Chapter 194: Chapter 114: Strictly Follow the Doctor’s Orders

While Duan Mingyuan thoroughly enjoyed the rich academic atmosphere aboard the flagship, Jiuyue was not idle either. Whenever she arrived at a new place, the first thing she did was to check the local kitchen.

Having been influenced by the chefs from the Imperial Dining Room, she had changed beyond recognition.

However, during her inspection, she discovered there was an extremely serious problem with the food on the flagship. The executive chef in charge, a zealous Sun God believer — and one who harbored erroneous beliefs at that — believed in the path of asceticism. He thought that only by subjecting their bodies and consciousness to severe trials could their hearts truly open up to the Sun King.

The chef actively practiced his beliefs, causing suffering unspeakable for the believers on board.

From Monday to Saturday, it was all ascetic meals, with fruits and vegetables as the main components and boiling as the simplest cooking method. The taste was bland and flavorless. It was only on Sundays that the cafeteria would provide normal meals.

Jiuyue discovered that the most serious issue was their departure on a Monday, which meant that for the next three days, their meals would consist solely of boiled vegetables with not even an egg in sight!

She seriously suspected that these people were attempting to murder her.

However, Jiuyue’s mode of operation was different from Duan Mingyuan’s. Knowing she did not possess the eloquence of Mr. Mingyuan, she never tried to persuade those she disagreed with through reason.

She simply kept a silent note of the chef’s actions.

That very night, as the chef was heading back to his quarters, distracted by his phone while descending the stairs, he missed a step and broke his buttocks, requiring treatment throughout the night. He didn’t lie down until dawn, with injuries so severe that he had to take a three-day leave from work.

The kitchen staff, upon hearing this unfortunate news, showed painfully joyful smiles. The first thing they did upon waking up in the morning was to follow the instructions of the acting head chef, Jiuyue, heading to the storeroom to retrieve the reserved ingredients, of which the ratio of chicken to other meats had to be as high as 8:2.

Although the new acting head chef had an unimaginable obsession with chicken, it was far better than the untenable theory of asceticism proposed by the previous chef.

Unlike the mixed praises for Hei Misa, their chef had no supporters; even the kitchen staff disliked him. They not only had to endure the ascetic meals themselves but would also be banned from attending the "Thanksgiving Meal" on Sundays for a month if caught cooking for themselves.

They had tried reporting him in written complaints, but to no avail since the executive chef was appointed by the Consortium, rendering their reports ineffective.

Today, however, the glory of the Sun King finally pierced through the darkness and shone upon them.

The believers were convinced that Jiuyue was sent by the Sun King to save them, and the executive chef’s accident the previous night was the best proof of that.

This must have been divine punishment.

The Sun King would surely punish those who abused their power.

Jiuyue was unaware of what the believers were thinking. At that moment, she was donning a white apron, busily and orderly directing the kitchen affairs, displaying the demeanor of an Imperial Dining Room head chef. Under her command, plate after plate of meticulously cooked dishes were delivered to the serving area.

She hadn’t expected that chefs would be such a rare commodity in space that allowed the current half-baked executive chef to take charge of the kitchen.

Although it was only for three days, she intended to make everyone on the flagship understand the importance of eating well every day.

This was a principle Jiuyue had known since childhood, one she held as equally important as Mr. Mingyuan in her heart.

The believers on the flagship quickly felt her intentions. Once the cafeteria’s meals were updated, the believers, who had lost faith in their daily meals, flocked there immediately. Their faces overflowed with joy as they openly discussed each dish, reveling in the pleasure brought by the food and feeling hopeful for a future filled with promise.

Such an atmosphere had not been seen in a long time.

Ever since the current Executive Chef took over the kitchen, they had lived every day in darkness.

Although the doctrine of the Ashen Church never explicitly regulated diet, the vile Executive Chef, for the sake of his own assertions, dragged everyone into suffering with him.

They felt that the man tumbling down the stairs had truly only his own folly to blame, and that his comeuppance was even a bit tardy.

Outside the dining room, a pair of resentful eyes was spying on this scene of apparent joy.

The footsteps of believers aroused the Executive Chef. Learning that the kitchen staff had defied his orders by providing lavish meals on a Tuesday meant for austerity, with the aroma reaching beyond the dining room, he no longer cared about the pain in his behind and, against medical advice, hobbled over there with his cane.

Now, he was about to head to the kitchen to severely punish those traitors who dared to defy his orders.

As for the newcomer named Jiuyue, he would let everyone on this ship know the consequences of crossing a chef during interstellar travel.

Thinking this, the Executive Chef, exuding an ominous aura, took a step forward with his cane.

Then his cane struck someone’s shoe.

Once again, he lost his balance and fell straight down the stairs.

...

"It’s alright, he really just accidentally placed his cane on my shoe; accidents happen to everyone, I’ve already forgiven him."

Shortly afterward in the infirmary, the duty nurse, listening to Duan Mingyuan’s recap of the accident, couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

From the look of it, an unscathed Duan Mingyuan had forgiven the Executive Chef, who was so fully bandaged he resembled a mummy.

The diagnosis showed multiple fractures on the Executive Chef’s body, with hardly a spot left intact. If it weren’t for Duan Mingyuan’s statement that the Chef had accidentally fallen down the stairs, she might have thought he had gone off to fight in the Kha war.

The duty nurse found it hard to imagine how someone could have fallen to such a state, but it was certain that for the next week, the Executive Chef would not be getting out of bed.

Last night, Jiuyue complained to him for two hours about the Executive Chef’s appalling conduct, trying to brainwash him into agreeing that the Chef’s fall was deserved, a conclusion everyone longed for, and that it couldn’t be considered misconduct.

However, the keenly observant Duan Mingyuan still criticized her and prohibited her from abusing her Ability on someone else’s flagship.

What he had not anticipated was the Executive Chef’s astounding determination. Upon hearing of the changes in the dining room, he disregarded the pain in his behind and came to the dining room, leaning on a cane.

As a doctor, Duan Mingyuan was well aware of the dangers of defying medical advice. Hence, before the Executive Chef could barge into the dining room and have a major conflict with the kitchen staff, he stepped forward and positioned himself in the Chef’s inevitable path.

Then, as expected, the Chef’s cane struck his shoe.

To ensure the Executive Chef followed medical advice and to avoid unnecessary arguments that would further aggravate the Chef, Duan Mingyuan had thought of this indirect approach.

Looking at the Executive Chef, who now resembled a mummy, his anxious heart finally settled.

In this way, Mr. Mingyuan wouldn’t be able to worsen the condition of his injured buttocks by defying medical orders over the next week.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read