Hearing the word “food,” Abigail stopped following Leon, resting her chin on one hand as she fell into thought.
Leon didn’t pause. He went straight back inside, downed a large glass of cold water, and splashed his face.
A mont later, Abigail pushed the door open and walked in, acting as if she were returning to her own ho. She headed straight for Leon’s mini fridge and pulled it open.
“I want at, but it looks like you don’t have any in here.” She scanned the contents with clear disappointnt.
“Fish?” Leon asked.
“No, I an chicken, beef, that sort of thing.”
Leon looked genuinely surprised. “Pelican Town sells chicken and beef?”
“Why wouldn’t it? You don’t think Pelican Town is so poor backwater, do you?” Abigail shot him a disdainful look.
“Not exactly. It’s just that I’ve never seen Gus serve that kind of ingredient at the Starfruit Saloon, and your family’s general store doesn’t sell it either. I figured people here didn’t eat poultry, pork, beef, or lamb.” Leon shrugged casually.
Of course, he couldn’t exactly tell Abigail the real reason—that in the ga version of Stardew Valley, he’d never seen any edible ats apart from fish.
“Gus isn’t good at cooking those, so he rarely stocks them at the Starfruit Saloon. And my father only sells plant-based ingredients and daily goods. If you want red at, you’ll have to go to Joja Mart or John’s butcher shop.”
Abigail’s explanation was patient. She understood Leon had just moved to Stardew Valley and didn’t know much yet.
Leon had no idea where John’s butcher shop was;Pelican Town was much bigger in real life than he’d expected, and he hadn’t explored it all. He did know Joja Mart sold that kind of product, but since it was kept in the refrigerated section, he hadn’t gone over last ti he shopped. He’d simply assud, out of habit, that they didn’t have it.
Strictly speaking, this was the first ti Leon realized Pelican Town actually had red at.
He’d thought the place mirrored the ga’s design, cutting out red at recipes to avoid attracting trouble from extre animal rights groups.
“If you don’t like what’s here, let’s just go eat at the Starfruit Saloon,” Leon offered, figuring it was too late to go shopping now.
“Nope.” Abigail refused without hesitation. “Let’s just eat sothing simple. Those pancakes you made last ti were great—I want those.”
“It’s nightti. Pancakes won’t fill you up,” Leon pointed out.
“I don’t care, I want them.” Abigail plopped down on his bed and lay flat, arms spread wide, clearly ready to “play dead” until he gave in.
“I wet the bed last night and haven’t changed the sheets yet,” Leon said dryly.
“Eek!”
Abigail shot up as if spring-loaded, only to realize a second later that Leon was clearly lying—why would anyone voluntarily admit sothing like that? She glared at him.
“I don’t feel like making pancakes. But I do have flour. I’ll make sothing else.”
Leon ignored her look, grabbed a large mixing bowl, and poured in flour. He added water, cracked in two eggs, then kneaded the mixture into dough, working it with steady, practiced motions.
Abigail crouched nearby, curious. When she saw him stretching the dough, folding it, and stretching again until it separated into evenly thick strands, her eyes went round.
“What are you making?”
“Hand-pulled noodles.” Leon didn’t look up, his hands still moving. He wasn’t good enough to make fine, dragon-whisker noodles—thicker strands were his limit. If he’d had a rolling pin, he would have made regular cut noodles instead.
Abigail didn’t know what “ran” was, but the shape looked similar to spaghetti. She was curious how it would taste.
Once Leon finished, he asked Abigail to boil water outside and start the fire.
The noodles were simple—just oil and salt for flavor, with a handful of chopped green onions tossed in. Soon, two steaming bowls of clear-broth ran sat on the table.
“Mmm, the noodles are so springy.”
The first bite surprised Abigail;she’d never had noodles with such a chewy texture.
Leon said nothing, slurping his noodles quietly. If only he had chili oil—then the dish would truly shine.
Abigail, on the other hand, was clearly enjoying herself. The texture was a completely new experience, making the al more fun than flavorful.
When they’d both finished, she sighed in satisfaction. “What an interesting food.”
“Alright, now head ho. I need to shower and sleep.” Leon was eager to send her off—late at night, alone with a woman in his room, he was more worried about losing control… or worse, not even trying.
“How can you sleep so early?” Abigail scoffed. “Even George probably stays up later than you. Are you really young?”
“I’m going out of town tomorrow. If I don’t sleep early, I won’t have the energy to catch the bus.”
“Out of town? Going to the city for fun?” she asked curiously.
“Sort of. I’ll pass through Zuzu City, but I’m heading to Calico Desert for sothing.” He didn’t bother hiding it—it wasn’t anything secretive.
“That’s the long way around. But it’s the only way now. The bus from town to Calico Desert still hasn’t been repaired. Otherwise, you could get there from Stardew Valley in just over an hour.” Abigail gave him a look of sympathy.
“Exactly. So, you should head back now—I need to sleep.” He waved her toward the door.
But Abigail didn’t move. After thinking for a mont, she asked, “Leon, do you know how to drive?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, puzzled by the question.
“Good. Then tomorrow, I’ll bring my old car over, and we can go to Calico Desert together. But you’ll have to drive the whole way.”
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