When it was 03.30, Feng Yongrui had finished bathing and dressing himself. His movements were rather sluggish and he opened the door to his room.
Feng Yongrui's room was on the second floor, and when he turned right, there was a flight of stairs that led to the cafeteria, where everyone would eat. Feng Yongrui looked at the neat rows of tables and chairs. Since it was still so early, there was literally no one there.
Feng Yongrui walked to the side and opened a door. According to Milton's explanation yesterday, the kitchen should be here... When Feng Yongrui opened the door, a burst of smoke flew out of the room. Feng Yongrui blinked his eyes uneasily and saw two people bustling around the kitchen.
Hearing the creaking of the door, one woman turned her head and looked at Feng Yongrui in surprise.
"Ah..." She swallowed her surprise and beckoned for him to enter.
"You must be the new errand boy, right? Did that Milton guy tell you to bring his breakfast to his room?"
The woman's hands were covered in something white, but because of the smoke, Feng Yongrui couldn't see it too clearly.
"All right, his meal is coming soon. I'm almost finished," the woman said.
Feng Yongrui wanted to correct the woman and tell her that he wasn't an errand boy, but the woman was already busy with something else.
"Dearie, you can just over there," she pointed to a stool. "Milton's breakfast will be ready soon. Don't worry."
Feng Yongrui sat on the stool and fought the sleepiness that threatened to overcome him. Since he was idle, Feng Yongrui looked at the woman and opened his mouth.
"Ma'am, actually, I'm not an errand boy," Feng Yongrui finally said.
The woman seemed stunned for a while but quickly regained her composure.
"You're not the errand boy? Then who're you, dearie? Other than the errand boys, no one would get up so early," she chuckled.
"My name is Lucky," Feng Yongrui said. He didn't know whether it was okay to tell her that he was Igino's successor, so Feng Yongrui didn't mention it.
"That... Milton brought me here and gave me a schedule. I'll have to go through a lot of training today," he explained.
"I see... You must be one of the new recruits. Ah, I almost forgot to introduce myself. The woman stopped in front of Feng Yongrui and stretched out her hand.
"My name's Emma, and I'm the head cook around here," she said, giving a warmhearted smile.
Feng Yongrui immediately felt at ease. The woman had a round face and dimples that showed when she smiled. Her eyes were bright and warm, making Feng Yongrui unconsciously smile.
When Feng Yongrui shook Emma's hand, he realized that her hand was coated with some dough.
Emma laughed and apologized. "You see, I'm in the middle of making breakfast for everyone. Since there are many people in this building, I'll have to make a lot of food."
"Do you see that?" Emma pointed to a large pot that was steaming and bubbling.
"I'm making stew over there. And there," Emma pointed to another direction -- there was a medieval oven -- and continued.
"I'm baking some bread too. You know there's a lot of people in our guild, and most of them are men," Emma clicked her tongue.
"All of them are hungry brutes, always eating so much and asking for second helpings." Emma said so, but there was a good-natured smile hanging on her lips.
"Today isn't my lucky day either," Emma continued. "We usually get our barley bread from the baker, but today he's sick and his son's out of town, so I've got to make the bread myself..."
Emma continued to ramble on and on while Feng Yongrui listened attentively. This was his first time in a medieval kitchen, and he couldn't help feeling curious and amazed. Although the smoke in the room sometimes choked him and stung his eyes, he enjoyed listening to Emma's explanation.
What was even better was the fact that Emma, this kind woman, allowed him to try this and that. When she saw him looking at the boiling stew again and again, Emma scooped a generous portion of stew into a wooden bowl and handed it to him.
When Feng Yongrui was eyeing the bread curiously, wondering what barley bread tasted like, Emma noticed his gaze and would hand him a loaf of bread. She even explained the various ingredients that she used and secretly gave him a spoonful of honey.
"Don't tell anyone I gave you this, dearie," she whispered.
Feng Yongrui gave a shy smile and savored the sweet taste. In medieval times, apparently, people used honey to sweeten things instead of sugar.
Feng Yongrui's lap was full -- there was a bowl of stew, a loaf of bread, an apple, and a sticky spoon that still had traces of honey. He was feeling really happy at the moment, but when he looked at the time, Feng Yongrui was surprised. It was 04.15!
Feng Yongrui calculated the time -- he had to arrive in his class at five o'clock... He still had enough time, he thought. Around five minutes later, Feng Yongrui saw Emma and the other woman scooping stew and putting them into wooden bowls.
"Ma'am, are you preparing breakfast for everyone?" Feng Yongrui asked.
Apart from Feng Yongrui, Milton, Dobbin, and Igino, there were many other people living in the guild's headquarters. These people were members of the guild. Some of them were senior members who had retired and were instructors or teachers now.
Apart from them, Feng Yongrui heard that there were a group of newcomers, children like him, who were recruited into the guild and would be trained as the next generation members of the guild.
Since Emma was busy plating and moving food into trays, Feng Yongrui stood up and helped her, placing bread on the wooden trays and taking the spoons and forks that was needed for each person.
Meanwhile, Dobbin had finished bathing and changing his clothes. He stepped out of his room and his thoughts wandered to the new kid, Lucky. What was the kid doing right now? Was he still sleeping?
Usually, when the Boss "adopted" a child and told them that they were going to become his successor, their reactions were divided into two.
They would either become super enthusiastic on the first day, but start losing the will to continue after several weeks of harsh training... Or, they wouldn't be too enthusiastic about it from the start...
Dobbin wondered which type of person Lucky was. He walked over to Lucky's room and put his hand on the door. There was no sound and no movement inside. Was Lucky still sleeping?
Dobbin frowned unconsciously and a hint of irritation swelled up inside his heart. Today was the first day... why was he so lazy already? Dobbin knocked on the door twice, but he heard no reply.
...Was this person a heavy sleeper?
Dobbin knocked the door again, but there was still no reply. He pushed open the door but did not sense any presence inside the room.
Dobbin: ???
Lucky wasn't inside his room?! Dobbin's first thoughts were, did he run away?? Was he too scared?
"Tsk, and here I thought he would last here for a week," he muttered.
Well, it didn't have anything to do with him, so Dobbin shrugged his shoulders and headed downstairs. By that time, the cafeteria was bustling with people. There were men and women alike, as well as several teenagers. Those teens were the newly recruited members of the guild.
The people didn't have to wait too long for their meal, because very soon, several people came out of the kitchen carrying wooden trays. There was a bowl of stew, a loaf of bread, and a piece of fruit on each tray.
Once everyone received their food, they began to eat quickly. A few people were chatting while they ate with each other, but most of them ate in silence. Dobbin sat down with a couple of his friends and still did not see Lucky, but he didn't mind.
Meanwhile, the meals were already served, so Feng Yongrui continued chatting with Emma. When it was fifteen minutes to five, he quickly bid his farewell, slipped out of the kitchen, and rushed to his first class.
***
Feng Yongrui's first class was physical training. The instructor was a large man named Carl, and he was a stern person. Feng Yongrui spent this class doing sit-ups, push-ups, and various exercises that made his muscles ache.
The instructor looked at Feng Yongrui's scrawny arms and clicked his tongue. This kid had a long~ way to go. This training time lasted two and a half hours, but for Feng Yongrui, it felt like two and a half centuries.
When his thirty-minute break finally arrived, Feng Yongrui had no strength to lift a finger and he laid on the ground, panting. Initially, when he saw the schedule, he told himself that during the break he would go to the toilet and have a quick snack...
But now, how could he go to the toilet? He couldn't even move!
***