Steamed Baskets in the New District
We arrived in the new district.
Since preparing the steamed vegetables would take some time, we decided to do it tomorrow.
For today, the plan was to soak in the hot springs and recover from the forced march. But when I stepped into the mansion, I found Atre, Lucas, and Bianca there.
“What brings you here? How did you know we’d be stopping by the new district?”
“Papa told us. So Lucas negotiated for us to come along—with Grandfather and the others.”
“Grandfather and the others?”
“We’ve been waiting for you, dear. You must be tired.”
I turned toward the familiar voice and saw Grandmother and Cherry.
Which meant Kamuela and Levin were here too, no doubt.
“Grandmother, what brings you here?”
“Well, after tasting that steamed basket dish in Bambus Village, I just had to see if it could be made using the steam from the hot springs here. Once I got the letter saying you’d try it before heading home, there was no way I could stay behind.”
“Brother Chris, did you really write that much detail in your letter?”
“... It was really delicious, okay?”
“Violetta sent a message too—she said to make sure we prepare some for her and bring it back.”
I told them the experiment would be tomorrow and went to my room.
“Atre, Lucas, thanks for watching the house. I brought back some of the food I ordered, so once we’re back at the mansion, let’s all eat together.”
“Hardt, I know you’re busy, but I still want to come with you next time.”
“I agree with Atre. Staying behind is boring.” Lucas added.
“Sorry. It was a tight schedule this time. Next time, we’ll go together.”
“Shouldn’t we be heading to the Great Forest soon?”
“Ah, right—the World Tree visit. We also need to search for Cocotte nests. We can do both at once.”
“Cocotte nests?”
“Yeah. The Cocottes aren’t breeding well, and I haven’t seen any chicks in the Great Forest, so I’m thinking they might be nesting somewhere out of sight. Atre, do you know where Cocottes make their nests?”
“I’ve never chased one before, so I dunno.”
“Lucas?”
“I’m not the lord of the Great Forest. How would I know that?”
“I figured since you know a lot, maybe you’d read about it somewhere.”
“Lucas, you’ve been reading in the library, right? Didn’t you see any books about Cocottes?”
“Wait, you read in the library, Lucas? That’s amazing.”
“I was bored without you, Hardt. But no, none of the books I read talked about Cocotte ecology. Couldn’t you just use your blessing to look it up?”
“Oh—good idea. Thanks, Lucas.”
I immediately searched the Royal Capital Library database for Cocotte. 537 results.
Too many.
Narrowing it down to Cocotte ecology gave three hits.
I’d read them after the bath.
I invited Atre and Lucas to the hot springs, and we soaked to wash away the fatigue.
Ahh, hot springs really are the best.
Honestly, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else but here or the capital mansion.
Maybe when Brother Chris becomes the family head, I’ll just stay here in the new district.
Feeling refreshed, I read the books in my room—but none mentioned chicks.
All three were records kept by people who raised Cocottes, summarizing their observations. No real clues about breeding behavior.
Looks like we’ll have to find the nests in the Great Forest ourselves.
At least Atre and Lucas would be happy. Between the exhibitions and village visits, we hadn’t had much time together lately.
The next day, we built a stove for steaming vegetables. Together with the cooks, we chose a suitable spot along the hot spring’s steam passage near the mansion. Once we picked the place, we opened the passage lid, and the cooks shaped a stove with earth magic to hold the steaming baskets.
“Hardt, the baskets are sitting pretty high. Won’t it take longer to cook? Shouldn’t we lower them closer to the steam?”
“Young Master Reinhardt, if we’re steaming, the baskets need to be close to the vapor. Otherwise, it’ll take too long,” said one of the cooks.
At Brother Chris’s and the cook’s advice, we rebuilt the stove.
Now, the steaming baskets sat about thirty centimeters off the ground—around my waist height.
Leafy vegetables should take about ten minutes, root vegetables twenty to thirty. So, we decided to try them separately.
After ten minutes, I checked the leafy basket—only half wilted. I gave it more time. Five minutes later, still not quite ready. Another five minutes, and they finally wilted nicely. Sweet and delicious.
The vegetables weren’t from Bambus Village but prepared by the cook—and still, they were tasty.
After an hour, the root vegetables were soft and fluffy, also delicious.
Then we tried again near the hot spring source, and the cooking time was cut in half.
So, temperature really was the key.
For comparison, we also steamed Bambus Village vegetables. The leafy ones had a sweetness that stood out.
“Bambus Village vegetables are way better.”
“Agreed. The flavor’s completely different,” Brother Chris agreed.
Atre, Lucas, and Bianca all dug in happily.
Normally, they only eat vegetables when there’s dressing on the salad, but today they were enjoying them seasoned with just salt and pepper.
This could definitely become one of the new district’s specialties.
The only issue was that it took too long unless the temperature was high, so we’d need to find a way to set it up near the plaza.
What do you think about this chapter?
