Maidservant (9)
Under the cover of darkness, Mi concealed herself and left Derek's Palace. Since the gray-clad man had completely disappeared, Mi felt her power had increased considerably. Following the route Anna had given her, she weaved through the alleyways and arrived opposite Earl Aldrich's mansion, next to which stood Viscount Ubius's mansion, a castle noticeably smaller than Earl Aldrich's. Earl Aldrich's mansion was brightly lit, and the lively clamor carried all the way across the alley, while Viscount Ubius's mansion only had a single door lamp lit, like a shadow of Earl Aldrich's.
Mi arrived at Earl Aldrich's mansion. She ran her fingers along the tall walls, the cold stones obscuring her view. She walked along the wall, finding a narrow passage in a dim corner—an entrance less than a foot high, hidden by weeds and bushes. Mi reached out, moved the stone slabs entangled in the bushes and grass, and quietly climbed inside. This was the most secluded corner of the mansion; how could there be a hole the size of an arm? Two figures approached Mi from a distance. She quickly moved the bushes back to their original positions and stood against the wall.
"You'd better tell your son this time that the pigeon is for Lina," a woman muttered.
“Don’t worry, my son loves beef.” Another woman carried a basin. The two women approached the cave, moved aside the bushes that were obscuring it, and soon a small head peeked into the opening: “Mommy, are you here?”
"Leave the pigeon inside for Lina, and you can share the rest." The woman held the little boy's hand. "Go back and take good care of your younger siblings, and don't make your father angry." The little boy crawled out of the hole again, and the woman handed him the basin before covering the hole with bushes.
The two women walked back: "I'm going to bring them some soup."
"You mean well, but no one can save them."
"At least let him die with a full stomach."
Mi followed the woman to the kitchen and saw her take a plate, fill it with minced meat and soup, add a handful of breadcrumbs, and then carry the plate to the woodshed next to the kitchen. The woodshed was dimly lit. She placed a finger-length candle beside two curled-up bodies before setting down the plate and saying, "Eat." The bodies were two girls, their flesh mangled and bloodied. They were crawling on the floor, groping and devouring the minced meat. The woman watched them finish before picking up the plate, taking the last bit of candle from the floor, and leaving.
"Auntie, please give us some light."
"No." The woman left the woodshed, leaving behind darkness. She locked the door behind her. "Don't blame me for being heartless. Last time, a little girl set the entire woodshed on fire with just a few candles. Most of the kitchen staff were fired, and I only managed to get this lucrative job. Oh, what a fine girl, how did she offend the Countess?" The woman grumbled as she left.
Mi squatted in the dark woodshed, pondering, "There must be one of Anna's daughters here."
"Hua Lin, do you regret it?" A girl asked, her breathing heavy. "Your mother wouldn't let you in."
"What's the use of regretting it?" Hua Lin said softly. "Go to sleep. If you fall asleep, it won't hurt so much."
"I'm not in pain anymore, Warlin. Do you think I'm about to die?" The girl stopped speaking, and the woodshed was filled with heavy breathing. Anna's daughter was indeed Warlin. Mi was very lucky; she found her almost effortlessly. Two badly injured girls were imprisoned here. Who exactly was Mrs. Aldrich? How could she inflict such severe punishment on the girls and forbid anyone from treating them? For the first time, Mi felt a deep disgust for the nobles of Sun City.
* * *
Inside the restaurant, owner Dougto and two waiters were tidying up the vegetables, meat, and eggs that Dittonfrid had bought. The portly waiter, named Philip, was a distant relative of Dougto's from the countryside and usually lived with him in the restaurant's backyard. The thinner waiter, named Kraft, was Dittonfrid's neighbor. Dittonfrid had been nicknamed "The Gossipmonger" since childhood, as he loved gossip and would run around gathering information about any little thing happening in town. His family always thought Fried's idleness wasn't good and wanted him to find a proper job, but Fried simply didn't want to be an apprentice; he preferred the exciting world outside. At this moment, Fried was also waiting for Rice in the restaurant's kitchen, wanting to ask if Rice still needed to hire him.
When Mi came in, the vegetables had already been mostly sorted, and the meat was still piled on the cutting board. Mi led Doug to the restaurant entrance, pointed to the empty space under the eaves, and said, "We need to hang up a sign."
The restaurant was small, but it had a sign by the door that said it sold roast meat and wheat cakes. Now, Mi said she wanted to get a sign. Dougto frowned and asked cautiously, "What should we put up? This isn't a big restaurant; nobody puts up signs here." Mi turned around and saw Dougto's hesitant and embarrassed look. She beckoned Tom Fried over, said a few words to him, and Fried jogged away.
Mi went into the kitchen and cut the meat into palm-sized pieces with a knife. She poked many holes in the meat pieces with an awl before soaking them in water. Then she checked a piece of dough left over from yesterday. Mi picked it up and smelled it; it smelled a bit sour, so it must have fermented. Mi added a little water, dissolved the dough, and put it on the stove to boil until it bubbled. The sour smell became stronger; this was good yeast.
Mi used the pot of yeast water to knead a dough and set it aside to ferment. She then scooped two ladles of flour and started kneading the gluten. Fili and Kraft, being observant, washed the vegetables thoroughly. Once the gluten was ready, Mi received a bowl of starch.
Mi asked the owner to shred the carrots and apples into thin strips before taking out the meat chunks that had been soaked to remove blood and mincing them. Once the carrot and meat filling was ready, the dough had risen enough. Mi pinched the dough into small pieces, made them into simple folded lotus leaf buns, and steamed them in a steamer. Meanwhile, she started stewing beef in a large pot.
When Fried returned with his men carrying the sign, Mi was frying carrot and meatballs, the aroma filling the entire yard. Five large black characters were written on the light gray wooden board—Dougato's Set Meal. Fried directed his men to nail a few nails under the restaurant's eaves, and that's how they hung the sign up.
Dougto was incredibly excited to see the sign bearing his name hanging up. He kept running to the door to check it out and telling passersby that the restaurant was offering delicious new dishes that day. Hanging up signs was something only grand restaurants did, and now this small eatery had a big sign with his name on it. Dougto suddenly thought that this nobleman, Mi, really knew how to get things done.
After 11 a.m., the streets became busier. Some people saw the sign and came in to ask what was good to eat, while regular customers stood at the door for a while before shaking their heads and leaving. Mi ordered a small stove with a small pot on it, filled it halfway with oil, and carried it to the open space in front of the shop. Next to it was a table with a bowl of freshly fried carrot and meatballs on it. Mi took a strainer and asked the owner to fry the meatballs a little longer, while T.F. Fried took a plate and cutlery to cut the meatballs into small pieces for passersby to try.
"Free?" Doug Tor didn't understand what a free tasting was.
“Free!” Mi took out the bamboo skewers that Fried had just bought, put them in a pot to boil, took them out and put them on a tray to drain. “If anyone wants to buy them, one skewer costs one copper coin, and a skewer of five meatballs costs three copper coins.” As he spoke, he turned to Doug Tor and said, “You will be paying Fried’s salary starting today.”
"Oh, okay!" Dougto was completely at Mi's beck and call, doing whatever Mi told him to do. Mi observed the pedestrians; more and more orange dots appeared. The shop owner was refrying meatballs at the shop entrance, and the rich aroma of oil immediately spread through the street. At first, only one or two people tried them, but soon everyone who tried them bought a skewer and left. No one bought a single meatball. Dougto happily counted his coins while muttering, "If everyone bought one, how many more coins would I make!" Soon, customers stopped just eating a skewer of meatballs at the entrance and came into the shop to try other dishes.
After a quick training session, Kraft rushed out to greet the guests: "Good day, sir. We have a set meal available today. Would you like to try it?"
"Only set meals?" These were two regular customers who noticed that the menu that used to hang in the store was no longer there.
"Yes, the set meal includes a main dish, a main course, a soup, and a complimentary side dish."
"Then let's have two servings to try." The customer sat down.
Kraft excitedly ran into the kitchen, panting, and said, "Two set meals, two sets!" Ralph held up two fingers, "Can we serve the food now?" The restaurant had never had customers this early before; most of them came to Dougto's because they didn't want to wait at other restaurants.
Fat waiter Philip was diligently stirring the sweet soup in the pot, a mixture of various fruits cooked with syrup into a sweet syrup. Hearing Kraft's words, he took out two bowls and ladled out two bowls of sweet soup. Mi took three lotus leaf buns from the steamer and placed them on the side of the plate. Then, he took a piece of meat from the stew pot, chopped it up, and placed it in the center of the plate. After thinking for a moment, Mi took a lotus leaf bun, split it in half, wrapped the chopped meat inside, and placed it neatly. He then took a small bowl of mashed potatoes for dipping and placed it all on the sweet soup tray, along with a knife, fork, and spoon. Mi examined the dishes for a while, then arranged the plates more neatly before saying, "Dougto's set meal for today, take it away."
Kraft carefully carried the tray out and placed the bowls and plates in front of the two guests. The guests were puzzled by the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar food on the tray, but fortunately, the aroma was very enticing. Kraft watched as the guests took a bite of the wrapped lotus leaf bun, chewed for a while, and then smiled with satisfaction: "The taste is quite good today." The other guest, who preferred dessert, picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful of sweet soup, quickly finishing the entire bowl. He smacked his lips and said, "There's a little too little sweet soup."
Kaf retreated to the side, glancing at the expressions on the two guests' faces out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but swallow hard; today's set meal looked delicious. A moment later, the two guests finished eating and tossed Kaf twenty copper coins, then threw over two more: "A reward for the cook!" Kaf hurriedly caught the coins and, taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, ran in to tell Mi, "They finished everything and even gave us two copper coins as a reward!"
In the kitchen, Mi placed white lotus leaf buns on a dark-colored plate, large chunks of stewed meat on a white plate, drizzled with rich broth, and mashed potatoes on a corner of the tray. The sweet soup exuded a sweet and sour aroma. Mi inserted the finger-length "Today's Set Meal" sign between the bowls and plates before pointing to the tray and saying, "Put this next to the fryer."
At lunchtime, the streets were bustling with hungry pedestrians, and the aroma of fried meatballs was particularly irresistible. Today's set menu also looked very appealing, and soon more and more people came in to eat. The fried meatballs outside Dougto's shop sold out, and in less than two hours, the lunch prepared by Dougto was also gone. Dougto had to apologize to the customers at the door: "Our shop is completely sold out for today. Please come back tomorrow!" This previously deserted little shop became famous overnight!
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