Warm Dinner

They arrived at the supermarket, and Yoko took the initiative herself. She carefully selected beef, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, konjac, tofu and other ingredients. She also bought a few fresh eggs and a bottle of juice.

When they returned to the apartment, Yoko knew that Kazuya didn't like the smell of her home, so she wasn't afraid of hard work. She brought the induction cooker, bowls and chopsticks, knife boards, seasonings, and small square tables over one by one, and then held the knife, ready to show off her cooking skills.

But looking at the expression on her face, she was not very confident. After all, she had only seen it on TV a few times.

Kazuya took the knife with a smile, "Yoko, I'll do it!" Although this kid had good intentions, she had some difficulty holding the knife.

"Does Onisan know how to cook?" Yoko was worried about wasting these ingredients. She had only seen Kazuya buy bento since she met him. Boys shouldn't know how to cook, right?

Kazuya smiled confidently, "I work part-time in an izakaya, Yoko. It's a piece of cake." 

He really wasn't bragging. Sukiyaki is a home-cooked dish, not to mention that he was now up to [Cooking] LV 6.

It wasn't that he wanted to level up purposely, but he was working at night, peeling radishes, boiling eggs, frying shrimps, etc., and he got promoted to this level in a daze.

"Then I'll help you!" Yoko refused to be idle.

Kazuya quickly peeled off the green onions, cut the green onions into 5cm sections, cut the stems of the shiitake mushrooms with a cross-cut knife, and cut the tofu into slices. He directly cut off the roots of the enoki mushrooms. Then he mixed soy sauce, mirin and sugar into a sauce and set it aside. He said to Yoko "Yoko, heat up the pot!"

Kazuya moved very fast, and Yoko looked dazzled from the side. Onisan is so handsome, has a good personality, excels in studies, is even better at fighting, and now he is even very proficient in cooking?

For a moment, she felt a little sour in her heart, wondering by which girl would such a perfect brother be taken advantage of...

"Yoko, turn on the induction cooker." Kazuya saw Yoko dazed beside him and thought she didn't understand, so he ordered again. At the same time, he held two eggs and knocked them on the edge of the bowl one after another without stopping.

"Ah, yes, Onisan!" Yoko came to her senses, quickly turned on the induction cooker, and then went to put all the processed ingredients on the table.

Kazuya placed a bowl of raw egg in front of her and threw a small piece of pure white beef fat into the pot. Then he activated the skill [Five Flavors].

This skill was given when the [Home Cooking] skill was upgraded to LV 5. It is not very useful but to make the five flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty in line with the characteristics of the dish, regardless of whether the person likes which flavor. Everyone will find it suitable for their own taste. For example, when making tofu pudding, as long as he activates this skill, he can add both sugar and soy sauce. As for whether the diners taste it sweet or salty, it depends on which flavor they like.

Kazuya saw that Yoko attached great importance to the beef hot pot, so he didn't want to disappoint her. He activated this skill and felt that it was worth it even if it consumes a little vitality.

After the beef fat had melted slightly, Kazuya put in the scallions, gently pulled them with chopsticks, and slowly fried them until the aroma came out, then put in the beef slices and fried them together.

The beef slices were cooked quickly and were slightly curled. The aroma of onions and meat mixed together, making Yoko swallow a mouthful of saliva. She glanced at Kazuya with some embarrassment and found that he had been focusing on the pot and didn't notice it. But just after she breathed a sigh of relief, Kazuya smiled and said: "Don't Hurry, it will be okay soon."

Yoko's face immediately turned red to the tips of her ears. She quickly picked up the juice bottle and pretended to be busy pouring drinks. She weakly concealed it, "I'm not in a hurry..."

As she spoke, there was a louder swallowing sound next to her. She turned around and saw Toratoro sitting not far away. Kazuya also heard it, turned to look at it, and said, "You can't eat this, go and eat your can."

Toratoro was upset, but he didn't dare to disobey Kazuya. It got up and sat in the corner of the room, but still looked here with its tongue hanging out, looking very pitiful.

"Onisan..." Yoko couldn't bear it. Toratoro meant something different to her. For a while, it was the source of her warmth and wasn't an ordinary pet.

Kazuya turned down the heat and started to put in other ingredients. He started pouring in the sauce and said: "No, Yoko. There are green onions in the main ingredient. Toratoro will vomit after eating it."

Green onions are food for humans but poison for dogs. Onions contain some chemical elements which can oxidize a dog's hemoglobin. Based on Toratoro's body, it's estimated that it would urinate blood if it eats two cooked onion segments, and may even die directly.

Yoko was taken aback. She didn't expect that her kindness almost harmed her friend. She was frightened for a while, "Is that so? It's so dangerous! How did Onisan know?"

"I read it in the book." Kazuya chatted, covered the pot and started to simmer. 

Although Japanese hot pot is derived from Chinese hot pot, it has been very different since its development. The biggest difference is that there is less soup. Basically, it only need to add a small amount of water or stock, otherwise simply don't add it and rely on the ingredients to simmer.

Soon the pot began to gurgle and steam began to rise. Yoko watched the rising and falling of the ingredients crowded together in the pot attentively for a while, and suddenly her eyes became moist. The dream did come true!

She murmured softly: "It looks so beautiful!" She had carefully mentioned that she wanted to go eat Sukiyaki with her mother, but after being scolded, she never dared to ask again. Now that she could have it with Kazuya once, she felt even better. He regarded her as his sister and really cared about her, just like his family members.

The pot kept ringing, and Kazuya was busy wiping his sweat. He didn't hear clearly and asked, "What did you say, Yoko?"

Yoko held up the cup with her two little hands, shook her head lightly and said with a sweet smile, "Nothing, I wish Onisan a good score in the exam!" 

"Thank you!" Kazuya clinked the cups with her and took a sip. He opened the lid of the pot, took a look at it and said with a satisfied smile: "It's okay, Yoko."

"Itatakimasu!" Yoko exclaimed as she smelled the fragrance and clapped her hands lightly, then looked at Kazuya and waited for him to eat first.

What a sweet little girl! Kazuya picked out a chopstick of beef and put it in her bowl. "You're welcome. Have a taste to see if it tastes to your liking."

"Yes, Onisan!" Yoko happily picked up the beef and stuffed it into her mouth. Then she raised her face and narrowed her eyes into a thin slit. It's full of happiness, "Tender, sweet, and fragrant!"

Kazuya picked a chopstick of beef and put it into his mouth. He felt it was very tender and smooth, and it was salty and fragrant. He secretly nodded: So Yoko is a sweetie, but I am a saltie!

Then he looked up and saw Yoko bringing him a piece of tofu. He quickly stretched out his bowl to take it. "Do you think it's yummy?"

Yoko nodded vigorously: "Of course! It tastes like happiness. This is the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life!"

Kazuya burst into laughter and gave her a shiitake mushroom in return, "At your age, it's too early to tell the whole life. You and I will get better and better, so you must have confidence in the future!"

"Yes, Onisan!" Yoko began to believe Kazuya's words.

The two people were talking while eating. The hot food made both of them sweat profusely, but they didn't care much. Hot pot is really suitable for family members to eat together, at least they felt that it feels like home.One had a mother worse than not to have a mother, the other lived lonely. When they gather together, they both felt that their hearts are full of warmth.

Toratoro was left alone in the corner of the room. Seeing that its two owners ignored it, it lay down sadly and covered its nose with its two front paws.

It also hopes to get better and better in the future. It would be great if it could eat beef once a week.