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Book 1: Chapter 36: Discussing How to Train…Educate Sirin
In Honkai Impact 2nd, Schicksal’s people had indeed done some inhumane things, referring to Babylon Labs conducting human experiments. Sirin did have reasons to take revenge on Babylon Labs. Chen Heng would not bother with this. It was just like how he wanted revenge for his parents. If someone tried to shield that culprit, he would not stop his revenge, even if Mo Qingtong stood between them. The reasoning was the same, so he would not dissuade Sirin from taking revenge on Schicksal.
However, Chen Heng would not use the moon to finish off everyone in one go (setting aside whether it was practical or not, as there were many powerhouses, after all). He felt that revenge was alright, but it should not implicate the innocent. Sirin’s revenge on Schicksal had been indiscriminate. She simply tossed meteors at Earth. That was just overboard.
I need to train her properly.
Chen Heng thought about how to train—no, how to educate Sirin—as he cooked. Without realizing it, he had already finished cooking. Cold-dressed pufferfish skin, fugu sashimi, barbequed pufferfish, pufferfish tempura, claypot pufferfish slice rice, and the most important: stir, fried, puffer, fish. There should also have been pufferfish head hotpot, but there were only two of them, and most people would not have the equipment, so he did not make that.
After cooking these dishes, not to mention Sirin, even Chen Heng wanted to sample them first. This fugu feast was very fragrant.
Chen Heng used his ability to levitate the dishes to the dining table. When Sirin heard Chen Heng coming out, she took the initiative to come over and sit at the dining table without him saying anything.
“Sirin, try the pufferfish. Why do you think that many people eat pufferfish despite being extremely poisonous if not prepared right? As a fish, it has one advantage over other fish; it lacks any fishy taste. Its flesh is translucent, delectable, tasty, has a unique texture, and is chewier than most fish. Do eat more. Especially this stir-fried pufferfish.” Chen Heng picked up a piece of stir-fried pufferfish and placed it in Sirin’s bowl.
“Thank you, Elder Brother.” Although she felt that something was off, especially when Chen Heng explained the pufferfish’s inflation and called it Silin’s Action, the pufferfish did smell great. The aroma had already wafted into the living room while he was cooking.
“Hmmm! It’s delicious! Elder Brother, you should try it too!” As Sirin spoke, she picked out a piece of pufferfish and placed it in Chen Heng’s bowl.
“It’s good that it’s delicious. Thank you, my little Sirin, for picking food out for me. I’ll make pufferfish head hotpot for you some other time. I do not have the equipment today, so I did not make it.” Indeed, she was the first female to pick food for Chen Heng since his mother died. (Mo Qingtong: …)
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After the meal was over, Sirin appeared extremely satisfied. This was solely because pufferfish meat tasted great.
“Elder Brother, can you make more fugu feasts in the future?” Although Sirin found this experience somewhat strange, the fugu feast was truly delicious, something she could not reject.
“Of course, I can. Sirin, just tell me whenever you want to eat it, and I will make it. Not to mention a fugu feast, even if you want the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast, I will make it for you.” Although Chen Heng had not made it before, he felt confident in cooking the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast.
[TL Note: The Manchu–Han Imperial Feast is a grand banquet with disputed origins. It is a feast comprising cuisines from several parts of China and Manchuria (a region of China where the Manchus, a Chinese minority, lived). Here is its Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu%E2%80%93Han_Imperial_Feast.]
“The Manchu–Han Imperial Feast? The Manchu–Han Imperial Feast is the banquet established during the Qing Dynasty, right? There are 108 dishes?”
“The Manchu–Han Imperial Feast normally has at least 108 dishes—54 from the south and 54 from the north. It would be eaten over three days. There are 196 dishes of cold, hot, meat, and mixed dishes and 124 dishes of pastry, tea, snacks, and refreshments. This makes a total of 320 dishes.”
Chen Heng’s description of the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast piqued Sirin’s interest.
“It looks like you are quite interested in the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast. How about tomorrow? I’ll cook a few dishes from the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast tomorrow. I’ll do kung pao rabbit and stir-fried frogs? How about that?”
“Thank you, Elder Brother! Elder Brother is the best!”
“As long as you are happy.”
How to say this…if Chen Heng were not as well off as he was, he would go bankrupt after cooking a Manchu–Han Imperial Feast.
[TL Note: A replica of the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast is said to cost one million Japanese yen (about seven thousand USD). Furthermore, several of the ingredients come from endangered animals.]
The father-daughter pair…brother-sister pair were happy and in harmony.
After Sirin cleared the table, the doorbell rang.
“Coming!” Chen Heng saw Mo Qingtong and Raven when he opened the door. free(w)ebnovel
“Qingtong, Elder Sister Raven, why are you here?”
“Must there be something to do for me to come?”
“That’s not the case. I was just curious why Uncle and Aunty let you come out. Normally, you would be reviewing at this time.”
“I’m here to make sure you are alive. You can die, but Sirin is still a child.”
“The young miss is here because of the pufferfish. She worried that Little Heng could not handle it and came to check.” Raven exposed Mo Qingtong.
“Come in first.” Chen Heng invited the two in, not intending to respond to Mo Qingtong’s prideful, taunting words.
“It smells good!” Although Sirin had already cleared away the empty dishes, there were still some leftovers on the table, giving off a fragrance.
“Little Heng, how long has it been since you ate?”
“About 20 minutes. Don’t worry, Elder Sister Raven. I am absolutely confident in my cooking skills.”
Most people who suffered from tetrodotoxin poisoning would show symptoms of poisoning about five to 15 minutes after eating pufferfish. When Raven heard Chen Heng say it had been more than 20 minutes and saw that he and Sirin, who was on the sofa, were not showing any symptoms of poisoning, she nodded, relaxing.
When Raven nodded, Mo Qingtong relaxed too. She walked to the dining table, saw the leftover cold-dressed pufferfish skin, fugu sashimi, and pufferfish tempura, and suddenly felt somewhat hungry.
Mo Qingtong had already eaten before coming. However, she had deliberately eaten less because she had heard Chen Heng would make a fugu feast, reserving some space in her stomach.
Mo Qingtong did not actually feel too worried about Chen Heng making a fugu feast, as she knew Chen Heng would not do it unless he were absolutely confident. Aside from checking on Chen Heng and Sirin, her main purpose was to get some free food.
“Chen Heng, bring me a pair of chopsticks!” Mo Qingtong naturally demanded a pair of chopsticks from Chen Heng, not feeling this inappropriate.
“I knew it. Your worry is real, but mooching off me is your main purpose.”