I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 293

Chapter 293: The Oar of Happiness and Wisdom

 

Considering to create a festive atmosphere and since the café had just been open for over a month, Ouyang Xue set a very low price for the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), colorful sticky rice, and other Dragon Boat Festival specialty foods.

 

Basically, it was on par with the small eateries on the roadside, with the sticky rice almost at cost price. So, starting from the morning, the entire café was filled with the aroma of zongzi and sticky rice.

 

Because there were many customers from out of town today, some customers even came from faraway places in the north and had never seen this kind of colorful sticky rice before. They would have the thought of “trying something new,” and then they looked at the price list—”Wow! So cheap? Let’s have some, I want to try what it tastes like.”

 

Actually, there isn’t a particularly distinct taste between the colorful sticky rice and regular sticky rice; it’s mainly the fragrance of the sticky rice itself. Among them, my favorite is the yellow and purple sticky rice because these two kinds of sticky rice are dyed with flower petals, giving off a very clear floral scent.

 

Ever since I turned into elf mode and formed a contract with the sapling (A a young tree, often with a thin trunk and small branches) of the elf tree on Moon Orchid Island, becoming the “Elf Queen” on this side of the Earth, it seems that even my human form enjoys flowers and plants. Xiao Mo is also an elf, but the elf tree does not recognize this form of “half-elf.”

 

In the other world, most half-elves are a combination of humans and elves. Humans naturally admire elves, but not everyone is good, nor does everyone stand on the side of kindness. Among tens of millions or even billions of people, there will always be a few evil individuals who see capturing elves as a business.

 

They would occasionally run to the elf forest to plunder elves and sell them to big landlords and city lords because all elves, regardless of gender, are fair and beautiful, very popular among humans.

 

If these kinds of elves have offspring, they become half-elves. Half-elves are not recognized, and usually, they either don’t have a mother or can’t find their father, so their background can be very tragic.

 

Xiao Mo actually belongs to this type. Her father was the demon king at the time, and her mother was an elf who was forced to leave her homeland in the elf forest and come to the land of the demon clan. So Xiao Mo’s half-elf status is not recognized by the elf tree.

 

But not all half-elves are without the possibility of “returning.” “Elf mode” is a way for half-elves or people with elf blood to return to the elf lineage. “Elf mode” is Xiao Mo’s way of explaining it to me in a more casual and general manner, since I still have two modes, “cat girl mode” and “succubus mode,” that haven’t been developed yet. In the other world, the more formal term for “elf mode” is “Heart of Nature.”

 

All pure elves are born with the “Heart of Nature.” Because half-elves have lived in human society for a long time, it’s hard for them to possess the Heart of Nature. Elves are not very fond of some rational things, they are generally very emotional and value “inner feelings” more.

 

For example, because many elves are born from the elf tree, they hardly value things like “lineage.” Whose child, whose daughter, who is whose father—these things are not important. As long as they rely on each other, she can be my mother, and I can be her daughter.

 

It is precisely because of this habit of the elf clan that almost all elves during wartime are “averse to war,” or one might say, slightly “sanctimonious.” Similarly, the “Heart of Nature” cannot be obtained through external means.

 

No matter how high your wind magic or life magic is, no matter what your personal beliefs are, or how complex your lineage is, as long as you do not yearn for nature, do not consider yourself a member of the elf clan, and are not recognized by the Tree of Life, then you will never be able to obtain the Heart of Nature.

 

Conversely, even if someone is a born elf and previously possessed the Heart of Nature, but this elf falls from grace, there is a possibility of losing the Heart of Nature.

 

The reason I can switch to elf mode so quickly and gain the “Heart of Nature,” Xiao Mo speculates, is likely because the soul of the previous life’s hero itself is pure and loves peace, and coupled with my ignorance in this life, never having done anything wrong from childhood to adulthood, and having a water-element soul very close to life magic, a little guidance from Xiao Mo’s life magic awakened me and gained the Heart of Nature.

 

By activating the Heart of Nature, which is the elf mode, and making contact with the newly born elf tree, one will gain the title of the newly born Elf Queen—although currently, I am the only elf on Earth and not a pure one.

 

“Sister Nuo’er, give me three zongzi that you personally wrapped! They must be personally wrapped!”

 

“Dear guest, currently, all the zongzi here are personally wrapped by me… Oh, of course, when it comes to cooking, it’s Chef Wang in the kitchen who’s in charge.”

 

“Nuo’er, Nuo’er, did you personally make these colored sticky rice?”

 

“Yes, all of them! There are quite a few colleagues on leave at the café today, so I’m currently doing this job.”

 

“Will zongzi wrapped by a beauty taste different from those wrapped by an old lady outside?”

 

“It won’t! Maybe the old lady outside has better skills, so her zongzi might taste even better than mine.”

 

“……”

 

Dialogues like these are almost constantly happening in the café. When customers come in from outside or have any requests, I go over to attend to them. If there are no requests, I stand by the kitchen door, livestreaming myself making things while chatting with the audience in the livestream.

 

?Is the host using a beauty filter? Why do you look as cute as a doll??

 

“No beauty filter, there’s a prompt in the bottom right corner of the livestream, ‘No makeup, no beauty filter.'”

 

?Host, I bought a plane ticket to your café, it’s estimated to arrive tomorrow. Will you still be making zongzi tomorrow??

 

“Yes, we’ll be making them. Our current event lasts for five days. Today is Friday, so until next Tuesday, we’ll be making zongzi and sticky rice!”

 

?Nuo’er, I watched a video of you singing at the comic convention that someone posted online. Just listening to it made me feel soothed. But the comments section says it’s even more shocking live. Can you sing for us here??

 

“Uh… I’m busy with this right now, and I could be called to take orders at any time…”

 

?”User: Pencil Xiao Xin” has donated a (rhythmic storm), the livestream’s popularity has risen to Top 18!?

 

“Hmm… I guess I can sing a bit, but don’t expect too much. It won’t be the same as the live version for sure.”

 

Compared to the customers in the café, the livestream audience seems to be more interested in things like “giving out benefits” because they can’t taste the food. For example, they ask me to sing, act cute, or… even stand up on the chair, showing off my legs wrapped in white stockings under the skirt. They seem less interested in the food itself.

 

?Nuo’er’s figure is truly like a perfect replication of those little lolis drawn by artists on certain websites. Look at her legs, the lines of her knees, and the curves of her calves. They’re slender, but also a bit plump, very enticing.?

?I feel like I’m back to my childhood days of iDollyzing stars. Nuo’er seems a bit too perfect. Could it be an act??

?Didn’t someone say before? Nuo’er is very skilled at this. She must be someone who has experienced hardships. I also come from the countryside, and I can tell that Nuo’er is definitely hardworking person.?

?I don’t even know how to wrap zongzi, I only know how to eat them.?

?Why do they have so many types of zongzi over there? Here, I only have meat zongzi, and it’s all fatty meat.?

 

So, in such an environment, I go back and forth between serving customers in the shop and returning to the camera to wrap zongzi and make sticky rice, busy from morning till afternoon.

 

Just as the barrage says, there are many different types of local zongzi in Shenzhen City. There are vegan zongzi with only mung beans inside, five-spice meat zongzi with a mix of fatty and lean meat, meaty zongzi filled entirely with lean meat, and “cool zongzi” which contain nothing inside and are in a long bar shape.

 

Apart from the differences in fillings, zongzi themselves can also be categorized by shape. There are small triangular zongzi that can be swallowed in one bite by ordinary folks, rectangular zongzi the size of a TV remote control, especially large meat zongzi, and those specifically made for making “family portrait” meal sets, the super-sized pork zongzi.

 

Coincidentally, I know how to make all these different types of zongzi.

 

When I was in the orphanage as a child, although everyone was very poor, during holidays, when making zongzi, we never skimped on ingredients. Every bite was filled with the aroma of meat. But recently, the shops around here that sell zongzi have become cunning.

 

Since people can’t see what’s inside, they either add a small piece of meat to give the illusion or just stuff in a big chunk of cheap fatty meat, leaving your mouth greasy after a bite.

 

The kind of zongzi filled with the aroma of lean meat is rarely seen now. Ouyang Xue is deeply disgusted by this. She personally went to the market in the morning to buy ingredients, and most of what she prepared for me was either lean or a mix of lean and fat, using generous amounts of ingredients. Customers couldn’t stop praising them.

 

“Hey handsome, can I have your contact info?”

“No way, handsome, you like guys? Don’t lie to me. Add me as a friend, quick!”

“So your name is Su Yunjin, such a Mary Sue name, and you’re so handsome. Do you have a girlfriend? If not, how about me?”

“……”

 

What surprised me was that Su Yunjin came to the café to “work” for the first time today, and the result was unexpectedly good. He almost attracted all the girls in the entire room, single-handedly drawing a lot of attention, allowing me to have time to make zongzi.

 

It feels like if someone were to write a book with Su Yunjin as the main character, it would probably be a very traditional “anti-harem” story. For example, something like “I Only Like Men, What Do I Do When So Many Women Are Interested in Me?”

 

“I can’t take it anymore, it’s all women.”

 

Around one o’clock in the afternoon, Su Yunjin, who had just received another batch of customers, found me.

 

“Nuo’er, I need some cool zongzi. I’m starving.”

 

“You’re hungry already?”

 

I stopped my work and turned to the young master. “How many?”

 

“Three… Oh no, make that three portions.”

 

Cool zongzi is also a specialty around Shenzhen City. There are two types: rectangular and triangular. These zongzi have no filling, just glutinous rice wrapped in zongzi leaves, also known as “gray water zongzi.” They can be eaten directly. If you find the taste too bland, you can dip them in honey, or use white sugar if honey isn’t available.

 

“With white sugar or honey?”

 

“Just a bit of honey.”

 

Su Yunjin found a chair and sat down directly. “Hurry up, I’m really starving.”

 

“Alright.”

 

I stood up and habitually took out a notebook and a pen from my pocket.

 

“Sir, three portions of cool zongzi for 4.5 yuan, honey for 1 yuan, a total of 5.5 yuan. Will you be paying with WeChat or Alipay?”

 

“It’s my own café, and you’re asking for money?”

 

Su Yunjin looked incredulous. “Can we just round it down?”

 

“Then I’ll have to tell Sister Ouyang, and she’ll deduct it from your salary.”

 

“Okay, okay, fine, take fifty cents off.” Su Yunjin directly took out his wallet from his pocket and gave me five yuan. “I want them cold, not hot.”

 

Su Yunjin’s appearance instantly livened up the barrage in the livestream room —

 

?Is this the new male employee in the cafe? I thought it would be a girl??

?Is he their boss? He sounds like it.?

?What? This cafehas male servants? Now I have to go there.?

 

“He’s our general manager, likes boys, oh, if any boys in the livestream room are interested…”

 

I went to the kitchen to get three rectangular zongzi and found a small packet of honey. “And this person is super bad, oppressing and exploiting the staff, a pure capitalist.”

 

“Mm.”

 

Su Yunjin nearby heard this and was unhappy. “When did I oppress you guys?”

 

“Isn’t it now?”

I joked and returned to my position. “Don’t forget to pay the bonus for finding the angel earlier…”

 

Just as I was saying this, Yin Xiamo, dressed in a maid outfit, walked over from the cat life area.

 

“Nuo’er, I’m hungry.”

 

“My beloved grim reaper can be hungry too?”

 

“Hungry.”

 

Yin Xiamo sat directly beside me and pointed to a zongzi in front of her.

 

“I want Nuo’er’s pan-fried zongzi, two big pieces.”

 

Pan-fried zongzi, a rather “extreme” method of cooking zongzi, I’m not sure if this thing is unique to Shenzhen City or if it’s found elsewhere. Simply put, it’s when zongzi, made with a mix of lean and fatty meat, are cooked until shaped, then fried in oil with salt in the pan until it develops a crispy texture. When served, it’s soft, chewy, delicious, and full of flavor.

 

“Chef Wang has gone to rest now. Are you sure you want me to fry them?”

 

The café currently follows a segmented rest system. Customers usually start pouring in around eleven in the morning, reaching their peak around noon. By one o’clock, the number of customers slowly decreases.

 

Usually, at this time, Chef Wang would have prepared a certain amount of food and gone to the staff lounge to take a nap. Either Ouyang Xue or I would take over his duties. Chef Wang wakes up and resumes work around three in the afternoon, and then I go to rest.

 

“Okay, Nuo’er, let’s fry them, make them a bit crispy.”

 

Yin Xiamo earnestly said, “Can you add a bit more salt for extra flavor?”

 

“Okay, okay.”

 

Hearing this, I had to stand up. “Two big pieces are enough?”

 

Yin Xiamo nodded. “Yes.”

 

“Why aren’t you taking her money?”

 

Su Yunjin couldn’t help but speak up when he saw this scene. “Is this favoritism?”

 

“Xiao Mo is my wife. It’s only natural for me to cook for my wife.”

 

I gave Su Yunjin a smug look. “The evil capitalist can certainly exploit any opportunity.”

 

“Indeed.”

As if to respond to my call, Yin Xiamo also turned to Su Yunjin with a look that said, ‘Give up, I’m her husband.’

 

“I’m going to fry some zongzi now. The kitchen might get a bit smoky later, and the camera might get blurry. If you like this cooking method, you can come to the café and ask for my help.”

 

I found a cooked zongzi, opened it up, took the small rope used to tie it, threaded it through the bottom of the zongzi, estimated the position, crossed the rope on top, repeated the process, and cut two pieces of meat zongzi and placed them on a plate. I said to the audience in the livestream room:

 

“But just so you know, I don’t guarantee that what I make will be delicious.”

 

Carrying the plate with the two pieces of meat zongzi, I walked into the kitchen and found a small stool to place in front of the stove, and turned on the fire.

 

?Frying zongzi? Why does it feel like a kind of snack you can find on the roadside around here??

?Nuo’er is so cute! Haha, she’s not tall enough, so she needs a little stool to cook.?

?Brother, is this your first time watching the livestream from this café? Nuo’er often helps out in the kitchen. That stool has become her exclusive stepping stool.?

?Can she handle the pan??

?What’s going on? Aren’t the zongzi already cooked? Why fry them??

 

“Some people want them fried.”

 

To make it easier for myself to stir-fry, I placed the camera to the side, facing the direction of the pan, while explaining, “Some people here like things with heavier flavors, so they need the zongzi to be stir-fried specifically, which can also be considered a way of eating.”

 

I turned on the heat, heated up the pan, poured in some oil, and skillfully picked up a lighter spatula specially prepared for me. I scooped up the large pieces of zongzi cut with the rope earlier and placed them in the pan.

 

Instantly, with a sizzling sound, a large amount of smoke emerged, accompanied by the aroma of meat and glutinous rice, as well as the enticing scent of the slightly burnt rice. It really stimulated one’s appetite.

 

When we couldn’t finish the zongzi in the orphanage when I was a child, this was basically how we dealt with them: either a few kids took the zongzi to the wilderness and roasted them over a fire like sweet potatoes until they were cooked, or the director or the nursing aunt personally sliced the zongzi, fried them with oil until fragrant, and they were delicious.

 

However, frying them like this would turn the zongzi from a “neutral food” into a “high-calorie food”, which could lead to getting overheated if eaten too much, so it’s not recommended to eat them every day.

 

Stir-frying to release the fragrance, adding some salt, stirring a few more times until the oil in the pan dried up, and the surface of the two pieces of zongzi turned golden brown, I felt the temperature was about right. I scooped out the zongzi and placed them on a plate, handing them to Yin Xiamo outside.

 

“I’ll go wash the pan.”

 

Then, I returned to the kitchen and cleaned the items I had used, placing them in a designated area. After all, the café kitchen was under surveillance, and if hygiene wasn’t handled well, it could potentially lead to various issues later on.

 

“Nuo’er.”

 

Leaving the kitchen, I saw Xiao Mo had already cut the zongzi she had fried into several pieces with a knife and fork. She used a fork to pick up one piece, golden in color with chunks of meat inside, and handed it to me.

 

“Let’s eat together.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

After a whole day of exhaustion, I didn’t think much. I sat down beside Xiao Mo and instinctively leaned my face forward, opening my mouth—

 

“Ah-woo—”

 

However, Xiao Mo’s movement was faster than mine. Just as I was about to bite the food, she leaned in and bit off half of it, leaving the other half for me.

 

I immediately followed suit and subconsciously took a bite of the rest.

 

*Crunch…*

 

A burst of crispy texture from the fried glutinous rice, the fragrance of the meat, the faint floral scent belonging to Xiao Mo, and a slightly seductive aroma reminiscent of the demon race instantly filled my entire nose.

 

“Eh?”

 

I felt a bit dumbfounded as I accidentally touched Xiao Mo’s lips while trying to take a bite.

 

“Thanks for the treat.”

 

The girl in front of me didn’t seem to mind at all. With a satisfied expression, she took a bite of the half zongzi, chewed a few times, and swallowed it down.

 

“The most perfect sauce, Nuo’er sauce.”

 

“Wait… wait a minute.”

 

I quickly finished the food in my mouth, feeling the heat rising to my face.

 

“I’m live streaming right now…”

 

“It’s okay, anyway, you’re my wife.”

 

Xiao Mo grabbed my phone and made a victorious gesture towards the camera.

 

“Nuo’er’s taste, perfect!”

 

“……”

 

……