Demon hunter's Cooking Manual

This is a fact, beyond doubt.

But some things are always hard to avoid.

Jason took slow steps down the stairs, walking toward his disciples.

The absent-minded apprentices immediately felt a heavy weight over them.

When they saw Jason's expressionless face, their hearts trembled even more.

Especially when they met Jason's eyes, it was as if the wailing of someone about to die echoed in their ears.

Sweat instantly poured out.

Two of them directly collapsed to the ground.

Thump! Thump!

The sound was loud, and everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at the two apprentices enveloped by Jason's tall, burly figure.

"Tiger Fist is all about momentum."

"Cowards cannot train."

"You don't need to come back tomorrow."

Jason finished speaking and turned to leave.

The two apprentices, paralyzed with fear, opened their mouths to say something, but in the end, their faces turned ashen and they said nothing, slinking away in disgrace.

Getting expelled from a martial arts school on Martial Arts Street was no small matter.

Even if their families were well-off, they'd be laughed at for a good while.

In fact, their standing in their families might plummet.

Watching the two leave, the remaining apprentices felt a chill in their hearts and suddenly became more focused than ever before.

Dou Bao finished a round of forms and couldn't help but smile as he watched the apprentices train with newfound effort, then turned toward the kitchen—the martial arts school had hired two rough-handed maids, each paid three Silver Coins per month. Besides handling cleaning and tidying up, they were also responsible for buying vegetables, grains, and miscellaneous goods. However, the main cooking responsibilities still fell on Dou Bao, with the maids merely assisting.

Lunch consisted of steamed rice, braised fish, ribs, and scrambled eggs.

The fish was crucian carp, plump and full of meat, cooked with garlic, chili, and scallions to produce an aromatic braise that was irresistibly appetizing.

The ribs were stewed in soup, with winter melon added, filling a whole bucket. The soup was bright and clear, garnished with chopped scallions and cilantro.

The scrambled eggs were simply egg pancakes—five eggs per pancake, and Dou Bao made ten of them.

The rice was steamed in a large iron pot—big enough to fit a whole sheep.

"In the morning I lost face, but for lunch, I must make sure the schoolmaster eats his fill!"

With this simple thought in mind, Dou Bao worked briskly, setting the table and serving the dishes.

However, after Jason sat down, Dou Bao began to grumble quietly.

"Master, an apprentice costs ten Silver Coins a month!"

"We only have eleven apprentices now, and you kicked out two. That's twenty Silver Coins less a month!"

"Think of how much meat we're losing out on!"

Dou Bao muttered.

Still, the corners of her mouth turned upward.

"The apprentices will come."

Jason, already holding his bowl, spoke vaguely.

For now, he wasn't familiar with the economics of this world, so he didn't know what to say, merely voicing an ambiguous reply.

Nonetheless, he did notice Dou Bao's upward-curved lips.

Hah, a woman saying what she doesn't really mean.

The two maids went home for lunch, and so did the apprentices. They would return at three in the afternoon, leaving Jason and Dou Bao to eat alone.

With fewer people around, Jason didn't mind at all.

In fact, to a certain extent, he preferred it this way.

Dou Bao was the same.

For Dou Bao, a refugee, the happiest moments of her day were the ones she spent with the schoolmaster.

Especially when they ate together.

At the dining table, Jason and Dou Bao devoured their food like a storm sweeping through the fields.

From time to time, Dou Bao would talk about the happenings in the area.

Jason ate while listening attentively.

He knew too little about this world and needed to learn as much as he could, as quickly as possible.

However, Dou Bao's accounts were scattered and superficial, often missing the key points.

Mostly, it was about how pork had gotten more expensive, fish wasn't fresh, or how Madam Wang had been ambushed in a sack and left crippled, and also how the tea shop had been smashed.

Finally, after finishing an entire pot of rice, Jason spoke——

"Dou Bao, has anything strange happened recently?"