Free Web NovelChapter 162: Chapter Twenty-Two: Eel Rice
Chen Ze never really understood why those lives, which appeared enviable to others, often seemed not so desirable to those living them.
When he first watched "Overlord", Chen Ze thought that if it were him, he’d probably be jumping with joy.
No need to be a corporate drone from nine to six, not to mention the frequent overtime until nine at night. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Chen Ze shook his head, realizing he still didn’t have the self-cultivation of those anime protagonists; after all, that kind of life seemed more thrilling compared to a peaceful one.
"Manager," Betty looked a bit troubled.
"What’s wrong?" Chen Ze curiously looked at her.
"I... I have a friend," said Betty, hesitatingly.
"And then?" Chen Ze took a sip of his ice-cold Coca Cola; indeed, there was nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold Coke on a hot day.
"Then, my friend has this other friend, who isn’t planning to go home and wants to live with my friend. But my friend feels it wouldn’t be right for her friend not to return home, yet her friend insists on staying over at my friend’s place..." Chen Ze nearly choked.
Such a conversation was exhausting to listen to, and Chen Ze felt Betty must be tired talking this way, like a tongue twister.
"Stop, stop, stop," Chen Ze interrupted the still-rambling Betty.
"After all you’ve said, I just want to ask one thing: the ’friend’ you mentioned, is it actually yourself?" Chen Ze smirked, the scenario felt all too familiar, like a rerun.
After all, Betty had previously pleaded with Lafra to help speak to her good friend to return to her own kind.
"This..." Betty looked a bit embarrassed.
"Tsk, fabricating friends, eh? I think there is nothing wrong with that; Lindsay wanting to stay and keep you company is a good thing," Chen Ze said, swallowing a piece of pork chop.
"But..." Betty still seemed a bit lost.
"Humans are social animals, or rather, all intelligent beings are social. Whether you like it or not, being alone can cause one to break down," Chen Ze said, wiping his mouth; he was full.
"Moreover, even if Lindsay were to go back, so what? Being captured and sold by humans, even with Lafra speaking up, there’s no guarantee of how other Succubi would treat her. The private whispering and gossip would eventually become unbearable for her," Chen Ze said earnestly to Betty.
"Isn’t it nice to have someone to keep you company? Being alone without your own kind must be boring," said Chen Ze, tying his headscarf; he heard the sound of the wind chime.
"Remember to wash the dishes later." After saying this, Chen Ze left the kitchen.
"Welcome to Imon... Hastur, what would you like to eat?" Betty stared blankly at the pork chop in her bowl, shook her head, and decided to just follow the manager’s advice.
"This is the task you entrusted to me last time," Hastur yawned, weary and slumped on the table.
Chen Ze curiously took the white crystal from Hastur, in which one could see a miniature pure white Dragon.
"You’re very tired?" Chen Ze looked at Hastur curiously; the last time Hastur was tired because of breaking the Dimensional Wall, but what about this time?
"It’s not like playing a nurturing game, so I just sealed my own strength. Now I’m doing things with just the physique of an ordinary human, and let me tell you, it’s really tiring." Hastur felt he was truly making trouble for himself out of boredom—he had to arrange the band’s affairs during the day and even find time for live streaming at night. It was really too exhausting.
"You don’t have to push yourself so hard though. It’s not a big deal to unseal your power occasionally," Chen Ze put away the soul crystal and curled his lip.
"If I did that, what would have been the point of setting this restriction for myself in the first place?" Hastur rolled his eyes.
"I want to drink Coca Cola, and I also want to eat eel rice." Hastur rubbed his belly, realizing what it was like to be human, with all these organs whose purposes were utterly beyond him.
"Okay, the eel rice might take a while," Chen Ze nodded. His sister, who had been touring in Japan, had previously sent him the method for making eel rice. Therefore, he had some understanding of this famous Japanese dish.
Although Chen Ze had bought eel before, it was actually his first time making it, so he wasn’t very confident that he would get it right on his first try.
Eel rice is a dish that’s simple in one sense but genuinely difficult in another. As a famous Japanese dish, it even demands strict requirements on both the chef and the ingredients.
In some of the places that serve eel rice, people are even willing to fly there and queue up just to eat it.
Chen Ze opened the fridge to check. Although there were ready-made semi-finished unagi eels in Huaxia that satisfied the cravings of foodies who didn’t want to go to a Japanese restaurant.
Some unagi eels only needed to be heated in the microwave before being placed on top of rice to be eaten.
But Chen Ze did not choose this method, partly because he felt that such eel rice was a bit strange, and partly because he was a chef after all, and such a dish would definitely not yield experience points.
Chen Ze took out an eel from the fridge, first opened it from the belly, removed the hard bones in the middle, then slowly picked out the fine bones from the flesh.
"Thank goodness Lafra gave me a potion, or else I would never be able to do this step," Chen Ze looked at the eel with satisfaction. The bones and spines had been nearly completely removed, and the presentation was excellent.
Then, following the recipe, Chen Ze steamed the eel before continuing to grill it. However, since he didn’t have a recipe for the sauce, Chen Ze chose to use a commercially available Japanese eel sauce to grill the eel. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
As he grilled the eel, Chen Ze wondered if he should ask Star to find him a recipe for eel sauce next time. He always felt something was odd without it.
It must be said, grilling eel is a meticulous job, especially with bone-picking involved. So when Chen Ze finished making the first serving of eel rice, half an hour had already passed.
[You have made a common eel rice, gaining 5 points in Japanese Cuisine experience.]
Chen Ze nodded in satisfaction; managing to make a decent eel rice on his first attempt was quite pleasing to him.
"Manager, let me carry it," Betty stared at Chen Ze with eager eyes, swallowing her saliva.
Chen Ze hesitated for a moment, particularly worried that Betty might sneak a bite.
"Okay, hurry up and take it out. Hastur has been waiting for a long time," Chen Ze clapped his hands and started on the next eel rice dish.
Practice makes perfect, and Chen Ze didn’t want to settle for just common eel rice. He was certain he could make a fine or even perfect eel rice dish.
And all that was just a matter of time, something Chen Ze was very confident about.
