mtl008 Chapter 4138 When the Pumpkin Ripens (2)
Chapter 4138 When the Pumpkin Ripens (2)
Chapter 4138 When the Pumpkin Ripens (Part 20)
The manor hasn't changed much, perhaps because they deliberately wanted to preserve their childhood memories and didn't make any major alterations. The fireplace, carpets, and sofas are all still there. The only slight difference is that the garden looks much better. Considering Merkel is happy working at the shop in the Otherworld, she's unlikely to consider taking on a butler role again, and things should get even better in the future.
The restaurant's long table had clearly been renovated, or perhaps it had been replaced entirely. Harley had laid a purple table runner on it and placed a white vase filled with dried roses and cattails. The cutlery was dark blue, paired with silver knives and forks, creating an eerie beauty.
A huge chandelier hung above the restaurant; it was there before, but seemed brighter than before, illuminating the entire space. The tables were full of people, and it looked quite lively.
“Ahem,” Harley raised her glass and said, “thank you all for coming. Actually, there’s nothing much to say, just wanted to show off my design work at the food processing plant. The sugars in the small plates in front of you are all flavors I developed. And the dishes were made at the food processing plant and preserved with dense ice until now. I can assure you that the flavors haven’t changed at all, and they’re still piping hot. Let’s have a taste.”
Out of politeness, Arrogantly took a candy. He carefully examined the flavor label, confirming it was strawberry chocolate, before putting it in his mouth. However, somewhat unexpectedly, the strawberry flavor wasn't artificial, but rather freeze-dried strawberry chunks. Combined with the slightly bitter dark chocolate and a milk chocolate filling, the taste was quite good.
Greedy eats toffee, but toffee only has a hard toffee shell. The molten filling inside tastes like lemon gel jelly, which nicely balances the sweetness of the toffee and makes it quite delicious.
Then came the food. All the plates on the table were in a semi-transparent container, and the food inside looked decent, but considering Harley said it might have been made in the factory that morning, most people didn't have high expectations for the taste.
By this time, the United States already had a lot of pre-prepared meals, including various fast food options, and even high-end restaurants were starting to use them. However, Gotham, because it had built a logistics center early on and was located by the sea, meant that as long as people weren't extremely poor, they could eat fresh food, which made their palates particularly discerning.
Despite his arrogant pickiness, he ultimately opted for a safe choice. Although he always felt he'd get tired of ribs, he still considered the short ribs to be the best-tasting part of beef and lamb. Stale or cold meat might be even worse, but unfortunately, there weren't many vegetables on the table, so everyone had to choose from the various meats.
After some greedy browsing, I finally settled on a Thuringian sausage with mashed potatoes. Sausages don't really matter how fresh they are; once cooked, they're almost always delicious. Frozen mashed potatoes weren't bad either. While wasting food is shameful, wasting a little mashed potatoes is better than wasting anything else.
Most people choose their dishes with this mindset: they'll pick items that won't taste too bad even if they're not fresh or cold. Only Victor and his wife did something different; one chose fish, and the other chose scallops. Everyone looked at them with admiration. The seafood wasn't fresh; it wasn't a matter of taste, it was a matter of which ward they'd end up in.
However, because of their selflessness, there wasn't much food left on the table, preventing an awkward situation. Harley herself chose a braised lamb tail and a vegetable soup.
Arrogantly, he opened the lid, and the moment he did, a wonderful aroma burst forth. The dish was still steaming, as if the chef were right under the table cooking it and serving it to them.
The sealing must have been done the moment the meat came out of the pot. Arrogance knew this very well because the Maillard reaction on the surface of the meat looked quite fresh, and might even still be in the process of reacting. It looked like they were just about to bring the stove to the table.
Arrogantly, he cut off a small piece of meat and put it in his mouth. It was slightly hot, but very tender and bursting with juice. The seasoning was a little too salty for him, but that didn't affect the freshness of the meat.
He took a greedy bite of the sausage, his eyes widening. He couldn't help but whisper, "Could the chef be hiding under the table? This tastes like freshly made sausage."
Then he took another bite of mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes tasted pretty standard, but the black pepper had a very special flavor.
Because the food was piping hot, everyone was busy eating and no one spoke. Only after they had filled their stomachs did Arrogance wipe his mouth and ask, "So this guarantees the food will be just as fresh when it's delivered to Krypton?"
"Yes, and the cost of this stuff isn't high. The shell is indeed relatively expensive, but Gotham, as a logistics hub on the East Coast, has relatively cheap ingredients. Once the cost of ingredients is reduced, the higher cost of the shell doesn't matter."
“That’s right. If we add enlarged plants to further reduce food costs, this would definitely be the best choice for extraterrestrial workers,” Pamela said.
“I just think that those mediocre chefs can finally retire. This level of cooking would be the best antidepressant,” Bruce said.
Looking greedily at his plate, he had to admit that besides the amazing preservation technology, the chef's skills were also quite good. Don't be fooled by the fact that sausages may seem similar, but the selection of meat, the standard of mincing, the level of seasoning, and the method of filling are all very particular—specialty sausages can even support an entire restaurant.
"You all agree that this is great, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Harley exclaimed happily, "Brainiac, you lost! I told you long ago, the dishes I developed could completely conquer even the pickiest eaters in the world!"
“What do you mean? You called us over because you made a bet with Brainiac?” Jason asked.
“Brainiac thought this preservation method could be used to preserve food and then transport it to Krypton for processing. But I believed that the most flavorful dishes could only be made on Earth, so we made a bet—if my dishes were well-received by you, then we would produce them.”
“You just said we’re the pickiest people in the world,” he asked arrogantly.
"Yes, you've eaten at all sorts of expensive restaurants and even tasted cuisines from around the world. If the taste of a dish can win you over, then it can definitely be called a delicacy."
“Wait a minute,” Greed suddenly spoke up, “I have a different opinion on what you mean by ‘these dishes conquered our taste buds.’ The evaluation of a dish’s taste is mainly based on your expectations of it. Considering your previous description of how the dishes were prepared, we had very low expectations, which is why we thought they were good.”
"But in my opinion, this sausage and mashed potato dish has many problems: firstly, the mashed potatoes are over-mixed and have no texture; secondly, there's a bit too much black pepper; thirdly, the sausage is delicious, but the sauce on top is too sour; and fourthly, the beans served as a side dish are a bit overcooked. And don't the beans deserve their own sauce? Sharing a sauce with the sausage makes them taste too similar..."
“Ahem, regarding these spare ribs, I think there’s also a problem with the seasoning being too heavy,” Arrogance chimed in. “But these are minor issues. The key problem is that while the meat is very tender, the connective tissue between the meat and the bone is still a bit tough. This means the cooking time was too short, focusing only on locking in the juices without considering the different cooking times required for different cuts of meat…”
The two left Harley speechless. She sighed and said, "I was wrong. I thought your usual pickiness was the limit, but it turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg!"
“But actually, none of these are problems,” Greed continued. “On this point, I agree with Brainiac. If your goal is to make the whole world eat this kind of ‘very simple white food,’ then no matter how fancy you make it, it will definitely harm the mental health of some people in the long run. As a psychologist, I cannot let this happen.”
Brainiac immediately beeped twice in agreement. Harley raised her voice, saying, "This isn't some 'basic white food'! It's been carefully prepared by a chef..."
“Carefully cut off a piece of meat, then carefully place it on the hot plate to cook, carefully sprinkle it with black pepper, and then serve it—and there’s still plenty of black pepper left.” Arrogance is ruthless.
“I also think there shouldn’t be any ‘universal food,’” Bruce said. “Not everyone can adapt to the same cooking method; everyone has their own taste. Instead of sending finished products to a planet and having people in different countries around the world eat the same food, it’s better to just send the ingredients and let them cook for themselves. Time will tell.”
Harley looked annoyed. Greed nudged Pride with his elbow and said, “I think it’s because you’ve never cooked for the kids. They think all those trendy restaurants around Fifth Avenue are all they’ve got.”
“Alright,” Arrogance sighed, then looked at Harley and said, “I can explain it to you another way. Our harsh evaluations aren’t just to find fault with you, Miss Quezel. Perhaps we could invite you to dinner tomorrow? How about that?”
Harley was a little surprised. She said, "You mean, let's go to your house for dinner? That's fine, but when I drove to that area today, Brainiac's GPS warned me that it was a dangerous nature reserve with wild animals and that it was off-limits."
Harley's phone suddenly emitted a sharp noise, drowning out her words. Meanwhile, a message from Brainiac popped up on Arrogant's phone: "I'm referring to potential child abductors. They'll come back for the equipment, which is dangerous for ordinary people, so that area is temporarily off-limits to outsiders."
Don't you think you're being a bit too obvious, like you're trying to hide something?
"I'm just trying to avoid causing any unnecessary misunderstandings."
After a brief moment of thought, Greed seemed to have finalized tomorrow's menu, so he said, "Although it's a day late, tomorrow is still a holiday, and we can have a Halloween dinner. Anyone want to come?"
Clearly, everyone wanted to know what Schiller's real evidence was. So they agreed to hold another dinner at Schiller's house on the night after Halloween.
Preparing a dinner party in just one day is a bit tight, but it's not a very large event, and if things go quickly, there's enough time. Before that, Schiller has an even bigger problem to solve.