The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The noodles were brought by a woman with large hands and feet, wearing a snow-white apron.

She was a commoner woman, somewhat dignified, but still clearly someone who had worked in the fields for a long time.

The 'Beaker Tavern' was the largest tavern in Lannisport, catering to wealthy merchants, rich men, great nobles, and landed knights.

Count Odo was very familiar with the chefs at the 'Beaker Tavern' because he often ate there and had a designated chef to cook for him.

However, Count Odo had never seen this woman who was cooking noodles.

The noodles were steaming hot and very fragrant; Count Odo had never smelled such a fragrance before.

"Who are you?" Count Odo asked.

"My lord, she is the master noodle cook sent by Clegane Village. Her name is Alys, and her husband is Black Stone, the standard-bearer of Ser Gregor's cavalry," the owner quickly said, bowing and smiling obsequiously.

"Oh!" Odo was a little surprised. "Alys?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Ser Gregor sent someone to 'Beaker' specifically to cook noodles?"

"Only for two days, my lord." Alys was poised and generous, not showing the nervousness or humility of other country folk when facing the Count.

Count Odo felt that the woman had some courage, but then he thought that a countrywoman who dared to work under the Mountain could not be timid. This woman's looks were mediocre, but her figure was good, with big hips, hands, and feet. He wondered how many times the Mountain had taken her after getting drunk. The Mountain was a beast who didn't discriminate when drunk.

"Two days?" Count Odo looked at Alys. "Why?"

"My lord, Clegane noodles are completely different from the noodles we used to eat. The chefs don't know how to cook these noodles, so we need someone from Clegane to teach them how to cook them. Two days, the first day we cook for the masters to watch, and the second day we watch the masters cook."

"Oh!" Count Odo picked up the chopsticks and saw the Clegane symbol on them. "Are the chopsticks yours too?"

"Yes, although Lord Tywin has issued a decree throughout the Westerlands to replace knives and forks with chopsticks, everyone has a six-month free choice and adaptation period. The lords are used to knives and forks. To make it easier for the lords who come to the tavern to eat noodles, we also brought a few pairs of Clegane chopsticks. Chopsticks are more convenient for eating noodles, my lord."

Count Odo narrowed his eyes slightly. Gregor had become so meticulous and organized in his work that he dared not underestimate him. He thought of the Blood Raven, who had undergone a tremendous change with his remarkable 'thousand and one eyes': "Did Ser Gregor arrange this?"

"It was our Miss Jeyne who proposed it at the political affairs meeting. Ser Gregor thought it was a good idea, so he sent us here."

Jeyne Westerling, a famous talented woman in the Westerlands, a well-bred lady carefully cultivated by the Westerling family, talented and beautiful. After becoming Lord Tywin's adopted daughter, she became even more famous. Count Odo didn't find it strange that she had this insight.

It was a pity that the Mountain married this talented woman. Jeyne's only flaw was that her mother was the daughter of a spice merchant. Otherwise, with Jeyne's talent and beauty, she would have married into one of the Westerlands' four famous families long ago—perhaps into the Lannister family of Casterly Rock—to Kevan Lannister's house.

Count Odo sighed slightly in his heart for Jeyne.

"Alys, how many people have you brought?"

"Ten people, my lord. Our first batch of noodles will only be sold to ten selected taverns."

Oh!

What careful calculations! It must have been proposed by that woman Jeyne again!

"Can all the women of Clegane cook these noodles?"

"Yes, my lord."

"How to cook them?"

"First, put oil in the pot, heat it, add sea salt, spices, and seasonings to stir-fry. Then pour boiling water into the pot, wait for the water to boil again, add the noodles, bring to a boil again over medium heat, let it boil a few times, add greens to enhance the aroma, and immediately take it out of the pot and put it into a bowl, my lord."

Count Odo's eyebrows rose as he listened.

Boiling water to cook noodles, he had learned something new. They used to use cold water and wouldn't add the noodles until the water boiled. The order in which the Clegane people put the ingredients in was never done this way by his family's servants.

Greens to enhance the aroma, he thought it was entirely dependent on spices.

But there were no greens in the bowl, but finely chopped meats and bright yellow oil made him couldn't help but want to eat a few bites first. The fragrance and the aroma of meat burst out together, just smelling it made one's appetite wide open.

But he was a great noble, a Count, well-educated, and would not be impatient.

"Where are the greens?"

"They have been scooped out and placed in another bowl. After you finish the noodles, my lord, you can eat the greens to refresh your mouth."

Count Odo raised his eyebrows again. Alys's words opened his eyes.

Unexpectedly, just eating noodles, and having eaten them for decades, he realized for the first time that there could be so much attention to detail.

Then try the noodles first.

It takes a long time to explain, but in fact, the few sentences of conversation took only a short time.

Count Odo closed his eyes and smelled the aroma first, his tongue salivating. He had practiced using chopsticks skillfully and scooped up the noodles...

"My lord, you can blow on the heat first," Alys said.

There was a lot of oil in the noodles, and the oil retained heat.

The Count blew on the heat of the noodles and then ate this mouthful of noodles.

A completely new taste, completely different from the noodles he had eaten in the past, delicate, refreshing, smooth, and delicious, with an excellent taste.

Under the attention of several centurions, the owner, and the tavern chefs and servants, Count Odo quickly finished a large bowl of noodles and then drank the noodle soup: "Give me the refreshing greens to try." The Count elegantly put down the noodles, maintaining the demeanor of a noble.

So, a small half bowl of greens was brought up, still emitting heat. It had been kept warm in another clear soup, without the greasy or meaty taste, purely the taste of clear soup and greens.

After eating a small half bowl of greens, Count Odo's eyes lit up, and there were small beads of sweat on the tip of his nose: "Another bowl of greens."

Eating a small half bowl of greens after eating noodles with a lot of meat was simply the most delicious food he had ever eaten.

"I can't give you any more, my lord," Alys said. "If you want more, it will spoil the taste. Only a small amount of pure greens and soup will have the best taste and lingering fragrance. Without the meat and greasiness of the noodles just now, the greens and green soup wouldn't be so refreshing."

The Count put down his chopsticks, and the owner immediately handed over mouthwash and a clean, snow-white napkin.

The Count really wanted another bowl, but he maintained his noble etiquette, and he would not lose his composure in these places. Moreover, he was already full when he came to the tavern, and now he was really stuffed.

"Owner, how much do you sell a bowl of these noodles for?"

"Two large copper stars, my lord."

Two large copper stars, not two large copper coins. Two large copper stars were very expensive, equivalent to ninety-six yuan in RMB. (There are two styles and values of copper stars, and five different styles and values of copper coins. The exchange is complicated, so I won't elaborate.)

But 'Beaker' was the most upscale tavern in the city, only catering to great nobles, wealthy merchants, and landed knights.

Count Odo dropped a silver stag and then said: "Owner, I'm buying this tavern. You help me run it well here. 'Beaker Tavern' will be converted into 'Clegane Noodle Shop'." He ignored the owner's stunned expression. An educated noble was a hundred times more fierce than a beast when he was ruthless. "Centurion Bard, go tell those noodle sellers to send all the noodles that haven't been sold here. No one is allowed to sell them anymore."

"Yes, my lord!" Centurion Bard left.

Count Odo said to Alys, who was also stunned: "Alys, don't cook noodles here. Come back to Clegane with me. I want to talk to Ser Gregor about something important."

Alys exclaimed and didn't move.

Count Odo smiled: "Alys, if I give you a gold dragon a month, would you be willing to go to King's Landing to be the head chef of Clegane noodles?"

A gold dragon a month?!

For Alys, it was a dreamlike sky-high price. Her heart was pounding.

Alys said: "My lord, I need to go back and ask Ser Gregor."

"Alright." The Count acted reasonably. "Alys, selling these noodles in King's Landing, a silver stag a bowl would still be in short supply. Those great nobles who come and go, the governors, princes, and magistrates from across the Narrow Sea, the wealthy merchants, and the captains from all over the world, their pockets of gold dragons are no different from copper coins and copper stars. As long as you agree to go, I will speak on your behalf to Ser Gregor."

Selling a bowl of noodles for a silver stag? A silver stag was equivalent to three hundred and thirty-three yuan in RMB.

Thirty silver stags could be exchanged for a gold dragon. Selling thirty bowls of noodles could earn a gold dragon. Was this mining gold?

Was it so easy to earn the money of the rich in King's Landing? Alys didn't know, she was very surprised!

However, if she knew how those wealthy people, great nobles, great magistrates and governors from all over the world, and the princes of those islands spent money in brothels and taverns, she would not doubt this price at all. Those princes spent a dozen gold dragons a night as if they had spent a few small copper coins.

Compared to the high consumption and extravagant spending of those truly wealthy people, the price of a bowl of noodles for a silver stag was indeed insignificant.

Poverty completely limited Alys's imagination.

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