Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 6 Izakaya

After school in the afternoon, Kogoro Mouri excitedly ran to the judo club to sign up, Eri Kisaki went to the library with her schoolbag, and Shuichi Hayashi went home alone.

The Mori family's three-story building is located at 5-39, Beika-cho. The first floor is an izakaya, the second floor is rented by Lin Xiuyi, and the third floor is the residence of Mori mother and son.

After putting down his schoolbag, Lin Xiuyi changed his clothes and went down to the izakaya on the first floor.

Japan's izakaya originated in the Edo period. It started by selling various alcoholic beverages, and later developed to provide side dishes and some simple food.

In this day and age, izakayas have become a must-go place for working people after get off work. Some even go to three or four izakayas in one night to vent all the stress from work.

The izakaya on the first floor has not been open for more than a month since Papa Mori passed away.

As soon as Lin Xiuyi walked in, he saw Maori Kogoro's mother sitting in the window seat, staring at the chef in a daze.

Mrs. Maori was about forty years old, with a pale complexion and a thin figure. She did not look very healthy. She had a kind look and was a very gentle person.

"Ah, time flies. It's been a month since he left."

Mrs. Maori sighed, took out a set of chef's clothes from the bag beside her, and handed it to Lin Xiuyi.

"This is his old work clothes. I've already washed them. They were originally meant to be worn by Kogoro, but unfortunately he doesn't like cooking and insisted on becoming a police officer."

While Mrs. Maori was chattering, Lin Xiuyi changed into his chef's uniform.

Although he is still a high school student, he has a well-developed body and is about the same size as Maori's father, so the chef's uniform fits him perfectly.

"After Kogoro's father passed away, thanks to you and Eri, Kogoro was able to recover quickly..."

As she was speaking, Mrs. Maori suddenly started coughing violently.

Lin Xiuyi hurried forward to pat her back, poured a cup of warm water and placed it on the table.
"Auntie, you're not feeling well. Why don't you go back to the third floor and rest?"

"It's okay. Today is your first day as head chef," Mrs. Maori chuckled. "I have to keep an eye on you to feel at ease."

The izakaya's kitchen is located in the hall, directly facing the drinkers and diners.

In addition to providing alcoholic beverages, the restaurant also offers some simple set meals and vegetables, such as omelet rice and rice with sauce.

Two days ago, Hayashi Shuichi had already taken Kisaki Eri and Maori Kogoro to clean the izakaya and prepare the ingredients.

Izakayas open their doors to customers at around 6 or 7 in the evening, and all ingredients for the service must be prepared in advance so that the dishes can be served quickly when customers come.

Lin Xiuyi started preparing the ingredients, and Mrs. Maori also stood up to help.

Japanese people like to eat rice, and rice is also an indispensable staple food in izakayas.

Lin Xiuyi gently rubbed and washed the rice twice, then put the rice into a basin and soaked it in water.

"This is..." Mrs. Maori was stunned. "Don't you put it in the rice cooker and steam it?"

"Soaked rice is easy to cook and not easily uncooked. The rice grains are soft and taste good," explained Lin Xiuyi.

Although this is common sense when opening a shop, Mrs. Mori rarely came to the izakaya due to health reasons, so it is normal that she didn't know about it.

"I see. No wonder Kogoro's father's cooking is delicious, but mine is always a little hard," Mrs. Mori nodded in sudden realization. Besides rice, eggs are also an essential ingredient.

Lin Xiuyi first washed the surface of the eggs to prevent the stains from dirtying the pot.

Then add cold water to the pot, covering the eggs, and then boil it over high heat. At the same time, use a soup spoon to stir the pot continuously in a clockwise direction, so that the eggs in the water also rotate.

The purpose of doing this is to allow the egg yolk to solidify in the middle, which will make it look much better when cut.

After three minutes, Lin Xiuyi turned down the heat, covered the pot, and let the eggs cook over low heat. If he had continued to cook over high heat, the eggs would easily crack.

After a while, Lin Xiuyi picked up the eggs and immersed them in cold water. This not only makes the eggs easier to peel, but also maintains the texture and taste of the eggs.

Mrs. Maori reached out and picked up an egg from the basin. After peeling off the shell, she cut it open with a knife. The eggs on both sides were clearly layered. Not only did the yolk remain in the middle, it was also runny.

"It's perfect!" she couldn't help but say, "I can't boil eggs this beautiful... cough cough!"

Seeing that Mrs. Maori started to cough again, Lin Xiuyi hurriedly helped her to the side.

"Aunt, you can just rest here," Lin Xiu said with a smile, "I have no problem with the kitchen work."

"I had forgotten that when he was here, you often came to the store to help," Mrs. Maori nodded, then sat down by the window and watched Lin Xiuyi skillfully handle various vegetables.

As she looked, her vision became a little dazed, and the person in front of her unknowingly changed from Lin Xiuyi to her husband.

When Maori Kogoro's father was still alive, she sometimes couldn't stay in the room on the third floor, so she would go to the first floor, find a place to sit, and chat with her husband while watching him prepare for business.

After Mr. Mori passed away, Mrs. Mori originally planned to take over the izakaya herself for the sake of her family's livelihood.

But for her, who has never been good at cooking since childhood and has not been in good health, this is obviously not an easy job.

If Lin Xiuyi hadn't offered to be the head chef of the izakaya and try running the business for a while, Mrs. Mori would have been ready to rent out the shop.

……

In less than half an hour, Lin Xiuyi had prepared all the ingredients and then began to prepare the drinks for the evening.

In the original world line, the first floor of the Mori family's small building would be converted into a cafe in the future, and the area is not small.

In addition to the kitchen in the middle, there are about ten tables in the lobby, with posters of drinks hanging on the wall and a large handwritten menu.

"This store has been deserted for over a month since Kogoro's father passed away," Mrs. Maori encouraged gently, "I hope you can make this store lively again."

……

At six o'clock in the afternoon, when the izakaya was about to open for business, Maori Kogoro ran in breathlessly with his schoolbag in his hand: "Xuyi, how are your preparations going? Do you need help..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw the processed ingredients on the kitchen chopping board.
"Is everything ready? I was worried you couldn't handle it on your own, so I quickly called Eri to rush home right after the judo club's activities."

"You're not like Xiuyi," Hibiki Eri followed him into the room, "you're clumsy at everything you do."

"Try it," Lin Xiuyi brought out two servings of curry rice and placed them in front of Maori Kogoro and Kisaki Eri, "Take a look at my cooking skills."

(End of this chapter)