Steamed Bowls
The moonlight, like a ribbon, bathed the Courtyard in a silvery glow.
The wind chimes hanging under the eaves made a crisp tinkling sound as the night breeze blew.
Several clumps of unidentified flowers and plants growing in the corner were swaying gently.
Two hours passed quickly.
Frieren had only read a few dozen pages of the Grimoire in her hands.
Stark had just finished his post-meal training and was sitting under a maple tree, drinking tea at the table, but his gaze kept drifting towards the kitchen.
A rich, mellow aroma filled the Courtyard.
Inside the kitchen.
Serie's nose twitched slightly, glancing at the steamer on the stove with white steam rising from it, and then at Fern Rienta was answering Philon's questions about cooking.
To be precise, it landed on the swaying Mana of Rienta.
With her keen eye, Rienta, who hadn't made much progress in suppressing her Mana, showed a noticeable fluctuation in her Mana, especially after compressing and solidifying it throughout her Mana.
This is very abnormal.
It's important to understand that the practice of Mana Suppression requires years of dedicated training to achieve results.
A few months ago, Rienta's Mana Suppression was still somewhat immature, but it was definitely not at this level now.
Serie squinted, pondering for a long time.
Judging solely from her Mana, Rienta hasn't changed much.
But the swaying Mana gave him a very heavy feeling.
It's like... loose sand and gravel coalescing into a solid whole.
A glint flashed in Serie's eyes, and she immediately understood.
She didn't come to the kitchen because of the tempting aroma; her main purpose was to see what was going on with Rienta's Mana.
However, now that we've figured out why Rienta's training in suppressing Mana has regressed...
So...
"Ahem, Rienta, look how late it is, time for a midnight snack..."
Upon hearing this, Fern couldn't help but chuckle. He suppressed a smile, closed his notebook, stood up, and said to Rienta, "Rienta, let's call it a day then."
Rienta nodded; after talking for so long, his throat was also a little dry.
Moreover, the steaming time for the [Kou Wan] was indeed about right.
"That should be fine. Lady Serie, please go and have some tea with Frieren. I'll be right there."
Upon hearing this, Serie smiled and left the kitchen.
Rienta told Fern to prepare a few plates.
Then I lifted the lid of the steamer, waited for the steam to dissipate, and used chopsticks to quickly check how tender the [Kou Wan] were.
With a little force, the chopsticks reached the bottom of the bowl.
Rienta was very satisfied with this.
Using Telekinesis, I removed the scalding hot bowls from the steamer, placed them one by one on a plate, and then piled them up in the sink.
Fern pursed his lips, beginning to ponder the possibility of using [Flight Magic] to emulate this scene.
"Fern, you can take this out. Don't forget the rice and steamed buns; I've prepared some cold drinks for everyone."
How can you eat [Kou Wan] without a staple food?
While the food was steaming, Rienta and Fern prepared some other things.
Not much, just enough for one person to have two bowls of rice and four steamed buns.
We just had dinner not long ago, so preparing too much would be too much for us to finish.
We can't exactly save it for tomorrow morning, can we?
A short while later.
Rienta then carried more than ten cups of cold drinks out of the kitchen and distributed them to everyone.
Serie picked up a brightly colored cold drink with a slice of orange clinging to the rim.
Stir gently with a straw, the ice cubes clinging to the side of the glass, making a soft sloshing sound.
More than ten different kinds of "Kou Wan" were Qiqi arranged on the table.
"Stark, have a taste, this was prepared especially for you."
Rienta looked at Stark and said with a smile.
Stark's eyes lit up, and he said, "Then I won't be polite!"
Having said that, he eagerly reached for the steamed fish pieces with his chopsticks.
Seeing that Stark had already started eating, Rienta quickly urged the others to begin enjoying their meal.
Everyone reached out their chopsticks towards the Kou Wan that interested them most.
Rienta didn't act immediately; she hadn't thought much of it when she did it earlier.
But now, amidst the clinking of glasses and the aroma etched deep in my memory, I find myself drawn to this fragrance.
For a moment, he was somewhat dazed.
Ah, it tastes like home.
After a long while.
Rienta chuckled and launched an attack on her former favorite dish, [crispy fried pork].
The pork tenderloin is coated in batter, fried until golden brown, placed in a bowl, and topped with a sauce made from scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings. It is then steamed for two hours until tender and falling apart without losing its shape – a perfect result.
One bite, and the intense, rich aroma explodes in your mouth, lingering for a long time.
When paired with rice or steamed buns, the flavor is elevated to another level.
Rienta also prepared some lotus leaf buns, specifically to accompany the braised pork belly.
In his mind, this was a classic combination.
As a child, he didn't like fatty meat, even if it was steamed until it crumbled easily, he still couldn't muster any interest.
It wasn't until later, because of the price, that he gradually got used to it.
Rienta picked up a lotus leaf bun, separated it along the pre-made gap, brought it close to the plate, picked up two slices of glossy, reddish-brown pork belly, and placed them inside.
What he didn't notice was that Frieren and the others had all stopped and were watching his movements intently.
"Hmm~ Not bad, not bad~"
After quickly finishing the lotus leaf buns, Rienta remarked a couple of times.
He then reached for the lotus leaf bun again, intending to savor it with other different kinds of Kou Wan, but unexpectedly, he grabbed nothing.
"Huh?"
Rienta looked up and saw that the steamer basket, which had previously been filled with lotus leaf buns and had been ignored by everyone, was now empty.
Looking at the others, they were all holding lotus leaf buns, replicating his earlier actions, piling [braised pork belly] into the buns.
There was only one plate of braised pork belly, and even though the portion was generous, it wasn't enough for the other four people after Rienta took two slices first.
At this moment, Stark's business acumen was clearly far ahead of everyone else's.
Seeing that there wasn't enough [braised pork belly] to go around, and that none of the people present were people he could possibly take it from, he realized he was outmaneuvered.
With a burst of inspiration, Stark first picked up a piece of crispy pork and placed it in the lotus leaf bun, then kept reaching out his chopsticks to the other Kou Wan.
In no time, the lotus leaf buns were filled to the brim.
Only then did Stark reluctantly stop what he was doing and begin to enjoy it.
Rienta asked with a smile, "How is it?"
Stark gave a thumbs up. "Five ants!"
Serie successfully replicated Rienta's previous lotus leaf bun with pork belly and was savoring it carefully.
Frieren did the same; the two exchanged a glance and began a new contest.
But this time, it was Frieren emerged victorious.
After a satisfying late-night snack.
Serie gave a soft hum, picked up a cup of hot tea, and, led by Rienta, headed towards the room.
Fortunately, the Gluck Family lord provided enough rooms in this Courtyard.
There shouldn't be a shortage of rooms.
"Why..."