Hogan happily reported the good news and was eager to leave.
Before leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned back seriously to say to Celine:
"Miss Celine, if you find more crystal cores in the future, please save some for me. Do not worry about the price. I will never shortchange you."
Celine thought of the box of antiques Hogan gave her last time and smiled, nodding. "Hogan, you can rest assured."
Seeing Celine agree so easily, Hogan felt a little embarrassed.
He scratched his nose and hesitated slightly, asking, "Miss Celine, was the money I gave last time enough?"
After all, the magical power of the crystal cores was far beyond his understanding. Their value might be hard to estimate.
He worried that the price he paid was too low and might have treated Celine unfairly.
Celine thought about the more than eight million in her account and kept saying, "Enough, enough, more than enough!"
Her smile was bright, her eyes warm and sincere.
Hogan saw this and finally relaxed, but he still added,
"Miss Celine, do not worry. Next time I will bring double the money. When I return to the capital, Emperor Qin will surely give me more gold and silver."
Celine quickly interrupted Hogan.
"Hogan, compared to gold and silver, I... I prefer fine jade ornaments, small bronze items, or pottery figurines."
Her eyes looked at Hogan full of hope.
"Only those?"
Hogan was stunned, clearly not expecting Celine's request to be so special.
To him, these things were precious but far less valuable than gold and silver.
Celine did not explain and just said she liked the beautiful shapes of these items more.
"If that is what Miss Celine likes, Hogan will surely agree." Hogan laughed heartily and bowed politely.
As he turned to leave, his eyes caught something in the courtyard.
In one corner of the yard, dozens of huge boxes were stacked neatly, piled like a small mountain, a magnificent sight.
"What is this" Hogan raised his sharp eyebrows, eyes filled with curiosity.
The boxes were made of a strange material, neither wood nor stone, with smooth, flat surfaces. Strange symbols he did not recognize were printed on them, giving off a mysterious feeling.
Celine followed his gaze and smiled gently, explaining, "These are the foods I trade with others."
She walked forward, opened one box, and invited Hogan to look.
Hogan looked closely and saw neatly stacked small squares wrapped in special materials inside the box. They were colorful and eye-catching.
"Food?"
Hogan frowned deeper. He had never seen food like this before.
These small squares looked more like crafts, delicate and small, with no sign of food shape at all.
Seeing Hogan's obvious confusion, Celine's heart moved.
She thought of Hogan's long, hard journey and how ancient food was scarce and boring.
Quickly, she brought an empty large box from the ground and picked several kinds of food from the boxes, sorting and putting them inside.
There were compressed biscuits, instant noodles, self-heating rice, bread, sausages, canned food, various dried meats, a few snacks, and several bottles of drinks.
Watching Celine busy, Hogan hesitated.
He wanted to refuse, feeling these things were too precious, unworthy for him to accept.
But Celine acted first, handing the fully packed box into Hogan's hands.
"Hogan, these are easy-to-carry foods. I am giving them to you as travel snacks. Do not refuse."
"These foods are simple to eat. The compressed biscuits and dried meat can be eaten directly."
"The instant noodles and self-heating rice only need hot water to be added and a little wait. The canned food can be eaten once opened."
Celine patiently explained everything, telling Hogan in detail how to eat each kind of food.
Hogan held the heavy box, looking down at the many different kinds of "food" inside. A warm feeling rose in his heart.
"Thank you, Celine," Hogan said seriously.
He then carried the box, which weighed dozens of pounds, and strode away.
Back in the tent, Hogan lifted the curtain and put the box on the ground, still feeling a bit dazed.
He stared blankly at the box full of "food," feeling many emotions at once.
He really could not imagine that such delicate things were actually meant to be eaten?
General Meng stepped into the tent and immediately saw Hogan holding that huge... box?
"Young master, is all this given by Celine for crystal cores?" General Meng eagerly came forward, his voice full of excitement.
He stretched his neck, wanting to see the crystal cores for himself. After all, they were amazing items that helped soldiers boost their internal power and break stones with their strength!
But when his eyes fell on the colorful, oddly shaped "things" inside the box, his smile froze and was replaced by confusion and shock.
What... what are these things?
Many question marks flashed through General Meng's mind. He had never seen such "strange" crystal cores before.
There were small colorful squares with fancy packaging.
There were long sticks that gave off a tempting smell.
There were also cylindrical containers with strange pictures on them...
This didn't look like crystal cores at all; it looked like... toys for children!
"What is this?" General Meng couldn't hold back his curiosity. He picked up one of the most eye-catching "small squares" from the box.
He looked at it from all sides but still couldn't understand it.
The "small square" had writing he didn't know and a picture of something that looked like a chicken but wasn't really a chicken.
Hogan laughed softly at General Meng's reaction. "General Meng, this is food."
"Food?" General Meng's eyes widened even more. He thought he must have heard wrong.
These colorful, weird-shaped things are food?
How could that be possible!
Seeing General Meng still not believe it, Hogan ordered his assistant, "Go get a bowl and some hot water."
"Yes, sir!" The assistant quickly obeyed and soon brought a ceramic bowl and a steaming pot of hot water.
Hogan took the bowl and hot water, then took out the "small square" that General Meng had studied for a long time — instant noodles.
Following Celine's instructions, he clumsily tore open the package, putting the noodle cake and seasoning packets into the bowl one by one.
Then he slowly poured the hot water into the bowl. A strong, rich aroma immediately spread through the tent.
That smell...
General Meng's nose twitched slightly. He felt the smell was strong and inviting, unlike anything he had smelled before.
Not only him, but the few soldiers nearby also swallowed their saliva and stared fixedly at the bowl of "food."
Hogan gently stirred the noodles with chopsticks to make sure they soaked up the soup well, then covered the bowl and waited quietly.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment. Every second felt like torture.
Finally, Hogan lifted the lid.