Future Pet Shop-Chapter 46: Hah’Er’s Special Lamb Skewers

As things stood, the shop had only just opened and didn’t get much foot traffic. Finding a customer among so few who could meet the requirements to buy Cheeky wasn’t going to be easy. It would take some insane luck, and Shen Yibin’s luck had always been abysmal. If he just waited around in the shop, he was probably screwed.

’Maybe I should try posting an ad? Put it on my social media feed, ask friends to share it, and see if I can find a suitable buyer?’ With that thought, Shen Yibin pulled out his phone. CLICK, CLICK. He snapped two photos of Cheeky, uploaded them to his feed, and began to compose the text: "For sale: One Blue-fronted Amazon parrot, complete with import and pedigree certificates. This parrot has exceptional language skills, guaranteed to blow you away."

’If anyone sees what a little wiseass this thing is and isn’t moved, I’ll eat a pound of crap,’ Shen Yibin silently swore, then continued editing: "Selling price is just thirty-eight thousand, three hundred eighty-four yuan and thirty-eight cents. Price is firm."

He was about to post it when he couldn’t resist adding another line: "P.S. Any prospective buyer must possess significant skill in playing a musical instrument and singing, or I will absolutely refuse to sell. Please help me share this, everyone. Thanks in advance from Bin!" He checked it over one more time and, satisfied there were no issues, hit post.

’Sigh, from now on, I’ll post this once a day for a month and see what happens. If that still doesn’t work, I guess I’ll have to think of another way.’ After posting, Shen Yibin took out the leg of lamb he had bought earlier. He cut it into small, rectangular strips, placed them in a bowl, and mixed in some onion and a pinch of fine salt to marinate. Then, he found the bamboo that people had brought for Hah’Er that morning, went to the kitchen for a small knife, and started splitting the stalks into skewers. Hah’Er wouldn’t be able to eat this much bamboo anyway, and it wouldn’t be fresh if it sat around for too long, so he might as well turn it into skewers for lamb kebabs.

"Hah’Er, how about I make you some lamb kebabs tonight?" Shen Yibin asked as he whittled the bamboo into skewers.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Hah’Er, who was currently dragging a basket around to feed the other pets, nodded enthusiastically. Lamb was a panda’s favorite type of meat. Just the thought of its delicious flavor made him drool.

"Want to try some, too?" Shen Yibin recalled that Amazon parrots’ favorite food was figs, followed by berries, nuts, flowers, seeds, fruits, and the tender buds from treetop blossoms; they didn’t seem to eat meat. ’But this one came from the Future Pet Shop. Since the panda from the Future Pet Shop likes twice-cooked pork, it wouldn’t be that strange if this Amazon parrot had some peculiar tastes, too, right?’

"Er... um, that lamb you made yesterday... it smelled pretty good?" Cheeky sounded hesitant. This was a food it had never tried before. ’Could it really be tastier than my fig salad?’ But then it recalled how heartily Shen Yibin and Hah’Er had been eating yesterday, and its certainty wavered. ’Maybe... maybe I should give it a try?’

"You probably can’t handle spicy food, right? I’ll make a couple of non-spicy skewers just for you later." Even though the little guy was annoying, the thought that he was destined to be sold to someone else made Shen Yibin feel a pang of reluctance. ’Well, I might as well make him happy while he’s still here.’

He spent an hour whittling a huge pile of skewers. The bamboo was all freshly cut, and grilling meat on them would impart a faint, fresh fragrance. This would help cut through the lamb’s gaminess and richness; what’s more, it would be perfectly suited to Hah’Er’s tastes.

By now, the lamb had finished marinating. Shen Yibin deftly threaded the meat onto the skewers. He and Xu Ye used to drive out to the countryside for camping and barbecues all the time, so not only was he a dab hand at this, but he even had his own grill at home. He wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble otherwise. Once everything was ready, Shen Yibin led Hah’Er and Cheeky up to the second floor.

He moved the grill out onto the balcony, lit the charcoal, and got the barbecue started. He spread the meat skewers out over the grate so they would cook evenly, and before long, the savory aroma of roasting meat filled the air.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Hah’Er craned his neck, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the meat on the grill. He kept slurping up his drool, seemingly unable to contain his excitement.

"Here, want to give it a try?" Seeing his eager expression, Shen Yibin decided to just hand a small bundle of skewers to Hah’Er. ’His theoretical knowledge is so solid, controlling the heat shouldn’t be a problem, right? Grilling kebabs isn’t that complicated. Hah’Er’s big old bear paws are definitely up to the task.’

"Yeah! Yeah!" Hah’Er nodded again and again, deftly taking the lamb skewers and starting to flip them over the charcoal. His technique was a bit clumsy at first, but his solid theoretical knowledge quickly kicked in. His movements grew more and more proficient, until he looked even more seasoned than Shen Yibin, the old pro himself.

’Holy crap. If I ever go broke, I could just bring Hah’Er to a night market to sell kebabs. People would probably pay twenty yuan a skewer, right? You can find lamb kebabs everywhere, but how many people have ever eaten one grilled by a panda? I could even have a special offer: buy fifty skewers, get a free photo with the panda! Earning over ten thousand yuan a day wouldn’t be a dream at all!’

Of course, that was just Shen Yibin fantasizing. It was one thing to grill some food for themselves, but how could he ever bear to make Hah’Er work that hard? ’Besides,’ he thought, ’if I really wanted to make money off Hah’Er, wouldn’t it be way easier to just start a livestream?’

"Mmm!" While Shen Yibin had been lost in his fantasy, the meat had just about finished cooking. It was time to add the seasonings.

"Here, put these on and do it yourself." Shen Yibin slipped a pair of gloves onto Hah’Er’s paws and pushed the tray of seasonings in front of him. He’d been cooking for Hah’Er for so long; it was about time he got to taste his culinary skills.

First, he added a pinch of sugar to get rid of any gamey taste and to tenderize the meat. Then he brushed on the sauce and sprinkled it with cumin powder. Hah’Er’s movements looked a little clumsy, but they weren’t slow at all. In fact, they had a peculiar rhythm to them. One look was all it took to see that his skills were anything but ordinary.

"Hmm..." When it was time to add the chili powder, Hah’Er hesitated. He set a couple of skewers aside, sprinkled the powder on the rest, and then handed the two non-spicy ones to Cheeky. The spicy ones he gave to Shen Yibin.

’Damn,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’I only mentioned once that Cheeky probably couldn’t handle spicy food, and Hah’Er actually remembered. What a considerate little guy.’

"Uh, thanks." Cheeky seemed quite moved. For once, he didn’t call Hah’Er "Hey, you silly panda." He reached out a claw, grabbed the skewer, blew on it a little to cool it down, and then started pecking at the meat. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Hmm, the flavor isn’t half bad," Cheeky said, trying to act nonchalant. But his pecking speed picked up noticeably. The fig salad Shen Yibin had made him just a moment ago was now completely forgotten, cast aside as he focused all his attention on devouring the two lamb skewers.

"Hah’Er! More skewers!" Shen Yibin and Cheeky shouted in unison, putting down their clean-picked bamboo sticks. They had both been completely won over by Hah’Er’s culinary skills.