Do you think eating is that easy? You not only have to eat, but you also have to taste the essence, tell me what you ate and what you learned."
Ronnie laughed, clapping his hands, "Okay! That's easy! So when do we start eating, Master? I'm starving." Last night, due to the hypnosis, he hadn't eaten anything except for the initial bowl of porridge; how could he not be hungry?
Chambers said irritably, "Simple, huh? You'll see how simple eating is later. Eating involves two processes. After you complete these two processes, you can truly begin to learn cooking."
Ronnie asked curiously, "What two processes?"
Chambers smiled mysteriously and said, "These two processes are going from thin to fat, and then from fat to thin."
Although Ronnie was smart, he still didn't understand Chambers' meaning. Seeing his puzzled look, Chambers said, "You don't need to understand now. As you progress, you'll understand the meaning of these two stages. Okay, let's begin the first meal. I've prepared breakfast for you in the kitchen. Go eat by yourself."
Breakfast was simple: a large bowl of porridge and a few side dishes. Ronnie was already hungry, and with Chambers' cooking skills, he practically wolfed it down, finishing the breakfast as quickly as possible.
Chambers sat down next to Ronnie, watching him finish his meal with relish, and asked with a smile, "How was it?"
Ronnie replied contentedly, "So delicious! Master, you truly deserve your title of 'Ghost Chef,' your cooking is simply unparalleled."
Chambers sighed, "Unfortunately, my tendons are severed, so I can only make the simplest dishes. Hmm, wait, you brat, are you trying to fob me off with just 'delicious'? Have you forgotten what I told you? What you need to tell me now is how this breakfast made you feel."
Ronnie looked at Chambers innocently, "Feeling? Isn't feeling just 'delicious' enough? Isn't that enough?!"
Chambers tapped Ronnie on the head... He tapped her. "Idiot, of course not. All you know is how good it tastes. What's the difference between you and everyone else? You have to explain what's so good about it."
Ronnie said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? How can you blame me for not explaining clearly? I'm going out for some exercise after I finish eating."
Chambers said helplessly, "I'll let you off this time. I won't explain it to you anymore. If you answer me like this again at lunch, I won't give you dinner. You should go get some exercise too. Take that axe and go chop some wood."
Ronnie looked in the direction Chambers pointed and saw a huge axe, almost as tall as himself, stuck in the corner of the wall. The blade was over a foot wide, and although it looked a bit rusty, its sharpness was still evident. Nodding, he said, "Master, I'll go right now. How much firewood do we need to chop?"
Chambers hesitated for a moment. He had expected Ronnie to complain when he saw the enormous axe, but to his surprise, he readily agreed. He instinctively asked, "Don't you think this axe is too big?"
Ronnie said helplessly, "Big it is, but we still have to chop! Now that I'm here, let me handle the heavy work. Your hands aren't feeling well, so rest them. Maybe the tendons will grow back." As he spoke, he walked towards the large axe.
Hearing Ronnie's words, a warmth he hadn't felt in years spread through Chambers' chest, as if something was pressing down there, and his heart trembled slightly.
The axe was indeed very heavy. Ronnie had to use both hands to barely lift it from its position. Such a heavy axe was certainly not convenient for chopping firewood.
Chambers said, "Ronnie, we only need to chop a small amount of firewood, just enough for our needs. What I need you to do is use this axe to chop the wood, the finer the better. As a cook, you must have a strong body. At the same time, your knife skills need to be developed through practice, do you understand?"
Ronnie nodded knowingly, smiled, and dragged the large axe outside.
"Wait a minute." Chambers realized he had forgotten something crucial and broke out in a cold sweat. Heaven had so kindly sent him such a good apprentice; if he lost his life because of his carelessness, it would be an unforgivable tragedy.
Ronnie, who had just stepped out of the room, turned back to Chambers who had followed him. "Master, is there anything else?"
Chambers patted his chest and said, "I'm getting senile. You just arrived, and I forgot to introduce you to this place. This grove is called Peach Blossom Grove because over seventy percent of the trees here are peach."
Ronnie thought to himself, "Isn't that obvious? Without peach trees, it wouldn't be called Peach Blossom Grove." "So what?"
Chambers said, "Most of the peach blossoms here are of a different species. Do you know why there's no one here? It's because these peach blossoms secrete a toxin that spreads with the wind. I call it Peach Blossom Miasma. It's extremely poisonous; if humans or animals smell it, they will immediately convulse and die. Therefore, this is one of the forbidden areas of the Ice Moon Empire. Apart from a few animals with innate antibodies, there are no other living beings here, and humans certainly wouldn't come. Therefore, you don't need to fear being hunted down."
Ronnie paused, then said, "Since Peach Blossom Miasma is so poisonous, why…" "Are you alright?"
Chambers chuckled and said, "Have you forgotten what your teacher does? I'm a chef. No one has a better sense for edible things than me. Although the peach blossom miasma here is poisonous, it's not without its countermeasures. Near any highly poisonous substance, there's something that counteracts it.