Chapter 39: S-Class Milk Porridge
Chapter 39: S-Class Milk Porridge
"No problem. The construction will cost a total of 20,000 Pokedollars. By the way, do you still have any wood left on the ranch?" Claire asked.
She recalled that on her last visit, she had noticed most of the trees on the ranch had been cut down.
Claire continued, "If you're running low, you can purchase more from the store. Each log is 100 Pokedollars, and stone is a bit cheaper at 50 Pokedollars each."
The quoted price of 20,000 Pokedollars was purely for labor. If the ranch owner didn't have the necessary materials, they would need to be purchased from her.
Naoki thought for a moment. He had been busy fishing these past few days and hadn't had time to chop wood.
While there were trees on the ranch, large-scale logging would not only damage the environment but also leave some Pokemon homeless.
After a brief contemplation, he decided, "I'll buy them from you!"
A smile appeared on Claire's face. "Great! The construction team will head to your ranch this afternoon. You'll be there, right?"
Being a standard structure, Claire was very familiar with the amount of materials and space needed to build a salt house.
Naoki nodded and paid her a total of 25,000 Pokedollars, including the construction fee and the cost of the materials.
After leaving the carpentry shop, he made his way to the Pickled Market to buy some fresh ingredients.
It had been a while since he had created any new dishes.
With limited ingredients on the ranch and his busy work schedule, he had been cooking the same few meals over and over.
Now that he had eggs and milk, it was time to experiment with some new recipes.
By the time he returned to the ranch, it was almost noon.
Without resting, Naoki began to prepare the ingredients.
As there were many mouths to feed, and Gorlton had an enormous appetite, he had to ensure there was enough food so no one, especially Gorlton, would be left hungry.
As a result, Naoki always prepared large quantities of food, which meant spending more time in the kitchen.
Initially, due to his lack of experience, he would often end up cooking late into the night. Eventually, he started preparing meals in advance.
For example, even though it was only 10:46 am, Naoki was already busy in the kitchen.
He scraped off the fish scales, removed the guts, added ginger, Galarian leek, and a hint of garlic. Then, he seasoned the fish with a specially prepared marinade before placing it in the steamer.
While the fish was steaming, Naoki began multitasking.
He washed the spareribs he had bought, blanched them, and then placed them in the rice cooker along with diced white radish to simmer.
Cooking every day had improved Naoki's culinary skills, and even his knife skills had become more refined.
Time passed, and soon the aroma of the rich rib soup filled the air.
The boiling broth bubbled vigorously, causing the lid of the rice cooker to dance up and down as steam escaped, making a gurgling sound.
Gorlton and Motostoke were drawn by the scent and stared longingly at the steaming rice cooker.
Naoki, wearing an apron, shook his finger at them. "Not yet. The food isn't ready. You'll have to wait a bit longer. Go play outside for now."
"Gao!"
"Gashi!"
Motostoke and Gorlton didn't want to go play outside, so they sat on the wooden floor, their eyes fixed on the cooker.
Seeing their eager faces, Naoki shook his head helplessly and began making rice porridge.
He had made plain rice porridge before, which was an E-rank dish that restored a small amount of stamina to Pokemon.
However, as he stared into the pot of rice porridge, a thought occurred to him.
What could he add to make it better?
A flurry of names flashed through his mind.
Preserved egg and lean pork porridge, carrot and millet porridge, shiitake mushroom and chicken porridge, oatmeal porridge, eight-treasure porridge, corn porridge, purple sweet potato porridge...
Unfortunately, most of these ingredients weren't available at the ranch.
Naoki turned to look out the window.
The windowsill was empty; MinCC and Frostine were probably playing in the sunshine.
Unlike Gorlton and Motostoke, who preferred meat, Frostine and MinCC had a sweet tooth.
He poured the MooMoo Milk into a pot, adding just the right amount of sugar. Moments later, the name of the dish in the pot changed.
[Milk Porridge (B)
: MooMoo Milk porridge with added white sugar.
Dish Effect: Better Milk lv1, limited to lactating Pokemon. After consumption, it will slightly improve the quality of the drinker's milk, making it taste better and more nutritious, while also restoring stamina.
Evaluation: A nutritious porridge suitable for Pokemon of all ages.]
Huh? A new dish?!
Naoki raised an eyebrow.
Better Milk.
Just as the name implied, it would enhance the quality of milk produced by Pokemon.
Which Pokemon would it be suitable for...
Naoki's mind conjured up images of Miltank and the Wooloo family.
"Interesting. I can pay a visit to Salt Rock this afternoon and see if I can catch a Wooloo while I'm at it."
However, it was a pity that this dish only had an effect level of lv1.
Naoki guessed that it was probably due to the average quality of the rice he had used.
If he were to use higher-quality rice and sugar, the enhancement effect would likely improve further.
As the porridge was almost ready, Naoki was about to dish it out and call Frostine and the others for lunch.
But then, he suddenly remembered something.
There was a small piece of black truffle left in the pantry that he had intentionally kept!
With that thought, Naoki immediately turned and retrieved the black truffle.
Information about the black truffle appeared in his mind.
[Black Truffle: A top-quality, luxurious ingredient that is a rare delicacy. Can be used to make Truffle Steamed Eggs with eggs or Truffle Cream Soup with butter. While it does not provide any direct benefits, it greatly enhances the effects of dishes it is added to.]
Indeed, he remembered correctly! It enhanced the effects of dishes!
Naoki's heart raced with excitement. What if he added it to the milk porridge...
Without hesitation, he quickly cut a quarter of the black truffle and added it to the pot.
Soon, the name of the dish in the pot changed once again.
From the ordinary [Milk Porridge], it transformed into [Black Truffle Milk Porridge].
[Black Truffle Milk Porridge (S)
: MooMoo Milk porridge with added black truffle, white sugar, and MooMoo Milk. The addition of black truffle greatly enhances the quality of this dish.
Dish Effect: Better Milk lv3, limited to lactating Pokemon. After consumption, it will significantly enhance the quality of the drinker's milk, making it taste better and more nutritious, while also providing a quick recovery of stamina.
Evaluation: An exquisite porridge packed with nutrition suitable for the growth of all Pokemon. A rare and delicious treat.]
Holy cow!
It's an S-rank dish! Naoki was shocked.
He immediately realized the importance of black truffles.
If... if...
At that moment, Naoki even considered adding black truffles to the spare rib soup and steamed sea bass to see the effects.
However, his rationality stopped him, as the effects of those homely dishes were rather ordinary.
One temporarily increased the upper limit of stamina and strength, while the other restored stamina.
"Never mind, I'll save this for later." Naoki mumbled to himself.
He carefully stored the remaining black truffle, already planning for the future.
Pig farming! I must farm pigs! Raise a whole herd of Skwovet and send them into the mountains to help find black truffles!
(End of Chapter)
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