Chapter 220: Let's Make Tofu!
TL: Hanguk
"No, Cuengi, Dad didn't eat something delicious by himself. Right, Vice Chairman Theo?"
Sejun hurriedly asked Theo to clarify to Cuengi, who seemed to have misunderstood, but
"What are you talking about? Chairman Park was happily eating what I gave him! And didn't he also make that 'Keuh' sound that he only makes when he eats something delicious?!"
Theo, who had been focusing on Sejun's reaction to eating the golden inner core closely, thought that Sejun was trying to deny his achievement for bringing the golden core and described in detail what he saw. Puhuhut. you can't fool me, meow!
"Ah?! That's right."
Thinking about it, Sejun had eaten something with an orange soda flavor... so he did indeed eat something tasty. Still! Darn! Theo, you're not helping me at all this time.
"Well, it can't be helped then."
Shashasha.
Sejun rubbed his palms together hurriedly as Cuengi watched.
Krueng?!
[Dad, you're admitting that you ate by yourself...]
As Cuengi questioned Sejun's actions,
"Look at this, Cuengi."
As Sejun spread the distance between his palms,
Crackle.
A red spark appeared between his palms.
"Hehehe. How is it? Amazing, isn't it?"
Sejun proudly boasted, pleased with himself, but
Krueng? Krueng?
[What's that? You did all this to show me only that?]
Cuengi responded nonchalantly.
Krueng!
[Cuengi can do that too!]
Shushushush.
Cuengi rubbed its front paws together vigorously, imitating Sejun. An ominous noise emanated from Cuengi.
'Nah, that can't be right?'
An uneasy feeling washed over Sejun, who tried to deny the possibility. Still, he thought it couldn't be that easy to create a spark since he had the electricity talent and Cuengi did not.
However,
"Huh?!"
Cuengi's fur stood on end, and
Crackle. Crack.
A blinding white spark formed on Cuengi's front paws, visibly a powerful electric charge.
Krueng!
[Mom told me not to do this because it tangles my fur!]
Click.
Cuengi discharged the electricity from its paws to the ground as if to warn Sejun. If I get caught doing this, mom will smack me on the back!
Lick, lick.
Cuengi quickly licked his fur, trying to tidy up the hairs that had spread out in all directions to avoid getting caught and scolded by Pink-fur.
"I'll help you!"
Theo came over to assist Cuengi with his grooming.
"It's not because it's dangerous, but because it tangles the fur..."
Watching the two, Sejun was surprised anew by Cuengi's strength and
Swoosh, swoosh.
Sejun helped straighten out Cuengi's fur with a comb.
Soon, as Cuengi's grooming was nearly finished,
Grrrrumble.
Having spent a lot of energy grooming, Cuengi's hunger clock sounded.
And then,
Krueng! Krueng!
[Cuengi's angry and hungry because Dad ate something tasty alone! Cuengi wants to eat honey-dipped garaetteok (TL: aka rice cakes).]
Remembering that Sejun had eaten something delicious by himself, the fierce Cuengi demanded honey-dipped garaetteok. Just when Sejun thought he had gotten away with it...
"Just wait a moment!"
Sejun ran to the kitchen area and
Gulp.
[You have consumed a piece of Aileen's Healthy Meatball.]
[You must eat all the food to get the effect.]
[62 pieces remaining.]
Sejun had to seal away the fierce beast with lots of honey-dipped garaetteok, so Sejun used the meat given by Aileen for breakfast.
Thus, Sejun kept on making Garaetteok non-stop, and
Kuehehehe. Krueng!
[Hehehe. Garaetteok dipped in kudzu honey are the best!]
Cuengi sat down, pressing his back against Sejun's, dipping the Garaetteok into honey and eating them. And that way the fierce beast was safely sealed away.
After a while,
Krueng!
[Cuengi will go check on the herbs!]
Having eaten his fill of Garaetteok, Cuengi packed his snack pouch full of Garaetteok and honey and headed off to the western forest.
"Phew. That was exhausting."
Slurp.
After making an enormous amount of Garaetteok since morning, Sejun sat down for a coffee break.
That's when
"That's right, meow! I have more things to give to Chairman Park, meow!"
Theo, who had been sprawling next to Sejun, suddenly stood up. He had suddenly remembered things he had put aside for Sejun.
Oh! What's this?!"
"Puhuhut. Look forward to it, meow!"
Thump. Thump.
Theo began to take out items from his bag that he had brought from the Triceratops workshop.
"What's this? A stone pot (TL: aka Dolsot or stone bowl)? Huh?! There's even a millstone?"
Sejun was excited to see the items Theo had taken out. The stone pot would be used for cooking rice, and the millstone for grinding the five-colored beans to make tofu?
"I've decided. Tonight's dinner is tofu!"
Sejun began soaking the five-colored beans in water in a pot. Thanks to the millstone Theo brought, the variety of dishes Sejun could cook had increased.
After that, Theo continued to please Sejun by taking out items like porcelain bowls and a water bottle from his bag.
"As expected from Vice Chairman Theo!"
"Puhuhut. I knew Chairman Park would like it, meow! Chairman Park should continue to believe in me, meow!"
Pleased with Sejun's lavish reviews, Theo lay down on Sejun's lap and showed his belly, sending a look that seemed to say, 'Hurry up and pet me quickly, meow!'
Swoosh. Swoosh.
"Vice Chairman Theo, are you sleeping?"
Gororong.
Theo answered Sejun's question with the sound of snoring. After being petted a few times by Sejun, Theo quickly fell asleep.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
"Now, I need to get to work."
"Meow..."
After finishing his coffee while petting Theo's belly, Sejun put the sleeping Theo on his legs and headed to the brewery.
And then,
"Guys, let's get to work."
Ook!
With the monkeys, Sejun began to pour rice flour into jars brought by Theo the day before and started making the base for the liquor.
Swoosh.
"Wow. The cost of making alcohol is similar to what I spent on making Garaetteok earlier?"
After filling all the jars with rice flour, Sejun remarked. How much Garaetteok did he actually make? He suddenly realized the astonishing appetite of Cuengi.
"But that's not important now."
Sejun quickly joined the monkeys, pouring hot water into one of the jars and stirring the rice batter.
It wasn't until the late afternoon that the preparation of 3000 jars of base liquor was completed.
***
Korean Awakened Association, Chairman's Office.
-The nuclear missile will reach Niue in 5 minutes.
Han Tae-jun looked at the live satellite feed with a tense expression.
Han Tae-jun had found clues about the Three Head Society on the Hunter phone, but it was too much for him to handle alone, so he asked for help from the U.S. With the aid of a US military satellite, he was able to find out the situation in Niue.
However, the situation in Niue captured by satellite was serious. There were no people in Niue, only locusts.
Moreover, an ominous altar had been erected in the center of the island. The altar was covered in unknown characters. Han Tae-jun didn't know what they meant, but the moment he saw the altar, he felt an extreme sense of dread, as if his instincts were screaming danger.
Fortunately, the US also sensed that the altar was not normal and launched a nuclear missile towards Niue, sharing the footage with Han Tae-jun.
After 5 minutes, the nuclear missile hit Niue and created a large mushroom cloud.
Just when he thought everything was over,
"Huh?! What's that?"
Han Tae-jun spotted a huge silhouette within the mushroom cloud.
***
Creak. Creak.
Krueng! Krueng?
[Cuengi's back! Daddy, what's that?]
Cuengi, who had come back early from tending to the herbs, asked Sejun, who was grinding beans on the millstone.
"Cuengi's back? I'm grinding beans to make tofu."
Krueng? Krueng?
[What's tofu? Is it delicious?]
"Yes. It's really delicious."
Krueng! Krueng!
[Exciting! Cuengi will help too!]
Cuengi was eager to help at Sejun's words.
"Then Cuengi, please press this."
Sejun asked Cuengi to press the water out of the beans that had been ground with the millstone.
Krueng! Krueng!
[Understood! Cuengi can do it well!]
Cuengi confidently replied. Sejun trusted him without a doubt.
Sejun focused on grinding the millstone with ease.
After all the beans were ground,
"Good."
Sejun started to make tofu by putting the bean juice that Cuengi had squeezed into a pot.
But
"Huh?! Why isn't it solidifying?"
Sejun was puzzled as he looked at the bean juice that wouldn't solidify. Despite trying various methods, tofu just wouldn't form.
Krueng!
[Daddy, Cuengi's hungry!]
Having worked hard without any food, Cuengi's expression soured.
"Let's just eat this for now."
In a rush, Sejun said, looking at the enormous amount of bean residue left after Cuengi had squeezed the bean juice. He was thinking of making bean residue stew. Luckily, there was shrimp paste made from freshwater shrimp to use.
Sejun added locust meat and green onions to the bean residue, fried them, added water, and seasoned it with shrimp paste to quickly complete the bean residue stew.
[Achievement unlocked: First in the tower to make the flavorful five-colored bean residue stew.]
[Recipe for the flavorful five-colored bean residue stew registered to Cooking Lv. 7.]
[Your proficiency in Cooking Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]
Messages for the achievement appeared simultaneously.
"Guys, let's eat!"
Sejun called the animals over to share the food and checked the dish.
[Flavorful Five-Colored Bean Residue Stew]
→ This stew is made with ground five-colored beans with their moisture removed, locust meat, and green onions, seasoned with shrimp paste.
→ The strong squeezing brings out the potential of the five-colored beans.
→ Upon consumption, one of the stats—strength, stamina, agility, or magic—increases by an additional 10% for 10 minutes.
→ Chef: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
→ Expiration Date: 30 days
→ Grade: B
"Wow!"
The options were amazing. It seemed like the effects of the Sturdy Strength Yellow Beans, Sturdy Stamina Red Beans, etc., harvested from the five-colored beans, were partially reflected in the dish.
Krueng!
[It's savory! Delicious!]
Fortunately, Cuengi was also satisfied with the bean residue stew.
Having enjoyed a delicious dinner,
"But why isn't the tofu setting?"
Sejun pondered why the tofu wasn't solidifying,
Kuehehehe. Krueng!
[Heheheh. Cuengi's Grandma is starting to cook!]
Cuengi sat next to Sejun and watched Kim Mi-ran cook through the bronze mirror.
"Ah! Cuengi, that's tofu."
Sejun pointed out the tofu in the soybean paste stew.
Krueng? Krueng!
[Is that tofu? It's so white!]
The sight of the wobbly, pudding-like tofu.
Squeeze.
Excited by the appetizing visual, Cuengi gripped the handle of the bronze mirror tightly.
Then,
-Humming.
"Huh?!
The sound of Kim Mi-ran's humming began to come from beyond the mirror.
"Mom!"
Sejun exclaimed at the sound of his mother's voice after a long time.
-Huh?! Where is Sejun's voice coming from?
Kim Mi-ran also looked around, hearing Sejun's voice.
And then,
-Eek!
She screamed upon seeing the mirror. Sejun and Cuengi were reflected in the living room mirror.
-So Cute...
"Uh... Mom, calm down,"
As Sejun predicted, Kim Mi-ran couldn't keep her composure upon seeing the adorable Cuengi.
-How can I calm down?! If you had such a cute baby, you should have come to mom sooner.
Then,
Krueng! Krueng!
[Hello, Cuengi's Grandma! I'm Daddy's son, Cuengi!]
Realizing that he was visible to Kim Mi-ran, Cuengi hurriedly stood up and bowed 90 degrees, greeting her as Sejun had taught him.
-Oh my! Such a well-mannered baby...
As expected, mom clutched her heart at Cuengi's greeting.
"Mom, are you doing well? Is everything okay?"
-Yes! I'm doing fine. Dad went to work since there's no more danger, and Se-dol went to school. He will be back soon. How are you doing?
"I'm doing well too."
As they were talking,
Crack.
The bronze mirror began to crack, unable to bear the load. It seemed it wouldn't last much longer.
Then,
Krueng!
[Daddy, ask how to make tofu!]
Cuengi exclaimed.
"Mom, I have a question."
-Yes, go ahead.
"I tried making tofu, but it wouldn't solidify. Why?"
Sejun described the process of how he had made the tofu.
-If you don't add anything, of course it won't set. You need to use coagulant. If there's no coagulant, you could use vinegar and salt...
Clang.
Fortunately, the bronze mirror broke just after Sejun had heard almost all of what Kim Mi-ran had said.
"Aileen, is it possible to...?"
When Sejun asked Aileen if it was possible to repair the broken bronze mirror, she said it was possible.
"Phew. That's a relief. Then I'll leave it to you."
[The tower's administrator says to leave it to her.]
After entrusting the repair of the bronze mirror to Aileen,
"Alright! Let's make tofu!"
Sejun began to make tofu as he had learned from Kim Mi-ran, and he managed to make proper tofu.
Krueng!
[It's delicious! Cuengi's Grandma is the best!]
Cuengi's desire to meet Kim Mi-ran grew stronger.
****
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