The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 44: Chopsticks

(3rd update, asking for recommendations and collections from fellow readers to help the author.)

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Grand Master touched his Grand Master's chain, a dozen or so metal pieces hanging around his neck and swaying gently. He smiled and said, "Ser Kevan, you haven't been in the Westerlands recently, so you don't know about the strange and incredible changes that have happened to Ser Gregor..."

"...What other...surprising changes has the Mountain undergone...?"

"Strictly speaking, his changes began about a month ago, triggered by a severe headache."

"I know, he's always had headaches and needs to drink a lot of poppy milk."

Tywin interjected, "Poppy milk shouldn't be drunk too much. I know that Eddard Stark of the North rarely drinks poppy milk when he's sick or injured."

"Yes, poppy milk can treat illnesses, help with sleep, and relieve pain, but drinking too much can lead to serious dependence and harm the body," the Grand Master said.

"So what exactly happened with Gregor's headache?" Kevan asked.

"He fell into a coma and had a high fever," the Grand Master said.

"I thought he would die, and I had already arranged his funeral," Tywin waved his hand, signaling the servant to take away the bowl of 'bitter' bacon soup.

"But the Mountain is fine now!" Kevan said.

"Yes, he woke up three days later, rested and recovered for a few days, and felt like he had changed. He became taciturn, and even when the Duke spoke to him, he didn't pay much attention. Then one day, he suddenly proposed to go back to Clegane's Keep to rest and recuperate. The Duke was afraid that something would happen to him, so he sent Grand Master Potter to go back with him, along with his three loyal subordinate officers."

"Sweetmouth Ralph, the Hangman Dunsen, and the sworn brother Polliver," Kevan rattled off.

"Yes, those three accompanied him back, along with Grand Master Potter, of course. According to Grand Master Potter, the Mountain stopped drinking poppy milk after returning to Clegane's Keep and tied himself to a stone bed to forcibly break his dependence on poppy milk. Two days later, he got up from the stone bed. Perhaps it was from that time that he suddenly seemed to become enlightened, and he inexplicably became wise..."

"Wise? The Mountain? How is that possible?" Kevan was unwilling for the Grand Master to use 'wisdom' to beautify the Mountain.

Tywin interjected, "The Mountain himself said it was because of the Seven Gods. He even hired craftsmen to build a Sept. He said he received the light of the Seven Gods, which suddenly made him understand a lot of knowledge he never knew before."

"The Father is justice; the Mother is nurturing; the Warrior is battle; the Maiden is purity; the Smith is craftsmanship; the Stranger is death, and only the Crone represents wisdom. If he received wisdom and knowledge, then he could only receive the light of the Crone, not the light of the Seven Gods," Kevan said, expressing his disbelief in the Mountain's words.

"I believe he received the light of the Seven Gods," Tywin said.

Kevan opened his mouth to speak, but was frozen by Tywin's words. He stammered for a while before saying, "Alright, I believe what the Mountain said about receiving the light of the Seven Gods."

"Don't disbelieve it yet, the Mountain also has some very ingenious military inventions," Grand Master Potter said with a smile, raising his long eyebrows.

"Military?"

"Let's not talk about the military whistle for now, bring up the noodles," Tywin said.

"Yes, my lord." The three servants waiting on the side immediately brought up the noodles that had been prepared long ago.

The noodles were thick, short, and slippery, like loach, quite different from the white noodles of Earth civilization from the transmigrated Gregor the college engineering man. To be precise, they were more like knife-cut noodles. However, these noodles were not knife-cut, but handmade, so they were uneven in size and irregularly shaped.

Kevan noticed that the servants placed a flat, carved wooden box about the length of a dagger in front of the Grand Master and Duke Tywin, while his own bowl of noodles, as usual, had a knife and fork.

"Don't you have knives and forks in your bowls?" Kevan's face was full of doubt.

According to etiquette, noodles would not be served at this time. Moreover, roast meat, grilled meat, bread, lettuce, honey, fruit, wine, pastries, desserts, etc., were all absent, completely violating the order and rules of serving dishes.

"We use the things in the box," the Grand Master said with a smile.

Tywin and the Grand Master opened the boxes and took out two small, round stick-like objects. These two strange objects were the same size and length, and were wrapped in bright silver silk, tied in the middle with a red ribbon in a unique butterfly style.

Kevan's eyes widened a little.

"What are they?" He could even hear his own voice sounding a bit odd.

These things were too strange, never seen before.

Judging from the exquisite silk packaging, it was probably a new item from the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea.

"Chopsticks!" the Grand Master said.

"Invented by the Mountain. These are the chopsticks he carefully made, especially to give to me." Tywin didn't even look up and began to eat the noodles with chopsticks.

Kevan's mouth opened again and couldn't close at all.

He had lived for fifty-three years and had never heard of or seen 'chopsticks'. He looked at the knife and fork in his bowl and couldn't help but gently touch the noodle bowl with the knife and fork, making two clinking sounds.

The Grand Master also began to eat the noodles with chopsticks.

Kevan understood why Duke Tywin didn't serve other meat and vegetables and instead served a bowl of noodles first, it was to show him how to eat noodles with these chopsticks.

"Are there any more chopsticks?"

"Yes, but don't think this thing is convenient and easy to use for eating noodles. If you use it for the first time, I guarantee you won't be able to hold it steady, you won't be used to it, and you might even drop it on the ground. You would rather use the knife and fork again. But if you persist for a little while and try more, you will quickly master the method of picking up noodles with chopsticks, which is ten times better than eating noodles with a knife and fork," the Grand Master said with a smile.

"It's also very convenient for eating vegetables, especially for picking up vegetables and meat in soup. Because it is made of wood, it is not afraid of high temperatures and will not burn your hands," Tywin said. He raised his head from the bowl and looked at Kevan, "I saw Gregor using chopsticks very conveniently and well, so I decided to try using chopsticks. It was indeed not very smooth at first, and my chopsticks fell on the ground."

Kevan was clear in his heart that with Tywin's competitive nature, he must not lose to Gregor, so the Duke quickly mastered the skill of using chopsticks and even liked this new 'cutlery'.

"How can you be sure that these chopsticks were invented by the Mountain and not a custom that the Easterners across the Narrow Sea have had for a long time?"

"The Mountain wouldn't lie to me!" Tywin glared at Kevan, "If there were people across the Narrow Sea producing and using chopsticks, I would have known about it sooner than the Mountain."

"Yes, my lord!" Kevan said quickly. Duke Tywin's words convinced him of his doubts. He didn't doubt Tywin, he just didn't want to believe the Mountain.

Tywin and the Grand Master finished a bowl of noodles very skillfully and quickly with chopsticks, while Ser Kevan only ate a little more than half. Eating noodles with a knife and fork, although accustomed to it, was indeed not as convenient and quick as chopsticks.

"From now on, House Lannister will use chopsticks to eat," Tywin said, "This is the wisdom of the Crone's light. No one in the Seven Kingdoms knows how to use chopsticks, and the royal family won't use them either. Even the noblest and oldest great nobles have never seen or used chopsticks, but House Lannister is an exception."

"But how do you cut roast meat with chopsticks?" Kevan discovered a big problem.

"Gregor never cuts his own roast meat. He has a little adopted daughter named Julie who specializes in cutting roast meat and boiled beast meat chunks for him. The chef can also cut the roast meat in the kitchen first and put it on a plate to serve," Tywin said, "We don't have to cut the meat ourselves."

"Yes, my lord." Kevan knew that Tywin must have seen Gregor perform how to eat meat with chopsticks.

"House Lannister will lead a new fashion, I believe other nobles will rush to imitate and learn," Grand Master Potter announced in a singing voice.

Hearing the words about leading a new fashion, Kevan suddenly understood.

No wonder Duke Tywin summoned him back, no wonder Duke Tywin served noodles first today. If it really led other nobles to rush to imitate, the glory and cultural influence that the Westerlands would gain would surpass the other six kingdoms, and not just because of gold. And this is exactly what Tywin has always hoped to achieve.

By the way, there is also the unique snow salt. For nobles who pay attention to exquisite food, once used, they can no longer abandon snow salt. And snow salt comes from the Westerlands.