Chapter 514 - 348: Would You Believe I Learned This Just for You?

Chapter 514: Chapter 348: Would You Believe I Learned This Just for You?

Jin Meiyan blinked, instantly realizing that Lin Chen’s first demonstration had been the wrong way. What he was doing now was the correct technique for prying up an abalone.

’So you have to be quick, precise, and decisive, striking before they notice, right?’

’Simple!’

Copying Lin Chen’s movements, she moved close to the rock’s surface, picked out what looked like the largest abalone, and gently placed the tip of her knife at the edge of its shell.

She narrowed her eyes. A second later, she put her strength into it, ramming the small knife under the shell, keeping it tight against the rock, and pried upward!

POP—

It felt as if some force had suddenly given way. The large abalone was instantly flipped belly-up, its rippling mantle still writhing back and forth.

She grabbed the abalone by its shell, held it high, and waved it excitedly at Lin Chen. He gave her a thumbs-up in return.

Buoyed by her success, it was as if Jin Meiyan had flipped an energy switch. She felt no fatigue at all, spending the next half hour diving up and down in the sea with no intention of stopping.

The underwater hunt finally came to an end when she broke the surface, excitedly brandishing a red Lobster the length of her forearm.

To ensure she had a good time and stayed safe, Lin Chen had hardly lifted a finger, staying by her side the entire time while recording all of her hunting exploits.

The shore was already piled high with their haul: eight massive abalones, over a dozen palm-sized oysters, one Treasure Crab, a bundle of kelp, and the large Lobster she was clutching.

Soaking wet and dripping seawater, the two made their way toward the shore.

It was only then that Jin Meiyan felt a profound exhaustion slowly welling up from deep within her.

She hadn’t really noticed it in the water, but now, nearing the shore, she found the Lobster in her hand growing heavier and heavier. What she could initially hold with one hand now required both.

"What’s wrong? Can’t hold it anymore? Out of strength? Want me to take it for you?"

Lin Chen, walking beside her, had intended to goad her a little, hoping to motivate her to carry her prize back to shore herself. He never expected that she would glance at the Lobster in her hands and simply nod without a second thought.

"Okay. My arm is killing me from holding it up. Thanks, Oppa~"

Lin Chen froze.

’Huh?’

’That’s not right.’

’Shouldn’t Koreans, with their stubborn pride, tough it out to the very end?’

’It seems she was right. I’ve really watched too many variety shows and developed a stereotype about Koreans.’

He had just reached over to take the Lobster when the once-docile creature suddenly began to thrash violently. Its tail flapped wildly, making loud SLAPPING sounds and sending a spray of water everywhere.

The sudden struggle startled them both. Fearing her prize would escape, Jin Meiyan instinctively pulled her hands back. But her arms were spent, and the Lobster’s carapace was slick. She lost her grip. It actually managed to break free, flapping its tail in mid-air as it plummeted toward the sea.

"Andwae!!!!"

Her expression changed drastically. With a shriek, she threw herself forward, pinning down the spot where the Lobster had fallen.

Amidst a huge splash of water, it was a good ten seconds before the commotion slowly subsided.

Fortunately, they were only a few meters from the shore, where the water was so shallow it barely covered the tops of their feet. Even if she hadn’t pounced on it, the Lobster couldn’t have escaped.

"Phew... You scared me to death. I thought my hard-won Lobster was getting away."

Jin Meiyan let out a long sigh of relief. She hunched over, groping around for a moment before slowly straightening up.

Lin Chen was smiling, about to reply, when his expression suddenly changed. He whipped around, turning his back to her.

"?"

Jin Meiyan, still clutching the floundering Lobster, looked up just in time to see Lin Chen turn away. A flicker of confusion crossed her face.

’What’s going on?’

As she rose from her kneeling position and took a step forward to ask him what was wrong, she caught a glimpse of a dark shape in her peripheral vision, bobbing in the waves near her feet.

Thinking it was just a piece of kelp, she instinctively looked down.

When she saw what it really was, the smile on her face instantly froze. She immediately dropped into a squat.

She didn’t make a sound. Her mind was a complete blank, and her cheeks were burning.

’When did it fall off? How did I not feel a thing?’

’Sure, she’d been trying to find a way to make Oppa’s gaze linger on her, but... not like this!!’

’Ah!’

’That’s right!’ ℴ

’It must have been when I was grabbing the Lobster. Its tail did slap against me a few times.’

’Damn you, stupid Lobster, you’ve utterly humiliated me!!!’

She kept her head down, so embarrassed it felt like steam was rising from it. One hand clutched the Lobster, the other clutched the wet piece of her bikini top.

And now for the problem.

She could take it off with one hand, but there was no way she could put it back on with just one.

And in her current state, there was no way she could control the Lobster with only one hand.

She glanced up at Lin Chen’s back, bit her lower lip, and forced herself to stand up. Her voice trembled slightly.

"O... Oppa... c-can you reach your hand back? Help me hold the Lobster."

Lin Chen swallowed hard. He silently reached a hand behind him, fingers spread.

Thankfully, the Lobster seemed to have exhausted its energy and didn’t struggle further. He gripped it firmly in his palm, and it stayed still.

A few seconds later, Jin Meiyan’s voice sounded again.

"O-Okay... I’m done... Let’s hurry back to shore!"

With that, she practically fled toward the shore, leaving Lin Chen with nothing but the sight of her pale, flustered back.

By the time Lin Chen reached the shore, she was already fully dressed. Her previously dry clothes were now visibly damp, especially her white T-shirt, which revealed the dark color of what was underneath and clung tightly to her curves. The effect was somehow even more alluring than before.

In her current state, Jin Meiyan was extremely sensitive; she felt his gaze on her chest the very instant it landed there.

While a small part of her was secretly pleased, the memory of the embarrassing scene made her feel like she might faint from shame. Her face burned as if two hot irons were pressed against her cheeks.

’I’m not usually this clumsy. Why do I turn into a helpless idiot as soon as I’m out in the wild?’

Instinctively, she raised a hand to cover her chest.

Lin Chen hadn’t meant anything by it; it was just an instinctive glance. But when he saw her raise her hand to cover herself, he immediately realized he’d been caught red-handed.

"Ahem..."

He coughed quickly and, in his embarrassment, bent down to gather their haul from the ground. He wrapped everything in his jacket, grabbed it, and started walking back the way they came.

"Uh, we should hurry back and warm up by the fire. It’s not that cold out, but you can still catch a cold in wet clothes!"

The girl followed behind him with her head lowered, her face bright red. She answered in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

"Ne~"

...

A bright fire blazed, sending waves of heat and a chorus of CRACKLES and POPS toward them.

Jin Meiyan sat by the bonfire hugging her knees, only her big, beautiful eyes peeking out. She quietly tilted her head, watching the man sitting cross-legged beside her as he prepared the large abalones.

He made it look effortless. With a light scrape of his knife along the inside of the shell, the entire abalone muscle came free.

He removed the dark green viscera and the abalone’s mouth—the part at the top shaped like a pair of scissors—leaving only the edible portion.

"Oppa, are the parts you removed inedible?"

She asked, taking the initiative to break the awkward silence.

"Not necessarily. They’re edible. Some high-end Japanese and Western restaurants make a sauce, abalone liver pâté, using this dark green abalone liver."

"Animal organs can be high in heavy metals. When it’s wild-caught, I wouldn’t recommend eating them for safety’s sake, unless you have the professional expertise to know they’re safe."

"This part that looks like a feeler is its mouth, which it uses for eating. Since abalones eat kelp and seaweed, there can be residual sand and grit in there that would ruin the texture."

"Oh, I see... I’ve been eating abalone for years, and this is the first I’m hearing any of this."

She nodded lightly. She watched Lin Chen slice the cleaned abalone diagonally into paper-thin, translucent pieces. Seeing the pot of water boiling over the charcoal fire, she asked curiously.

"What are you doing now? Boiling the abalone slices?"

"Just a quick blanch to sterilize it. It’ll taste best right now, when it’s at its absolute freshest."

As soon as he finished speaking, he finished slicing two whole abalones and tossed the pieces into the boiling water, giving them a quick stir to separate them.

They didn’t need to cook for long; seven or eight seconds was more than enough.

Western cooking has strict food safety regulations, like how the core temperature of different meats needs to reach a certain degree for a certain number of seconds to be considered safe to eat.

But those rules really apply to stews and roasts—in other words, thick cuts of meat.

With a thin-slicing technique like this, common in Chinese cooking, the ingredients are cut as thin as a cicada’s wing, practically translucent. The moment they hit the boiling water, there’s no such thing as a "core." The entire piece instantly reaches one hundred degrees Celsius.

At that temperature, you don’t need to wait even ten seconds. A few seconds is all it takes to kill off all bacteria and parasites. There’s no need to worry about getting sick.

As for the online comments claiming that blanching food for just a few seconds in the wild is either harmful to others or just asking for trouble, he usually couldn’t be bothered to respond. He’d just laugh and scroll past.

’Learn to cook before you spend all day watching videos.’

The blanched abalone slices curled up slightly, looking very much like slices of whelk. Their translucent quality had turned into a familiar, creamy-beige color.

He placed the abalone slices back into their shells, added a dollop of Korean chili paste, and ladled a spoonful of the hot broth over them. A quick stir and you had a simple, spicy abalone salad.

"I’m surprised, Oppa. Your Korean cooking is pretty authentic. Did you learn how before, or did you learn just for me?"

Lin Chen placed her portion of abalone in front of her, glancing at her as he passed over the twig chopsticks.

"If I said I learned it just for you, would you believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn’t I?"

"Alright, the truth is I picked it up from watching Korean variety shows. Korean cooking techniques are very straightforward. The methods are simple, the seasonings are simple... you can pick it up just by watching a little. Don’t be offended."

"I’m not," Jin Meiyan said, shaking her head, her expression calm. "I may be Korean, but I have to admit, Korean food is pretty one-dimensional. The truth is, more than half of what Koreans eat on a regular basis is foreign cuisine."