svetikya Chapter 111 Tea and Snacks
Chapter 111 Tea and Snacks
The room was quiet and peaceful, with no unnecessary talking or arguing, only the scratching sound of pens writing on paper, a rhythmic sound that inexplicably lulled me to sleep.
The warm sunlight streamed into the office through the window, making my already drowsy brain even more foggy. My heavy eyelids closed uncontrollably, and finally, darkness enveloped my vision.
Borsalino finished his snack and lay down on the sofa to doze off, covered with a blanket that Moko had placed beside him. He was more comfortable than at home, not neglecting himself at all. Kuzan was not much different; he put on sunglasses and fell asleep, with Ella on his head to shield him from the sun. The fluffy hair and fluffy Ella looked somewhat comical.
The two admirals, who used to exchange deadly glances every time they met, are now peacefully coexisting in the same room. Anyone who sees this can't help but marvel at it as a miracle. You know, ever since Borsalino and Kuzan were still vice admirals, the two of them have often been bickering. When their arguments got heated, they inevitably had to fight. Back then, it gave Zephyr and Sengoku a lot of headaches.
Later, when he learned that both of them had become prospective Admirals, Sengoku even considered resigning. He really couldn't be bothered with those two brats anymore. Heaven knows how much it hurt him every time he saw the bill for rebuilding the training grounds—it was all glittering Beli!
The two mischievous monkeys were already troublesome enough, but there was also a stubborn ox around who kept stealing his snacks. He was quite angry at first, but he let it go because the stubborn ox brought him the angelic little Moko.
(Borusalino the mischievous monkey & Kuzan the mischievous monkey & Garp the stubborn bull: Why do I feel like someone is insulting me? (￣▽￣))
With the ability to keep two mischievous monkeys in check and the stubborn bull Moko in check, Sengoku was practically one of a kind. Every day, just thinking about how such a cute little Moko could help keep those three troublemakers in check made Sengoku feel more and more hopeful for life.
Moko stopped writing and pinched her brow, then asked Aesop to replace another batch of unprocessed documents. Although these were just a drop in the ocean compared to the number of documents Moko had, they were still a lot of documents that the two generals had accumulated over the past month.
Although Mo Xiang has a lot of files, Yu Bi and the others always organize and categorize them in advance. When Mo Xiang needs to process them, she only needs to look at the latest summary report compiled by them. There's no need to compare them with those from a while ago, which is really troublesome.
"Dong dong dong."
A very light knock came at the door. Moko didn't stop writing. She glanced at Aesop and gestured for him to open the door. Aesop quickly put down his documents, walked to the door, and opened it. Standing outside was the little navy officer who usually helped Sengoku deliver messages. The little navy officer bowed respectfully to Moko.
"Does Marshal Zhan Guo have any instructions?" Mo Ke asked as she quickly skimmed through a document, stamped it, and set it aside.
"Yes, all the lieutenant generals from the branch have arrived at the conference room. Fleet Admiral Sengoku said to send Admirals Kizaru and Aokiji over."
The young navy officer stood ramrod straight, glanced at Borsalino and Kuzan who seemed to be asleep, and spoke with a hint of difficulty. He knew this was a tough task; no one could even wake an admiral who was awake, let alone a sleeping one. He had heard that admirals had terrible morning grumpiness, and there was even a rumor that a navy officer who disturbed an admiral's sleep was hung at the navy gate for a whole day and night—it was truly terrifying!
(The three generals: Rumors, absolutely rumors! I'm going to sue them for defamation!!! ╭(°A°`)╮)
"Okay, I understand. Go and inform General Sakazuki."
Moko stopped writing and smiled slightly at the young navy officer who had come to inform her. The young navy officer blushed slightly, his eyes full of gratitude. The rumors were indeed true. Miss Moko was not only beautiful and gentle, but also very easy to talk to. If there was anything that needed to be told to Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Kuzan, he only needed to tell Miss Moko. The young navy officer saluted Moko again and then turned to leave.
"General Borsalino, General Kuzan, if you heard that, stop pretending to be asleep and get over there."
A soft, gentle voice echoed in the room. Moko lowered her head, picked up another document, and continued working on it. A minute passed, but there was no response. The room remained eerily quiet. Aesop looked at the two generals with a puzzled expression, then at Moko, hesitating whether to call out to them, since the two generals seemed to be truly asleep.
"Lunchtime snacks..." Moko didn't finish her sentence, but looked at Aesop and gestured for him to move the processed documents aside.
"Oh my, Miss Moko's office is such a great place to sleep."
"Miss, I'll be right back~"
Before the simple words were finished, the two people who had been completely unresponsive suddenly stood up as if they had just woken up. Aesop stared in astonishment at this scene, not even noticing that the documents in his hands had scattered all over the floor. No, he was really pretending to be asleep, since his breathing sounded perfectly steady.
Ignoring their words, Moko continued working on the documents on the table. Borsalino and Kuzan, however, glanced at Aesop out of the corner of their eyes and frowned almost imperceptibly. They actually shared Sakazuki's thoughts, utterly baffled as to why Sengoku had assigned such a clueless assistant to Moko. Moko had so much to handle, yet this assistant couldn't help at all. But for Moko's sake, they decided not to say anything openly; they could always find a more capable assistant for her later.
(Moko: Why are there so many problems? Who is to blame?)
Borsalino & Kuzan: (pointing at each other) o(o?`3?′o)）
After the two generals left, Aesop felt the oppressive atmosphere in the room lessen considerably, and he could finally breathe again. Seeing the documents scattered all over the floor, Aesop was shocked and quickly squatted down to pick them up.
Ella, who was sleeping on her stomach, was also woken up by Kuzan's actions. Seeing the flustered Aesop, Ella rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked over, picked up the documents on the ground and handed them to Aesop. Her cute appearance touched people's hearts.
"Thank you, Ella," Aesop said softly, careful not to disturb Moko who was working.
Seeing Aesop's cautious demeanor, Moko's lips curled into a smile, and she sighed inwardly. She didn't care much about Aesop's little actions. A person's personality can't be changed overnight, and Moko didn't expect Aesop to change much. As long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.
By the time the sun reached its highest point, Moko had finally finished processing the remaining documents that Borsalino and Kuzan had accumulated. Most of the remaining documents required the generals' signatures, so she could just bring the two of them over to sign them later.
"Ms. Moko, you've worked hard."
Aesop quickly moved the documents that Moko had processed onto the cart, looking at Moko with eyes full of admiration.
Moko took the water glass from Ella, took a sip, and scratched Ella's chin. Ella comfortably squinted her eyes and hugged Moko's fingers. Moko smiled faintly and touched Mihua, who was lying on the conference table in a daze, with her other hand.
"Have the menus from the kitchen been sent over yet?"
After Moko joined the Navy, Sengoku and the three admirals gradually developed the habit of eating snacks. Almost every day, Moko would prepare a lot of snacks and send them over. However, Moko would adjust the amount of tea and snacks according to the kitchen's menu each day to avoid them being too greasy or eating too much.
"It was just delivered."
Aesop quickly handed the menu to Moko. Since many branch naval personnel had come today, the meeting would not end anytime soon, so a large dinner would probably be arranged later, and desserts would be served after the main meal. Judging by the time, Moko could rest for a while.
Moko rested her chin on her hand and quickly scanned the menu. Staring at the dishes on the menu, she had already mentally explored all kinds of desserts. Large gatherings tend to have more main dishes, and since both the Navy and pirates like to eat meat, Moko picked and chose until only a few desserts remained. However, Moko did not intend to make all of them; that would be too much trouble. She would have to choose again.
As Moko was troubled, a thin layer of light shone in from outside the window, and occasionally a sweet floral fragrance drifted into the room. Moko's eyes were drawn to it, and she picked up Mihua and went to the balcony.
Several giant osmanthus pines in the large square garden have already blossomed. Small golden osmanthus trees are hidden among the leaves, with petals no bigger than grains of rice. Clusters of them are connected, and from a distance, they look like scattered gold pieces among the green leaves. In a few more days, when all the flowers are in full bloom, the trees will be covered with a dazzling golden color and a rich fragrance.
(Guisong: Please refer to the real-life osmanthus tree for the prototype. When Guisong reaches its mature flowering season, all the leaves on the tree will fall off, leaving only a tree full of golden osmanthus flowers. Locals also call it Jiuli Jinxue. The flowers are edible and have a fragrant taste. After cooking, the astringent taste can be removed.)
Watching the golden osmanthus petals flutter down onto the green lawn, Moko had a flash of inspiration and finally made up her mind about the desserts she would make later.
"Aesop, you can go home after you deliver the documents. There's nothing else to do today."
After saying something to Aesop who was tidying up the documents, Moko grabbed a bamboo basket and left with Mika and Ella, moving so fast that she didn't even have time to wait for Aesop's reply.
Aesop watched as Moko disappeared into the room, his lips pressed tightly together, and bowed slightly toward the door. "Yes, Miss Moko."
Even though he knew that Moko couldn't see or hear him, Aesop still did it.
Moko was quite lenient with Aesop. Not only did she not require Aesop to handle documents, but he also left work much earlier than others. Because Moko could arrange her own vacation, Aesop had much more vacation time. Moreover, in the Navy Headquarters, almost everyone would give Aesop a friendly look out of respect. Even the three admirals were quite kind to Aesop. Working under Moko was incredibly easy. But the more this was the case, the more Aesop felt he had let Moko down. The determination in his eyes deepened, and he silently decided to give himself extra training in the afternoon.
The square was mostly empty, and Moko was enjoying her freedom. Ella nestled obediently on Moko's shoulder, stuffing large grapes she'd snatched from the table into her mouth. Moko walked to the osmanthus tree, gazing at the fragrant blossoms overhead, her eyes sparkling with a bright and cheerful smile.
"Ella, you and Mihua go upstairs and shake the osmanthus flowers. We're going to make some new desserts today."
"Pfft~"
"Woo-mi~"
Hearing Moko's words, Mihua fluttered her wings, while Ella hurriedly stuffed the grape she was holding in her chubby paws into her mouth, not caring whether she had finished the one in her mouth or not. She answered Moko indistinctly, her already chubby cheeks puffing out even more. Moko couldn't help but poke her with her finger, wondering where all the food she usually ate had gone. Ella hadn't gained any weight at all and was still as cute as ever. This kind of physique that allows her to eat without gaining weight is truly enviable.
Under Moko's watchful eye, Mihua and Ella flew to the top of a high branch and clung to the trunk, shaking it. Ella was actually quite strong, so Moko made her reduce her strength. She didn't plan to carry the whole pine branch back later.
The flowers on the osmanthus tree are not yet fully mature. With just a slight shake, the mature golden osmanthus blossoms will fall down like fragments of golden clouds in the sky, dancing gracefully in the breeze and scattering gently, filling the jasmine with fragrance.
Moko involuntarily opened her hands to welcome the dreamlike rain of golden osmanthus blossoms. Like light feathers, they quietly and gently landed in her palms and slowly bloomed. It was as if she had entered a movie scene, where time seemed to freeze and space was frozen. Everything around her was immersed in a dreamlike tranquility and beauty, as if she had fallen into a golden dream that she did not want to wake up.