My Formidable Senior Sister

The servants in the castle have been whispering about a new topic lately, everyone guessing why the master calls the fist-sized meatballs "Lion's Head."

Okso, the head maid in charge of the kitchen, had been watching the master fuss over things, and she felt that making "Lion's Head" was quite complicated.

First, equal parts of fatty and lean pork are finely chopped and roughly minced, sprinkled with a little spice powder and salt, some water infused with green onion, ginger, and wine is poured in, then a little starch and egg white are added, and everything is stirred in one direction by hand until it's "sticky," and finally rolled into fist-sized balls.

Next, the chopped pork leg bones and skin are put into cold water for what's called "blanching," to remove the foam. The remaining broth was eaten by the servants for dinner as vegetable soup.

The cleaned bones and skin are put into a pot, along with a few mushrooms, and water is added and brought to a boil. Then the meatballs are put in, the lid is covered, and after bringing it to a boil again over high heat, it's simmered over low heat for a whole afternoon until dinner time, without lifting the lid during this time.

Finally, the meatballs are scooped into a bowl, the soup is poured out, the oil on top is skimmed off, and then poured back into the bowl. The excess went into the servants' bellies.

Logically, a piece of Shanghai bok choy should also be put in the soup, but Frederick could only manage this much. For Shanghai bok choy and the like, he'd have to wait until the next time that heretic who tried to sell him soybeans as Oriental magic medicine came over to see if she had gotten any seeds for baby bok choy.

"Interesting." Richard Nahl tasted the Lion's Head. "No wonder Miss Psyche specifically asked for this."

Sitting beside him was a tall lady, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with black hair and eyes. She looked very quiet, and her build was much sturdier than that of ordinary women.

Richard Nahl's daughter, Katie, had just arrived in Weissenburg today. She had previously lived on an island in the southern part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, where she was a well-known local painter and poet.

Psyche knew Katie, and as soon as they met, she wanted to pinch her cheek, but she skillfully dodged.

During dinner, Richard Nahl said to Frederick, "Frederick, Katie can be trusted. If you have any tasks, you can give them to her."

Katie said somewhat shyly, "I don't know if I can do it well, but I'll try my best."

After receiving her father's letter, she brought all her cash and came over with three horses. When she first saw Frederick, she thought he was her junior brother's son.

She was very curious about what kind of ability this young junior brother had that made her father value him so much.

Frederick naturally trusted his senior sister. After glancing at Psyche, he said, "There's something that can replace parchment. It's not expensive and is very light and convenient. If used as a medium for books, the price of books can be greatly reduced, and many people will be able to afford them."

"Really?!" Katie's black eyes widened in surprise. As a poet, she naturally understood the importance of this.

Frederick smiled and nodded at her, then looked at Psyche.

"Alright, alright." Psyche said dotingly, "Since I'm having little Katie take charge, I'll personally teach her."

"But I'll say this first, there must be a portion that's Katie's private money, let's say thirty percent."

Katie quickly refused, "Aunt Psyche, that's too much. Let's start calculating after we've had our celebration drink."

"Thirty percent is fine." Frederick immediately agreed. "Weissenburg University has recommended a scholar named Kler to participate. If he does well, he'll also be greatly rewarded."

Now, papermaking was essentially Psyche's industry, and whatever she arranged, Frederick would agree to.

At this time, Richard Nahl said to his daughter, "Scholar Kler is a professor at Weissenburg University. I've met him once, and he's very smart. If there's anything you don't understand, you can consult with him more."

Frederick raised an eyebrow and immediately noticed the problem.

He had previously asked Manuel to find someone from the school to oversee the papermaking project. Manuel had found several candidates, given their names and basic information, but there hadn't been time for interviews and confirmation yet.

What was going on with Richard Nahl that he could determine the final candidate?

While Frederick was wondering, Psyche was eating, but her voice entered his ears: "Kler is the most outstanding among the unmarried candidates for the papermaking supervisor."

Frederick instantly understood. His master was choosing a husband for his senior sister.

He thought about it, and it made sense. His senior sister was not young anymore. When his mother was her age, he was already playing with slimes.

Katie seemed not to have heard her father's words and turned to Psyche, saying, "Aunt Psyche, my mother's manor has brewed a lot of good wine over the past few years. She often talks about when you'll go and drink with her."

"Forget it." Psyche immediately shook her head. "I want to live a few more years."

"Also, Frederick is still young, don't lead him astray."

Katie cried out as if she had been greatly wronged, "Don't make me sound like a bad person."

Psyche just sneered. Whether she was being wronged or not was obvious to anyone else.

Katie looked at Frederick, a kind smile appearing on her face, and asked softly, "Little brother Frederick, who do you think looks more like a bad person, me or Aunt Psyche?"

Frederick immediately replied seriously, "Neither of you does. I'm the one who looks the most like one."

Instinct existed, and it told Frederick that he couldn't afford to offend this senior sister.

"Sister Katie," Frederick immediately changed the subject, "Can you tell me about the Kingdom of Sardinia? I've never been that far away."

Katie smiled and said softly, "If you go to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future, especially the south, and any gangsters bully you, just mention my name, and no one will dare to bully my little brother."

Frederick was stunned, and the slice of preserved egg on his fork almost fell onto the table.

It was then that he noticed Katie's fingernails were painted with black nail polish.

Psyche glanced at Frederick. There were no outsiders in the dining room, so she said to him, "Katie's mother comes from a famous gangster family in southern Sardinia. If you want to eat citrus, asking her is the right move."

Frederick's mouth twitched, and he looked at Richard Nahl.

His Excellency the Sword Saint seemed not to have noticed anyone looking at him and was quietly eating his breakfast with his head down.

Frederick put away his gossipy thoughts and asked about citrus.

Katie asked curiously, "Do you want to eat oranges? I'll write a letter and have my family bring two carts over."

The level of fruit preservation was limited in this era, so only thick-skinned fruits like citrus could be transported long distances.

However, the logistics were too slow. The Wessen Territory was fine, but it couldn't be transported further north.

Frederick's mouth curved slightly, and he said, "I'm doing some experiments here. If the experiments are successful, the citrus pulp can be preserved for at least half a year."

He thought to himself, the teapot of broth that Manuel had applied Necromancy to was almost ready to be opened.