Operation Red Book

"Jessica? Is that Jessica?"

A familiar voice came, clear and charming, like a clear spring in the mountains.

Hearing this familiar voice, Jessica's eyes suddenly filled with tears. Fortunately, it was not the ladle-like servant who loved to complain the most.

"Woo--Master Dorian! It's over, it's all over!"

Jessica cried to Dorian who was walking towards her. She danced and demonstrated what had happened just now, and ended with the same sentence: "Don't blame Lord Andrew!"

Dorian listened patiently and breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced inside at the devastated scene, and then looked away, unable to bear the sight for just a second.

"I've never felt so troubled as long as I can remember..." Dorian turned away and closed his eyes in despair.

"What should I do, Master... Wuwuwuwu..."

"Don't worry, all roads lead to Rome. It's not the last minute yet, and everything can turn around."

A smaller figure jumped out from behind Dorian. It was a delicate oriental face with thick straight black hair.

She spoke very good English, with a standard London accent, a little fast, without the high-pitched voice of the common people or the long pauses of the aristocracy.

Maybe because she had just put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, her voice was a little anxious and unclear, but it did not affect others' ability to hear.

Her words cheered up Jessica a little. Maybe there really was a chance of a turn for the better. She looked back again. Well, no...

"Jessica? You are Jessica? Oh! Jessica, hello, I'm Ivy!"

The oriental girl smiled and stretched out her hand, shaking hands with Jessica.

"If I have a chance, I must try your berry tart. Mrs. Hudson made it once according to your instructions, and I must admit that it was the most delicious dessert I have ever eaten in my life!"

Ivy smiled a genuine smile, sweet and extremely infectious.

Jessica forgot the embarrassment behind her for a moment and smiled warmly, feeling a very good impression of this kind oriental girl.

"Can you please tell me what you know now?" Ivy licked the corner of her mouth and asked.

Dorian stood steadily beside Ivy and nodded slowly to Jessica.

With the permission of the host family, Jessica was willing to explain the terrible things that had happened.

"You must have known what happened this morning. The kitchen suffered heavy losses, including the prepared ingredients, ovens, steamers, and even the chef's soup spoon... In short, nothing was intact."

"I remember Mr. George Smith issued an order to mobilize servants to go to the market and farmers to borrow them quickly."

"We don't have enough manpower, Miss Ivy. The market has long been closed. All we can borrow are vegetables, fruits, beef, mutton and chicken grown by farmers. It's far from enough for the number of people we want to entertain."

"Then let's reduce the amount of food. Just like at lunch, as long as the dishes are rich and the presentation is exquisite, that will be fine..."

"The food at a banquet is different from the usual lunch and dinner." Dorian interrupted, "The food at a banquet must be supplied continuously to show the generosity of the host."

"Show off your generosity? Ha! You put it so nicely, but you just want to show off." Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Aren't the lessons of Louis XVI and Queen Marie enough to warn you nobles?"

The atmosphere was a little awkward. Jessica rubbed her hands, blinked twice, lowered her voice and said, "Uh...do you need me to continue explaining?"

"Feel sorry!"

"Please forgive me and go on, Miss Jessica."

"I must tell you clearly about the tragedy just now. The prepared white porcelain plates have all turned into pieces, and the remaining gold, silver, and pottery plates are still not enough."

“Isn’t that enough?”

Ivy stood on tiptoe and looked inside. In the dessert room, servants were picking through the broken pieces and piling up the gleaming plates.

"No, the tableware used for entertaining guests must be a complete set, otherwise it will cause unnecessary ambiguity. Usually, we choose the best porcelain plates and silver knives and forks. Gold plates and pottery plates are just for decoration and supplement."

"So that's how it is..." Ivy nodded thoughtfully.

It’s not that there isn’t enough food, it just doesn’t seem that sufficient; it’s also that there aren’t enough plates, they just have to be of the same standard.

"Actually, it's not that bad. The ingredients for making desserts haven't been damaged. We just need to prepare enough desserts. I specially invited French and Italian pastry chefs..."

Dorian pressed his swollen temple, glanced at the dessert room with walls covered in cream, and said hopefully.

"Master Dorian..."

Jessica pulled at her apron, looking a little unnatural.

"Oh, Jessica, please..."

Dorian had a ferocious expression on his face and raised his hands exaggeratedly, with a terrible feeling rising in his heart.

"The Italian chef said the French chef's hair looked like 15th century horse manure, so the French chef put canned pineapple on the Italian chef's pizza."

"The two men fought over this, the Italian chef hit the French chef in the eye with a baguette, and the French chef forced the Italian chef to eat a whole plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce."

"Then, the battle became more and more intense... The two of them were sent to London City Hospital an hour ago, so the dessert room was occupied by Lord Andrew..."

Jessica lowered her head, her two black eyes rolling around, and she pursed her lips, trying not to let any of her laughter leak out.

The green branches outside the window swayed in the wind, and the entire basement was filled with a quiet atmosphere, whether it was the people in the corridor or the servants in the dessert room.

Ivy and Dorian were both stunned. The battle between pizza and baguette was indeed "shocking"! No matter how many times she heard it, it was still so humorous. Ivy couldn't help but smile.

"Actually, both pineapple pizza and tomato pasta are delicious, but I just think..."

"Hey! That's not the point!" Dorian sighed irritably, "The party is over, there are less than two hours left, and no food has been prepared here!"

We know that when the devil gets angry, it can be terrifying. But the servants didn't know that, and instead thought that the young master became even cuter.

The air around them continued to be silent, and the maids held their breath. This was the first time they saw Master Dorian complain.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ai Wei said with a frown, "I'll arrange it for you, just stay still."

"You also have a way to make Italian and French desserts?" Dorian looked up and down at the tiny human in front of him.

"I've already been chosen. This is the UK, so of course the local pastry chefs can make desserts from other countries... After all, the top ten restaurants in London are all French and Italian, and this is something that the whole world knows."

Ivy said as a matter of course, and the servants in the dessert room nodded in unison.

“That is indeed a truth.”

Jessica glanced to the right and nodded while speaking seriously.