Chapter 25: Three Meals a Day
Well then, it’s time for dinner.
Since I had a sandwich for lunch, I’ll go with dumplings for dinner. I mix strong flour, weak flour, and a bit of lard, kneading the dough and letting it rest while I prepare the filling.
I don’t have ground meat, so I chop the meat finely until it resembles ground meat and knead it until it becomes sticky, then mix in some vegetables. When adding the vegetables, I have to be gentle; if I crush them, they’ll release water and ruin everything. The chopped vegetables are already squeezed, but if the meat gets too wet, it’ll be a disaster.
I’m making two types of filling: one with cabbage and chives, and the other with Chinese cabbage and chives. I made plenty of dough, so I’ll also whip up some shrimp fried dumplings later. The bread I baked in the morning is still fresh, thanks to [Storage]. It keeps everything just as it was when I put it in, making it more convenient than a refrigerator, aside from the fact that it can’t make ice or cool things down.
Rice, dumplings, and a Chinese-style soup. The dumpling skin is smooth and chewy, while the fried side is crispy. When I bite into it, it bursts with flavor.
Rishu doesn’t seem interested in the dumplings, but today he’s getting a bit of meat along with water. He’s eating it happily. I feel a twinge of guilt giving flavored food to a dog, so this is just fine for Rishu.
I’m feeling quite happy. After finishing my meal, soaking in the bath makes me even happier. I really think food and shelter are important.
Before bed, I do a bit of work, just assigning numbers to the spirits. It seems like I won’t finish naming them until my sister settles down. I didn’t feel motivated to do it every day, but the number of spirits gathering is starting to pile up, and that feels a bit concerning.
After finishing my task, I drink some milk and say goodnight.
I wake up early and take Rishu for a walk; brushing him is becoming part of my routine. Normally, breakfast follows, but today I’m moving to the rented house a bit earlier.
I step out of the empty third-floor room and head down the stairs. I thought Ash was still asleep, but it seems he’s already up, as I can hear sounds coming from the first floor.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
I wonder what he’s doing, and it turns out he’s drawing water from the well into the kitchen’s water jug. The sight of him rolling up his shirt sleeves to draw water is unnecessarily cool.
“Are you okay moving around?”
Az hops from Ash’s shoulder to mine, snuggling against me. Good morning, Az.
“Yeah, I’m feeling great. I took a bath yesterday, thanks to your words.”
It seems he’s already taken a bath. Though it’s just a basin.
Last night, I told them they could freely use the kitchen, bath, and firewood. I also asked them to stay away from the third floor since I’m not a morning person.
“What’s for breakfast?”
I ask while lighting the fire in the hearth. There’s still some orange glow left in the charcoal, probably from boiling the bathwater. I just need to add some thin firewood and poke the charcoal with a fire poker, and it starts to burn.
“Not yet.”
“Is bread and cheese okay?”
I open the wooden storage box on the shelf and take out a large round loaf of bread. I prepared for this kind of situation!
“Thanks, I’ll have some.”
Saying that, Ash heads back out to the courtyard to draw more water. It’s a labor-intensive task, and normally (…), it must be tough to do every day.
I take some eggs from the sawdust in the wooden box and fry them with the salted meat. I brought the eggs from home; the ones here are scary because of salmonella.
The bacon-like stuff here tends to be salty and hard, probably because they prioritize preservation. It’s good for throwing into soup, but during this season, there are softer options available.
At the end of autumn, farmers sell off livestock they can’t feed for the winter. It’s hard to procure feed in winter, as Dinoss said. Fresh meat aside, freshly salted meat is still cheap. But as winter deepens, the prices will rise.
I cut everything to a suitable thickness and lightly toast the bread. The fried salted meat and fried egg, served with cheese and sweet-sour Japanese plum jam on the bread, are ready. Vegetables? The soup will take care of that. It seems like they don’t have much of a habit of eating raw vegetables here?
“Thanks. It’s ready.”
I call out to Ash, who’s tending to the well in the courtyard, and carry the tray to the workshop table.
Ah. I forgot to ask if he prefers his fried egg runny or hard.
We finish eating without any disputes over the doneness of the fried egg or what to put on it. Maybe it’s because there’s no soy sauce or ketchup here, or even sauce. Salt and pepper win by default.
“That was delicious. Especially with cheese and jam on this bread; it’s exquisite.”
Ash’s expression doesn’t change much, but his voice is filled with enthusiasm, so he must have liked it.
“Thanks.”
I made the jam from the Japanese plums I picked in the forest. It’s quite sour, but when paired with this pale cheese, the sweetness and sourness blend perfectly.
“By the way, about Little Bird, I renamed him while he was sleeping. Sorry.”
“—What did you name him?”
Ash asks while petting Az.
“Az.”
“That’s a good name. Accepting a name means the spirit likes you; there’s no need to apologize.”
“It seems Az likes you too.”
Despite being restrained, Az doesn’t seem to dislike Ash at all; in fact, he seems eager to perch on his shoulder.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I respond affirmatively to Ash, who looks a bit pleased.
“Shall we take a break and then head to the Guild to see how things are going?”
“Yeah. I need to pay you back for letting me stay, Lord Jean.”
Well then, let’s go reclaim what Ash was tricked out of. But first, I hope the pink-headed spirit is doing alright.