"So … what is a leek?"
She frowned and slid her slender fingers across the colorful pages. She couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Ever since she bought this book, 1000 Classic Home Cooking (365 Days Color Edition), at the Ji Family's auction, she almost never left the house. She stayed at home every day to study recipes.
However, there were some dishes in this book that she couldn't understand.
For example … this leek box.
She had flipped through all sorts of books but couldn't find this vegetable called leek.
"From the picture, it looks a bit like black-haired grass." She pursed her lips and felt goosebumps.
The story of black-haired grass could be traced back to a thousand years ago. There was a huge magical beast that had thick mucus and mouths all over its body. It had layers of white flesh and fed on the rotting corpses of other beasts. It stayed underground all year round and grew a type of grass that looked like black hair on its body.
At that time, humans would feed the corpses of their loved ones to them and then eat the grass on the corpses.
In order to prove whether black-haired grass and leek were the same species, Flea had a strong desire for knowledge. She used her family's vast library to search for information about black-haired grass. In the end, she saw a magical beast with mouths all over its body.
The mouths were densely packed on a two-story tall meat pillar, sticking out their long tongues. The website was m.9biquge. com
Blergh … Flea felt disgusted.
However, this leek box looked very delicious. Leek shouldn't be the same as black-haired grass.
She sighed and continued flipping through the thick cookbook. Finally, she saw a certain dish.
White-sliced chicken.
The ingredients weren't much, and the cooking method was simple. The main ingredient was chicken.
"Hmm … It's a type of southern cuisine. It has a beautiful shape, yellow skin, and white meat. It's tender and juicy, and it tastes extremely delicious." Franca's slender hand slid across the pages of the book before stopping on the word "southern".
"South? Where's south? " Flea pondered doubtfully. She then jumped up from the bed like a carp and muttered to herself in a lonely tone, "Anyway, the south should be very far."
Franca was born in a noble family of light Magi. The first daughter of a noble Magus family was not allowed to casually leave the house. Hence, the furthest place Franca had ever been to was the central park.
As a noble light Magus, the Curtis family had extremely strict family rules. Furthermore, the family was famous for their research on celestial bodies, and they lived in seclusion on a mountain peak in the outskirts of the central region.
This family was known for their pride and was very particular about family status and academic research. However, in reality, because they were too old-fashioned, they had been isolated from the central power vortex. However, the Curtis family seemed to be happy with this.
As the daughter of the first wife, Fu Lanka did not have many opportunities to go out. However, she was actually very interested in the bookstore owner who was working with the Ji family.
Since he was selling the book, he must know the content of the book very well, right? He might even be super knowledgeable.
The dishes in this book surpassed the standard of Nuo Jin by many times. Just the chicken meat alone had dozens of cooking methods. It was really amazing.
If the bookstore owner didn't know this, why would he sell this book?
"I must find a chance to meet the bookstore owner. However, before that, I should try making this sliced chicken." Franca got off the bed.
Her father was not home today. Mother Susan, who taught him etiquette, had also gone to the branch family to teach etiquette as the head maid of the main family. Hence, she could secretly use the kitchen.
After transcribing the contents of the book onto a piece of paper, she carefully locked the book in her safe. Just as Franca was about to sneak into the kitchen, she accidentally glanced at a young woman sitting in the living room.
She was like a puppet, sitting in a wheelchair and staring at the flickering candlelight. Her appearance was completely different from the nobles in the central region of Nuo Jin. She had the face of a northerner like Ji Zhixu — black hair, black eyelids, and slightly yellow skin.
However, she was also very beautiful, with a kind of exotic beauty. Otherwise, she would not have given birth to a beautiful girl like Franca.
No one even knew her name, but she was Franca's mother.
Franca squatted down in front of her mother who was sitting in a wheelchair. She was a little surprised that her mother was not locked in the small bedroom in the attic today. She must have been a lot more stable after the mental therapy.
"Mother, why are you sitting here?"
Franca knew that her mother who was like a block of wood would not answer her, but she still showed a big smile and persistently asked her mother who had never spoken to her before.
"I'll cook for you today!" She would let her mother have a taste after it was done …
Her mother's eyes did not even have any light. She did not reply to her daughter at all.
Franca sighed with a smile. She felt a little sour in her heart. Then, she pushed her mother's wheelchair to the kitchen and said:
"Mother, can you watch me cook? Today, I'll make … mm, sliced chicken for you! It might not be delicious, but I swear I'll definitely ask the bookstore owner. Maybe he can make a chive box. "
Franca wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and smiled as she said the name of the dish.
She placed her mother at the entrance of the kitchen and started to work on the things in her hands.
She started from killing the chicken and plucking the feathers. The silver pocket watch in her hand spun as Franca strictly followed every step and the temperature of the fire.
"But … cooking wine? Cooking wine … the description is yellow rice wine? What kind of wine is this? Yellow, is it brewed with glutinous rice? Although I've never heard of it, the recipe and taste of Meka wine are very similar to the description. I should be able to use it as a substitute, "Franca mumbled softly as she cooked.
The gray eyes of the woman sitting at the entrance began to reflect the figure of the young girl's busy back.
— —
"It's done!"
Franca lifted the neatly sliced chicken on the plate. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in enjoyment.
"It smells so good! This is definitely an aroma that the entire A Zier Continent has never smelled before! "
Franca turned around happily … Eh, wasn't her mother at the entrance just now? When did she come in?
Franca's mother had somehow entered the kitchen in her wheelchair. Franca was startled when she raised her head to look at her.
"Mother?" Franca called out tentatively. For the first time, her mother's eyes had the expression of a living person. She slowly moved her gaze from Franca to the plate in the young girl's hand.
"… Do you want to try this?" Franca asked tentatively. Her tone was calm, but her heart was pounding rapidly. She remembered that her mother only had two states when she was young, one was crazy, and the other was like a plant.
When she was crazy, she would scream out terrifying words and fall into great fear. When she was not crazy, she would be like a potted plant and would not move at all.
'Just pretend that this mother never existed …' That was what her grandfather and father had told Franca at the same time.
Right now, it was the first time Franca had seen her mother like this. She had an unbelievable wish in her heart. 'If only my mother could answer me.'
"Do you want to try this?" Franca asked again.
The woman in the wheelchair tilted her head slightly. Her dark eyes stared at the dish in Franca's hand. She then slowly nodded.
Franca's hand that was holding the plate began to tremble. She was extremely excited.
This was her mother's first response.
She quickly placed the plate in front of her mother and handed her the knife and fork. However, her mother glanced at the knife and fork and suddenly shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Franca did not know what to do. She did not know why her mother suddenly rejected her.
The woman raised her hand and closed her fingers as if she was operating some kind of utensil. Her pupils were trembling violently, and even her facial muscles were twitching. She kept opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
'She doesn't want the knife and fork …' Franca immediately understood her mother's meaning.
Franca frowned and thought for a moment. There were two rod-like tools in the picture in the book [1000 Classic Home Cooking]. At first, she thought that they were used for stirring, and she was afraid that it was an indispensable step, so she made a pair of them.
She hurriedly took out the long and thin stick from the side and handed it to her mother hopefully.
Her mother looked at the rod in her hand with a complicated expression. Then, she began to operate it instinctively. Her hands trembled, but she did not let go. In the end, after failing a few times, she picked up a piece of chicken with difficulty and stuffed it into her mouth.
Franca looked at her mother excitedly as if she was doing something great. She subconsciously held her breath and did not dare to disturb her.
When her mother started to chew, two lines of tears fell from her eyes. Her eyes shone brightly for the first time, as if a ghost had woken up in her body after countless years of darkness.
With the food in her mouth, she choked and hoarsely said in a strange and difficult tone:
"My name is … Duan Xuemin. I belong to … the … Institute of … Relics … Archaeology … Research … Institute of … God's Capital. My teacher … is … Lin. Ming. Hai.
"Next, I will … record … the truth … that you might … never … understand."
This nameless stranger repeated these two sentences again and again until she was choking with sobs.
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