Mrs. Aldridge (3)
Ai Lian's song stirred up Mi's homesickness. She didn't speak all night. There were so many stars beside the blue moon; she didn't know which one led her home.
Ailian had left sometime earlier, and the next day, Mi went to the restaurant alone again. Mi thought that the longevity seed wasn't that important, and it didn't matter if she couldn't see it. After paying Anna's salary, she would find her way home. There was nothing here, and she wanted to eat rice.
Lady Aldrich arrived at the restaurant again, this time in a menacing manner. Her men filled all the seats in the restaurant, and the adventurer glanced at them from the doorway before turning away to another establishment. Dougto quietly went to the backyard and told Mi, "Sir, only Countess Aldrich is here today. She brought a large group of people and has filled the entire restaurant."
Mi thought of Mrs. Aldrich's obese appearance; such a person had a penchant for strong flavors, and even though the Exploding Fruit was so spicy, she couldn't stop eating it. Mi nodded to indicate that she understood and began to think about today's lunch.
Mi took out apples, last year's fruit, which were even sweeter after being stored in the cellar all winter. She made a sweet and sour sauce with the apples and lemons, intending to make a sweet and sour pork dish. She sliced beef tenderloin into thin slices, quickly fried them in hot oil, and then stir-fried them with the sweet and sour sauce. The familiar taste made Mi feel nostalgic.
Over the past few days, Kraft had bought a lot of fish as requested by Mi. The fish from the Flower Country were large with few bones, making it easy to cut out small, boneless pieces of fish belly. The fish pieces were coated with potato starch water, then breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. Finally, they were drizzled with the same sweet and sour sauce, resulting in a crispy exterior and tender flesh. Mi was very satisfied with today's dishes. She remembered how Ailian always made a cat-like expression when she ate something delicious, and it was a little regrettable that Ailian hadn't come today.
Mrs. Aldrich was quite pleased with lunch and left a tip of two silver deris. Finally, she said to the innkeeper, "Such a fine cook is not for you." The innkeeper bowed respectfully as Mrs. Aldrich departed, watching her plump figure being pushed into the carriage, his head bowed so no one could see his smile.
The sweet and sour sauce was well received today. Mi stayed in the kitchen to teach little April how to make it, while the shopkeeper did the accounting at the counter. Countess Aldrich's carriage remained parked across the street. After a moment's hesitation, the shopkeeper went to the backyard and told Mi, "Sir, Countess Aldrich's carriage has been parked at the gate the whole time."
Mi didn't intend to pay any attention to this noblewoman. Mrs. Aldrich had royal blood, and she didn't want to provoke Derek Smoke again. Trouble with the Skull was a one-time thing, and besides, she couldn't always rely on the Skull to solve her problems. Mi deliberately ate dinner at a restaurant, and only strolled leisurely towards the Flower Fate Inn after the blue moon had risen high in the sky. Mrs. Aldrich's carriage had already left. For a noblewoman to condescend to eat at such a small restaurant was already quite extravagant; expecting her to wait for a cook was out of the question.
The next day, when Mi arrived at the restaurant, Dougto, with a tearful face, told him, "That Mrs. Aldrich wants you to work as a cook at the Earl's mansion."
"You can make the decision?" Mi wondered if she was being too agreeable; Doug Tor had forgotten that she was an adventurer with Marigold coins.
"My lords, my lords, I can't afford to offend any of you!" Doug Tor was on the verge of tears. Back then, when Mi demanded 50% of his restaurant's profits, he had no choice but to agree, no matter how unwilling he was. At the time, he never imagined that the restaurant's business would become so successful.
"Make her come and tell me herself," Mi said, sounding a little annoyed.
Mrs. Aldridge still had lunch at Dougto's, and she arrogantly called Mi over: "You're the cook here? What are you dressed like that for?"
Mira pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Mrs. Aldrich: "I'm an adventurer, you know that?"
Mrs. Aldrich looked at Mi, who was dressed in a black shirt. In the entire city of Sun City, only female adventurers wore shirts like men. She nodded. This adventurer had fallen so low as to work as a cook in such a small restaurant; she was rescuing her. "Don't dress like that anymore." A female adventurer who had lost her ability to adventure was better off not flaunting herself in a shirt. Mrs. Aldrich scrutinized Mi. This woman was old and ugly. Since meeting Mi again on the road, she had completely lost interest in her. However, Mi had excellent cooking skills. A beautiful woman and delicious food were the two great weapons that had captured Mrs. Aldrich's heart.
"You're being nosy." Mi noticed that the nobles of Taiyang City all had the same problem: they didn't care what others said and did things entirely according to their own wishes.
“You will come to Earl Aldrich’s manor as a cook,” Lady Aldrich said almost commandingly, “at least it won’t be a disgrace to the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“I’m not the cook here, didn’t Dougto tell you?” Mi sat up straight. This Mrs. Aldrich was mentally ill, and quite seriously so. Mi stood up and left. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to Mrs. Aldrich any longer; she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to suppress the malice in her heart.
Countess Aldrich watched Mi's retreating figure, her eyes widening in anger. "Tolman, give the order: I want to see him tonight."
Behind Countess Aldrich stood a samurai with a sword: "Madam, that is an adventurer."
"Fool, can't you see that she has lost the ability to take risks?"
“I’m sorry, madam,” Tolman said coldly, “unless you bring me the mobilization order.”
“Madam, please don’t be angry.” A little girl stepped forward from behind Mrs. Aldrich. She knelt down in front of Mrs. Aldrich, knelt on her knees, and whispered, “Madam, my brother can serve you.” She whispered in Mrs. Aldrich’s ear until Mrs. Aldrich smiled with satisfaction.
When Mi returned to the kitchen, Dougto and Kraft Philip were hiding in the yard. They rushed over as soon as they saw Mi. Dougto whispered, "Has Mrs. Aldridge left?"
“I don’t know,” Mi said to the helper in the yard. “Clean up the kitchen, little April, come with me.” Mi took little April to make seasonings. She always felt that she wouldn’t stay at Dougto’s restaurant for too long, so it was better for little April to get started quickly. She said to Dougto, “Pay little April the price of a chef.”
"Okay, okay." Dougto always made a portion of whatever dish Mi was making first, and then let little April cook it, constantly teaching her how to season it. Naturally, he would agree to whatever Mi asked, since little April was his own niece.
Little April's tongue was very sensitive, but she was extremely reluctant to use seasonings, especially sugar and honey. So Mi had to set a scale aside, weighing out the exact amount of each seasoning and placing it aside. Little April had one good quality: once Mi decided on a recipe, she would definitely follow it. She would add the seasonings to the pot with a mixture of anxious worry and excitement, her whole being radiating a red glow of excitement, an orange glow of exhilaration, and a blue glow of melancholy and heartache, much like a little housekeeper, both distressed and helpless.
"Okay, that's all for today." Mi looked at the raspberry jam that April had prepared; it wasn't too sweet, which was April's limit. She smiled and said, "Tomorrow we'll bake some small round rolls, and the dessert will be jam-filled round rolls."
"Shall we use the jam I made today?" Little April asked, both excited and a little nervous. "Shall I make tomorrow's dessert?" Little April had not only made jam that afternoon, but also marinated two large basins of fish. Rice had already decided that tomorrow's main dish would be fried fish, which would also be Little April's responsibility.
"Mm." Mi patted little April's head. "From now on, you'll be the head chef at Doug Tor Restaurant."
“This won’t do! This won’t do!” Little April spun around, muttering to herself.
“Yes, you can do it. The adults say you can, so you definitely can,” Doug Tor reassured little April.
Mi walked slowly along the path towards the Flower Fate Inn, contemplating leaving once she was comfortable with little April. Before leaving Sun City, she planned to explore all the noble castles. Yana had mentioned that Sun City had longevity-type noble titles, and by visiting them one by one, she was sure she could identify which ones belonged to the longevity-type. She wanted to ask what the Longevity-type Flower Kingdom was originally like, and how they viewed these intruders.
Mi walked along Theater Road and stopped on Horse Street. Ahead was a familiar alley, usually dark and quiet at this time, but now seven or eight people were hiding inside, and several red lights appeared in the depths of the alley. Mrs. Aldrich's carriage was a few meters behind, and the coachman stared at Mi's back, his smile wicked and sinister in the darkness.
Mi turned and walked into a small alley. While it wasn't acceptable to commit crimes openly in Sun City, it wasn't unusual for a few people to die in an alley. After a body was discovered, someone would always take the blame; the population mobility in Sun City was far greater than imagined.
Mi heard footsteps following her. She turned around and saw that Mrs. Aldrich, who thought highly of her, had sent five, six, seven, or eight strong men to follow her. Mi drew her dagger, used the fence as a springboard to climb the wall, and with a somersault, landed behind the last man. A flash of cold light, a spurt of blood, and the man's scream was drowned out as he collapsed. The men in front turned around, carrying thick clubs, whips, and ropes. In the darkness, a man's gruff voice said, "I advise you to behave. We don't want your life, just surrender—"
"Boss, she killed Seventh Brother." A skinny man next to him, looking like a monkey, saw the man lying on the ground convulsing and reminded him in a shrill voice.
"What?" The man was startled. He looked at the dark figure on the ground and roared, "Brothers, attack!" Two whips lashed out at Mi. Mi retreated again, pulling out a wooden fence to block the whips before lunging forward once more. With swift strokes, she reaped two more lives. The others, seeing the demonic Mi, immediately scattered and ran away. Mi watched the retreating figures with regret. These men should be fed to the Sanders. The heavy smell of blood made Mi's stomach churn. She retreated to the alley entrance, took off her blood-stained shoes, gazed back at the dark alley for a long time, then turned back, dragging the three men's corpses to the alley entrance. A long trail of blood covered her footprints. She suppressed the surging anger in her chest until her emotions had completely calmed down before taking off her shoes and heading towards Mrs. Aldrich's carriage. The coachman, staring at her covered in blood, trembled and hid to the side. Mi opened the car door, and Mrs. Aldrich, equally trembling, stammered, "I have royal blood! You, you, if you touch me, you, you won't escape anywhere! The Adventurers' Guild has an agreement with the royal family, an agreement..."
"Be polite when you see me next time, and clean this place up." Mi wiped the blood off Mrs. Aldrich's face before turning to leave.
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