Elf: Seriously? You only get a cheat code when you're about to die?

Chapter 68 Crayfish

Anjie held the triumphant red creature in her hand, examining it closely. Confirming it was a crayfish, she asked the man carrying mosquito coils onto the boat:

"How many of these have you caught?"

Mosquito Coil Guy took one look and immediately nodded repeatedly.

There are too many.

Anjie was delighted to hear this and quickly said, "Where are they? Take me to see them."

Mosquito Coil nodded, put down the water plants, waved to Anjie, and then swam off in one direction.

On one of the pillars buried yesterday, Anjie saw another net bag filled with shrimp and crabs, with crayfish being the most numerous.

Looking at the huddled bunch of crayfish inside, Anjie was already imagining how he would cook them tonight. He happily said to Mosquito Coil and Sob-eyed Lizard:

"There's going to be something delicious tonight, so get ready to feast!"

The tearful lizard pointed at the crayfish in Anjie's hand, which was missing a claw, and asked with a puzzled look, "Meow~ Meow~" Can this be eaten?

Mosquito Coil waited for Anjie's answer with a similarly puzzled look. There were plenty of these things in the lake; they were all shells and could trap people. They had never thought of eating them.

Is it really safe to eat?

"Of course, it'll be delicious if you cook it well. I'll teach you how to make it tonight," Anjie said, scratching the teardrop lizard's chin.

"Meow~ Meow~" Yay! Yay!

Upon hearing that there was a new dish to learn, the teardrop lizard excitedly climbed all over Angie's shoulders, from left to right.

"Alright, alright, let's get to work first, we'll talk about everything else after we're done."

Upon hearing this, Mosquito Coil cheered and plunged into the water to continue working. Seeing this, Tearful Lizard also jumped off Anjie's shoulder and plunged into the water with a splash. A moment later, it surfaced with a fish about its size in its arms.

You think you can't handle a big black fish like me?

"Meow~ Meow~" Master, look, am I amazing?

Sobble held the fish above its head, and now, like Munchlax, it called Ange "Master."

"Amazing! Amazing!" Anjie said while tidying up the aquatic plants.

Upon hearing this, the tearful lizard tossed the fish onto the boat and then happily dived back into the water.

As time went by, the sun began to set, and the cleanup of the fish farm was nearing completion. Anjie had already begun releasing fish fry into the areas that had been cleaned earlier.

Following Anjie's instructions, the teardrop lizard and several mosquito tadpoles planted aquatic plant seedlings and Asile aquatic plant seedlings at the bottom of the water.

Aquatic plants are very resilient and easy to grow once planted.

Watching the thumb-sized fish fall into the lake, spin around, and then wag their tails and disappear from the surface, Anjie was already looking forward to a bountiful harvest.

Despite their hurried efforts, Anjie and his team managed to release all the fish fry, shrimp fry, and crab fry into the pre-planned waters before nightfall.

After doing all this, Anjax and the Water-type Pokémon went ashore, carrying home the fish, shrimp, and crabs they had caught that day.

On the way home, Ange said to the Water-type Pokémon, "From now on, the job of looking after the fish farm is in your hands."

"Bo-o~ Bo-o-luo~" Don't worry, we've got your back.

"It's like a mosquito coil frog," said the king of frogs.

Although Anjie couldn't understand what it meant, it could already guess its assurance from its expression.

Other Water-type Pokémon also chimed in in agreement with Poliwag.

As Anjie walked, he chatted with the Water-type Pokémon about their future breeding plans, and before he knew it, he had arrived at his doorstep.

Seeing that everyone who had cut down the tree had returned, he quickly told Munchlax and Sobble to cook.

Before cooking, he went to the fifth floor of the secret fortress and put the fish he had caught that day into the pool to keep them alive.

We definitely can't eat all these fish at once, so we'll have to keep them alive for now.

These fish have lived in Lake Nibel for countless years, some even larger than Ange. Catching just one is enough to eat each time.

However, before releasing the fish, Anjie first lowered the gate of the pool's drainage channel, otherwise the fish would definitely escape through the drainage channel.

The pool's drainage channel has two gates. The first gate is mesh, which, when lowered, does not obstruct the pool's drainage while preventing the fish from swimming away. The second gate is solid, and once lowered, the pool will be unable to continue draining water.

Anjie put down the first one.

After leaving the secret fortress, Anja quickly returned to the kitchen to get busy. He assigned tasks to Munchlax and Sobble, "Munchlax, you're in charge of steaming buns; Sobble, you're in charge of cooking fish soup; I'll make some new food for everyone."

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

The little Snorlax and Sobble responded loudly, their hearts filled with anticipation for the new treat.

Today, Anjie is going to make spicy crayfish for everyone, which is one of the most common ways he cooked crayfish in his previous life.

The first step is to clean and process the crayfish.

However... looking at the bowls of crayfish crawling around in front of him, An Jie was troubled. Dealing with them was going to be a difficult task!

If he were to do all the washing and scrubbing by himself, who knows how long it would take.

After thinking it over, he went outside and called in a few more Pokémon: Fennekin, Greninja, Brill, Sneak, Sentinel, and Totodile, to help him deal with the situation.

"Come on, let me teach you how to handle it." Anjie picked up a crayfish and demonstrated for everyone.

First, use a brush to clean the crayfish's body, then remove the intestinal tract, and finally cut off the head.

The steps are not complicated.

"Have you learned it?" Anjie asked.

"Mah ho~" I've learned it!

"Kogah~" I've learned it!

"Wow~" I've learned it!

……

The Pokémon answered in unison.

"Then let's hurry up."

The Pokémon responded in unison and immediately began working in pairs.

With so many Pokémon helping, the crayfish in several large basins were all processed in no time.

Anjie chased all the Pokémon out of the kitchen, "Get out, get out! Don't be impatient, you'll be able to taste it once it's ready."

By this time, the fish soup cooked by Sobble had already emitted a rich aroma, making the already hungry Pokémon even more drooling.

They left the kitchen, looking back every few steps.

After seeing the Pokémon off, Anjie began to cook. He took out the seasonings needed to make spicy crayfish from the cupboard: dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, star anise, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, white wine, and so on.

The first step is to prepare the seasonings. Chop the chili peppers, scallions, ginger, garlic, etc., and set them aside.

These are all from Anjie's vegetable garden, of top quality. In particular, the thick scallions have grown to be as thick as a baby's arm, with a rich flavor, making them the best of the best as a seasoning.

Of course, this doesn't apply to those who don't like the taste of scallions.

The second step is to prepare the base sauce. Add an appropriate amount of oil to the pot, first sauté the scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then add dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until they release their numbing and spicy flavor.

In an instant, the entire kitchen was filled with a rich and overpowering aroma, completely suppressing even the fragrance of the fish soup.

The little Snorlax and Sobble coughed from the smell of chili peppers.

The third step is to cook the crayfish.

Place the cleaned crayfish into a pot and stir-fry quickly over high heat until the shells turn red.

Next, add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and salt, and continue to stir-fry evenly.

Next, add spices and wine, such as bay leaves and star anise, and then pour in high-proof liquor or beer to enhance the aroma and remove any fishy smell.

Despite being choked and having tears streaming down its face, the little Snorlax stood firmly beside Anjay, its eyes fixed longingly on the pot.

"G-G-G-Master, is it ready yet? *slurp*"

Helpless, Anjie took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of its mouth, and then stuffed the handkerchief into its arms.

Good things come to those who wait, so don't rush.

"Just now" Oh~

The little Snorlax stood on a small stool, wiping its mouth with a handkerchief every now and then.

The final step is simmering and reducing the sauce. Add an appropriate amount of water, cover the pot, and simmer over medium-low heat for a while to allow the crayfish to fully absorb the flavor of the broth. Then, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce until it becomes thick.

Once the sauce for the crayfish has reduced, the spicy crayfish is finally ready.

Anjie took out plates bigger than washbasins and scooped up the spicy crayfish. The rich aroma, along with the steam, wafted out even more powerfully, and even the Pokémon outside could smell it.

"Anjie, is it ready yet?" Tianxi poked her head into the kitchen and sniffed, taking a deep breath before coughing uncontrollably. "Cough cough cough~ This smell is too strong."

Anjie quickly called it in, "Take the food out quickly, it's ready to eat."

Soon, steamed buns, fish soup, and crayfish were brought outside one after another.

We cooked dinner too late tonight, and it was completely dark outside, so everyone came home instead of eating out.

With so many Pokémon gathered in the store at once, the space looked a bit crowded. Diancie and Munchlax, who were serving food, struggled to move between the Pokémon and distribute the food to each table.

But it is precisely because of this that the atmosphere in the store is more lively, and the bright red lobster on the table is very festive, just like the Chinese New Year.

The Pokémon, in groups of three or five, sat around a table, their mouths watering at the aroma of spicy crayfish.

Anjie announced, "Everyone, let's eat! I'll teach you how to eat crayfish." As he spoke, he picked up a crayfish.

Everyone followed Anjie's example, picking up the crayfish and sucking and slurping them, the broth lingering in their mouths. All the Pokémon were conquered by the deliciousness of the spicy crayfish, especially the Water-type Pokémon.

Crayfish are a common sight in the water, but I never imagined they would be so delicious.

The broth is a perfect blend of spiciness and umami, constantly stimulating the tongue and taste buds, while the tender and smooth shrimp meat brings an ultimate sense of happiness.

The flavor of spicy crayfish seems to have a special magic, attracting them to eat bite after bite, unable to stop.

Sha~ Sha~

Because the chili peppers grown by Angel's family are extremely spicy, the Pokémon gasped as they ate them, but even with their lips swollen from the spiciness, they still couldn't stop.

Seeing everyone enjoying their meal so much, Anja, Diancie, Snorlax, Sobble, and Koala also joined them at the table.

The tree-pillow koala returned at some unknown time, but it didn't miss its mealtime.

Looking at the fragrant spicy crayfish, Anjie suddenly felt a craving for alcohol, so he looked at the tree-pillow bear and said, "Tree-pillow bear, shall we have a drink?"

The koala swayed back and forth on its tree pillow, and Anjie knew it had agreed.

He got up and went to the kitchen. A couple of days ago, he bought a few bottles of beer and put them in the refrigerator without touching them. Now he could use them to go with the crayfish.

Crayfish still deserve to be paired with beer!

"Let's drink beer today!" Angie said, placing an opened beer in front of the tree-pillow koala.

The tree-pillow koala put the tree pillow under its bottom, held a beer can in one hand and a crayfish in the other. Despite it being its first time drinking beer, the tree-pillow koala fell in love with it instantly.

Seeing this, An Jie also started chugging crayfish and beer.

These days are wonderful!

Ding ding ding~~

Seeing Angie and the tree-pillow bear enjoying their drinks, the tearful lizard tapped the bowl with its chopsticks.

"Mess~ Mess~" What does beer taste like? I want some too, I want some too.

Seeing this, Tianxi slapped it on the back of the head.

"Don't bang on the bowl, it's very ill-mannered, and children can't drink alcohol."

The tearful lizard covered the back of its head with a wronged expression, and could only obediently show off the crayfish. The crayfish was so delicious that it soon forgot about its idea of ​​drinking alcohol.

Everyone was in high spirits tonight, so we stayed at Anjie's house for a long time before going home.

Watching the Pokémon disappear into the night, Ange looked at the empty square in front of the house and suddenly had an idea.

When Pokémon cut down trees during the day, they dig up a lot of big tree stumps, right? They can use them to make tables, and then put them in the square, so everyone will have tables to eat at.

Large tree stumps can be made into tables, and small tree stumps into stools—it couldn't be more perfect.

The weather on the Nibel Plateau is mostly sunny, and it's neither too hot nor too cold outside, making dining out quite enjoyable.

We'll get started tomorrow. The fish farm is already built, and with the mosquito coil frogs watching over it, he only needs to go and guide the work from time to time. He has plenty of time.

He wasn't in charge of cutting down trees.

Oh, right, I also need to arrange accommodations for the Water-type Pokémon! They're all his employees now, and he needs to think about their stable lives in the future.

Let's talk to Mosquito Coil Frog King tomorrow!

As for the other Pokémon, we'll take it one step at a time; they'll all get a share.

Thinking this, Anjie turned and went back into the house.

The family of five returned to the second floor, comfortably lay down on the sofa, some playing games, some watching TV series, some reading the news, and some taking a nap.

When the time comes, everyone will go to the culinary training room for an hour of special training, and then go back to their rooms to wash up and go to sleep.

Before going to bed, Anjie, as usual, claimed the rewards for her two daily tasks.

The first task reward.

Congratulations, owner, you have received a reward: 1 bag of cabbage seeds.

The reward was nothing special; he'd hand it over to the three mole brothers later.

The second task reward.

Congratulations, Master! You have received a reward: 1 regular Poké Ball.

The reward was just another ordinary one; Poké Balls were completely useless to him!

Anjie casually placed the Poké Ball on the table in front of the bed as a decoration.

Hmm~ Not bad, it's suitable as a decoration.

He then pulled the covers over himself and drifted off to sleep. (__)zzZZ

(End of this chapter)