Ange held the imposing red creature in his hand, inspecting it again and again. After confirming it was a Crawfish, he asked the Poliwag that was moving aquatic plants onto the boat:
"Did you catch many of these things?"
Poliwag looked at it and immediately nodded repeatedly.
There were too many.
Ange was delighted to hear this and quickly said, "Where are they? Take me to see."
Poliwag nodded, set down the aquatic plants, waved to Ange, and swam in one direction.
Attached to one of the posts buried yesterday, Ange saw another net bag. This one was filled with shrimp and crabs, with Crawfish being the most numerous.
Looking at the Crawfish crammed together inside, Ange was already fantasizing about how to cook them tonight. He happily told Poliwag and Sobble,
"We'll have new delicacies tonight. Just wait for a feast."
Sobble pointed to the Crawfish in Ange's hand, which was missing a pincer, and asked confusedly, "Sobb, Sobb~" Can we eat this?
Poliwag also waited for Ange's answer with a face full of question marks. There were many of these things in the lake. They were all shell and would pinch people. They had never considered eating them.
Could they really be eaten?
"Of course. If cooked well, they are very delicious. I'll teach you how to make it tonight," Ange said, scratching Sobble's chin.
"Sobb, Sobb~" Yay! Yay!
Upon hearing there was a new dish to learn, Sobble excitedly scrambled over Ange's shoulders, climbing from the left to the right.
"All right, all right, let's work first. Everything else can wait until after we finish."
Poliwag cheered and immediately plunged into the water to continue working. Seeing this, Sobble leaped from Ange's shoulder, splashing into the water. In a moment, it resurfaced, holding a fish about its size.
You think you're so tough, I can't catch the large Snakehead Fish, but I can certainly handle you!
"Sobb, Sobb~" Master, look, am I amazing?
Sobble held the fish over its head. It now called Ange "Master," just like Munchlax.
"Amazing! Amazing!" Ange said while tidying the aquatic plants.
Sobble threw the fish onto the boat, then smugly dived back into the water.
As time passed, the sun began to set again. The clearing of the fish farm was nearing its end. Ange had already started releasing fish fry into the areas that were cleaned first.
Sobble and a few Poliwag followed Ange's instructions, planting one seedling after another of the aquatic plants and Asire Seaweed into the lake bottom.
Aquatic plants had tenacious vitality and were easy to grow once planted.
Watching the thumb-sized fish dart into the lake, turn around, and disappear beneath the water with a flick of their tails, Ange was already looking forward to the harvest day.
Rushing as quickly as possible, Ange and the others finally released all the fish fry, shrimp fry, and crab fry into the planned water areas before dark.
After all this was done, Ange and the Water-type Pokémon went ashore together, bringing the fish, shrimp, and crabs caught that day back home.
On the way home, Ange said to the Water-type Pokémon, "The guarding of the fish farm is entrusted to you from now on."
"Poli poli, Poli poli~" Don't worry, we've got it covered.
Politoed said.
Although Ange could not understand its exact words, he could guess its assurance from its expression.
The other Water-type Pokémon also voiced their agreement with Politoed.
Ange chatted with the Water-type Pokémon about the subsequent farming plans as they walked. Before they knew it, they arrived home.
Seeing that everyone who was cutting trees had returned, he quickly called Munchlax and Sobble to start cooking.
However, before cooking, he first went to the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress and put the fish caught today into the pool to keep them alive.
They certainly could not finish all these fish at once, so they could only keep them for now.
These fish had lived in Nebel Lake for who knows how many years. Some were even bigger than Ange. Catching one was enough for a meal.
Before releasing the fish, Ange first lowered the gate of the pool's drain channel. Otherwise, the fish would definitely escape through it.
The drain channel of the pool had two gates. The first was a mesh gate, which, when lowered, would not obstruct the pool's drainage while preventing the fish in the water from swimming away. The second was a solid gate, which, when lowered, would stop the pool from draining outward.
Ange lowered the first gate.
Coming out of the Secret Fortress, Ange quickly returned to the kitchen to get busy. He assigned tasks to Munchlax and Sobble, "Munchlax, you are in charge of steaming the Mantou; Sobble, you are in charge of cooking the Fish Soup; I will make a new delicacy for everyone."
"Munch~" Yes!
"Sobb~" Okay!
Munchlax and Sobble loudly agreed, their hearts full of anticipation for the new delicacy.
The new dish Ange prepared for everyone today was Spicy Crawfish, one of the most common ways to cook Crawfish in his past life.
The first step was to wash and prepare the Crawfish.
But... Looking at the basin after basin of crawling Crawfish in front of him, Ange was troubled. This was going to be difficult to process!
If he did all the washing and scrubbing himself, he did not know how long it would take.
After some thought, he called a few more Pokémon from outside: Delphox, Greninja, Lopunny, Patrat, Watchog, and Totodile. He had them help with the preparation.
"Come, I'll show you how to prepare them." Ange picked up a Crawfish to demonstrate.
First, use a brush to clean the body of the Crawfish. Then, pull out the intestinal tract. Finally, clip off the head.
The steps were not complicated.
"Did you learn?" Ange asked.
"Del del~" We learned!
"Gre gre~" We learned!
"Lop~" We learned!
The Pokémon answered in unison.
"Then let's hurry up."
The Pokémon agreed and immediately started working in pairs.
With so many Pokémon helping, the several large basins of Crawfish were all processed in a short time.
Ange chased the Pokémon out of the kitchen, "All out, all out. Don't be impatient. You can taste it when it's ready."
By now, the Fish Soup cooked by Sobble was emitting a rich aroma, making the already hungry Pokémon salivate even more.
They left the kitchen, looking back with every step.
After sending the Pokémon away, Ange officially started cooking. He took out the seasonings needed to make Spicy Crawfish from the cupboard: dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, star anise, brown sugar, salt, white wine, and so on.
The first step was to prepare the seasonings. He cut the chili, scallions, ginger, and garlic and set them aside.
These were all grown in Ange's vegetable garden and were of superior quality. Especially the thick scallions were fully grown, each as thick as a baby's arm. Their flavor was intense. As seasonings, they were the best of the best.
Of course, this excluded those who disliked the taste of scallions.
The second step was to stir-fry the base ingredients. Add an appropriate amount of oil to the pot. First, sauté the scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant. Then, add the dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns to stir-fry until the spicy and numbing flavor comes out.
Instantly, the entire kitchen was filled with a rich and overpowering aroma. Even the fragrance of the Fish Soup was completely suppressed.
Munchlax and Sobble coughed from the pungent chili smell.
The third step was cooking the Crawfish.
Put the cleaned Crawfish into the pot. Stir-fry quickly over high heat until the shells turn red.
Next, add seasonings like light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and salt, and continue to stir-fry evenly.
Then, add the spices and wine. Put in bay leaves, star anise, and other spices. Pour in high-proof white wine or beer to enhance the flavor and remove the fishiness.
Despite its eyes watering from the pungent smell, Munchlax stood resolutely by Ange's side, watching the pot eagerly.
"Munch, Munch~" Master, is it not ready yet? Slurp~
Ange helplessly took out a handkerchief to wipe its mouth, then tucked the handkerchief into its arms.
"Good food is worth the wait. Don't worry."
"Munch~" Oh~
Munchlax stood on a small stool, occasionally using the handkerchief to wipe the corners of its mouth.
The final step was braising and reducing the sauce. Add an appropriate amount of water. Cover the pot and braise over medium-low heat for a while, allowing the Crawfish to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce. Then, open the lid and reduce the sauce over high heat until it becomes thick.
When the sauce reduction was complete, the Spicy Crawfish was finally ready.
Ange took out platters, each bigger than a washbasin, and scooped up the Spicy Crawfish. The rich aroma, accompanied by the heat, spread even more aggressively. Even the Pokémon outside smelled it.
"Ange, is it not ready yet?" Diancie poked her head into the kitchen and sniffed. She could not help but take a deep breath, then coughed constantly. "Cough, cough, cough~ This smell is too intense."
Ange quickly waved her in. "Hurry, take the food out. It's ready to eat."
Soon, Mantou, Fish Soup, and Crawfish were brought out one basin after another.
Dinner was too late tonight, and it was completely dark outside, so everyone came inside to eat.
With so many Pokémon gathered in the shop at once, the space looked a bit crowded. Diancie and Munchlax moved with difficulty between the Pokémon, distributing the food to every table.
However, precisely because of this, the atmosphere in the shop was livelier. Combined with the fiery red lobsters on the tables, it was very festive, like a New Year celebration.
The Pokémon gathered three or five at a table, drooling from the aroma of the Spicy Crawfish.
Ange announced, "Everyone, start eating. I'll show you how to eat Crawfish." As he spoke, he picked up a Crawfish.
Following Ange's example, everyone picked up a Crawfish, sucking and slurping. The sauce lingered in their mouths. All the Pokémon were conquered by the deliciousness of the Spicy Crawfish, especially the Water-type Pokémon.
They were familiar with Crawfish, often seeing them in the water, but they never expected them to be so delicious.
The numbing spice and freshness were perfectly integrated in the sauce, constantly stimulating their tongues and taste buds. The freshness and crispness of the shrimp meat brought an extreme sense of happiness.
The flavor of the Spicy Crawfish seemed to have a special magic, attracting them to eat one after another, unable to stop.
Hiss~ Hiss~
Because the chili grown at Ange's house was particularly spicy, the Pokémon kept sucking in air as they ate. Even though their lips were swollen from the spice, they still could not stop.
Seeing everyone eating with such enjoyment, Ange, Diancie, Munchlax, Sobble, and Komala gathered around a table as well.
Komala returned at some point, making it just in time for dinner.
Looking at the fragrant Spicy Crawfish, Ange suddenly had a craving for alcohol. He looked at Komala and said, "Komala, shall we have a drink?"
Komala swayed. Ange knew this meant it agreed.
He got up and went to the kitchen. He had bought a few bottles of beer a couple of days ago while shopping and had left them in the refrigerator, untouched. Now was the perfect time to pair them with Crawfish.
Crawfish had to be paired with beer!
"Tonight, we're drinking beer!" Ange said, placing the opened beer in front of Komala.
Komala put its wood log pillow under its bottom, grabbing the beer can with one hand and a Crawfish with the other. Although it was its first time drinking beer, Komala instantly fell in love with it.
Seeing this, Ange also started eating Crawfish and drinking beer.
This life was beautiful!
Clang, clang, clang~~
Sobble watched Ange and Komala enjoy their drinks and tapped its bowl with a chopstick.
"Sobb, Sobb~" What does beer taste like? I want some, too.
Diancie saw this and slapped it on the back of the head.
"Don't tap the bowl. It's rude. And children are not allowed to drink alcohol."
Sobble covered the back of its head with a look of grievance. It could only obediently binge on Crawfish. The Crawfish was so delicious that it soon forgot its desire for beer.
Everyone was in high spirits tonight, so they stayed at Ange's house for a long time before leaving.
Watching the Pokémon disappear into the night, Ange looked at the empty plaza in front of the house and suddenly had an idea.
The Pokémon dug up many large tree stumps during the day while cutting trees, right? He could use them to make tables and put them on the plaza. Then everyone would have tables to eat at in the future.
Large tree stumps could be made into tables, and small tree stumps could be made into stools. It would be absolutely perfect.
The weather on the Nebel Plateau was sunny most of the time. It was neither too cold nor too hot outside. Eating outdoors would be a unique pleasure.
He would start tomorrow. The fish farm was already built, and with Politoed and the others watching over it, he only needed to check in and guide the work occasionally. He had plenty of time.
The tree-cutting was not his job.
Right, he also needed to arrange accommodation for the Water-type Pokémon! They were his employees, and he had to consider their future stable life.
He would discuss it with Politoed tomorrow!
As for the other Pokémon, he would take it one step at a time. Everyone would get their turn.
Thinking this, Ange turned and went back inside.
The family of five went up to the second floor and comfortably lay on the sofa. Some played games, some binge-watched shows, some watched the news, and some dozed off.
When the time came, they all went to the Cooking Training Room for a one-hour special training session. Afterward, they returned to their respective rooms to wash up and sleep.
Before going to sleep, Ange claimed the rewards for the two daily missions as usual.
The first Mission reward:
[Congratulations to the Host for receiving a Reward: 1 bag of Cabbage Seeds.]
A mediocre reward. He would hand it over to the Dugtrio brothers later.
The second Mission reward:
[Congratulations to the Host for receiving a Reward: 1 Poké Ball.]
Still a mediocre reward. A Poké Ball was completely useless to him!
Ange casually placed the Poké Ball on the bedside table as a decoration.
Hmm~ not bad. It was passable as a decoration.
He then pulled up his blanket and drifted off into a sweet dream. (zZZ)