IUILBRC Chapter 52: Takoyaki

Chapter 52: Takoyaki

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo wants to play in the snow with the cubs

 

A few minutes later, at the hot spring lounge entrance.

For the sake of baby panda, Gu YuMian didn’t want to use a pool with others very much, so he spent two or three days applying for an independent hot spring — he thought it was out of the question, but he didn’t expect that he would receive an approval last night.

It was also a small pool with complete facilities and a good view. It had a clean room with a restroom, a small kitchen and a dining room. They could eat directly after soaking.

Gu YuMian didn’t go back to the cabin, so he took the cubs to the hot spring area.

“After a snowball fight, you will sweat. It’s more comfortable to rest and go to a hot spring,” he explained, “but you can’t directly soak in it. It’s dangerous to directly touch hot water after strenuous exercise.”

[Throwing Cosmetics: When they had their snowball fight, TuanTuan was dazzling! 2333! But to be honest, as a cub, Xue Tuan’s patterns and fur are very beautiful. It’s the first time I have seen such a beautiful albino. I think he will be a handsome man in the future!]

[Yogurt Popsicle: Miserable, heartache!]

[ajgfuf: What are you doing this afternoon? How come there are so many bullet screens in the studio? I can’t find myself!]

Half an hour’s natural shielding period had not passed, and the number of people online in the live room had risen to 20 million — mainly because Gu YuMian had a high audience stickiness. Even in the unpopular period of three pm and four pm, the audience growth was extremely terrifying.

In addition, although the time just spent playing snow was short, it also gave the audience a sense of participation and entertainment, and the barrage was having a lively discussion.

Gu YuMian watched them chat happily, smiled and set the time interval between the launch and the curtain.

Now there was something else to do.

“Don’t have snowball fights in the future,” Gu YuMian turned on the heating and sat on the wooden floor, holding a ball in one hand and one on the shoulder. He sighed, “I don’t know how to keep you away…”

The little fox’s fur was withered by the snowballs. There were ice dregs hanging on his neck, tail and even face. His ears were dropped down, and he seemed to curl up in Gu YuMian’s arms pitifully.

The snow battle that just happened was of course a big victory for the snow leopard. Although the fox also had the racial advantage of being an arctic fox, how could a scientist who had been sitting in the laboratory fight against the emperor, who had actually been on the battlefield, and whose strength was better than that of anyone else? Even if both sides were in cub form and did not use their true powers.

If it wasn’t for the snow leopard showing off his skills, it would have been easier to win, almost effortless. At this time, the little snow leopard idly raised his chin, and the long tail tried to push the little fox out of Gu YuMian’s arms.

The baby panda was much more obedient. He sat next to the fox and stretched out his claws together with Gu YuMian to help him pat off the ice dregs on the little fox’s fur.

After playing with the snow for more than an hour, the three children all had some ice and snow more or less frozen on their bodies. To top it off, they all had long and thick fur. If they didn’t shake them off, the snow would melt when they came in, and they could catch a cold, and they would not be clean.

Since they were going to play with snow, Gu YuMian was also prepared in advance. He had things like small brushes, thick blankets, hot water bags and hot drinks, and snacks so that he could quickly transition them to the hot springs after playing with the snow.

“I’ll help TuanTuan, YuanYuan and QiuQiu get rid of the ice balls first,” Gu YuMian said, holding the fox in his arms and cleaning his claws. Some small pieces of ice were trapped in the cracks of his claws. Gu YuMian took a small, thin soft brush and cleaned them out, saying, “Have some hot drinks and snacks, and we will go to the hot spring.”

With that, Gu YuMian helped the fox clean up. He took a big towel to clean the little fox, and wrapped him in a warm blanket. Just as he was about to take him aside to sit down, the little fox suddenly shivered.

When Gu YuMian stopped, he took the little guy back to his arms and rubbed his head which was in pain, “Is it cold? Well, sleep for a while, don’t catch a cold.”

The little fox’s big tail gathered itself into a ball, nodded, and chirped shyly.

The audience was from the perspective of the little fox, and, of course, they were reluctant to leave Gu YuMian’s arms.

At this time, a large barrage — 

[Qiuqiu has done a good job] 

[Congratulations to everyone, the successful renewal of MianMian’s embrace x1] 

[I would like to lie here for a lifetime,]

— came from more than 30 million people, the atmosphere was very warm for a while.

The little snow leopard’s good mood suddenly disappeared, “…”

He hesitated for a few seconds, jumped off Gu YuMian’s shoulders, sat right under his eyes, and then, very slowly, and in an inexperienced manner — shivered.

Gu YuMian didn’t see the ice residue on the hair of the baby panda. The round head of the baby panda wanted to arch into Gu YuMian’s arms, which made his work more difficult.

The little snow leopard didn’t wait for Gu YuMian to hold him. He was lazy and absent-minded on the surface, but he was a little worried. He stretched out his claws and pressed Gu YuMian’s wrist, hesitated for a while, and tried to imitate the fox’s appearance… He gave another shake.

He was a little naive, and his intention was too obvious. He was really acting like a small fool. He was not the baby panda and his acting talent was close to zero. He was seen through at a glance.

Gu YuMian tried to hold back, but the smile came out. He was a little sweet to the little snow leopard. He lifted the little snow leopard up from under his armpits, rubbed him against his soft neck, and then whispered in his ears, “TuanTuan wants a hug, too? When did I refuse you? Silly.”

The little snow leopard was stiff all over, with a small face and ears that were slightly hot, and stopped moving.

The audience, “…”

The barrage was quiet for a short time, and then countless words of playing or screaming came out together!

[White Pear Blossom, Lili: Aaaaaaah! What happened while I was gone??? Good boys!]

[Vivian: It’s over. My brain starts to circulate endlessly, silly.]

[O’learo: The battle for the position for best cub can begin for votes. It’s time to leave. I’ll buy a group first. Hey, hey, hey!]

[Wash your face without a towel: Yes, it’s TuanTuan from MianMian’s family!!!! I really like watching your daily life. Please, I will enjoy it so much in the future. Giving fireworks!]

There had been many people who had the same doubts about why Gu YuMian’s live content was so flat and had a slow rhythm, although it was accurate. At a glance, it was just like a journal, but it still attracted so many viewers.

After watching the live broadcast, the answer to the question became very simple.

At this moment, Gu YuMian was patiently and carefully cleaning the little snow leopard with a big towel, and a very light smile in his eyes. Three small cubs were crowded in his arms. Sometimes small conflicts and small fights broke out. Sometimes they didn’t. He talked about some unimportant topics.

The hot spring had its own small resting room. From the floor window, they could see the endless snow mountains and the clear blue sky. In the late afternoon, the light was soft.

After the snow ball fight, it would be best to rest and nap in the warm spring, and in the clean arms of the youth. They would smell the light scent of autumn grass at the tip of their nose, which would be an unforgettable experience that could not be replaced in life. Besides, the sun would set soon, and there were the hot springs, food and wine.

It was like the most ordinary and romantic scenery poem in the world.

As a spectator and a participant of the audience, it had become a very difficult thing to look away from. They couldn’t help but follow the rhythm of Gu YuMian and experience more.

The number of viewers in the studio continued to soar. All kinds of gift effects and bullet screens were blown up and opened in turns without money.

[Chocolate Matcha: I love this studio!! I love the anchor and cubs too!]

[Love to Eat Ramen: Please continue to be so happy + 1. Every time I watch the live broadcast, my mood will be much better. It’s warm. I like you so much. 10000 advertisements.]

There were 50 million people watching in real time.

At 4:30 p.m., half an hour after the screening period, Gu YuMian’s live studio directly rushed to the top ten of the homepage’s real-time popularity list, and even quickly climbed three more places!

Many people were not surprised. According to this trend, it was likely to break the record again today.

Gu YuMian took a look at the time and the growing popularity of the live broadcast room, and was praised until he was embarrassed and happy. He meditated for a moment, gently taking back some of the excessive warmth, “Thank you for your gifts and likes. Well, I have cleaned TuanTuan, YuanYuan and QiuQiu. Let’s drink some honey and grapefruit tea, and eat octopus to supplement our physical strength.”

 

Gu YuMian personally felt that after playing in the snow and sweating, it would be good to drink a cup of warm honey-grapefruit tea, which was very comfortable and not greasy. As for takoyaki, because it was very small and delicious, it was also very suitable to be a snack before soaking in the hot spring.

Gu YuMian reiterated, “It’s normal that some kittens don’t like the taste of citrus. If they don’t like it, they don’t have to have it.”

Since the snow leopard did not dislike citrus such as grapefruit and lemon, Gu YuMian would occasionally make some drinks and snacks that used citrus, but he would not do more than that.

“Grapefruit usually needs to be soaked in hot water, which will make it convenient for peeling and pickling.”

Gu YuMian had soaked the grapefruit in hot water in advance, and then directly fished it out. Holding a knife in one hand, he scraped off a thin layer of the yellow and green skin on the outer layer of the grapefruit, ¹ then turned the knife to cut it into thin strips, and salted it with a very small amount of salt. ²

“Let’s just mash the pulp with a spoon.” Gu YuMian put down his knife, broke the core and outer skin of the grapefruit directly, left the pulp in the bowl and mashed it with a spoon. The pulp mixed with grapefruit juice smelled light, sweet and sour.

As for the large grapefruit peel, Gu YuMian directly disposed of it to prevent the children from eating it by mistake.

The little fox and the baby panda were wrapped in blankets. Their round heads were next to each other. They were looking at him curiously like two cute pupae. Because the little snow leopard wanted to stick to Gu YuMian, at this time, he also sat on Gu YuMian’s shoulder and sniffed Gu YuMian’s fingers. His expression was strange. Gu YuMian didn’t know whether he liked the scent of grapefruit or not.

“Do you like it?” Gu YuMian couldn’t help laughing when he saw the snow leopard, a small dimple appearing near his lips.

The little snow leopard’s gray-blue eyes stared at Gu YuMian’s little dimple, and he nodded spontaneously. He looked away with some incredible embarrassment and did not know why he was sulking.

When the mashing was almost done, Gu YuMian put the grapefruit peel, pulp and salt into the pot and boiled them with water. After boiling for a period of time, he changed it into a slow fire. He held the long spoon and stirred it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the pot.

Before long, the pot of grapefruit juice appeared thick, and the inner grapefruit skin also changed color. It had turned the color of caramel, and the light gold grapefruit juice was boiled together until it became golden and bright. There was only a slight sour and sweet taste from the grapefruit that was overflowing, appetizing and attractive. The taste of the grapefruit tickled people’s throats.

[Good Friends: This smells fresh and warm. Can I drink it directly after it is served?]

“No, this drink will be bitter,” Gu YuMian shook his head, and used a long spoon to test it. Then he scooped out a small amount of the juice, and poured the pot of soup into a different container before letting it cool. While he added honey to the mix and stirred it, he said, “It needs to be refrigerated before we can have it. Let’s cook the octopus balls first.”

As a snack once popular in Japan, octopus balls (takoyaki) ³ was very simple. But even though it was simple, it was delicious. A small stall for roasted octopus balls set up on the side of the road could make most of the children in the street unable to move their legs.

Gu YuMian shredded the cabbage, pickled the synthetic squid with cooking wine and salt, chopped it into small pieces, and then connected the baking tray to the console.

This baking tray was refitted by Gu YuMian with cooking utensils of the interstellar era. Because of the idea of making takoyaki, they were shipped together. Gu YuMian heated up the ball baking pan, poured the pre-adjusted milky white batter into the small grooves, then sprinkled the cabbage, octopus and added a layer of batter.

Gu YuMian held a wooden stick and turned the small balls one by one in the oil. Not long after, the small balls were fried in the oil and made a sizzling sound. The two sides of the skin became golden and crisp, with an attractive luster.

After the small balls were taken out of the oven, they were sprinkled with shredded seaweed, green onions, and drizzled with a layer of barbecue sauce and mayo. It had a slight milk flavor. When they were roasted to a golden brown and fully cooked, the delicate and attractive fragrance wafted across the nose, and the greedy insects in the belly were attracted to them!

The little snow leopard moved his nose and his long tail caught Gu YuMian’s wrist. The two ‘pupae’, the little fox and the baby panda rubbed against each other and looked up at the takoyaki on the plate.

At the same time, the audience’s response was extremely good, which relieved Gu YuMian.

[There’s a Family in the Mine: !!! I like the taste. It feels like I ate it when I was a child. It’s not too expensive, but it’s very simple and delicious. I have to keep wiping away my drool!]

[Warm Kettle with Medlar: Anchor, do you hear my stomach rumbling? It smells delicious and crispy. I want to eat it. Listen to me. I want to eat it now!!]

I don’t like onions. I want to eat them too. I want to drink what the grapefruit just made. I also want to watch the hot spring soak in the sunset!! Let’s hurry up.

The octopus balls, which were hard to come across, had a unique taste of his childhood memory. Gu YuMian just smelt it a little, and felt as if he was walking through the street with his schoolbag after school. With the street light was switched on in the evening, he would tiptoe beside the stall and wait for a box of hot takoyaki to be done.

He wanted to make smaller takoyaki for TuanTuan, YuanYuan and QiuQiu, so that the children who had a large importance in his life could also taste what he had in his childhood. It was a human delicacy. Professional gourmets may not want to even look at it.

He would be glad if they liked it.

At this time, the number of viewers had soared to 70 million, and was still rising!

The grapefruit tea was now frozen. Gu YuMian took out a whole bottle of frozen grapefruit honey, ladled it into a glass and poured hot water over it. A cup of warm honey grapefruit tea was a beautiful light golden color in the sun. ⁴

He put the octopus balls on the plate again, and the simple but delicious afternoon tea was finished. Gu YuMian took a look at the time. It was five o’clock sharp.

The three children couldn’t stand it any longer. The snow leopard reached out his paw and pulled the handle of the glass to hold the tea. The baby panda tried to pick up the porcelain plate of takoyaki with a paw pad. If he hadn’t been dissuaded by the fox, he might have succeeded.

“Wait a bit, then let’s start eating,” Gu YuMian bent his eyes, put the small takoyaki on the side to cool down, and fed each of the three cubs one, “Eat slowly and be careful of scalding. You don’t need to eat too much. Just pad your stomach. It’s not dinner anyway.”

——The takoyaki was sprinkled with seaweed and was crispy and delicious, with the taste of the two sauces. After biting it, it was soft and smooth. The taste of crispy cabbage and the chewy octopus flowed out with a delicious and warm juice.

It was the delicious takoyaki full of memories. Although it was still a little hot, they couldn’t help eating more. Then they took a sip of the fresh, sour and sweet honey grapefruit tea, just to alleviate the greasiness, leaving them with only a mouthful of sweet and comfortable tea.

[Cat’s Meow: I want!! It’s so good! Aaaah!! It’s simple but delicious. I can’t eat enough. I want to suck my fingers, but they aren’t in front of me.]

[It’s Windy: Damn it, this honey tea is good to drink. It’s sweet but not too much. It makes me warm and comfortable after drinking!]

[Puppet Bowfin: This cat asks for a lottery. My friend in the ICU says that the only wish he has is to eat takoyaki made by the anchor!]

[Matcha: Delicious!]

All kinds of special effects on the bullet screen from gifts were dazzling, and the popularity of the anchor also rose. Soon, his live broadcast entered the top three of the homepage’s real-time popularity list, and the distance between him and the anchor at the first place decreased rapidly again.

The baby panda seemed to like the takoyaki very much. It was not enough even after he ate four or five balls. He grasped Gu YuMian’s palm and rubbed his round head against it. He wanted to ask for more. The little fox and the little snow leopard also had a good response. The little fox even shook his big fluffy tail, and was embarrassed as he turned around, smacked his mouth and licked his paws.

The little snow leopard especially liked the grapefruit tea. He took Gu YuMian’s hand seriously and drank it again and again.

“…” Gu YuMian thought this was really funny. He gave some tea to the snow leopard, and then gave two balls to the fox and the baby panda, which ended their afternoon tea. “Mn, if you like it, I’ll make more later. It’s almost time. Let’s go to the hot spring and watch the setting sun. “

They all yearned for the sunset on Chaike Mountain, but not everyone had the chance to go. So, at this time, they were all excited. However, there was also a small group of viewers who were not focused on seeing the sunset.

[Forest Letter: Can MianMian go in too? Hey, hey, I really don’t mean anything else. It’s not me who wants to see MianMian’s figure, collarbone, waist or anything. I have a friend who wants to see it.]

[Comb Aut: It’s okay to have no friends. In addition, I have a friend who wants to see it too.]

Ten minutes later.

The scenery and location of the hot spring pool were very good, and was incomparable to the wooden house which Gu YuMian had booked. The open-air pool was on the edge of the cliff, next to which was a pine forest. Soaking in the pool, he could have a panoramic view of the whole snow mountain and the golden red sunset.

It was after five o’clock and the sun would set soon. The time was right.

It was not easy to come here, and it was said that this was the only “energetic hot spring” in the whole of Capital Star. Gu YuMian wanted to soak himself, but he glanced at the rose and sword tattoo on his collarbone. Although it was good-looking, it was a little too beautiful, and it was not good to show it off.

Fortunately, the snow leopard couldn’t hear Gu YuMian’s inner voice, or he might blow up.

“…”

The children must be soaked. It was good for the health. He would think about whether he would soak or not.

Gu YuMian, a straight man with 100% steel pipes, pulled on his bathrobe, with a small hair ball each in his hands, and a small hair ball on his shoulder. After taking a bath and testing the water temperature, he first lowered the cubs into the hot spring like they were dumplings.