Lin En fell silent as he watched Ronava put tomatoes and potatoes together, then pick up the eggs and beef.
"Maybe I should do it?"
He ventured the suggestion because, after all, if the food turned out inedible, Ronava's efforts would have been for nothing.
"No need."
"Just sit and wait."
Ronava had already begun cutting the tomatoes. Her knife work was swift and precise, each piece cut to an even size, but Lin En couldn't shake the feeling that she looked as though she were dealing with some dangerous enemy.
"Then... shouldn't you at least beat the eggs first?"
She cracked an egg against the rim of a bowl, but failed to control her strength. Half the egg shattered, shell fell into the bowl, and raw egg splattered everywhere.
She stared at the raw egg and broken shell in the bowl for two seconds, then reached in and picked out the large pieces of shell, leaving the smaller ones alone.
Lin En's mouth twitched. He reassured himself, It's fine. You can still eat an egg dish with eggshells in it. It won't matter.
Ronava heated oil in the wok, but before it was hot, she poured in the chopped potatoes. The chunks sat soaking in the cold oil for a long time, with nothing happening.
After waiting a while, she decided it was about time and added the tomatoes and a little water. The contents of the wok instantly turned into a red-and-white mush, tomato juice bubbling around the undercooked chunks of potato.
"This..."
Lin En really couldn't hold back anymore. At this rate, they would have to go out for lunch.
"Stir-fried tomatoes and potatoes. Don't you think they're a bad match?"
"What's wrong with them?"
"Potatoes need to be cooked at a high temperature for a long time to soften, but tomatoes can't withstand high heat."
Ronava paused with the spatula in her hand and nodded as she listened. Her expression was serious, as though she were receiving a piece of solemn academic advice.
"That makes sense."
She nodded, then dished out the red-and-white mush and set it aside. She started over with the wok and poured in the beaten egg, which coated the chunks of beef and set into a golden-yellow web.
Lin En sighed. Beef and eggs together should be edible once cooked, at least. There probably wouldn't be a problem.
Ronava looked at the tomato-and-potato mush, then reached over and poured it back into the wok.
"Wait, don't..."
Before Lin En could finish, Ronava had already mixed everything together.
The contents of the wok became a mush of indeterminate color, red, yellow, brown, and white all stirred together. Steam rose from it, carrying a strange smell.
Ronava dished it up and put it on the table. There were two dishes: one was the stir-fried tomatoes and potatoes she had dished out earlier, and the other was the hodgepodge from the wok.
She sat down at the table and gestured for Lin En to join her.
"Eat."
Lin En looked at the two dishes before him and picked up his chopsticks. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up a piece of potato first. It was half-raw and hard to bite into, and the tomatoes were intensely sour. It was edible, but there was no saltiness to it at all.
"How is it?"
Ronava asked with some anticipation.
"The potato... has a nice bite to it. It's all right."
Ronava picked up a piece of potato herself. She took a bite and frowned.
"You call this all right?"
"It's edible."
Lin En turned his gaze to the hodgepodge. To be honest, it looked a little like "Sea Overlord mush." He swallowed and picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks.
He swallowed the raw beef without a change in expression. The outside was indeed cooked, but the inside was still underdone, with a raw, gamey taste.
His stomach churned, and he quickly clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up.
"How is it?"
Lin En met Ronava's gaze and hurriedly nodded, swallowing the beef in his mouth.
"It's all right. Just too hot."
He picked up a piece of egg. The egg was cooked, but because it had been stewed with the beef, it too had a strong, gamey beef taste, and there was no salt in it.
"Ronava."
"Mm."
"Did you forget the salt?"
Ronava's expression froze. She looked down at the two dishes, then stood up and went over to the stove. She picked up the salt jar, took a small pinch, came back and sprinkled it over the food, then returned to her seat.
"Now it has some."
Lin En chuckled, picked up his chopsticks, and took another piece of potato. This time it had some salt on it, so at least it had some flavor. It was acceptable.
"This meal is all right. You've improved."
"Improved? Are you comparing it to that pot of porridge on the snowy mountain? There was nothing wrong with how that porridge looked."
"You poured a whole bottle of sugar into it. It was so sweet it turned bitter."
Lin En lowered his head and shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice, along with some half-raw potatoes and burnt egg.
Ronava sat across from him, eating slowly as well. Each dish she tasted brought a little more pain to her eyes, but she never put down her chopsticks.
After the meal, Lin En took it upon himself to clear the dishes. Ronava sat by the bed, examining the bell.
Lin En's voice came from the kitchen.
"I'll cook for you from now on."
Ronava looked toward the kitchen, a very faint smile appearing on her face.
"Do you think my cooking tastes bad?"
"No. I'm just afraid you'll get tired. I can handle this kind of rough work from now on."
The afternoon passed quickly.
Lin En packed everything he would need to bring tomorrow: dry rations, waterskins, medicine for wounds, spare bandages, and the green leaf Nahida had given him. It all went into his bundle.
Ronava sat by the window, leafing through books about Mount Damavand and occasionally looking up at Lin En's back as he packed.
In the evening, Lin En went downstairs and visited the market, where he bought some dry rations and bread. Mount Damavand was in the desert, after all, and supplies were scarce, so they needed to bring more food that would keep for a long time.
When he returned, Ronava was still by the window. The ancient book was closed, and she was gazing up at the night sky outside. Hearing him, she turned and immediately noticed the bag in Lin En's hand. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the bread sticking out of its opening.
"What did you buy?"
"Food for the road, and this."
Lin En pulled a small jar of honey from the bag.
"I'll make you a proper breakfast tomorrow morning."
"Mm. I haven't really had much chance to taste your cooking."
With that, she stood and went to the bed to lay out the covers. The room was quiet, with only their occasional footsteps and the chirping of insects from the rainforest outside the window.
As the night deepened, lamps lit up one by one, casting a warm glow in the room.
Early the next morning, Lin En got up to prepare breakfast.
Ronava opened her eyes and found that he was already out of bed. Faint sounds came from the kitchen. She got up and went over, where she saw Lin En standing in front of the stove, holding the jar of honey, with several slices of bread in front of him.
"Are you making breakfast?"
Lin En handed her the filled bread he had spread with honey.
"Try it."
Ronava took the bread and bit into it. It was a little burnt, but that didn't affect the taste. The sweetness of the honey completely masked the slight burnt flavor, and in the middle were some leftover tomatoes from yesterday and cooked beef.
She nodded and said approvingly,
"Not bad. It's delicious."