"Hoo..."
The refreshing, icy sensation soothed the heat and greasiness from the Spicy Grilled Fish, and Luna tried hard to control herself from making any strange noises.
Slowly opening her eyes and exhaling softly, Luna felt a refreshing green tea fragrance linger in her mouth. She felt completely relaxed and light.
"This is top grade green tea that far surpasses Vik Ridge Spring Tea! Even the tea leaves picked from that thousand years old tea tree that my grandfather only used two or three tea leaves at a time are far inferior to the green tea added to this ice cream. What kind of top grade green tea must it be to make someone feel refreshed and have a lingering fragrance on their lips and teeth with just one lick, and even make their stomach feel light and comfortable?" Luna looked at the ice cream in her hand in disbelief. Because she understood tea, so she knew even better what such a top grade tea leaves meant.
If this quality of green tea were in Luo Du, one liang (50 g) could fetch hundreds of thousands of copper coins at auction. If there were several tea enthusiasts at the auction, the price might be even higher. After all, last year, half a liang of tea leaves from the thousand years old tea tree in Vik Ridge sold for 100,000 copper coins, and the quality of this green tea is clearly superior to that of the old tea tree.
But Mai Ge used this top quality green tea to make ice cream. If her grandfather found out, he would probably be furious.
"But this tastes so good! It's sweet but not cloying, refreshing and delicious, a flavor that's addictive and intoxicating. The feeling of licking it... is truly wonderful." Luna gently licked the corner of her lips with her pink tongue, then licked the ice cream, completely absorbed in the taste.
"So sweet! So sweet!! It's so sweet!!! This feeling is just too blissful!" Ignaz had already licked most of the chocolate ice cream in his hand, his chubby face full of happiness.
He loves sweets, and this chocolate ice cream is the most delicious dessert he has ever eaten. With a gentle lick, the rich and smooth chocolate and tempting milky aroma melt together in his mouth, creating a rich and mellow taste. It's as if he's been thrown into a honey pot, and the sweet taste overwhelms him. This feeling is just too blissful!
"Smells so good...sweet..." Pabor stood on the ground, holding the ice cream in both hands and licking it. Because his hands were a little unsteady, some of the ice cream got on his nose and face. He ate while walking unsteadily, and unknowingly wandered to a table with two birdcages on it.
In front of Green Bean's birdcage was an empty small plate. Green Bean was preening its feathers and showed no particular interest in the ice cream.
"Little one, is the ice cream delicious?" A deep voice suddenly came from inside the cage covered by a black cloth.
"Yes...delicious!" Pabor nodded vigorously, then stuck out his tongue and licked the ice cream, his little face beaming with happiness.
"Actually, I have something even more delicious than ice cream. Do you want some?" The deep voice sounded again, carrying a strong sense of enticement.
"Is it tastier than ice cream?" Pabor looked at the ice cream in his hand, then at the birdcage covered by the black cloth, hesitating slightly.
"Yes, it's right here in this cage in front of you. Just climb up, lift this black cloth, and I can give you something even more delicious than ice cream." the voice continued enticingly.
"Okay, okay!" Pabor nodded happily, looked around, grabbed the chair next to him, and started climbing up. This time, he found a crossbar to stand on, and with a struggle, he climbed up the chair, one hand holding a vanilla ice cream and the other gripping the black cloth covering the birdcage.
"Pabor, what are you doing?" Miranda was the first to notice Pabor standing on the chair, and asked with some confusion.
Immersed in the deliciousness of the ice cream, the group turned around with some confusion, looking at Pabor, who had somehow climbed onto the chair, wondering what he intended to do.
"You'd better not lift that black cloth, or you might…" Amy said seriously to Pabor.
Before she could finish speaking, Pabor grabbed a corner of the black cloth and yanked it down forcefully. The cloth fell down, revealing an iron cage and a nearly featherless black crow inside. Pabor's expression and movements froze instantly.
"Hello, my little darling." Black Charcoal greeted warmly.
"Waaah!" Pabor burst into tears, taking two steps back. The ice cream in his hand wobbled, and the snowball on top flew off, about to fall to the ground.
"Wasting food is a shameful act!" Black Charcoal popped its head out and caught the snowball in its beak.
The snowball, the size of a baby's fist, filled its mouth completely. The impact of its fall caused it to roll down its throat and get stuck, making it look like a huge Adam's apple had grown back.
"...cry from how ugly it is." Amy shrugged, watching the wailing Pabor, and finished her sentence with a touch of helplessness.
"Wow! This bird is so ugly!" Daphne exclaimed, covering her eyes with her hands and only daring to peek through her fingers.
"Yes, where did its fur go? And it has such a big neck." Jessica nodded in agreement.
"Am I the only one who thinks it looks kind of cute like this? Like, kind of adorably silly!" Ignaz asked, somewhat puzzled, licking his ice cream and laughing like a pig.
"Coo...coo coo..." Black Charcoal jumped up and down in the cage, seemingly trying to comfort Pabor, who was still crying loudly. However, with a snowball stuck in its throat, it couldn't make a complete sound, which made it look rather comical.
"Alright, it's alright. Don't cry. A real man doesn't cry easily." Miranda slowly got up and walked to the chair, looking at Pabor with a serious expression.
"But...but...this bird is too ugly." Pabor pouted, trying to stop crying, pointing to the Black Charcoal in the cage, his face full of grievance.
"Gurgle... gurgle!" Black Charcoal poked its head out, as if it had something to say.
"Pabor, it's wrong of you to talk about it like that." Miranda said, shaking her head at Pabor.
Black Charcoal nodded, looking at Pabor with a hint of smugness.
"Look, even though it's ugly, at least it knows it's ashamed to be seen and hides behind the black cloth. But you pulled back the cloth and were scared, so you can't blame it." Miranda continued.
"Thud!"
Black Charcoal lay stiffly in the cage, slowly turning its head away to stop its sorrowful tears from falling.