100話 お土産より食い気
「あの時はどうも、乗せていただき感謝する」
立勇も気付いたらしく、雨妹を背後に庇う姿勢は崩さないものの、軽く目礼をする。
「いやぁ、おたくらに世話になったのはこっちの方さ!」
おじさんはそう言うとニカリと笑い、ヒラヒラと手をふった。
「魚を売っているんですか?」
雨妹は立勇の背中から顔を出し、おじさんの前に並ぶ魚たちを見る。
「おうよ、朝獲れだぜ?
「佳に来て、初めて見ました!」
自慢気に話すおじさんに、雨妹は正直に返す。
前世を計算しないのなら、尾頭付きの生魚なんて、佳で見たのが人生初だ。
「私もだ、川魚とは違うものなのだな」
川魚なんざ話にならんさ、海の魚の美味さはよぅ!」
立勇もそう言うと、おじさんはうれしそうな顔をする。
おじさんは心底、海が自慢であるようだ。
「あの、魚の丸焼きって食べられますか?」
魚は利民の屋敷でも食べたのだが、いかんせんあそこの料理はお洒落に盛られていて、一匹丸焼きなんていう料理は出なかったのだ。
「ああ、買った魚を浜辺で焼けるぜ」
おじさん曰く、浜辺には漁師小屋があり、そこの焚き火で焼けるのだという。
――やった、食べたい!
というわけで、雨妹はおじさんのところからアジやサザエ、大ぶりのエビを買って、浜辺の漁師小屋へ行く。
浜辺では漁師たちがちょうど昼食時なのか、火のまわりに集まっていた。
そこに雨妹は混ぜてもらうと、早速魚を焼く準備だ。
雨妹が漁師から借りた刃物でアジの内臓をとる。
「アンタ都人だろう?
すると漁師たちから感心されてしまう。
「ちょっと、やり方を聞きかじっていまして」
その立勇は、雨妹の手元を興味深そうに見ている。
「川魚で、そのような事をしたことがないが」
「海の魚にゃあ、毒があるのもあるからな。
立勇の疑問に、雨妹ではなく漁師が答えた。
それを聞きながら、串刺しにしたアジやエビを炙り、サザエを火のそばに置く。
立勇もアジに齧りつくと、「うん、美味い」と頷いている。
雨妹は次にエビの串を取る。
「エビもおいし~い♪」
プリっとしていて甘味があって、味付けがなにもなくても十分に美味しい。
立勇はアジは川魚と変わらない見た目だからいいとして、エビは見た目がよろしくないのか、抵抗があるらしい。
――まー、海を知らないとこうなるよね。
利民の屋敷での食事で、エビも出てきたはずなのだが。
魚介に慣れない都人を気遣って、形が分からない料理にされていた。これは料理長も都から引き抜かれた故の気遣いだろう。
だから立勇は、エビの本当の姿を見るのは初めてなのだ。
でも利民様の船に乗った時、魚を食べなかったんですか?」
それこそ、魚食べ放題に思えるのだが。
「川でもそうだが、船の上では火を扱うのが難しい。
長い航海ならばともかく、数日程度では船上調理はしないらしい。
漁師もこれに口を挟んで教えてくれたことによると、調理は水も使うので、どんな大きな船であっても、余分な水を積む余裕はないとのことだった。
火を扱わないのであれば、生という手もあるが、船上では食中毒も敵なので、生食もよほどでなければしないらしい。
そんな船の知識を得たところで、サザエもいい香りがしてきた。
その雨妹が買った中で一番見た目が不気味であろうサザエを、なんと立勇が気に入ったという。
最初は食べるのに腰が引けていたものの、一口食べたら口に合ったようだ。
これがまた都に戻れば、魚介が食べられない生活に戻るのだから、今のうちにお腹いっぱいに食べておきたい。
「さあ、まだまだ食べ溜めしますよ!」
「......土産を買い忘れるなよ」
魚介に心を奪われている雨妹に、立勇が釘を刺した。
Chapter 100
"Thank you very much for letting us board your ship at that time."
Li Yong also noticed him, so he nodded while maintaining his position of covering Yui Mei.
"Nah, we're the ones who were in your care!"
The uncle waved his hand in dismissal as he broadly grinned.
"Are you perhaps selling fish?"
Yui Mei poked her head from behind Li Yong, commenting as she stared at the fish lined up before the uncle.
"Yep, and they're freshly caught this morning, you know? Fish are rare for city folks, right. Have you ever seen this before?"
"It's the first time I've seen it since I came to Kai!"
Yui Mei said honestly as she watched uncle brimming with pride.
If she did not take her past life into consideration, then it was indeed the first time in this life that she saw fresh fish that was still intact.
"I also thought they're different from the fish in the river."
"Haha! River fish ain't got nothing against sea fish when it comes to taste!"
The uncle seemed mighty pleased when Li Yong said that.
It was obvious that the sea was his pride, from the bottom of his heart.
"Ahm, can we eat fish that has been grilled whole?"
She ate fish in Li Min's mansion, too, but all the dishes had been beautifully plated, and there was not a single grilled whole fish among them.
"Yeah, you can grill it by the beach."
According to the uncle, there was a fisherman's store in front of the beach, and they could grill the fish in the bonfire there.
'Yehey, I want to eat that!'
And so, Yui Mei bought horse mackerel, turban shells and huge shrimps before heading towards the beachfront store.
The fishermen were also gathered around the fire, apparently having their lunch, too.
Yui Mei mingled with them, and she hastily started to prepare the fish.
She borrowed a knife from the fishermen and took out the innards of the horse mackerel.
"Hey, aren't you one of the city folks? Your skills ain't bad, eh!"
The fishermen were all amazed.
"I just heard about it from somebody."
Li Yong, on the other hand, stared at her work with deep interest.
"I never did that with river fish, though."
"Seafish has poison in them, so you have to remove the innards."
A fisherman answered instead of Yui Mei.
She skewered the fish and shrimp then grilled them in the fire, while she placed the turban shells just beside them, then waited for it to be done.
Li Yong also tried the fish and agreed with her.
Yui Mei then took the shrimp skewers.
"This shrimp is also delish~!"
It was plump and sweet, and it was delicious enough even without seasonings.
Li Yong was okay with the mackerel, since it looked like river fish, but the shrimp's appearance was unfamiliar to him, so he had some qualms about eating it.
"Well, he doesn't know anything about the sea, so that perspective is a given, I guess."
Shrimp was definitely served back at Li Min's mansion.
However, the dishes had been modified so that they no longer retained the original appearance, in consideration for the people from the city. This was probably the reason why the head chef had been pulled out from the city.
It was the first time Li Yong saw the real appearance of shrimp.
"Eh? But then, didn't you eat fish when you were aboard Lord Li Min's ship?"
She thought that it was the perfect opportunity to eat a smorgasbord of fish.
"It's difficult to handle fire on a ship, and that's true even in the river. So we ate preserved foods, just like what we do during military marching."
If it was a long voyage, then it might be different, but it seemed that they didn't cook food when the trip only lasted for a few days.
One of the fishermen also butted in, and she learned from him that cooking would need water, and they simply didn't have enough extra space for water, no matter how big the ship was.
They had the option to eat raw fish if they didn't want to use fire, but they didn't do it unless emergency due in order to avoid food poisoning, which was one of the things they needed to watch out for.
A scrumptious aroma also wafted from the turban shells while Yui Mei was being taught about those things.
These turban shells were probably the creepiest looking thing among the seafood that Yui Mei bought, but Li Yong liked it, surprisingly.
He had been extremely reluctant to try it at first, but when he did, it seemed to suit his taste.
She wouldn't be able to eat seafood again when they returned to the capital, so Yui Mei decided to enjoy them to the fullest while they were still here.
"Alright, it's not over yet, let's eat to our heart's content!"
"...Hey, don't forget to buy the souvenirs."
Yui Mei was already captivated by the taste of seafood, so Li Yong tried to drag her back to reality.
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