Xiao Tong countered, "Then Mother must know about Xiaozhu Bamboo's abilities..."
Bai Jing rolled her eyes at him. "You think she doesn't know now?"
Xiao Tong scratched his head, a blush rising on his wheat-colored face. After stammering for a while, he blurted out, "I... I'm not very good at lying."
Song Xiaozhu wasn't in a hurry; she had already figured it out.
Liu Family Village has Xiao Tong's mother and an Council of Elders. Although the village is not large, it has been able to survive for so long at the foot of this Garbage Mountain, so it must have its own way of surviving.
Song Xiaozhu made her point clearly, which also showed her sincerity.
This move completely severed ties between Liu Family Village and Old Madam Hu, and wasn't she also facing the same risks?
In everything, one must make choices.
To gain profit, one must bear risk.
Song Xiaozhu wasn't worried about Bai Jing.
The old man was a figure who transcended several powerful forces.
Old Madam Hu would not, and dared not, take her anger out on him.
Song Xiaozhu stood up. "I'll go cook."
Bai Jing had been away for two days, thinking about her wild vegetable porridge with every meal. At this moment, his thin Adam's apple bobbed, and he nonchalantly replied, "Mm."
Song Xiaozhu had her back to them, and Qiu Shuyu stood to the side, blocking their view.
Fresh meat is also a synthetic material; it can be stored in a small box.
The storage space of the small box is like a stationary space; once something is placed inside, time does not pass, and it will not spoil or rot.
Song Xiaozhu had already tested this with simple meals before.
Tonight's dinner was exceptionally lavish, featuring not only fresh meat but also a newly upgraded light meal—a truly abundant light meal.
The recipe for these easy and varied meals is simple; you only need three simple meals.
In fact, making a substantial simple meal is quite complicated, requiring at least 27 servings of any ingredients.
Fortunately, this "any kind of food" is also called "rotten food," and apart from the strong smell when collecting it, it's not a problem otherwise.
A notification sound plays:
Synthesis successful, obtained 'A sumptuous light meal'*1;
Evaluation: Pollution-free but low in nutrients; it is recommended to maintain a moderate level of hunger.
"Usage effect: Edible."
Song Xiaozhu glanced at the lavish simple meal. Well... it didn't look very appetizing.
If a simple meal is like Laba porridge, then this elaborate simple meal is a bit like the legendary nutrient solution, hmm...
interstellar
The kind often seen in novels, where food has lost its original form and is simply used to replenish physical energy.
Qiu Shuyu sniffed and said, "It smells so good... like... um, an apple!"
She ate apples while she was at the Fortress, and the sweet aroma of those apples remains unforgettable to this day.
Song Xiaozhu also leaned closer to smell it, and indeed, she could smell a faint apple scent from the whitish liquid...
Okay, although it's a bit like the legendary nutrient solution, at least it tastes good.
Song Xiaozhu made three more servings, and to her surprise, this nutrient solution... cough, it was an upgraded version of a simple meal, and it actually came in several flavors.
The first scent is apple.
The second one was more pronounced; it had a sweet orange flavor.
The third one was thicker, somewhat like a roasted sweet potato.
The fourth one was rather refreshing, and surprisingly carried a hint of tea aroma.
Song Xiaozhu never expected that this upgraded version of the light meal would be a blind box setup.
Can you layer different flavored light meals?
Song Xiaozhu put them into the small box and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they could be stacked. If they could only be stacked if they were the same flavor, they would take up too much space.
Song Xiaozhu took them out one by one, and after confirming that there was no "mixed smell", she became more and more satisfied with the small box.
Since each type of simple meal has its own flavor, it's not suitable to mix them together or add them to wild vegetable powder.
After thinking about it, Song Xiaozhu decided to make a few more portions.
I've made quite a bit of money these past few days, and once the shop opens, I'll have a more stable source of Quantum Coin...
So, let's have Xiaoxiao celebration today!
After preparing the simple meal, Song Xiaozhu took out the fresh meat. She didn't have much of a cooking skill to speak of. In her previous life... well, it really was her previous life. She ate fast food and ordered takeout all the time, and she could count the number of times she cooked in a year on one hand.
Moreover, the most expensive things at the foot of this Garbage Mountain are spices; apart from a tiny bit of salt, the rest are things that money can't buy.
Fortunately, the meat was fresh enough. Since most of them don't eat meat regularly, they probably wouldn't be picky. Song Xiaozhu simply cut it into large chunks and made a clean boiled meat dish.
Qiu Shuyu watched with longing, reluctant to leave the stove.
Song Xiaozhu said, "Let's go, let's have some light food first, this meat needs to cook for a while longer."
Qiu Shuyu: "Okay... okay." Her eyes were still on the pot lid.
Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu brought over four light meals. Bai Jing raised her eyelids slightly, noticing the difference. "What's this again?"
Xiao Tong's eyes widened in amazement. The wild vegetable noodles looked increasingly tempting; they were white and sticky, with a faint fragrance that made his mouth water.
Song Xiaozhu: "We've upgraded the production process, so it should taste even better."
Bai Jing: "All you do is spout useless nonsense."
He said this, but his eyes seemed glued to the light meal, following its every move.
Song Xiaozhu smiled without saying a word, then put it down and said, "Sir, please go first."
Bai Jing asked, "These four portions are not the same?"
Song Xiaozhu: "Mm."
Bai Jing's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
How are they different?
Song Xiaozhu explained briefly, and Bai Jing listened very attentively. At the end, she even sniffed the flavor and accurately picked the sweetest one—the orange flavor.
Song Xiaozhu thought Bai Jing would like the aroma of tea, but she didn't expect the old man to have a sweet tooth.
In the end, Qiu Shuyu took the apple flavor, Xiao Tong took the roasted sweet potato flavor, and Song Xiaozhu took the tea flavor.
Song Xiaozhu quite likes the aroma of tea, and she usually enjoys the taste of matcha in her food.