Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 582 Chicken Pot (please vote for me)
Boom!

After stuffing a few coins and pressing the button twice, two cans of hot coffee fell out of the vending machine. Naruse bent down to take them out and handed one of the cans to Hikari Takigawa.

"Thank you~"

She smiled, opened the coffee and took a sip, "I always feel that today's coffee tastes better than usual."

"It's cheap and good."

"Then I did win."

Naruse stopped talking, opened his own coffee, and drank most of it in one go.

Standing at the door of the arcade, the two of them looked at the darker sky, drank coffee one after another, and chatted wordlessly.

"Continue playing?" Hikari Takigawa asked.

"I'm fine."

"Then let's play for a while."

After drinking coffee, the two returned to the arcade and found another game to continue playing.

Escaping doesn't make the problem go away, but immersing yourself in another world can indeed make people relax temporarily.

Naruse was very involved, and Hikaru Takigawa joined him in. The two of them played until dark before leaving.

"It's not snowing."

"Weather forecasts are less unreliable."

Takigawa Hikaru smiled, turned to look at him, "Go back."

"Let's have a meal outside and then go back." Naruse said.

"No." She refused, "I want to go back to eat today. Didn't I agree before?"

Naruse said nothing, "Then go back."

The two of them got on their motorcycles and rode all the way back to Qingliu in the night wind, which became even colder after dark.

"It's so cold!"

Hikaru Takigawa stamped his feet in the cold wind. When Naruse also stopped the car, he pulled him into the supermarket quickly.

"What do you want to eat Harumi at night?"

"It's all right."

"Then I'll just pick what I like to eat."

"Ah."

"Be positive." She dragged him to the ingredients area and let him choose some ingredients.

"Hmm... I bought so much, why don't I just make a cooking pot tonight?"

"it is good."

"Beef hotpot? Or chicken hotpot?"

Naruse thought for a moment, "Chicken hot pot."

"OK, then I'll get two more pieces of tofu."

Hikaru Takigawa was very positive about the dinner for the two of them, and asked small questions such as whether it was cauliflower or lettuce, konjac shreds or potato powder, etc., to make him passively active.

Picking a little from the east and a little from the west, when it was time to check out, the shopping basket in Naruse's hand was almost full.

The cashier's aunt smiled brightly when she saw him, "Ah, Harumi, I haven't been here for a long time. Why didn't Naoko come today?"

"..."

Naruse paused for a moment and continued to take the items out of the shopping basket, pretending not to hear.

The matter of Shangzi's departure involved too many personal affairs, and not many people nearby knew that she had left Qingliu.

Hikaru Takigawa squeezed in front of him and started chatting with the clerk, "It's so cold today."

"Yes, it's definitely winter already."

She used her smile to attract the other person's attention to her side, "I can't just deal with dinner casually. If I don't eat something hot, I always feel like my body can't warm up."

"If you buy these things, do you want to make a pot for dinner?"

"Yes~"

"Are we all together again? You kids are really close... But it's time for Harumi to shave."

Naruse handed the money over and nodded, "Okay."

After paying the money and carrying two large bags of ingredients, the two left the supermarket together.

"Let's go back."

"Ah."

After fixing the bag, Naruse got on the motorcycle and rode back.

Passing by the Maki Hotel, he saw Haixing's original motorcycle parked outside, and he glanced inside.

She's not in the shop down there.

Seiichiro Maki at the counter was looking outside. The two of them briefly looked at each other as they passed by.

"..."

Because the couple had been actively looking for clues about their daughter's whereabouts some time ago, their parents became one of the few insiders during the inquiry.

Although the level of disappointment is not as high as that of Shangzi's parents, their trust in him has probably hit rock bottom...

Naruse didn't stop and continued moving forward.

Returning to his yard, he stopped the car and waited for Takigawa Hikaru to stop. The first thing he asked was whether she had told her parents that she wanted to have dinner at his house. "I'll tell you later." She also pushed the car into his garage. "Don't worry, they can't control me."

"..."

Naruse opened his mouth and said, "It's better to say hello earlier."

"I know." Takigawa Hikaru smiled at him, took a bag from his hand, and entered the house through the garage door.

She walked directly to the kitchen, "It's already dark, should we start preparing dinner now?"

"it is good."

Naruse turned on the floor heating in the living room.

During this time, he stayed in the room and didn't remember whether he had turned on the floor heating this winter.

He went to the kitchen again, left some of the ingredients, and put the rest in the refrigerator. He washed and cut the vegetables, processed the chicken he bought, and put it aside for the time being. He cut the tofu into small pieces, poured oil into the pot, and started cooking.

"Would you like to fry the tofu?"

"Ah."

"The chicken needs to be fried too."

"Ah."

"Then just fry the chicken first and use the oil from the chicken to fry the tofu."

"..."

Naruse paused, "I forgot."

He looked at Takigawa Hikaru again, "Hikaru is more experienced in cooking than I thought."

She laughed, "I'm still a girl after all."

It had nothing to do with gender, he just never saw her cooking.He also quickly figured out the reason: when Shangzi was still alive, she had no chance to show off.

"Spring Sea?"

He came back to his senses and said, "It's okay."

The oil had been poured into the pot, and it couldn't be discarded. When the pot was hot, Naruse briefly fried the tofu cubes, took them out and set them aside. Then he put the boneless raw chicken legs into the pot and fried them until When the chicken skin becomes brown, turn it over and fry the other side slightly.

"Fry the scallions too, they will be more fragrant."

"Ah."

While he was frying the chicken here, Hikaru Takigawa neatly arranged the chopped vegetables into the soup pot for cooking.

"Tofu ~ scallions ~ and then chicken."

She put the slightly browned tofu and scallions on both sides into the almost full soup pot, then the chicken pieces. She finally covered it with two pieces of shiitake mushrooms, and then only the soup was left.

"What flavor do you want the soup to be?" she asked Naruse.

"It will be all right."

"Then I'll adjust it to the flavor my mother taught me."

"Ah."

Takigawa Hikaru took miso and soy sauce and mixed them by himself. Finally, he took out the katsuobushi flowers that had been soaked in boiling water from the beginning, mixed the two soups together, stirred for a while, and poured it into the soup pot.

"Harumi is going to prepare the gas stove."

"Ah."

Naruse searched for it and took out the gas stove that had not been used for a long time. He tried it and found that it still worked, so he put it on the dining table.

Takigawa Hikaru brought the full soup pot, put it on the stove, and lit the fire.

"You can eat it when the pot boils."

"Ah."

The fire was turned on to the maximum, and the flames spitting upwards kept licking the bottom of the pot, making a whirring sound.

"Preparing the pot is quite simple," said Hikaru Takigawa.

"Yes." Naruse nodded. He caught a glimpse of her looking at him from the corner of his eye and turned to look at her.

"When Harumi is alone, you can no longer eat instant noodles." She looked at him and said.

"..."

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and took her hand.

"Well, I promise."

Hikaru Takigawa smiled.

"I'll go get the dishes."

"I'll go."

Naruse went to the kitchen and brought two dishes and chopsticks over while she was on the phone.

"Well, I'm at Harumi's house... Why? Because Chunhai doesn't know how to eat well alone, and Naoko isn't here, so I came over... I don't know what time I'll be back... Well, maybe I won't be back today."

He put down the dishes and took the phone from her hand.

"Eh..." Hikari Takigawa was unprepared and looked at him.

"After dinner, Hikaru will go back." Naruse said to the person on the other end of the phone.

"...Yes, I understand."

After a brief silence, Mrs. Takigawa responded.

(End of this chapter)