Chapter 109 - The Talented Brother Puppet
When Rong Qiuchen moved to the large modern kitchen on the ground floor, Yuan Ge had already put the brunch on the table - Italian tortellini with fried sea bass, but Rong Qiuchen was completely indifferent to the food, instead curiously surveying the kitchen, especially the tall wine fridge.
"Is it so unusual? That is just for wine and drinks." Yuan Ge said and pulled open the built-in fridge, "This is the fridge for fresh ingredients, similar to the 'ice box' used in ancient times. If you want to eat anything, just help yourself, or you can ask Vivi to get it for you."
Just then, the little robot that had finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom buzzed down the track by the stairs.
"It usually comes back to this floor automatically to recharge when there is nothing else to do. Most of the housework is happening in the kitchen, so it's quite nice to have it around to help with cooking or just for a chat."
Rong Qiuchen nodded as he listened attentively, "The cooking room in your residence is indeed different; Brother Puppet is very intelligent. I would like to learn Childe Yuan's way of life and prepare meals for you from tomorrow onwards."
Yuan Ge remembered the day when the boy worked very hard to prepare dinner for him at his flat in Yandai Byway.. Unfortunately, due to a gas problem, the whole thing ended up at the police station, wasting his good intentions. Remembering that incident, he lightened his tone and explained, "I really don't know how to cook very well. Since I studied abroad, I've gotten used to eating Western food. As for Chinese food, I can only cook simple things like noodles and scrambled eggs, so I guess it might not be to your liking. After brunch we will go out shopping and buy anything you want to eat and drink. After all, it's Chinese New Year time and it's good to stock up on ingredients. Anything you want to know about the house, just ask Vivi the robot. It is not only good at housework but has also installed a companion system developed by my dad. It has all sorts of encyclopaedias in it and enhanced personalised learning features tailored specifically for my parents and myself. For example, she knows all the movies and TV shows in the world, and for my mum it has enhanced functions specifically for archaeology, literature and history, so I guess it's no problem for Vivi to translate ancient languages to modern ones, or convert traditional Chinese to simplified Chinese."
Seeing Qiuchen's look of incredulity, Yuan Ge pointed at the tortellini on the plate and demonstrated, "Vivi Vivi, what kind of food is this?"
The little robot's glowing red eyes scanned the plate and replied in Professor Fu's synthesized voice, "This is a type of pasta. It's called tortellini in Italian..."
"Translate into Old Chinese."
"this is a traditional italian pasta dish in which the pasta is did shape into a pouch, did fill with minc'd meat and vegetables and did cook in boiling wat'r. An 1842 rec'rd shows yond the filling enwheels minc'd beef and egg yolk …"[1]
Rong Qiuchen could not hold back his joy and hugged the chubby little robot as if he had found a treasure, "Childe Yuan, Brother Puppet is really knowledgeable about the past and the present. I will learn about this world as soon as possible with its help so as not to bring you trouble."
Yuan Ge sighed helplessly, "If you insist on playing an ancient person even to a robot, then be my guest. Whatever, as long as you're happy. Thanks to my mum being an archaeologist and folklore researcher, my dad added an extra Old Chinese conversion function and a lot of uncommon and non-mainstream ancient knowledge to make it more convenient for her research. If this robot was mass-produced, I don't think many customers would order such impractical add-ons."
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[1] I have used Shakespeare English again to mimic the effect of the Old Chinese. Here is the passage in modern English:
"This is a traditional Italian pasta dish in which the pasta is shaped into a pouch, filled with minced meat and vegetables and cooked in boiling water. An 1842 record shows that the filling contains minced beef and egg yolk..."