Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 215 74. Potato Stew and Oranges

"You are proud today."

In Oliver's apartment, Carl teased Oliver: "We drove all the way and saluted all the way. If you didn't know, you would think we were the new President of the United States traveling."

"Why didn't you say Arasaka Saburo?"

"Then we'll just see bow after bow."

"You are bowing three times to express your condolences."

Oliver smiled and threw a washed and peeled potato to Carl, who was standing next to the pot: "Peel it, catch it."

"Be careful, these are whole potatoes, not potato starch."

Carl took the potato. Potatoes were not expensive. Like wheat, they were the main source of starch for people in Night City. However, potato dishes in Night City were all made with potato starch produced by the company. Whole potatoes were still rare in Night City and had to be bought at a special price. Oliver threw them away so casually, and if they fell on the ground and got dirty, he would have to wash them again, which was troublesome.

"So what are you going to do?"

Jack was also peeling potatoes beside him: "I see there is ginger, stir-fried potatoes with shredded ginger. I saw this kind of dish when I was reading your cookbook."

"What you are looking at is definitely a whole person dish."

Carl ejected the single-molecule wire, thought about how he had used it to kill someone today, and put it back. He took out a kitchen knife from the kitchen utensils next to the stove in front of him and started cutting potatoes: "Today V is here, and I thought about the wanderers in the wilderness, who must be running around in the dust all the time, and who knows how much sweat they must have shed all day long, so I want to make a rich-flavored dish."

"No need to prepare something special for me. I can eat anything."

V sat on the sofa in the room, feeling a little embarrassed to be treated so warmly. He saw Carl and his friends taking out real meat and real vegetables. Although real meat was not unavailable in the tribe, such as grilled lizard skewers and sometimes they were even tasked with transporting real meat, but that was rare. He also knew that real meat in the city was more valuable than real meat in the Badlands. He felt a little uncomfortable being treated so warmly by Carl and his friends at such a high price.

V said, "I often eat vegetarian canned tuna and canned pineapple pizza in the Badlands. I don't have high requirements for food."

As V tried his best to show that he could eat anything, it was obvious that the strange pizza in his words attracted the attention of the three cooks even more.

"In your evil land, the only way to eat pizza is to use canned food to make this weird pizza?"

Jack, a Night City native who loves extra spicy Italian sausage pizza, finds it difficult to understand the strange pizza that V is talking about.

"When I'm out doing work, I sometimes have to drive for days and nights, and all I can eat is canned food."

V said, and in turn recommended it to Jack: "I can make it for you to try when I have time. It's delicious, Jack."

"Then we better not get caught by the NCPD. After all, this is against the law."

Carl finished chopping the meat, then looked at the pork that was being stewed in seasonings and had been covered with a lid. He calculated the time and found that it had been fifteen minutes. By this time, the pork had begun to soften.

The final product has to be soft and mushy.

Turn off the heat, open the lid, pour the chopped potatoes into the pot with seasonings, then turn on the heat again and continue stewing.

"It will probably be ready in about five minutes. It's meat and potatoes stew. I think beef would be a better match, but it'll do."

After arriving in Night City, Carl seldom cooked many dishes. Firstly, except for the main meat dishes, all other dishes could be taken out, and secondly, he was lazy. Today's full pot of stewed potatoes with meat was already the result of his extremely hard work.

“Oh, the aroma is wafting out.”

Jack leaned over and sniffed the aroma coming out of the vents: "I feel like I can eat a lot today."

"Don't worry, there's enough to eat. If you can finish it today, Jack, you'll be awesome. If Misty, Mrs. Wells, and Old Wei hadn't said they'd already eaten, I would have made more."

Carl said, wiping his hands with the towel beside the stove, then walked to V and collapsed on the sofa: "I'm so tired, it's up to you to cook the food. T-BUG will be here soon, and the takeaway is on the way. We can have a good meal soon. We've been hungry all day." "Why are you tired? We were the ones fighting the Animal Gang, the Savage King, and the Voodoo Gang today, and you didn't even drive the car."

In response to Oliver's complaints, Carl just gave him the middle finger.

"I'm not cooking now, am I? Are you talking human language?"

"We'll chop the ribs and peel the potatoes, and you'll just throw the seasoning into the pot and cut the potatoes. Why are you so tired?"

"People who don't cook always question the tiredness of cooks. I'm already exhausted just thinking about cooking plans, and you just need to follow my instructions."

Carl's words only earned him two middle fingers from Oliver and Jack.

While lying down, Carl was about to talk to V about whether he preferred rice or noodles, or bread or pizza as his staple food, when he received a private message.

Among the people Karl knows, there are not many who can conceal the communication channel, know his number, and call him for private communication. In total, there is only one person.

"I didn't initiate the contact, but the salary must be NT$100,000."

Muttering silently in his heart, Carl connected to the conversation from a certain young lady.

"Good evening, Carl."

As soon as the call was connected, Carl heard a pleasant voice coming from the other end. Judging from the casual tone of the voice, the middle-aged bodyguard who was in a melancholy period should not be there.

"Good evening, Haruko."

Carl looked at the sky outside the window. Ever since they met on the rooftop of the Kanbi Building, Haruko would always call him in the morning or evening. There was nothing strange about receiving the call.

Anyway, just normal chatting.

Karl is free and can chat with her when he is free.

Talking about the weather, tea art, books, and occasionally history, chatting with someone who has a lot of knowledge is also a kind of relaxation for Carl.

But today, Haruko came to see Karl for something. After the two of them exchanged a few words of greeting, Haruko spoke:

"Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to invite you to come to North Oak. My residence has been arranged, and I want you to come and check out the security situation. You have experience in breaking through security."

You're talking about Fujiwara no Yoshinaga's trip, right?

Although Carl remembered that Mr. Kenichi Shiro was also there, Mr. Kenichi Shiro did not take any action after all. So, it was indeed he who made the breakthrough alone. It was natural for Haruko to ask him to come and take a look.

Carl listened to Haruko's words and thought about tomorrow's arrangements.

It seems like nothing happened.
Then tomorrow.
When Karl was about to say something, Haruko's next sentence came: "Also, I would like to ask you to taste the ripe oranges that I planted in Japan and sent to you now."

tangerine?!
Carl was very careful about his choice of words. What Haruko said was in Chinese. In Chinese, "one" often represents a small plant, and the orange tree was described by "one".

Could it be that it is an orange tree that has been specially trimmed and cultivated so that the tree is very small but the fruit is very sweet?
Carl has never eaten real fruit since he came to this age.

No need to hesitate.

"I'll go tomorrow."

　ps. I haven’t eaten anything for a day, and now I’m going out to eat.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)