Hotpot Restaurant Chapter 13
As soon as Guifeng appeared on the scene, the Forestry Bureau staff’s interest in humans basically disappeared.
The two chattered, asked questions, and even took out their mobile phones to take pictures and took notes in their notebooks.
As the first-time parrot owner, Meng Xiaoni also learnt a lot from their dialogue—from how to raise a parrot, what a parrot should normally be like, how to treat it if it gets sick, what can be considered a beautiful parrot, and so on.
The topics were so varied and in-depth, and could be compiled into a thin book of parrot breeding tips.
Although Meng Xiaoni felt that the Guifeng was not simply a parrot, she still earnestly took mental notes about what the two staff members said.
Guifeng didn’t seem to be very interested in the two staff members, and only answered them carelessly, The only thing he was adamant about was his refusal to leave Meng Xiaoni.
As a result, the topic gradually drifted in a strange direction.
The staff, “We have several excellent breeding centres in Fengdu County; there are many parrots as beautiful as Guifeng.”
Guifeng, “That’s impossible. I’m the most beautiful.”
Meng Xiaoni, “…”
The staff, “Would Guifeng like to meet a beautiful female parrot? You can have a lot of little baby parrots!”
Guifeng, “Love is the most beautiful only when reproduction is not the ultimate goal.”
Staff, “Hahahaha, who taught you to say that?”
Guifeng , “I taught myself.”
Meng Xiaoni, “…”
Didn’t he promise not to expose his intelligence?
Meng Xiaoni gave up.
It was only after a while that the two staff members’ excitement subsided a little. They understood that Guifeng was truly unwilling to leave the Mengs, and began to formally discuss the issue with Meng Xiaoni.
One of them said carefully to Meng Xiaoni, “While it is true that Bourke’s parrots can live alone, this species is actually very suitable for reproducing offspring. They are born parents. They may not seem very intimate with humans, but they are actually very attentive to their baby parrots.”
Meng Xiaoni nodded.
“Birds have a very high IQ. The most typical parrot species is the African Grey Parrot. The knowledge they learn is even passed down from generation to generation. From the existing research, we can reasonably infer that the parrot’s brain is able to match the human brain.”
Father Meng and Mother Meng listened carefully and couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
From the male staff’s voice, Meng Xiaoni guessed that he was the one on the phone who held a higher position. At that moment, he was smiling as he spoke, his meaning quite clear, “Judging from our conversations, Guifeng’s IQ is currently estimated to be equivalent to that of at least a five- or six-year-old child. His talent for language is extremely rare among parrots. Since he is not willing to leave, then we will take this into consideration and make the most appropriate arrangements for him.”
Meng Xiaoni was a little hopeful.
The female staff next to him coughed, “It’s like this, our boss… Ah, no, that is, Zhao Ke—he has a veterinary degree. Whether it’s knowledge or qualifications, he completely fulfils all the conditions for raising parrots.”
Zhao Ke smiled and added, “Guifeng can be registered with the breeding centre nearby, with me as his veterinarian. I will recommend some necessary equipment to you based on their cost-effectiveness. You can fill out an application form, and submit it along with a medical report and photos of the equipment—then, you will be able to keep Guifeng. Of course, because I bear responsibility, I, or the staff of the Forestry Bureau, will come by often to see Guifeng.”
After hearing this, Meng Xiaoni suddenly realized…
This was an exchange of sorts.
Guifeng, who’d come to this realisation earlier than Meng Xiaoni, said, “Yes.”
Zhao Ke’s smile deepened, “Xiao meng has to be the one to agree to this.”
Meng Xiaoni felt the weight of the Guifeng on her head, “Yes.”
Upon her note of assent, Zhao Ke and the female staff exchanged contact information with Meng Xiaoni.
As soon as Meng Xiaoni approved the friend requests, she received a slew of documents, all containing information on how to raise parrots.
The message alert sounded non-stop.
Meng Xiaoni was about to click on the messages to look at the files when she heard Zhao Ke say, “There are a lot of files, look at them later.”
Guifeng also glanced at the phone’s screen and saw that there were indeed a lot of files, then turned his head away again.
Finally, Zhao Ke and Meng Xiaoni made an appointment for Guifeng’s medical examination. After that, they say goodbye and started to leave.
Father Meng and Mother Meng tried repeatedly to let them stay for a hotpot meal before leaving, but to no avail. They gave the excuse of having other work to attend to, then went off.
When they were completely gone from the vicinity, Meng Xiaoni reached out to poke Guifeng on his head, somewhat excited, “I can keep you!”
Guifeng moved slightly to the side, “Hmm.”
Happy with the way things turned out, Meng Xiaoni beamed happily.
She cheerfully returned to Father Meng and Mother Meng’s side. “Let’s have hot pot tonight!”
She said it as if she hadn’t been eating hotpot in the past few days.
At the sight of her gleeful face, Father Meng and Mother Meng both broke into smiles of their own. “Alright, alright, I got it.”
In the evening, there were more customers than the day before, because some regulars had heard about the new hot pot base and came over to try it.
As Meng Xiaoni helped out, she also prepared a small pot from Guifeng—hot and delicious.
“Do you eat youqiu1?” Meng Xiaoni asked Guifeng as she pointed to two youqiu.
Guifeng smelled the aroma coming from it, and answered decisively, “Yes.”
Meng Xiaoni had a flash of inspiration. She took a youqiu, “I’ll prepare it the way it’s trending online!”
Trending online? Does that mean a way of eating that’s popular on the Internet?
Guifeng skirted around the heat of the pot and flew to a high place in the kitchen to observe how Meng Xiaoni was going to prepare this so-called “trending online” eating method.
First, Meng Xiaoni took a pair of chopsticks and poked a hole in the youqiu.
Then, she fetched a small bowl and selected an egg that looked the best from the corner. With a “crack”, she cracked the egg with one-hand in a flourish, picked up the chopsticks and stirred it quickly.
Under the stirring of the chopsticks, the small bowl of clearly separated egg white and yolk quickly turned into a golden slurry.
Even though she was beating the egg quickly, her movements were very small and controlled. As a result, there were no bubbles at all in the bowl of whisked egg. If such a bubble-free egg mixture was used to make cakes or puddings, it would be simply a masterpiece.
It’s a pity that this bowl of whisked egg was meant to be poured into the youqiu.
Meng Xiaoni quietly took a small dish of xiahua2, poured the egg mixture over the surface of the xiahua. She then scooped out a small piece, completely dipped it into the egg mixture, and stuffed it into the youqiu’s hole.
After filling the youqiu, she began to work on another one.
There was a good amount of egg mixture and a bit too much xiahua as well.
Adhering to her principle of not wasting food, Meng Xiaoni deviated from her initial plan of making only two xiahua youqiu and ended up making an entire plate of them.
The little round balls, neatly arranged on the plate, looked delicious.
Guifeng called out a reminder from where he was watching, “You can cook two for me to try how it tastes first.”
Meng Xiaoni looked up and smiled, “Mhm.”
She picked up a strainer ladle, placed two xiahua youqiu in it, and put it into the small pot.
Spicy hot pot always boils faster than the clear soup variety; the boiling red soup seeped easily into the entire youqiu, cooking the filling as well.
Meanwhile, Meng Xiaoni made two new ones and put them on the plate; the bowl of egg mixture was almost all used up.
There was still a little xiahua left; she took a small spoon and scooped it directly into the pot.
Youqiu, xiahua and egg, these were all items that cooked very quickly.
Meng Xiaoni felt like she’d just put them in the pot, but when she took a look, she found that the xiahua youqiu was already almost ready. When xiahua is cooked, it will turn pink and float to the soup’s surface—it is really easy to tell when it’s done.
Guifeng breathed in the aroma and couldn’t help moving forward a little.
Meng Xiaoni used chopsticks to rotate the xiahua youqiu, then dipped the strainer ladle in the pot a little deeper, to fully immerse them into the soup. She waited for a few seconds before fishing them out and put them in a small bowl.
She’d forgotten to prepare the dipping sauce.
Meng Xiaoni gave a soft gasp and asked, “Do you want dipping sauce?”
Guifeng flew straight over and came up to the side of the bowl, “No need.”
“It’s a little hot, be careful,” cautioned Meng Xiaoni.
Xiahua youqiu doesn’t necessarily need to be eaten with dipping sauce, because the youqiu will absorb the soup—resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth effect.
The round and light youqiu looks rather plain, but put a cooked one that’s soaked with soup in your mouth, and you’d be surprised at how unexpectedly smooth it is. With the additional stuffing, the egg mixture added a bit more smoothness, while the xiahua brought the tender bite of fresh, bouncy meat.
When you put one in your mouth, if it’s not too hot, it’s almost like eating a spicy dessert, rather than a hotpot ingredient.
Guifeng pecked carefully at the plump xiahua youqiu; it really was quite hot.
First, was the outer layer that quickly melted in the mouth, then came the xiahua and egg mixture, which was elastic and tender.
As for the taste, it was fresh, fragrant, and spicy. Due to the aromatics in the spicy hot pot, there was no trace of fishiness from the xiahua.
An absolute delight.
As a phoenix, how could Guifeng be afraid of being heat?
He ate the youqiu in a few quick bites, and immediately moved on to the next one, while commanding Meng Xiaoni, “Put them all in.”
Meng Xiaoni didn’t know how Guifeng’s small body could contain food that was even larger in volume than itself. As she watched Guifeng eat with gusto, she herself wanted one too, so she put three more into the small pot.
When Guifeng finished both the xiahua youqiu, the three in the pot was not yet cooked.
Meng Xiaoni fished out the leftover xiahua that she’d put in earlier, and placed them into the small bowl in front of Guifeng.
Guifeng stared at the youqiu in the pot for a moment, but still ate the xiahua.
As she watched him eat, Meng Xiaoni’s stomach rumbled involuntarily.
She was hungry.
Guifeng turned to look at Meng Xiaoni.
Meng Xiaoni didn’t feel there was anything to be ashamed of, and asserted matter-of-factly, “Well, it’s dinner time.”
Ghost Phoenix turned back and said reluctantly, “I’ll give you one.”
Meng Xiaoni, “???”
Wasn’t she the one who made them?
Guifeng asserted even more matter-of-factly, “You said you’d raise me.”
Meng Xiaoni’s eyes widened.
Ghost Phoenix was unconcerned about her feelings; he urged, “It’s cooked, hurry, take them out!”
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Footnotes:
1 youqiu: 油球; Also known as youmianjin, mianjin, or ‘Fried Gluten Balls’. A seitan product, they’re made from wheat gluten, oil, and water. Spherical and roughly golf ball sized, they have a smooth surface and a crispy texture and are very lightweight. They are slightly greasy themselves and have a meaty texture. In Chinese cooking, fried gluten balls are usually used as a vegetarian alternative to meat and poultry. They absorb flavour very well and are widely used in stir fried dishes, stews, and hot pots. On the right is an image of a youqiu stuffed with xiahua, the way Meng Xiaoni is preparing it.
2 xiahua: 虾滑; smashed shrimp paste; refer to chapter 6
