A rustling sound came from something scraping against the tent entrance.
When Maomao opened her eyes, Sparrow had returned with the food.
"Here's your portion, Maomao."
"Thank you."
Sparrow set the animal-fat candlestick down on the rug.
The smell was oddly appetizing, so the main ingredients were probably beef or mutton.
Every dish that had been made was there in pairs.
An additional soup had been added as well. Everything was arranged around the candlestick.
She had used whatever ingredients were available along with the potatoes, but the spread was turning out rather lavish.
Maomao rubbed her stomach. After her nap, she was feeling a bit hungry.
"It was a big hit with everyone."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Yes, they're eating and drinking and feeling wonderful right now—just like that."
From outside the tent, the sounds of stringed instruments and singing drifted in. It all felt rather forced, but it was good that it was functioning properly as a festival.
"Let me give you my impressions of each dish, one by one."
"Please do."
Maomao and Sparrow settled into seiza almost without thinking, looking over the arranged dishes.
"First, roasted potatoes—just as the name suggests, simply roasted potatoes."
"Right."
Both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes had been roasted. However, since they were prepared under expert supervision, they turned out moister and more delicious than if Sparrow had simply cut them and roasted them in the hearth.
"They've gotten a nice honey-gold color."
"The regular potatoes still have that lovely fluffy texture."
"The sweet potatoes were popular with the women and children."
"The regular ones were eaten by the men, with cheese on top."
"I prepared the cheese with extra salt, so—"
That was sure to whet anyone's appetite.
"How do you make this?"
"Ah, that—"
What piqued Suzume's curiosity was the sticky lump.
"At first, everyone was put off by it and refused to eat it. But when you tried spreading some on a piece of bread, everyone started doing the same."
"It was the first time I'd seen this dish too. Rahan made it."
They steamed the potatoes, peeled them, and mashed them. Into the mashed potatoes,
cheese
and bits of smoked meat were mixed in, then seasoned with salt.
"If we had some
pepper,
it would be even better."
"Pepper is a bit too pricey for common folk."
Munching away, they next turned to the soup.
"Who made this?"
"When there was no soup on hand, Rahan would improvise one on the spot. He'd take whatever leftover broth there was, mash in some leftover steamed potatoes, and add milk and salt to season it. Oh, and he'd toss in some leaves—what were those, again?"
"Ah, those would be
herbs.
They were growing all along the road during our travels."
Maomao snorted through her nose. Suzume gave her a lukewarm look.
"I hear someone was making a fuss a few days ago about running out of medicine or something."
"Herbs are more of a seasoning than medicine, you know."
Maomao said this flatly to the half-lidded Suzume. At any rate, she should try the soup.
"For something improvised, this is actually pretty good."
"Yes, I'd like to try making it at home too, going forward."
(Rahan, you're too capable for your own good.)
He must have seemed unremarkable because he was a jack-of-all-trades — no single talent stood out as exceptional. In truth, he was an incredibly useful person.
"If only he'd been born into an ordinary family."
"Yes, what an unfortunate gentleman."
As they drank their soup, they spoke of someone whose name went unspoken but whose identity was obvious to both.
Another dish involved roasting sweet potatoes, mashing them, blending them with butter, and baking the mixture once more. The surface was brushed with egg yolk, giving it a glossy, golden sheen.
"The sweet potatoes were a huge hit with the children."
"I could've made"
"pulled-thread sweet potatoes"
"too, if I'd had rice syrup."
Unfortunately, making rice syrup from scratch took far too long.
(Is there no malt sugar, either?)
Malt sugar was made using sprouted grain and required glutinous rice as an ingredient. In a region like this where rice wasn't available, it probably couldn't be made.
Another dish involved slicing potatoes and stir-frying them with smoked meat and other vegetables. Besides salt, a few herbs were used for seasoning. The salty flavor seemed popular with the men.
"Oh, this one was a huge hit with the ladies! I asked Rahan for the recipe."
What Suzume was picking at with her chopsticks was potato cakes. You steamed the potatoes, mashed them, and mixed in wheat flour. Add salt, then put
cheese
inside and bake them. Instead of oil, they use
butter
to fry them, so they have a lovely, toasty aroma.
"They seem to like the unique texture, and the way the cheese stretches when they're fresh from the oven is a nice touch."
Suzume took a big bite of the potato cake. Cheese stretched out from the center.
"This place has dairy and meat... Having unlimited access to them is a real advantage. In Huayang Province, that would be a luxury. The ingredients that go well with potatoes are... quite well-suited, aren't they?"
Suzume spoke between bites.
"I'm glad most things worked out together. But fish seems to be off the table, apparently."
As for why, it seemed to be for religious reasons. Not everyone felt that way, apparently, but they didn't serve fish.
(What a waste, when there's a river right nearby.)
It was a shame, but nothing could be done about it.
Once most of the food had been eaten, Maomao turned to Suzume to confirm.
Festivals, gods—nobody was going to listen to what she and the others had to say. From the very beginning, the whole festival charade had been nothing but theater.
And as for the main event—
"Did the villagers show any sign of desire?"
"Yes, their appetites have been quite nicely awakened."
Suzume laughed, gulping down her milk tea.
The biggest problem with this village was its simplicity. Basically, they had no desire. As long as they had a certain standard of living, they were content. Even in poor harvests, their livelihoods were minimally protected, so they didn't bother working.
Since they had no material desire, they didn't ask for anything more. They were satisfied with whatever they were given.
That was why Maomao had decided to serve dishes they had never tasted before.
As much as possible, using only ingredients available in the village. As quick and easy to prepare as possible. Since she didn't know what flavors they'd take to, she made as wide a variety as she could.
(So that it could be made anytime, as long as certain ingredients were on hand.)
Those ingredients were sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.
In other words, with those two, everything she had prepared today could be fully recreated.
"The village chief was asking how much it would all cost, you know," Suzume said.
"What did Ra han say about that?"
"He's apparently not very good at that sort of accounting, so I went ahead and told the chief the cost including transportation."
"He really is nothing like his younger brother in that regard, isn't he."
For a split second, Maomao thought she heard a voice shouting, "I was born first, you know!"—but that was surely her imagination.
"Upon hearing the price, he went pale, dazed, and thoroughly crestfallen."
"I can imagine."
"So Suzume put on a brilliant performance, gazing at him with eyes full of saintly compassion, and said—"
"At the very least, couldn't you sell us the seed potatoes at a reduced price?" That was the gist of it.
(Suzume really knows what she's talking about.)
If the potatoes were given away for free, the villagers would once again be on the receiving end of charity. They might even start expecting handouts. It was essential to charge at least a small amount.
"And if there are leftover potatoes, you can sell them at the market. That way, you'll also be able to get your hands on salt."
The generous use of salt was probably one of the reasons the food had been so well received. The more seasonings you could use, the better the quality of the meals.
"Didn't they find the growing process tedious?"
"As for growing the potatoes themselves, Brother Raban said that once planting is done, they hardly require any effort."
"So the land clearing is the real issue, then."
"Yes."
Suzume smiled warmly.
"
Nenshin
has been tirelessly clearing that land on her own, so it looks like that's where we'll be planting."
She had tied the festival to the potatoes.
"Apparently, it's land that other serfs had been using as fields. They didn't have the means to grow wheat, so
autumn plowing
was all they managed. As a condition, though, I asked them to handle the locust problem."
"As expected of you, Suzume."
Maomao clapped her hands.
"Brother Raban already showed me how to prepare the seed potatoes. He said we'd need plant ash — the ash from here should work fine, right?"
"I believe it should be fine."
The fireplace ash came from burned sheep droppings. Since sheep droppings were made of grass, it would probably work.
Things had gone well enough so far. Now it all came down to the villagers' motivation, and—
(Whether the potatoes would actually take root.)
She was fairly confident the potatoes would be fine. That was the whole reason she had made so many potato dishes.
As for the sweet potatoes, the odds were probably fifty-fifty. Even if they managed a harvest, it would likely be a reduced one. That said, if they could be grown with almost no maintenance, they were worth planting.
(Sweets were luxury items, after all.)
She wanted to put her hopes on the children who were stuffing their cheeks with the sweet potatoes.
Even if the sweet potatoes didn't take root, if regular potatoes did, that harvest could make up for the shortfall.
(I hope it works out.)
Maomao finished her milk tea.