Just as their minds rebooted, Zhao Wei took out a box of supplies from the storage and closed the door again much to their dismay. All of them didn't know what this peculiar vehicle was used for as it looked more like a beast than a vehicle.
Passing one of the men, he said "Water. Please."
After listening to Kitsi and Eyisha talk Zhao Wei had begun to be able to talk with longer sentences with them, but he still had problems initiating conversation. With his stiff attitude and always present blood-lust the Warrior nodded quickly and ran to finish the job, he didn't want to have to face the crying demon.
Zhao Wei took up a bowl and began to mix some fruit pulp from dried fruit that he'd brought along as well as some salt he attained from drying fats. It'd be nice if he had some soy sauce but that was technology beyond anything he understood. Mixing them together, he picked up some ginger which frightened the others quite a little as it looked like a person with a scowling face.
Without even considering anything, Zhao Wei began to chop the ginger which began to shout like a man in pain. The warriors became even more frightened as Zhao Wei continued his cooking process as if nothing had happened.
When the man came with the water, Zhao Wei took some dried mushroom and soaked them in warm water as he took out bird beast meat and diced them into cubes. Once the mushrooms became a little softer, Zhao Wei sliced them into thinner pieces and kept the water.
Taking a thin piece of cloth, Zhao Wei set it on top of another bowl and poured in the mushroom soaking water, he pulled the cloth up the water filtered through while he took out any dirt or grime left in it. What was left in the bowl was an extremely clear soup, looking just like water but carried an earthy scent in it.
Mixing everything into a pot he allowed it to cook on the fire before he began to ladle in the mushroom cooking water. Until this point, there was no smell at all from the cooking process as he hadn't used much stronger flavored meat. But the moment the first drip of the water sizzled on the pots surface, something awakened in everyone.
The aroma wasn't strong with dynamic zest or gamy flavors like any of Zhao Wei's old dishes. Instead, it was soothing like a fresh spring breeze coiling around the nostrils of the hunger driven warriors. as they inhaled the playful aroma, it felt like their stomachs had stirred as rumbles came from the whole camp site.
Their bodies which long felt withered and dry was rejuvenated as it felt like a wellspring had begun to gush out from within them. Though they stood on dry desert ground, a breeze in the night had flowed in, tangling with the scent to touch their skin. It was nothing but vapor but it might as well have been a torrential rain crashing upon them.
Zhao Wei ladled some soup into the bowls, creating clinking sounds as the lustrous droplets of soup made contact, sweeter than the sound of crystals pouring on a table. It still swirled in the bowl for a few seconds before the ingredients settled.
Handing the bowl to the first person, he moved on to the next and so on until everybody got a single bowl. They stared at the dish inside the bowl, although it was a simple and had few ingredients it was like a box of treasure, each morsel of ingredient inside a glistening gem.
As they had the first spoon, they couldn't help but stop for a moment as the flavor wasn't just strong but a vision of life that comes after a long dry winter. The mushrooms tickled their tongues as the chicken rejuvenated them. Their faces flushed deeply as their bodies warmed from the ginger. In all those flavors the final one was a lingering freshness on their breathe.
Through the whole process of cooking, Zhao Wei had pressed the dried fruits pulps with a ladle towards the bottom of the pan, none of them came onto the bowl but they infused the soup with a light aftertaste that would stick with the warriors even through the night.
Some of them came back for more which Zhao Wei refused. Feeling quite depressed they complained amongst themselves.
Eyisha had felt that Zhao Wei had already helped them a lot and didn't want for his name to be tarnished. So she decided to talk to him, "Mr Wang Zhao Hui, why can't the others eat anymore? Even I feel this meal is very light."
Zhao Wei didn't bat an eyelid as he replied, "Wait 5 minutes."
Sure enough, in five minutes or so, their feeling of hunger dissipated and they were instead feeling perfectly satisfied.
Eyisha looked at him questioningly, to which he simply replied, "Stomach is still weak."
In fact quite a few processes had been taken care of Zhao before serving. Not only in the area of making the food but also in regards to the people eating them. With drying, the nutrients and flavors of food were locked in and would come out much stronger when turned into soup.
Although, the materials he used were extremely light, none of these men and women had much to eat the past few days causing their vitality and by extension their digestion to deteriorate. If he'd simply served the food they wouldn't even be able to digest it much less absorb the nutrients to rejuvenate their bodies.
Even the smell and sound of his cooking had greatly been exaggerated by himself as he could actually cook such a simple soup in 25 minutes but chose to do so in 40 minutes not just so the ingredients became a lot softer but to activate their digestive organs in preparation of receiving food with benefits to the body.
They'd been on the road for several days and had only rations on the way, although it would give them energy to keep moving was the nutritional equivalent of eating junk food everyday. In other words there was none whatsoever.
Even as it entered their bodies it took sometimes for their stomach to actually get to work, hence why they still felt hungry after finishing the bowl. But once their bodies finally registered the food in their stomachs it finally sent the signal to their brains that they were fulfilled.
In fact he'd even rationed the ingredient division for each person as they came to receive their bowls. For the women he gave a few pieces of extra ginger slices as they went through not only the trip but from things like their periods. The ginger helped to increase the flow of blood for their natural healing processes to progress better.
For the men, more mushrooms were required as it limited the effects of low blood pressure from a smaller intake of food. Even the sugar from the fruit pulp was used to soothe their stomachs after the intake.
Eyisha was impressed even more as it was difficult to make everyone perfectly satisfied due to different body constitutions and chemical balances. To kill was a singular subject, as long as a vital part was struck anyone would be dead and there was never an argument against it. When cooking came in to question, there was always a critic, this time however there was none.