inspire-indiana Chapter 59 Improved Meals
Chapter 59 Improved Meals
【The Healing Hand】is considered a miracle cure for all common ailments.
Mrs. Marsh drank it in a daze, and in less than half an hour, she felt refreshed and her fever subsided.
"This is terrible, I guess I can't deny that I'm getting old."
Mrs. Marsh rambled on, sounding somewhat guilty.
"I should have advised you not to rush into cleaning the house. Even I was busy all day yesterday and I'm still feeling exhausted today. Besides, you always rely on [Healing Hand] to maintain your health," Zag comforted you. "And it just so happens that it's time to drink [Healing Hand] every week."
Mrs. Marsh, who was particularly sensitive to money, immediately asked about the price: "The Healing Hand in Eastgate isn't more expensive, is it?"
Zag replied, "No, it's even cheaper. Ms. Rowan gave me a very low discount because I'm about to become her apprentice, only 10 shillings. Of course, none of the fancy packaging is included."
Mrs. Marsh immediately perked up: "That's wonderful! It seems we really made the right choice coming to Eastern Harbor!"
Zag understood Mrs. Marsh's penny-pinching about money; the poor are always like that, and if they didn't care about money, they would probably have starved to death long ago.
Moreover, she was already going through enough hardship, and she didn't even know that her only son had died long ago...
She lost both her parents when she was young and was almost sold by her uncle. She barely escaped and found a job to make a living. She met her beloved, but her husband died not long after their marriage. She worked hard to raise her child and saved every penny to send him to the best church school in the area, only to have her own child die before her.
Life is always so absurd and unreasonable.
Zag felt even more sorry for this old lady with such a tragic fate.
So he quickly shared his second piece of good news: "Yes, and I have some magical materials that some mages I knew from my time as a sentinel asked me to sell. Ms. Rowan is also very interested. If we can help them sell them, or even make this a stable business long-term, it could be a considerable and steady source of income, possibly even more than I earn from my regular job!"
Mrs. Marsh was indeed delighted: "That's wonderful, wonderful! You're becoming more and more mature in your work, I'm so happy!"
The weekend went by quickly; Zag was busy tidying up the new house and buying daily necessities and other groceries.
It must be said that Mrs. Marsh was a very gentle mother. Despite her poor health, she still took very meticulous care of Zag within the limits of her ability.
She sewed a softer down comforter and a down pillow for Zag.
This stuff isn't cheap. The goose down was collected gradually by Mrs. Marsh while she lived at the Redcurrant Mill. After being washed and dried many times, the gamey smell of the birds has faded considerably.
To be honest, Zag had never used this kind of thing before he transmigrated. He has never been particular about bedding. He used to use a polyester fiber quilt that cost a few dozen yuan when he lived in the dormitory during his student days. But compared to that, the goose down quilt is indeed softer and more comfortable.
She used the remaining goose feathers to sew two soft pads, one large and one small, for Herford and Snowball, which have now become the most cherished possessions of the cat and dog.
Zag felt that in Snowball's heart, the goose down cushion might be more important than the scratching post and scratching board that he had painstakingly made for it.
Zag had originally intended for Mrs. Marsh to use these fine things herself, as he, as a fake son, felt rather unworthy of them. But the old lady cherished even more the old goose feather quilt she always used, because it was sewn for her husband when they got married.
She refused to throw away anything related to Zag's father, no matter how old or worn it was.
Zag could only respect that.
Besides these, Mrs. Marsh was also very enthusiastic about making all sorts of snacks. Thanks to Tochelford and Snowball, Zag got to try quite a few local delicacies, including butter cookies, redcurrant pancakes, and Queen's cake. Mostly desserts, but they were indeed quite delicious—except for being a bit too sweet.
She asked Brother Peter to get her a fireproof board, then buried the iron pot in the ashes from the fireplace, and covered it with the fireproof board. This way, the food inside would be slowly baked, simulating an oven-like effect.
This method usually takes a long time to wait, but Mrs. Marsh has no shortage of time.
Moreover, with Mrs. Marsh around, Zag didn't even have to worry about the age-old question of "what to eat today." Compared to the simple grilled fish and potatoes he used to make when he lived alone, Mrs. Marsh had a much wider variety of dishes—
The worst main dish is baked potato pancakes, followed by various pasta dishes, mainly pasta with creamy fish paste sauce, somewhat like spaghetti. There's also something similar to lasagna called "margherita tata tata," where "tata" means "stacked" in Quen. Like lasagna, this dish consists of layers of pasta, cheese, and meat sauce, stacked repeatedly for a rich flavor.
The side dishes were even more abundant. Whether it was cabbage soup or various roasted vegetables and fish, Mrs. Marsh would prepare many sauces, mainly with honey, black pepper, basil, chopped celery and a spice called dragon pepper.
Dragon peppers are similar to chili peppers, but they are smaller than the smallest bird's eye chilies Zag has ever seen, only about the size of a thumbnail. Mrs. Marsh likes to grind them into large pieces before using them. In terms of taste, having experienced the "mildly spicy" flavors of Sichuan and Chongqing, Zag thinks that dragon peppers are not very spicy, not even as spicy as the spicy chicken burgers in fast food restaurants, but they are very fragrant, making them his favorite.
I heard that these were all skills Mrs. Marsh learned from the Quinns when she was on Margarita Island. Zag couldn't say whether they tasted authentic or not, but he was quite happy eating them every day. He even felt that Herford and Snowball had become quite plump from being fed so much.
However, Snowball wasn't interested in the dragon peppers. Instead, Herford was very fond of spicy food. But Mrs. Marsh was worried about their health, so she only allowed Herford a little bit each time to taste it and wouldn't give him more. Zag had to hide some in his room under his own name in order to secretly satisfy Herford's cravings.
Snowball expressed utter disdain for this, believing that Zag and Helford...
"They're simply the most pathetic dragonborn and werewolf on the Dawn Continent!"
Thank goodness, Snowball finally acknowledged that Zag wasn't a dragon, but its habit of mocking was still stubborn.
But it didn't matter. Zag was already used to the foul-mouthed Hakimi's complaints, while Helford cherished the opportunity to live a normal life in human society—even as a dog—so he didn't hold a grudge against Snowball and let Snowball bully him as usual.
Mrs. Marsh quickly noticed Zag's "change in taste" and intentionally adjusted the meals to be saltier and spicier. Even on his first day of work, Mrs. Marsh forced him to eat a small bread with a filling of dragon pepper and fish paste, on the grounds that she was worried Zag would be hungry during his morning work.
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【Dawn Magic Encyclopedia】Dragon Pepper is a common plant that grows in Dragonblood Forest. It contains low magical power and has a slight cold-resistant effect. It is occasionally used in some low-level cold-resistant alchemical potions.
However, it is actually one of the mainstream spices on the market, and due to its large production volume, its price is even affordable for low-income workers. Of course, the cheap dragon pepper is also one of the things these people rely on to get through the cold winter.