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 Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 12:36 pm
The kitchen in the Qian Household was large, everything carefully put in its spot. Jianyu rarely entered this particular room in his home, as he did not like cooking, nor did he know how to do so well at all. He could make a few basic things, but other than that he had always been treated to the cooking of his mother and sisters when it came to meals. Jianyu had never quite been able the master what was known commonly as the "art of cooking." Therefore, he did not even know exactly what was in his kitchen.
A small expression of relief crossed his face when Yuudai offered to take the reigns. Jianyu smiled at him gratefully, twisting the beads in his hair as he stepped aside.
"I apologize for making you cook when you are a guest in this apartment." Jianyu said ruefully. "But I am afraid that if I do not let you cook, we will be forced to eat something quite inedible. Please, I would very much like it if you were to prepare something for us."
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:29 pm
More than pleased, Yuudai immediately crossed to the sink and began to wash his hands. There were a handful of things that could offend him instantly, but being asked to cook was certainly not one of them. It was a soothing, enjoyable process for him, especially if the food he served was appreciated and enjoyed. As Jianyu had admitted he wouldn't be able to prepare a satisfactory meal, Yuudai had no doubts that his own culinary talents would be appreciated.
"Do you have anything in mind?" He was pleased to have been asked, and it was the most excited he'd looked that day. If not that, it was at least the most pleasant he'd looked since Jianyu had met him. "I can manage most dishes, though if you have a preference, that makes it easier to decide."
He managed to keep himself from prowling the kitchen to see what kinds of ingredients they had on hand. A great variety, he imagined, just like the large kitchen at home; they had to be able to serve the customers anything on the menu, after all, and his father was constantly experimenting. The family kitchen, built into the back of the inn, was smaller than the one in the Qian household, but he could borrow from the large one whenever he saw fit.
Despite the differences in the kitchens, he was confident in his abilities and eager to begin.
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Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:17 pm
"I am not particular about the food I eat." Jianyu said apologetically, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. He seated himself down at the small kitchen table, folding his fingers together. "So I am afraid I will not be much help in deciding upon what to eat. You are free to choose something on your own, as well as use whatever it is in the kitchen that might be of use to you. Please, feel free to look around."
After many...many unsuccessful attempts at cooking, Jianyu had discovered one very important thing - he had no culinary skills whatsoever. He could string a bow in less than three seconds, hit a bulls-eye with nine out of ten shots (though most of the time it was ten out of ten), and summon his ki to add fire to his arrows within moments. But he could not seem to grasp the simple task of preparing food for oneself. The dishes he brought to Bataar were almost always made by his sisters, or sometimes even his mother (though he did not tell her exactly whom he was taking them to).
"How did you learn how to cook?" Jianyu asked Yuudai, absentmindedly tugging on a bead in his hair.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:36 pm
Perfectly at home inside a kitchen he had never before seen, Yuudai considered Jianyu's question as he began to prepare the ingredients for a simple meal. Had he been free for the entire day, he would have likely wanted to make something more extravagant, but he had plans for the late afternoon. Still, there was always time for a meal, and he didn't mind being the one who put it together.
"My father cooks," Yuudai replied, blue eyes cast down at his hands as he began dicing thin strips of meat. "It was something we did together when I was growing up. I'll inherit the inn when my parents retire, so it's important that I understand the inner workings of the inn from all aspects."
The business part of things he was less informed on, but his mother had been making mention lately that she wanted to take him aside and show him the books. As he got older, she was also beginning to hint that he find a suitable wife, but Yuudai chose to ignore that particular detail. He would get married when the time was right, and at this stage in his life, it was simply not right.
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:29 pm
Sitting at the heavy wooden kitchen table, Jianyu leaned his head against the palm of his hand, listening quietly as Yuudai spoke. There was a sense of finality in his words; a feeling of structure and sense. This young man's path had already been decided long ago, and Jianyu was momentarily taken back to their earlier conversation, at his father's tattoo parlor.
"When someone is given everything in the world, why would they ever shove it away from them as hard as they could?" Yuudai had said. "Comfort, tradition, love.. A steady job, a welcoming home. What more could there be, outside of your reach? What more could a person possibly want?"
More, had been Jianyu's answer, and it had been a simple one. More.
But more what? Obviously this young man had something that Jianyu did not. Though what exactly that "something" was, he could not be certain of. Whatever it was, Jianyu was envious of it.
"You are a good man, Yuudai." Jianyu said finally, letting out a soft sigh. "To be able to hold that sort of responsibility. You are a good person."
A small smile, barely visible, tugged at the corners of Jianyu's lips as he added "And a good cook, if I am to judge things based upon the scent that is coming from whatever it is that you are making."
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Yuudai was embarrassed by the praise, and it showed in the faint flush on his cheeks. Luckily, his back was to the other man, so he was able to focus on the task at hand and not allow the other to bear witness to his flustered pleasure. Despite how deadpan he could be about most things, when it came to highlighting his own virtues or acknowledging him for services rendered he would really rather not talk about it. So, instead of commenting, he simply added the finishing touches on the meal and turned.
A slight smile on his face, he said briefly, "Here. Please enjoy what I have prepared," he added, setting a plate in front of Jianyu, and then seating himself close to the other man.
It was strange the people you could meet without expecting it. Jianyu was an interesting sort, someone that Yuudai wouldn't mind getting to know more closely; he still disagreed with his family business when it concerned his sister's body, but there was little he could do about that now.
He would have to make the best of the situation and try to prevent others like it from happening in the future.
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