My Pokémon Story of Seasons

The commotion finally woke up Miltank and Sweetie on the bed. The two Pokémon, still feeling dizzy from just waking up, were startled by their muddy appearance.

"Sorry, Foam Squirrel, you've made the floor dirty..." Tong Hua stood awkwardly at the door, mud dripping down her trousers and forming a small puddle on the floor.

"Terrifying..."

A clean-loving foam squirrel quietly shattered.

Jessica didn't seem to care at all. She simply took off her mud-covered jacket and boots, stepped barefoot on the floor, and said with a grin.

"It's alright, we can clean it up together later. But Xiaotong, do you have any clothes to change into? I can't stay here like this any longer."

Tong Hua nodded: "Yes, I'll go get it for you."

He strode to the wardrobe, pulled out a clean T-shirt and trousers, and found a new towel, then handed them to Jessica.

"It might be a little small, but it'll do."

Jessica took the clothes, grinned, and said, "Thanks!"

She was just about to go to the bathroom to change when Tong Hua pointed out the location. She suddenly stopped and turned to look at Tong Hua: "By the way, do you have hot water here?"

"Huh?" Tong Hua was taken aback. "No, this wooden house has neither running water nor electricity. I usually fetch water myself to wash up."

Jessica looked incredulous and took a few steps into the inner room.

There was only a small space partitioned off by wooden boards, with a wooden bucket filled with water on the ground and a few towels hanging next to it; otherwise, it was empty.

"Can you even live here?" She turned around, gesturing exaggeratedly. "There's not even a proper place to take a shower. Shouldn't we rebuild the house first?"

Tong Hua scratched his head sheepishly: "I actually had this plan too, but my current savings are definitely not enough to build a house."

We'll just have to make do with it for now.

Anyway, building Miltank's Pokémon House is more important than building my own place.

Hearing this, the big milk tanker, who was drying the grass turtle and foam squirrel, instantly had its round eyes filled with tears.

"Miru!"

Big Milk Tank hugged Tong Hua's mud-covered trouser leg, his face filled with emotion.

"Hey, hey, stop messing around!"

Tong Hua gripped his pants tightly, while Jessica, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

A dozen minutes later, the group finally cleaned up the mess, and all the mud stains on the floor inside the house were removed.

The foam squirrel stood in the center of the house, its little paws on its hips, looking around the now-tidy wooden house with satisfaction.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and the rain outside showed no signs of stopping. Jessica sat on Tong Hua's bed, idly flipping through her planting notes.

Tong Hua went into the kitchen and organized the ingredients that the big-billed gull had brought.

"The home delivery is really great. The service is excellent."

A bag of rice, some fresh vegetables, and some dried goods.

Among these ingredients, there was a bag of wood ear fungus and dried shiitake mushrooms, which Tong Hua had been looking forward to for a long time.

"Although the weather is indeed perfect for hot pot today, I've been eating it a bit too frequently these past few days."

Let's cook rice instead.

Having made up her mind, Tong Hua tied on her apron and began washing rice and preparing vegetables again.

The Tanuki family, Tong Hua and six Pokémon, plus Jessica who happens to be visiting, make today's dinner table quite lively.

"We need to prepare two pots, otherwise it might not be enough."

Cooking rice is actually quite simple. It's almost no different from steaming rice; you just need to put chopped vegetables and add seasonings before steaming.

Wash the rice and soak it in water. Shred the carrot and arrange it neatly on top of the rice.

Next, slice the wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms into thin strips. After placing all the prepared ingredients on top of the rice, pour white sesame seeds, salt, and a little oil into the wooden bowl for seasoning.

"It seems like vegetables alone would be a bit nutritionally unbalanced. Oh no, I forgot to buy meat this time because we don't have a freezer... Oh right, and fish too."

Tong Hua walked out of the kitchen, picked up her umbrella, and prepared to go out again.

"I'm going to the pond on the ranch to get some fish. I'll be right back."

Lost in her memories, Jessica snapped out of her reverie and looked at Tong Hua with some surprise as she untied her apron.

"Little Tong, you can cook?"

Tong Hua: "..."

A dozen minutes later, Tong Hua returned carrying a bucket of fish.

Behind them followed a neat family of raccoons, each one carefully wiping its body clean at the doorway.

"Terrible."

The foam squirrel stood at the door, checking everything one by one, making sure it was completely clean before it could enter the house.

"Lili!" After entering the house, the big-toothed raccoons' eyes lit up as they looked at the wooden house, which was entirely made of wood.

They resisted the urge to grind their teeth and, led by the big-tailed weasel, sat down in the living room.

"Beep beep." The big-tailed raccoon scolded them, basically saying that when visiting someone else's home, you should behave properly. Don't be a brat.

Tong Hua carried the fish bucket into the kitchen, and Jessica followed him in, watching with great interest as he prepared the ingredients.

"Do you need any help?" she asked, leaning closer.

"Then could you please light the fire for me and put the stove on?" Tong Hua said without looking up, gripping the kitchen knife and switching her profession to chef.

With a single, clean cut, the fish's suffering was ended.

"Perfect timing to test the effects of high-speed production..." Tong Hua thought to herself, her hands suddenly moving with fluid grace.

Fish scales fell like snowflakes, and the knife drew silver arcs on the cutting board. In the blink of an eye, the whole fish was perfectly sliced ​​into slices as thin as cicada wings.

Jessica had just stuffed the firewood into the stove when she looked up and froze: "Such fast knife skills! Wait... weren't you moving a little too fast? I think I saw an afterimage?"

"Practice makes perfect." Tong Hua smiled mysteriously, his eyes fixed on the sashimi in front of him.

[Sashimi: Quality B. This is fresh, meticulously processed ingredient. However, its quality will gradually decline over time; immediate processing is recommended. Recommended processing methods (cooking/alchemy).]

Originally a quality C grass carp, it was transformed into a quality B ingredient after using the high-speed processing skill!

Just as Tong Hua had guessed, after using the corresponding profession's processing skills, the finished product broke through the upper limit of the material quality!

However, using the skill did consume a lot of energy. Tong Hua suddenly felt hungry and quickly took out a tree fruit from his pocket to fill his stomach.

If we continue to use these quality B ingredients, we should be able to make quality B dishes, or even higher quality dishes!

"Quality E, only has the most basic function of an item, without any special effects."

Quality D includes minor, time-limited effects on top of the item's original purpose. Examples include satiety and recovery.

Even at a quality of C, it can produce very strange effects such as optical illusions.

I wonder what new variations will emerge from a B-quality dish!

While waiting expectantly, Tong Hua opened the half-steamed rice cooker; the water added to the pot had mostly evaporated.

A rich aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen.

Jessica took a deep breath, her eyes lighting up: "Oh my god, what is this? It smells so good!"

Tong Hua didn't answer, but focused intently on stirring the rice and chopped vegetables with a spoon. As she continued to stir, the aroma spread out continuously!

"Terrible!" "Game!" "Ama!"

All the Pokémon in the house smelled the aroma, and they all stood at the kitchen doorway, craning their necks to look inside.

Tong Hua placed the sliced ​​fish on top of the rice and then put the lid back on.

"Steam for another fifteen minutes and it'll be done!"

Tong Hua wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled expectantly.