugar in them. Can you give some to your guinea pig?"
A voice sounded from behind Ye Wan.
He was an old man wearing a white linen shirt and a golden velvet vest. Ye Wan noticed that his trouser legs were fastened with ribbon bows. He looked like a gentleman who had walked out of a Rococo oil painting.
The only difference was that his feathered tricorn hat was covered with a layer of black gauze, which blocked his face and did not match his exquisite clothes.
The old gentleman pulled a few wrapped pumpkin cookies from his sleeve and handed them to Muffin.
Ye Wan was a little hesitant, but Pancake took the biscuit without hesitation and started to eat it.
"Thank you so much." Ye Wan wanted to return the gift, but after searching through the vegetable basket, he only found a few pumpkins he had just bought.
The old gentleman waved his hand affably. "It's just a few pumpkin cookies, young lady. You must be from the East."
He seemed not to have spoken to anyone for a long time. Sitting on a bench by the park, he told the story of his journey to the East by ship when he was young.
Ye Wan sat on one side and listened, while Pancake sat on the other side and ate a biscuit. The old man was very humorous and spoke wittily, which made Ye Wan laugh out loud.
Then a gust of wind ruffled the sparkling surface of the lake, and as it came over it lifted the old gentleman's veil, revealing a corner of his face.
From Ye Wan's perspective, his skin looked like a crumpled wax board, and deep red scars, like spider webs, covered half of his face. Ye Wan's smile froze on her face, and she struggled mightily to avoid a look of terror.
The old gentleman stood up in a panic: "Sorry, the veil is not stuck on firmly today." He ran away.
"Wait...wait!" Ye Wan shouted from behind.
The old gentleman ran away without looking back, leaving Ye Wan standing there in a daze until someone tapped her shoulder: "Why are you here?"
Youan carried a bunch of cookies and said, "Going home."
He took the pumpkin from Ye Wan's hand and followed her home. Ye Wan noticed that there was a small hairpin made of a skull claw inside the cookie.
"Great, that's exactly what I need." She quickly took the hairpin and pinned it to her bangs.
Ye Wan had no time to cut her hair after arriving in the royal capital. Her bangs hung down and almost pricked her eyes. It was much more convenient after she had a hairpin to hold them in place.
"That's great, thank you Youan." She rarely expressed her sincere gratitude to Youan.
The latter looked straight ahead and said: "Oh, that one, it's a free gift when I bought some cookies."
Ye Wan clearly saw a stall selling hairpins, she spread her hands and said, "What a tsundere."
Pancake imitated her and spread out his paws: "Squeak, squeak, squeak."
Youan, who was walking in front, turned around and glared at them. The man and the rat quickly put down their hands and walked away pretending nothing had happened.
Youan easily split the solid pumpkin and removed the plump orange cucumber flesh. Ye Wan slid a small piece of butter into the stew pot, and with a "sizzling" sound, the butter melted.
First, stir-fry the diced sweet onion in butter. When the onion is crispy and has some spots, you can add the chopped pumpkin to stew.
Ye Wan took a cooking stick and stirred it. The hard pumpkin pieces became soft, sweet and fragrant during the slow cooking over low heat. The tender pumpkin flesh melted quickly and finally turned into a delicate and smooth golden syrup, so thick that it stuck to Ye Wan's spoon.
Ye Wan added another spoonful of fresh cream and let the white cream slowly melt into the pumpkin soup.
Leaving the pumpkin soup to simmer slowly, Ye Wan went to the cupboard and got a handful of pasta. Just as she was about to go to the warehouse to get tomatoes, the door of the tavern dinged.
Dorothy came in. She was still wearing the same black dress she had worn this morning, but her hat was askew and the ostrich feathers were gone.
"What a delicious smell! Is that pumpkin?" She glanced at the menu blankly. "Then I'll have cream of pumpkin soup and Neapolitan pasta."
"You don't look very elegant, Dorothy." Ye Wan put on sponge gloves and brought out the pot of boiling pumpkin cream soup. The rich aroma of pumpkin cream immediately filled the whole room.
"Oh, a bunch of kids ate some transforming candy at my place, and it was a real mess." Dorothy sighed and scooped a spoonful of pumpkin soup. She blew gently, breaking the creamy coating on the soup. The aroma of black pepper mixed with the sweet, sticky pumpkin hit her face, sweet and mellow like autumn sunshine.
Ye Wan brought up another serving of freshly cooked Neapolitan pasta. This pasta was very simple to cook. First, put the pasta into the pot and cook it. Sprinkle some salt to keep the hard core of the pasta. Then stir-fry the chopped green peppers and shredded onions. Add the sausages and fry them to release the rich fat. Add the mushrooms to absorb the oil. Finally, add the rich tomatoes and pasta. Don't forget to cover it with plenty of shredded cheese.
This is a quick dish, but it tastes really good. When the silver fork rolls up the noodles, it also brings the rich tomato sauce. The sausage slices are fried until slightly crispy. The moment you bite them, the smoky and salty gravy gushes out. The sausage and tomato sauce match well, it is oily but not greasy. Dorothy ate the whole plate elegantly.
Ye Wan was in a daze. She thought of the old gentleman in the black veil again, so she asked tentatively: "Hey, Dorothy, do you know someone?"
An old gentleman appeared in Golden Goose Park, wearing a complicated Rococo suit, his ankles fastened with bows, and his face covered with a black veil.
A rare trace of sympathy appeared on Dorothy's indifferent face. "Oh, you mean the old captain Hans? He used to be very famous."
Ye Wan poured her a glass of lemonade: "Famous? How do you say that?"
At the Carnival of the Dead, the most dazzling show is not the parade of floats carried by knights from the cemetery, but the performance of the Dead Dance Troupe. The members of this troupe are good at singing and dancing, and can also ride horses. On the night of Shadow Moon Festival, they will wear glowing armor, pretend to be headless ghosts, and ride horses around the streets. Everyone loves to watch it.
"What a pity..." Dorothy sighed.
The Soul Dance Troupe suffered a serious fire. According to the sheriff's investigation, the fire was probably caused by the cook forgetting the stew in the pot, and the soup spilled onto the fire. In short, the kind old troupe leader Hans was outside the tent at the time and was obviously safe, but he went into the fire to save people, and his entire face was burned.
Since then, the Soul Dance Troupe has never recovered and all the members have dispersed. The old leader Hans, whose face was injured, sold his house and lost a large sum of money. No one knows where he moved to.
Dorothy lamented, "Goddess of Wisdom, the Soul Dance Troupe was a huge hit back then. The streets and alleys were packed with spectators, waiting for them to arrive."
She finished her meal, left the money, and left.
Ye Wan was still in a daze. She recalled the happy tone of the old captain Hans when he spoke to her, and her helplessness and shame after the black gauze curtain was lifted.
She had to think of something...
A glass of iced lemonade touched her face, bringing her back to reality instantly.
You An stuffed the water into her hand: "What are you thinking of, Holy Mother Ye Wan?"
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