Accompanying maid (6)
Mi led Fried on a tour of restaurants from the east to the north of the city. Those with two floors seemed to have satisfied customers, especially those that sold alcohol; those restaurants had the most excited faces and red glowing lights. The small restaurants with only one floor were mostly mediocre, and the few that were doing well were packed. Mi noticed that the waiters didn't seem too happy. Why weren't they happy when business was good?
"How do you run these restaurants?" Mi Yue thought it was a good idea to take over a small restaurant, since Krus had praised her cooking skills.
“These are all owned,” Fried said, looking at Mi. “Does Your Excellency want to run a restaurant?” That’s a bit difficult. Fried explained to Mi, “There are strict regulations for renting shops in Sun City. Those who come from outside the area not only have to pay a certain deposit to the tax office, but also a deposit equal to the value of the house to the housing rental office.”
Looking at the shops in the east of the city, Mi noticed that not a single storefront was visible. The restaurants and eateries were luxuriously decorated, with so much investment clearly not intended for ordinary people. No wonder the west of the city had such a large market, and most of the small shops were concentrated there; the north was a veritable money pit. In the south, inns like the Flower Garden Inn only offered breakfast and dinner; lunch was still left to the innkeeper. Many inns only provided a bed and hot water; the space for a kitchen was hardly enough—they should have built more rooms, as there were many hired workers in the east who had nowhere to live.
The food in these small restaurants isn't very good, largely because the restaurant owners are also the landlords. Running a restaurant earns them more than renting out the property, but expecting great food is impossible. They don't hire a chef, nor do they put effort into creating new dishes. Regardless of the quality, customers will always come. The east side of the city has the most employees in the entire Sun City, and these people can't cook lunch for themselves.
“Come on, let’s go back. I’ll treat you to dinner.” Mi Yue thought the idea was pretty good. These small restaurants mainly did lunch business, so she only needed to work half a day. Not working on dinner wouldn’t affect her visit to Beatrice.
Mickey and Fried returned to the Garden Inn. Anna was already back, still gentle and serene. Mickey invited Sheila to dinner as well, and asked to use her kitchen. Sheila's cook was a plump middle-aged woman, a relative from the countryside, who strongly objected to Mickey's use of her kitchen and stood by, watching him intently.
The staple food in Taiyang City is wheat. Most families make a stew with flatbread, and bakeries also sell it. Each bakery has its own secret recipe, and bread is much more expensive than wheat flatbread. Mi checked the vegetables in the kitchen and found there was no yeast, so she could only use the kitchen's wheat flatbread. She decided to make a tempting stew.
Carrots, onions, potatoes, and beef—these were the most abundant vegetables. Sheila regularly served beef stew to her guests, and it tasted quite good. Mi thought about it and changed her mind. What's the most appealing flavor? Fried food, of course!
Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil them. The plump cook grumbled about wasting such good potatoes. In Sun City, potatoes are eaten with the skin on; just wash them. Mi still retained the Blue Star habit, reminding herself not to do that next time. The beef was minced, and the onions were chopped as well. Finally, they were mixed with the mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar, and shaped into small pancakes. Mi saw question marks rising above their heads. The butter melted in the pan, and Mi began frying the pancakes. The plump cook swallowed first. Mi opened her mind, and Fried craned his neck, exclaiming repeatedly, "Adventurer, you can do anything! This smells so good!" Sheila had only one thought: "I must be the first to try it." Anna stood gently to the side, but her mind was filled with the most beautiful words: "I have never smelled such an enticing aroma. This golden color is even more appealing than Kindred's." Mi was startled; Anna spoke as if reciting poetry.
Four golden-brown beef pancakes came out of the pan. The plump cook and Fried picked up their forks and ate one; Sheila and Anna were more refined, sitting at the table and cutting it into small pieces with their knives and forks. "Delicious, delicious," "The crust is crispy," "The beef is so tender"... Mi turned around and continued making pancakes. When all the pancakes were done, she took out two apples, cut them into small pieces, and made a vinegar dressing with egg yolks, lemon, and sugar, and mixed it into a fruit salad. The pancakes were greasy, so a refreshing fruit salad was a good choice. There was also cabbage in the kitchen, so Mi shredded the cabbage, blanched it briefly, and made a vegetarian salad with the same vinegar dressing. Everyone ate to their heart's content. Fried, as usual, used a tortilla to dip the remaining sauce on his plate and ate it all.
Sheila clutched her stomach: "I've never eaten anything so delicious—" Sheila paused, looking at the beef patty and then questioning Mi. Anna, on the other hand, thought the cabbage was the best: "I never knew cabbage could be so crisp and sweet, even better than the sweetest apples." The plump cook always had to find fault: "Why did you make such a sour apple? What a waste, what a waste." Fried retorted from the side: "Nobody eats as much as you." Mi was very satisfied with this result. She had looked at many shops today, and two had already become her targets.
Anna followed gently behind Mi. Mi wanted to say, "Go back," but that would seem very cold, especially since Mi hadn't paid Anna yet. She looked at Anna, who brought in a basin of water: "Wash your hair."
"Hmm." Mi leaned back in her chair, and Anna scooped up half a cup of water and poured it over Mi's head. Mi found it funny; her hair, which she had created with water, was now being washed. Luckily, her whole body was back, and she had much better control than before.
"Your hair is so smooth, like water," Anna said gently, stroking Mi's hair. Mi smiled secretly to herself, "You've found out the truth."
"I'm going to look for a job tomorrow, will you come with me?" Mi asked with her eyes closed. Anna's gaze was always full of encouragement and tenderness, and Mi felt that she needed Anna there to give her courage and support.
"Okay." Anna helped Mi to bed and lay down beside her. "What kind of work do you want to do?"
"Cook, what do you think?" Mi couldn't help but ask Anna's opinion. Anna was like a gentle mother and a wise older sister.
“You’ll definitely be the best cook.” Anna kissed Mi’s forehead and asked, “Asleep?”
"Mmm, go to sleep." Mi snuggled into Anna's arms. These past few days, she had grown accustomed to Anna's embrace, as if she had returned to being a baby. Mi felt like she had forgotten something, but Anna's embrace was so comfortable that she quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next day at lunchtime, Mi took Anna and Fried directly to a deserted restaurant in the northeast corner. The restaurant had very few customers; the waiters were idly swatting flies. Seeing Mi enter with Anna and Fried, two boys about Fried's age greeted them, "What would you like to eat, sir?" Mi looked up at the signs behind the counter: Roast Meat, Pancakes, Side Dishes. There were three signs in total. One of the waiters clearly knew Fried; the two were whispering to each other.
"Let's bring out the menu." Mi sat down, but no one offered her water or tea; the service at this restaurant was terrible. A moment later, a plate of grilled meat, a plate of flatbread, and a plate of pickled vegetables were brought over. Mi picked up a knife to cut the meat, almost dropping the plate on the floor—the meat was as hard as a rock. The flatbread made a loud thud when it hit the table. Mi also lost interest in the pickled vegetables. Anna smiled, took the plate from Mi, and carefully cut the meat for her with a knife.
Is your boss in?
"This is what our boss made. He's in the kitchen. I'll call him over right away." Perhaps it was Fried who directed the waiter, because the waiter quickly went to the kitchen and found the boss. The boss was a lean, middle-aged man named Doug Tor. He frowned slightly, looking troubled, and hunched over as he approached Mi.
"Good day, sir." Doug bowed to greet Mi. His little shop had never served adventurers, and the adults didn't think much of his skills.
"Boss, should we consider hiring a new cook?"
Doug Tor thought the nobleman had come to interrogate him, but he hadn't expected this kind of question. He said with a bitter face, "Good cooks are hard to find." This little shop wasn't making any money to begin with, let alone hiring a cook.
"How about I cook a couple of dishes for the boss?" Mi Mao then offered his services.
Dougto looked at the thin, middle-aged woman in front of him, somewhat disbelieving Mi's words. However, the waiter said that Mi was an adventurer noble, and he figured that an adventurer noble wouldn't covet a few dishes from his kitchen; she probably just thought his cooking was bad. Dougto couldn't refuse and had no choice but to nod in agreement.
The Adventurers' Guild is located at No. 24 North Street. This restaurant is only one street away from North Street, and adventurers frequently pass by its entrance, making it extremely safe. No one has ever tried to cause trouble here. Dougto's food isn't great, but it's cheap, so it has a few regular customers. Adventurers don't care for this kind of restaurant, but their followers who need meat really like this inexpensive little shop.
Mi wrote a list for Fried to buy vegetables and spices at the nearest market, then went to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. The kitchen was so dirty and cluttered that it was difficult to even step inside. Anna directed the waiter and Dougto to clean it up. Mi took a piece of lamb, cut it into thin strips, and soaked it in the sink cabinet. Then she took some flour and started kneading dough. Anna wiped a table clean for Mi to use, and had the waiter take everything out and put it in the open space in the backyard. Then she scrubbed the entire kitchen clean. Anna, the two waiters, and the owner Dougto worked for almost two hours, and the kitchen finally revealed its true appearance, looking much cleaner and tidier.
Just then, Fried returned carrying two baskets of vegetables and seasonings that Rice needed. Rice asked a waiter to start a fire, and she prepared two kinds of fillings—one meat and one vegetable—and began wrapping pies. The food in the Flower Kingdom mainly consisted of meat and wheat cakes. Rice hadn't discovered yeast. The Flower Kingdom also had bakeries, and those who could run bakeries all had their own unique recipes. Each bakery kept their sourdough starter extremely secret, and others couldn't buy it even if they wanted to. Rice could only use boiling water to scald the flour, half scalded and half cold, to ensure the pie crust was softer.
The pies were flattened and fried in oil until golden brown on both sides. The tender young vegetable sprouts were of indistinguishable varieties; Mi plucked a leaf and tasted it—it had a refreshing flavor, so she simply blanched it and seasoned it with oil and salt. There were also some sweet and sour fruits in the basket, perfect for making jam. The lamb was thinly sliced, blanched, and drizzled with sauce. Soon, the two waiters, the owner Doug Tor, and Fried were all gathered at the kitchen door. Mi had Anna taste each sauce. Although Anna could only describe which flavor was particularly prominent, Mi could still discern from Anna's mind what was missing. Mi had Anna taste each dish, and Anna would praise them with the most eloquent words. Mi would skip the words, observe Anna's thoughts, and then make slight adjustments to the sauces. Anna had excellent taste; she could taste whether the sweet, sour, or salty flavors were lacking.
Anna brought out plates of finished products from the kitchen. The fruit was cut into pieces and mixed with vinegar sauce, emitting an enticing sweet and slightly sour aroma; the fresh vegetable sprouts looked as green and lovely as if they were still alive; the pancakes were golden brown and fragrant; the mutton had no gamey smell at all, only the aroma of meat and the sweet and sour sauce, making people keep swallowing their saliva.
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