CHAPTER 10 - SHORT-TERM LOSSES, LONG-TERM PROFITS

The next day Hazia made sure to wake up at dawn and water the little seeds she had planted the day before. Once she finished that task, she woke up Kazu who had slept in later than usual. She sat him with and had some water to drink for their breakfast as they had run out of food already.

Hazia turned to Kazu and said, "Kazu, when anyone asks us who we are remember to tell them that we are orphans in the palace because that's what the servants called them after the maid who was taking care of us died from illness. You can't tell them that we are from the cold palace. When they ask where we live, you must remember to tell them that we live in Janz Pavilion." Janz Pavilion was where she was placed before she married in her last life and she knew that it had been abandoned for years after a concubine had hanged herself there. It was important for them to have a backstory to cover up the fact that they were sneaking out of the cold palace without orders from the king, otherwise it would be the end before she had even begun.

They tidied up their little courtyard as much as they could, then quickly went to sneak outside of the cold palace, careful not to bump into anyone, which was not hard as there had been a lot less movement in the cold palace since the huge fire broke out in Lady Ifka's courtyard. There were not even whispers of what had happened that night. At least for now, Hazia was certain that Faman or other maids wouldn't come looking for them anytime soon and they probably even thought that they had died in the fire as it was huge and had spread all over the backyard and even consumed a majority of the boxes in the storage room, Hazia had made sure that it would spread that far so that no one would get suspicious of the missing jewels and antiques.

Since that night, she hadn't asked Kazu where he had hidden their loot as she trusted him to hide it properly, and it was better far away from them as possible, at least until they could actually spend it without it being traced back to them otherwise all their efforts would have been for naught.

Soon they arrived at the servant's kitchen, it was well before midday, so Hazia didn't expect to see Inae as she had learned from Kazu that the maids would usually be cooking and prepping meals for the masters of the palace. However, she was greeted by one of the servants, she could only assume was supposed to be guarding the servants' kitchen area.

"Are you two Hazia and Kazu?" Hazia nodded her head in response. Then the servant hummed and continued, "Come with me."

He led them into the kitchen and pointed to the same box from the day before this time almost overflowing with all kinds of produce, "Inae, said you must use the ingredients from that box to cook for 12 persons," he said while pointing at the box then he stepped aside for her and Kazu to move towards the stove but still stayed in the kitchen, far enough to not get in their way but still close enough to observe what they were doing. 

Without wasting much time, Hazia observed the ingredients and tried to come up with the best recipe and decided on making a vegetable soup as no meat was provided for them to cook but seeing the eggs and flour and she decide to also make buns to compliment the soup. After deciding her menu, she then instructed Kazu to light and manage the stove as she did not really know how to before prepping her ingredients.

She quickly cooked the meal and before she could separate hers and Kazu's from the rest, the servants returned and stood outside the kitchen peaking in while Inae entered.

Inae entered and the huge pot of soup and the wooden basin filled with buns and nodded in approval at the tantalizing scent that drifted into her nostrils from the food. From the day before she had been impressed that a child so young could cook such simple dishes that tasted delicious, but then she chalked it up to them being in the palace and around servants and thought that they had just learned it along the way. Either way, it was good they too had their own cook as it was no easy feat to get up early and cook three meals a day for the masters in the palace and then cook at least two meals for themselves. Usually, it would be hard for them to leave the masters' kitchens until it was late at night as they also needed to be on call if snacks had to be prepared; and the leftovers had to be given to the servants who served the masters directly, it was not their turn to get a taste, hence why they had their own little kitchens and supplies for meals. Now, with the appearance of Hazia and Kazu a struggle of theirs was solved with not much loss.

"Not bad," Inae hummed. Then she called two of the servants who were standing outside and peering inside to help with sharing and distributing the food.

Hazia and Kazu stood by with empty stomachs watching as the food they worked so hard on preparing get distributed without so much as a drop touching their lips. Hazia clenched her fists to control herself from lashing out and held her head low for a while to hide her fury-filled eyes. She knew then was not the time to be domineering or have a big temper, as she lacked the means to. Both children waited until all the servants had eaten before they grabbed wooden utensils and shared what was left between each other equally.

Hazia had thought that she would also have to clean up, but without a word the servants got up and cleaned up the kitchen after they had all finished eating; some had even whispered a "thank you" in her direction. Soon it was time for them to leave and return to make their master's dinner and for Hazia to start on their dinner. Inae had led all the servants out of the kitchen and back to work, however one stayed behind.

She looked middle-aged with sharp her features and her hair pulled back in a tight, low bun with strands of gray highlights.

"Hello, Little One." Her features softened into a smile. "You cook really well. Where did you learn?"

Hazia though a bit suspicious did not let her thoughts show on her face, "My carer taught me how to cook."

"Oh?! And where is she? Why would she let you out to work for yourselves?" She sounded like an elder genuinely caring for a young child.

"She went to sleep and never woke up." Hazia tried to make her voice and face reflect genuine sadness.

"Ah!" She nodded her head in understanding then remained silent for a while before continuing, "I really liked what you cooked today, would you mind telling me how you did it? I have a daughter who loves eating such delicious food, and I'd love to make it for her."

Hazia could sense that the lady before her was lying to her face, but it also didn't matter to her so much. She understood that what the woman's real goal was, it was to get her recipe and maybe present it to her master as her own. She didn't care, the soup she made was a really simple dish, but she understood that even such a simple dish was considered to be really good mainly because of her use of spices. Even so, since she wanted the credit, she had to pay for it, since in the end she would be the one benefitting the most from the exchange.

"I can tell you how to make the soup," Hazia nodded. "But I want to make a trade. My carer said that when getting something you must also give in return."

The woman servant had a face of shock at first then slowly nodded her head in understanding, she had thought that she could get the recipe after just asking for it as no matter what she still saw the two as ordinary children that could be pleased with nice words and a smile. "So, what would you like?" She had thought that they would ask for toys or even money, some simple things.

Hazia tapped her chin in thought, while Kazu stood by her silently watching her every move. She thought money wasn't really useful to them at the moment and may in fact put them in danger; and ingredients to cook for themselves was also a no as it could attract unnecessary trouble. She raised her hand showing all five fingers, and the woman thought she meant money but Hazia shook her head.

"I want five sets of clothes for me and my brother. I have five and he has five." At first the woman was stunned, but then her eyes lowered to look at what they were wearing and understood why she asked for clothes.

She quickly nodded her head in agreement thinking she won a great deal in the end. She promised to bring them the next day and get the recipe then before running off to do her work.