He changed Tiwat

Lei Yingdian heard Han Fulai deliberately lower his voice and whisper six words in her ear: "I, I, I, dog-footed I!"

Although Ying couldn't understand what he was saying, her intuition told her that it definitely wasn't anything good.

She was about to glare at him when Han Fulai spoke first: "When we first met, I told you, 'If Your Excellency has something to say to me, General, could you first stand on equal footing with me?'"

"Similarly, if you want to hear the people speak from the heart, you must first stand on an equal footing with them."

“Your subjects aren’t here, so you don’t need to maintain your general’s dignity. Who are you calling out ‘I’ and ‘Your Excellency’ all the time? When the people hear that, they’ll only think of the Thunder General who’s high and mighty in the castle tower. Of course, they’ll feel that you’re very distant from them.”

"Don't even mention the common people, even Luminous and Paimon are like that. They treat the Wind God and the Rock God as friends, but they use honorifics in front of you. This shows that they are also very distant from you in their hearts."

"You know their identities are special, right? Their power will be essential in the future if we want to truly save the people of Inazuma—so I suggest you start with how you address them. Doesn't Inazuma show affection by calling each other by name? Relationships between people are built on these little details of getting along."

Ying remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

Han Fulai saw Ying and called out to Ying and Paimon, who were walking ahead, with a serious expression: "My two lords... no, my two lords, I have something important to announce."

Ying and Paimeng quickly turned around to receive the order: "Please give your orders, General!"

Yes, they've received a commission. Professional adventurers are professionals whether they're acting as bodyguards or tour guides.

Shadow said in a serious tone, "Although this body is noble and extraordinary, I have come here to do some incognito travel among the common people. Since we are here to change our mood, let's not use those rigid honorifics. You can just call me 'Shadow'. I will also call you 'Fire', and Paimon, um, that's it."

Han Fulai frantically gave Ying and Paimeng meaningful glances from behind the scenes.

The two immediately understood, and Ying and Paimon both smiled: "The name Ying sounds much better than 'General'."

P.S.: Many people may not know this, so I'll mention it here: Inazuma Castle does indeed have a hot spring, and it's even made using technology from Shifuku Province (yes, Inazuma actually possesses quite a bit of technology from Shifuku Province). However, there's no open area in the game, only a large gate. The shogunate even has a special "Hot Spring Magistrate" to manage the hot spring; the NPC's name is Mikawa Akane.

If there's anyone in this shogunate rife with traitorous elements who isn't a traitor, it's probably only Mikawa Akane. Because Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Mikawa Province…

Chapter 211 Ensuring Safe Milk for the People of Inazuma [4k5]

If someone were to ask Han Fulai what the biggest difference is between Lei Yingdian and Zhong Li and Wendy in his eyes, he might answer "detached from the masses".

After all, Ying had been isolated from the world in the "Pure Land of One Heart" for five hundred years. Although she could learn about the outside world through the general, it was only information on paper, and many specific details were missing. In addition, her previous pursuit of "static eternity" had led her to deny "change" at the root of her values, so she would not bother to learn about the "dreams and illusions" of the secular world that she considered insignificant.

In short, "thunderous movies don't understand people's hearts."

In this respect, the Rock Lord, who always roams among the people, and Barbatos, who, even after sleeping for many years, would immediately go to Mondstadt to learn about the changes in the human world upon waking, are far ahead of Rayquaza. Their understanding of human nature is also unmatched by Rayquaza.

Even Han Fulai himself conducted various on-site investigations and research before implementing the policies.

Actions such as visiting the residents of Liyue Harbor, talking to the miners in the Stranded Rock, and living and eating with the workers at the Guiliyuan construction site are the foundation for him to gain "popular support" or "willpower".

Similarly, to make a deity like Lei Yingdong, who doesn't understand human nature, comprehend human nature, one must force her to communicate with people.

Only in this way can the abstract "Inazuma" in Lei's film be transformed into concrete individuals.

Of course, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight; one's mindset needs to change gradually, and it cannot be achieved in a day or two.

But Lei Yingdian was willing to listen to advice and try to put aside his general's airs, which was already commendable in Han Fulai's eyes—as the saying goes, "a good start is half the battle."

It wasn't in vain that he invited Yingmei to accompany him in this charade.

Since Aying has worked so hard, she should definitely be rewarded.

So, the promised "bubble tea" is a must.

The "creative restaurant" that Han Fulai mentioned is located at the end of the town, behind the Yayoi Lacquerware shop.

This "restaurant" actually doesn't have a storefront; it's just a mobile stall.

The main body of the restaurant is a food cart, with soup pots and various side dishes and ingredients on it, and a stove underneath. The cart also has a canopy for sun and rain protection and tables for customers to eat on. The owner usually pushes the cart through the streets and alleys, and when customers want to eat, they can stop the cart. The owner will put down the tables, bring out chairs, and lower the rolled-up curtain on the canopy, instantly transforming the food cart into a small hut.

According to the shop owner, Tomoki, this is called "Yatai," which is a combination of the meaning of a small house and a table.

Regardless of the taste of his "creative cuisine," the "stall" itself is already very creative; it's the only one of its kind in the entire rice-growing region.

As a time traveler, Han Fulai had naturally seen these mobile food carts before—street stalls, after all, the kind of thing city management officials crack down on… But in Inazuma, a place that values ​​tradition, a "food stall" was clearly a very novel thing. At least for Lei Yingdian, this was the first time he had ever seen such a "mobile restaurant."

Upon seeing Han Fulai and his entourage, especially the general approaching him, Zhi Shu truly turned into a tree, completely unable to move...

At this time of day, Tomoki would usually push his food cart to the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild on the street to sell his food. There was no business "competition" between the Adventurers' Guild and his restaurant, and Catherine would not blame him for "blocking customers" or anything like that. On the contrary, the adventurers were very courageous in trying new things, which brought a lot of customers to his "creative cuisine".

But upon hearing that the General was inspecting the town today, Tomoki immediately hid his shop... That's the good thing about "street stalls"—other people's shops can't run away, but his can.

He is actually quite self-aware; his "creative cuisine" is indeed quite "creative" in terms of flavor, and whether it tastes good or not usually depends on luck.

For example, among the various milk teas on his stall, there was the relatively successful "pearl milk tea" that Han Fulai bought, and of course, there was also the relatively unsuccessful "silk stocking milk tea"... well, you know, the kind of milk tea that tastes like stockings...

What if the general were to taste the failure of his work? Would he be slashed by "the sword of no thought"? So Zhishu wisely hid away.

However, even though they hid, they couldn't escape.

His mind was filled with thoughts like, "What if the general sees me?!"

"What are these stalls selling? It looks like something I've never seen before." Ying stared curiously at the soup pot on the food cart.

In a normal restaurant, the soup pot would naturally contain simmering broth, but Tomoki's soup pot could only be described as "chaotic".

The soup pot was divided into nine compartments, similar to a hot pot, by iron plates. Each compartment contained different ingredients: green seaweed, black kelp, bright red chili oil, and orange-yellow tea soup... It was a colorful dish, like a palette.

Tomoki was so terrified that he didn't dare to reply.

It wasn't until Lei repeated the question that he managed to stammer out, "General, General, I was rude," and then he bowed deeply...

Han Fulai was prepared and stepped forward to stop Zhishu from kneeling. At the same time, he whispered in Zhishu's ear, "The general is here to experience the lives of ordinary people. Just show the general how you usually do business."

Lei didn't pay much attention to the stall owner's reaction; her interest was focused on the items on the stall.

"No need for formalities. I'm just here to change my mood and browse around. Could you tell me about the things you sell?"

“Of course, no problem!” Tomoki quickly picked up a ladle and scooped the contents of the pot for the general one by one: “I sell all kinds of snacks here, including takoyaki, dango, and... uh, milk and stuff.”

Paimon also went over to take a look at what was in the pot, and her attention was immediately drawn to the thick, milky white liquid in the pot.

"Hmm? Is this milk? It feels a bit strange..."

Although she and Ying spent a few days wandering around Inazuma Castle, with Ayaka accompanying them, they visited more "high-end" places befitting the "White Heron Princess" status. It was the first time they had ever seen Tomoki's stall. As for this kind of "boiled milk" game, which resembled Thomas's "hot pot game," Paimon had never seen it before.

Indeed, she could smell the milky aroma, but would normally boiled milk be this thick?

Tomoki is quite used to answering guests' questions, since every new guest asks almost the same questions.

What you call 'strange' is actually a unique feature of my place.

“Because there are many historic shops in the city, I can’t compete with them no matter what I sell. So what I do is create some new combinations to give customers a fresh experience.”

"For example, what I recently developed is this 'Dumpling Milk,' where the dumplings are made into a very sticky consistency that mixes very well with the milk. The focus is not only on the taste, but also on the novel texture!"

As he spoke, he skillfully scooped a large spoonful of "dumpling milk" from the pot, poured it into a pre-prepared glass, added a few small spoonfuls of seasoning, and quickly stirred it until well mixed...

Perhaps because he had developed an instinct for selling products, Tomoki didn't realize until the process was almost finished that this product was meant for the General's personal consumption... He was quite confident in "Dumpling Milk," but what if the General couldn't accept the "novel taste" after drinking it?

Thinking of this, his hand, which was handing over the cup, froze.

Ying naturally took the cup from Zhishu's hand.

Each of Tomoki's "creative dishes" is something that never existed in her imagined "eternity," including this "stall," which also didn't exist 500 years ago. If Inatsume had achieved "eternity" as she once imagined, would she never have been able to see this cup of "dango milk"?

Ying stared intently at the cup of "dumpling milk" in her hand, just like a swordsmith inspecting the curve of a blade blank, not missing a single detail.

"Dumplings with milk, huh, unheard of... Such a thing doesn't even exist in 'eternity.' Why would you think of doing this?"

When she asked the question, Ying subconsciously emphasized her tone; she really wanted to understand how so-called "creativity" came about.

But to Tomoki's ears, these words came out as: "Dumplings with milk? How dare you make something like that?"

Zhishu quickly begged for mercy: "Yes, yes, I'm sorry! General, please spare my life! I had absolutely no problem with 'Eternity'!"

“I told you there’s no need for such formalities, and no need to be so apprehensive…” Ying gave him a strange look, slightly raised her chin, and said arrogantly, “The ‘eternity’ I desire is not something that can be shaken by dumplings and milk?”

Then, with the spirit of charging into battle, she tilted her head back and gulped down the glass of "dumpling milk".

Han Fulai and Ying turned their faces away at the same time, not letting the general see the smiles on their faces—the general, who had developed a sense of resistance to "Dumpling Milk," was really hard to describe as either childish or cute.

Zhishu was also a little stunned. The general in front of him seemed quite different from the general he had heard about.

Isn't the General a terrifying being as unpredictable as lightning in the sky, capable of creating a strait at the slightest provocation?

How come the general he met in person seemed like an ordinary girl who would sulk over trivial matters?

"It's sweet and delicious. It also has a dessert-like texture, which makes it a very novel drink," the general commented.

Tomoki was immediately overjoyed; the general had actually approved of his "Dumpling Milk"!

After finishing a glass of "Dumpling Milk," Ying became even more curious about the sweet drink: "How did you come up with this combination?"

Tomoki quickly explained, "Actually, I just thought of it by chance. A friend once made too many dumplings when entertaining guests, and since they couldn't finish them, they gave me some. But that was too much for me. At that time, my milk wasn't selling well either, and dumplings and milk can't be kept for long... On a whim, I mixed the two together, and I didn't expect that if the proportions were right, it would taste surprisingly good."

"A coincidence...hmm, interesting." Ying nodded thoughtfully. "And could I have another one?"

"Of course! As long as the General likes it, you can drink as much as you want!" Zhishu hurriedly began preparing new milk.

"I also want!"

"Yes, and me too!"

Paimon and Ying also raised their hands, eager to try this "dumpling milk" that "even the General said was good".

Han Fulai did not drink it with them; he had already tasted the "dumpling milk" long ago.

Inazuma's "dango" is a type of glutinous rice ball. The cooked glutinous rice ball is mixed with milk, stirred evenly, and then sprinkled with brown sugar. It is sweet and warming, and is indeed a good snack.

If we're talking about any drawbacks to this thing...

"So full..." Ying secretly burped.

"Yeah, it's like eating something even though it's just a drink." Paimon rubbed her tummy. After drinking a cup of "dumpling milk," her "stomach full of snacks" seemed to be completely filled.

The biggest drawback of "Dumpling Milk" is probably that it can fill you up... It's more like a "thick soup" than a "drink".

Even Paimon would probably not be able to eat anything else for a while.

Ying was earnestly searching her memory for something similar to this "dumpling milk": "...Red bean soup with rice cakes?...Sweet rice porridge?...Husband and wife in harmony? Hmm, they all seem similar, but they can't be easily equated..."

"But anyway, I like it."

Tomoki's face was practically glowing: "Thank you for your recognition, General!"

Ying was still somewhat unsatisfied, her eyes lingering on the empty milk cups: "This 'dumpling milk' is so delicious, it must sell very well, right?"

“Uh…” Tomoki lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, “Well… to be honest, the sales weren’t very good.”

Ying was genuinely surprised: "Eh, it's not selling well? Why?"

Tomoki replied, "Because... many people are unwilling to try it. Although those who have tried it have given it good reviews, most people will refuse it just because they hear the name 'Dumpling Milk.' Haha, it's probably because everyone thinks this combination is strange..."

"Is it strange?" Ying frowned slightly.

Zhishu then realized he had said the wrong thing again: "I... I didn't mean to say that the General's taste is strange! Please don't take offense!"

"Yes, I think so too." Ying nodded confidently. How could her taste be strange? It would be strange for someone not to like sweets, right?

As for why those people refuse to taste "Dumpling Milk"... it must be because they have never tasted "Dumpling Milk". Once they have tasted it, it is impossible for them not to like it.

—Shadow came to this conclusion of a "vicious cycle".

But as a general, she has a way to break this "vicious cycle".

"Han Qing, convey my order." Lei Yingdong once again displayed the majesty of a general, "Have the magistrate come here to buy 'Dumpling Milk' and then deliver it to the residents of Inazuma City door to door."

"Yes." Han Fulai took out his notebook and began to help the general write the imperial edict on the spot.

"No, no, no, General, this is too exaggerated!" Tomoki never dreamed that his "Dumpling Milk" would one day become "Inazuma's National Drink".

"Is it an exaggeration? I just wanted them to try it; it would be a shame if they hadn't tried 'Dumpling Milk'." Lei's expression was clearly serious.

Ying, who was next to her, whispered, "So Ying, you like sweets this much?"

“Of course, I’ve heard that most humans have a sweet tooth. It’s not strange that I like sweet desserts.” Shadow strongly asserted his taste.

Ying glanced at the two empty glasses in Ying's hands: "Then... would you like another glass?"

"Forget it, I'm not that obsessed."

Ying shook her head, returned the empty cup to the shopkeeper, and secretly marveled at the magic of the dessert, which had almost made even her strong-willed self succumb.

Compared to being alone in a sacred place, lost in deep thought, it's so much better to be out here. How could I possibly experience such a wonderful dessert as "dango milk" if I were always inside the castle tower?

...Isn't this what he meant by "the eternal pursuit of a better life"?

Paimon flew to Han Fulai's side and looked curiously at the "General's Orders" he had recorded:

"Food is the most important thing for the people. The people's dining table is also a concern for General. Today, General inspected the people's conditions and expressed deep concern for the food security of the people of Daoqi. General proposed that, starting from better meeting the people's needs for a better life, we should ensure the food supply so that every person in Daoqi can drink high-quality milk."

Few people know that the "imported premium breakfast milk" from Mondstadt and Liyue, which was later regarded as a daily staple by the Inazuma people, originally originated from a cup of "dango milk" in the town.