Chapter 298: Mixed Doubles by the Couple!
In early October, just past four o'clock, the twilight in Hokkaido arrived hurriedly.
The grass on the ranch had turned a light brown, and under the setting sun, it was plated with a layer of fragile gold.
On the continuous ridges of Mt. Tokachi in the distance, the maple leaves were burning with the season's most intense colors, distinct in the slanting sunlight—
The backlit areas were deep crimson silhouettes, while the sunlit faces revealed an amber-like red glow.
The entire mountain range was like a charcoal drawing slowly extinguishing, warmth lingering, light and dark interwoven!
Stardew Valley Ranch—
Ryohei Tanaka had already led people to set up the tents and brought out two newly acquired hot pot tables.
Beside them was a long table, neatly arranged with various prepared ingredients, as well as drinks and dipping sauces.
Tonight's dinner was hot pot + barbecue! In this slightly cool season, eating hot pot was just right.
There were nineteen people in total, lively divided into two tables.
Ryohei Tanaka glanced at his table and asked with a smile: "Aren't you guys going to sit?"
"Standing and eating has more atmosphere!"
Minos swayed her silver-white tail, answering energetically.
She still preferred beef, picking up half a plate of marbled beef with her chopsticks and putting it into the boiling beef tallow pot.
Her ruby-like beautiful eyes stared unblinkingly at the beef rising and falling in the pot, her face written with craving (¯﹃¯).
"Aren't you standing too?"
Yurine's eyes held a smile as she glanced at Ryohei Tanaka, putting some botan shrimp into the mushroom pot.
She also added a few pieces of snow crab cut into small chunks.
Ryohei Tanaka had prepared two types of hot pot soup bases—
One was the spicy and fragrant beef tallow soup base, and the other was the fresh, sweet, and nourishing mushroom soup base!
He also mixed several dipping sauces and placed them on the long table nearby, convenient for everyone to take freely according to their preferences.
"Outdoors, in this environment, I also like to stand and eat; it feels better this way!"
(＾◡＾)
While speaking, Ryohei Tanaka put most of a plate of lamb rolls into the red soup.
These lamb rolls were fresh lamb meat he bought and sliced himself.
The others also put in some ingredients they wanted to eat, only Jashin-chan didn't.
She held her bowl and chopsticks, staring at the ingredients others put into the pot.
When the marbled beef slightly changed color, Jashin-chan grinned, extended her chopsticks first, and revealed a wicked smile:
"The marbled beef is ready!"
She scooped away more than half of it directly!
"My marbled beef!"
Minos didn't expect the scummy snake to do this. Caught off guard, she screamed and eventually only managed to grab two slices.
She immediately looked at the scummy snake unhappily:
(」°ロ°)」
"Hey—! Jashin-chan, you took too much! Also, if you want to eat something, put it in yourself!"
"Kukuku—! Minos, you don't understand!"
The scummy snake didn't care at all. She leisurely rolled a few slices of marbled beef in the dipping sauce dish and said leisurely:
"Hot pot is like this. Fast hands get it, slow hands get nothing. The strong eat meat, the weak eat dirt... oh, no! Eat 'grass'!"
After speaking, she balled up a few slices of marbled beef and sent them into her mouth.
"Mmh-hmm—!"
The moment it entered her mouth, the extremely tender and smooth texture blossomed on the tip of her tongue!
As if without chewing, the fine fat of the marbled beef melted, coating the firm lean meat with a layer of rich, oily juice.
The moment her teeth gently closed—
Warm meat juice splashed in her mouth, carrying the milky aroma and sweetness unique to high-quality beef.
Immediately after, the complex flavors of the dipping sauce surged up layer by layer—
The richness of sesame paste, the pungency of minced garlic, the fresh spiciness of chili... interwoven layer by layer with the deliciousness of the beef itself...
"Too delicious...!"
Jashin-chan couldn't help closing her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, a flush of intoxication appearing on her face.
Plus, since she snatched this from Minos, her happiness was +1!
"..."
In a trance, it was as if she had arrived at a certain afternoon where the sunlight wasn't scorching.
Full and satisfied, Jashin-chan lazily wriggled her tail and slowly wandered under a big tree in the ranch.
A wave of drowsiness quietly hit!
She glanced at the Japanese Black Wagyu resting under the tree, leaned gently against it, closed her eyes, and soon fell into a dream...
Time was quiet, the years were peaceful!
"..."
"Where did you get that crooked logic!"
In the real world—
Yurine looked at the intoxicated Jashin-chan with unkind eyes and warned:
"Eat properly when you're eating, don't cause trouble. You know what I mean, right?"
"—!"
The scummy snake instantly woke up from her intoxicated state and defended herself weakly:
"But, it tastes better when you snatch it! Isn't hot pot just like this?"
"I agree with that."
Ryohei Tanaka said with a smile, then changed the topic:
"But you snatched way too much! How are others supposed to eat like this?"
"Exactly!"
Minos put in some more marbled beef and said unhappily.
Medusa also whispered in agreement: "Jashin-chan, that's not very good..."
"Alright, alright! I'll restrain myself a bit, is that okay? ( ′ 3`) sigh~" Jashin-chan sighed helplessly.
Hearing her say she would restrain herself, Ryohei Tanaka couldn't help but look at her suspiciously.
The scummy snake never kept her word. Vowing solemnly one second, turning her face and denying it the next; she had absolutely no credibility!
Ryohei Tanaka thought, Yurine hadn't beaten her for three days. If she acted like this, she would probably get a beating tonight.
And sure enough—the scummy snake revealed her true colors immediately!
"Restrain myself? That's impossible! The word 'restrain' doesn't exist in my dictionary!"
Jashin-chan revealed a wicked smile, clamped her chopsticks fiercely into the beef tallow pot, and swept away most of the lamb meat.
Ryohei Tanaka's face darkened, and he hurriedly fished out two slices for himself: "Bastard! Even I want to beat you now!"
"Let's warm up together. The food will taste better later." Yurine handed a baseball bat to Ryohei Tanaka.
Ryohei Tanaka looked down at the baseball bat, very surprised—Where did you pull this from?
"Eh?"
Meanwhile, Jashin-chan was dumbfounded. Holding her bowl and chopsticks, she revealed bean-sized eyes, staring blankly at the two.
Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly said:
"Chotto matte! I was joking just now... Kin, I'll return the meat to you... Ow..."
"..."
At the kids' table—
"Whoa—! They're fighting next door..."
Kobayashi was attracted by the commotion of the 'couple's mixed doubles' and looked over in surprise.
She saw Jashin-chan scurrying away with her head in her hands, screaming while being beaten by Ryohei Tanaka and Yurine—mainly Yurine fixing her!
Ryohei Tanaka followed alongside, occasionally kicking the scummy snake's butt.
Medusa followed anxiously, attempting to persuade Ryohei Tanaka and Yurine, suggesting weakly:
"How about... sparing Jashin-chan this one time?"
"..." Kobayashi stood up involuntarily, intending to go mediate.
"Eh?"
Seeing this, Poporon, who was happily eating instant-boiled mutton, hurriedly waved her hand at Kobayashi, signaling her to sit down.
"Are you going to break up the fight?" Poporon asked after swallowing the mutton in her mouth.
"Mmh."
Kobayashi paused and looked at Poporon.
"You don't need to worry about Jashin-chan. She definitely asked for it again. Getting fixed is purely what she deserves!"
A gloating smile appeared on Poporon's face. She turned her head to look and said with slight surprise:
"But I didn't expect even Ryohei-kun to personally join in this time. That's really rare!"
"Oh my! Kobayashi, don't worry about it. Jashin-chan is a bad kid; she's not worth you breaking up the fight."
Tohru stood up and pressed Kobayashi back into her seat.
"Is that so?"
Kobayashi looked sideways in surprise.
"Mmh, if you don't believe me, you can ask everyone!"
Tohru looked frank. Her contact with Jashin-chan wasn't much, but she had also seen her cause trouble and get fixed by Yurine.
"That is indeed the case!"
Poporon was the first to take up the conversation: "Jashin-chan is very scummy, and she always remembers the food but not the beatings!"
"She is like that."
Kyon-Kyon stared at the ingredients in the split pot and nodded gently.
She didn't mean to target Jashin-chan, purely stating facts casually.
Kouji gave a small "Mmh" from the side. Regarding Jashin-chan's scumminess, she had deep experience!
"Alright, then let's ignore her."
Kobayashi wasn't an indiscriminate goody-two-shoes. Seeing this, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks again, focusing her attention on the hot pot in front of her...
She felt this hot pot was super delicious!
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