Chapter 90: Picking Asparagus

After successfully capturing Dolliv, Andrew was in high spirits on his way back.

Upon returning from the mid-level to the upper level, he had his Espathra slow down, allowing them to stroll leisurely and enjoy the sights of Area Zero.

Two Oinkolognes led the way, with Charcadets and Dollivs following behind, exploring and occasionally unearthing interesting finds from the soil.

The two Dolliv, never having experienced anything like this, were highly amused. They chattered with the Oinkolognes and Charcadets, their voices full of curiosity and surprise, which eased their departure blues.

As they passed a sloped area, the two Oinkologne suddenly came rushing over, excitedly calling out.

"Oink oink~"

"Oink oink~"

Andrew, accustomed to their signals, knew immediately that they had discovered something.

He quickly dismounted from the Espathra. "Found something new to eat?"

"Oink oink~"

"Oink oink~"

The Oinkolognes nodded vigorously, hopping around in excitement. New ingredients meant Andrew would cook something delicious!

At that moment, two Dolliv and two Charcadet struggled to carry a pile of items nearly as long as themselves.

"Charca~"

"Dolliv~"

They proudly displayed their finds to Andrew.

Andrew crouched down, pulled out one of the items from Charcadet's arms, and exclaimed, "Is this asparagus?"

Asparagus, being the young shoots of a perennial plant, typically only grows in mild spring climates. Andrew hadn't expected to find it in Area Zero at this time of year.

What a magical place.

Andrew stood up, raising his arms in excitement, "Let's pick some asparagus! We'll make a great meal tonight!"

"Oink oink~"

"Chaarca~"

The Oinkolognes and Charcadets, already familiar with Andrew's cooking skills, cheered joyfully.

Though the Dollivs didn't fully understand, they were thrilled to see both the Oinkolognes and Charcadets so happy and joined in the celebration.

Andrew led everyone to the asparagus patch and quickly got to work.

As they picked, Andrew advised, "Choose the tender ones! Avoid the older ones—they don't taste as good."

Some of the asparagus that Charcadet and Dolliv had picked earlier was already too mature.

"Big brother Andrew, is this one okay?" Arven asked, holding up a freshly picked asparagus for Andrew's inspection.

Having grown close, Arven now referred to Andrew as "Big brother Andrew" instead of "Your Highness."

Andrew examined the stalk, finding it tender and juicy, and said, "Yes, this is perfect."

Arven, pleased with the approval, happily held onto the asparagus.

Seeing this, Dolliv and Charcadet eagerly showed their picked asparagus to Andrew.

"Chaarca~" Look at mine!

"Dolliv~" And mine!

Andrew inspected their finds and said, "These are great! Dolliv and Charcadet did an excellent job!"

"Charcadet~"

"Dolliv~"

Charcadet and Dolliv, delighted by the praise, tucked the asparagus under their arms. Their small size made this the best way to carry it.

It was Andrew's first time picking asparagus himself; previously, he'd only had store-bought, commercially grown asparagus.

"Everyone, pick the ones that snap easily. Don't bother with the tough ones!" Andrew called out.

Arven responded, "Got it!"

The Charcadet said, "Chaarca~" Understood!

The Dolliv echoed, "Dolliv~" Got it!

The slope was covered in asparagus, a vibrant green field with straight stalks everywhere.

*Snap, snap, snap~*

One stalk after another was picked by Andrew and the others. If they didn't harvest them now, they would grow old. Andrew bought a basket from the system store, and soon it was filled to the brim.

He planned to pick extra to store in the system backpack so the Pokémon at home could enjoy them as well.

There was so much asparagus that they couldn't possibly pick it all. By evening, they had filled a large basket, but only managed to pick a fraction of what was available.

Andrew straightened up, rubbed his sore knees, and clapped his hands, "It's getting late. Let's head back!"

"Oink oink~"

"Char~"

"Dolliv~"

...

The Pokémons, hearing Andrew's call, hurriedly brought a pile of asparagus over to him. The faces of the two Dolliv were flushed red from their efforts, with sweat beads on their foreheads.

Arven followed closely behind with the Maschiff, removing his jacket to carry an additional load of asparagus.

Seeing Arven's flushed face, Andrew smiled and asked, "Are you tired?"

Arven shook his head, "Not at all!" Even if he was tired, the thought of a delicious meal tonight made it worthwhile. Besides, he was very excited to continue learning cooking skills from Andrew.

After placing all the asparagus into a basket and storing it in the system backpack, Andrew addressed everyone, "Let's head back!"

So, Andrew and the group of Pokémon made their way back to Research Station No. 1.

The researchers and doctors were still at work, making the research station very quiet, with only the occasional Pokémon call from nearby.

Andrew summoned Munchlax, Drizzile, and Drizzile from home.

"Have the Pokémon at home had their dinner?" Andrew asked.

"Drizz~"

Drizzile gave Andrew a thumbs-up, indicating that everyone had eaten.

Since Andrew was away, the Pokémon had to make do with Pokémon food for breakfast, but dinner was still prepared by Munchlax and Drizzile, earning Andrew some happiness points.

Andrew said, "Great, let's get started on our dinner."

They set up a table and chairs on the grassy area outside and began preparing the meal.

There were lights outside the research station, so visibility wasn't an issue even after dark.

Andrew took out the remaining Veluza fillets from the previous day and asked his two apprentices, "Munchlax, Drizzile, could you please make some fish balls and fish ball soup?"

"Munch~" I'm on it.

"Drizz~" No problem!

Munchlax and Drizzile responded in unison.

Andrew then turned to Arven, "Arven, could you help cook the rice?"

Arven hesitated and asked, "Can I really do that?"

Andrew nodded encouragingly, "Of course you can. Didn't Munchlax teach you at lunch? Be confident. If you have any questions, just ask me. Cooking rice isn't difficult."

With Andrew's encouragement, Arven gained confidence, nodded firmly, and began recalling Munchlax's cooking steps from earlier, carefully getting to work.

The Maschiff, observing Arven's energetic efforts, couldn't help but smile with a gentle expression.

The Maschiff was a gift from the two doctors to Arven and had been with him since he was very young. It had seen Arven grow from a child to a young man.

The doctors, due to their work, had limited time to spend with Arven, but the Maschiff had always been there, from his early years to now.

Unable to assist, the Maschiff lay down on the nearby grass, resting its head on its front paws, and watched Arven's efforts with attentive eyes, a smile forming at the corners of its mouth.

Meanwhile, Andrew began preparing the asparagus.

Recalling that he still had some fresh shrimp in the system backpack, Andrew decided to make shrimp and asparagus stir-fry.

After washing the asparagus and setting it aside, Andrew prepared the shrimp, peeling off the shells, removing the veins, and leaving only the clean shrimp meat.

These shrimp, from Nebel Lake, were tender and translucent, with no fishy smell—an exceptionally high-quality ingredient.

First, he marinated the shrimp.

He placed the shrimp in a bowl, adding a suitable amount of salt, cooking wine, and white pepper powder, then mixed well and set aside.

The next step was to blanch the asparagus.

"Charcadet, I'm counting on you."

After preparing a pot of water, Andrew addressed the Charcadet.

"Charca~"

The Charcadet responded and dutifully squatted under the rack. Flames erupted from its body, quickly bringing the pot of water to a boil.

While the water was heating, Andrew cut the fresh asparagus into diagonal pieces.

Two Dollivs perched on the table, watching Andrew curiously. He warned them, "Don't get too close; you might get splashed by the hot water."

"Dolliv~"

"Dolliv~"

The two Dollivs quickly stepped back upon hearing this.

Satisfied, Andrew dropped the asparagus pieces into the hot water, adding a pinch of salt.

Blanching the asparagus makes it appear more vibrant, preserving its green color and crispness. However, it's important not to blanch it for too long to avoid losing its texture.

After draining the asparagus, it was time to stir-fry.

Andrew took a small bowl and placed it in front of one of the Dollivs. "Dolliv, could you give me some oil?"

"Dolliv~"

The Dolliv happily nodded and directed a fruit on its head towards the bowl, causing golden oil to pour in and fill the air with a delightful aroma.

"All right, that's enough."

Once the bowl was full, Andrew quickly asked the Dolliv to stop.

He set the bowl aside and then presented an oil bottle to the two Dollivs.

"You can pour the stored oil into this bottle."

Dolliv's oil is produced through photosynthesis. When food is scarce, they use the stored oil for energy.

Now that the two Dollivs are following Andrew and don't need to worry about hunger, they can discharge the stored oil and continue producing new oil through photosynthesis.

If they don't discharge the stored oil, they can't keep producing it, which is wasteful.

"Dolliv~"

"Dolliv~"

The two Dollivs nodded and carried the oil bottle to the side, beginning to pour the oil into it.

Andrew turned his attention back to Charcadet. "I need your help again!"

"Cadeet~"

Charcadet quickly moved to another pot and heated it up.

Andrew poured the Dolliv oil into the hot pot. As the oil heated, its distinct fragrance intensified. Soon, the aroma attracted the attention of Espathra, Oinkologne, and other Pokémons, including Diancie, who was setting the table.

The olive oil was indeed fragrant, and Andrew eagerly anticipated how aromatic the oil from an Arboliva would be.

With anticipation for Dolliv's evolution into an Arboliva, Andrew added garlic, ginger, and other ingredients to the pot, which made the aroma even stronger.

Olive oil brings out the full flavor of other ingredients, making it incomparable to regular oil!

Next, Andrew added the marinated shrimp to the pot and asked, "Charcadet, can you increase the heat?"

Shrimp requires high heat for stir-frying.

"Chaar~"

Charcadet responded and flared up, making the sizzling sound in the pot even more pronounced. Andrew quickly stir-fried the shrimp until it changed color, then added the blanched asparagus and mixed everything together.

Finally, Andrew added soy sauce, MSG, and other seasonings, and the shrimp and asparagus stir-fry was ready.

"Charcadet, you can come out now!"

Andrew called to Charcadet under the pot rack.

"Chaa~"

Charcadet came out and saw Andrew offering a stick of asparagus to its mouth.

"Come, taste it for me."

"Ah~~"

Charcadet opened its mouth and eagerly ate the asparagus, savoring its crunchiness and unique flavor. It wanted more.

(ˊ〇ˋ*) It opened its mouth, hoping for another bite, but Andrew patted its head and said, "You can eat more at dinner."

Charcadet looked disappointed.

At that moment, the two Dollivs approached with the filled oil bottle, looking at Andrew with anticipation.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Andrew took the oil bottle and set it aside, then fed the freshly cooked dishes to them.

The Dollivs were trying human food for the first time. The intense flavors overwhelmed them, causing their bodies to tremble with excitement and their taste buds to dance with joy.

"Dolliv~"

"Dolliv~"

The two Dollivs happily held hands, running and spinning around the table.

"Is it delicious?" Andrew asked with a smile.

"Dolliv~"

"Dolliv~"

The two Dollivs squinted their eyes, cradling their cheeks with their hands, and nodded vigorously.

Andrew said, "If you like it, you'll have many more chances to enjoy delicious food in the future."

The two Dollivs spun around joyfully, holding hands.

After the asparagus was done, Andrew and his apprentices made tomato scrambled eggs, stir-fried pork, smashed cucumber, soy sauce cabbage, spicy cod fillets, and mushroom chicken.

With the fish ball soup made earlier by Drizzile, dinner was ready.

As soon as Andrew and his group set the dinner on the table, Professors Sada and Turo arrived, drawn by the aroma.

Professor Sada: "I could tell it was Andrew cooking just by the smell."

Professor Turo hurried to the table and inhaled deeply, "It smells amazing!"

Other researchers also gathered around.

Andrew smiled and said, "You arrived just in time. Please, sit down and eat."

One researcher eagerly said, "Perfect, I'm so hungry."

His colleague teased, "I saw you didn't even blink when the professors didn't call you. Were you really that hungry?"

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

The researcher playfully nudged his colleague, "I think you just want to hog all the delicious food His Highness made!"

"Ah, you caught me!"

As the teasing continued, everyone laughed even harder.

Raleigh squeezed next to Andrew, "Your Highness, I'd like to sit next to you."

"Munchlax~"

Munchlax grumbled, unhappy that someone was encroaching on its spot next to its master.

Andrew chuckled and said, "All right, there's space on both sides. You two can sit on either side."

Diancie: What about me?

Andrew: You can sit opposite me.

Soon, the table was packed, and everyone quickly began eating, barely talking.

After they finished eating, they lay on the grass, chatting. The professors and researchers discussed high-level topics that Andrew and Arven couldn't engage in, so they played with Pokémon instead.

Only Raleigh listened intently, taking notes as he listened.

Before long, Gabe arrived with more food. Seeing the empty plates, he knew the professors and researchers had finished their meal.

Following the professors' instructions, he left the food and departed on his Corviknight.

After a while, the professors and researchers helped Andrew and his group clean up the dishes before leaving.

The professors had more work to do, and it was unclear when they would be finished.

(End of Chapter)