118話 饅頭片手に悩む
「けどお前さんだって、客が酒を飲んでくれるぶんにゃあ、いい客じゃねぇのか?」
将軍がそう軽口半分で言うのに、「そう言われればそうですがね」と飲み屋の主が頭を掻く。
「あんな飲み方は、酒が可哀想ですよ。
彼はそう言って寂しそうにため息を吐くと、続けて言う。
「けどうるさく言って出て行けば、別の店でしこたま飲まされちまう。
「そうだったんですか」
昨日酔いつぶれていた裏事情を知り、
この人なりに、いつも飲んだくれている明のことを心配していたらしい。
「ああ、すみませんね、なんだか暗い雰囲気にしちまいましたね」
雨妹がしょんぼりしたように見えたのだろう、飲み屋の主がそう言ってカラッと笑う。
私だってお気に入りのお饅頭をマズそうに食べられると、『もう一生食べるな!』って言いたくなります!」
「そうですや、ぜひこの気持ちをあのお客にもわかってほしいもんですな」
飲み屋の主が明るく告げると、「そうだ」と手を叩く。
「饅頭と言えば、この先にある屋台の饅頭は美味いですぜ」
お勧めされたとあっては、行ってみなくては。
というわけで、飲み屋の主と別れた雨妹たちは、その美味しい饅頭を売る屋台へ行ってみることにした。
「あ、あれですかね?」
雨妹は前方の人だかりのある屋台を指さす。
「ほう、あれだけ人が集まるってことは、美味いのかねぇ?」
李将軍も興味が出たようで、二人して屋台に並ぶことになる。
「らっしゃい、今日の饅頭はコレだよ!」
威勢の良い店主の目の前に並んでいるのは、黄色い皮の饅頭だった。
「なにか練り込んでいるんですか?」
雨妹が尋ねるのに、「おうよ!」と店主が頷く。
「瓜の実を練り込んでいるんだよ」
「瓜かぁ」
瓜と言っても、その種類は様々である。
果たしてどんな味なのかと思いつつ、雨妹は饅頭にかぶりつく。
そして一口目で気付いた。
――この味、かぼちゃだ!
そう、前世で言うところのかぼちゃを練り込んである饅頭であった。
この国にはかぼちゃに似た瓜が数種類あるのだが、それらは実ではなくて種を食べられることが多い。
そんな中でこれは、珍しいかぼちゃの実を練り込まれた饅頭であった。
かぼちゃの風味が感じられる饅頭は、なかなかに美味である。
「これ、南方で獲れる瓜でしょう?
雨妹が尋ねると、店主が「よく知っているな」と目を見張りながら答える。
でも種だけ取って捨てるのも勿体なくて、食えねぇかと色々やって、こうなったんだ」
素晴らしい試行錯誤である。ぜひそのまま、かぼちゃ料理を開発してほしい。
雨妹は前世で、かぼちゃのパイやかぼちゃプリンだって好きだった。
かぼちゃ饅頭でお腹が膨れたところで、雨妹は改めて考える。
――それにしても、どうやら切っ掛けはウチの母かぁ。
最近ちょこちょこと補足情報が入っているものの、大筋の内容は変わっていない。
しかしこうなってくれば、母が後宮で一体どんな生活を送っていたのか、知りたいというか、知らなければならない気がしてきた。
せめて、明がなにを思い悩んで母の名を呼び、謝罪を口にするのか、それを知りたい。
もし、明が酒に逃げる原因が雨妹の母であるのなら、なんとかしてあげたい。
そうしないとなによりも、雨妹がモヤモヤしてしまう。
「む~ん、問題は一体誰に聞くべきか......」
雨妹がそんな呟きを漏らしながら難しい顔で饅頭にかぶりつくのを、李将軍が面白そうな顔で見下ろしていた。
Chapter 118
"Eh, but aren't you glad with that? The more your patrons drink, the better it is for your business, ain't it?"
General Li half teasingly remarked. The pub owner scratched his head, replying "true enough if you put it that way".
"Still, it's a pity for the wine to be drunk like that. Wine is also painstakingly created to be enjoyed, no?'
The pub owner uttered those words with sadness before heaving a sigh. He then continued on.
"But then, he will just leave and drink somewhere else if we nag him. Our pub is still a business, so there's no way we can tell him that we're not going to sell any more liquor to him. And so, when he first came to us from another pub, we gave him a strong one to make him sleep faster."
"So that's what happened."
Yui Mei felt inexplicable when she learned the backstory of Ming's drunkenness last night.
This person must have been worried about Ming whenever he wasted himself in booze.
"Ahh, sorry, I made the mood gloomy."
The pub owner laughed brightly when he noticed that Yui Mei looked dejected.
"That's right! If I see someone eating my beloved manju with a sour face like it's something disgusting, it will also make me want to yell 'don't eat it for the rest of your life!' to that person!"
"Yeah, yeah, I also hope that that guest will also understand this feeling, ah."
The pub owner replied, then he suddenly clapped his hands, saying "Oh, right".
"Speaking of manju, the shop straight ahead sells delicious manju, so I've heard."
Yui Mei's interest was piqued when she heard his recommendation. She wanted to check it out.
And so, Yui Mei and General Li headed towards the aforementioned store after parting with the pub owner.
"Ah, that must be it?"
Yui Mei pointed to a crowded store.
"Hoh, rumors must be true that it's delicious seeing how many people gathered there?"
General Li seemed interested, too, so both of them lined up in front of the store.
"Welcome, these are today's manju!"
Yellow manju were displayed in front of the lively shopkeeper.
"Is something kneaded into it?"
Yui Mei asked, and the shopkeeper nodded his head.
"I kneaded some gourd into it."
"Gourd, huh.."
Even though he said it was gourd, that plant had a lot of varieties.
Yui Mei was curious about the taste, so she bit into the manju.
She immediately recognized it with a single bite.
'This taste, it's definitely squash!'
Indeed, squash, as it was called in her previous world, was kneaded into this manju.
There were several kinds of gourds that resembled squash in this world, but they were often eaten for their seeds, not their fruits.
And yet, here it was, a rare kind of manju with squash in it.
She could really taste the flavor of squash, and it was quite tasty.
"This is the gourd harvested in the south, right? Isn't it unusual to use the fruit instead of the seeds?"
The shopkeeper widened his eyes as he answered Yui Mei's question.
"Yep, you're right. Getting only the seeds and throwing the rest of the fruit seem wasteful, and I thought that maybe it's edible, so I tried a few things until it turned out like this."
It was a magnificent trial and error experiment. Yui Mei wished he would continue on until he developed dishes made from squash.
Yui Mei also loved pies and puddings made from squash in her previous life.
When Yui Mei's belly was finally bulging with all those manju, she started to think anew.
'Still, seems like my mom's the catalyst, huh.'
Additional information had been trickling to her recently, but the general gist still remained the same.
However, now that it had come to this, Yui Mei had that feeling of wanting to know -- no, it was as if there was the urge to know what kind of life her mother led inside the Inner Palace.
At the very least, she wanted to know what Ming was worrying about when he desperately apologized while calling her mother's name.
If her mother was the reason why Ming turned to alcohol as a form of escapism, then she should help him all the more.
It would only make her depressed if she didn't do that..
"Hmmm, who on earth can I consult about this....."
Yui Mei mumbled, then she sank her teeth on the manju again while wearing a bothered expression all the while. General Li looked amused as he stared at her.
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ