Xia Chujian observed them secretly, feeling that they didn't seem to be faking it.
Especially after they finished the Red Lion Morel clear stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat, then ate the grilled Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat sprinkled with Black Truffle shavings, and finally ate the stir-fried Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat with a little chili powder, they discovered that the grilled and stir-fried Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat tasted even better! These flavors wouldn't be as delicious if they ate these dishes separately, or if they ate the clear stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat last.
It was evident that after eating the Red Lion Morel clear stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig meat first, some ingredient in the stew interacted chemically with the following two dishes, elevating the taste to another level.
The deliciousness created by seasonings was originally a chemical reaction between the seasonings and the ingredients.
This kind of chemical reaction must be able to bring out the flavor of the ingredients, rather than suppressing it; that's what makes a top-notch seasoning.
After finishing this feast, all four of them were sprawled out in the small wooden house, not wanting to move.
Xia Chujian sat cross-legged on a wooden bed built against the wall of the small wooden house, propping her chin with her hands, and asked them curiously, "I say, everyone, is it really that delicious?"
"Is this not delicious?! Let me tell you, I, Ping Qiong, have eaten at all the major restaurants in Mulan City, and none of them can make this kind of naturally perfect delicacy!"
Song Mingqian burped and nodded, saying, "Seconded! I've even been to Wind Sea City in the Southern Hemisphere, and there are many delicious restaurants there, but none of them can compare to Little Xia Chujian's cooking!"
Li Fu squinted at Xia Chujian: "Little Xia Chujian, are you really not considering opening a restaurant? With your skills, I think you could go to a better planet and open up a market!"
Xia Chujian continued to prop her chin, saying nonchalantly, "No feeling, no comparison, I haven't eaten at a restaurant."
"Never?!" Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong asked in unison, all very surprised.
Xia Chujian shrugged, looking indifferent: "Really never, poor, no money to eat out."
Everyone: "..."
Stumped.
Xia Chujian vividly told them, "When I was little, maybe three or four years old, just starting to remember things, my family was really poor."
"So poor that after eating today, we didn't know where tomorrow's dinner would come from."
"One day, I was so hungry that I couldn't stand it anymore, and I ran to the trash can across the street to rummage for something to eat."
"My aunt saw me, pulled me back, gently washed my hands, told me to wait at home, and then went to buy me something to eat."
In fact, where did her aunt have money to buy things? At that time, little Xia Chujian secretly followed behind her aunt, silently watching her aunt holding an old lunch box in her hands, bending over at the luxurious entrance of Li's Hospital, begging kind people to give her some food.
Her aunt didn't know that she was hiding behind, peeking.
It wasn't until it got dark, and her aunt came home with a lunch box of leftovers she had begged for, opened the door, and found that she was gone, that she panicked and turned to run out.
Then she saw little Xia Chujian at the door, biting her fingers and looking up at her.
That night, her aunt hugged her and cried for a long time.
That day was also the most bitter day of her childhood memories.
Because the next day, her aunt found a job, and from then on, they lived a life that, although not rich, could guarantee enough to eat.
Xia Chujian didn't feel sad or resentful when she recalled these past events now.
She only knew that she had no parents since she was a child, and her aunt had raised her.
For her, her aunt could put down her dignity and beg.
Then she could also do anything for her aunt, as long as it could cure her aunt's illness.
Xia Chujian finished speaking, and the small wooden house became quiet.
Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong looked at her, their eyes showing a hint of sympathy, but they didn't dare to show it too obviously.
Ye Shijie then spoke deeply, subtly changing the subject: "I've been to Beichen Star. I haven't eaten at all the restaurants there, but I've eaten at three of the top ten restaurants, and none of them can compare to those three dishes just now."
"Ahhh, Captain! You've been to the Imperial Capital!" Ping Qiong screamed, instantly diverting everyone's attention.
Beichen Star is where the Imperial Capital of the Beichen Empire is located.
The royal family of the Beichen Empire is there.
Ping Qiong's eyes sparkled, and she murmured as if she were dreaming, "Everything in Beichen Star is the best for our entire Beichen Star Region."
"The technology there is the most advanced, the population is the largest, the resources are the richest, and the culture is the most prosperous."
"The royal family there is the noblest, the nobles are the most elegant, and, they only issue residence permits to citizens and people above the citizen level."
Song Mingqian nodded: "Civilians can only hold passes issued by other planet governments to visit Beichen Star for sightseeing. It's impossible to settle down, let alone get a permanent resident permit for Beichen Star."
So Beichen Star is probably the sacred land that all humans and humanoids in the Beichen Empire yearn for.
However, Xia Chujian was an exception.
She asked doubtfully, "...Do people on Beichen Star earn a lot of money?"
Ping Qiong: "..."
Song Mingqian: "..."
Li Fu: "..."
Ye Shijie twitched the corner of his mouth: "That's not necessarily true. There are rich people and poor people everywhere."
"Although citizens have a higher status than commoners, lowly people, and slaves, they are not necessarily richer than some commoners and lowly people."
"But these are two different things."
Xia Chujian: "...Oh."
She didn't care about it instantly.
Going to Beichen Star wouldn't give her an extra penny, what's there to envy...
Ping Qiong said in surprise, "Chujian, you can't compare it like that! Think about it, if you were on Beichen Star, the worst school there would be better than the best school in our Mulan City! Also, Li's Hospital there is the headquarters of Li's Group hospitals. I heard that no matter what the disease is, Li's Hospital can cure it!"
"You can't buy these benefits with money anywhere else!"
Xia Chujian said calmly, "...No, it's not that you can't buy them with money, it's that you don't have enough money."
"If you have enough money, you can hire any physician to come to Mulan City to treat you, and you can hire any famous teacher to tutor your children individually."
Ping Qiong was stunned by what Xia Chujian said.
After a while, she suddenly realized and said, "Your perspective has broadened, Chujian! Amazing... It seems your goal isn't just to be generally rich, but to be especially rich!"
Xia Chujian smiled slightly, without the slightest bit of inferiority, and said, "Listening to you guys, I don't have any regrets at all. Because my aunt's cooking skills are much better than mine. I only learned 10% of her skills, and you guys are already like this. If my aunt were to make these three dishes today, I guarantee you wouldn't taste meat for three months after eating them!"
"That amazing?" Song Mingqian raised his upper body from the ground and asked in disbelief, "Then what does your aunt do? Is she a chef at some restaurant?"
Xia Chujian was unhappy, glared at him, and said, "Your aunt is the chef! My aunt is especially amazing! It's just that she's not in good health. If she were healthy, she would have been a physician already!"
In the Beichen Empire, physicians are highly respected professions.
Those who can be called physicians are not ordinary doctors, but medical practitioners who can treat Gene Evolvers.
The other four were in awe.
"That's really amazing!"
"Then when your aunt recovers, you must invite me to eat the dishes she makes herself! I can bring my own ingredients!"
Outside, the cold wind howled, but inside, it was harmonious and happy.
Everyone chatted and laughed, then put the remaining ingredients into sealed storage bags and threw them outside the door to store casually.
The temperature of minus eighty degrees Celsius outside the door was a natural refrigerator.
Placed here, they could be taken and eaten at any time.
Everyone spent their first night in the Land of the Far North of the Exotic Beast Forest in mutual banter and savoring the delicious food.
...
When they woke up the next morning, the wind and snow outside had stopped.
After washing up, the group began to search for the rare Blood Kirin plant outside their base, according to the method they had discussed in advance.
According to the arrangement, Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian were in one group, and Li Fu, Ping Qiong, and Xia Chujian were in another group.
Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian were both Gene Evolvers, and their Mental Strength levels were both D-Rank.
Li Fu and Ping Qiong were E-Rank Gene Evolvers, paired with Xia Chujian, an ordinary person.
But when searching outside, the three of them were centered around Xia Chujian.
This was for safety reasons.
Xia Chujian was the sniper, Ping Qiong was her observer, and Li Fu was the guard.
The three of them as a group, cooperating together, were not at all inferior to the abilities of Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian, two D-Rank Mental Strength experts.
Xia Chujian, carrying her Judge No. 7 sniper rifle, walked in the middle. This sniper rifle weighed seven pounds and eight ounces. Adding the gun case, bullet pouches, crossbow, and military crossbow she carried, the equipment alone weighed about thirty pounds.
Three years ago, when she first joined the Dark Night Hunters, she suffered unspeakably under the weight of this load, but she endured it all.
After three years of training, her strength had greatly improved, and she could walk normally while carrying this load.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the area they had previously divided.
Xia Chujian found a half-height, thick rock and climbed up. She set up her sniper rifle, put on her white cloak, and lay motionless in the snow.
Li Fu and Ping Qiong then dispersed separately, searching step by step into the distance.
The Blood Kirin, that kind of rare plant, was very likely hidden beneath the snow in this vicinity.
...
The five members of the team subdivided the entire area into grid-like sections one meter in length and width, and then searched each section like a carpet.
Even with such a careful search, after three days, they had gained nothing.
On the morning of the fourth day, they finished breakfast and came out of the small wooden house.
The group looked at the map divisions and realized that they were about to finish searching the area marked by the association.
Xia Chujian was a little anxious and wondered, "...Where exactly is the Blood Kirin? Should we use radar to search?"
Ye Shijie put on his helmet and said indifferently, "You can't take it after only three days? Think about how long the association's mission deadline is."
The New Year is finally over, has everyone gone back to work? Reminding everyone to vote with your red sleeves, monthly votes, and recommendation tickets! (#^.^#
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