Chapter 215 Experiments

"Just how in the hell did the two of you thought that I fancied vegetables?!" Zieve angrily shouted and the two disciples hung their heads low. When Zieve asked them to confess, they honestly expressed their thoughts which made the former erupt into madness.
"S-s-Sorry, Senior... Everything that happened was a misunderstanding..." The fat disciple apologized and the disciple beside him, deeply bowed his head.
Sighing, Zieve replied.
"Okay, let's just forget everything so that the two of you can properly answer my question since we're running out of time. The cauldrons are about to boil and service time is coming up. Now, tell me, are there any garnishes that could provide such a boost?"
Zieve asked with a frown and the two disciples stared at each other. They felt suspicious that a Head Chef like Zieve didn't knew about the properties of the ingredients that he adds on the Garlic Soup. 'Could it be that he's only adding something just because it tastes delicious?' They thought before answering.
"Yes, an ingredient when mixed with something Yang and warming could provide the boost that you mentioned. It's a well-known ingredient but due to the fact that it tastes extremely bitter and unpalatable, no one is willing to consume it directly or even add it to their meals..."
"In fact, everyone was astonished that you were able to reduce its bitterness to an endurable level without diminishing its aphrodisiac effects..."
The two disciples said and Zieve's eyes widened in shock. He remembered adding a garnish that tasted extremely bitter when eaten directly and in huge amounts.
"Phoenix Spring Tail?!" Zieve exclaimed and the two disciples nodded their heads, "Yes, that's right, it's the Phoenix Spring Tail that Senior sprinkes on top of the Soup."
"I only thought that it's bitterness complemented the richness of the Garlic Soup and added it in since it's also cheap and easily accessible along with a virtually inexhaustable supply behind it... I never thought that it had such an effect..."
Zieve replied to them and the two disciples bitterly smiled. They confirmed that Zieve never really studied the effects of the ingredients and just tried his best mixing those that tasted well together without thinking about how it could affect the body.
With shining eyes, Zieve finally understood the key for negotations that they could use when advertising their franchising licenses at the Entertainment Block. With his boosted morale, business went even smoother than normal and Juliet saw that Zieve had a wide smile on his face, enough that he would dance if not for the fact that he was in the middle of service.
"Zieve? What's going on? Why are you smiling so wide today? Did something happen? Or maybe..." Juliet smirked and she teased Zieve, "Could it be that you find a suitable Dao Companion?"
When Juliet's menarche arrived. Natalie explained to her all sorts of things particularly the relationship between a man and a woman so the current Juliet more or less wasn't as innocent as she was.
Zieve almost stumbled in his movements as he lifted his head to stare at the cheekily smiling Juliet. When the latter mentioned "Dao Companion" His eyes subconsciously landed on Juliet and the thought of it made him feel shameful as his cheeks reddened. He didn't dare to meet Juliet's gaze.
Unfortunately, his actions of avoiding Juliet's eyes made the latter even more doubtful as she lifted her finger and poked him on the cheeks, "Come on, come on, tell me more... Did you really find a Dao Companion?"
Zieve shoved her hand aside and glared, "Kid, what do you even know about Romance?" He turned his head away and continued their journey amidst Juliet's muffled laughter.
Back in his independent room, Zieve stood before a boiling cauldron of Garlic Soup.
The soup looked creamy and the aroma that it emanated induced a boiling sensation within one's heart. On his left hand was a tray where a bundle of Phoenix Spring Tail could be seen.
Taking the Phoenix Spring Tail. His right arm turned into a blur and accurately sliced at the points where the essence of the Phoenix Spring Tail concentrated. Placing the slices into the boiling cauldron. The enticing aroma intensified and Zieve's expression turned solemn.
Directly adding the Phoenix Spring Tail into the Garlic Soup was a gamble.
Though both were compatible since they were affliated with Yang, slight differences were significant in such concentrations that if the mixture combination failed, the dish would also fail.
A pungent smell of concentrated Garlic burst from the cauldron in the form of toxic fumes which evoked sneezing and coughing from Zieve.
Flicking his wrist, the window beside him snapped open and the toxic fumes were dissipated.
"Damn it, the ratio is off! If I want to enhance the capabilites of the Phoenix Spring Tail, not only must I calculate the amount of Garlic, I must also keep in mind the other garnishes so that their differences wouldn't create a conflict!"
Beaded sweats formed on his forehead as Zieve gnashed his teeth. Taking another cauldron, he restarted the process and in just several minutes, another batch of Garlic Soup exploded into toxic fumes.
Recording the process using his notebook, Zieve's countenance looked pale and his eyes were red from the fumes that came from the cauldrons. Despite all of this, his determination didn't disappear and the zealous lights within his eyes remained stable.
Carrying dinner with her, Juliet hummed a tune and approached Zieve's room with a smile on her face.
The dishes that she prepared was Zieve's favorite Red Braised Pork Belly. As rewards for Zieve's hard work, she tried her best in recreating her mother's recipe and after several hours of work in the kitchen, Juliet completed her dish.
Knocking on the door, Juliet shouted: "Zieve, it's about time that you go out and eat your dinner! I brought it for you so open this door!"
Her shouts were met with silence and Juliet knitted her eyebrows in a frown. Manipulating some Spiritual Energy, she pushed the door open and the scene that she saw froze her like a statue.
Zieve was standing there staring at the bubbling cauldron of Garlic Soup with a zealous light in his eyes. His expression looked sinister and the air that surrounded him was dark.
Paired with the pungent smell of concentrated Garlic and Phoenix Spring Tail, Juliet's turned pale and slowly closed the door as she placed the tray on the ground before running towards the opposite direction in fear.
Zieve in his state of concentration didn't even notice Juliet's arrival as he scribbled on his notebook with his quill. Right now, Zieve was akin to a mad scientist that only longed for success, nothing was more valuable than him than seeing the success of his experiment.