436 Relishing A Feas (1/2)
Chapter 436: Relishing A Feast
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wearing a mask and a coat, and carrying a digital drawing board, Lu Yiyun left her apartment. She stepped on the crisp snow, lowered her head, and passed by the office workers and students on the road, heading straight for the Amazing Fate Pet Shop in the morning. The regular work schedule had made her feel a little bit more confident, so that she no longer felt like a loser who stayed in her room all day long. When she arrived and opened the door to the pet shop, the shop was filled with some sort of delicious scent.
”Wow, it smells so good. Mr. Store Manager, what are you cooking?” she could not help but swallow her saliva and ask curiously. People generally had a light breakfast in the morning, but such a tempting aroma was rarely found.
”I just made some stewed beef with potato. Do you want some?” asked Zhang Zian. Wearing an old apron, he was putting the beef into double-decker lunchboxes. After he came back from the Studio last night, he made a trip to the supermarket, bought several bags of beef brisket and potatoes, and went to Uncle Li's restaurant to ask him how to cook stewed beef with potato. He brazenly took some spices such as pepper, aniseed, and cinnamon back to his place. After he got up this morning, he simmered the ingredients according to Uncle Li’s method, because it would be easier for a rookie cook like him to control the heat. He just turned off the heat before Lu Yiyun came in.
”Stewed beef? Mr. Store Manager, aren’t you shooting a movie? Doesn’t the studio provide meals for you?” Lu Yiyun put down the digital drawing board and tried to divert her attention. After all, it was embarrassing to ask for free meal in the morning.
She seldom ate stewed beef with potato because it was time-consuming to prepare. She was the kind of person who would be engrossed in her painting and did not have the time to prepare foods that took a long time to cook. But that didn’t mean she did not like to eat it.
”It does. But the meals are poor quality; there is barely any meat. I feel just as hungry after I eat.” Zhang Zian neatly arranged the pieces of beef and potato in the larger part of the double-decker lunchboxes. He picked up a few small bags and stuffed them into the smaller layer.
”What’s that? Sauce?” She asked curiously.
”Nope. Those are inedible.” Zhang Zian threw a bag to her.
She hastily grabbed the bag and took a closer look. It said: ”food-specific heating package, do not eat” on the bag.
”I bought a large bag of those from an outdoor equipment store nearby. They should be enough for several days. The lunch time in the studio is unstable, and completely depends on the director's mood. The food in the lunchbox yesterday was cold, and I felt very uncomfortable eating it,” Zhang Zian explained.
Due to the freezing weather in winter, food quickly became cold. The beef was hot in the pot and was already lukewarm in the lunchboxes. Zhang Zian thought that the beef in a heavy insulated lunchbox might go cold at one or two o'clock in the afternoon, so he decided to use an ordinary lunchbox and solve the temperature problem with the heating packages. When it was time for lunch, he could just pour some water into the lower layer of the lunchbox, and he could eat the warm stewed beef with potato in a matter of minutes.
”Superb, Mr. Store Manager! How did you think of this?!” Lu Yiyun said with admiration.
”I thought of this because I tried self-heating bentos before. Putting the flavor of that bento aside, I could actually eat hot food.” Zhang Zian had stewed a large pot of beef with potato. When the four lunchboxes were filled, there was still a lot left in the pot.
When the aroma of the stew began to drift from the pot, Famous and the two police dogs were restless. Famous could still maintain its composure, and although the two well-trained police dogs did not behave rudely, their frequent glances towards the kitchen upstairs explained everything. However, when Zhang Zian carried the pot and went downstairs, it was Snowy Lionet who approached him first.
”Meow~ meow! I want to eat beef!” It said bluntly, ”Do you know how hard it is for me to miss beef every day?” While speaking, it jumped up to the pot as if it was going to devour all the beef. Unfortunately, it had short limbs and poor motor skills. No matter how hard it tried to jump, it couldn’t get past Zhang Zian’s knees.
”Meow~ meow! Why are you holding the pot so high? Do you believe me when I say I’m going to break your knee?” Snowy Lionet angrily threatened him. However, its appearance was too sweet, and its anger possessed a unique glamor that didn’t make it scary at all.
”There is salt in the stewed beef that cats can’t eat. There is still some uncooked raw beef brisket left for you. Do you want some?” Zhang Zian easily ignored its threat.
”Raw beef brisket?” Snowy Lionet’s saliva was pouring relentlessly like a flood. In the descriptions in Chin Ping Mei, Snowy Lionet’s favorite food was raw beef, but after it came to the pet shop, it had been eating chicken breast and fish as Fina did. It was so ravenous when it heard there was raw beef.
”Where is it? Where's the raw beef brisket?” it croaked and asked, completely ignoring its image.
”Upstairs. If you wait here obediently, I'll give it to you in a while, otherwise...” Zhang Zian’s threat was more effective. Although Snowy Lionet was anxiously scratching its body, it did not dare to act rashly.
He had bought more raw beef brisket than usual this time. Not only did he need to stew the beef for Famous and the two police dogs, but he saved the rest of the raw beef brisket for the cats. It was better for cats to eat raw beef on a regular basis, since raw beef replenished amino acids, enhanced physical fitness and muscles, making the cats’ fur shinier and glistening.