Chapter 21 Part II Tasin-2

i shouldn't have bought anything My steps suddenly became lighter and my strength magically returned to me.Following the "beep beep" sound from the cash register, I quickly turned the corner and came to the entrance of the store.The moment I stepped across the threshold, I paused and reminded myself not to expect too much; don't be disappointed if all that's sold inside is bookmarks and tea towels! But that is not the case.The stuff it sells is amazing! Why isn't such a great place known? Not only does it have a whole collection of beautiful jewellery, lots of interesting art books, amazing ceramics, and greeting cards ,and also……

Oh, but, today, I'm not supposed to buy anything, right? Damn! This is so sad.What's the point of discovering a new store but not being able to buy stuff in it? It's not fair! Everyone else is gleefully buying stuff but me... I'm moping around the row of glasses For a while, I watched helplessly as an Australian woman bought a bunch of books about sculpture.She was chatting non-stop with the cashier when all of a sudden, I heard her say "Christmas" or something.This gave me a burst of inspiration. Christmas presents! I can buy all my Christmas presents here! I know it’s only March and it seems a bit early – but it’s all about getting organized! That way, when the Christmas shopping frenzy hits , I don't have to join in the fun.I can't figure out why it hadn't occurred to me to do this before.Also, it didn’t go against the thrift plan – because, Christmas gifts have to be bought sooner or later, don’t they? All I did was bring the buying process up a bit.It's so meaningful!

In this way, about an hour later, I happily walked out of the store with two big bags.I bought a photo album, the cover is William Morris William Morris (1834-1896), English poet, painter, arts and crafts artist and social reformer.a set of old-fashioned wooden jigsaw puzzles; a fashion book and a stunning ceramic teapot.OMG, I love shopping for Christmas presents so much! I don’t know who I’m going to give them to yet – but the point is, they’re all timeless, incomparable, and family-friendly items. (At least the ceramic teapot is, because that's what the leaflet says.) I think I'm doing it right!

In fact, this morning was a huge success.When I came out of the museum, I felt unprecedented satisfaction and sublimation.This shows how much influence a morning of pure culture can have on a person's soul! I have made up my mind that from now on, I will spend every Saturday morning in the museum. When I got home, the postman had delivered the second batch of mail for the day, and it was on the doormat in front of the door.There was a letter for me, and there was an unfamiliar handwriting on Fang Fang's envelope.As I dragged my shopping bag into the room, I tore it open, then stopped in surprise.It's a card from Luke Brandon, how does he know my address?

The card reads: Dear Rebecca, It was a pleasure meeting you that evening and I do hope you had a great evening.I just now realize that I haven't thanked you for the timely repayment of the debt.thank you very much! All the best - and, of course, my deepest condolences on the loss of Aunt Jude O'Minley. (If there's one comforting thing to say, it's that the silk scarf fits you perfectly.) Luke I stared at the card in silence for a while, completely surprised.God, I'm thinking about it.It would be nice of him to write me a card, wouldn't it? A beautiful handwritten card, just to thank me for sending him a card.I mean he didn't have to; he didn't just do it out of politeness? You don't have to write to thank someone for paying you back £20!

Would you? Maybe, now, you would.Everyone seems to send cards when they encounter anything.I also don't know when to send it and when not to send it. (I realize I should get the etiquette book out of my inventory and read it.) Maybe this card is just a thank you card? Could it be something else? If so...then? Is he mocking me? Oh God, that's it.He knew there was no such thing as Aunt Jude Olming.He was laughing at me and embarrassing me. But, if this is the case... why did he go out of his way to buy a card, write a few words on it with his own hand, and send it out? Just to mock me?

Oh, I'm confused too.Whatever, I don't like him at all anyway. After a morning of cultural exposure, it was time to treat myself in the afternoon, so I bought myself a copy of Vogue and a bag of Minstrels before lounging on the couch.Gosh, it's been ages since I've had a little treat like this! I haven't flipped through a magazine... Well, it's been at least a week, excluding of course Suzie's Harpers & Queen that I read yesterday.I can't remember the last time I ate chocolate. However, the time to enjoy it can't be too long, because I still have to go out to buy the ingredients for curry.So after reading my horoscope, I put down Vogue and pulled out my new Indian cookbook.Actually, I'm super excited because I've never made curry before!

I turned the page on "tiger prawns" and it turns out that tiger prawns are just too expensive.So what I'm going to do is Chicken and Mushroom Butty.That looks cheap and easy, I just have to make a shopping list and go. After the list was made, I was taken aback.Much more stuff to buy than I expected.I never realized that curry needs so many seasonings.I went around the kitchen and we didn't have a buttery pan, a round bottom pan with a handle. —Annotation, there are no mills for grinding spices, no mixers for mixing fragrant dough, wooden spoons, and any measuring devices available.

But that's okay.I would rush to the Peter Jones store, get all the utensils ready, buy the food and start cooking.Remember, we only need to buy all these tools at once - and then we can easily make delicious curry every night.I have to see it as a worthwhile investment. When Suzy came home from Camden Market that night, I was wearing a new striped apron and grinding the roasted spices with a new mill. "Whew!" she said, going into the kitchen, "that stinks!" "Spices," I said angrily, and took a swig of my wine.To be honest, this job is much more difficult than I imagined.I'm trying to make something called balti-masala powder that, when made, can be stored in a bottle for months.However, once all the spices are poured into the mill, they seem to disappear and never come out again.Where did they go?

"I'm starving!" Suzy said, before pouring herself a glass of wine, "Can this be done quickly?" "I don't know!" I said through gritted teeth, glancing at the mill, "if I could just get those damn spices out fast..." "Okay," Susie said, "I'll make some toast!" She took out two or three slices of bread and put them in the toaster, then began to pick up the small bag on the left and the small can on the right. Spices, look at them one by one. "What is allspice?" she asked curiously, holding up a small bottle of spices. "Is it made by mixing all the spices together?"

"I don't know." I slammed the mill on the countertop with a bang.A fine puff of powder floated from the mill, and I glared at it angrily.Where did the whole bottle of spices I was going to grind to last me for a few months go? Now I have to grind the damn thing again. "Because if succulent powder is a mixture of all the spices, wouldn't you just use it and not have to grind any other spices?" "No!" I said exasperatedly, "I'm making a new and unique curry powder. Will you?" "Okay," Suzie shrugged, "you're an expert." Of course! I thought and took another swig of wine and started my grind again.Coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dill seeds, peppercorns... by this point, I'd given up on measuring as much as I could; I just kept throwing everything in.Anyway, they say cooking should be an instinct. "What's this?" Suzy asked, looking at the card from Luke Brandon on the kitchen table. "Luke Brandon? How did he send you a card?" "Oh, you know," I shrugged casually, "he was just being polite." "Politeness?" Suzie said, frowning, holding the card in her hands. "Certainly not. You wouldn't send a card to someone just because someone paid you back £20." "Really?" My voice was a little higher than usual—probably because of the spices being roasted. "I thought that was what everyone was doing these days." "No," Suzy said firmly. "Normal would be: borrow money, pay it back, say thanks, and call it a day. This card..." She waved it at me, "Don't intention." That's why I like being in the same room with Suzie.She knows about such things because she's in the right social circles.You know she dined with the Duchess of Kent once, and I'm not bragging. "So, what do you think that means?" I tried not to sound too nervous. "I think he's being friendly to you!" She put the card back on the table. friendly.Of course, it is.He's showing that he's friendly, which is of course a good thing.But why do I feel a slight sense of loss? I stare at the card, which has a Picasso head on the front.What does that even mean? "By the way, do those spices have to be dark to be ready?" Suzie asked as she spread peanut butter on toast. "Oh, God!" I hurriedly took the pot away from the fire, but the coriander seeds were completely burnt.This is driving me nuts! Well, dump it and start over.Coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dill seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves... this is the last of the bay leaves.It's best not to go wrong this time. However, miraculously, nothing went wrong this time. After 40 minutes, I literally had a steaming pot of curry! It was amazing! It smelled delicious and looked exactly like it did in the book - I didn't even follow the recipe exactly.It just goes to show that I have an innate talent for cooking Indian food.The more you practice, the more proficient you will become.As David Barton said, I can make delicious curry rice when I have time to order takeaway.Check out how much I saved! I triumphantly drained the basmati rice, removed the finished roti from the oven, and laid everything out on a plate.Next, I sprinkled some freshly ground cilantro on top of everything.Honestly, it looked like a photo of a dish in Marie Claire.I picked up the plate and placed one in front of Suzie.