In a blink of eye it had been one week in the Temple. Lu Dan was worried because their rations was running out and they needed to stock up on supplies. Su Xiao was also getting bored even though they had been training here for a while. Apart from cooking and training, she spent the other time counting the supplies in her space.
Their surroundings had been stripped bare by the hungry refugees so she couldn't even sneak out to hunt. She had recently discovered a detector she had salvaged and planned to use to hunt wild animals when they arrived at another forest. The men were training outside today and their was noticable improvement. Mu Wei had been completely cured here in the Temple and they no longer had any sick individual.
The kids were now a bit chubby and adorable and she felt proud of her hardworking. If not for the exile, no one would have been able to tell they were refugees. She fed the horse with the food she mixed with spring water which had made it stronger and a bit intelligent than normal horses. After that, she washed her hands and prepared to cook.
She had stopped Bai Ling from helping her to cook because it makes it inconvenient for her to take out things in the space and refill their grain bags. She had inquired from Shi Dong who was now respectful when facing her and he deducted their next place to stop will be the Yan City and then the Ruoshu Desert before they can completely cross the border and find their way to the Wilderness. Since she didn't know how their next journey would be, she started preparing staple food like flat bread, mantou and Baozi and some pastries to eat along their way.
She started mixing the ingredients for the flatbread. She mixed the millet and wheat flour and then made it into a dough. She cracked some eggs into the dough and shaped it into a flat disk and other shapes for the kids. Sine there was no oven, she had collect a clean stone and washed it carefully. She now preheated the stone and placed the shaped dough on the stone. Once it was brown she flipped the other side till it was even.
She continued the same thing and had fried fifty flat breads. She took out the ones to be eaten and then placed the rest in a neat bag and kept it in her space. She then moved on to making the other staple food which was the mantou. She mixed a large amount of the yeast and flour with sugar and then kneaded them into a smooth dough and allowed it to ferment to give an airy and light texture. After it was done she then divided it and then shaped it into round buns.
Taking the bamboo steamer, she steamed the buns over boiling water and left it till it was steamed properly. She removed the soft, fluffy and sweet buns and made a lot of them. After taking out the buns they would eat, the rest was put on a bag and kept on the space. She moved to preparing the next one which was the Baozi.
Similar to the Mantou, she mixed the flour, yeast and sugar and kneaded it and then allowed it ferment. Baozi was a kind of buns that had fillings. She planned to make one with different fillings to make it easier to eat with side dishes. She started preparing the meat filling which included beef and pork and then rolled the dough and pleated it to enclose the fillings in it. She did the same for the vegetables filling and then steamed it with the bamboo steamer.
By the time she was done she was sweating and thirsty. She drank some spring water and felt refreshed and then began preparing the side dish to pair with it. For the flat bread, she prepared braised pork meat, stir fried vegetables and some dipping sauce like soy sauce. Then for the mantou she prepared some congee and then some egg drop soup for the Baozi. The food was prepared so she called Bai Ling who was embroiderying clothes for the children to come serve it. After leaving instructions on how it was served, she went to take a bath.
Mu Wei and the other men came back just after she was done bathing and dressed up. They went to bathe while she entered the kitchen. Under the guise of cleaning kitchen she swiftly restocked the eggs, flour and yeast and sugar. After making sure nothing seemed off she went to the dinning room to join the people. As they entered, they were surprised by the feast laid on the table and wondered if there was a ceremony. Seeing their puzzled gazes, she explained.
"Today might be the last day we spend in here peace so I thought of celebrating it. Those people outside are probably going to make a move soon, so let's enjoy the moment"
They agreed with her and dug in. The flat bread first which was crunchy and delicious with some braised pork and dipping sauce. Then the mantou with some congee and lastly the Baozi with some egg drop soup. Every dish was delectable, it was still a wonder how she made this ordinary dish seem so delicious and insatiable. The plates were swept cleanly and everyone leaned on the chair to catch their breath. After offering their compliments she remembered to tell them.
"We don't know how the remaining journey is going to be like so I have made a lot of these and hid them somewhere safe"
Everyone agreed with her thinking. Since their stay here, they had begun to admire and respect Su Xiao for who she really is. Her cooking skills, martial skills and everything had conquered them with no dissatisfaction left. They had now been seeing her as the leader and pillar. Hearing her meticulous arrangements, their respect grew stronger and the began praising her.
"As expected of boss, she is still the most wise"
"Yes. Boss has more foresight"
"Mother is the most powerful"
Their praises rang for awhile before stopping. Mu Wei felt proud hearing his wife being genuinely praised. These past few days of staying here did nothing to diminish his feelings but instead they burned fiercely. He looked at her with undisguised tenderness which startled the clueless Su Xiao. She averted her eyes and continued talking about their plans before a knock on the main door interrupted them.
Li Gu picked a kitchen knife and cautiously made his way to the door. As he was about to attack he heard a voice.
"It's me"
"Ballif Lu!"
He brought down his hands and awkwardly ushered him inside. Lu Dan held his beating heart and made his way to the dinning room where the plates were already cleared. Taking a seat, he got straight to the point.
"I have something to discuss with you"
Mu Wei and Su Xiao looked at each other, their countenance turning serious and then nodded at him.