With Calista agreeing to give him some leeway, Orson was at ease. And with him being at ease, he couldn't help but look at what she was cooking.
When he saw what was in the basin and in the wok, a puzzled expression graced his face.
'What is she cooking? What kind of root is that?'
In these two days he had been at her place, Orson had observed and saw that Calista tended to cook very strange food. Of course, the food was delicious and not poisonous, but he couldn't help but wonder what she was cooking and how she came to know of such food items, when he who had seen the world, hadn't come across some of what he had seen in such a short time.
"Lady …. Um …. Calista, this …. What are you cooking?" finding it difficult to address her directly and in a manner, she wanted, Orson stuttered for a while before he managed to ask what he wanted.
Calista at that moment was busy scooping the golden potatoes out of the wok when Orson threw a question at her.
When she heard his question, the hand that had been busy stopped for a brief second, a glint flashing through her eyes for a moment before she continued.
"Oh! Do you mean this? It's a special earth fruit like the sweet potatoes that were introduced by the current Empress a decade ago!" she nonchalantly responded without stopping.
When he heard that, he couldn't help but recall the strange earth fruit that had a crazy yield. When planted on a small land, the yield would be so crazy and enough to last people for a very long time.
Where he came from, there were farms with sweet potatoes and this kind of fruit was very common among the commoners. Since there weren't any droughts and a shortage of food, the nobles barely ate something like that anymore.
"Of course, you wouldn't know. With your repressed memories, it might be hard to recall what I am talking about." Unexpectedly Calista added reminding Orson that he was now an amnesiac person and he needed to play it safe otherwise he might be exposed.
"This … sorry for being useless. I will do my best to recall everything I have forgotten!" he spoke firmly, his fists clenching with determination.
Calista smiled subtly as she cussed the man in her mind. 'Why bother remember? Let us just remain like this until there is a small bun.'
"Don't worry. I will support you all the way and make sure that you are complete once again," Calista reassured as she added the last batch of uncooked potatoes in the wok.
Hearing her saying that Orson sucked in a cold breath as he was amazed by how smooth and two-faced his future wife was.
Knowing her, even if it was for a short time, regaining his memories was the last thing that she would want to see from him right now.
After adding the potatoes to the wok, Calista straightened herself before walking to the stone bench. As soon as she was seated, she patted the bench motioning for Orson to come and join her.
Orson didn't dare keep the lady waiting, so he went to sit next to her, wondering in his mind what she was up to again.
"I will tell you more about the food we will be eating today," she softly said as she looked at Orson, planning to give the man a lesson on the delicacies the world has to offer and yet couldn't be easily found.
"Please do. I will be grateful!"
Hearing that, Calista nodded her head like an elder before she started.
"As I mentioned before, potatoes are nearly the same as sweet potatoes. The only difference now is that ....."
Orson was amazed the more he listened to Calista explaining to him about the potatoes. And to think that she found them on the other side of the hill and there was a stretch of land of it he hadn't even seen. How could the hill be such a treasure trove?
"With potatoes, we can boil them either peeled or not peeled. With boiled potatoes, we can make soup or add them to meat to make stew. We can also roast them over the fire just like what we do with sweet potatoes but my favorite is making chips," she explained smilingly, her eyes sparkling the more she talked.
Seeing her sparkling and shining like a diamond, Orson couldn't help but involuntarily smile.
'She looks very cute and like a child!' he mused upon seeing this other side of her.
"Chips or fresh chips, you call them whatever you want. They are the ones I am cooking right now. you ….." Calista, having someone she can talk to about the delicacies she always eats by herself, was very enthusiastic.
As she talked, she didn't forget her wok. As the last batch was done, she scooped it out of the wok and poured the chips into the basin where the other cooked ones were.
Orson was amazed at how such a wonderful recipe and delicacy could be hidden in such a place. From what he had overheard during the day, the nearest town, the only place which was a bit advanced was five hours away when using an ox cart. If it was by foot then slightly longer.
Looking at Calista as she reheats the fish on the fire, his gaze becomes firm.
'No matter what, unless I find out what she is hiding, I will take my time and accompany her. It's not like we have reached a point of no return at the moment.'
Calista didn't know what Orson was thinking about. As she was hungry and eager to let her husband taste her food, she rushed up and down continuously.
Orson watched as Calista used a strange metal container to squeeze oranges until the juice was coming out. The process was truly very strange and when he looked at how unfazed she was and how trusting she was to let him watch such a process that any person could steal and use it for his or her own profits, for the first time in a very long time, he felt that she wasn't that bad.