Early in the morning, Yu Xiaoxiao went to the hospital.
This time, she paid the fees several days in advance. After the nurse gave her the payment slip, she said, "Your mother's check-up was done today, and everything is normal."
"Thank you. I'm going to see her."
Yu Xiaoxiao came to a bed in the corridor and pulled up a small stool to sit there.
The hospital was too crowded, and there were no vacant beds, so they had to set up a makeshift one here.
The woman lying on the bed looked to be in her forties, her eyes closed lightly, with a peaceful complexion.
She had been on a drip all day and was usually attended to by a nurse. When Yu Xiaoxiao had time, she would come and accompany her for a while.
"Mom, when I went out today, the neighbor aunt inquired about the situation of the shop and said she wanted to take it over."
"I refused."
"Although the little restaurant can't be opened in the short term, it's the shop you have always worked hard to run. I don't want to sell it off."
"When you wake up, all the old customers will surely come back."
Yu Xiaoxiao carefully applied hand cream to her, and the food her mother made was delicious. The small restaurant business is booming. Although she was busy and tired every day, now, when she thinks about it, helping her mother wash vegetables in the kitchen has become a luxury memory. It would be great if she could go back. But the hospital said that the massive intracranial bleeding caused by this car accident has an extremely slim chance of waking up. The cost of treatment has depleted all of the family's savings and has reached a point of desperation, but yesterday's job offer came out of the blue. Yu Xiaoxiao tightly held the woman's hand and said, "Mom, I will work hard to earn money, and you must not give up. You must wake up, you must...!" It is now 7:30 in the morning, and there is still over an hour until work time. "I'll go back first and come to see you tomorrow." Yu Xiaoxiao ran back home. She rushed to the bathroom for a shower, changed into clean clothes, and blow-dried her hair. The orange cat lazily lay on the windowsill licking its paws. When it heard movement, it lifted its head and emitted a "meow." The girl put on a pair of comfortable white sneakers and opened the cabinet door, looking at the deep, endless flight of stairs, gently took a deep breath. The bright light of the crystal lamp was particularly striking in the darkness, but not at all glaring. Even if stared at directly, the delicate patterns on the lampshade could be observed very well. With the experience from yesterday, Yu Xiaoxiao was not so afraid. She walked all the way to the end and just as she landed, she heard that familiar voice, "Xiaoxiao, you are here." Slime emerged from the darkness, grabbing Yu Xiaoxiao's hand, and led her to a nearby track, saying, "Look! This is the car I prepared for you meticulously!" A yellow car, resembling a box, appeared in view, with a dazzling golden light shining all around it. In front, there was a pole with a white sphere hanging on it, with a simple start function. There were two openable light panels on the shoulder, resembling airplane wings, but with a square shape. The car was very small, with space for only one person. Yu Xiaoxiao got in and found it much more comfortable than she had imagined. Slime said, "You press the start button, the destination will appear on the screen, then you press it again, and it will take you there." Yu Xiaoxiao did so and found that the current destination of the car was only two options—the kitchen and the junction. She pressed the kitchen, and the little yellow car started instantly. Slime climbed up at some point but did not sit inside, hanging onto the outer panel, its mouth blown up by the wind, like an inflated balloon. It persisted, saying, "After you are permanent, more places to go will appear. Before that, do not wander around, okay, mumumumumu—" Yu Xiaoxiao held the handrail at the front with both hands, feeling like riding a roller coaster, but driving on a smooth track. About three minutes later, the little yellow car stopped at the kitchen door. Yu Xiaoxiao heard the sound of dripping water in the small hollows. She nodded and said, "I know, I won't wander around. What am I going to do today, and it's my decision? Mr. Slime, was he satisfied with last night's dinner?" Slime hadn't taken a ride in a long time. It slid to the ground, completely collapsed. "The Third Prince has no appetite recently, and he doesn't eat much. Do you have any special dishes? Bring them all, as long as they solve the problem of eating, everything is fine," it said. "Special dishes..." Yu Xiaoxiao went into the kitchen. "If he has no appetite, just have something light," she said as she started to rinse the rice. When she was sick before, she liked to eat the yam and red date porridge her mother made. She soaked coix seed and rice in water, then went to boil a pot of clear water. She planned to make fried oysters with eggs again. This time, Slime didn't go to water the stones, but chose to watch from the side. She had seen many renowned chefs before from various planets, each of them professional and elegant. But the girl in front of her was different. She hesitated briefly when picking up ingredients, seemingly worried about something. Well, she was only eighteen years old. At that age, she should still be a student. Although cooking was a private affair, it was after all something made for others to eat. It comforted her, saying, "Don't be nervous, the Third Prince actually isn't that picky, it's probably just because of some reasons that he has no appetite. Just treat this as if it's your own home, be at ease." Yu Xiaoxiao looked gratefully at it and filtered the oyster meat with boiling water, then found a container, added an appropriate amount of salt and pepper to mix the egg mixture, and then poured the oysters in to stir. She was very skillful with this dish, making it effortless and simple. After flipping and frying, she cut the omelet into diamond-shaped pieces and neatly arranged them on a white plate. The golden brown omelet wrapped the oyster meat, emitting an aromatic fragrance. Slime couldn't help but swallow saliva. By this time, the porridge was done, and Yu Xiaoxiao scooped it into a bowl. This time, she brought the pickled long beans from her home kitchen. She found a small plate to put them in, as it is the most appetizing. Slime put all the breakfast that Yu Xiaoxiao had prepared onto the food cart.
"I'm going to deliver the meal."
"Okay."
Yu Xiao Xiao took off her apron and sat on the soft sofa to rest. She could have left, but this time, she wanted to wait for a result.
-
Slime pushed the food cart to the side of the stone door.
It softly said, "Master, the meal is ready."
When it reached halfway, the slime turned off the small lamp. It waited outside the door, and after a long time, a hoarse voice came from inside.
"I don't want to eat."
"The chef this time seems pretty good. She made you a bowl of porridge and a plate of fried oysters."
"Well, shall we taste it first?"
"She hasn't left yet, it seems like she's waiting for the master's reply."
"Uh, Lord Roko said the palace is going to hold a banquet, and many envoys from different planets will be visiting. Do you want to go?"
"I don't want to."
Slime said so much, but the person inside the door only replied with these two words.
It was already used to it.
"Master, I've put the breakfast at the door."
It slowly pushed the food cart away.
The food was quietly placed on the table beside the stone door.
After a long time, a muffled sound of pushing the door was heard in the darkness, and a slender hand reached out.
He grabbed a piece of pancake and put it in his mouth.
After taking a bite, he immediately spat it out.
In the darkness, a disdainful flash passed through his crimson eyes.
"Disgusting."
Bang!
The stone door closed heavily.
Slime was startled, and it hurried back, only to find that a piece of food was missing from the plate.
"Change her," the voice inside the door was cold and hoarse.
Slime looked embarrassed, "Lord Roko says this young lady's cooking is really good, and she is very suitable for this job. We have already paid her a month's salary, at least—"
"Have I been too kind to you recently?"
"..."
Slime didn't dare to speak for Yu Xiao Xiao anymore, and immediately changed its words, "Okay, I will send her away now."
Every chef was personally selected by Lord Roko.
The previous few always left for various reasons, but some were lucky enough to be employed by the Third Prince, who liked them during the winter.
"Lord Roko, the Third Prince is not satisfied with this young lady."
Slime contacted Roko at the palace using the communicator, and there was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Try again."
Slime also wanted to fight for Yu Xiao Xiao.
Because no matter how many chefs were found, it would be futile.
The Third Prince was not dissatisfied with today's meal, he would not be satisfied with any meal now.
Yu Xiao Xiao was still waiting in the kitchen.
When she saw Slime returning, she hurriedly stood up, looking at it with anticipation, "How was it? What did he—say?"
This woman from the underground city was her benefactor. Yu Xiao Xiao nervously held the hem of her clothes, feeling that this job could disappear at any moment without a definite answer.
Slime dared not look into her eyes.
Should it convey the master's words verbatim? That would hurt the girl's heart.
So it tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible, "The master really has no appetite lately, he doesn't want to eat anything. Xiao Xiao, the internship period may end early."
Yu Xiao Xiao's heart "clenched".
Her intuition was correct; such a good job wasn't easy to come by.
Forced to smile, she whispered, "Okay, I understand. The payment from yesterday—"
"That's a deposit, we won't take it back." Slime hopped onto the sofa, reached out and held Yu Xiao Xiao's hand, and comforted her, "Don't be sad, the food you made is really delicious. How about you go back and rest for a few days, and when the Third Prince is in a better mood, I'll find you again."
Yu Xiao Xiao suddenly saw hope again. She said earnestly, "If you could give me another chance, I will definitely work hard to make him satisfied with the food!"
Slime patted his head and felt a little embarrassed.
In the dungeon, it doesn’t count.
Mr. Roko doesn’t count either.
The king, the crown prince, and the second prince don't count either.
This place of endless darkness has only one master, the third prince of the Karya planet. On the day he was born, the king gave him this domain.
It was the highest honor and favor. The size of the underground city was as big as the Karya Empire.
No prince in history has ever owned such a large territory.
However, judging by his age, the third prince is in no hurry to inherit the underground city. He could continue to live in the comfortable palace.
Slime said, "Come on, I'll take you." Yu Xiaoxiao followed Slime with her head down.
The yellow car was still parked outside. Perhaps this could be the last time she rode in it.
"Cooking" was one of the few skills Yu Xiaoxiao had, and when she helped out at the small restaurant, customers would often praise her cooking.
Her self-confidence has been rejected.
This setback was bigger than any job she had lost before.
But she didn't show it and instead casually got into the car, waving goodbye.
"Wait-," Slime suddenly shouted as she was about to leave.
It looked at the display on the trolley, its eyes widening in disbelief.
It was a message from the master.
"What's wrong?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked nervously.