Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 538 TV Shopping
Yuan Yuzi couldn't help but ask, "Why do you add ketchup to scrambled eggs with tomatoes? And if you're going to add ketchup, why add sugar too?"

"It tastes even better with ketchup! Otherwise, why do you think it's so delicious with rice?" Fushimi Shika looked bewildered. "The tomato and egg stir-fry outside isn't authentic. The eggs are eggs, and the tomatoes are tomatoes. It doesn't have that sticky, gooey consistency at all. This is the real tomato and egg stir-fry."

Yuan Yuzi was a little numb, and she couldn't help but ask, "Are the other dishes like this too? Are there any lighter ones? The kind without oil, sugar, or seasonings?"

"You mean white food?" Fushimi Shika chopped the vegetables on the cutting board, mixed them together, and poured them into a bowl: "Here, vegetable salad, eat up."

Looking at the unappetizing clump of weeds, Yuan Yuzi couldn't help but ask, "So what are you having for dinner tonight?"

"Braised pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cola chicken wings, and steamed sea bass." Fushimi Shika gave a thumbs-up: "Persistence pays off! I believe in you, you can definitely lose weight!"

Minamoto no Tamako suddenly felt that Fushimi Shika was misleading her. The idea that outstanding people only become more outstanding when they are with other outstanding people is a lie. It just means that outstanding people become more outstanding, and it has nothing to do with who they are with!

After all, Fushimi Shika can't lose weight for her!

She watched Fushimi Shika cook. The steamed sea bass looked bland, but it was actually covered in hot oil, and the fermented black bean sauce underneath was a calorie bomb. The braised pork ribs were the worst offender. Large chunks of rock sugar were used to caramelize the sugar, and then there was a lot of oil, salt, and various seasonings. It looked delicious but was unhealthy.

As for cola chicken wings, they're already off her menu. Cola has a hellish sugar content, and if she eats two chicken wings, her trip today would be for nothing.

Fushimi Shika brought out the fragrant dishes and served rice to Heiwa Sakurako.

Yuan Yuzi sat to the side, holding her vegetable salad in both hands. She looked down at the weeds in the bowl, then looked up at the delicious food on the table. She couldn't have felt more miserable.

"What you're eating isn't healthy," she said sourly.

Fushimi Shika used a wooden spoon to press the rice in the bowl down, then turned around and asked in surprise, "How is it unhealthy? It has meat and vegetables, it's great."

Yuan Yuzi pointed at the dishes with her chopsticks and said, "They're all high in oil and sugar; eating them will make you fat."

Fushimi Shika sat down next to her and said nonchalantly, "Ah, there's nothing to worry about. Sakura is still growing and won't get fat so easily."

“I’m talking about you,” Gen Tamako looked her up and down, something seemed off: “How come you don’t gain weight no matter how much you eat?”

Fushimi Shika made up a story: "It's innate. Some people just have good genes. You've probably heard of 'easy-to-gain-weight physique,' right? I'm the opposite of easy-to-gain-weight physique; I'm easy-to-lose-weight physique. I even lose weight if I don't eat enough!"

That's true. People's physical constitutions can't be generalized. As a petite girl, Yuan Yuzi feels this very deeply.

She once again resented the injustice of fate in her heart, and with a fierce expression, she ate the salad. There was no happiness in eating, only hatred for eating grass on her face.

Fushimi Shika picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, drizzled some sauce on it, mixed it with rice, and said as he ate, "Keep it up, I'll support you in spirit!"

Gen Tamako silently carried the bowl back to her room.

A perfectly good lunch was turned into a meal-sharing system, which made Hirayuko a little uncomfortable. She was quite concerned about Minamoto no Tamako, so she said, "Isn't this a bad idea? It makes it seem like we're isolating her."

Fushimi Shika didn't seem to care, saying as she ate, "She brought this on herself, who can she blame?"

Ping Yingzi disagreed with this statement: "Losing weight isn't about torturing yourself, is it? If she becomes chubby, would you still like her?"

Fushimi Shika shook his head: "I'm not the kind of shallow man who only cares about looks... But you're right, losing weight isn't about torturing yourself, it's just for your health. As a detective, maintaining a slim figure is still very necessary."

"Yes, then what should we do?" Hira Sakurako's original intention was for Fushimi Shika to find a way to help Minamoto Tamako, such as by making some light and delicious dishes.

However, Fushimi Shika said, "Why don't you go graze with her too? That way she'll feel better."

"No, I'm still growing." Hira Sakurako is at the age where she loves to eat and it's impossible for her to make such a huge sacrifice. She simply laid it all out and asked Fushimi Shika to make healthy meals for Minamoto Tamako from now on.

Upon hearing this, Fushimi Shika scoffed, "How can there be anything in the world that is both healthy and delicious? Delicious things are necessarily unhealthy, and healthy things are necessarily undelicious. That's the law of conservation of deliciousness."

Ping Yingzi didn't believe her: "Didn't you make some light dishes before? They seemed to be recipes from the coastal areas of China..."

“Seafood is very high in purines. If you eat too much, you’ll be lucky if you don’t get gout, let alone lose weight.” Fushimi Shika paused, then added, “If you’re talking about Cantonese cuisine, those dishes just look light. Dishes like fish maw and pig’s trotter soup, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and scallop and seafood soup are all high in collagen.”

Ping Yingzi didn't believe her: "What about the poached chicken?"

Fushimi Shika said, "I don't think that dish is good. If you think it is, I can make it in the future."

Hira Sakurako thought about it and realized that the dish was just so-so. Fushimi Shika had made it before to save time, and it only tasted of chicken and salt; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly delicious either.

She simply gave up thinking and threw the problem to Fushimi Shika: "Then you should research new recipes. After all, Tamako is your girlfriend. Can you bear to see her suffer every day?"

Fushimi Shika squinted. This moral blackmail was his favorite tactic, but now Hira Sakura had stolen it and was using it against him, making him feel constipated.

"Let's talk about it later," he said vaguely.

After lunch, as usual, it was Minamoto no Tamako and Hirako Sakura who cleared and washed the dishes. Hirako Sakura still had holiday homework to do, so today only Minamoto no Tamako was responsible for clearing and washing the dishes.

Fushimi Shika is already in charge of cooking, so he can't also be in charge of washing the dishes, right? He believes that housework should be shared so that no one takes advantage of the other.

After finishing the bowl of salad, Yuan Yuzi felt as if she hadn't eaten anything; her stomach felt empty and she didn't feel full.

She walked out of the room with a frown, and was about to soak the inner pot of the rice cooker in water when she found that there was still a clump of rice left inside.

Fushimi Shika had prepared a portion for her, but she didn't eat it today, so there were leftovers.

Hmm, it should be okay to sneak a bite, right?

Yuan Yuzi stared at the rice balls in the pot, her little face unusually serious. She thought to herself, "A normal person needs to consume enough carbohydrates every day. How can you just eat grass? You still need to eat some rice, right?"

Feeling guilty, she glanced back at the living room. Hira Sakura was doing her homework at the coffee table, while Fushimi Shika was curled up on the sofa watching TV. Hmm, it should be fine.

Gentama scooped up a ball of rice with a rice spoon and secretly took a bite. At first, she thought it was delicious. The rice was exceptionally sweet and had a satisfying chewing sensation. It tasted even better than before.

But by the time she took her second bite, the rice was a bit dry and tasteless. She wished it had some side dishes...

Gentamako's gaze involuntarily fell on the scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Eating tomatoes should be fine, right?

In theory, tomatoes are vegetables, low in calories, very healthy, and provide vitamins and dietary fiber, making them an ideal food for weight loss.

Yuan Yuzi wavered a little. She lied to herself, thinking that tomatoes might not contain oil, that the salad oil was absorbed by the scrambled eggs, and that the sugar and tomato sauce were negligible.

Have a bite.

Gentama quietly picked up a piece of tomato with her chopsticks, mixed it with rice, and the sweet and sour taste was very appetizing.

It’s delicious!
She ate with increasing relish, thinking that steamed fish had few calories, and although hot oil had been poured over it, the oil hadn't seeped into the meat, so she figured it would still be edible after a quick dip in the broth. So she started eating the fish…

About ten minutes later, after eating half a full meal, Yuan Yuzi suddenly regained her senses, her brain regained control of her body from her stomach.

She hurriedly put down her chopsticks and bowl, took two steps back, and stared wide-eyed, wondering what she had done.
I promised myself I'd lose weight, so how could I sneak a bite?

A strong sense of guilt welled up inside her, and for the first time, Yuan Yuzi experienced the hardship of dieting. She swallowed hard, quickly wiped her mouth clean, dumped the remaining food into the trash can, disposed of everything, changed her clothes immediately, and went downstairs to go for a run to burn off all the calories she had just secretly eaten.

Fushimi Shika saw this and found it amusing, but dared not laugh openly, lest she break Genji's guard again.

Although she looks cute, Minamoto Tamako is indeed troubled, and only she knows how painful it is.

He thought about making some light meals for dinner, such as winter melon soup, boiled beef, or stir-fried water spinach... But then he realized that stir-fried water spinach is more fragrant with lard, and boiled beef tastes better with dipping sauce. After thinking it over, it seemed that only winter melon soup was the healthiest option.

But you can't eat winter melon soup every meal, can you?

Fushimi Shika also started to feel troubled, realizing that eating was indeed an art. He simply maxed out his cooking skills, and suddenly had an epiphany: he planned to prepare some molecular gastronomy so that Minamoto no Tamako could experience the Michelin-starred chef's signature dishes.

There are actually quite a few delicious and healthy dishes, they just take a lot of time and effort to prepare.

Fushimi Shika pondered the recipe in his mind and realized that he was missing quite a few kitchen utensils. Too lazy to go out and buy them, he simply switched channels using the remote control and watched a TV shopping program.

TV shopping is the prototype of online shopping and a favorite among housewives. Some merchants insert short product display segments into morning programs or late-night slots, and viewers can place orders by phone, with the merchants handling the delivery themselves.

Some late-night variety shows include "product specials" where hosts demonstrate kitchen utensils, beauty devices, and other products, guiding viewers to order by dialing phone numbers displayed on the screen. Specialized logistics companies collaborate with TV shopping companies to achieve "next-day delivery" or even "same-day delivery" in Tokyo.

To be fair, living in a big city does have its advantages.

Fushimi Shika made a few quick phone calls and bought an oven, fryer, non-stick pan, dehydrator, centrifuge, and other items. She got more and more carried away with her shopping and even bought some things that seemed unnecessary.

I recently snagged a lot of great deals from Kujou. It's a waste not to spend this money; the joy of online shopping is something you have to experience to understand.

Fushimi Shika kept changing channels, looking around, and when he found something he liked, he would call and buy it, and the deliveryman would bring it to his door in no time.

Suddenly, a channel flashed by, and only half a line of dialogue was audible: "Mutsumi Sakai's verdict is obvious..."

Fushimi Shika paused for a moment, then switched the channel back and found it was TV Asahi's "Super Morning," where the two hosts were discussing a recent case of a husband being murdered in Tokyo.

This refers to the case of Mutsuko Sakai murdering her husband.

After watching for a while, Fushimi Shika learned from the discussion between the host and guests that this matter had already been brewing in public opinion for some time.

On the day the murder occurred, a small, obscure newspaper reported on the incident with an exaggerated and attention-grabbing headline: "Gambling Wife Murders Husband to Seize Family Property," which seemed like a sensational story.

Still due to the economic bubble, the public is very sensitive about money matters, and after the report was published, sales surged.

Neither Fushimi Shika nor Minamoto Tamako had the habit of reading newspapers, so they were unaware of this matter. It wasn't until the case gradually escalated and the judge handed down a suspended sentence during the trial that public opinion exploded, and major news outlets began discussing it.

It's not about how bizarre the murder case is, since nobody went to the trial on the day of the trial. The main point of discussion is the conflict between male and female rights.

The program team connected online and encouraged viewers to call the program's hotline. The vast majority of men believed that the judge was a feminist who, as a woman, protected another woman, allowing a female gambler who murdered her husband for money to escape legal punishment.

Fushimi Shika initially thought the comments were a bit silly, until a female viewer called in and loudly refuted them, claiming that all men are bad and that the case was a case of male oppression of women. She said that Kuroda Kotaro deserved to die, and that there was nothing wrong with Sakai Mutsuko pursuing her own happiness, and she regarded Sakai Mutsuko as a brave pioneer... It was clear that this female viewer was also a housewife, and was equally dissatisfied with her husband, so she called the program to vent her emotions.

This really caused an uproar.

Fushimi Shika was able to observe the Japanese server's 1.0 battlefield, where the battle was quite intense, with the two sides arguing fiercely, forcing the host to interrupt the connection several times.

He recalled carefully that the 1990s seemed to be the third wave of feminist development in Japan. Scholars such as Chizuko Ueno promoted Japan to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was originally a good thing. Gender equality and the liberation of women are everyone's responsibility.

But it gradually changed over time. After all, Japan is a country where the sex industry is legal, and the ideology that has grown up in this environment is hard to evaluate.

Fushimi Shika watched for an hour or two and thoroughly enjoyed it. His only regret was that the Japanese vocabulary for swearing was too monotonous.

When Minamoto no Tamako ran home, she heard the sound of shoes being changed at the door. Fushimi Shika quickly switched channels and jumped to a TV shopping channel.

Well, it's best not to let Minamoto no Tamako know.

(End of this chapter)