A young lad, scrawny and short came up to Vy with a huge smile.
"Hi Miss, what would you like?"
"What do you have for today?"
"We have sausage fried rice, vegetable fried rice and the house special! All a copper a bowl! If you have a big appetite Miss, you can even eat 2! Most of the customers usually get two." the boy said with great enthusiasm.
"Max!" A plump lady came out from the kitchen with an annoyed expression as she pulled on the young lad's right ear, "How can you say that to the nice lady? My apologies Miss, my son is just being playful."
Vy chuckled, "No no, that's quite alright. I'll have the house special first, I am quite hungry after all so it might indeed take 2 bowls to fill me up. Can I also get some tea please?"
"Sure thing Miss," Max said as he wriggled out of his mother's grasp to bring Vy's order to the man who was wielding the wok in the kitchen.
"I'll bring you your tea," the lady said with a smile as she walked back into the kitchen to prepare the tea.
While she waited, Vy pondered over all the information she has learnt so far. This world was different from the one she had come from but at least the people she had met so far were hospitable and welcoming.
After her chat with Coco and Rodrick, she started to notice that people do use small amounts of magic in their daily life. While the storekeeper was frying her order in his wok, he used magic to add the spices in. The lady used a simple spell of fire to heat up the water for the tea.
-System, am I able to use magic?-
-Really? How does it work? Do I just imagine what I want done and it happens? Or do I need to say specific incantations?-
"Your house special is ready, Miss!"
Vy was caught off guard by Max, but she quickly regained her composure and thanked him. She picked a pair of chopsticks from the cutlery holder and begun to eat her meal. The fried rice was delicious! The shallots and garlic were intentionally diced into smaller pieces before being fried in the oil.
This brought out the fragrance of the ingredients before the rice was thrown into the wok. The house special was a mix of sausage bits, chopped vegetables and egg. It was a divine combination.
She noticed that there were three small pots of condiments.
-I don't know why but I'm craving to add something into this to make it spicy.-
Max's mother had finished preparing the tea and brought it to Vy's table while she was looking intently at the condiments.
"Are you looking for something, Miss?"
"Yes, I'm looking for a condiment that can make the fried rice spicy, do you have anything that could do that?"
"We do! Usually, the locals here don't really take spicy foods so we don't put them out on the table. But we have our own pot of chilli for customers who would like the added spice," the lady turned to the kitchen and called out, "Max! Bring me the chilli pot."
"Yes, Mum! Coming up!"
Within seconds, Max came walking out of the kitchen with a small pot in his hands. He placed it carefully on the table and took off the lid. It was filled with chopped chilli flakes, other ingredients steeped in chilli oil. Using a clean spoon, Max's mother scooped a small portion of the chilli and placed it into Vy's bowl.
Vy thanked her before she started eating. The salty and spicy flavour of the chilli added a new dimension of taste for the fried rice. It was perfect. As she happily ate her meal, she also took a sip of tea. The marketplace was filling up with people as merchants prepared their stalls. Customers were swarming into the food street as the aromatic fragrance attracted their attention.
Vy took note of the travellers that come and go as she enjoyed her meal. There were many solo travellers, but there were also merchants who travelled in groups. They were laughing and making jokes with one another as they drank tea and ate their meal together.
By the time she had finished her bowl of rice, Vy was nowhere near being full. She called out to Max and ordered another bowl.
"Coming right up Miss!"
Vy simply nodded and poured herself another cup of tea. Within seconds, a fresh bowl of fried rice was presented to her.
"My dad heard you could take the spice so he specially fried you this one with the chilli-infused in it! Hope you like it!"
The fragrance permeated her senses and even the surrounding patrons were intrigued by Vy's bowl of fried rice. Added spice? Was it really that good?
"Miss, what's special about your bowl of rice? Why is it mixed in with those red flakes," a neighbouring customer asked.
"It's mixed in with chilli, which adds spicy flavours to the rice. It's spicy and you might need a drink to bring down the heat but it's really good!"
The customers were surprised. Spicy flavours were uncommon in this region. Could it really be good? A brave customer called out to Max, asking to have the same as Vy. By the time he had arrived, Vy was already halfway through hers and those who watched her do so were salivating.
The brave customer took a whiff of his bowl and was amazed by its aroma. Without any hesitation, he began to eat fried rice. The pearl-like rice was well seasoned in the spices, flavourful and fragrant. The kick of the spicy chilli flakes and oil made the dish even better. The brave customer did not regret his choice. Seeing that he enjoyed it, some of the other customers started ordering it too.
By the time Vy finished her bowl and was ready to pay for her meal, more than half the tables were eating the chilli fried rice.
"What's my total," Vy asked as the lady walked over when she waved for her.
"You've made our chilli popular, Miss! It's a copper, gonna give yer a discount for your help," the lady said with a wink.
"That's too kind of you! Thank you! I will be back for more soon enough."
"We will welcome you with open arms, have a good day Miss," the lady said as she waved goodbye to Vy.
The meal satisfied Vy's hunger and filled her heart with joy. A happy stomach energizes the soul. She walked out of the food street and turned right, looking for Carole's store. When she reached her store, Vy noticed that she was carrying a stack of new clothing. The stack was so tall that it towered above Carole.
As she took another step forward, the stack of clothes leaned forward and was about to topple to the ground. Vy rushed in and helped her.
"Woah, careful there Carole," Vy said with a smile as she caught hold of the falling garments.
"Vyrena, is that you? My goodness, you came just in time!"