Chapter 877 - Pikachu
Amy needed to study in Urien’s place today. Mag took her there, and then took Firis to the market.
“Pikachu! A freshly caught pikachu! Its meat is tenderer than rabbit! A rare 1st-tier electric-type magic beast. Come and buy it!”
“Ice and fire lotuses, freshly picked from the Kachar mountain, 1000 gold coins each. They are perfect tonics for prolonging life!”
“Blood python from the black swamp, alive! Only 100 gold coins! Don’t worry about killing, draining blood, and cutting out the gallbladder; I’ll do it for you. Although it’s extremely poisonous, its blood and gallbladder are both very nourishing, and they are particularly helpful to detoxify your body. Its meat can be used to make soup, which is divine!”
Mag and Firis were greeted by cries of sellers as soon as they entered the market.
There were all kinds of beasts and ordinary livestock hanging on meat racks. They had been skinned. Some butchers were killing animals in their stands. The scene was quite brutal and bloody.
Mag took a look at the penguin-like creature in the cage at a stand. Although it was yellow and looked just like a pikachu, it didn’t seem to be able to release a 100,000 volt thunderbolt. Its teeth were deformed and rotten. Obviously it could not make a good pet. It could only lie there pitifully, waiting to be eaten.
This was the first time that Firis had come to the market. The sight of bloody meat hanging on racks and beasts struggling in the hands of butchers was too much for her. She hid behind Mag, her face pale like the white of a hardboiled egg.
Mag looked back at Firis and quickly understood her fear and confusion. He smiled, and said, “This is the market. Residents of Chaos City can buy all kinds of ingredients here, and then they take them home to cook. It’s somewhat different from obtaining ingredients directly in the wild. Most of the butchers in charge of slaughter are not hunters. They buy game from hunters or mercenaries, then kill and sell it in the market. Buyers just need to come here to get the ingredients they want. That is the division of labor and cooperation in the market.”
“Division of labor?” Firis echoed, thoughtful. She watched as a man in front of a stall pointed to a piece of meat, paid some coins, and then took the meat directly.
The elves of the Wind Forest lived a life of self-sufficiency. Some of the elves were in charge of hunting, and some of them were responsible for cooking. They didn’t have to pay for food, unlike the people here. Buying things from people she didn’t know seemed strange to her.
“Markets are product of social development,” said Mag. “When people produce more than they can consume, superfluous product appears, which can then be traded. The use of currency greatly facilitates the trading of goods. Most parts of the Norland Continent are very developed; you can buy almost anything you want anywhere as long as you have money. You elves prefer to keep to yourselves. You don’t use money unless you do business with other races.”
“Currency, product…” Firis had never used money in the Wind Forest. She could find everything she needed in the forest or in their warehouse. Only then did she realize that the world outside the forest was so different.
“Let’s buy some beef first. I’ll teach you how to make beef kebabs today,” Mag told Firis, and then he went straight to a beef stand.
Making the sauce and adjusting the temperature of the cookfire required skills. The kebabs had to be watched over by someone all the time and kept turning to avoid being burned. Mag had to do everything himself, so he often overcooked some kebabs, and sometimes even burned a whole batch. It hurt him to waste expensive ingredients.
It would be great if someone could help him make beef kebabs.
Of course, the most important thing was there were many people who ordered kebabs, so he could make huge profits off this dish every day.
Mag had first planned to have Firis start with Yangzhou fried rice, but he had thought better of it. It would be much more difficult and take a longer time for her to master Yangzhou fried rice.
The eggs had to be perfectly wrapped over the rice grains and not be damaged in the process of stir-frying. All the ingredients had to achieve their perfect tastes at the exact same time. Furthermore, wielding a heavy iron wok required skill as well as strength. So, Mag had decided not to teach Firis cooking Yangzhou fried rice.
Besides, Mag could operate four woks at the same time.
After careful consideration, he felt beef kebabs were undoubtedly the best for Firis to learn.
Firis quickened her pace to catch up with Mag. “You’ll teach me how to grill cubes of beef over a cookfire?” she asked, her voice full of pleasant surprise.
“Yes.” Mag said, looking over the beef on the rack.
A bright smile bloomed on her face. The way Mag cooked the beef was totally different from what she had seen before. She had never seen anyone cut beef into small pieces and grill them on skewers, but the taste of that dish was to die for.
She would soon be able to find out what secrets lay in that dish. She was extremely excited, but she managed to calm herself down and watched Mag select beef. Learning how to choose ingredients was the first step to becoming a good cook. That was what Mag told her on their way here.
“I’ll have the chuck part,” Mag said, pointing. “Could you please cut off the lean meat at the bottom? I don’t want that.”
“This meat is very good. Stew it in a pot, and you’ll get yourself a perfect dish to go with wine. You really don’t want it?” The butcher smiled and picked up the meat.
Mag shook his head. “Good as it is, I don’t need it.”
“OK, I’ll cut it off for you.” The butcher said nothing more. He cut off the lean meat, weighed the other part, tied it with a length of straw rope, and handed it to Mag.
Mag paid the money and took Firis to the next beef stand.
Firis looked at the meat in Mag’s hand. Thin lines of fat ran through the beef. Beautiful.
Yet, she didn’t understand why Mag chose the chuck part, because most people preferred to eat lean meat.
Mag saw the doubt on her face. “Chuck meat is the best when it comes to making kebabs. The fat in it is the secret. Put the meat on the fire. You don’t need to brush much oil over it. The fat will melt and come out and make the meat tenderer and juicier,” he explained with a smile.
“But not all chuck meat is good enough. Look at the meat I chose. The fat is evenly distributed, and the meat is fresh. This chunk of meat is top grade, but that one is not,” he said, pointing to a piece of meat hanging on a rack.