Chapter Sixty-Eight: Seizing a Man's Heart Through His Stomach (Literally)

Last time, Sabrina had asked Heath how she could make Boss Giovanni happy, and Heath’s reply was, “If you want to capture a man’s heart, you have to capture his stomach first.” At first, Sabrina thought this meant she should cook for Giovanni to win his favor, but he barely reacted to her cooking. So, after returning to Saffron City, Sabrina began to wonder if she had misunderstood something.

Then, on a stormy night, enlightenment struck her. She finally realized she must have misinterpreted Heath’s advice; by “capture,” Heath must have meant it literally—physically capturing his stomach.

Therefore, under the pretense of making a report, Sabrina once again appeared before Giovanni. She used her psychic powers to directly seize his stomach. The sensation was rather interesting, and Sabrina couldn’t help but give it another squeeze.

“Hiss…” This nearly did Giovanni in. If he hadn’t known Sabrina’s personality, he might have suspected she was staging a rebellion.

“Sabrina!” Giovanni glared at her sternly. Startled, Sabrina quickly released her psychic grip and looked at him calmly.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” Giovanni clutched his abdomen, refusing to admit that the main reason was the excruciating pain.

Sabrina blinked. Was this the effect of capturing a man’s heart? Or did it require physically grabbing it?

With that thought, her psychic powers stirred again, but Giovanni immediately sensed her intention. He quickly stopped her and asked why she was doing this.

Sabrina didn’t answer directly, only saying she wanted to experiment with how to capture a man’s stomach. Giovanni was utterly stunned and hurried to explain that “capturing his stomach” was not meant literally.

After making sure Sabrina wouldn’t misunderstand again, he ordered her, as Team Rocket’s leader, to return to Saffron City.

Watching Sabrina’s departing figure, Giovanni couldn’t help rubbing his stomach. “What’s gotten into her? Did someone say something to her?” He looked troubled; thinking back to how she had suddenly cooked for him last time, he found himself even more puzzled.

...

“Achoo! Who’s talking about me behind my back?” Heath rubbed his nose. Celadon City felt a little chilly today; it had been clear in the morning, but now the sky was full of clouds. The sudden drop in temperature made Heath put on an extra layer.

But as long as it didn’t rain, it was fine. Heath had prepared a large umbrella to keep his tables and chairs dry, just in case.

Zorua had already curled up in the food truck’s little rest area, where Heath kept some spare clothes. As for Farfetch’d, it stood steadily by Heath’s side, diligently practicing its knife skills.

Seeing the expectant look in Farfetch’d’s eyes, Heath sighed. It seemed he couldn’t escape making “San Bu Zhan” for it. Since there was no one else around, Heath decided to demonstrate the recipe for Farfetch’d.

Just as he was about to gather the eggs and flour, Sabrina suddenly appeared before him, expressionless.

“Um… Miss Sabrina, is there something you need?” Heath looked at her curiously. Hadn’t she returned to Saffron City? What brought her back?

“Why is it that when I captured Mr. Giovanni’s stomach today, he didn’t seem very happy?” Sabrina asked calmly.

Heath stared at her in confusion. She must be quite a good cook, he thought, though he hadn’t expected Giovanni to be so demanding. He pondered how best to encourage her.

“Miss Sabrina, perhaps Mr. Giovanni is a sensitive soul. If he’s upset, maybe you should make him some noodles. He’ll understand your feelings then.” Heath recalled a scene from an old movie.

Stephen Chow’s “Royal Tramp”—the gentle, devoted wife in that film was the ultimate dream girl for men at the time, the nation’s beloved. When she wanted to argue but restrained herself and instead said, “I’ll make you noodles,” she was the perfect, virtuous wife.

Sabrina’s eyes lit up. She tossed two one-hundred Alliance bills onto the counter and vanished before Heath’s eyes. Heath grinned as he pocketed the money.

Sabrina’s comprehension was impressive. Heath felt he’d found another way to make money, just like with Mrs. Loli’s Gengar.

“With just one sentence, I got two hundred Alliance credits from Sabrina. Wealth is just around the corner,” Heath chuckled, counting the bills. Once he got his driver’s license, he could finally set out on his journey.

He checked his phone; there was still a little time before lunch. After serving the midday customers, he planned to visit the Pokémon Center to check on his third Pokémon, Charmander. He hoped the little one would recover soon.

“Quack~” Heath was just about to take a break when he saw Farfetch’d looking at him with a plaintive expression. It made his hair stand on end; awkwardly, he got to his feet.

“Alright, alright, I’ll make you ‘San Bu Zhan’,” he said, picking up some eggs and getting to work.

“See, this is how it’s done…” Heath demonstrated, flipping the mixture in the pan so the “San Bu Zhan” would come out perfectly round and beautiful, rather than as a suspicious lump.

A proper “San Bu Zhan” not only needed to meet the classic requirements, but also needed to look good—like egg custard in the pan, like pudding when served.

Only then could it be considered visually outstanding. At home, though, there was no need to be so particular; as long as it met the basic criteria, it was good enough. The taste wasn’t anything extraordinary, but the process was fun.

Heath thought some Chinese dishes were more about showcasing the chef’s skill than the flavor—like “Wensi Tofu” or “San Bu Zhan.”

After half an hour of work, Heath finally finished and poured the “San Bu Zhan” out, rubbing his sore arm. His hand was trembling from the effort.

“Quack…” Farfetch’d eyed the dish thoughtfully, took a bit with its chopsticks, and chewed with a pensive look.

Heath left the pondering Farfetch’d to itself; customers had started to arrive for lunch. Ignoring his trembling hand, he put on a bright smile and welcomed them.

“Welcome, welcome! What would you like to eat?” Heath asked cheerfully.