Jin Li came to visit five days after they had parted. Sun was not with him. Leon was not aware that Jin Li"s visit coincided with the point that the youth could no longer stand the energetic Sun"s enthusiasm and pestering. When Sun had opened his mouth and suggested that he and Jin Li ought to become a team and fulfil one of the mission requests, Jin Li had excused himself and fled.It was fairly late in the day and although the sun had not yet set, it would do so within an hour or so. Leon was not out in the dusty front "yard" of his small hut, but his front door was open, so Jin Li walked straight in. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light within and the first thing he noticed was that Leon had white powder upon his nose and in his hair.
The boy was standing at a strangely ornate metal box with curved feet. The black object reached Leon"s waist and a long cylinder of the same metal came from out top of it, reaching up along the wall before disappearing through it. There was heat coming from the box and Leon was stirring a cooking pot on top of it. The kettle behind it was bubbling away happily and another small pot was steaming beside it and delicious scents were filling the small s.p.a.ce.
Jin Li"s stomach growled.
Leon turned slightly startled, but released a breath of relief when he saw who it was. He smiled and welcome the other in. "J-just in time for d-d-dinner," Leon said, before rushing to grab a second bowl.
"What is that?" Jin Li asked pointing at the metal contraption.
"N-noodles," Leon replied, not realising what Jin Li referred to. He proudly scooped out half of the portion of noodles (originally meant for just one) and placed them into a bowl, before scooping the rest into the other. He had never made noodles before. Mino"s grandmother had taken a curious him under her wing and taught him a couple of things after the young men had finished tasks in town. This was his first attempt by himself and he felt that he had done well.
"No... not the food," Jin Li explained, "that metal box."
"Um, it is l-like a enclosed f-fireplace, m-meant f-for cooking," Leon replied. "B-But I can also use it to m-m-make p-pills and heat the hut in the w-winter."
"I see," Jin Li lost interest. So long as food was provided, he did not need to know how it was cooked. Leon scooped some of the vegetables and meat from the pot, placing them on top of the noodles before adding the broth. He wasn"t sure what type of meat it was, other than it was red, for he had bought it in dried form and simply soaked it until it could be reheated for his meal.
He had also bought a lot of flour, rice, pickles and preserves, dried vegetables, fruit and meat, as well as spices, yeast and another jar of honey, since his improved soft ice pills and white warming potions gave him a healthy purse. He also bought more cloth and clothes, his spare set had to be burned seeing as he could not remove the black stains from them. The apprentice blacksmith had then shown him the stove he had created, even Mr Mars had to grudgingly approve of its workmanship, even though he was dubious of its efficiency and usage. Leon had been more than happy and excited to try it out. The apprentice had finally finished installing it yesterday with the help of the boy that Leon recalled manning the front desk when Mr Clawse had introduced him to the smith"s in the first place.
The stove worked well for the purposes of cooking, but if anything, it made the hut feel too hot, hence why the door was open. He didn"t know if this would be the same in the winter, but he wasn"t too worried about it. He had yet to try making pills using it.
Closing the vents to cool the fire, Leon took the noodle soup and placed it in front of Jin Li, who poked at it with his chopsticks before pinching some noodles with them and tasting his efforts. His eyes widened slightly. "It"s good," he said and proceeded to devour the lot, before drinking the broth straight from the bowl. Naturally, he demanded seconds. Leon could give him no more noodles, but filled the bowl with the soup, hoping it would fill this gluttonous pit sufficiently.
"How is it at s-school?" Leon asked in between bites of his own meal.
"The food is boring," Jin Li stated with a sigh as he finished the second bowl before eyeing Leon"s half finished meal. Leon did not oblige, just drew his dinner closer to his body as he ate. Jin Li made a tsk sound, before glancing away.
"How is Sun?" Leon asked, politely, though he wasn"t sure he wanted to know.
"Tolerable to a point," Jin Li sneered, which made Leon happy for some reason, so happy that he stated;
"D-Do you want the b-bath? The w-water should be w-warm enough now."