Books

**Books** are, well, books.

## Floriography Manuel

> *Each flower has its own unique story and language behind it, and different flowers are suitable for different recipients. Before sending flowers, you can refer to the following frequently used floriography to cater to your specific needs.*
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The Marquise

Floriography: Nobility, beauty, grace, completeness, affection and great charm.

Backstory: The Marquise is difficult to cultivate and rather expensive. In the past, there was a noble lady who squandered her family's fortune for this flower, and so came about its name. It is still loved by the upper class to this day.

Recipients: High status, upper class individuals.

First Snowfall

Floriography: Pure innocence, beautiful memories, and hearkening back to times of innocence.

Backstory: It is said that, long ago, the first plume of snow each year was called "First Snow," and it brought good harvest and joy. To this day, most of the people don't know the real story behind "First Snow." However, the beautiful memories symbolized by the flower continue to be passed down generation after generation, just as how it resists the bitter coldness.

Recipients: The elderly and young children.

Summershade Bamboo

Floriography: Independence, strength, unafraid of hardships, and great perseverance.

Backstory: It is not technically a flower, but is still of great ornamental value. It is said that once upon a time, an artist used it as a musical instrument, and because of the sense of warmth invoked by its name, generations of great writers have also come to favor it.

Recipients: Artists, people who like art.

Ball Peony

Floriography: Patience, the greatest of achievements, a moment of eternity, and undying love.

Backstory: Ball Peony is a treasure among flowers. It blooms once a year for less than a month. When the flower blooms, its beauty is unparalleled, deserving enough of its high value.

Recipients: Lovers.

Solarflower

Floriography: Warmth, unity, optimism, and yearning for a bright future.

Backstory: Even when it is in a dim environment, it will grow in the direction of the sun.

Recipients: Suitable for most people, the first choice for official and business occasions.

Rainbow

Floriography: Simple beauty and living in the moment.

Backstory: It is very common, but few dislike its gorgeous colors.

Recipients: Cheap and suitable for everyone.

## Recipe: Crystal Lizard Satay

> *"This is a letter composed of a series of messages."*
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(I)

Hey man, I heard the soil where you guys would go to excavate this time is a little loose. Be careful out there, I think it's a little too dangerous.

Take my word and think it over. It's better to not go than to be swindled by the salary promised by the supervisor. No amount of money would be worth it if you're gonna end up buried under the rubble.

But you're not gonna listen, I know you too well. Being that it's a new site, I bet the emergency shelter's not even ready yet, let alone the air filtration and oxygen systems. Be a little more prepared and bring extra rations with you.

We grew up together, so you will listen to me on this, right?

(II)

I can't even begin to express my thanks, my friend!

It's because of your reminder that I brought a few extra biscuits with me. No one expected the mine to actually collapse, and when it did, the people responsible for building the support structures all ran off. In return for keeping this incident a secret, the supervisor offered me a sizable compensation.

Let me tell you what happened.

We miners have an eye for this kind of thing. Our temporary bunker was reinforced with more layers. We weren't too far from the bunker when the tunnel collapsed. Except for one man whose leg was crushed, most of us were lucky.

The best preparation for a mining accident is not to have one at all. Preparing extra biscuits won't do anything. We hadn't been rescued yet, and our rations were already gone.

But, we needed to think of a way to survive. One of our team members caught seven or eight Crystal Lizards somewhere. We had no choice but to eat them. I've never eaten them before, but they say it's like chewing a pair of boots that the supervisor had been wearing for 18 years.

But we had to survive.

We managed to come up with a recipe, which turned out to be pretty good. Here's the recipe for Crystalline Lizard Satay.

A small bag of broken bits from the compressed five-spice cake,

Leftover seasoning from a wild ferns salad,

Bread crumbs, also dug out from the bottom of the bag,

Rock salt 3g,

Hammer peppers 0.5g,

Meat from 7 Crystalline Lizards. Be sure to clean all the crystals from the meat, otherwise they'll hurt your tooth badly.

Mix the spices, seasoning, and bread crumbs then marinate the lizard meat in the mixture. Try to avoid the lizard fluids, or else it'll end up tasting like medicine. That bad taste comes from the secretion.

Then just wait until the next day and the marinated meat will become softer, or it'll really be like chewing shoes' rubber.

Next, cut a few wooden sticks from the extra wooden frames in advance. Soak the sticks in the underground water and skewer the meat. A buddy found some candied mushrooms, so we added those in between the meat for extra flavor.

Finally, sprinkle some salt and chili powder gently onto the meat several times as it's grilling.

No matter how bad the meat tastes, you can swallow it as long as you have salt and chili powder.

The funniest thing is we were about to eat when the rescue team dug out the rescue tunnel. "We were trying to rescue you as soon as possible, and you're here eating satay!"

Try it when you have the chance. Surprisingly, it was barely edible.

(III)

I'm glad to hear you survived, my friend.

I admire you for being so optimistic when you were trapped down there for so long.

I tried that Crystal Lizard recipe you gave me. That taste... are you trying to kill me?

When you have the time, go find Natasha. There's something wrong with your taste buds.

We grew up together, so you will listen to me on this, right?

## Family Secret: Spicy Puffy Mushrooms

> This introduction is confidential to the restaurant. Please do not leak any of its contents!
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Dish: Spicy Puffy Mushrooms

Level: Beginner

Style: Stir-fry

Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: Roughly half an hour

Main ingredients

Puffy mushrooms: 400 g

Hammer peppers: 2

Chili peppers: 2

Supplemental Ingredients

Olive oil: 1 tablespoon

Cooking wine: 2 tablespoons

Ground pepper: 1/2 tablespoon

Sugar: 1/2 tablespoon

Rock salt powder: 1 1/2 tablespoons

Food grade oil: Sufficient amount

Garlic: 5 heads

Steps

1. Remove the stem of the hammer pepper and cut it into cubes, and cut the chili peppers into sections.

2. Remove the stalk of the mushroom and cut the cap into thin slices.

3. Peel the garlic and cut the cloves into fairly large pieces (do not mince the garlic).

4. Pour an appropriate amount of clean water into the pot and add 2 spoons of cooking wine.

5. Bring the water to a boil and blanch the mushroom slices for about two minutes.

6. Remove the puffy mushroom slices, drain, and place in a clean empty bowl.

7. Pour in cold oil (hot pot cold oil) before the temperature of the pot has dissipated. When the oil is hot, add the garlic pieces and stir-fry until fragrant.

8. Pour in the diced hammer peppers and chili peppers, and stir-fry until fragrant.

9. Pour in the puffy mushroom slices, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of rock salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of ground pepper. Stir-fry quickly, then cover the pot and let it simmer for about one to two minutes.

10. Take off the lid and do a simple stir-fry again.

11. Turn the heat off and serve.

12. Bon appetit!

Secret

1. The strange aroma of the spicy puffy mushrooms comes from the combination of olive oil and hammer pepper. When these two ingredients are mixed with the mushroom, the unique aroma of the latter will be stimulated, so it cannot be substituted!

2. The stem of the puffy mushroom is woody, astringent, and tough, while the cap is fluffy and crispy, so the cap must be used for cooking!

3. The blanching process doesn't take too long, just two minutes. Blanching for longer will worsen the taste of the mushrooms!