Chapter 250: Precious Things Must Be Given in Full
A mouthful of noodles went into his mouth, mixed with the soup.
Jiang Che’s expression froze instantly. He stared down at the noodles in disbelief. It was clearly a clear, bright broth, so why did it taste so salty?
"How is it, does it taste good?" Ding Ning looked at Jiang Che expectantly. Seeing him stop moving, she couldn’t help but ask worriedly.
"It’s my first time cooking human food. If it doesn’t taste good, you have to tell me." Ding Ning rested her chin in her hands, watching Jiang Che eat with obedient anticipation.
"Have you tried it?" Jiang Che gestured at the bowl in his hand.
"I had a bite, but I can’t taste anything." Ding Ning shook her head. "I read the recipe. It said to add just a little bit of salt, but those salt grains looked so tiny, like little pebbles." Ding Ning looked at the bag of salt in her hand, troubled.
She couldn’t taste anything. The recipe said a small amount, and the video only showed half a spoonful of salt.
She always felt there’d be no taste if it was just that little.
Jiang Che glanced at the bag of salt she was holding.
Even though he’d grown up in a psychiatric hospital, there were some simple things he understood.
Seeing that the brand new bag of salt in Ding Ning’s hand was already a third gone, Jiang Che knew this was serious.
As a High-tier Survivor, his senses were even sharper.
"Does it taste good?" Ding Ning stared hopefully into Jiang Che’s eyes.
"It’s great!" Jiang Che nodded hard, then slurped a couple more mouthfuls. The intense saltiness filled his mouth, but he still thought it was delicious.
Ding Ning frowned. She couldn’t taste a thing, yet she could sense that Jiang Che’s emotions were truly strange.
There was gratitude, happiness, and joy—and of course, a hint of unnoticed pain.
Seeing her frown, Jiang Che hurriedly asked, "What’s wrong?"
"I just feel like your emotions are a little strange," Ding Ning couldn’t put her finger on it, but she was sure Jiang Che was happy.
"That must be because I’m a little sad that you can’t eat this with me." Jiang Che said as he put down the bowl. That really was the part that made him a little unhappy.
Ding Ning couldn’t taste anything, but he wasn’t really afraid of the noodles being too salty for him. It was just that, in the other life he’d experienced, no matter how late family members got home, everyone waited to eat together.
"Oh, that!" Ding Ning immediately smiled, bending down and pulling another bowl of noodles out from under the counter.
"I was worried it wouldn’t taste good, so I cooked a bunch of times." Ding Ning stuck out her tongue at Jiang Che in embarrassment, playfully picking up her chopsticks and copying Jiang Che, slurping a small mouthful.
She couldn’t taste it, but she could feel the smooth noodles slipping into her mouth.
Even if she couldn’t taste the flavor, she knew exactly how long to cook the noodles to make them perfect—she’d mastered this part.
"I’ll eat with you," she said, sipping little noodles, glancing at Jiang Che from time to time.
Jiang Che nodded and took big bites of his noodles.
"From now on, I’ll cook for you every day, okay? Whatever you want to eat, tell me, and I’ll go learn it." Ding Ning smiled at Jiang Che, her other hand flipping through a recipe book she’d found somewhere.
"How is it? Does it taste good?" Ding Ning again looked at Jiang Che, wanting to hear the answer from his lips.
"Delicious, not salty at all." Jiang Che looked at Ding Ning earnestly.
"That’s good then." Ding Ning nodded thoughtfully, looking at the dishes in the cookbook in her hand, pondering the meaning in Jiang Che’s words.
Not salty—does that mean I should add a bit more salt?
She glanced at the salt bag in her hand. That did make sense. Such a big pot, such a big piece of meat, only adding a spoonful of salt really did seem a bit little. She figured she should add as much salt as there was meat and veggies.
No wonder salt has always been so precious throughout human history.
Whenever she was bored, she’d read up on human history and some of their recipes.
There were lots of seasonings in the recipes that she couldn’t figure out, but for most, it seemed you just needed to add salt.
Once the oil was hot, throw in the ingredients and stir-fry—that was the knowledge she’d learned recently.
Looks like next time, she’d have to compare the amount of meat and add the same amount of salt to make the food at its best.
Ding Ning stared at the recipe, thinking as she ate noodles.
She couldn’t taste anything, but that didn’t stop her from loving the experience of sampling human food.
They say the textures of different foods are different, seasoning and flavors come after; sometimes just savoring the feel can make you happy.
For now, Ding Ning had only added salt. She knew how seriously humans regarded salt throughout their history.
No wonder salt was always scarce in the past.
She hunted for cooking supplies from evil spirits—in those previous Dungeons, there were always some human relics left behind.
But after searching everywhere, she’d only managed to find a few bags of salt.
She couldn’t find any more.
She’d noticed in the tutorials that people always used very little, so she couldn’t help giving Jiang Che more.
For something precious, you really have to use a lot.
All the things others couldn’t give Jiang Che before, she wanted to make up for—down to the last drop.
Looking at the salt bag in her hand, she didn’t have much left in storage, but she didn’t feel like saving it at all.
Jiang Che wouldn’t be staying here long; once he went to the Human Realm, she could look for more supplies.
For now, she’d use everything she had for him. She wanted Jiang Che to know he was the happiest person in the world.
"When we go to your place later, let’s invite your friends to our home. I’ll cook for everyone," Ding Ning said, talking about Jiang Che’s few friends.
By then, she’d use a ton of salt and let Jiang Che’s friends have a feast. Maybe people save salt in other households, but she wanted Jiang Che’s friends to know—here, there’s no need to save at all!
She’d give all the best to Jiang Che!
Jiang Che didn’t know what Ding Ning was thinking, but hearing her say she’d cook for his friends made him nod excitedly. "Then everyone will get to taste my wife’s cooking! I’m really so happy!"
He really felt happy—stuff like salt just wasn’t as important to him as Ding Ning’s feelings.
As for what his friends would think, he couldn’t worry about that. Everyone’s taste buds were different; as long as he liked it, that was enough.
Looking at Jiang Che’s excited face, Ding Ning secretly sighed, then whispered to Hua, "Hua, help me look for a bit more salt, would you? Human salt is really too precious."
"Find more, please. Later I want to invite Jiang Che’s friends over too. I need to throw a banquet for our guests."
"Do you really need that much?" Hua asked, puzzled. In her impression, humans hardly used any salt.
"I already put in a lot, but Jiang Che still said it’s not salty. If salt is so precious for humans, he must never have had enough before. I have to make it up to him."