The Young Son (4)

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November 20, 2022

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The old nanny followed behind the mother and son. Athena also requested to dismiss the servants at home.

"Miss, dinner has long been readied. Will you start dining with the little master?"

"No need. I will prepare dinner for Theo. You can choose to retire early or help by my side. But it would be best if you swore never to tell what you'll witness later. Am I clear?"

Old nanny Jean felt her back turn cold.

Her service allegiance should be with her master and not with the lady.

But with the force value of the lady, she's likely threatened to commit an oath.

"Miss, I can't keep this a secret from the master."

"Except him, the others should be clear."

"Yes, miss."

"Let's go."

Athena lowered Theo down gradually. Theo didn't want to leave his mother's warm embrace because it was so difficult to let it go. He gave old nanny Jean a deep look. He marched forward afterward, doing his best to follow in his mother's footsteps.

On the exact spot where the old nanny Jean was stunned, she thought, "Why did she offend the young master?"

Despite being married for five years, Athena has only utilized this villa as a place to sleep and frequently leaves when she has free time. She seldom eats meals at home. And whether she was at home or not, the people who got paid would always prepare the meals. But since no one was always home to eat, they organized fewer meals each day.

In any case, if Athena didn't return for dinner, everyone would eventually split it up. Athena quickly looked at the four dishes and one bowl of soup on the table. Although making these foods in the interstellar day and age was challenging, the meal felt embarrassing for the former queen, who could eat everything.

"Dark enough!" Athena commented.

Athena removed her jacket because the villa's temperature had remained constant all year. Athena has often been astounded by the cutting-edge technologies used to make people more comfortable. In the apocalyptic era, it never mattered where she slept during the war. And sometimes, they could not even drink warm water.

Old nanny Jean cleared the dishes on the table and let the housebots do their jobs.

Athena helped Theo to sit on the stool. Then she retrieved a bottle of warm milk from her spaceworld. She also brought out some muffins to cushion the kid's stomach.

"It might take mom an hour to cook our dinner. Little Theo must be obedient and eat these foods first to relieve his hunger. You could also have some of these, nanny Jean."

Old nanny Jean never expected that the lady of the house could become so polite after the bankruptcy. "So, it must be true that the lady needs to hide her true colors because of her stepmother's manipulation!" What amazed old nanny Jean was that the food the lady offered was things she had never seen before.

She asked the young master for permission before getting her share.

She stared at the muffin in her hand.

It smells so good!

It looks good and fluffy!

She slowly brought it to her mouth, and happiness flooded her heart. "The lady is great!"

Athena briefly changed her clothes and put an apron on. She fixed her hair in a messy bun and made sure that there were no strands that would affect her vision. She took some ingredients from her spaceworld and laid them on the counter.

Old nanny Jean felt shocked seeing this kind of secret operation. She thought, "the lady must be hiding so deeply! What kind of plants are these? Where did they come from, and how could the lady have lots of them? The master is mighty! He married a capable wife!"

Athena checked on Theo and asked, "does it taste up to your liking?"

"They are delicious, mom! I have never tasted something like these foods before. And no chef could be better than my mom's cooking!" Theo suddenly felt shy.

"It's good if Theo likes them. Mom has more kinds of food for Theo to taste! Do you have anything you're allergic to, like seafood?" Athena responded, and she chuckled while turning her attention back to cooking.

"I can eat everything, mom! But I usually rely on nutrient solutions with different flavors at home and in school."

"Your dad did not hire a cook for you?"

"He did, but I don't have someone to eat with, mom."

Athena was speechless. "Don't worry. Mom will accompany you when I don't have work to do."

Athena prepared a macaroni-seafood soup, fried chicken, scrambled egg, and plain rice.

She cooked some rice first using a rice cooker.

She prepared some of the missing tools in the kitchen. She cleaned and chopped the ingredients while maintaining the counter clean. She hates seeing a messy kitchen the most and eventually developed a habit of disposing of waste materials.

Athena boiled and drained the noodles, ensuring they did not turn sloppy. She did not forget to add a little salt to the pot, which is a little secret in cooking pasta. Athena poured the shrimp into a clean, warm wok and let them sweat for a minute. Then she added the spices, ginger, and white onion.

Coconut and evaporated milk slowly filled the wok. Athena also added a little bit of salt, sugar, and black pepper. After covering the wok, she let the soup simmer for 5 minutes before adding the vegetables to ensure that milk and ginger would remove the fishy smell of the shrimp.

Additionally, she poured some crab-soup powder into the soup before letting it simmer with the vegetables for some time and letting old nanny Jean wait for it.

Next, Athena fried the marinated chicken and cooked some scrambled eggs simultaneously. The deliciousness of the foods she was cooking wafted throughout the whole villa. The sounds of grumbling stomachs made Athena chuckle.

The housebots slowly served the dishes on the table.

Some tidied the kitchen while Athena changed her clothes again and returned the remaining ingredients to her spaceworld.