Luca was a mediocre cook.
Xia Nan had settled that in his mind the afternoon before they left River Valley Town, when he first tasted Luca's pot of Smoked Meat Stew.
The burly, good-natured man seemed to have little experience preparing ingredients.
The few potatoes were either poorly peeled or hacked into lumpy shapes half their original size.
His seasoning was stranger still. Somehow, he had managed to concentrate all the salt at the bottom of the pot.
The top tasted like water; the bottom was salty enough to burn the throat.
Xia Nan felt that any ordinary child used to helping at home could spend a few minutes in the kitchen and make something far tastier.
Apparently, their escort party was not quite as well-rounded as he had imagined.
Of course, Xia Nan was no expert cook himself, nor did he intend to take over that role, so he could hardly complain.
Though the original Xia Nan had come from an ordinary village family, he had usually worked the fields with his father and elder brother. His mother and younger sister helped during the busy season, but they generally went home early to prepare food. Dinner was usually ready when the men returned, leaving him with little experience handling ingredients.
As for his own life... Well, one swipe across the kitchen counter in his rented apartment would have left his entire palm covered in dust.
He had watched plenty of cooking videos, but the most he ever did was fry an egg to go with instant noodles. After coming home exhausted every night, he would collapse onto the sofa and pass out within seconds. He had neither the time nor the energy to improve his cooking.
There was no good solution to the party's predicament now.
Fortunately, they were