"I'm back!"
Xiangling's cheerful voice rang out from the distance.
"I caught a big fish!"
A still-wriggling fish was impaled on the tip of her spear, looking remarkably lively as it thrashed back and forth.
"Whoa!"
Fengluo looked at the fish and broke into a smile. "That's a huge fish! Must weigh at least two catties, right?"
"Hehe! Say, do you know how to clean a fish? I'm not very good at handling this part."
Xiangling scratched the back of her head, looking a bit sheepish.
"No problem, leave it to me. I spent a month scaling fish at the Liyue Harbor docks, and a guy named Qiqiang there taught me a lot of tricks."
Fengluo readily took the fish off the spear, pulled out a delicate little dagger, and with a few swift strokes scraped off the scales, removed the gills, and cleaned out the inside.
He casually tossed the remaining fish viscera and other waste into the dirt nearby.
"By the way, do you like fish air bladders?"
Fengluo asked.
The air bladder is the organ fish use to control their buoyancy. Some people love it, while others can't stand the texture.
Fengluo was one of those who didn't like it.
"Ooh, leave it for me! I love these."
Xiangling's eyes lit up.
The guiding principle of Wanmin Restaurant was to use the most ordinary ingredients to create the most delicious flavors.
Fish air bladders definitely fell into that category.
Xiangling knew plenty of ways to make them taste amazing.
"Alright, then I'll wash it."
Fengluo shrugged, quickly rinsed the fish with clean water, and handed the cleaned air bladders over to Xiangling.
Then he watched as Xiangling swiftly coaxed a small flame to life, lit a small campfire beside them, and placed a small pot on top, adding a splash of oil.
"Are you going to make it right now?"
Fengluo asked in surprise.
"Yeah! If you leave these sitting around too long, they get a bit fishy and don't taste as good."
As she spoke, Xiangling quickly sliced up the air bladders.
The knife she used was extremely sharp, and her hands were remarkably steady.
She added a little rapeseed oil and minced garlic to the pot to sizzle and release their aroma, tossed the sliced air bladders in some starch, and dropped them in.
Sizzle!
Under the blazing heat of the fire, the rich aroma instantly wafted up.
Xiangling moved with lightning speed.
Chili powder, ginger slices, salt, and a generous handful of side dishes went in all at once, followed by a rapid stir-fry.
With seasoning like this... anything you stir-fry would taste delicious, right?
Fengluo watched from the side, twitching the corner of his mouth, but his hands didn't stop. He quickly chopped off the fish head, removed the skin and tail, and left only the tender, crystal-clear fish meat.
"Phew—"
Fengluo finished tidying the cutting board and cleared some space.
Cutting things was still best left to Xiangling.
"Xiangling, I'm all set over here!"
"Got it, just leave it there."
Xiangling replied while cranking up the heat for a fast stir-fry.
"Mm-hmm!"
Fengluo set the fish aside, then opened the lid to check on the progress of the simmering porridge.
A thick, comforting fragrance of rice hit him in the face.
Fengluo scooped up some rice with a ladle.
"Ah, the grains have bloomed!"
He nodded.
He looked back.
Xiangling had already finished slicing all the fish.
Her knife skills were remarkably delicate.
Every single slice of fish was cut as thin as paper, almost translucent.
And the sizes were uniform and just right.
"What do we do next? I've never made fresh fish porridge before."
Once she finished slicing, Xiangling looked at Fengluo with innocent eyes.
"Uh... it's very simple. Watch how I do it."
Fengluo picked up the plate of fish slices, set it aside, and used a wooden ladle to scoop a large portion of thick porridge into a wooden bowl.
"Eh?"
Xiangling widened her eyes, watching as Fengluo used a pair of wooden chopsticks to pick up a slice of fish and drop it into the porridge.
"So that's how it is! It has a bit of a Yue cuisine style, but the ingredients are more like Li cuisine..."
Xiangling's eyes dawned with realization.
"Pretty much like that, and then you add some seasonings to bring out the flavor."
Fengluo pulled out some dried scallops and dropped them into the porridge to stir.
Soon, a fresh and sweet scent permeated the air.
The cicada-wing-thin fish slices hit the boiling, thick porridge and were instantly cooked through, bobbing up and down amidst the viscous white gruel.
"Careful, it's hot."
Fengluo handed a bowl of freshly made fish porridge to Xiangling.
"Got it, phew-phew—"
Xiangling puffed out her cheeks and blew on it gingerly.
Thanks to the excellent insulation properties of the wooden bowl, her hands wouldn't get burned anytime soon.
Fengluo dished up a bowl for Guoba as well.
"Phew-phew!"
Guoba copied Xiangling's posture, puffing air at the fish porridge.
Finally, Fengluo scooped out a portion for himself.
The two of them and the little bear sat side by side, blowing softly on their food.
"Whoa! It's so fragrant and delicious, and there's no fishy taste at all!"
"Probably has to do with the water quality around here, plus I prepped it a bit."
Zhuyin: "You're amazing! Fengluo, do you want to come with me to Wanmin Restaurant? You'd make a great sous-chef!"
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass. I still have other things I need to do."
"Ah, I get it! Just like my culinary journey, you're on some kind of journey yourself, right?"
"Yeah, I call it real estate training."
Fengluo nodded, his eyes filled with determination.
"To achieve this goal, I'm going to see this training through to the very end!"
"Such an admirable willpower!"
Xiangling's eyes lit up in response.
She was a girl overflowing with passion to begin with.
Feeling Fengluo's rock-solid resolve, she was deeply moved!
"If there's anything I can help with, just say the word!"
"No problem!"
I just hope you can spot me some Mora when the time comes...
Fengluo thought to himself quietly.
"Hehe, so we're friends now, right?"
Xiangling suddenly looked at Fengluo with a trace of bashfulness.
"Of course we're friends already!"
Fengluo didn't notice anything amiss at all.
"Um... could you lend me a little bit of Mora?"
Xiangling reached out hesitantly. "I heard that Stormterror is active in Mondstadt, and I want to go try cooking some dragon meat, but my travel funds aren't enough. If you could lend me some Mora, Fengluo..."
Whatever she said next, Fengluo couldn't hear anymore.
His heart was a tangled mess of conflict.
This...
His venture hadn't even started bringing in any income yet, and now money was already flowing out?
Then again,
Xiangling was a well-known figure in Liyue Harbor; she surely wouldn't run off without paying her debts.
It's just...
The payback period on this outflow was probably going to be pretty long.
Just how far away was Liyue?
And that Stormterror didn't sound like someone easy to deal with, either.
"Um..."
Seeing that Fengluo hadn't answered for a long time, Xiangling assumed she was putting him on the spot, so she sheepishly withdrew her hand.
"Actually, it's fine if you don't have any... I can just forage for food along the way, it'll just be a little bit slower, just a tiny bit..."
An awkward expression surfaced on her energetic face, and the light in her eyes seemed to dim for a fraction of a second.
Who could bear to let such an adorable girl down?
"No, no, no!"
Fengluo hurriedly cried out. "It's not like that! Let me explain!"
As he spoke, he fished a pouch of Mora from his tunic and handed it straight into Xiangling's hands.
At that moment, Fengluo felt ashamed of his own hesitation, and a heavy wave of guilt washed over him.
To actually make a girl like this look disappointed.
What kind of person even am I?!
"I was just thinking about something else and zoned out, that's all!"
Fengluo stammered out an explanation.
Yet his reaction only made Xiangling feel even more embarrassed.
"You really don't have to do this, Fengluo. I just need to borrow a tiny bit of travel money so I can take a carriage from Wangshu Inn to Stone Gate..."