Chapter 101 - Is She The Little Match Girl?
Chapter 101: Is She The Little Match Girl?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After a short while, two plates of roasted meat were brought to their table, and they got a pot of tea for free.
“Father, can we eat now?” Amy asked as she looked at the mutton before her, her eyes shining with excitement.
Mag nodded with a smile. “Yes, go ahead. But be careful. It’s hot.” Then he turned to the beef on his plate.
This beef was somewhat like a beef kebab without skewer, and also like a steak that had been cut and then roasted. The unpleasant odor of beef was not as strong as mutton, but the sauce had been applied roughly; the seasonings had been sprinkled too soon and got burnt by the fire, smelling pungent.
Mag had become so accustomed to fine meals that his first impression of this beef was awful. The kebabs on the street were better than this.
Amy nodded. “Okay.” She forked a piece of mutton with effort, blew at it a few times, took a bite, and chewed on it happily. She looked so lovely eating it.
“Is it good?” Mag asked with a smile. He had no appetite, but seeing that Amy was enjoying it, he became a little intrigued.
Amy nodded and swallowed. “Yes. It’s good, but not as good as Father’s rainbow fried rice and roujiamo. When can you cook roasted meat for me, Dad?” she asked expectantly.
Mag nodded, smiling. “Later, Amy.” He also looked forward to eating kebabs with Amy in his own restaurant, but he didn’t know when the system would release the recipe. His hands were tied.
Perhaps I should have Amy eat her meals when guests have arrived. She can make everything look enticing when she’s eating. The pancake looked like something divine in her hands. She would attract more customers than anyone’s yelling, Mag thought, watching Amy eating happily. Maybe I can give it a try when launching the new dish. No one can do better than Amy in attracting customers.
Mag was a little hungry after a busy morning. The appearance of this meat wasn’t very good, but the look on Amy’s face intrigued him. He forked a piece of beef into his mouth, chewed several times, and frowned.
The meat must have been roasted in advance so that it could be served on short notice. But it has been overcooked, it’s too chewy.
The sauce is unbelievable, in a bad way. I don’t know how many seasonings have been added into it—Sichuan pepper, sugar, salt, ginger juice… and the ratio is so wrong. The taste of the seasonings is so strong that it has overwhelmed the taste of the meat. My mouth and tongue are a little numb.
Customers who like the strong taste of seasonings may like this. They like anything with a lot of seasonings.
Once, Mag would have already left, but Amy was eating roasted meat for the first time, and she was really enjoying it. He didn’t want to ruin her appetite. So, he put his fork down softly, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.
Mag’s eyes widened instantly. It tastes a little sour and sweet, like lemon juice. It’s clear and yellowish, like honey water. The tea soothed his numb and tingling mouth quickly. He drank some more.
“Excuse me, what is this water?” Mag asked as a waitress walked by.
“It’s green citrus water,” she answered, smiling.
Mag nodded. “Oh. Thank you.” He didn’t know what green citrus was, but he really liked this water. I should buy some at a fruit shop. Maybe I can serve this water too. Sometimes his customers were thirsty after eating fried rice and roujiamo, and a customer had asked for boiled water once.
“I have to warn you, you’re not allowed to sell any food or beverages that are not on the menu!” the system said seriously.
Mag smiled. “Who said anything about selling beverages? I won’t charge them a single coin.”
“…” An ellipsis went across Mag’s head. After a while, the system shouted, “Your actions will be considered a serious defiance of me! You’re lowering the style of the restaurant! You’re bringing dishonor to yourself! You’re—”
“System, do you sell green citrus?” Mag interrupted.
“No,” the system said in a little strange tone, confused by the sudden change of the topic.
Mag curled his upper lip. “Well, if you don’t sell it, you can’t prevent me from buying from others.” Then, after he paused for a moment, he added, “Relax. I don’t have the recipe or experience bag, so I’ll try to make some green citrus water for myself first.”
He remembered that he had tried making lemon water on a whim once. He had added honey and sugar, but the taste was very awful. Now he didn’t hold out much hope for inventing green citrus water by himself.
He poured a cup of water for Amy. After forcing two more pieces of meat down his throat, he gave up. I’ll have a plate of fried rice after we get home. This thing is inedible compared to Yangzhou fried rice.
“Father, are you stuffed?” asked Amy, looking at Mag’s plate full of meat.
Mag nodded. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll finish the rest for you,” she said as she stared at Mag’s plate, her eyes shining.
“Okay. Thank you.” Mag switched the two plates, looking at Amy with eyes full of love. She has never eaten roasted meat before. It seems she really likes it. This restaurant should be able to represent the above average level of roasted meat in this world. They know how to roast, and they know to use seasonings and sauce, but they should have been more careful with the ingredients, and they should have poured their hearts into cooking.
Mag paid the check and left with his daughter.
“Dad, the roasted meat is very good. Now I know its taste,” Amy said merrily.
“I’ll make you roasted meat which is 100 times tastier than this.” Mag smiled and gave Amy’s head a stroke. This kind of roasted meat is child’s play.
Perfect roasted meat should be charred on the outside and tender on the inside. The tasty sauce and the tender beef should be combined perfectly, delicious and not very chewy.
Many customers had come to Mamy restaurant for lunch. They had knocked and knocked, but nobody answered. Then they had left disappointedly. Now that they knew Mag was really a man of his word, they decided not to come here on their rest days again.
Ugly Duckling had awoken. Mag played with the two little things on the square for two hours. After they were tired, he bought several green citruses and started back.
“Father, look! Someone is lying outside our door. Is she the Little Match Girl?” Amy said in amazement, pointing to the figure at their door from afar.