"What does this smell like?"

"I smell it! It seems to be the smell of meat!"

"Meat? Is it chicken?"

"It doesn't seem like it! Chicken won't be that fragrant!"

The rich fragrance blows towards the face like the wind, lingering in everyone's noses.

Shimada Kui sniffed wildly, greedily swallowing the aroma, and his mouth secreted a large amount of saliva uncontrollably, and he couldn't finish it no matter how hard he swallowed.

Smelling this aroma, a bold idea came to his mind:

——Such a nice aroma... could it be possible that... today's breakfast will be rich?

Looking back at the meals we had during the past few days in Kyoto, they were all very simple.

I eat dry rice at noon and porridge in the morning and evening. The side dishes for all three meals are pickled radish, taro and other common and cheap dishes.

Therefore, it is not surprising that everyone had expressions of surprise and incomprehensible expressions after smelling this rare fragrance.

Just like that, Shimada Kui had strong expectations, swallowed furiously, and couldn't wait to step into the spacious cafeteria.

At a glance, the dining table has been set up in the canteen, and the bowls and chopsticks are neatly arranged on the table.

Just after everyone sat down in their respective seats, a dozen aunts wrapped in cutting and cooking clothes—all of them were skilled cooks hired by Qingdeng for a large sum of money—carried a big pot and walked in.

canteen.

Just when the cooks... to be precise, at the moment when the big pot appeared in everyone's sight, the whole place was silent, and you could hear the drop of a needle.

Shimada Kui opened his eyes wide and stared straight at the large iron pot that was spitting out steaming steam. His lips moved and he murmured to himself unconsciously:

"What's this……?"

Plump pieces of meat, crystal grains of rice dyed dark red by the meat juice - this is what everyone sees at this time.

The generous portion of meat porridge almost overflowed from the pot!

After a short period of silence, the whole place started to uproar in a low-key manner, and then turned into a fierce commotion.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"It's rice! Not millet or tares! It's rice!"

“There’s a lot of meat in it!”

"Is this really our breakfast?"

"Isn't it possible? This should be specially for Nioh-sama and his companions! How can we little pawns be qualified to eat such good food?"

"How many people are there, Niou-sama? How can they possibly eat so much porridge!"

Qingdeng smiled slightly, as if he expected such a reaction from the soldiers, and looked calmly at the faces full of shock and suspicion.

After a moment, he said quietly:

"quiet."

The commotion slowly stopped.

"There is no doubt that this is your breakfast today."

The cafeteria, which had been quiet for a short while, became noisy again - gurgling, gurgling, gurgling - there were the sounds of swallowing saliva everywhere.

"Everyone, sit down and sit down. The cooks will fill everyone's bowls. Don't be anxious. No fighting is allowed. No one is allowed to use their chopsticks before I say, 'It's time to start.' Anyone who violates the above requirements will be punished today."

No food allowed all day long!”

Before Qingdeng finished speaking, the soldiers hurriedly put their legs together, put their hands on their legs, and sat calmly, like children who "sit in rows and eat fruits."

Under Qingdeng's instructions, the cooks walked slowly to everyone's table, picked up large spoons...one after another, the empty bowls were filled with meat porridge.

The soldiers stretched their necks and looked at the cooks with eager eyes.

If Qingdeng had not issued the strict order "No fighting, just wait in line", these greedy soldiers, who were almost starving because they had just completed long-distance running training, would definitely rush forward and grab them.

The cooks are absolutely deft when filling the porridge, and it only takes one second to fill a bowl.

However, under the influence of Einstein's theory of relativity, the soldiers only felt that the process of "waiting for the cook to come to them" was extremely long and extremely painful.

Finally...the meat porridge was distributed.

Looking at the delicacies so close in front of him, Shimada Kui's eyes widened again, as if the corners of his eyes were about to be torn apart, and his expression was full of intense disbelief.

The alluring aroma is like the catkin of a peerless beauty, frequently caressing her skin, teasing her senses and stimulating her nerves.

Suddenly, he felt a chill at the corner of his mouth - it turned out that his mouth was full of saliva. He was so shocked that he forgot to swallow, so the saliva dripped out from the corner of his mouth.

In fact, from the moment this big pot of meat porridge appeared, Shimada Kui couldn't help but suspect that he was dreaming several times.

The porridge is so thick that it will stand up straight after inserting chopsticks into it!

It's shameful to say that this is the first time for him to see such porridge thick enough to stand up chopsticks!

Although he has had the complicated experience of "losing his parents", "being adopted by a relative", "entering into a businessman", and "being adopted by the Shimada family", every family Shimada Kui has visited is quite ordinary.

Middle class home.

In the Edo period, the definition of middle class was not going hungry. As for the quality of food, there was no need to worry about it. The most eaten thing on weekdays was porridge, and it was made from millet. It was only eaten during festivals.

Serve rice.

Only wealthy businessmen, rich peasants, and middle- and upper-level samurai from well-off families can eat rice without any scruples.

However, even for an upper-class family of this level, the daily side dishes are so simple that they are basically pickled radish, pickles, taro, tofu... One fish can be considered a gluttonous feast.

As long as you understand the dietary standards of the Edo period, it is not difficult to understand the violent reaction of the Shinsengumi soldiers after seeing this pot of meat porridge.

Not only is it rice porridge, but it is also meat porridge with many pieces of meat added... This kind of food will make even Mr. Hatamoto with a family fortune of thousands of koku make his mouth water when he sees it!

A bunch of eyes fell on Qingdeng - under the eager anticipation of everyone, Qingdeng said the words they wanted to hear most now:

"Okay, let's all eat!"

In an instant, the whole place was in chaos!

Click-click-this is the sound of chopsticks hitting the wall of the bowl.

"Hang Chi Chi" - this is the sound of soldiers gobbling like pigs.

Huh-huh-huh - this is the sound of soldiers being burned by the boiling hot porridge, but they are reluctant to spit it out or stop, and continue to eat happily.

Kui Shimada grabbed the chopsticks immediately.

However, as if he remembered something, he suddenly froze, a look of hesitation on his face.

He is not the only person who behaves in such an unusual manner.

Many people were like him, looking hesitant on their faces and not moving their chopsticks to start eating.

"This meat... seems to be peony."

"Yes, this is a peony!"

“Can peonies be eaten?”

Influenced by Buddhist culture, in ancient Japanese traditional concepts, the meat of four-legged animals is unclean.

Even to avoid taboos, the meat of four-legged animals has been given various nicknames.

Pork is called peony, horse meat is called sakura, and venison is called maple.

Although with the gradual introduction of Western culture, more and more people are able to accept meat, there are still many people who stay away from the meat of four-legged animals - Shimada Kui belongs to this category.

Although there is strong resistance in my heart, but...but...

He turned his head and looked at his friends who were eating deliciously, as if they wished they had one more mouth... After a brief ideological struggle, he gritted his teeth:

——Forget it, it doesn’t matter what kind of meat it is!

After making up his mind, he grabbed the bowl and chopsticks and took a big bite.

The moment the meat porridge entered his mouth, he was stunned again.

So delicious!

Are peonies so delicious?!

The meat is well cooked and falls apart with just one bite, and the rich umami flavor spreads from the tip of the tongue to the entire mouth.

The clear-grained rice grains have a sweet taste, and the moist gravy blends with the rice grains. You don't even need to bite it, just hold it lightly and you can feel the shocking rich taste.

It’s so delicious!

The unprecedented delicious taste directly broke Shimada Kui's will... When he came to his senses, he had eaten the entire bowl of meat porridge, not even a grain of rice was left.

This is the most delicious meal I have ever had in my life!

Shimada Kui wiped his mouth and turned to look at the cook not far away.

Can I still have a second bowl?

As soon as he had this thought, Shimada Kui heard a voice that sounded like the sound of nature to him:
To be continued...