My Pokémon Story of Seasons

"La beep la beep!"

Green Shirabbi reminds everyone to dig carefully, as truffles must be dug out intact to maintain their best quality.

She demonstrated how to use her telekinesis to gently part the soil and lift out a whole truffle.

Sweetie learned quickly; she carefully dug into the soft soil and soon collected five or six truffles of different sizes.

Despite her clumsy movements, Mini Fu managed to find a tiny truffle and proudly held it atop her head.

As if blessed by lucky stars, the four Pokémon eventually found two kilograms of high-quality black truffles.

At this time, the four members of the fairy tale adventure team were unaware that the value of these black truffles had exceeded 50 Alliance Coins.

All they knew was that Tong Hua would be happy to take these things back, and perhaps she would even use these ingredients to create some new and delicious dishes.

The afternoon sun shone on the path behind the mountain, and the expedition team was walking excitedly toward the ranch.

Sweetie, with a leaf bundle filled with truffles on her head, hummed a little tune from time to time, her steps light and quick as if she were dancing.

"Oh my~" She suddenly stopped and her nose twitched slightly.

A sweet aroma wafted from the bamboo grove by the roadside, quite different from the rich scent of truffles, yet equally enticing.

"La beep?"

The pink shrine rabbi followed her gaze and saw that the soil at the edge of the bamboo forest was slightly raised, and several tender yellow bamboo shoots had just broken through the soil.

"Fu!" Mini Fu ran over excitedly and carefully parted the bamboo leaves covering her.

What was revealed was a cluster of tender spring bamboo shoots, slender with pale purple tips that glistened in the sunlight.

This type of bamboo shoot is called Moso bamboo shoot, and it is a common edible bamboo shoot in the Almiian region.

With its fresh, sweet, and mellow taste, it is considered a high-end ingredient.

Although it is no longer the best time to pick bamboo shoots, their extremely high quality is still evident.

The four Pokémon immediately put down the truffle package and excitedly began digging out their unexpected find.

If we're talking about luck, then we're incredibly lucky. Because this back mountain is rarely visited by people, no one knows what resources it holds.

The entire back mountain is like a huge treasure trove, waiting for lucky people to open it.

Sweet Wu Ni gently parted the damp soil with her slender hands, revealing the snow-white tender buds at the base of the bamboo shoots.

She carefully snapped off the bamboo shoot stem and picked up the delicious spring bamboo shoot.

The harvest increased again, and the little ones continued to search the vicinity to see if there were any more bamboo shoots.

Half an hour later, Sweetie carried the bamboo basket that Shirabi had made on the spot, filled it with bamboo shoots, and returned home with a full load!

……

At noon, Tong Hua returned to the wooden house with Tuotuo Earthworm, Foam Chipmunk, and the owner of the Charcoal House.

As soon as Tuotuo returned, it ran to the field. The foam squirrel seemed to dislike its boss, so it followed Tuotuo away.

The boss was very skilled and worked very efficiently. He was accompanied by a muscular, iron-bodied earthman and a very energetic, bright red roly-poly toy.

In Tong Hua's memory, the Iron-Bone Earthmen seemed to only be good at demolition, but the boss's was obviously different, and he was also very good at building.

The excrement of the fiery red roly-poly toy appears to be usable as fuel and is quite durable.

The boss and the local workers worked together, first placing the large oven that Tong Hua had bought in a corner of the kitchen, and then choosing a location to work together, quickly setting up another stove in the kitchen.

This brick-built wood-burning stove has an ingenious structure, a spacious firebox, and well-designed ventilation openings that allow the firewood to burn completely.

Meanwhile, the flue of the new stove is connected to the main chimney inside the house, and it branches off in a Y shape from the original stove's flue.

The strong-armed man carried the specially made firebricks with his sturdy arms, while the boss skillfully applied fire-resistant mud. The two worked together seamlessly.

"Phew... Done!"

The boss wiped the sweat from his brow, patted the stove, and said, "Now we need to dry it. Little Bodhidharma, come and give me a hand."

The boss beckoned to the bright red roly-poly toy next to him, and the toy immediately ran over and started breathing flames from its mouth to dry the newly built stove.

The flames were at the perfect temperature, neither cracking the bricks nor failing to quickly evaporate the moisture. In no time, the stove surface became dry and firm.

In just one hour, the kitchen renovation was almost complete. I must say, those 5 Alliance Coins were totally worth it!

Tong Hua brought over several cups of iced tea and nodded with satisfaction: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Not at all, it's nothing, I'm just glad I could help."

The boss smiled憨厚ly, took the herbal tea and drank it all in one gulp. "This stove is very sturdy, it can last for ten or eight years without any problems!"

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Warranty included!

Oh, and here's a bag of fuel. Consider it a free gift with the grill; take it and use it.

After saying that, seemingly afraid that Tong Hua would not accept it, the boss made an excuse that he had other things to do in the shop and left with the Iron-Boned Earthman and the Fiery Red Tumbler.

After seeing the boss off, Tong Hua returned to the house and looked at the renovated kitchen with satisfaction.

Next, we need to fix the platform in front of the house where we put the goods...

Just then, a series of cheerful footsteps came from outside the door.

Sweetie, carrying a large bag of truffles, followed closely by Mini Fu and two Celebi, excitedly rushed into the kitchen.

"You're back! Where did you go? Why are you back so soon?"

"Oh my!"

Sweet Wuni couldn't wait to place the truffle package on the table, puffing out her chest proudly.

"Foo! Fufu!"

Mini Fu also bounced around, showing off the little truffle on its head, its eyes sparkling.

Tong Hua's eyes widened in surprise: "This is... black truffles? And so many!"

The pink shrine floated in the air, gesturing to describe their adventure in the back mountain.

The Green Shrine Rabbi carefully used his telekinesis to lift the largest truffle and gently placed it in Tong Hua's hand.

The truffles exude a rich aroma and have a surface covered with fine lines, clearly indicating that they are of superior quality.

Tong Hua gently squeezed it; the texture was firm yet elastic, indicating excellent freshness.

Unfortunately, since she didn't pick them herself, Tong Hua couldn't use the panel information to judge their quality grade.

"Oh my!"

Sweet Wuni took off the bamboo basket from her back, which was filled with tender bamboo shoots, the tips of which still carried the fragrance of the soil.

"You even dug up bamboo shoots? Are there so many good things on the back mountain?" Tong Hua squatted down in surprise, carefully examining these unexpected gains.

The bamboo shoots are as white as jade, and you can feel their full moisture with just a gentle pinch; they are definitely top-quality.

"Could this be a result of increased luck stat?"

Tong Hua immediately connected the fact that she could bring back so many precious ingredients just by going out for a short while with the happy Bao Fen from yesterday.

The Luck Boost Small, which can only be used once, actually made four Pokémon this lucky?

"Then why didn't it work on me? I didn't find any treasures when I went out today."

Could it be due to individual differences?

After thinking for a while, Tonghua still couldn't figure it out, and finally could only attribute it to individual differences. After all, luck is something that can't be directly quantified.

"Speaking of which, it's rare to find such high-quality ingredients, so why not give them a try?"

Tong Hua looked at the black truffles and bamboo shoots in front of her, and recalled a small and exquisite dish she had eaten in her previous life.

"I'll make a chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), it'll be perfect for an afternoon snack. I can also try out the new stove and oven while I'm at it."

Chawanmushi, also known as steamed egg custard, is made by steaming eggs in a ceramic cup and then adding some garnishes.

It's a pretty good dessert.

However, using an oven to cook this dish seems a bit redundant. It's likely that Tong Hua did this intentionally to test the oven's performance.

As Tong Hua spoke, she began preparing the ingredients. The four little ones standing nearby cheered excitedly upon hearing that Tong Hua was going to make desserts!

"Oh my!"

Sweet Wu Ni sidled up to Tong Hua, insisting on helping her no matter what.

Tong Hua took an egg from the basket on the counter, put it in a bowl, and handed it to Tian Wu Ni. "Then you're in charge of beating the egg. Beat it gently and don't make it foamy."

"Ah, ma~"

Sweet Wuni took the egg, tapped it gently on the edge of the bowl, then picked up the chopsticks and began to stir it with graceful, dance-like movements.

While Tong Hua was at it, she boiled two pots of water and casually threw a "concentrated soup cube" into one of them.

Next came the moment to showcase her knife skills. Tong Hua gripped the kitchen knife tightly, instantly switching into the role of a chef, while muscle memory propelled the knife in her hand to fly up and down!

After peeling and dicing fresh bamboo shoots, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes.

While we waited, Sweetie's egg mixture was ready.

Add boiled broth and rock salt from Saltstone for seasoning, then strain twice to remove impurities.

Next, put the blanched bamboo shoot pieces into a small bowl, and pour the beaten egg mixture into the bowl to cover the bamboo shoot pieces.

The most crucial step is to skim off the foam on the surface with a spoon, otherwise the surface of the steamed product will not be smooth.

Everything is ready; all that's left to do is steam it.