After tasting both kinds, Kane asked at once, "How do we trade this time? Especially the second kind—can I trade for more? I'll pay whatever nutrient solution it takes!"
No sooner had he spoken than soldiers around him protested, agitated. "No, you can't trade for more!"
If Kane traded more, there would be less for everyone else.
Lan Grace was not surprised. She had confidence in her cooking.
Only, this time, she did not want nutrient solution. She had plenty of that terrible‑tasting stuff already.
"I want to trade for natural food. Anyone willing?" She swept her gaze around, smiling at everyone.
Natural food could not be mentioned in the same breath as low‑grade nutrient solution. A single low‑grade nutrient solution cost fifteen Alliance credits; natural food was hundreds of times more expensive!
Natural food included fruits, vegetables, meats, and eggs. These required extremely strict growing conditions, each tended with painstaking care by specialist cultivators to yield any harvest.
Long‑term consumption of natural food conferred absolute advantages for physical development and unlocking potential. Thus, only the nobles and great houses of the interstellar could afford such things.
Ordinary people might save and scrimp for a month, yet still be loath to buy natural food even once—not even a single strawberry or an apple.
Lan Grace's request plunged the soldiers into silence.
Her insects were indeed extremely tasty, but if they had to trade natural food for them…
There were truly not many on site who could harden their hearts to do it.
And that wasn't even counting the price of natural food; given they were on Waste Star, natural food ordered on the Starnet could be delivered here, but shipping to such a remote, radiation‑polluted place carried surcharges that were not low—
Often higher than the cost of the natural food itself!
All this was within Lan Grace's expectations. She was in no hurry. As rare as natural food was, her insects were just as rare.
Besides, with delicious food right before them, she did not believe they could all resist a treat that was almost within reach.
Kane, who had tasted the deliciousness, hesitated, then drew a deep breath and seemed to come to a decision. "Miss Lan, what natural food do you need? If I trade natural food, can I trade for that entire plate of insects you just made?"
He pointed at the second plate of crisp hoppers.
"Of course," Lan Grace agreed readily.
Insects were the most common thing in the wild grass on Waste Star. Although catching them one by one was a hassle, if she could trade for natural food, she did not mind the extra work.
"I'd like a bit of flour—two to three hundred grammes will do—plus one apple. If possible, I'd also like a sweet potato."
Lan Grace's list was carefully thought out.
Each item cost a lot of Alliance credits, so she asked for one of each, cautiously.
If she asked for more, Kane might not have been able to afford it.
Lan Grace's terms made Kane waver.
Her list was a bit beyond his budget…
Then he heard Lan Grace add, "Aside from the plate you prefer, the other plate is yours as well. And next time I make something tasty, you'll have priority."
"Right! Deal!" With that assurance, what was there to hesitate over?
Though the flour, apple, and sweet potato together cost roughly half a year's pay, he would trade them for the insects!
A day later, above Sector Nine, the rubbish‑hauling starship delivered a parcel as an add‑on.
The next day, Lan Grace contentedly ate apple pie and pan‑fried sweet potato cakes.
Lan Grace's skills brought the deliciousness of natural food into full play!
As her little buddy, Mi Milo had the luck to get a piece as well.
The apple pie was crisp outside and tender within—truly delectable. The sweet potato cakes were pan‑fried crisp outside and soft inside—sweet and yielding…
The long‑lost taste of natural food brought tears to Mi Milo's eyes!
Moved, Mi Milo resolved privately to follow closely in Lan Grace's steps—to be a loyal little follower at her side, never hesitating to do whatever Lan Grace asked!
Wouldn't that mean he'd get to keep eating good food?
Hee‑hee…
With limited ingredients, Lan Grace had not made much apple pie or sweet potato cakes.
She only ate two tiny pieces herself, to satisfy her craving. The rest she traded away.
Apple pie and sweet potato cakes were not like carrion rats and insects from Waste Star—they were made from bona fide natural food.
The standard for natural food was radiation of no more than (1%). Naturally, the dishes Lan Grace made were even more valuable!
Though Lan Grace had given Kane priority trading rights, he did not trade for these precious things.
Compared with these sweets, he was more enthusiastic about Lan Grace's crisp, aromatic insects.
The apple pie and sweet potato cakes, meanwhile, were traded away under Kane's introductions.
Only then did Lan Grace learn Kane's identity—he was the nephew of the captain of Sector Nine's detachment!
A dyed‑in‑the‑wool "second‑gen"!
Lan Grace's cooking had gone to Kane's uncle—Captain Kate.
Though there had been just a few pieces of pie and cake, they had won Lan Grace double the natural food in return.
With those ingredients, Lan Grace felt she could absolutely keep making delicacies and keep trading.
As her supplies grew, she would replace low‑grade nutrient solution with natural food to fill her stomach!
Settled!
Lan Grace's first small goal: even on Waste Star, she would eat delicious food at every meal!
She never expected what she thought would take a while to accomplish would be achieved twenty‑four hours later.
…
Waste Star No. 101, Sector Nine.
As Sector Nine's chief, Captain Kate naturally did not live as hard as ordinary soldiers did.
Ordinary soldiers received two low‑grade nutrient solutions per day as rations; as the captain of the sector, he ate mid‑grade nutrient solution.
This cost ten times as much as low‑grade—one hundred and fifty Alliance credits a bottle.
Not only did it taste far better than low‑grade, it also contained some energy elements. Though not as good as natural food, it at least did not hinder his basic growth in strength.
Only yesterday he had tested himself with his terminal. His physical constitution had reached B+, and his mental power B. Among the captains stationed on the various Waste Stars, such stats ranked towards the top.