Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
Chapter 100: Food over Souvenirs

“Thank you very much for letting us board your ship at that time.”

Li Yong also noticed him, so he nodded while maintaining his position of covering Yui Mei.

“Nah, we’re the ones who were in your care!”

The uncle waved his hand in dismissal as he broadly grinned.

“Are you perhaps selling fish?”

Yui Mei poked her head from behind Li Yong, commenting as she stared at the fish lined up before the uncle.

“Yep, and they’re freshly caught this morning, you know? Fish are rare for city folks, right. Have you ever seen this before?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it since I came to Kai!”

Yui Mei said honestly as she watched uncle brimming with pride.

If she did not take her past life into consideration, then it was indeed the first time in this life that she saw fresh fish that was still intact.

“I also thought they’re different from the fish in the river.”

“Haha! River fish ain’t got nothing against sea fish when it comes to taste!”

The uncle seemed mighty pleased when Li Yong said that.

It was obvious that the sea was his pride, from the bottom of his heart.

“Ahm, can we eat fish that has been grilled whole?”

She ate fish in Li Min’s mansion, too, but all the dishes had been beautifully plated, and there was not a single grilled whole fish among them.

“Yeah, you can grill it by the beach.”

According to the uncle, there was a fisherman’s store in front of the beach, and they could grill the fish in the bonfire there.

‘Yehey, I want to eat that!’

And so, Yui Mei bought horse mackerel, turban shells and huge shrimps before heading towards the beachfront store.

The fishermen were also gathered around the fire, apparently having their lunch, too.

Yui Mei mingled with them, and she hastily started to prepare the fish.

She borrowed a knife from the fishermen and took out the innards of the horse mackerel.

“Hey, aren’t you one of the city folks? Your skills ain’t bad, eh!”

The fishermen were all amazed.

“I just heard about it from somebody.”

Yui Mei glossed over it since Li Yong was also listening to them.

Li Yong, on the other hand, stared at her work with deep interest.

“I never did that with river fish, though.”

“Seafish has poison in them, so you have to remove the innards.”

A fisherman answered instead of Yui Mei.

She skewered the fish and shrimp then grilled them in the fire, while she placed the turban shells just beside them, then waited for it to be done.

‘Is it okay already?’

A fragrant aroma wafted in the air. Yui Mei took the mackerel from the fire and bit into it.

“Yummy～♪!”

“Yeah, it’s tasty.”

Li Yong also tried the fish and agreed with her.

Yui Mei then took the shrimp skewers.

“This shrimp is also delish~♪!”

It was plump and sweet, and it was delicious enough even without seasonings.

“…Really, how can you eat that thing.”

Li Yong was okay with the mackerel, since it looked like river fish, but the shrimp’s appearance was unfamiliar to him, so he had some qualms about eating it.

“Well, he doesn’t know anything about the sea, so that perspective is a given, I guess.”

Shrimp was definitely served back at Li Min’s mansion.

However, the dishes had been modified so that they no longer retained the original appearance, in consideration for the people from the city. This was probably the reason why the head chef had been pulled out from the city.

It was the first time Li Yong saw the real appearance of shrimp.

“Eh? But then, didn’t you eat fish when you were aboard Lord Li Min’s ship?”

She thought that it was the perfect opportunity to eat a smorgasbord of fish.

“It’s difficult to handle fire on a ship, and that’s true even in the river. So we ate preserved foods, just like what we do during military marching.”

If it was a long voyage, then it might be different, but it seemed that they didn’t cook food when the trip only lasted for a few days.

One of the fishermen also butted in, and she learned from him that cooking would need water, and they simply didn’t have enough extra space for water, no matter how big the ship was. 

They had the option to eat raw fish if they didn’t want to use fire, but they didn’t do it unless emergency due in order to avoid food poisoning, which was one of the things they needed to watch out for.

A scrumptious aroma also wafted from the turban shells while Yui Mei was being taught about those things.

These turban shells were probably the creepiest looking thing among the seafood that Yui Mei bought, but Li Yong liked it, surprisingly.

He had been extremely reluctant to try it at first, but when he did, it seemed to suit his taste.

‘That’s why you shouldn’t refuse food without trying it first!’

She wouldn’t be able to eat seafood again when they returned to the capital, so Yui Mei decided to enjoy them to the fullest while they were still here.

“Alright, it’s not over yet, let’s eat to our heart’s content!”

“…Hey, don’t forget to buy the souvenirs.”

Yui Mei was already captivated by the taste of seafood, so Li Yong tried to drag her back to reality.

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T/N:   Hello! I’m finally back! it feels so good to be able to tl again! Thank you so much for your patience ? I’m sorry I can’t do a mass release, because I also have work in rl to catch up, but please expect a daily release (Mon-Sat) for two weeks to make up for the lack of release! ? Huhu, we reached the 100th chapter of Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace today!! Cheers!!!! Thank you, dear readers, for sticking with us till here! More chaps to come! <>

Hi everyone, Hanazakura here, thanks for reading, I’m grateful to you guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace schedule of release is every Mon, Wed and Fri. 

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