Mai Ge and Amy returned quickly from their outing. Aside from their usual teasing of Black Charcoal and Green Bean at the magic potion shop, they easily bought a can of goat's milk for only twenty copper coins, with a free bamboo jar included. Mai Ge even wondered if he'd been a bit too greedy.
As soon as they opened the door, they heard a few meows coming from inside, sounding a bit anxious.
"Ugly duckling, don't be afraid. You're so ugly, it's okay if you're home alone." Amy slipped under Mai Ge's arms and ran over, saying this as she went.
"This comfort... is truly refreshing and unique." Mai Ge entered with a smile, placed the goat milk on the counter, and the little towel in the basket had been messed up by the Ugly Duckling. Now, the Ugly Duckling had its two paws resting on the edge of the basket, looking at Amy with teary eyes, like an abandoned child, looking incredibly pitiful.
"Alright, alright, I'll take you next time. Ugh, I just can't do anything with you." Amy sighed, reaching out to pat the Ugly Duckling's head. The Ugly Duckling immediately squinted its eyes, revealing an expression of enjoyment, and stopped meowing.
Mai Ge smiled. Although Amy kept saying she wanted to eat it when it grew up, after spending so much time together, she'd definitely develop a good relationship with it.
He didn't want to keep lecturing Amy. If she could experience the rarity and preciousness of friends and playmates herself, that would be best, just like how Black Charcoal could be turned from an enemy into a friend.
Eating it was just a little foodie's obsession with roast goose; it wasn't that scary.
He took the baby bottle from the cabinet into the kitchen, boiled the nipple and straw in hot water to sterilize them, then poured fresh goat milk into the clean bottle, warmed it in lukewarm water, tested the temperature on the back of his hand, and then put the remaining fresh goat milk in the refrigerator before taking the bottle out.
"Daddy, what's this?" Amy asked curiously, looking at the baby bottle in Mai Ge's hand as he squatted down beside her. The goat milk was in a clear bottle with a soft thing on top. What was it for?
"Meow~" The Ugly Duckling's eyes also fell on the bottle. Perhaps it smelled the milk, its eyes sparkling. It stuck out its little tongue and licked it, looking very hungry.
"This is a baby bottle, for babies and small animals to drink milk, like this." Mai Ge smiled and placed the nipple to the Ugly Duckling's mouth. The allure of the milky aroma and the instinct to suckle made the little guy quickly come over and suck, making smacking sounds. White goat milk flowed down its lips and dripped onto the white feathers on its chest. It was eating with great relish.
Goat milk has relatively low lactose content, and the Ugly Duckling is only one or two weeks old, and it's wild, so it should be able to handle goat milk, right? Mai Ge thought to himself, if all else fails, he'll just buy kitten milk powder from the system, but that price will probably be a bit high.
"Wow, amazing, Daddy! Can I feed it?" Amy's eyes lit up, looking at Mai Ge expectantly.
"Of course, but the Ugly Duckling can't take a bath yet; it'll be a hassle if it gets dirty. So, we need to put a little bib on it." Mai Ge placed the bottle in Amy's hand, got up, and took a small bib with a floral pattern from the cabinet. He originally intended to remove the bottle before putting it on, but the little thing seemed to understand his intention, sucking tightly on the nipple and refusing to let go. So, he had to have Amy raise the bottle so she could feed while he put the bib on.
"Then let's feed it, Little Amy. This bottle will be enough. I'll go prepare the ingredients for afternoon." Mai Ge said, watching Amy carefully feeding the Ugly Duckling goat milk from the bottle.
"Okay, Little Amy will feed it well." Amy nodded, watching the Ugly Duckling eat with relish, and muttered with a hint of doubt, "Is it really that good?"
The Ugly Duckling seemed to understand Amy's words, nodding as it drank its milk.
Mai Ge went into the kitchen to wash his hands, took out several large pieces of meat from the refrigerator, cut them into evenly sized slices, and then put them in a large jar to marinate.
The most crucial ingredient in La Zhi Rou Jia Mo is the cured pork itself. The pork marinated last night is enough for today and tomorrow, and it will be perfectly cooked by tomorrow morning. Therefore, today he needs to marinate the pork needed for the day after tomorrow to ensure the best texture and that every Rou Jia Mo tastes consistently delicious.
After Mai Ge finished marinating the pork, he left the kitchen to check on Amy's feeding. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Amy sitting on the floor, happily sucking on the bottle. The Ugly Duckling was lying by the basket, looking up at Mai Ge and then at Amy holding the bottle, with tears welling up in its eyes.
"As expected, having a little foodie feed it is simply unreliable; she even stole the cat food…" Mai Ge chuckled helplessly. "Little Amy, why did you eat Ugly Duckling's food? What will it eat then?"
"Because I was worried it would eat too much and get too full, so I helped it eat a little." Amy took another sip, turned to look at the Ugly Duckling, and said, "You agree, right, Ugly Duckling?"
"Meow~" Ugly Duckling meowed reluctantly, looking pitifully at Mai Ge and wagging its little tail.
"This master has absolutely no dignity." Mai Ge looked at the ugly duckling wagging its tail. Back in the day, his fat cat would only reluctantly take a bite if the meat was placed right in front of its mouth with a haughty expression.
"Does Little Amy like drinking goat milk?" Mai Ge asked, watching Amy happily drinking from the bottle.
"Mmm, goat milk is so delicious!" Amy nodded vigorously, the nipple still in her mouth.
"Okay, I'll prepare some for you next time, to help you get calcium and grow taller." Mai Ge smiled and nodded. Amy rarely got to drink goat milk before; he'd been so focused on the restaurant these past few days that he'd forgotten about it.
He bought another bottle from the system. He couldn't let Amy and the Ugly Duckling share one. He warmed half a bottle of goat milk for the Ugly Duckling and poured half for Amy. Watching the two little ones happily sucking on their bottles warmed his heart. Before he knew it, another little member had joined the family.
"System issues new task: Please sell 1000 servings of La Zhi Rou Jia Mo within ten days. Upon completion, the reward will be unlocked—a tofu pudding recipe. Currently completed 48/1000." Just then, the system's voice suddenly sounded in Mai Ge's mind.
"Another thousand portions! System, can't you come up with something more original for your tasks? Won't this get disliked?" Mai Ge pouted. Actually, he had noticed the difference. The ingredients had been replaced with the number of portions sold directly. It seems that this system has learned its lesson after being tricked by crowdfunding last time.
"Selling the required number of dishes is to help host increase your restaurant's reputation as quickly as possible. Please stop taking shortcuts and focus on learning to cook and run your restaurant properly. That's the right path for a Chef God to grow." the system solemnly admonished.
"Alright, this task isn't too difficult, but I'm more curious about whether the tofu pudding is savory or sweet?" Mai Ge asked with great interest.