Lin Xuan was enthusiastically scrubbing the rusted woks with the dedication of a kid who had just been saved from slavery.
She prepared a massive, comforting bowl of braised pork over rice, infused with gentle, restorative herbs to continue healing his malnourished frame.
For Jiu Zui, she whipped up a spicy, sinus-clearing Mapo Tofu using the diluted Ghost-Thread Chilies they had bought at the Black Market, guaranteed to shock his liver back into pristine condition.
But for Xie Wangchen, she poured her entire soul into the prep.
She crafted a multi-tiered, intricately carved jade bento box. On the bottom tier, she laid a bed of perfectly steamed, pearl-like spirit rice.
Over this, she arranged the Frost-Boar ribs, which she had slow-braised for two hours in a sweet, dark soy reduction until the meat was literally falling off the bone.
On the middle tier, she painstakingly folded two dozen Crystal Har Gow dumplings.
