Chapter: Departure and Discovery
In the morning, Cheng Yu and Mina got up and headed to the kitchen to steam buns.
When the two arrived at the kitchen, Ivennie was already sitting in front of the stove, tending the fire.
"Good morning, Master Cheng Yu, Sister Mina." Ivennie greeted them with a smile.
"How long have the buns been steaming?"
"About twenty minutes."
"They should be almost done."
The buns had already been cooked the night before—they just needed to be steamed until hot.
Cheng Yu and the others carried the steamers outside. The cavalry unit was already waiting.
They exchanged small paper bags from the system warehouse and packed the buns for the cavalrymen.
The cavalry paid and returned to the Northern Fortress with the buns.
At that moment, Maxi and Austin walked into the garden in front of the manor.
Austin, wearing his gray robe and holding his magic staff, pulled a disc-shaped magic tool from his magic storage bag and placed it on the ground.
The fat on Maxi's waist swayed like waves as he carefully stepped onto the round magic tool, terrified his weight might crush it.
The magic tool displayed Maxi's current weight: 228 pounds.
"Ahhhhhhhh~ I gained ten pounds!!!"
Maxi screamed like a pig being slaughtered, at an incredibly high decibel.
After living here for less than a month, he'd gained ten more pounds than before.
If he continued living here with Cheng Yu, his weight would definitely exceed 300 pounds.
"Holy crap, Brother Maxi, what are you screaming about?"
Cheng Yu was startled by Maxi's scream.
Sigh~
The horrified expression turned to dejection. Maxi sighed, looking miserable. "Cheng Yu, I can't live here anymore. I've been here for over ten days and I've gained ten pounds."
The King of the Black Sun Empire had sent Maxi to inspect the frontlines.
Maxi had originally planned to take advantage of the inspection to walk more, exercise more, and lose weight.
Instead, he'd met Cheng Yu, the god of cooking, whose dishes were more delicious than the last.
Not only had he failed to lose weight, he'd gained more.
Cheng Yu recalled that during this time, Maxi had taken a spoon and eaten with his stomach wide open—his appetite comparable to Mina's.
In addition to three meals a day, Maxi had also pestered Cheng Yu to make him tiramisu cake as a midnight snack. And his daily exercise radius didn't exceed 100 meters around the manor. It would've been weird if he hadn't gotten fat.
"You can leave, but I'm not returning the hundred gold coins," Cheng Yu said.
Maxi had given Cheng Yu 100 gold coins for a month's accommodation and meals.
Now Maxi was yelling about leaving before living here a full month. Cheng Yu wasn't giving his money back.
It was just pocket change. Maxi didn't care about the 100 gold coins. "The frontline inspection mission is almost over anyway. I should head back to the capital."
"How about staying a few more days?"
Cheng Yu tried to persuade him. Such a wealthy fat man was rare. He should be able to squeeze more money out of him.
"No. If I stay here any longer, I might get fat as a ball."
"Fat as a ball? Wouldn't that be better?"
"Why?"
"You'd be round. You could roll back to the capital. Efficient and labor-saving."
"..."
Maxi suspected Cheng Yu had fattened him up on purpose, though he had no evidence.
He couldn't stay here any longer. Maxi went back to his room to pack his things, gathered his belongings, and left the manor.
However, less than two minutes after walking out of the manor, he turned back.
Maxi walked up to Cheng Yu. "Brother Cheng Yu, make me some of your tiramisu cake. I'll take it back for my family to try."
"Tiramisu cake only keeps for two or three days. I'm afraid it won't be edible by the time you reach the capital."
"It doesn't matter. My teacher knows ice magic. It can be frozen for longer."
"That's a good idea."
Cheng Yu walked into the kitchen and made several pounds of tiramisu cake for Maxi.
Austin used ice magic to create a large square ice block, chiseled it into the shape of a box, and fashioned a simple "refrigerator."
They placed the several pounds of tiramisu cake into the "refrigerator," then put the "refrigerator" into the magic storage bag.
"You're such a glutton, I bet you'll finish this whole box before you even reach the capital," Cheng Yu laughed and teased.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible," Maxi said firmly.
He might eat a little, but he definitely wouldn't finish it all.
The two left Cheng Yu's manor.
"Ivennie, have you learned the plant growth magic and vine magic?"
After Austin left, no one was teaching Ivennie magic anymore.
Ivennie's pretty face lit up with a smile. "I've learned them, but I'm not very proficient yet. I need to practice more."
The forest elves' talent for plant magic was unmatched by other races.
It might take an ordinary mage two or three years to learn these two spells, but Ivennie had learned them in just a few days.
"I'll get you some seeds to practice with."
Cheng Yu opened the system shop.
He spent 50 positive emotion points and exchanged for half a pound of high-quality sweet corn seeds.
Though corn existed on the Celsis Continent, the variety here was poor—not tasty, barely filling stomachs.
There were over a hundred acres of farmland in front of the manor. Cheng Yu planned to grow some corn for himself.
He spent 50 positive emotion points and exchanged for 50 grams of high-quality strawberry seeds.
Strawberries existed on the Celsis Continent too, but the variety wasn't great.
He spent 50 positive emotion points and exchanged for 50 grams of catnip seeds.
There was no catnip on the Celsis Continent. He'd plant some catnip to use when petting cats in the future.
Cheng Yu exchanged over a dozen types of seeds from the system shop and handed them to Ivennie.
Ivennie took the seeds to the farmland.
She scattered over a dozen sweet corn seeds on the ground and used plant growth magic on them.
The sweet corn seeds sprouted quickly, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and became two-meter-high plants.
Ivennie's current strength was limited. She couldn't make the plants grow to the flowering and fruiting stage. If they wanted to eat sweet corn, they'd have to wait a while longer.
Cheng Yu sat in the shade of the tree, watching Ivennie practice magic. He sighed internally about how convenient it was to use magic for farming.
Just then, a luxurious carriage stopped at the entrance of Cheng Yu's manor.
The carriage door opened. A pot-bellied merchant walked down with a cane, a professional fake smile plastered on his face.
Cheng Yu glanced over and recognized the man—the slave trader Marcus. He wondered what Marcus had come to see him about.