Chapter 292: No, Who Taught You to Use Your Rinkaku Like That?
The sky looked as if it had been washed with clear water, so pellucid that not a single impurity remained.
Large clusters of white clouds floated leisurely, resembling cotton wadding or perhaps marshmallows—soft yet possessing a heavy texture—moving slowly across the azure canopy.
Stardew Valley Ranch—
Ryohei Tanaka finished making the last batch of desserts for the day, left the follow-up work to Yusa and Pino, and then strolled out of the complex building with his hands behind his back.
Probably because everyone wanted to taste the ranch's hidden delicacy, 'Knocked Fish Noodles,' quite a few people were standing by the lake fishing at this time.
Ryohei Tanaka walked casually towards a middle-aged man and struck up a conversation with a smile: "Hey brother, how's the harvest?"
The middle-aged man turned to look at Ryohei Tanaka, paused for a moment as if recognizing him, and then squeezed out a bitter expression on his face:
"The fish bit the hook a few times, but I couldn't pull a single one up. The fish in your ranch are too cunning!"
"I've never fished for such difficult fish before!"
"Are they difficult to catch? No way!"
Ryohei Tanaka was surprised and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with suspicion, wondering if his skills were lacking...
The middle-aged man was also perceptive; he understood Ryohei Tanaka's meaning in a second. His face darkened, and he waved his hand:
"It's not a skill issue! Although I'm not some fishing master, I know a thing or two! I wouldn't come back empty-handed..."
"Come off it!"
A teasing voice came from the side.
A middle-aged man with a dangerously receding hairline grinned, ruthlessly tearing down his companion's facade:
"Cooking Sage, don't listen to his nonsense. He just sucks, and he's the type who sucks but loves to play."
"He often comes back empty-handed!"
Hearing this, the first middle-aged man's face turned even darker. He tried to save face forcibly: "Not often, just occasionally, occasionally, do you understand!"
This was his last bit of stubbornness!
"Heh."
"..." Ryohei Tanaka twitched the corner of his mouth, his gaze falling on the middle-aged man with the receding hairline, and asked with a smile:
"How's your harvest over here?"
"Pretty good."
The man with the receding hairline puffed out his chest and smiled smugly:
"The biggest one I caught weighs five catties and seven taels. I threw back anything under two catties. Now there are three big guys in the keep net!"
"Not bad!"
Ryohei Tanaka gave a thumbs-up, somewhat surprised.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man instantly became even more proud.
Then he hesitated a moment and asked curiously: "By the way, I don't recognize a lot of the fish in your ranch..."
He was a veteran angler!
Although he didn't know every fish, it was unusual to catch several in a row and not recognize any of them!
"Those are new varieties I introduced through special channels; they are all good fish."
"Please rest assured, these fish are all edible. When you leave, you can catch some to take back. You're welcome to have them tested."
Ryohei Tanaka said calmly.
Seeing his attitude, and hearing him even mention testing, the uncle immediately felt more at ease and smiled:
"It's not that I was worried, just curious to ask."
"..." Ryohei Tanaka nodded gently.
After chatting for a few more sentences, Ryohei Tanaka left.
He continued walking along the lake.
Suddenly—
He saw a large red and black 'tail' shoot out from the waist of a gracefully figured woman, quickly plunge into the lake, curl around a fish from another world, and stuff it into the keep net.
Ryohei Tanaka froze for a moment.
A Ghoul?
No, who taught you to use your Rinkaku like that? (ﾟoﾟ〃)
"..."
"Phew—!"
"Finally 'caught' one!"
Itori let out a long breath, a happy smile rising on the corners of her mouth.
She had been fishing here for a long time. Perhaps she lacked talent in this area, but not a single fish had taken the bait.
And—
What happened to the beginner's protection period?
Why didn't she have one? Was it because she wasn't human?
Just as she was getting impatient—
That reckless 'fat-headed fish' swam right in front of her, surfaced, and blew bubbles at her.
It was practically taunting her to her face!
Could she tolerate that?
She immediately used her Rinkaku to scoop that fish up!
"It's about two or three catties. I should be able to have a delicious meal of Knocked Fish Noodles, right?"
Itori calculated happily, but suddenly felt a gaze land on her.
Her body stiffened slightly. Turning her head, she saw Ryohei Tanaka looking at her with astonishment.
Itori's soft body stiffened again.
She subconsciously stood up, forced a smile onto her face, pointed to the keep net for Ryohei Tanaka as he walked over, and said sheepishly:
"It provoked me first..."
She actually used the word 'provoke'... Ryohei Tanaka's mouth twitched as he said: "Just this once!"
He paused, then added: "Keep it low-key, don't scare the other guests."
"Okay."
Itori nodded obediently, indicating she understood.
Ryohei Tanaka looked at her face and asked curiously: "You look quite familiar. Do you come to the shop often?"
He had an impression of her!
"Yes, I'm a regular at the shop!" Itori placed her hand on her ample chest and answered enthusiastically.
Then, she asked curiously: "Will you return to Tokyo to open the shop later?"
"Yes, when Tokyo cools down a bit, I'll go back," Ryohei Tanaka answered with a smile.
"So running the ranch in Hokkaido is to escape the heat?"
"That's part of it. On the other hand, I also wanted a change of environment and to experience a different life."
Ryohei Tanaka chatted with Itori for a while, then turned and continued his stroll along the lake.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was approaching 4 PM.
The tourists fishing by the lake successively handed their catches to Kyon-Kyon.
Kyon-Kyon showed a sweet smile, weighing and recording for everyone.
When 4 PM arrived, her slender, fair hands gripped the handle of the flatbed cart, and she effortlessly pulled a cart full of fish to the kitchen on the second floor of the complex building.
In the kitchen, Ryohei Tanaka had already arranged the personnel for killing the fish and making the Knocked Fish Noodles.
Jashin-chan was responsible for killing the fish, removing bones and fascia, etc. Yusa was leading people to make the fish noodles—but that was a bit of a waste of her talent.
Ryohei Tanaka also needed someone to help him.
So Ryohei Tanaka discussed with Yusa and had her be his assistant.
Poporon, Kanna, and the others who returned from the dessert shop were responsible for knocking the fish into noodles, while Pino was in charge of baking the prepared fish noodles until they were half-cooked.
The group busied themselves in the kitchen in an orderly manner.
...
The sky gradually turned dusky yellow as twilight rose.
A little past 6 PM—
After taking a shower in the homestay and changing into an elegant dress, Itori arrived at the restaurant on the second floor of the complex building.
She was ready to taste the Knocked Fish Noodles she had been looking forward to for so long!
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