Chapter 4119: When the Pumpkins Ripen (12)

By noon, it was windy outside again. This time, the strong wind couldn't disperse the dark clouds, and soon a torrential rain arrived. However, the stronger the wind and rain outside, the warmer and more comfortable it felt inside the house.

The preliminary preparation work for the dessert was almost done: the white chocolate shells were put into the freezer to keep cool, the sauce and wafers were already made, and the chestnut puree was also mashed out, just waiting to be assembled before leaving in the evening.

Then they began to prepare today's lunch together. The Main Universe Batman and Barry went to the woods to chop some firewood, while Greed took out the farm-raised chicken he brought from Marvel, put it in a pot, stewed it with chestnuts, and added some potatoes and chili peppers. The whole house was filled with a rich, meaty fragrance.

While Greed was making the stew, Arrogance went to cut a piece of pumpkin. Then he discovered that this pumpkin was indeed as others said, easy to store—just thrown in the courtyard like this, although the cut wound from before had darkened a bit, as long as a small part was shaved off, the flesh inside was still very fresh and tender, looking completely unspoiled.

Boiling porridge with millet and rice, then scooping out the pumpkin flesh and putting it in, crushing it in the pot until the whole pumpkin dissolved into the porridge, slowly boiling it until it was very thick, without adding any sugar, it had a slightly sweet fragrance.

Immediately after, the pumpkin was cut into triangular pieces, topped with fish fillets, shrimp, and green peppers, drizzled with white sauce and chili sauce, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, and put into the oven to bake. This is a Cat Getan specialty snack that often appears in pier restaurants: large chunks of pumpkin are filling, the seafood tastes delicious, and the cheese provides sufficient energy, which is very popular among heavy manual laborers.

Then there was the refreshing arugula, mixed with a little sauce, making it a refreshing arugula salad that cuts through the grease.

After the meal was ready, the few gathered around the fireplace to eat. The main dish was a large pot of chestnut stewed chicken, the staple food was seafood baked pumpkin and porridge, and the vegetable dish was arugula.

Don't look at Batman basically not eating stimulating foods, but he could even eat chili peppers without changing his expression; I don't know if he is really not afraid of spicy, or just hard-pressed. But Barry is really good at eating spicy food, looking like he didn't eat less of those pier snacks since he was a child.

Because it is near the sea and the climate is humid and cold, Cat Getan's cuisine is similar to heavy-flavored Spanish food, with various spicy sauces paired with seafood; and because there are Italian immigrants, they also quite like tomatoes and cheese. It may also be that suffering achieves art; even a madman like the Joker has to buy groceries and cook at home after beating Batman, so compared to the East Coast, Cat Getan can also be considered a gourmet capital, especially near the old East District pier, which is truly a hundred flowers blooming.

"I loved running to the pier when I was a child," Barry said while eating, "When I was at home, my parents didn't like me eating chili sauce because it would make them red-faced and coughing. They also said eating too much chili would cause hair loss—how is that possible!"

"When I was in school, I ran to the pier with my classmates; his father worked in a warehouse over there. After we finished our homework, we went to the snack street next to it to eat. There was a grilled octopus place there, it was simply delicious, and Jason introduced it to me. The octopus wasn't dry at all; when you bit into it, it felt like it was still alive, so tender it was kicking its legs. Their sauce was Mexican-style; the first time I ate it, I was so spicy I almost jumped into the sea, but later I fell in love with that taste..."

Arrogance had actually eaten at some pier restaurants. These restaurants have large portions and are affordable, and basically every restaurant has signature dishes, and the ingredients are diverse and varied; unlike some high-end restaurants in the West District or South District, where the menus of all restaurants are about the same, either small ribs or various fish, and even the desserts are very formulaic, basically all small cakes with different flavors in layers, eating them without any surprises.

And in this table of dishes today, besides the chestnut stewed chicken, the most popular was the seafood baked pumpkin. Cheese is something I don't know who researched, but it tastes fragrant no matter how you eat it, and it doesn't seem abrupt with anything; if it doesn't taste good, then change to another kind, there is always a kind of cheese that is delicious.

Cat Getan didn't have any natural plants before, let alone trees that would bear chestnuts, so people here basically don't eat chestnuts. Batman hasn't eaten much either; most of the chestnuts he ate before were desserts, and they were all that kind of chestnut puree that was mashed into thin pieces and couldn't taste the original texture at all.

And the chestnuts in the chestnut stewed chicken were peeled and thrown in directly, tasting powdery, but still having a bit of chewiness. The Main Universe Batman obviously loved this texture and took a bag of chestnuts when he left. Barry also took some, saying he wanted to take them back for his parents to taste.

About half of the large box of chestnuts remained. Arrogance calculated that he should be able to send some to acquaintances, especially to Pamela; maybe next year he could eat chestnuts the size of fists.

Because it was storming now and he couldn't go out, Arrogance simply sorted the chestnuts, planning to bring them directly to them when he went to see the performance in the evening.

When the theater was about to open, Arrogance and Greed began to assemble the desserts. This dessert was actually filling various sauces and fillings into white chocolate crispy shells: first, some chestnut puree as a base, then sprinkle a layer of crispy wafers, drizzle a layer of sauce, then another layer of crushed wafers, and finally a little lemon peel shavings. To neutralize the overly sweet taste, a little lemon juice was squeezed in.

After assembling, close it, stick the gap with chocolate, apply a little chocolate sauce on the outside, and sprinkle a layer of coconut shavings, so it becomes a bit like Ferrero, but without such a rich chocolate flavor—the main body is a sweet taste with a fresh lemon fragrance, the chestnut puree adds some solid texture, and the crispy wafers are also interesting to chew. Considering it was for the children, Greed also sprinkled a layer of popping candy on the outside.

After making them, put them into paper liners one by one, then put them into the cardboard one by one, stack them, and put them in a basket.

In such weather, one must drive. Arrogance went to the garage to get the car, Greed took everything, put it in the trunk, and the two drove toward the theater together.

They thought the bad weather might affect the thank-you performance, but they didn't expect that when they arrived, both large and small parking spaces were full. They had to settle for second best, walk a bit further, and only then found a place to park.

The parking place was relatively far, and they had to walk a distance in the rain; Greed simply took Arrogance with gray mist, and the two went upstairs together. Thanks to Arrogance—he is a loyal audience of the theater, basically attending every show, and has also given many suggestions to the theater troupe—so he has a box on the second floor.

The Main Universe Batman also arrived; Arrogance shared a ticket with him, and he also came to the box where Arrogance was. Then there were Bruce and Alberto, but they went to the box next door, together with Oliver and Pamela and the others.

Not long after, Gordon and the others also arrived, but they didn't have a box and were all in the lobby downstairs. Seeing that the time was about right, Arrogance went down to exchange pleasantries with them.

Of course, the main task was to distribute candy. Just as Greed expected, the schools had already started their Halloween break, so the children of course had to come along. The audience on the first floor was basically dragging their families along, and the desserts made by Greed were simply very popular.

Everyone who has been a parent knows that the time before the movie starts is the most difficult to endure—most children cannot understand why the movie cannot start immediately, so they will ask repeatedly, perhaps at a frequency of once every few seconds. In order to plug their mouths, even the strictest parents usually might buy them popcorn or french fries.

The candy brought by Greed saved countless parents who hadn't bought snacks. The theater environment, after all, isn't as casual as a movie theater, and one can't just come holding popcorn and cola, but those small candies couldn't effectively divert the children's attention.

The chocolate balls brought by Greed weren't very big, looked relatively elegant, and were very suitable for the theater environment. Most importantly, compared to candy, they were more like toys. When children received this kind of candy, they wouldn't eat it immediately: they would take a bite to see the structure inside, or simply find where the seam was, break it into two halves to lick, or start picking up the coconut shavings that fell on their clothes. Two candies could be eaten for more than ten minutes; by the time the candy was finished, the play had also started.

All the candy Arrogance took down was distributed instantly. When he walked back, he said, "You were right, we should have made more; these weren't enough to distribute at all. Two children were about to cry."

"That's because you never gave them candy before, and they were moved to tears, right?" Greed snorted and said, "You don't know how to please children at all. I'm different; the children at Arkham Asylum all listen to me; I am the child king."

"Why on earth did you name your asylum that?" The Main Universe Batman still couldn't help but say, "Every time you mention this asylum..."

"Does it evoke many bad memories for you?"

"Not at all. I'm always thinking, if only you could be the director of Arkham Asylum."

"Then the one who would be crazy would be the Joker," Arrogance sat down and said, "We also managed Arkham Asylum here before; at that time, he was the one filling in, not to mention how smoky and chaotic it was."

"You are slandering; clearly under my management, Arkham Asylum was in good order..."

"Yes, the mentally ill were discharged, and the ones living there were all gang bosses; could the order not be good?"

The few chatted while watching the play, and soon it reached the climax of the play. Selina, wearing a long dress, sang while walking, her highly penetrating voice resounding through the entire theater. As the first high note fell, the entire theater erupted in intense cheers.

And Bruce took this opportunity to slip into the box where Arrogance was, shaking the shiny engagement ring on his middle finger: "She is really special, right? Even if there are countless Selinas in countless universes, my fiancée is the most special one. This isn't just referring to her being beautiful, or her profession being different from others—can you imagine? Her confidence is natural, as if she was born to be in the spotlight. Everyone who has seen her performance will believe in fate; they will believe that there are some people in this world who are born to be superstars..." ===== CHAPTER 4120 =====