“So tired, I feel like my body has been hollowed out…”
As soon as Renye opened his eyes, he felt incredibly fatigued.
He didn't think much of it, assuming it was just physical discomfort from staying on the battlefield for too long.
After all, it was normal to feel tired after three months on the battlefield.
After washing up, he left the room.
Just then, Senju Tobirama happened to come out of his room.
Renye saw him with panda eyes, looking half-asleep, and couldn't help but ask,
“Old Man, you didn’t have insomnia last night, did you?”
Senju Tobirama didn't speak, he just nodded.
It wasn't insomnia for him; he simply hadn't slept at all.
As for why he hadn't slept, that was a matter of personal privacy…
“Kid, hurry up and make breakfast. I’m leaving soon.”
Senju Tobirama, worried Renye would ask him about the reason for his insomnia, quickly changed the subject.
“Old Man, what do you want for breakfast?” Renye asked.
“Rice, grilled fish, miso soup.” Senju Tobirama skillfully rattled off the dishes.
“No problem.” Renye entered the kitchen, tied on an apron, and began making breakfast.
“The miso soup needs wakame seaweed,” Senju Tobirama’s voice came from outside. “Also, don’t overcook the fish.”
“Got it, Old Man.” Renye responded loudly.
Last night, Senju Tobirama not only bought milk but also the ingredients needed for today’s breakfast.
It seemed this Old Man had planned it all along…
This kind of breakfast leaned towards traditional Japanese style, which was relatively rich.
Rice was the core, often paired with Anko or mixed grains.
Miso soup contained tofu, seafood, and so on.
As “one soup,” it provided protein and a warming effect for the stomach.
This time, Senju Tobirama specifically requested wakame seaweed, so there was no need for tofu or seafood.
The main dish was grilled fish, usually salmon or sea bream.
Renye took out the ingredients Senju Tobirama had bought and saw that it was sea bream.
After confirming the ingredients, he began preparing breakfast.
He opened the rice bin, scooped out two cups of rice into a clay pot, washed it twice with water, and placed it on the stove.
When the water in the copper kettle boiled, he put the kombu into the pot to soften, then took out the thawed saury.
The saury had been cleaned before it was bought.
Renye didn't need to spend time preparing it…
He patted it dry with kitchen paper and pan-fried it in hot oil until both sides were golden brown.
On the other side, he blanched and chopped spinach, tossed it with sesame seeds, and took out pickled yellow radish from a jar, placing it on a small dish.
Pickles were very appetizing and suitable for eating with rice.
Especially when one had no appetite in the morning.
He dissolved the miso in warm water, poured it into the kettle where the kombu had been boiled, stirred it well, and sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions.
Finally, he plated the pan-fried saury, arranged the yellow radish pickles and spinach.
He ladled the steaming miso soup into a bowl and placed it on a tray.
And just like that, a simple traditional Japanese breakfast was ready.
Renye then proceeded to make his own breakfast. “I’ll just eat something simple.”
He poured out all the ingredients Senju Tobirama had bought last night, leaving only sweet shrimp and clams.
Looking at the two ingredients before him, Renye's eyes lit up. “I’ll make seafood noodles!”
He poured water into a clay pot, added kombu to make the soup base, and at the same time, soaked the clams in salt water to purge sand.
On the cutting board, he peeled and deveined the sweet shrimp, sliced the nori into thin strips, and rehydrated the dried scallops in warm water.
After the water boiled, he removed the kombu, added the noodles until they floated, then drained them after rinsing with cold water.
Rinsing noodles with cold water not only brought them to an edible temperature but also caused the internal fibers of the noodles to contract sharply.
In simple terms, it made the noodles chewier and more elastic.
He heated oil in another pot, sautéed green onions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then added the clams and stir-fried until they opened. He poured in the noodle-cooking broth, dried scallops, and sweet shrimp, then turned off the heat after it boiled.
In a porcelain bowl, he first dissolved miso, then ladled in the seafood soup, and arranged the noodles.
Finally, he sprinkled nori strips and chopped green onions, and placed a halved soft-boiled egg on the rim of the bowl.
The rising steam carried the fresh aroma of kombu and seafood.
And just like that, a simple bowl of seafood noodles was ready.
Renye prepared to take Senju Tobirama’s breakfast out first.
After such a long delay, that Old Man must be getting impatient.
“Old Man, your breakfast is ready.”
Senju Tobirama took the tray and subconsciously asked,
“Why did you only make one serving?”
Renye gave him an annoyed look. “You only bought one sea bream. How could I make two servings?”
Hearing this, Senju Tobirama finally remembered that detail.
“Sorry, there was only one left when I bought it yesterday.”
He handed the tray to Renye. “You eat this one.”
Clearly, he wanted to leave the grilled fish for Renye.
“It’s fine, Old Man.” Renye didn’t take the tray and explained, “My breakfast is already made.”
With that, he turned and entered the kitchen.
Senju Tobirama watched Renye’s retreating figure, wondering what his breakfast was.
When Renye came out carrying a bowl of seafood noodles, Senju Tobirama was stunned.
He looked at his own breakfast, then at Renye’s breakfast.
His breakfast was pan-fried sea bream, miso soup, and pickles, while Renye’s breakfast was seafood noodles with clams, sweet shrimp, and a soft-boiled egg.
The steam from the seafood noodles swirled between them.
The fresh aroma of the seafood noodles wafted into Senju Tobirama’s nose, making him involuntarily swallow.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were making seafood noodles?”
Renye poked open the soft-boiled egg with his chopsticks, and the golden yolk slid down the noodles into the soup.
“Didn’t you say you wanted rice and grilled fish? I even specifically asked you…” Renye slurped some noodles, muttering indistinctly, “I only started cooking my noodles after I finished making your breakfast.”
“Slurp, slurp—”
Senju Tobirama watched Renye eat his noodles and suddenly felt that the grilled sea bream in his hand wasn’t as appealing.
If he had known this would happen, he shouldn’t have ordered anything.
Now, it was impossible to ask Renye to make him a bowl of seafood noodles, right?
Thinking of this, Senju Tobirama looked full of regret.
He would never order anything again; he would eat whatever this kid made!
Since things had come to this, he could only make do with what he had.
“Slurp, slurp—”
Senju Tobirama picked up the sea bream with his chopsticks, and the crispy fish skin made a sound.
However, the sound was drowned out by the slurping of noodles…
He deboned the sea bream, mixing the crumbled fish meat with miso soup into the rice.
“Slurp, slurp—”
A vein throbbed on Senju Tobirama’s forehead. He pretended not to hear the sound and began to enjoy his “sumptuous” breakfast.
He ate very quickly and finished in no time.
“Slurp, slurp—”
Renye’s noodle slurping continued.
Senju Tobirama looked at Renye with a dark expression and said coldly,
“Kid, I want seafood noodles for lunch too!”
“Got it, Old Man.” Renye responded while slurping his noodles.
Hearing Renye agree, Senju Tobirama finally left, satisfied.
Hmph, it’s just seafood noodles, isn’t it?
He’d get to eat them at noon!
P.S. I’m starving, I’m going to eat seafood noodles too.
