Chapter 184: Bunnies Are So Cute, Add More Spice
Holding one package, Eriri couldn't understand the Chinese characters and couldn't guess what was inside, only knowing it must be very spicy.
"What… what is this?"
Asakura Reiko knew Eriri would react this way and said with a smile, "We bought these when we were in Sichuan, Chengdu. They're very delicious!"
"It looks very spicy…"
Eriri said, looking at Kaede beside her, "Kaede-kun, do you know what this is?"
"I do. I ate a lot of them when I used to travel with my parents."
Their whole family could eat spicy food, and Kaede had been trained since childhood.
However, he didn't plan to tell Eriri directly. Instead, he said, "Don't worry, this is definitely very delicious, and it's not bugs or anything. Eriri, why don't you try it first?"
With a mix of doubt and trust, Eriri watched Kaede take the bag, open it, put on disposable gloves for her, and then hand her one.
After removing some of the chili seeds from the surface, Eriri finally made out the general shape: "Is this… the head of something? Can this be eaten?"
"Of course, it can be eaten."
Seeing that Eriri was hesitant to eat it, Asakura Reiko immediately encouraged her, "Eriri, you must try everything! Delicious food shouldn't just be judged by its appearance; you only know when you taste it yourself! Kaede-kun, help Eriri break it open and teach her how to eat it."
"OK, I'm good at this."
Kaede nodded, put on his gloves without hesitation, took the spicy rabbit head, directly broke it at the teeth, and then handed the lower part to Eriri.
"Here, try it. This part has the most meat."
After taking it, although it smelled very fragrant and spicy, making Eriri's mouth water, she was still a bit hesitant to eat it.
"Um, Kaede-kun, can you tell me what it is exactly? This shouldn't be a snake or anything, right?"
"Don't worry, this is a very common food in China," Kaede said with a smile. "You try it first, and no matter if you like it or not, I'll tell you the answer."
Eriri nodded, carefully opened her mouth, and took a small bite.
"Delicious! Although it's very numbing and spicy, it's delicious!"
Even though it was almost unbearably spicy, Eriri couldn't help but keep eating. Sometimes, eating spicy food is like this: you know you can't handle it, but you still can't resist wanting to eat it.
Soon, without Kaede needing to say much, Eriri had almost finished gnawing on it, eating not only the meat but also the tongue.
Quickly taking a sip of the prepared yogurt, Eriri asked, "Kaede-kun, Auntie Reiko, what exactly is this?"
Kaede looked at his mom, who just smiled and gestured, so Kaede said, "This is a rabbit head. It's a very famous snack in Sichuan, called spicy rabbit head."
"…Huh?"
Eriri was stunned, slow to react: "Rabbit… rabbit head? It wouldn't be a rabbit's, rabbit head, would it?"
Seeing Kaede and Asakura Reiko both nod, Eriri was completely dumbfounded.
"Bunnies… bunnies are so cute, how can you eat them, boo hoo hoo!!!"
Before she could finish, Kaede broke off a piece of the remaining rabbit head and stuffed it into Eriri's mouth.
Although she felt repulsed after knowing what it was, the constantly lingering taste in her mouth was irresistible, and Eriri slowly finished gnawing on it.
On the other side, Asakura Kiichi, who had been silently drinking tea, watched the entire process and gave a wry smile.
After eating, Eriri looked at the pile of small bones in front of her, licked her lips, and fell into contemplation.
"Bunnies… bunnies… adding chili makes them quite tasty…"
(T/N: Noooo, Eriri got brainwashed by bunnies with chili😭😭)
Besides spicy rabbit heads, Asakura Reiko also brought back spicy rabbit legs and some other snacks like beef jerky.
After taking out all the items, Asakura Reiko said with a smile, "Oh, this rare trip was really fun!"
Eriri didn't hear any of these words; she was still caught in the dilemma of bunnies being cute and also delicious with chili.
Kaede had never seen Eriri like this before, but it wasn't hard to understand. After all, many elementary and middle schools had places to keep small animals to cultivate students' compassion, and bunnies were definitely among them.
But Kaede didn't have such concerns. Bunnies are cute, and they're also delicious, so isn't that even better?
When Eriri came back to her senses, she saw Kaede pick up a rabbit head himself and start gnawing on it. After a brief internal struggle, her desire for food ultimately triumphed over her affection for bunnies.
"Kaede-kun, share some with me!"
"Just get another one yourself."
"It's too spicy…"
There was no other way; he had to share some of his rabbit head with Eriri. Fortunately, there was still plenty, enough to last them a good while.
After eating, Kaede wiped his mouth, finished the yogurt in his cup, and looked at his mom, saying, "Mom, Auntie Sawamura Sayuri and Uncle Spencer will be coming over later. Is there anything you'd like for dinner?"
Asakura Reiko asked with a smile, "Dinner, huh? Are you and Eriri going to prepare it, Kaede-kun?"
"Of course! You just got back today, so we can't let you do the cooking, Mom."
Asakura Reiko nodded in satisfaction and said, "In that case, there's a shop you can go to, Kaede-kun. I know the owner there; I ordered some rabbit meat from her earlier—not prepared ones, but whole rabbits. You can buy other things as you see fit, and then Mom will make you a spicy diced rabbit dish to try!"
Alright, it seemed like today was going to be a battle of wills with bunnies.
Kaede, of course, readily agreed and immediately went out to buy groceries without wasting any time.
After buying a large pile of ingredients and picking up the rabbit meat from the shop his mom had ordered from, Kaede returned with his hands full.
When he returned, the Sawamura couple had also arrived. Asakura Reiko was currently showing Sawamura Sayuri photos from their trip on her phone. Eriri was also leaning in from the other side, curiously looking on.
As for the two middle-aged men, they were holding cigarettes, chatting and drinking tea from a distance.
Seeing Kaede return, Eriri immediately got up and went over, helping Kaede carry a bag: "Kaede-kun, what did you buy?"
"I bought a lot. I saw some excellent ribs and very good steaks at the supermarket, so I bought them all."
He checked the time; it was three-thirty, so they could start preparing.
Watching the two of them busy themselves in the kitchen, Asakura Reiko said softly with a beaming smile, "Originally, I was worried that these two children living on their own might become lazy, but it seems that's not the case at all. Sayuri, you can also rest assured; Kaede-kun is very good to Eriri."
"Of course, I'm relieved."
Sawamura Sayuri nodded and said, "Reiko, you probably don't know yet, do you? Kaede-kun asked me for a favor before."
The two ladies lowered their voices and began to whisper.