Chapter 26
Shi Xiaowang’s livestream abruptly ended, but “the cuisine of the past” continued to stir excitement on StarNet. Many people began searching for food records from three hundred years ago. The insectoid corruption didn’t erupt suddenly; many plants gradually changed their growth patterns. The old recipes were not completely lost.
The more people saw the rich dining tables of the past, the more eager they became for Shi Xiaowang’s food livestreams. Even when he wasn’t online, the livestream room functioned like a chatroom, with discussions about newly discovered foods and constant reminders urging Shi Xiaowang to start streaming.
The next afternoon, Shi Xiaowang went online again.
The livestream room immediately buzzed.
[Finally live! Waiting felt like an eternity!]
[Will we have corn again today? Any new delicacies?]
[I’ve got my nutrient supplements ready, just waiting to share taste with the little duke.]
Shi Xiaowang glanced at the comments, smiled, greeted everyone, and began his topic.
“Today I’m going to introduce a new crop—tomatoes.”
He walked toward the cultivation area, introducing as he went.
“Here, these tall plants are the corn, the green husks here hold the corn we tasted the other day. And over here are the tomatoes. These round fruits are their produce. Aren’t they cute?”
The unpicked tomatoes still had droplets from watering, their glossy red skins glistening, fist-sized, hanging in clusters like little bells that bent the branches, plump and irresistibly tempting.
[So beautiful! Even as decoration at home, they’d look great!]
[Can you eat these directly? Why do I feel like running over to bite one?]
[Cute enough to eat in one bite, no doubt.]
[Already imagining the taste…]
“Do you want to try?”
Shi Xiaowang plucked a tomato with a crisp snap.
“You can really eat it raw. I just wanted to let you experience the freshest ingredients. Even without cooking, it’s delicious.”
[Ahhh!! Eat eat eat! Right now!]
[We want to try!]
He bit into the tomato; juice immediately burst out, the flesh tender and soft, the sweet and sour flavors spreading—sour stimulating the taste buds, sweet trailing along.
A flurry of exclamation marks appeared on the screen as everyone squealed with excitement.
[I love this! I really love this taste!! Little Duke, look at me!! When will it be available for sale?!]
[This sweet-sour flavor is amazing. It’s sweet, but not like corn’s simple sweetness; it’s slightly tangy too. I… I like it!]
Shi Xiaowang continued enjoying the tomato, eyes squinting in satisfaction. He had loved tomatoes back in the post-apocalyptic era and still did.
“Delicious, right? I really love the taste of tomatoes too.”
After finishing the tomato, he smiled and looked back at the screen. This wasn’t his first time eating the local tomatoes.
The night before, perhaps whetted by the corn, he had tossed and turned in bed, ultimately giving in to the craving for food and ran to the field to pick a tomato. One tomato felt like a feast, and he squatted there savoring it for a while.
When he finally felt satisfied, he looked up and caught Jian Da Meow’s slightly teasing gaze.
Startled, Shi Xiaowang felt awkward and immediately plucked another tomato, explaining seriously to Jian Da Meow:
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not sneaking a bite behind your back. I just wanted to check if this tomato is fully ripe. I’ve already tasted it—it’s pretty good. This one I specially picked to bring for you.”
Jian Da Miao didn’t seem to mind, sniffed the tomato, curious, and took a bite.
The abundant juice caught him off guard, making his eating look a bit messy. His chin fur was stained red; he quickly swallowed and licked his lips.
Shi Xiaowang couldn’t stop laughing at Jian Da Meow’s flustered manner and exaggeratedly pecked him on the nose.
“You’re too cute, Da Meow!”
Rarely, Jian Da Meow didn’t dodge, only giving him a look of complaint, raising his juice-stained chin: Wait to kiss! First, clean this!
After the initial excitement, the chat began discussing how to prepare tomatoes.
[Tomatoes are delicious raw. How would we cook them?]
Shi Xiaowang clapped his hands, a mischievous smile on his face.
“To talk about tomato cooking, we first need another essential ingredient.”
He returned to the flowerbed, pointing to a row of sunflowers.
“Next, we’ll use our little sunflower seeds. Sunflowers are beautiful as flowers, but now that they’ve grown, the seeds in the center have another use.”
Using a tool, he cut a mature sunflower, prompting a flurry of messages.
[Ah! Little sunflower! What are you doing?! Why cut its head off?!]
[Waaah, little sunflower! You left so suddenly…]
Shi Xiaowang laughed at the chat, then extracted a few seeds from the sunflower.
“Don’t worry, friends. Though the little sunflower sacrificed itself, it left us a treasure. See these seeds?”
He peeled the seeds and ate them.
“They’re edible, and quite tasty.”
[…Not bad, really tasty!]
[These seeds (chew chew), so fragrant!]
[Thus, the sunflower’s life continues on everyone’s taste buds…]
“But today, we’re not eating them directly. We’ll use them to make sunflower oil, which will allow us to cook more delicious dishes.”
[Ah! I know this! We’re going to cook!]
[The recipes I found often call for oil; so this is how it’s made.]
In the post-apocalyptic world, they mostly used animal fats. The elder had taught him how to make vegetable oil but Shi Xiaowang never tried much, especially with unfamiliar sunflowers.
Though it was his first time, he remembered the method. He cut a few more sunflowers, shelled the seeds, then roasted them in a large pan.
He didn’t understand how the machines worked, and had previously asked Jian Mo for guidance. But it didn’t matter as long as the tools worked.
Soon, a rich nutty aroma filled the air, warm to the touch, like sunlight blooming. Even Shi Xiaowang couldn’t resist and tasted a roasted seed.
“Mm! Delicious!”
His eyes lit up, discovering a new delight.
[The flavor changed!]
[Indeed, the raw seeds were slightly sweet, but now it’s purely aromatic, yet delicious.]
[Little Duke, I’m tired of “expanding cultivation”! When will we expand?!]
“Don’t worry. There will be corn, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds.”
He poured the completely roasted seeds into an oil press, secretly setting aside a few for Jian Da Meow.
[I saw that! Someone’s hiding seeds!]
[Haha, Little Duke, what are you doing?]
“How is it hiding?” Shi Xiaowang defended himself.
“I’m saving them for my Da Meow. Everyone can taste them via shared senses, but my Da Meow hasn’t tried them yet. I can’t be unfair, right?”
Upstairs, Jian Da Meow watched the chat’s “People aren’t as good as cats” comments with a pleased expression. Indeed.
The pressed sunflower oil yielded only a small bottle, but enough for Shi Xiaowang.
“Now, we can get to the main event.”
He scored the tomato skins, blanched them, peeled, diced, and added them to heated oil.
The pan sizzled loudly.
[Whoa, that’s loud…]
[I even stepped back a few times, worried it would splash on my face…]
[Smells amazing! Never smelled anything like this before, not like perfume, so unique!]
[I feel hungry all of a sudden…]
“Once slightly softened, we can season it.”
He explained while cooking:
“Our nutrient supplements come in handy now. Salt enhances appetite, sweetness enhances flavor. After adding seasonings and briefly frying, we add water.”
The tomato’s aroma changed completely, distinguishable even by smell alone.
After tasting, he added water to balance the strong flavor, making a perfect tomato sauce.
“Mm, good enough.”
Satisfied, he added water, covered the pot, and gestured to the camera.
“Let it simmer a bit. Meanwhile, let’s dig up some potatoes. Tomatoes are just the seasoning; the potatoes are the main course.”
[Yay! Another new ingredient!]
[Wait, all that effort just to make a seasoning? Were meals really this complicated in the past?]
[Honestly, Little Duke, just give me the seasoning. I can dip nutrient supplements in it directly. No need for all this work.]
[Send me some! I can eat it straight from the plate!]
“You all have great plans, but no, I still need to eat myself.”
He dug potatoes, joking with the chat.
When he carried the soil-covered potatoes back, the chat sent a flurry of question marks.
[Little Duke? What are you holding?]
[Ah? Potatoes, or just clumps of dirt?]
[Are these really edible?]
“Of course! Potatoes are plant roots. Sweet potatoes and similar roots are also delicious.”
He washed the potatoes, halved them in boat shapes.
“Trust me.”
He checked the now-thick tomato sauce, stopped the heat, poured it into a clean container, added water, briefly boiled the potato chunks, drained, and returned them to the pan with oil.
[So complicated…]
[Used to nutrient supplements, I doubt I could cook this myself.]
[Same! Little Duke, skip selling ingredients, just open a restaurant. I just want to eat, not cook…]
“A restaurant…”
Shi Xiaowang tilted his head, considering.
He understood the feeling of wanting to eat but not cook. Back at the base, the elder did all the cooking and tried teaching him, but he found it tedious. The elder often scolded him, worried Shi Xiaowang wouldn’t take care of himself.
This fried potato dish was taught by the elder. Once, Shi Xiaowang fell while picking fruit; the elder panicked, then lectured him while preparing the fried potatoes with his favorite tomato sauce. From then, fried potatoes became Shi Xiaowang’s favorite.
Seeing the golden, crispy potatoes, he smiled.
“How’s that, elder? I can make it now!”
The fried potatoes, golden and aromatic, with a crisp exterior and soft, subtly sweet interior, looked irresistible.
He plated them with the freshly made tomato sauce, feeling accomplished.
[Enough talk, eat! Hurry, Little Duke!]
[The aroma! I want to dive into the screen!]
[Let me taste!]
Shi Xiaowang waited until the potatoes were less hot, dipped one in tomato sauce, and bit in.
The crisp exterior cracked, the soft potato core mixed with sweet, sour, and savory tomato flavors, perfectly balanced. Everyone’s chat went wild.
[Little Duke! Restaurant! Please! Open a restaurant!]
[I’m full, but tears of envy are flowing again… When will I taste such food?! I don’t want nutrient supplements anymore!]
Shi Xiaowang laughed without responding, finished the potatoes, and abruptly ended the livestream, leaving viewers hungry for more.
After closing the livestream, he ran to the stairs and saw Jian Da Meow waiting.
“Come down, Da Meow!”
He squinted, waving.
“It’s our time to eat alone!”
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