https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-37-Not-a-Single-Decent-Bone-in-My-Body/12608106/
Chapter 38: A Unique 'Treasure'
Chapter 38: A Unique 'Treasure'
Sark was never a good man.
Everyone knows that being a good person in these seas is a difficult way to live. Even if one has a temporary reputation, it is easy to be dragged down by that reputation in the end.
From the Navy to the pirates, it has never been defined by good or bad people.
Besides, Sark is a man who dreams of becoming a feudal lord and was never meant to be a do-gooder.
"Don't confuse me here. While I'm still in a good mood, tell me where the king is, or else..."
Sark pulled out a flintlock pistol and grinned menacingly, "I may not be interested in the poor, but that doesn't mean you can deceive me. Understand?"
Marika completely ignored the pitch-black gun barrel pointing at her. She glanced at the surrounding people, who were already showing indignant expressions, and smiled, "We may not have gold, silver, or jewels, but if we're talking about treasures, we do have some."
She turned and walked backward, and the crowd gathered around her automatically parted, revealing the things on this shallow beach that had not yet been submerged by the seawater.
They were a bunch of things made from stones and shells. The water in the stone pots was violently sloshing as the storm raged.
There was a huge bone of some unknown creature around the stone pots, which was used as a shelter from the rain. Under the bone, there was a fire pit with natural shells placed on top like a pot.
"Although the Kingdom of Shallow Sands is marked on the nautical chart, it is a barren place. Besides sand, we have nothing. The people here rely on sand even for their dwellings."
"But when there isn't enough space and no safe abode, we establish our residences where the tide recedes. Yet, when the tide rises, we have to flee for our lives."
She walked into the bone rack, took out two flint stones, and struck them toward the fire pit, igniting it.
The fire pit seemed to contain some garbage that Sark had often seen on the beach, all of which was discarded by passing merchant ships and seemed to have been collected.
Marika picked up the shell pot, extended it beyond the bone rack, filled it with rainwater, and then placed it back on the fire pit to wait for the water to boil. Meanwhile, she took out a shell knife and looked toward the crowd.
"Lady Marika!"
A commoner dragged a net over and said, "These are today's catches!"
Several other fishermen also pulled up their nets, filled with fish, shrimp, and shells, causing Sark's eyes to twitch.
He had also worked in the fishing industry. While fishing and angling were related, there were still differences.
Angling was about catching big fish, while fishing was about catching anything and everything.
After Sark had failed on his path to becoming the Fishing King, he turned to pursue the title of the Catching King. Although he had failed in that endeavor as well, he had gained some experience along the way.
It was natural to catch a variety of seafood during the rising and falling tides. However, to use a net to scoop up a big pile of seafood during the tides required not skill but pure luck.
In terms of skill, Sark had reached the pinnacle!
And in terms of luck, he had also reached the pinnacle—the pinnacle of bad luck, that is.
Casting a net, he wouldn't catch any edible shells, let alone fish!
So he knew the true value of these nets full of seafood.
"But even in a place like this, we have our unique way of survival."
Marika took out a small knife made from shells and lifted a net, almost at lightning speed. The shell knife turned into an afterimage as she swiftly peeled the shrimp, crabs, and shells.
As she peeled, her body twirled like a flower, and her hand extended beyond the bone rack, using the rainstorm to quickly rinse the meat before tossing it into the shell pot. Some shells were thrown into the fire, while others were placed directly into the flames to burn.
"Sea creatures have their own salinity, so there's no need to add extra salt. The shells are very tasty and don't need any seasoning. They can be boiled into a fresh soup. The right amount of roe from the shrimp and crabs can enhance the flavor, and the tenderness of the fish meat can also add a unique taste. Smashing the fish bones can further increase the nutritional value."
She picked up a fish, scraped its scales off with her shell knife, and then placed it on a stone. Using another stone, she smashed the fish into a pulpy mess. Her hand then danced within the pulpy fish, pinching out ball after ball of fish meat and bones, which she threw into the shell pot in a perfect parabolic arc.
The already boiling water bubbled even more vigorously as the fish balls dropped into it.
Marika brought out a shell lid of equal size to cover the pot and smiled at everyone. "Please wait just a little while longer."
It took only about ten minutes before tendrils of white steam escaped from between the shell lid's cracks, carrying with it an enticing aroma that had throats twitching and mouths watering.
Even Lily, who had just finished eating not long ago, was now sniffing eagerly and staring intently at the covered shell pot.
It wasn't until Marika lifted the shell lid, revealing a pot now thoroughly steeped in a milky-white broth, that she handed a shell bowl filled with soup to Sark.
"This is our 'treasure', Crown Jewel Soup. Please, taste it."
The soup in the colorful shell bowl was as white as milk, with the fish balls looking like jewels adorning it, and the shells and shrimp crab shells forming the structure of a crown. Indeed, it looked just like a beautiful 'crown'.
Sark's eyebrows shot up as he subconsciously exclaimed after taking a sip, "Wow! It's amazing!"
It truly was delicious, so fresh that his eyebrows were dancing.
"It's so good!"
Lily, who had only taken a sip from her second bowl, already had eyes sparkling, and she didn't care about the lack of chopsticks, directly drinking the soup from the shell and crunching on the shellfishes.
"It's so warm!" Lily's gaze at Marika changed completely, and she said solemnly, "You're amazing!"
"Thank you for the compliment." Marika smiled and bowed slightly, then turned to the others and said, "Please line up, there's enough soup for everyone."
No sooner had she finished speaking than those who couldn't wait any longer formed a line, each holding their own shell bowl, quickly filling them one by one, and as soon as they took a sip, happy and satisfied expressions appeared on their faces.
Even though the bone rack wasn't big enough to shelter so many people, and some were still standing in the wind and rain, the expressions on their faces as they drank the soup made one subconsciously feel that they should be warm.
With a gentle smile, Marika said, "On a rainy day like this, a warm bowl of soup can comfort our cold bodies. Captain, please let your crew have a bowl as well."
Sark narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Marika for a moment, then waved to Akin.
Akin immediately understood and led a dozen or so pirates to join the line.
That aroma was too tempting, and they couldn't help but want a taste.
But with the captain not having given the order yet, and the vice-captain still watching, they didn't dare move.
"She's really something."
Sark said indifferently, "A person like you, how did you end up in a place like this?"
This was truly a case of turning something rotten into something miraculous. Without any seasoning, she had relied solely on the flavors of the sea and the water brought by the storm to create a delicious soup.
Sark had once aspired to become the Cooking King, but this had nothing to do with bad luck; it was purely because he couldn't cook well. He could manage simple dishes, but when it came to creating delicious meals under such sparse conditions, he was incapable.
There were so many varieties of seafood in the sea, and it wasn't just a matter of random pairing. If the proportions were off, the entire flavor profile could change, and instead of being delicious, it might end up smelling foul.
Such a talented individual, coupled with the adoration and reverence of the commoners, was indeed king-like.
Marika glanced at the line of people waiting for soup and said slowly, "We are abandoned people with nowhere else to go, so we can only stay here and await our fate."
"Lady Marika!"
A commoner who was drinking soup suddenly exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the north side of the beach, where a group of figures was approaching. "They're here!"
"They're here!" Marika tightened her grip on the shell knife, her expression turning grave, "Fate..."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
