Nuke Miko: Chronicles of America

Chapter 232: Shrimp Catchers in the Caribbean Sea

Obviously, it is not acceptable to continue to wait for the next batch of crayfish to arrive. Today's lunch was delayed until 02:30 in the afternoon, and the girls were almost fainting from hunger.

So, since there is no more crayfish in this restaurant, Dolores asked the boss to get some other dishes to fill everyone's stomachs—it is best to serve them immediately and let everyone do it A ready-made hot dish to satisfy your hunger.

So, the chubby Mexican boss quickly took out a large soup pot from the kitchen and put it on the table, and then brought a plate of baguettes to match, and recommended with a smile, "... Try it, our signature seafood pot stew! Jambalaya still needs a little time."

Akiyama Megumi took a spoon and dipped it in for a few bites, and was immediately overwhelmed by this seafood pot.

——Dolores is not wrong to recommend, the cooking skills of this restaurant are indeed so unique.

The seafood pot stew with a tomato soup base tastes delicious and the ingredients are exquisite - the mussels are brushed clean and the black intestinal glands are carefully removed, and the prawns are boiled to a tempting In addition, octopus and scallops are added, the onions are cooked until translucent, exuding a rich sweetness, and the potatoes at the bottom of the soup absorb the soup, and the taste is excellent.

The delicious aroma of this stew will stop even a well-fed person, let alone a group of starving girls.

They quickly divided up a large pot of seafood stew. The female driver with the best appetite even thought it was not fun to eat with a spoon. She directly picked up the prawns and sucked the slightly sour and delicious soup.And the hard baguette becomes less unpalatable after being soaked in the thick soup.

After the seafood pot, jambalaya was prepared and served, which is a bit like curry rice, but with olive oil and slightly different spices.

In the white porcelain rice bowl, the deep golden rich sauce exudes a unique aroma, wrapping the snow-white rice, which makes people very appetizing.

The green peppers, onions, and celery mixed in the rice are quite ripe, and the salty taste is slightly spicy. After chewing, there is a sweet aftertaste that diffuses in the mouth, allowing the aroma of various spices to burst out in the mouth.The chicken leg meat served on the rice has been chopped, and the skin of the large boneless leg meat is fried crispy. The chicken leg meat inside is covered with a delicious sauce. The meat and gravy are overflowing with one bite, and they play together deliciously. concerto.

Then there are several local specialties. The first is a plate of white sausage called "Boudin", which is said to be a specialty of Louisiana. It is made of pork, pork liver, rice, onion and spices , according to the boss, it is absolutely not found in other states in the United States.

Then came the okra risotto, which is said to be risotto, but it is actually more like a thick soup with rice. It is a complex French cuisine similar to Provence fish soup. In a small pot of risotto, it contains Shrimp, oysters, crab meat, chicken, duck, pepperoni, okra, cheese, butter, roux and more than ten kinds of ingredients have to be simmered for a long time to get out of the pot. Represents gourmet food.

Because the quantity of okra risotto and the previous jambalaya was not much, it would be even less if there were so many people - not to mention that the black-skinned catwoman Serena is still a big eater.So Megumi Akiyama, who didn't feel full, saw a dish of red bean rice on the menu, so he ordered it.

The rest of the Japanese witches were also very curious, wanting to see the difference between American red bean rice and Japanese red bean rice.

As a result, when you take a look at it, it is not to say that it is a world of difference, at least it is completely different.

——The red bean rice in Japan is a sweet food, but the red bean rice in Louisiana is salty. In addition to rice and red beans, diced ham and sausage slices are added to it... The taste is not bad, but the garlic is added A little too much, I don't know if it is to prevent vampires.

The following dishes are more local - I saw a chubby round-faced Asian waitress, who brought up a plate of deep-fried seasoned pork rinds and a plate of roasted frogs with sauce Legs, and a roasted crocodile that is browned, crispy, and dripping with oil... Roasted baby crocodile?

Watching a whole six-seven-pound small crocodile sizzling on the delicate grill, the crocodile meat is slowly dyed a layer of crispy yellow-brown under the flame, exuding a rich meaty aroma, and then mixed Looking at the spices sprinkled by the waitress, Akiyama Hui couldn't help swallowing.

"...Uh, it's all right to eat roasted frog legs, but I didn't expect you to still eat this thing?

Dolores, you used to come here with your friends to catch crocodiles, isn't it just for roasting and eating them? "

Kei Akiyama raised her fork, poked the whole little crocodile on the grill, and asked curiously.

"...Eh? If you catch a crocodile and don't eat it, what else can you do? Make leather bags? I don't have the skills!"

Dolores blinked in bewilderment, and at the same time brandished the table knife, sliced ​​off a piece of grilled crocodile meat with rich gravy, and invited Akiyama Megumi to taste it.

Under the unfavorable hospitality, Qiu Shanhui took the grilled crocodile meat and tasted it. In all fairness, the fragrant grilled baby crocodile meat is really delicious.

Because this crocodile is still very small, the meat is very tender, without the toughness of the old muscles that crack teeth, and the fat content is also very moderate.When expertly cooked, it becomes a deliciously thick and delicious gravy with spices and a brush of cooking oil on top.

With every bite, the hot and aromatic juice will splash out, just like eating a delicate sponge, which makes people have endless aftertaste.

However, out of some inexplicable fear, the girls from Japan were a little hesitant, not daring to speak to the crocodile.

Serena, the black-skinned cat girl, ate very happily. 80.00% of a whole grilled crocodile went into her belly—although she has a cat tongue, as a cat god elect, she doesn’t seem to be eating. Why are you afraid of being hot...

So, when the fat boss brought snake soup and turtle soup in person, Akiyama Hui and the others expressed that they were not surprised.

Hey, circa Louisiana, the locals are just so wild when it comes to food.

Just like the Cantonese in China eat everything.

Assuming that Louisiana is Guangdong in the United States, the customs and customs of the Mississippi River Delta are similar to those of the Pearl River Delta!

As a drink with the meal, the boss opened a bottle of brandy for the guests - Louisiana is the home of the famous brandy, adjusted a few glasses of [brandy milk punch] by himself, in addition to the sweet one made with rum 【Red Hurricane】Cocktails and more.

The girls who are not yet of legal drinking age have fresh mint juice with ice cubes floating on it, which is very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Then there's "ginger beer," which is a ginger-lemon blend that tastes like beer but has no alcohol at all—nearly alcoholic when the grown-ups are drinking. Teenagers and girls who have reached the legal drinking age can drink this fish.

In short, all the girls were very satisfied with this meal, and they were full of wine and food, and felt that the trip was worthwhile.

However, although everyone is happy when eating, it is not so happy when the food is finished and the bill is paid.

——Nine people and a catwoman had a lunch in a small restaurant in the country. After counting tips, the boss actually charged [-] dollars? !

Per capita consumption of [-] dollars for a meal? ! !

Although it is true that I ordered some expensive hard dishes, but I didn't drink any particularly exaggerated famous wine, how can I not think it is so expensive?

"...Hey, ten thousand dollars is ten thousand dollars! So much travel expenses have been spent on this journey, don't mind this little expense!"

Megumi Akiyama, the little witch, is very open about this—as a nuclear explosion witch who appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine, she has made money quickly and easily in the past two months, so she spends it generously: Anyway, there is not enough money Just go for alms!

I don't know how many people in this world want to give her money!

"...What's more, with the speed of Wall Street's current nuclear-powered money printing machine, the dollar will not depreciate to what extent. Maybe in a few years, the next time we come here for dinner, we will Paid the $100 million bill?"

She took out her credit card and handed it to the fat boss who was full of smiles, while casually joking to everyone.

But at this moment, I am afraid that even Akiyama Hui himself did not think that there is no need to wait until a few years later, as long as next year, this joke of "100 million US dollars is only enough for one meal" will become a reality in this plane the...

sex

We all know that if people are full, they will be too lazy to move.This is especially true on hot summer days.

Therefore, after drinking and eating, Qiu Shanhui and others did not rush to leave, but ordered two pots of vanilla tea, a plate of fruit and a plate of beignets (frosted donuts, also known as French sweets). Donuts, a Louisiana specialty local snack), continue to sit and rest in the restaurant.

Because they were just shocked by the $[-] meal bill, everyone couldn't help but take out their mobile phones, connect to the restaurant's WiFi signal, and check the latest price situation... Then they saw a situation that made them completely helpless. Believe in numbers.

"...The CPI (Consumer Price Index) in July actually only increased by 19%? Doesn't this number look right?"

Ma Tong looked at the news page on his mobile phone, showing an expression of disbelief, "...Based on the meal we ate just now, and the sky-high price of gasoline added along the way, the CPI in the United States seems to have only increased by 19% Does it look like that? What nonsense is the White House talking about?"

——Although in a normal year, CP1 rose by 19% is already terrible, but according to their personal experience, the situation is far more than that.

Even in supermarkets in San Francisco, from bread to butter, from sugar to tomato sauce, from steak to pasta, as well as milk powder and milk, the prices of various foods generally increase by more than 50%. Some imported ingredients that are not produced in the United States, It even turned over several times...

In a desert town in Nevada, they even bought a gallon of gasoline at a price of more than 100 US dollars.

So, how was the 19% increase in CPI in July calculated?

"...cough cough, this number is actually not nonsense, but the official has just revised the CPI statistical caliber again. The weight of real estate has been removed before, and now food and fuel are removed from the calculation of the CPI."

The agent, Miss Freya, obviously looked at a more professional website, so she immediately pointed out the trick behind this number.

"...Then, due to the impact of the epidemic and the riots, although the prices of many commodities have risen, the prices of many things have also fallen, such as musical instruments such as pianos, etc. In this way, one positive and one negative hedge against each other, and it is concluded that This led to the conclusion that the U.S. CPI rose by only 19% in July."

"...What? The CPI doesn't count house prices and rent, nor does it count food and fuel? Then what's the point of this price index?"

Ma Tong curled her lips, "...This is the first time I've heard that there is a price calculation that excludes food. Isn't this self-deception?"

After hearing Ma Tong's complaints, the little witch Akiyama Hui also nodded slightly, expressing her complete agreement.

For the Chinese, the most intuitive feeling brought about by inflation is the price of various food in addition to house prices.

For Americans, the most intuitive feeling brought by inflation is the price of gas seen when they go to the gas station.

Now, in order to whitewash the peace, the U.S. officials have deleted all housing prices, food prices, and fuel prices from the calculation of the CPI.

It seems that Americans are all gods who eat the wind and drink the dew, ride the clouds and ride the fog, they can live in a house, don't eat, and drive without gasoline.

So, what is the meaning of the consumer price index calculated in this way?Lie to yourself?Pretend inflation isn't that bad?

Well, it's an election year, so this is the White House conducting "cognitive warfare" on its own citizens in order to cover up its incompetence in governing the country?

But this cognitive warfare is too clumsy, right?How much prices have risen, will ordinary people not know when they go to the supermarket to have a look?

Just as Qiu Shanhui was thinking this way, there was a sudden commotion around the empty restaurant. It seemed that someone was unloading goods in the parking lot outside, and the fishy smell of fresh aquatic products wafted from the door...

Uh?Could it be that the proprietress came back with the crayfish?

Akiyama Hui turned his head and looked, but saw a group of thin, dark-skinned Asians wearing round bamboo hats, carrying boxes of lively crayfish and other seafood, and filed in from outside the door.Among them were men and women, all speaking some strange, slow-paced language.

With this appearance and accent, Akiyama Megumi seems to have seen and heard it before crossing... Ah, I remembered, it was in Nha Trang, Vietnam!

But this is clearly the state of Louisiana in the United States, or in a remote rural area. How can there be so many Vietnamese?

"...well, don't you know that Louisiana has the second largest Vietnamese population in the United States?"

After listening to Akiyama Megumi's question, Dolores replied calmly, "...this shop is opened by a Vietnamese lady boss. The Mexican boss just now was the chef here, and this village is also a community of Vietnamese immigrants. ...they've been raising and catching shrimp here for decades..."

Only then did Akiyama Hui notice that there was a yellow flag with a horizontal line hanging on the wall in the corner of the restaurant.

And the restaurant waitress who served them before wore a white robe, which is also the traditional Vietnamese women's "Ao Dai"...

Uh, so I came to a village where a group of Vietnamese shrimp catchers came to eat seafood?

——It has to be said that, unlike the scumbags who are killed and buried in the United States now, the United States during the Cold War was more respectful.

During the Great Escape in Saigon in 1975, although the US embassy in Saigon left photos of the famous Cold War scene of "Saigon Iron Fist", in fact, the United States did its best to dispatch planes and warships to withdraw ex-Vietnamese and allow them to immigrate to the United States.

According to rough statistics, about 150 million Vietnamese escaped from their homeland through various channels during the Cold War and immigrated to the United States.

These Vietnamese immigrants to the United States, originally from California, formed a community called "Little Saigon" in Westminster, California.

However, the hot and dry desert environment in California is very different from their hometown in Vietnam, which has a tropical monsoon climate, high temperature and rainy weather.

Therefore, a considerable number of Vietnamese immigrants could not adapt to California's desert climate and migrated to other states.

Later, they came to the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Looking at the rivers and swamps everywhere, they felt very similar to the Mekong Delta in their hometown, so they settled on the Caribbean coast one after another.

Because the good farmland was occupied by white people, Vietnamese immigrants engaged in aquaculture and made a living by catching shrimps, and became shrimp catchers in the Caribbean.

PS: I am thinking about whether to add some plot to the San Francisco Chinese underworld lady I wrote before, and write a few chapters of the story.

But just now I wrote a segment describing my appearance and family background, and was ridiculed by the senior writer, saying that I thought of a big gold chain when I wrote about the underworld, but forgot that it was not the big brother but the big sister.

Uh, readers, is it true that only gangsters wear big gold chains so that they can run around at any time, but gangsters don't wear those things on their heads?

Chapter 233: The Siege of the United States

Although it is a bit strange to be able to see the customs and customs of the Mekong Delta in the Mississippi River Delta.

But since Dolores, a native Louisiana redneck, doesn't think it's a problem, it must be.

Moreover, the crayfish have already been caught and sent to the store. It feels a bit bad to leave without eating a crayfish feast.

While thinking this way, Akiyama Megumi looked at the sun slanting west in the sky outside the window, and the bumpy country roads between the jungles and swamps...

Uh, it's already past four o'clock in the afternoon, and this place is still more than 200 kilometers away from the destination.

If you continue on the road after dinner, you won't be able to drive very far before dark, and you may have to walk at night next.However, just relying on the muddy and broken roads in the swamps of the Louisiana countryside where "big pits connect to small pits, and pits connect to the sky", driving in the dark night...

Not to mention whether the hired female driver has such skills, even if she pats her chest and says it's okay, Akiyama Hui is not at ease!

What if the female driver accidentally slipped her steering wheel and plunged her green leather car into the swamp?

Alas, it's better not to rush this time, anyway, there is nothing urgent right now, didn't the ancients say it?Haste makes waste!

Therefore, Qiu Shanhui hesitated for a moment, and then told everyone that it was very late now, and the proprietress had just caught the crayfish.

Or, everyone just have dinner here, try crayfish, rest for the night, and leave for Dolores's farm tomorrow morning?

For this decision, all the girls enthusiastically supported it, even Dolores herself-she was not in a hurry to go home.

So, Dolores went to the proprietress to order food and choose crayfish, while the rest of the girls continued to play with their mobile phones when they were free.

Some people watched entertainment news and trailers of new movies, some played games online, and some were watching new episodes of Korean dramas, American dramas or anime.

Megumi Akiyama, on the other hand, was on the tip of his horns, trying to figure out how the US CPI rose by only 19% last month, and how it was calculated.

Then, she was surprised to find that this statistic excluded basic food, fuel and rent, but included a bunch of luxuries.

——What about "LV" bags, "Chanel" fashions and "Gucci" perfumes, etc.

The prices of these luxury goods that collect IQ tax this year can be described as a crazy crash. After all, they are almost dead. Who cares about buying luxury goods to show off?

Especially the upper-class people who are the main consumers, because of the impact of the epidemic, they hid in the mountains or islands and became cocoons. All kinds of luxurious parties and social activities have been greatly reduced. Even if they want to hold meetings, they generally switch to online. Carried on.

As a result, luxury goods such as luxury cars, fashion, jewelry and leather bags suddenly lost their largest consumer market, and their business plummeted.

——Buying luxury goods is to show off and pretend to be aggressive. If there is no occasion for showing off and pretending to be aggressive, then why buy luxury goods?

What?Will there be a chance to show off in the future?Then wait until later to buy it!

Although in order to maintain the price, the authentic products of some luxury merchants are still clenching their teeth and resisting a substantial price reduction.