Thinking Bigger

Xia Chujian observed them discreetly and felt that they did not seem to be putting on an act.

Especially after they finished the Stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat with Red Lion Morels, then ate grilled Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat sprinkled with Black Truffle shavings, and finally stir-fried Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat with a tiny bit of chopped chili, they discovered that the grilled and stir-fried Black Rhino Pig Meat tasted even better! These flavors would not have been nearly as delicious if they had eaten the dishes separately, or if they had saved the Stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat for last.

Clearly, after eating the Stewed Wild Rhinoceros Pig Meat with Red Lion Morels first, some ingredient in the stew had undergone a certain chemical reaction with the latter two dishes, elevating their flavors to another level.

The deliciousness created by seasonings was fundamentally the result of certain chemical reactions between the seasonings and the ingredients.

Such chemical reactions had to bring out the ingredients' flavors rather than overpower them. Only then could they be considered top-tier seasonings.

After finishing this feast, all four of them sprawled inside the Small Wooden House, unwilling to move.

Xia Chujian sat cross-legged on a wooden bed built against the wall in the Small Wooden House. Propping her chin in both hands, she looked at them curiously and asked, "Tell me, everyone, was it really that good?"

"How could this not be delicious?! Let me tell you, I, Ping Qiong, have eaten at all the major restaurants in Mulan City, and not one of them can create such perfectly natural, harmonious flavors!"

Song Mingqian burped and nodded. "Seconded! I've even been to Wind Sea City in the Southern Hemisphere. There are plenty of delicious dishes in its restaurants too, but none can compare to your cooking, little Chujian!"

Li Fu squinted at Xia Chujian. "Little Chujian, have you really never considered opening a restaurant? With your skills, I think you could open up the market on even better planets!"

Xia Chujian continued propping up her chin and said indifferently, "I wouldn't know. I have nothing to compare it with. I've never eaten at a restaurant."

"Never?!" Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong asked in unison, all stunned.

Xia Chujian shrugged, looking unconcerned. "Really, never. I was poor. Didn't have money to eat out."

Everyone: "..."

That left them speechless.

Xia Chujian vividly told them, "When I was little, maybe three or four, just old enough to remember things, my family was truly poor."

"So poor that after eating today's meal, we had no idea where tomorrow night's dinner would come from."

"One day, I was so hungry I couldn't bear it anymore. I ran alone to the garbage bins across the street and rummaged around for something to eat."

"My Aunt saw me, pulled me back, gently washed my hands, told me to wait at home, and then went out to buy me something to eat."

But how could her Aunt have had money to buy food? Back then, little Xia Chujian had secretly followed behind her Aunt and watched silently as she held a battered lunchbox in her hands outside the grand, luxurious entrance to Li's Hospital, bending low and pleading with kind-hearted people to give her some Alms of food.

Her Aunt had no idea she was hiding behind her and watching.

It was not until darkness fell and her Aunt returned home with a lunchbox full of leftovers from begging, opened the door, and discovered that she was gone that she panicked and ran back outside.

Then she saw little Xia Chujian at the door, biting her finger and looking up at her.

That night, her Aunt held her and cried for a long time.

That was also the hardest day of her childhood that she remembered.

Because the next day, her Aunt found a job. From then on, though they were not well-off, they could at least count on having enough to eat.

Now, when Xia Chujian recalled those past events, she did not feel sad or bitter, nor did she resent the world.

She only knew that she had grown up without parents, and her Aunt had raised her.

For her sake, her Aunt had been willing to cast aside her dignity and beg.

Then for her Aunt's sake, she could do anything, as long as it could cure her Aunt's illness.

Once Xia Chujian finished speaking, that was that, but the Small Wooden House fell quiet.

Li Fu, Song Mingqian, and Ping Qiong looked at her with faint sympathy in their eyes, yet they did not dare show it too openly.

At that moment, Ye Shijie spoke gravely and Calm and Collectedly changed the subject. "I've been to Beichen Star. I haven't eaten at every restaurant there, but I've eaten at three of the top ten, and none of them could compare to those three dishes just now."

"Ahhh, Captain! You've been to the Imperial Capital?!" Ping Qiong shrieked, instantly diverting everyone's attention.

Beichen Star was where the Imperial Capital of the Beichen Empire was located.

The Imperial Family of the Beichen Empire was there as well.

Ping Qiong's eyes sparkled as she murmured dreamily, "Everything on Beichen Star is the best in the entire Beichen Star Region."

"Its technology is the most advanced, its population is the largest, its resources are the richest, and its culture is the most flourishing."

"The Imperial Family there is the most noble, the Nobility are the most elegant, and only Citizens and those of higher rank can obtain Residency Permits there."

Song Mingqian nodded. "Commoners can at most use travel permits issued by other planetary governments to visit Beichen Star. Settling there is impossible, and it's even more impossible to obtain a permanent Beichen Star Resident ID."

So Beichen Star was probably the holy land desired by all humans and Humanoids in the Beichen Empire.

But Xia Chujian was an exception.

She asked in confusion, "...Do people on Beichen Star make a lot of money?"

Ping Qiong: "..."

Song Mingqian: "..."

Li Fu: "..."

Ye Shijie tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Not necessarily. Every place has rich people and poor people."

"Although Citizens rank above Commoners, Untouchables, and Slaves, that does not necessarily mean they are richer than certain Commoners or Untouchables."

"But those are two different matters."

Xia Chujian: "...Oh."

She instantly stopped caring.

Going to Beichen Star would not give her an extra cent, so what was there to envy...

Ping Qiong said in surprise, "Chujian, you can't compare things like that! Think about it. If you were on Beichen Star, even the worst schools there would be better than the best school in Mulan City! And Li's Hospital there is the headquarters of Li's Group's hospitals. They say Li's Hospital can cure any illness, no matter what it is!"

"You can't buy those benefits with money anywhere else!"

Xia Chujian said calmly, "...No, it's not that money can't buy them. It's that you don't have enough money."

"If you had enough money, you could hire any Doctor to come to Mulan City and treat you. You could hire any famous teacher to give your child private lessons."

Ping Qiong was stunned by Xia Chujian's words.

After a while, she suddenly understood. "You've really broadened your horizons, Chujian! Amazing... So your goal isn't merely to be rich. You want to be extremely rich!"

Xia Chujian smiled faintly and said without the slightest inferiority complex, "After hearing you all talk, I don't feel any regret at all. My Aunt is much better at cooking than I am. I've only learned ten percent of her skills, and you're already like this. If my Aunt had cooked these three dishes today, I guarantee you wouldn't know the taste of meat for three months afterward!"

"That good?" Song Mingqian lifted his upper body from the floor and asked skeptically, "Then what does your Aunt do? Is she a chef at some restaurant?"

Xia Chujian was displeased. She Gave Him a Glare and said, "Your Aunt is the chef! My Aunt is amazing! She's just in poor health. If she were healthy, she would have become a Doctor long ago!"

In the Beichen Empire, Doctors were a highly respected profession.

Those who could be called Doctors were not ordinary physicians, but healers who could treat Gene Evolvers.

The other four immediately became solemn and respectful.

"That really is amazing!"

"Once your Aunt gets better, you absolutely have to let me eat a meal she cooked herself! I can bring my own Food Ingredients!"

Outside, the cold wind howled. Inside, the atmosphere was warm and joyful.

As they chatted and laughed, they put the remaining Food Ingredients into sealed storage bags and casually tossed them outside the door.

The temperature of minus eighty degrees outside was a natural refrigerator.

Stored there, the food could be taken out and eaten anytime later.

Amid their teasing and lingering appreciation of the food, they spent their first night in the Land of the Far North within the Exotic Beast Forest.

When they woke the next morning, the wind and snow outside had already stopped.

After washing up, they followed their previously discussed plan and began searching beyond their Station for the Rare Plant known as Blood Kirin.

According to the arrangement, Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian formed one team, while Li Fu, Ping Qiong, and Xia Chujian formed another.

Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian were both Gene Evolvers, with D-Rank Mental Strength.

Li Fu and Ping Qiong were Gene Evolvers with E-Rank Mental Strength, paired with Xia Chujian, an ordinary person.

But when searching outside, the three of them centered their formation around Xia Chujian.

It was for safety.

Xia Chujian was the sniper, Ping Qiong served as her spotter, and Li Fu was on guard duty.

The three worked together, and their combined ability was no worse than that of Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian, two D-Rank Mental Strength Experts.

Xia Chujian carried her Judge No. 7 Sniper Rifle on her back as she walked in the middle. The rifle weighed seven jin and eight liang, and together with the gun case, ammunition bag, crossbow bolts, and military crossbow she carried, her equipment alone weighed around thirty jin.

When she had first joined the Dark Night Hunter three years ago, these burdens had made her suffer terribly, but she had endured them all.

After three years of training, her strength had improved greatly, and she could now walk normally even while carrying all that weight.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the area they had previously been assigned.

Xia Chujian found a thick boulder about half her height and climbed onto it. She set up her Sniper Rifle, draped herself in a white cloak, and lay motionless in the snow.

Li Fu and Ping Qiong spread out in different directions, searching outward step by step.

That Rare Plant, Blood Kirin, was very likely hidden beneath the snow nearby.

The five members of the squad divided the entire area into Grid-like sections one meter long and one meter wide, then searched each section methodically.

Even with such a thorough search, after three days, they had still found nothing.

On the morning of the fourth day, they finished breakfast and emerged from the Small Wooden House.

After checking the map divisions, they found that the area marked by the Association was nearly fully searched.

Xia Chujian was getting anxious. She asked in puzzlement, "...Where exactly is the Blood Kirin? Should we use Radar to search for it?"

Ye Shijie put on his Helmet and said blandly, "You can't take it after just three days? Think about how long the mission deadline given by the Association is."

The New Year holidays are finally over. Has everyone gone back to work? A reminder about Hongxiu Tickets, Monthly Tickets, and Recommendation Tickets! (#^.^#)