Chapter 120 The bird that lays silver eggs
Before leaving the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid also helped Albert dig up some matsutake mushrooms, but they were rare in number and he didn’t find a few in the end.
As soon as Hagrid opened the door of the hut, the black hound Fang came out of the hut, running happily around several people, and also liked to sniff everywhere.
Albert knelt down and touched Yaya’s head to calm it down.
Hagrid took out the matsutake mushrooms from his pocket and put them all on the table. He picked up a matsutake mushroom and looked it up and down and asked, "Are you sure this thing will taste really good when grilled over charcoal?"
“Leave it to me to handle it!” Albert said confidently. He was as stable as a mountain on the outside and as stable as a mountain on the inside.
“If you want to go fishing, I have some fresh meat left here, and you can get some for fishing bait.” Hagrid pointed to the big wooden barrel in the corner.
"What are you doing?" Albert looked at the raw meat in the bucket and raised his eyebrows. He just smelled a smell of blood, which turned out to be emanating from the bucket.
"Food prepared for the Thestrals. In the winter, it is more difficult for the Thestrals to find food. I occasionally go into the forest to feed them to ensure that the younger individuals in the tribe can survive the winter." Hagrid stretched out his hand and rubbed it. Rubbing Yaya's head, "Is this remaining meat the dinner I prepared for Yaya?"
“Are you sure this thing is really edible?” Lee Jordan asked, staring at the matsutake.
"Of course." Hagrid lit the unburned firewood in the fireplace, put the copper kettle on it to boil, and then went outside to get a bucket of well water for Albert.
Albert took a sharp knife from the kitchen and scraped off the soil from the roots of the matsutake. After cleaning it repeatedly, he took out his wand and made a complicated gesture. He pointed the tip of the wand at the newly cleaned matsutake and chanted the drying spell. The water vapor immediately fell from the Evaporated from the matsutake mushrooms.
"You don't look like a first-year student now." Hagrid looked at Albert who was casting spells smoothly and sighed softly, "Your use of spells is completely beyond my imagination. It's hard to imagine that you come from a Muggle family? "
“Yes!” George sighed softly: “I dare to bet the two silver coins in my pocket that this guy knows more magic than a second grader.”
Albert ignored the teasing and asked, "Hagrid, do you have any olive oil here?"
"There is some left. If you want to use it, I will get it for you."
“Excuse me.”
Albert concentrated on slicing the matsutake mushrooms into thin slices with a sharp knife.
"You are too stingy!" Li Qiaodan pinched a thin piece of matsutake with his fingertips and said with disdain: "How will this thin piece taste when you eat it?"
“Cut it thin so it can be roasted later.” Albert glared at Lee Jordan and brushed a thin layer of olive oil on the matsutake mushrooms. Then he took a piece of wood and turned it into a barbecue grill. He also used tongs to pick out a few pieces of charcoal that were not completely burned out from the fireplace and put them in the brazier. He put the barbecue grill up and nodded with satisfaction: " It finally feels like having a barbecue.”
“I think you’re making too much fuss.” Fred looked at the busy Albert and rolled his eyes.
"Well, this tastes good." Hagrid put the sausage aside, reached out and picked up the roasted matsutake mushrooms and threw them into his mouth. He chewed and nodded, "It's good, but the portion is too small."
Fred and the others looked at each other, and they swept away the freshly roasted golden matsutake mushrooms as quickly as possible.
“I found the chewiness of this thing to be quite good.”
“However, would it be more delicious if I added some salt?”
"You bastards, you ate all my share." Albert saw that his freshly roasted matsutake mushrooms were being snatched away, and he couldn't help but glared at Fred and the others.
“Your share belongs to George!” Fred and Lee Jordan raised their hands and pointed at George.
“Ahem, there’s still a lot on the plate anyway.” George coughed dryly and picked up the sausage: “How about we grill the sausage?”
"Wait until I finish roasting the matsutake." Albert glared at the three of them angrily and continued his work.
This barbecue meal did not last long. The amount of matsutake was too small, and each person only got a few slices. But everyone had to admit that the taste of matsutake was really good, and they had endless aftertaste after eating.
Afterwards, they grilled sausages made by Hagrid himself and drank a few cups of tea before returning to the Gryffindor common room still unsatisfied.
As for the biscuits made by Hagrid himself, several people declined politely. After all, their teeth were not that good and they couldn’t chew them.
When we returned to the Gryffindor common room, the banquet to celebrate Gryffindor's victory was not over yet, but most of the cakes and pies prepared had been eaten by everyone, leaving some toffee and a few vegetable pies.
“Where did you go?” Angelina stared at the four people who had just entered from the entrance in confusion.
“Following Hagrid into the woods.” George said proudly.
“The gamekeeper would take you into the woods.” Angelina was very surprised.
“Albert succeeded in convincing him.” Fred explained: “We also heard that Professor Kettlebo, who protects magical biology, lives in the woods.”
“Are you kidding?” Shanna came over and joined in the discussion of several people.
"No, it's true. We just met a witch who was going to visit Professor Kettlebo, as if it was about birds and snakes." Lee Jordan said.
“What is a bird snake?” Shanna asked curiously.
Lee Jordan choked, turned his attention to Albert, and asked his friend for help.
“A bird snake is a winged, two-legged animal from Asia that can expand and contract its body at will, so the bird snake can be large enough to fill any space, or it can shrink its body according to the available space.”
“I’m curious how you know so much about birds and snakes?” George joked, “Don’t you know Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by heart?”
“Bird and snake eggs are also one of the ingredients for making elixir,” Albert said angrily, “so I checked it out.”
"By the way, the shell of bird and snake eggs is made of pure silver, which is silver." Albert looked around and saw the shocked expressions on several people's faces. He nodded with satisfaction and continued, "It is said that the famous writer Gilderoy · Lockhart once used bird and snake eggs to make a bird and snake egg yolk shampoo, which was really effective at "locking in luster." However, due to price and danger, the bird and snake egg yolk shampoo could not be produced for the mass market. It was only sold on the black market, but it quickly disappeared.”
“Why?” Shanna asked in confusion.
“Because it’s too expensive.” Albert said matter-of-factly.
“No wonder Felixir is so expensive.” Fred said with emotion.
"It's not that expensive, but it's simply impossible to buy." Albert said angrily: "Later, I specifically checked the raw materials of Fuling Elixir, and found out why basically no one would make that thing. It itself The raw materials are very expensive. If it fails during the manufacturing process, it will be an unbearable disaster for any pharmacist."
(End of this chapter)