Chapter 237: Sis, You’re a Real Sister
Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Sis, You’re a Real Sister
Shen Lu told the Bai Family Siblings to find a seat in the booth area while she went to the kitchen to finish up.
In addition to freshly baked cupcakes, Shen Lu also brought out some cookies she had made the day before. Paired with hot black tea, it was the perfect afternoon tea.
Bai Wanwan chose a spot by the window. The shop was kept at a pleasant temperature, so she took off her trench coat and stretched.
"That was such a long journey." Bai Wanwan took a bite of a cookie, her eyes squinting in delight. "This cookie is amazing! It’s so much better than the ones I buy in the Upper City District!"
’She was starting to realize that no matter what it was, anything Shen Lu made was simply better than what anyone else could make.’ ’Like these cookies, or the spicy hot pot and braised pork she’d had before.’ ’The flavors were so pure, and everything was incredibly fragrant.’
"You can take some home with you later," Shen Lu offered generously. After all, Bai Wanwan had paid for the last few days’ worth of ingredients out of her own pocket, so it was only fair to give her some food in return.
"This one, this one, and this one... I like them all." Bai Wanwan didn’t stand on ceremony with Shen Lu. She pointed to every type of cookie and cupcake on the plate, then stared at her with pleading eyes, looking as if she’d throw a tantrum if Shen Lu said no.
"Alright, I’ll pack up whatever’s left for you to take home."
While the two women were talking, Bai Lei helped himself to several cookies. The tension in his Spiritual Sea finally began to ease.
Phew...
’He missed Shen Lu’s cooking even more than Bai Wanwan did. He felt out of sorts if he went a single day without it.’
The cookies were a little dry on their own, so Bai Lei drank half a cup of black tea. He sighed in contentment before continuing to eat.
"Bai Lei, do you even know what ’afternoon tea’ is? What are you doing, inhaling these like it’s a meal?!" Bai Wanwan glanced down and saw that half the cookies on the plate had vanished. Without a doubt, it was Bai Lei. Furious, she reached out and twisted her brother’s ear. "It’s a complete waste on you!"
Even with his ear being twisted, Bai Lei didn’t stop stuffing cookies into his mouth. With his cheeks bulging, he begged for mercy, "Shishter, leg-go! Id hursh!"
The very picture of a glutton.
Bai Wanwan pulled the cookie plate toward herself, her expression stern. "That’s enough. You’ve eaten your share. The rest are all mine."
"Sis, just a few more, please. You can’t eat that many anyway. Besides, aren’t we having a big feast from Shen Lu tonight? If you get full now, how are you going to eat later?"
"That’s my business, not yours."
"Sis, my dear sister," Bai Lei pleaded, tugging pitifully on Bai Wanwan’s sleeve. "Come on, I saved you twice on the way back. Can’t you let me have a few more?"
"Oh, please. What do you mean, you ’saved’ me? You just blocked a few drops of blood."
"Have you forgotten about the mutant beast that ambushed you?"
"..." Bai Wanwan pushed two cookies toward him. "Alright, that’s all you’re getting."
Shen Lu rested her chin in her hands. "Was the road really that dangerous?"
"Extremely!" Bai Wanwan’s expression of disgust instantly melted into a pitiful look. "It’s relatively safe inside the survival bases, but everywhere else is incredibly dangerous! You never know where those terrifying mutant beasts are hiding. They’ll just pop out and attack you without any warning."
Bai Lei the foodie added, "Yep, super dangerous."
"And we’re about to enter the sandstorm season. The mutant beasts are becoming more active and aggressive to store up energy for the winter." Bai Wanwan took a sip of her black tea. "If it hadn’t been our aunt’s 40th birthday a few days ago, we never would have gone to the Zhunan Survival Base at a time like this."
Time flew by as they ate, drank, and chatted.
Several times, Bai Lei tried to catch Bai Wanwan’s eye, wanting her to ask Shen Lu if she had spoken to the "mysterious merchant" about supplying the Bai Family. But Wanwan was so engrossed in their conversation that she completely missed her brother’s signals.
Bai Lei decided to take matters into his own hands, but every time he tried to join the conversation, Bai Wanwan would mercilessly shut him down.
"We girls are chatting. What are you, a boy, interrupting for? If you’re bored, go play on your Light Brain!"
Bai Lei threw his hands up in resignation.
’Wow, some sister you are,’ he thought. ’With a sister like you, how could I possibly succeed at anything?’
Bai Lei leaned back on the booth sofa in frustration, scrolling through videos. When Bai Wanwan wasn’t looking, he snatched a few more cookies.
’Only these fragrant, sweet, crispy cookies could soothe his wounded soul.’
When it was about time, Shen Lu got up to start preparing dinner.
Bai Wanwan gave her brother a kick, telling him to take out the seafood they had brought back from Zhunan.
Bai Lei pulled several boxes of seafood out of his folding space pocket. They were all packed in ice. While not as fresh as if they’d just been caught, they were still in excellent condition.
"I don’t want anything steamed!" Bai Wanwan reminded her again. She had eaten way too much steamed seafood in Zhunan and was completely sick of it.
"Okay, I promise you won’t see a single steamed dish."
Shen Lu called Song Zhigao over to help carry everything. Once in the kitchen, she took a closer look at the seafood the Bai Family Siblings had brought back.
’It wasn’t that different from the seafood she’d seen in her past life,’ she mused. ’The only real difference was that everything was much, much bigger.’
For instance, a Level 1 swimming crab could weigh over 500 grams, but the smallest one in the box was already 600 grams.
’Still, with swimming crabs, bigger was better. A larger crab meant more meat, and the meat would be richer and plumper.’
For crabs this plump, Shen Lu decided to braise them.
The spiny lobsters would be cooked typhoon-shelter style, and the yellow croaker would be pan-fried. As for the smaller items like octopus, conch, and razor clams, she would make a sour and spicy marinated seafood medley.
There was also some kelp and nori. Shen Lu soaked the kelp to make a cold salad and planned to toast the nori, crush it, and mix it with sesame seeds to sprinkle over rice.
The Imperial Capital Survival Base wasn’t coastal, making seafood an extremely rare ingredient. Aside from chefs at high-end hotels, few cooks ever got the chance to prepare it. As a result, Shen Lu cooked this meal almost entirely by herself, with the others only able to help with simple tasks.
But even the opportunity to assist was a rare one, so Cai Su, Song Zhigao, and Xin Yu all gathered around Shen Lu, silently watching how she prepared the seafood.
Shen Lu didn’t keep any secrets, explaining the key points of handling seafood as she worked.
"You have to drain the lobsters first, or it will affect the flavor."
"The heart of the swimming crab is considered inedible, so we have to remove it when we clean them. The gills and stomach have to go, too."
Shen Lu explained as she worked, occasionally slowing her movements to demonstrate for them.
"Song Zhigao, can you help me blanch this smaller seafood?"
"Deng Ying, help me chop some Thai chilies and garlic, as well as the scallions and cilantro. Xin Yu, you help too."
"Sister Meng, can you keep an eye on the yellow croaker in the pan? Flip it over for me when it’s ready."
"Sister Cai, you can help me chop the crabs into pieces."
Shen Lu assigned the less critical tasks to them, giving them a sense of participation. She paid the most attention to Cai Su, having her work directly on the swimming crabs while she taught her the process.
Cai Su was both excited and nervous. She followed along conscientiously, terrified that a single misstep would waste the expensive ingredients.