Chapter 869 - You“ll Grow if You Eat More
The flavor of the Spring of Life in this dish was a lot less pronounced than what she was used to, but she could definitely still detect traces of it.
The Spring of Life was the holy spring of the elven race, and it was prohibited from being transported out of the Wind Forest, so how had Mag gotten his hands on it?
Firis was rather confused by this issue, but her attention was then quickly drawn to the delectable flavors flourishing in her mouth.
She had once thought that nothing was more delicious than the dew-covered fresh spirit fruits that were plucked down from the trees of the Wind Forest. Those were nature’s creations, and eating them was like tasting a piece of nature.
However, this Yangzhou fried rice dish completely changed her mind.
The flavor of the Spring of Life was very faint in this dish, so it really didn’t play a significant role here. What was truly delicious were the seemingly ordinary ingredients that were melting in her mouth.
She was quite a confident chef, and she’d always tried to cook the most delicious food possible for the princess, but in that instant, she began to doubt her own cooking skills.
Fruit was naturally the main source of food for the elven race, but there were also exceptional elven chefs who could embellish a dish without drowning out its original flavor, thereby making certain foods easier to consume and more alluring to the consumer, but the one constant was that maintaining the flavor and texture of the ingredients was a top priority.
However, this Yangzhou fried rice completely bucked that trend. After slicing ingredients into such tiny pieces, their texture had obviously completely changed, but that only made them more harmonious and delicious.
It was as if there were some kind of magical power between all of the ingredients that transformed them into something more delicious despite the fact that they had been altered and become drastically different from what they initially were.
This directly contradicted the cooking philosophy that she had always firmly stood by, but she was awestruck by just how amazing the product of this cooking method was.
So ingredients can be cooked like this… A thoughtful expression appeared on Firis’ face, and a hint of admiration crept into her eyes as she cast her gaze toward Mag. For him to be able to combine so many ingredients in such perfect harmony made him a very admirable chef in her eyes.
But where did he get the Spring of Life from? Could it be there are people in the Wind Forest who are smuggling the Spring of Life into the outside world? Firis was still feeling rather concerned about the presence of the Spring of Life in this dish. Even though she no longer belonged to the Wind Forest, her identity was rather special. If Mag really were somehow related to Spring of Life smugglers in the Wind Forest, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to place her full trust in him.
The Yangzhou fried rice was irresistibly delicious, and she quickly finished it with relish.
She then cast her gaze toward the spicy grilled fish at the center of the table. Just the sight of the red chili peppers covering the fish was making her sweat, and even though the aroma emanating from the dish wasn’t all that sharp, it was still undeniably spicy. After a brief hesitation, Firis picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks before placing it into her mouth.
A dish with such a strong spicy flavor was something that she would’ve never considered in the past.
However, as she took her first bite, she discovered that the crispy fish skin and smooth meat created a perfect contrasting set of textures, while the juices that they’d been dipped in created an explosion of heat and spiciness in her mouth that made her want to yell out.
Her tongue was slightly numb from her first mouthful of fish, but she simply couldn’t stop eating it.
The crispy and fragrant skin, and soft and smooth meat, the spicy yet delicious juices… All of them combined to open up a whole new world to her.
So food can be cooked like this! Firis’ eyes lit up further and further as she ate. This was her first time sharing a meal with these people, so she should’ve been more reserved and polite, but she simply couldn’t control her chopsticks as they carried one piece of fish after another into her mouth. It was almost as if stopping for even a single instant would be sacrilegious to such a delicious dish.
Everyone at the table simply looked on with amusement in their eyes, and they weren’t irked in the slightest by her sloppy table manners.
The had the pleasure of enjoying these delicious dishes every single day, yet even they struggled to maintain a semblance of good table manners, let alone someone who was tasting these dishes for the first time.
“Phew…”
After devouring the fish until there was only an empty skeleton left, Firis finally heaved a long sigh. A blush then appeared on her face as she came to realize that she’d eaten almost the entire fish by herself, and she hung her head in a guilty manner as she said, “I’m sorry… It was… It was too delicious, so I couldn’t help myself…”
“That’s alright, we’re glad you enjoyed it, Big Sister Firis. Also, you’ll grow if you eat more,” Amy said with a smile as she glanced at Firis’ chest.
Everyone also turned to appraise Firis’ chest with contemplative expressions on their faces.
“…” Firis was at a loss for how to respond. Amy was clearly trying to console her, but why did it feel like an insult?
Mag smiled as he said, “You have to make sure to eat until you’re full. I’ll normally try to cook according to how much everyone eats, but if there’s not enough of a dish, I can just cook more, so you don’t have to worry about everyone else missing out on the fish.”
“That’s right. You look really adorable when you’re eating, Firis,” Miya also said with a warm smile on her face.
“I’m full.” Babla placed her spoon down with a nod.
“Can I begin cleaning up now?” Sally had also put down her chopsticks, and was appraising Firis with a gentle smile on her face.
A surge of warmth suddenly flowed through Firis’ heart at the sight of everyone’s benevolent expressions. She had been an orphan for as long as she could remember, and the only people who had ever been good to her were the princess and Snarr, that latter of which she only met once in a while. Aside from that, she had rarely ever experienced kindness from others.
However, here in this restaurant, she felt loved by everyone, and it was an extremely pleasant and warm feeling. She was like a little bird who had lost her way after coming to Chaos City, but she suddenly felt a sense of belonging here.
“Thank you, everyone.” Firis stood up and extended a deep bow to everyone, then turned to Mag, and said, “I’ll definitely work hard. If possible, I’d like to start today.”
“Today?” Mag looked into Firis’ determined eyes and hesitated momentarily before nodding as he said, “You can watch me cook during the lunch service, and I’ll get you to prepare some of the ingredients required for the dinner service. As for whether you’ll be able to cook the dishes on your own in the future, that will be down to your ability and the amount of effort you put in.”
“I’ll be sure to work hard!” An elated smile appeared on Firis’ face before she nodded in a solemn manner. After tasting Mag’s incredible cooking, she’d already completely cast aside her pride as one of the best elven chefs of the Wind Forest, and she was determined to learn how to cook truly delicious food from Mag. After honing her cooking skills here, she could cook for the princess and the young mistress as well, and they would surely also enjoy this cooking.
“Hold on, I’ll grab a work uniform for you.” Mag rose to his feet, then turned to Sally and the others, and said, “You can all begin preparing for the lunch service now.”