What does this guy know? Does he know how hard it is for me to support a studio with nearly a hundred people?
Tsukada Satake was disdainful of the chef's pretentiousness, but he didn't show it directly and ordered a side of cold buckwheat noodles.
"I'm hungry, whatever. After eating the noodles, go home as soon as possible." Tsukada thought like this.
He felt that the people in this store were a little weird, but because of his unbearable hunger, he didn't want to care too much. He just wanted to finish his supper quickly, then go home and take a shower and take a short nap. There will be more important things tomorrow.
The work is waiting for him to do.
"Guest, please wait."
The chef opposite nodded to Tsukada politely.
Then, two more uniformed waiters came over and gave Mr. Tsukada a serving of edamame and a glass of draft beer.
"This is a gift from our store, please enjoy it," the waiter said.
"Does a store with such a small area need so many people?" Tsukada became even more confused.
Although the staff in this soba shop have decent service attitude, they are just weird.
Tsukada twisted a piece of edamame and squeezed the emerald-green beans into his mouth.
The edamame soaked in salt water is just right, and the draft beer is refreshing and sweet.
Pairing snacks with wine can relieve people's fatigue.
However, the feeling given to Tsukada Satake is just like that. As the operator of the studio, he is also considered a rich man. He has eaten all the exquisite and high-end food. Once he gets used to it, it feels like this.
The food from the roadside shop didn't give him too many surprises.
Tsukada is too busy, and the time in life is too short. He only seizes the day and night. In a person's day, he must invest time in trivial matters such as eating and sleeping. But after excluding these time, how much time is left to truly invest in life?
What about meaningful things?
Therefore, sleep and appetite are just the lowest needs that humans need to survive.
There is really no need to enjoy it.
In fact, in Tsukada's opinion, food should be convenient and quick, satisfy hunger, supplement the nutrients needed by the human body, and run like a well-oiled precision machine. The taste is really not that important.
"I think I walked into this store just because I was really hungry, so I had to waste some time."
Tsukada ate a few more edamame beans and drank two sips of draft beer.
At this time, the chef in the open kitchen opposite finally started cooking.
The other party's expression was serious and pious, and he was very devoted, as if he was trying to carve out some unparalleled work of art.
When he started to do it, the waiters around him gathered around him, and there were two more people in the kitchen who were probably helpers.
Mr. Tsukada looked around and found that there were nine people in this store in total.
"What a strange group of people." He continued to think.
"The process of cooking soba noodles is the same as life." The chef said slowly, as if giving a lesson.
The waiters and kitchen helpers around them all looked like serious students, gathering around with their hands down and listening carefully.
Gudu Gudu——
The hot water in the pot is boiling, and the steam is rising under the warm yellow light.
The chef carefully puts a handful of soba noodles into the pot and carefully stirs them with chopsticks.
Brown noodles curled and tumbled in boiling water.
"The water temperature must be appropriate and the cooking time must be appropriate. If it is overheated or cooked for a long time, the buckwheat noodles will become distressed. The more distress accumulates, the noodles will become loose and soft, thus losing their original flavor." The chef said.
While stirring the pot with chopsticks, he continued talking.
His words seemed to be spoken to the apprentices, and also to Tsukada.
"The cooked noodles should be put into cold water to cool down. Letting go of the pressure caused by high temperature and soaking in cold water is a process of finding yourself, which can help the soft noodles find their toughness."
The chef scooped up the noodles from the pot.
A waiter immediately brought out a large bowl of cold water with ice cubes.
"You need to wash off the starch on the noodles. After these impurities are washed away, the buckwheat noodles will become clear and clean, returning to nature. Without impurities, it is the true nature of a human being." The chef added.
The surrounding chefs were still listening attentively, as if they wanted to take the chef's words as some golden words and keep them in their hearts.
But Tsukada Satake just felt that it was ridiculous and sneered: "What are you doing? These people are pretending, it's really funny."
Making soba noodles is very simple.
After the noodles are cooked and cooled, sprinkle with chopped seaweed and sesame seeds.
Mix light soy sauce and mirin, add bonito fish sauce and chopped green onion to stimulate the flavor and make a sauce.
Pair the two together and you're ready to eat.
In addition, the chef also made an extra portion of white radish puree.
He put the three ingredients on wooden plates and pushed them in front of Tsukada Satake who was sitting at the bar.
"Guest, please use."
"Um."
Tsukada Satake picked up the chopsticks impatiently and ate with the sauce.
The taste was just as he expected.
How delicious can a simple soba noodle be?
Hurry up, fill your stomach and leave.
I no longer want to deal with these weirdos talking to themselves.
The chef opposite smiled and stared at Tsukada without saying a word. The apprentices around him were also watching him eat noodles.
This weird atmosphere made Mr. Tsukada irritated for no reason. He finally couldn't stand it anymore and put down his chopsticks: "What's wrong?"
"Guest, how long has it been since you calm down and taste the delicious food?" the chef asked him, and at the same time began to take off his uniform.
"This has nothing to do with you, right?" Tsukada became even more impatient.
The chef didn't reply to him, he just smiled.
Then he walked into an ajar door in the store, probably going to the employee rest area. The chefs and waiters followed him, leaving Tsukada sitting alone in the store.
"What a bunch of idiots."
Tsukada didn't want to pay attention to those people anymore and continued eating noodles.
In order not to waste time, he ate very quickly whenever he ate, and this time was no exception.
After finishing the meal, I saw the chef walking out from behind the ajar door, surrounded by a group of apprentices.
It’s different from the image just now.
The chef completely changed his clothes and put on a crisp suit. He also held an expensive-looking leather briefcase in his hand. He looked like a professional elite.
He hugged or shook hands with other people in the soba shop, and seemed to be performing some kind of solemn farewell ceremony.
Finally, the "chef" walked up to Tsukada, who looked suspicious, and bowed slightly to him: "Guest, you will also find yourself here, just like me."
With that said, the other party walked straight towards the door.
When I was at the door, I took a few deep breaths before carefully opening the door.
jingle--
The bell on the door rang, and the scene outside the door was hazy and unclear.
"Take care, Kurahashi!"
People in the store reluctantly said goodbye.
The gentleman named Cangqiao nodded and strode out of the store, as if he was going to welcome his new life.
"What are you doing? It's so disgusting, these people."
Tsukada couldn't stand it anymore, so he quickly finished the soba noodles, stood up and prepared to leave.
"How much?" he asked the other people in the store.
But the people who stayed in the store all had strange expressions, and no one answered.
"Forget it, think of me as unlucky."
Tsukada took out a 2,000 yen note directly from his pocket and slapped it on the table.
This money is more than enough to eat several portions of soba noodles.
After paying for himself and filling his stomach, he planned to leave, not wanting to stay in this strange noodle shop any longer.
When Tsukada walked to the door and pushed it open, he was surprised to find that the small wooden door was like a huge boulder blocking his face, motionless and unable to be pushed open no matter what.
"Hey, what are you doing? A prank? You guys have gone too far!" Tsukada became angry.
Those people in uniform behind them faced the angry Mr. Tsukada. You looked at me and I looked at you. It took a long time before one of them spoke: "Don't you understand? You ate the noodles made by Kurahashi, so you have to replace one."
The position remains here. You can’t leave for the time being.”
"What nonsense are you talking about!? I'm going to call the police!"
"It's useless, we all came here like this." The people in the store said this and began to slowly approach Tsukada.
Their movements are uniform, showing that they are a group.
"Hey! Don't come here! Why can't you leave? What do you know? I'm different from you boring people. I still have very important things to do! A studio with nearly a hundred people is waiting for me to support them, including comics and animation.
Everything is waiting for me to do. How can I stay here and play house with you?"
"Studio, manga animation, guest, are these things important?"
"Of course it's important! Make money, make money! What's wrong with making money? More resources, higher status, and a better life, aren't these important!"
The clerks ignored Tsukada's anger and continued to approach——
"I'm so busy that my eyes are bloodshot, and I can't sleep well every day. When I wake up, I have to work like a puppet to worry about money and fame. I am restless, frightened, and walking on thin ice. Guest, is this kind of life what you want? You
Do you really find happiness in this kind of life?"
"Guest, how long has it been since you calm down and taste the true taste of food?"
"If it is overheated or cooked for a long time, it will become loose and soft, and the original flavor will be lost."
"Relax a little. You also need to soak in cold water for a while to find your own resilience."
"Clean yourself well and wash away those useless impurities, only then will you become clear and clean, and return to your original nature."
"..."
"Don't come here! Let me go, bastard!"
…
Tsukada Satake just stayed in the soba shop.
The other store clerks did not restrict his movements too much, they just changed him into the same uniform as everyone else.
Make him look like everyone else on the outside.
As long as they look the same on the outside, people will have a sense of identification and belonging with the same kind, and stay in the same group to hide their individuality.
The role of uniforms has always been like this.
"Let's start as a waiter first. Clean and tidy up the store well. Don't worry too much." This is what they told Tsukada.
Of course Tsukada Satake tried to escape, but to no avail.
Everything about this soba noodle shop is weird. The door cannot be pushed open, there are no other exits, and there is no signal for mobile phones here.
For a moment, Tsukada was a little confused about where he was.
He banged on the wall like crazy, but to no avail. He could only get helpless and sympathetic looks from others.
Two days passed in a flash.
Tsukada, who was trapped here, was exhausted. At first, he was still worried and worried about the operation of the studio.
But two days later, he began to have no energy to think about this.
Because he is too hungry.
In these two days, Tsukada Satake didn't eat anything.
He can't eat.
When others sit around and eat together, there are always nine portions of soba noodles on the table, but Tsukada can't touch the portion that should originally belong to him, as if it is a false illusion that just exists.
But can't touch.
"Tsukada, calm down. People who are doing nothing and not participating in labor will not be able to eat the food provided in the store. This is the rule here and no one can violate it."
"You took Cangqiao's original position and are now ranked ninth in the store. As long as you put aside distracting thoughts and do your own thing well, your ranking will rise when new people come in to replace others. Until there is someone
Nine people come in, and after you finish making soba noodles for the ninth person, you can leave, but before that, you must learn how to calm down, how to find yourself, and how to make a buckwheat noodles with the original flavor.
."
"Life won't be too difficult. Life here is actually very simple. You don't have to think about anything to be truly happy. Before we came here, we had no less worries than you did."
"Stay here. In about a month or two months, new customers will come. So, in about half a year or a year, you can leave. Find yourself and start a new life outside.
Is not it good?"
Others advised him this way.
The haggard Tsukada Satake didn't know if he listened to what others said, but on the third day, he did start to clean the store as a waiter like other waiters.
Not for anything else, just because he was too hungry.
For the time being, I can only obey the wishes of this ghost place, and at least I can get something to eat.
At noon on the third day, Tsukada finally sat at the dining table like everyone else.
He stretched out his hand tremblingly, and the soba noodles that belonged to him on the table could finally be touched.
Tsukada Satake began to eat the noodles with the dipping sauce.
The feeling of food entering the withered stomach is really wonderful.
He had been hungry for too long and wolfed down his food until his eyes turned red.
Very delicious, very delicious.
The rich flavor of Konohana fish fillets melts into the sauce, and the rich smell slides through your mouth, mixed with the cool and smooth soba noodles. I have never eaten such simple and delicious food.
How long has it been since you have been like this, without any distractions, just tasting the food seriously?
After eating Tono Soba, the first meal paid for by labor, Mr. Tsukada felt that something in his heart was violently collided, melted, and then filled.
Maybe others are right, everyone is here this way.
Food is the first level of human needs.
If even this basic need cannot be met, human physiological functions will not be able to function normally. In other words, human life will be threatened.
In such a situation where survival is threatened, it is impossible to think about pursuing higher-level needs.
So, after eating his first meal almost greedily and crazily, Tsukada Satake seemed to really calm down and he was satisfied.
As for what studio, what comics and animations, I won’t think about it for the time being.
There is no use worrying about these things in a world without buckwheat.