mtl008 Chapter 2616 Mayfly World (6)
Chapter 2616 Mayfly World (6)
Chapter 2616 Mayfly World (XVI)
Clark and Schiller ended up coming to Marvel without eating because Clark really didn't want to eat cabbage anymore.
They planned to wait until they got here before looking for a restaurant. Schiller thought they could go to New York first. He liked a Belgian restaurant in Manhattan and thought he could let Clark try it, but Clark wanted to go to Mexico City to eat Mexican food. He hadn't been to Mexico for a long time and missed the tortillas and tacos there.
So they chose Mexico City as their first stop. After returning to Mexico, Clark couldn't help but sigh, "Every time I come here, I feel full of power. I think this may be the place on earth closest to the sun. The people here are all children of the sun."
Clark was bathed in the sun, the strong light completely blurring his outline. Behind him were stacked houses built of sandstone, and above his head was a bright halo that blinded the eyes. Everyone around him stared at him, like a true god on earth.
Martin drove to pick them up, and based on his recommendation, they found a very famous restaurant in Mexico City and prepared to have lunch there.
Mexican cuisine is world-famous. The dishes here have a freshness, fragrance and stimulation that is not found in most European and American countries, and are very popular among many people with strong taste buds.
The staple food in Mexico is corn and maize. The crust of the famous snack Taco is made of corn. Other vegetables that often appear on the table are beans and peppers, which are the most consumed vegetables by Mexicans.
Another unique thing is that Mexicans like to eat cactus, and they don’t eat cactus as a vegetable, but as a fruit.
But perhaps the culinary heritage of ancient civilizations has something in common. People here also like to eat fruits dipped in chili peppers, and they also like to wrap everything in pancakes, and the sauce culture is long-standing.
As early as the 17th century, Mexico had a kind of hot sauce made from more than 100 rare ingredients. It has even been passed down to this day and has become a signature dish for Mexican chefs to showcase their cooking skills.
Schiller and Clark came to a reform restaurant. Although Schiller could accept many different ingredients and tastes, Clark was a real American and he didn't eat offal.
Before it was modified, the Mexican taco would be rolled with offal and would also have some fried insects and other dishes, which Clark totally couldn't accept, so they went to a more popular tourist restaurant.
Clark likes beef the most, so he ordered a set of main dishes first, black pepper steak, followed by asparagus stew with balsamic green beans, spicy fried fish with potato nachos, honey cheese cactus, green and red pepper shredded chicken tacos, and crispy chicken cactus wrap burritos.
Schiller didn't know much about Mexican food and had never eaten it before, so he ordered salmon fried in cream sauce, corn and avocado salad, and a large lava cake according to his taste.
In order to scare the two Americans, Martin insisted on ordering the special dishes of ant eggs and beef tripe soup.
Before the food came, Schiller said, "I originally wanted to bring Oliver with me, but it seems that his mentality needs to be adjusted. Maybe you should come over and take a look at the situation first."
"That's what I thought." Clark nodded to the waiter who brought the ice water, then turned and said, "Maybe there's no great and noble cause in his heart here, but at least there's a job that can divert his attention."
"So the problem we have now is how do we convince him to come here? I think he has a fear of Mexico, but once he takes that step, the rest will be easy."
"I wish I could convince him." Clark crossed himself.
Soon the waiter started serving the dishes, with large plates filling the entire table. Mexican cuisine is famous for its passionate and unrestrained cooking style. Traditional Mexicans believe that food should not only be a taste enjoyment, but also pursue visual warmth and beauty, so almost every dish has four or five colors.
The corn flakes are fried into golden and purple colors, and decorated with green and red pepper strips. The green cactus and yellow honey look like a clear spring in an oasis. The lava cake is baked with a rich black color, exuding a strong milky flavor.
There were various little people painted on the edges of the plates. Martin identified them and found that they were still the symbol of Aztec civilization. Obviously they knew what was most attractive to tourists. Clark couldn't help but take out his mobile phone to take pictures of every dish.
He said happily, "Louise and I are planning to go to Mexico for our honeymoon, but she can't eat hot peppers very well. I'm going to try these non-spicy dishes later. Maybe we can come to this restaurant as soon as we get off the plane."
Several people began to feast on the food. The seafood and meat here tasted quite good, and the vegetables also had their own flavors. The tripe soup was surprisingly delicious. Schiller tried hard to distinguish the seasonings with his taste buds, preparing to replicate it when he got home.
Even more surprising was the ant eggs that Martin ordered. Occasionally, black ant larvae could be seen among the white ant eggs, but they had been fried until golden brown and then mixed with lemon juice and chili sauce. They tasted crispy and fragrant from the fried food, and were also sour and spicy, very appetizing.
Even Clark ate two spoonfuls and said, "Ants are hard-working porters, and we shouldn't eat their larvae."
Martin expressed his contempt for the Americans' short-sightedness. He said, "Do you think we picked out the eggs from the ant holes on the rock wall? How many people would it take to pick out ant eggs to supply such a large restaurant?"
Clark looked around and found that this dish was on almost every table. Apparently it was the signature dish here. Judging from the quantity, it would definitely be too late to pick out the ant holes.
"We have a formal insect farming industry here, which is considered a pillar industry in Mexico City. Most of the insects and insect larvae you can eat here come from farms."
"We are not savages. We know that eating wild insects may cause problems. Besides, our civilization is much longer than yours. As early as more than 1000 years ago, insects were food on our tables."
Every time he heard people talking about American history, Clark had nothing to say, so he could only pout and continue eating.
Schiller said curiously: "There are many ancient countries in the world, many of which have a larger population than Mexico and require more food, but they have not developed a systematic insect cuisine. Why is that?"
"Because we have less time." Martin smiled and said, "You may think that there were so many people in ancient China, and there were many famines, why didn't they eat insects?"
"In fact, eating insects is a very complicated thing. First you need to establish a discipline from the root to distinguish which insects can be eaten and which cannot, just like Eastern herbal medicine."
"Then you need to understand the environment where the bugs grow, just like you pick mushrooms and other plants, but the difference is that the plants are planted in the ground and won't run away, so catching bugs requires a bit of luck."
"Just like ant delicacies, a long time ago when there was no way to artificially breed them, people relied on digging out ant nests, but finding ant nests was basically a matter of luck, and the same was true for other insects."
"Besides, catching insects is much riskier than picking plants. If you are not careful when digging out ant nests, formic acid can easily get sprayed into your eyes. Many poisonous insects are waiting on people's roads. Mild cases can cause skin redness, swelling and ulceration, while severe cases can even lead to death."
"Insects are small in size, so even if they are high in protein, they are not a food with a high nutrient conversion rate. It can be said that you spend a lot of time to get little meat. Only when there is basically no shortage of food and clothing, and no large-scale famine, can a similar gourmet civilization develop."
Schiller understood it. To put it simply, the Mexicans were bored and went to pick insects. After picking them, they thought they had already caught them, so they might as well taste them. So they developed a culture of eating insects.
There is a similar culture in some areas of China, but it is relatively niche, probably because the ancient Chinese did not have that much time to pursue these gadgets.
The three of them were very satisfied with the meal, so they set off to visit the Great Pyramids.
Driving in Mexico City, Clark was still amazed by the city's beautiful blend of modern and ancient styles. Soon a huge building appeared on the skyline. The world's largest pyramid suddenly appeared.
There are quite a few tourists around the pyramid, but compared with such a huge building, they are like rice grains scattered on the ground and are not worth mentioning at all.
Martin began to introduce the Aztec pantheon to the two.
"In the beginning, the world was nothing, and then a god was born. His name was Ometiotto. He was a twin god, both light and darkness, both male and female, both birth and death."
"He gave birth to four children." Martin introduced their names in Spanish, but neither Schiller nor Clark understood them, but Martin soon told them the more memorable priesthood.
They are the Skinned Lord, Smoky Mirror, Quetzalcoatl and Left Hummingbird.
There are also various other small gods. The most interesting thing is that there is a corn god and a tender corn god in Aztec mythology, which shows how much the people of Central America value corn. Clark believes that they should set up a popcorn god.
Among these four gods, Quetzalcoatl is the one in charge of agriculture, but he is more like a god in charge of the weather. In the mythology of Mesoamerica, Quetzalcoatl arrives at the same time as the rainy season, and the rainy season happens to be the time for planting corn, so he is regarded as a patron saint who can lead agriculture to good weather and good harvests.
Different from the images in most traditional myths, Quetzalcoatl is not cruel at all, nor does he have any domineering aura like in Roman and Greek mythology. In myths and legends, he mostly plays the role of a victim, being poked around by the god of war or the god of darkness for no reason.
In the most famous myth about Quetzalcoatl, the God of Darkness came to Quetzalcoatl's palace and invited him to drink. After getting Quetzalcoatl drunk, he threw the country he ruled into chaos.
When Quetzalcoatl woke up, he was very disappointed to see this chaotic scene, but he did not bring down severe divine punishment like many other gods did and directly destroy the world. Instead, he sadly burned down his own palace, buried his treasures, let the trees and plants wither, and dimmed the sunlight. Then he left even more sadly.
When he was halfway there, someone handed him a mirror. He looked at himself and said, "I'm old!" Then he returned to the Aztec kingdom.
Someone asked Him why He wanted to go back, and He said His Father was there, and that everyone else would have to go back one day too.
The story ends like this. To put it simply, after being bullied, Quetzalcoatl went home sadly to find his father.
Quetzalcoatl is actually not a native god of the Aztec civilization. It is more like a product of the fusion with the Mayan civilization, or a common belief in Central America.
But no matter in which region's mythology, he is not a very aggressive god, and his inner self is not as dangerous as his appearance. At the same time, he hates living sacrifices very much, which is regarded as a symbol of mercy and kindness.