CHAPTER 125: CHAPTER 76: WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO EARLIER!

"Get out of the way, let me see what goodies you’ve got!" Ah Man heard that Harano had finally finished his seclusion, so she dashed all the way home in a blaze of fire and lightning.

She really had it rough during this time. Except for Harano supplying her with diluted hydrochloric acid for hydrolysis, he dumped everything related to the soy sauce workshop on her—expanding the site, building stoves and buying firewood, hauling and cooking materials, delivering goods and collecting money, managing people, all of it was on her shoulders, while he hid in the lab all day long.

About that, of course... she had no complaints. She wasn’t stupid; last time after Harano holed up, he came out with super-profitable soy sauce. She guessed this time it was probably another money-making scheme. So, she was quite willing to put in a little extra effort for it.

Now the results were out, and she was hyped! She tossed aside her work, rushed home, shoved Ah Qing and Yayoi, who were already there to spectate, to the side, grabbed the center spot next to Harano, to see what he was up to.

Of course, Harano was cooking. He’d long had enough of the plain and primitive methods of "boiling" and "grilling". Now that he finally had frying pans, big iron woks, and other kitchenware in place, he couldn’t wait to eat something delicious.

He started by boiling salt water to get rid of the iron wok’s weird smell and its fireiness. After carefully cleaning the wok twice, he put it on the heat, poured in a bit of blended oil, stir-fried some shredded ginger for the aroma, then dropped in the fish he’d marinated earlier with fine salt, MSG (kelp extract), and vinegar. With a sizzle, he gently flipped the pieces until both sides were golden, popped in a handful of chopped green onions for flavor, and took it off the heat.

And just like that, a classic homestyle dish from his hometown—pan-fried fish with scallions—was done.

Uh, he’d always been a single dog, knew how to cook, but his skills... yeah, not much more than this, just some simple home-cooked stuff.

But as he sniffed that slightly charred aroma floating off the dish, he felt genuinely satisfied. It was a small step for him, but a giant leap for his isekai life.

Of course, after working for so long, he couldn’t have done it just for a fried fish. He set up the big wok, poured in a bunch of oil, and heated it up. The chicken chunks he’d pre-coated with egg white and batter went in for a slow fry to lock in the juices, then cranked up the heat for a quick fry to make them crisp.

And thus, another homestyle dish—crispy fried chicken chunks—was done.

He looked at the results with great satisfaction, let out a long sigh, then turned to Yayoi with anticipation, asking, "Did you get it?"

Yayoi blinked, looked hesitant, didn’t really dare admit she hadn’t understood, so in the end just braced herself and said, "Yeah, I got it."

Harano knew her personality and realized he was being too hasty, and immediately said, "No worries, I’ll explain it to you more thoroughly later. But from now on, everyone’s meals are your responsibility! Try a lot, don’t be scared, wasting ingredients isn’t a big deal—just focus on making things tasty. And please, never again just throw everything into a pot and boil it all together like before."

His own cooking skills weren’t much, and he knew he didn’t have the time or energy to spend all day in the kitchen. Better to train a professional chef. After looking over everyone, the only one he could truly depend on for this was Yayoi. So even though she was still young, the heavy responsibility could only fall on her—take it slow, even if at first her cooking tasted terrible, he wouldn’t say a word. Everything takes practice. Give it a year or so, and she should at least be able to beat the canteen grannies.

He’d already been isekai’d; as long as he could eat canteen granny level food, he was content, nothing more required.

Yayoi immediately relaxed when she found out he’d guide her in detail, and also looked forward to learning a new skill. She nodded vigorously, promising to grill and fry dishes like this for him from now on.

Harano gave her an encouraging smile, then rubbed his hands, getting ready to whip up some egg fried rice. Meanwhile, Ah Man, squeezed close beside him, watched for a while, getting more and more puzzled. She wasn’t surprised Harano could cook—a lot of lower-ranked samurai were broke and cooked their own porridge and roasted yams. So, Harano knowing a few tricks wasn’t a shock. But... this wasn’t what she thought at all. She figured he’d developed some new super-profitable product again.

She scrunched her bean eyebrows and asked doubtfully, "What are you doing? You dumped everything on me and hid out for days in that no-entry shack just to make some food? Don’t you have too much free time?"

Harano just smiled a little, not bothering to explain. He saw the crispy fried chicken was at the perfect temperature, sprinkled some Sichuan pepper powder on it, then picked up a piece and stuffed it into her mouth.

Ah Man didn’t dodge—chicken’s not something you avoid. She bit down on the piece, gave it a chew...

Hmm...

Uh...

So tender! Juicy and tender inside but crispy on the outside, with a slight numbing sensation on the tongue, really good texture, and a delicious, fragrant oily taste. She’d never tasted anything like this before.

This was actually the first fried food she’d ever had. She used to be so poor she couldn’t even afford rice, much less a giant pot of oil just to fry chicken. Plus, it’s not like she’d ever learned how to blend oils for flavor. And she was naturally hyper—nothing in the world suits her better than deep fried food. Just a few bites and she was already hooked.

The more she chewed, the better it tasted. In no time, stewed chicken slid off the leaderboard as her number one favorite, and even her bean eyebrows were drooping. Harano, seeing she’d finished chewing, immediately picked up a chunk of fish and stuffed it into her mouth.

Hmm...

Uh...

So fragrant! But in a different way. This was fresh and savory, with oniony and toasty notes mixed together, and absolutely no fishy taste. Plus, unlike grilled fish, it wasn’t bitter or half raw here, half overdone there.

The fish was tender and fresh. Before she even finished savoring it, it was already in her belly; once again, stewed chicken dropped further down the rankings. Harano put down his chopsticks, grinning happily, and asked, "Well? Worth the time?"

Ah Man glanced at the stove, licked her lips, and pondered, "Hard to say..."

Harano looked puzzled, "How come? What’s wrong with it?"

"I can’t say! Let me taste again, I’ll help you figure out what’s off!" Ah Man said, grabbed the chopsticks, picked up another piece of fish to chew over, then another piece of chicken, and soon she was shoveling food into her mouth so fast her cheeks were bulging.

Harano stared at her for a while, speechless—What a natural born little rascal you are!

But whatever, food is meant to be eaten. He was never stingy. He called for Yayoi and Ah Qing to try some too, while rolling up his sleeves, planning to whip up a few more dishes!

Today, he’d be the chef and start a new Chapter for a happy, high-quality life!

......

Honestly, in the resource-starved, ultra-primitive culinary world of Japan’s Middle Ages, Harano’s cooking was fire—even if his skills were just so-so, he was still leagues ahead. After all, these seasonings, oils and whatnot, they might look simple but were hellishly complicated to make—if it weren’t for his background in chemical engineering, there’s no way he could’ve wrangled all that random stuff together.

Good thing he really did major in chemical engineering. He used to love studying and spent ages in the library, which is probably the only reason he could eat comfortably in ancient times. If a liberal arts or journalism major crossed over, they’d probably already be sobbing into an outhouse by now.

Science really changes lives!

He had the most satisfying meal since he arrived in this world, and also the one that tasted most like home. In a great mood, he finished and sat there sipping tea, reflecting on what still needed improvement—he needed to make a blower, otherwise the oil didn’t heat up fast enough, and he still needed to figure out sugar. He vaguely remembered reading something about making sugar from rice—a kind of rice saccharification. He’d have to think hard and see if he could produce white sugar.

Though it’d probably be tough, and likely not happening anytime soon.

Ah Qing and Yayoi were also super satisfied. Same ingredients, but when you add a bunch of weird seasonings and blast it in an iron wok for a bit, the taste really was next-level. After eating, they even felt a small, unexplainable happiness.

That’s probably the magic of good food raising happiness. They didn’t really get it, they just knew it felt great.

Ah Man, of course, ate till her belly was round—when it comes to eating, nobody can outpace her. When she finished, she just flopped onto the floor, kicked her little feet, picked her teeth with a straw, and felt like she’d wasted all those years of eating before. She deeply regretted not robbing Harano sooner—Man, if I’d known following you meant eating so well, with so much flavor, I’d have run two thousand li to West Sea Road to rob you!

Should’ve said so sooner, I wasted so much time for nothing!

She lay there for a bit, feeling pretty chill.

These things, sold as products, probably wouldn’t fetch much, definitely not faster than brewing soy sauce. But if she could eat like this every day from now on, that’d be awesome enough!