Chapter 194

As he entered the kitchen, Shirou saw A-Xing greeting him.

The other person was holding tools in their hands, so they were probably busy just now.

"Long time no see! Business has been pretty good lately?"

He put down what Shirou was holding and asked.

After all, the others hadn't discussed this matter, and if he hadn't come here himself, he probably wouldn't have known at all.

"It's just been trending these past few days. A few days ago, an infected person was causing chaos on the streets and smashed a lot of things."

Turning back to his work, A-Xing explained.

He had inquired about Knights of the Round Table Shirou, and Sister Xiong had a very high opinion of him.

He's a very simple person; if Sister Xiong says something is right, then it must be right.

Anyone who dares to say something is wrong has to face his fist first.

If we can't win, then so be it; we'll just have to leave it to Sister Xiong herself.

After all, his role is that of a junior subordinate.

"Oh, is that so? I thought business was picking up."

Hearing what A-Xing said, Shirou felt a little regretful.

I thought business was improving, but it turned out to be only temporary.

After all, if something is damaged, it will naturally be replaced. As a small shop that sells pots, pans, and utensils, it has recently seen an increase in customers.

"The profits these past two days have been quite considerable, but it's tough on those who run the shop. Little Ansuo has been so busy that his rabbit ears are practically knotted."

Thinking about how busy everyone has been these past two days, A-Xing said.

After all, the business came too suddenly, and many people had no relevant experience. They started to panic when they got busy, and it was only Ansuo's careful guidance that they were able to get through it safely.

"That sounds really busy. There were quite a few customers when I came in, so I went out to help out."

Seeing that A-Xing was busy with her own things, and considering that there were still quite a few guests outside when Shirou came in, Shirou decided to go out and help out.

While entertaining that many guests might be beyond my capabilities, I can still help move heavy items and restock.

"Huh? Shirou?"

When he saw Shirou, Ansuo was slightly surprised.

After all, what she heard from the children was that Shirou was resting in a hospital bed!

She was naturally surprised to find that Shirou seemed completely unaffected.

However, the large number of customers didn't give Ansuo any time, and Ansuo quickly got back to work.

Shirou briefly handed over the reins to the person in charge of restocking and quickly began restocking.

He used to be in charge of restocking, so he's doing it quite smoothly now.

As it got to one o'clock, the store became a little quieter after most people went back to work.

"Shouldn't you be receiving treatment? Is it okay for you to come out like this?"

It was at this moment that Ansuo was able to come up and help Shirou, and also to inquire about his current situation.

"Hmm? I was fine to begin with, it was just that some people were overly anxious, which made me stay there for two more days."

Seeing that Ansuo seemed very worried, Shirou didn't hide anything and directly explained why he had been staying at the office for two days.

"Oh, that's great!"

Hearing Shirou say that he was alright, Ansuo was finally relieved.

After all, the store's business had suddenly improved in the last two days, and she hadn't been able to find time to visit Shirou.

I mostly learned about Shirou's situation through what other people said.

185 Potato Stew

After the midday rush, the number of customers in the store decreased significantly, and Shirou finally managed to find some time to chat with the others.

I had lunch here and talked to some kids who were interested in the Knights of the Round Table about it.

"Hmm... Life in the Knights of the Round Table sounds really exciting."

Listening to Knights of the Round Table Shirou these past few days, Ansuo realized for the first time how hard the Knights of the Round Table worked.

She had only heard a little about it before, but now that Shirou mentioned it, she truly realized that working in the Knights of the Round Table was not as easy as she had imagined.

Thinking back to her previous ideal of living in the Knights of the Round Table's cell, upon closer reflection, it seems that she was also one of the people who caused trouble for the Knights of the Round Table.

And Penguin Logistics is one of them...

It seems that Shirou has successfully stopped the two people who are the biggest headaches for the Knights of the Round Table from causing any more trouble, yet the Knights of the Round Table's workload is still so heavy!

Why is that?

"After all, they work under Inspector Chen and Hoshiguma, and the two of them are quite dedicated to their work."

Shirou didn't directly say that all of this was thanks to a group of infected people who messed things up for the Knights of the Round Table. Although the people had been caught, it was better not to talk about such things casually.

Not only would it cause panic, it would also violate the Knights of the Round Table's work rules.

While most people don't actually follow the rules, Shirou is a bit more serious about it.

In addition, since we should encourage children to have beautiful imaginations, it would be better for him not to casually shatter their beautiful aspirations.

So they directly blamed all the reasons for being busy on Chen and Hoshiguma.

They claimed that the two were dedicated to their work and very responsible for the work of the Knights of the Round Table, and that he, as an intern who followed the two, also experienced a lot.

I agree with that.

Upon hearing what Shirou said, Ansuo, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

Besides Shirou, she was probably the one most familiar with the Knights of the Round Table. Every time she went in before, she would either see Chen busy or hear Chen lecturing her.

"Uh-huh."

A-Xing, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement. To him, as long as you praised Hoshiguma, it was the right thing to do.

He's just that simple.

The story of the Knights of the Round Table is quite new to everyone, and since the people involved are people they know, it's not boring to listen to.

In everyone's impression, Shirou is a kind and gentle person.

According to Emiya, he was in charge of catching bad guys in the Shirou Knights of the Round Table.

It's quite interesting.

After finishing their meal and listening to the story, the group didn't linger with Shirou but went out to work.

As the store got on track, some of the older children started working. Apart from Shirou, who had taught them how to repair electrical appliances, the others tried to find jobs that interested them.

The vast majority of them were introduced by A-Xing, and A-Xing's connections are quite useful in this regard.

Shirou never intended for the children to contribute the money they earned.

It's good to save some money for yourself and prepare for your future.

However, just because Shirou thinks this way doesn't mean everyone else does.

Everyone was quite spontaneous; they kept half the money for themselves and contributed the other half.

Furniture, food, daily necessities, and other conditions have improved considerably. With the addition of supplies donated by unknown individuals, the store can now operate independently even without Shirou's own salary.

As for plans to recruit more people... there are none at the moment.

The main problem is that there aren't enough beds, and most of the people who roll around in the Slums are not exactly kind-hearted.

You should know that most of the people here are people you've known to some extent in the past, and you can generally tell what kind of person they are.

No one wants to destroy the hard-won, wonderful life they have now.

Ansuo also conducted particularly thorough investigations in this regard. In the past, she often did investigative work, which was one of the most lucrative jobs besides pickpocketing.

However, no matter how much money you make, you still have to use it to treat Oripathy.

Although she has to take care of the shop every day, Ansuo still takes time to collect information about the current situation in the Slums so that she doesn't become rusty from being too comfortable for too long.

It's wrong to habitually steal money, so she'll try to change that.

But there's no right or wrong in investigating and gathering clues; it's just a way to survive better in the Slums.

Shirou dealt with the situation briefly and left after confirming that there were no major problems.

From the very beginning, all he wanted to do was create an environment where children who had difficulty supporting themselves could live; he wasn't too worried about anything else.

Since Ansuo had always been in charge of recruiting people, he had no intention of getting involved in this aspect.

He knows that not everyone is kind, but if he saw someone like that, he might still be unable to resist lending a helping hand.

Shirou knew it was foolish, but he couldn't help himself.

When I got back to the dormitory, it was already past 3 p. m., about the same time as before.

He was carrying ingredients he had bought from the market. It had been a long time since he had gone to the market to buy things, and Shirou was treated to a good meal by the uncles and aunties at each stall.

"You bought too much."

Looking at the ingredients in his hand and then at the size of the refrigerator, Shirou estimated that it would be impossible to put them all in.

This already excludes the vegetables. After much deliberation, Shirou decided to cook more meat today.

Croissant was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Considering it's still early, anything fried or grilled will definitely get cold, so Shirou's only option is to boil it, preferably something that takes a little time to simmer, so it can be ready by the time the others return.

Looking at the large chunks of tumorous flesh, along with potatoes, carrots, onions, and other vegetables, Shirou already had several dishes in mind.

"It feels like it's been a while since I've made Potato Stew, so I'll make this instead."

After taking out the large chunks of lumpy meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions, Shirou put the rest of the ingredients into the refrigerator. It was a bit of a struggle, but everything still fit in smoothly.

Potato Stew is a very common dish. Cut the onion into fan shapes, peel and dice the carrots and potatoes, and you can slice or dice the meat as you like.

Because two of them liked to eat large chunks of meat, while the others were indifferent, Shirou cut the meat into pieces, about four centimeters long and wide. The meat would shrink after cooking, so this size was just right.

For the seasonings, use soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and stock.

This is Shirou's preferred method, and it makes things a bit sweeter, so I believe Exusiai would like it more.

The next step is quite simple: stir-fry the meat until it turns golden brown and set it aside. Then, add the onions and carrots to the pan and cook until the onions are translucent. Finally, add the potatoes.

Once the ingredients in the pot have absorbed the oil, you can add water, seasonings (except for soy sauce), and meat chunks.

Next, just let it simmer slowly until the potatoes are fully cooked. Then add soy sauce and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce slightly.

Including the time spent preparing the ingredients, it took about an hour to finish. However, Shirou wanted to let the potatoes and carrots absorb more flavor, so he turned off the heat after the sauce had reduced to almost nothing, allowing the Potato Stew to cool and absorb the flavor.

It's important to note that you should cover the pot when cooking the ingredients until they are cooked through, uncover it when reducing the sauce, and let it cool completely. This allows the ingredients to slowly absorb the sauce, making them more flavorful.

It's a pity there were no konjac or green beans, otherwise Shirou would have included them as well.

While the Potato Stew, Shirou went on to prepare the other dishes, planning to reheat them slightly before dinner.

"This is... the smell of meat!?"

Upon returning to the dorm, Croissant, smelling the rich aroma of meat, immediately dropped everything and rushed into the kitchen to check on tonight's dinner.

Then she saw Shirou cooking, and half of the smile on her face vanished instantly.

Although Shirou's cooking is delicious, it's really... just vegetables.

There was no meat in her sight right now. If it weren't for the strong aroma of meat in the air, Croissant would have wondered if she had offended Shirou again, causing him to prepare a table full of vegetarian dishes.

If that were really the case, Texas would tear her apart with her bare hands!

Fortunately, Croissant noticed the large pot on the table next to her, and her smile returned.

"Don't steal any food! Get out of here!"

Upon discovering Croissant sneaking in and trying to Croissant from the pot of Potato Stew, Shirou stopped her.

"Hehe."

Seeing that he had been caught red-handed, Croissant withdrew his hand that was about to lift the lid and made a sound that was hard to understand.