Chapter 228 – Sour Plum or Sweet Plum?

“Then keep these for later!” Sylph set the basket down after all.

“Sure!” Vasida turned back around and resumed directing her cooking utensils.

Sylph instantly understood her current state. Her own Culinary Magic was even worse than Vasida’s—she still couldn’t command more than two utensils at once.

“Have a seat! This is Vasida’s ‘sour plum juice’—well, it should be ‘sour plum juice.’ I’m not entirely sure either.” Mo Lan pulled Sylph down to sit and stared at her with some anticipation. “Give it a try!”

Sylph was also rather excited. “Vasida’s been studying Earth cuisine, right? Is this an Earth juice?”

She took a sip. The anticipation on her face was immediately replaced by confusion. She glanced at Vasida, but not wanting to disturb her, she whispered to Mo Lan instead:

“Maybe this should be called ‘sweet plum juice’? What kind of plum did she use? It would definitely be great for making fruit syrup! But I’ve never heard of any plum being this sweet! You’ve read more books than me, Moira—do you know?”

Mo Lan shook her head. “No idea. I have just as many question marks in my head as you do right now.”

A knock came at the door.

“Lilith is here! I’ll get the door.” Mo Lan said.

“Another day of good eating!” Lilith walked in with a smile.

“Vasida won’t let us help, so have a seat for now!” Mo Lan said.

“Try this ‘sour plum juice’—Vasida specially prepared it. It’s a traditional drink from Xia on Earth!” Sylph added.

“Really? Then I absolutely have to try it!” Lilith sat down and took a big gulp.

That one gulp took her ages to get down—she had to crane her neck and swallow in several small portions. She even used the Spring Water spell to rinse her mouth before the cloying sweetness finally faded.

“Moira, does ‘sour’ on Earth actually mean ‘sweet’? Is Xia so wealthy that every citizen can have unlimited sweets? Or is sugar just really cheap there? Surely people’s taste buds can’t all be broken, right?”

Mo Lan: “…”

This was the most profound misunderstanding Earth and Xia had ever suffered.

“‘Sour plum juice’ is supposed to be tangy and sweet. Sugar is pretty cheap, yes, but everyone’s taste buds are perfectly normal. As for this…” Mo Lan looked at the cloyingly sweet juice on the table and said diplomatically, “Perhaps this is Vasida’s improved recipe?”

Lilith: “???”

“I just remembered!” Sylph said. “One time, Iris said that a true Culinary Witch should have her own secret recipes and can’t always just follow cookbooks! Vasida heard that and wholeheartedly agreed.”

“We’re doomed.” Lilith began to fidget uneasily. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Same here,” Mo Lan said.

“It shouldn’t all be like this, right? I remember the things Vasida made in cooking class were perfectly normal, and the egg fried rice Moira taught her turned out great too.” Sylph said this aloud, but even she wasn’t confident.

The three young witches watched Vasida’s back with growing unease.

After a while, the aroma of the dishes wafted over.

Lilith sniffed the air. “That smells wonderful! The sour plum juice must have just been a fluke!”

“It must be!” Sylph breathed a sigh of relief.

Mo Lan remained uneasy.

Because she had watched the bag of MSG float over just before the dish was plated—and it hovered there for quite a while before floating back.

From her angle she couldn’t see how much had been added, but logically speaking, a few shakes of MSG should be plenty. It shouldn’t have taken that long.

Mo Lan thought for a moment, then pulled out her Card Magic master card and checked Vasida’s card purchase history.

“{Seasoning Card – MSG} ×10, total price: 100 Gem Coins.”

“{Seasoning Card – MSG} ×10, total price: 100 Gem Coins.”

……

Mo Lan was even more alarmed after reading through the records.

Vasida bought MSG cards in stacks—ten at a time!

And she bought a new batch every single week!

Even if she practiced Culinary Magic frequently and needed MSG, that purchasing frequency was absurd!

MSG was fine in moderation, but you couldn’t overdo it! Excessive intake could be harmful to the body!

She suddenly realized what that strange taste in the sour plum juice had been—it was MSG, wasn’t it? It had to be!

Good heavens! MSG in sour plum juice—what kind of culinary abomination was this?!

If they could taste that strange flavor, she must have added a lot!

Mo Lan even began to wonder whether she had somehow offended Vasida recently. Otherwise, why would Vasida be making cloyingly sweet, MSG-laden dishes as revenge?

She carefully thought back through recent events. “No! I’ve been completely absorbed in studying lately. The only time I even talk to Vasida is walking to and from Magic class. It’s definitely not me!”

If it wasn’t her, then it must be…

Mo Lan looked toward Lilith and Sylph. “Lilith, Sylph—have either of you offended Vasida recently?”

“What?” Lilith and Sylph both looked baffled.

The dishes floated over to the table, drawing their attention.

Lilith: “Red meat—I love that color! Are those Dodo Bird eggs? They’ve turned red too?”

“Wow! They look so glossy and translucent! So pretty!” Sylph said. “Moira, what’s this dish called?”

“It should be… braised pork belly?” Mo Lan said uncertainly.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t recognize braised pork belly anymore—it was just that the meat on this plate was far too glossy and translucent. The sauce coating it was excessively thick and clear, with some suspicious brownish-red strands running through it.

If she couldn’t clearly see the distinct layers of pork belly, she might have even mistaken it for candied sweet potato.

Could this be Vasida’s freestyle candied pork belly?

Seeing how curious and enthusiastic Lilith and Sylph were about the dish, Mo Lan swallowed her doubts.

Fortunately, the next several dishes looked much more normal. Their colors were appetizing, and the sauces weren’t suspiciously thick.

This time Mo Lan identified them with confidence: “This is minced pork with eggplant, this is tomato and egg stir-fry, this is stuffed green peppers, this is mouth-watering chicken, blanched lettuce, and fried shredded potato pancakes!”

“All done!” Vasida floated the rice pot over to the table. “These are all dishes that go great with rice, so I cooked plenty!”

“Is this… clay pot rice with cured meat?” Mo Lan said, eyeing the brownish-red bits in the rice that looked like diced cured meat.

“That’s right!” Vasida served each of them a heaping bowl before sitting down in the remaining seat. She picked up the glass of ‘sour plum juice’ and said, “Is this one mine?”

“Mm! I poured it for you, but…”

Mo Lan’s eyes went wide. Before she could finish, Vasida had already taken a huge gulp, then let out a contented sigh. “So good! If only there were some ice cubes, it’d be even better! Lilith, Moira—could you freeze some ice cubes and add them to the pitcher?”

She hadn’t learned the Flash Freeze spell yet.

“???”

Lilith and Sylph stared suspiciously at their own glasses. Could it be that Vasida’s glass contained something different from theirs?

Mo Lan: “…”

If she hadn’t poured the drinks herself—from the very same pitcher—she would have doubted her own taste buds too.

But now the mystery was solved. Vasida had a raging sweet tooth!

Which meant these dishes…