Chapter 97, New Year

There is a lawn in front of the small building, a private lawn built next to the road. You can imagine how strong this store is.

The Land Rover was parked on the lawn.

The waiter in black clothes and white gloves respectfully opened the car door, his white boots stepping lightly on the ground, and immediately an umbrella appeared to cover the man's head.

After the people in the car got off, the security guard at the entrance looked like a sharp blade shining with cold light, sweeping across all the people around who were paying attention to this side.

Many people shuddered and looked away.

Then the person who got off the car, surrounded by men in black suits and waiters, disappeared from sight...

Utsunomiya Shuo stood at the intersection and looked up.

The sun in the sky is not very big, and the sunlight shines on my body, making me feel warm, like a candlelight in the cold wind.

Is it crazy to hold an umbrella in such weather?
As he thought about it, he looked up at the sign above the small building.

Chateau Joel Robuchon.

Zhuo tilted his head, then followed the crowd and walked towards home.

……

"came back."

When Zhuo returned home, it was already half an hour later. Before going out this time, the key had been put back under the cactus, so he opened the door himself.

The first thing I heard after entering the room was a faint "You're back" from Zero.

She was kneeling in the middle of the living room, with her back to the door. From Zhuo's perspective, he could see Ling's white T-shirt. Her long light golden hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, revealing her slender neck. When she said this, she was using the chopsticks in her hand to turn over the dried rice cake on the low table.

He is calm and composed, as it should be.

Don't even look at him.

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that she is "stealing the host's place", but is she becoming more and more casual in her own home?

The tone of her words "I'm back" was too calm, and it sounded like something a mother or a wife would say.

What the hell, what kind of Thirty-Six Stratagems are these?
By the way, the rice cakes were also made by Ling himself, and Zhuo also participated a little - he was responsible for filling the rice inside, and the princess was responsible for the heavy work, which was swinging with the hammer.

"Oh, yeah, I'm back..." Zhuo Gu responded unnaturally, and then quickly moved on to the next topic: "There are so many people and cars on the road, and I even encountered someone running a red light."

"Ah."

Ling responded calmly, still working with his head down.

"thing?"

Zhuo didn't care whether she could see it or not. He changed his shoes and raised the bag in his hand to signal her.

“Just put it in the kitchen.”

"OK."

Zhuo changed his shoes and walked towards the kitchen.

When he passed by her, he looked down and saw that the rice cakes were basically formed, carved into lifelike pig shapes by Ling with exquisite knife skills.

Zhuo stopped and pursed his lips in thought.

There are eighteen little pigs in total, and after the Chinese New Year, he will be exactly eighteen years old.

"…Are you implying that I'm actually a pig?"

Ling was busy with the work in his hands. He just looked up at him expressionlessly, then lowered his head to continue working.

“Because it’s the Year of the Pig.”

"Oh."

"You bought a lot of meat again?"

Ling didn't raise her head when she asked this question, but her tone was calm, which showed that she was very sure. It should be because she took the time to look at the bag in that quick glance just now.

But Zhuo didn't notice anything at all.

"Yes, yes, a lot." Zhuo felt a little unnatural.

This feeling is so strange, a bit like not doing homework and being caught by the teacher.

Even though Ling lowered her head, with her golden hair scattered on both sides like curtains covering her cheeks, Zhuo could still clearly hear the small sigh from the loli beside him.

What are you doing? Are you Adou's uncle? This is a tone of regret.

Humph.

"…go put it away, just this once."

"Okay." Zhuo carried the plastic bag containing the goods and walked obediently to the kitchen.

"Wash the vegetables and soak the meat first."

Zero's instructions came from behind.

"嗻~"

Utsunomiya Shuo agreed without hesitation.

Huh? Why did you suddenly change your identity? Wasn't it always "colorful" before?

Utsunomiya Shuo thought so as he was taking out the goods from the plastic bag.

Now, a week has passed since Christmas. During this week, he has occasionally helped with some "things that anyone can do", such as washing vegetables.

After half a month of training, even a pig should have learned it.

Zhuo actually knew that eating only meat was bad for health and would easily make one gain weight, so he would not really go against Ling's suggestion.

To be fair, Zhuo also wanted to have a body full of tendons and eight-pack abs...so he kept thinking about it.

There is no way around it. Which man doesn’t want to have eight-pack abs and a hunched back?

But throughout the year, aren’t we still playing with our phones when we have free time?

There's nothing we can do about it.

The essence of the world is playing with mobile phones.

……

Today's dinner is as sumptuous as always.

I don't know where Zero got the old BJ copper pot from. The chimney-like shape now looks strange and nostalgic. I have never seen this thing in Neon.

There were dishes on the low table. He cleaned and sorted the vegetables, and Ling sliced ​​the meat... This was a job that Zhuo would probably never be able to do in her lifetime. Ling's knife skills were too delicate. Every piece of meat was cut almost translucently, and she shaved out all the fat from the meat.

This is not something humans can do.

She is completely qualified for the profession.

The base of the pot is naturally also zero homemade. It is not the block-like hot pot base of Zhonghuajia, nor is it the clear soup base of Neon - but a rich sauce with rich ingredients and red appearance. She puts it in a small bowl separately, and then when pouring it into the pot, you need to use a spoon to scoop it out of the bowl.

The base material quickly spreads out when dropped into the pot, and a layer of red slowly rises on the water surface, like a picture of dye being dropped into water and spreading out.

It's simply amazing.

"Speaking of which, are you preparing for the New Year?"

While waiting for the water to boil, Utsunomiya Zhuo stared at the red oil in the copper pot and asked.

Zero is a Russian screw man.

"New Year's Day... I don't know. Maybe I'll be with Mai and the others."

Uncertainty and a very bland answer, Zero obviously doesn't care much about the New Year.

In fact, Zhuo didn’t care much.

Neon New Year also has its own traditions:

1. Welcome the New Year’s sunrise.

2. A sumptuous meal.

3. Use medicinal wine to pay tribute to the new year.

4. Make a New Year’s resolution.

5. "Divine Fortune".

6. "Amulet" for good luck.

7. Send out red envelopes (お年玉).

8. Traditional games and activities.

9. Watch traditional lion dance.

10. Look forward to the first dream of the new year.

The ten major conventions may vary in some areas, but they are basically the same. They are basically held in the morning and require going to temples that are crowded and where you can’t find your shoes as soon as you enter.

So troublesome!
　Thanks to brother 20181125163228033 for the two monthly tickets.

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(End of this chapter)