NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: This is now a food novel~
After Earl Rosewood left, Mr. Baker glanced at the other servants. They all grabbed a fork and dug into the bowl of remaining noodles.
“Haaa~ Haaa~ it’s still spicy!”
“So delicious!”
“I really like the texture of the noodles!”
“He called them hand-pulled! It was true!” a servant realised.
“That was a lot faster than rolling out dough thinner and thinner to make pasta!”
“We should try.”
“Yes, lets!”
Mrs. Cooks arrived in time to see the bakers all failing at making hand-pulled noodles. Unfortunately, hand-pulling noodles was a lot harder than they expected.
Mrs. Cooks sighed. “My word! Just use a rolling pin! And since you’ve made so much…tell me, what was Earl Rosewood’s recipe? I’ll cook it up for all of us!”
The chagrined bakers took out their rolling pins as they listened to Mrs. Cooks.
After Ren Xiyang finished eating, he carried his tray downstairs and coincidentally met Kel outside the kitchens.
“My Lord! You…had breakfast already? Let me take this tray in to wash!” Kel took the tray from Earl Rosewood’s hands.
“Yes. Thank you, Kel.” Ren Xiyang faltered for a moment, before hesitantly asking, “Will you be remaining in the manor today? You and others can take the Rosewood carriage.”
Kel’s heart softened. “My Lord, I’ll be remaining at the manor. My break isn’t till next week!”
“Mm, okay. Have a good rest.”
“You too, my Lord.”
Kel watched as the earl walked away by himself, before entering the kitchens. She blinked. “What are you all doing?”
Over half of the servants were crowding around one part of the kitchen, while the others were preparing breakfast for the Rosewood solicitor and managers.
“Earl Rosewood cooked this morning,” Mrs. Cooks said.
“Oh?” Kel put the dirty dishes and tray in one of the big sinks and came over to have a taste herself. “—Wow, what’s in this?”
“It’s the soy sauce, Kel,” Mr. Baker said. “I believe that’s the flavour that you’re tasting.”
“It’s very savoury without any meat,” Mrs. Cooks agreed.
One of the servants eating breakfast said, “I’ve been half-working with the soy products team. The big new millstone should be ready soon, and we’ve also made some big pots of soy sauce that’s fermenting! Not only that, but once the millstone is in place, we should get soy milk, tofu, and even soy oil…”
More than one person licked their lips. “Since the earl came, the food has been more varied than usual.”
“I wonder what the earl will cook up next…”
After Ren Xiyang politely saw Solicitor Carmine and the Rosewood managers off on their way back to the Capital, he was properly free for the day from any obligations.
Since he was already outside, he decided to visit the farmlands anyway, and as expected, surprised many farmers.
“You do know that you can take a break today,” he told them sternly. “The plants can survive a day without weeding.”
“Yes, my Lord…” The farmers bowed their heads and exited the fields.
When he returned to the manor, he entered one of the music rooms, where there was an assortment of musical instruments. He first sat down at the white grand piano that dominated the room. The music sheets were in the same format as his past world. Recalling Alyssa’s memories, he could play a few pieces on the piano.
Then, he got up and picked up the violin. Reaching back into deeper memories, music flowed between strings and bow.
Music…he should do something to support musicians too. Could he support the development of modern rock and pop music? What magical category is musical magic?
Ren Xiyang suddenly felt that he was too deep into the work mindset if everything reminded him of more work.
In the end, he flew up to the roof and sat there by himself and instead thought about what he should make for lunch and dinner…
(Were roses native to this area? Could they plant more roses of even more varied colours? Could he set up a park as a tourist attraction and area of relaxation for the Rosewood fief residents?)
((He was definitely too deep into work.))
An hour before lunch, Ren Xiyang went to the kitchens again. Unusually, the staff didn’t appear surprised, rather, they looked like they were anticipating him.
“My Lord, what are you going to make now?” Mrs. Cooks asked curiously.
“I’m going to make steamed buns and dumplings,” Ren Xiyang said.
—Cue an impromptu cooking session with Mrs. Cooks and the others—
The kitchens were quiet as they all waited for the baozi and dumplings to steam.
Ren Xiyang sighed in his heart and tried to make some small talk. “So…you all decided to stay here today?”
“The Rosewood manor is basically my home, my Lord,” Mrs. Cooks offered. “I’ve lived here so long.”
“Oh.” Ren Xiyang glanced at Kel. “After we re-assess the estate’s finances, remind me to plan for new housing on or near the estate, so that you could bring your families here.”
Kel nodded. “Understood, my Lord.”
“And you could also call me Ayden,” Ren Xiyang added.
The employees all gave him identical looks of, no way!
“My Lord, that would be highly improper,” Maria said.
Ren Xiyang smiled slightly. “Am I not already improper?”
The staff: “…”
“If I do something wrong, I hope you can all tell me. I’m only good at some parts of agriculture and fire magic and nothing else,” Ren Xiyang said seriously.
To the adult servants, the young Earl was so earnest that it pinched their hearts! “Yes, my Lord,” they chorused.
Ren Xiyang’s lips curved slightly. “Thank you. Now, the dumplings will be done now, pour out some soy sauce and vinegar and everyone can have a taste.”
The staff scrambled to do as he said. They first enjoyed the delicious dumplings, and then the soft baozi.
“Do you like it?” Ren Xiyang asked.
“Like!” the staff replied.
Ren Xiyang felt some relief.
“Now, are you thinking of something in particular for dinner, my Lord?” Mrs. Cooks asked as she cleared away some of the used dishes. “Can we help you with anything?”
“Ramen,” Ren Xiyang said. “The longest component is the stock, either chicken or pork. I’ll come back in a few hours to work on the other components.”
“We can make the stock! Tell me all the ingredients you need, and I’ll make sure we have them!” Mrs. Cooks declared.
Ren Xiyang detailed what needed to be detailed.
Once the earl left (to have his first afternoon nap in a while), the other servants all smiled knowingly at each other.
“Tell the bakers to try to make bread with filling inside like the steamed buns!”
“These dumplings are very fine. They would be suitable for any important persons visiting in the future.”
“With the Earl around, we don’t need any firewood and there’s no smokiness in the kitchen!”
“I bet ‘ramen’ is going to taste really good!”
“Who wants to go to the market to get the rest of the ingredients?”
“I do! I do!”
“I’ll go to the vegetable gardens to pick some ingredients too!”
Needless to say, dinner was a great success. In the end, Ren Xiyang sat with the staff in the room next to the kitchens to eat together. After the surprise from the staff that hadn’t been hanging around the kitchens, tables and chairs were filled, and bowls of ramen were placed in front of every person.
“My Lord, if you weren’t an earl, you could be the most famous chef in the land,” Kel complimented wholeheartedly.
“If I weren’t an earl, I’ll be an agricultural scientist—a farmer,” Ren Xiyang said, but his eyes were bright from the compliment nonetheless.
“You’d put out of a job, sir!” one of the farmers joked.
“Oh, no, I’ll be convincing more and more people to farm,” Ren Xiyang replied.
“Here’s to our Lord, Earl Rosewood!”
“Here here!"
Ren Xiyang lowered his head. He wasn’t embarrassed! It was just…
The earl is shy! the staff thought fondly.
Ren Xiyang was full and relaxed by the time his meeting with Rian came around.
Since there were no visuals, Ren Xiyang put the crystal ball on the coffee table while he laid down on the couch.
“How have you been without me, Earl Rosewood? Did you miss me?” Rian’s teasing voice came out of the crystal ball.
Ren Xiyang recalled warmly, “Eat some new dishes today. I made hand pulled noodles, steam buns, dumplings, and ramen.”
Rian, who had just sat through a long political dinner with his family and numerous nobles, felt that Ayden was taunting him. “You made some new dishes right after I left?”
“Hm, yes.”
“…”
“And how has your day been?” Ren Xiyang asked lazily.
Rian took a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad you asked, Earl Rosewood. Let me tell you about every single person I talk to today…”
Ren Xiyang let the long list of names wash by him—mostly names of hordes of private teachers—and accepted his temporary role in saying, “Hm,” occasionally. “I’m glad I’m not you, your Highness,” he said when Rian was finally finished.
Rian snorted. “I could do your job, but you can’t do mine.”
“That’s right,” Ren Xiyang agreed easily.
Rian pouted. He wondered how much gold it’ll take to convince Ayden to swap roles with him. More than he could afford, most likely.
However, he did feel better after venting to Ayden.
Rian sighed in resignation. “Unfortunately, we can’t speak for much longer today. I truly have too much work I need to catch up on.” Even if he was a genius now, he still needed time to write his answers. “What did you do today? Aside from cooking new dishes without me.”
“Oh, I took the day off.”
Rian: “…” Arggg, he was so jealous! “I’m afraid we must end the call here, Earl Rosewood.”
“Okay, have a good night, Prince Rian.”
“I’m sure you will,” Rian said, sounding a bit sour. The connection between the crystal balls cut.
Ren Xiyang had a very good night sleep after that.
Ren Xiyang: I’m very serious.
The adults: Yes, yes. (So cute! Wouldn’t hurt a lamb!)
The assassins who had been crushed by Ren Xiyang: ………