No, three meals a day absolutely cannot be skipped.
As the aroma in the air grew stronger, Shen Xiaoyan's stomach began to rumble insistently.
It wasn't her fault for lacking elegance; the smell was just too delicious, and she couldn't wait to eat.
"Ugh... what smells so good? Give me a bowl first."
Before Shen Xiaoyan could even move, Lu Taobao spoke up first.
Not only did he speak, but he also acted.
Because Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei saw him stagger to his feet and head towards the soup pot.
As Lu Taobao's hand was about to touch the pot's rim, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei quickly stood up and rushed towards him.
Pulling Lu Taobao aside, Shen Xiaoyan looked at the soup pot again. Seeing that it was still safely on the stove, she finally relaxed.
It wasn't that she was overly concerned about this pot of soup.
The truth was, the soup had been simmering for so long, and she was now so hungry that if she accidentally knocked over the pot, she didn't know if she would have the strength to wait for the next pot to be ready.
On the other side, Lu Taobao had also sobered up.
After hearing Zheng Wei recount what had happened, Lu Taobao chuckled and said, "This just goes to show that Sister-in-law's cooking skills have reached an extraordinary level, to the point where I, who should have been unable to get up, stood up on my own and headed straight for this pot of soup."
Shen Xiaoyan, hearing Lu Taobao's words, felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
From Lu Taobao's demeanor, she could tell he was fine.
"How are you feeling now?"
Although she was mostly certain, Zheng Wei still asked.
Lu Taobao looked a little puzzled but closed his eyes to feel his body.
When he opened his eyes again, Lu Taobao was filled with surprise. "Where has my spiritual energy gone?"
How could he have slept his way into becoming an ordinary person after a nap?
If he weren't in this strange place with Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan by his side, he would have thought all of it was a dream.
But he still couldn't understand what was happening.
Seeing Lu Taobao's confused expression, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei didn't rush to explain. They didn't want to repeat themselves after Sima Han and Namu Zhong woke up.
Just as they were thinking this, there was movement from the ship's cabin.
The three turned to look and saw Namu Zhong and Yizhixie helping each other walk over.
Yizhixie half-supported Namu Zhong as he walked towards the three, saying, "Good Samaritan, is there any more food? Could you spare us a bowl?"
Shen Xiaoyan chuckled at his words, "You seem to be doing alright if you still have the energy to joke."
Yizhixie's face instantly turned into a bitter gourd.
What did she mean "doing alright"? He was trying to find humor in his misery.
By the time Shen Xiaoyan placed bowls of steaming hot lamb soup in front of them, Yizhixie was too busy eating to complain.
All five of them stopped talking and focused on eating the soup in their bowls.
The winter melon had been stewed until it was fragrant, soft, and almost melt-in-your-mouth.
The lamb ribs had also been cooked until they were tender and falling off the bone.
A gentle bite was enough to separate the meat from the bone.
Shen Xiaoyan and Namu Zhong each had two bowls of soup and then ate a bowl of rice with the soup to their fill.
As for Zheng Wei and the other two, they completely finished all the soup and rice in the pot.
Looking at the clean pot, which barely needed washing, Shen Xiaoyan clicked her tongue.
She hadn't expected their appetites to be so large.
Fearing they wouldn't have enough and thinking she could store any leftovers in her spatial dimension for when they were hungry or cold, she had prepared enough for ten people.
Now, the five of them had eaten it all clean. This amount of consumption truly surprised her.
Given this, Shen Xiaoyan simply asked Luoluo to bring out more winter melon and lamb, asked Zheng Wei to cut the lamb, and to boil the soup again.
If they were to travel soon, they could eat it on the way.
If not, they could have it for dinner.
By the time Shen Xiaoyan finished boiling the soup and returned to sit beside Zheng Wei, she learned that they had roughly planned their next steps.
"We all understand our current situation, and we can't go back, so I think we shouldn't waste any more time and should continue moving forward."
Zheng Wei spoke, and everyone agreed.
"Yes, but we should wait until the soup is ready before we go."
Lu Taobao said, glancing at the stove.
If they left without the soup, what would happen to this pot of goodness?
While marveling at Lu Taobao's strong foodie genes, Shen Xiaoyan patiently explained, "I can put it in my spatial dimension and have Luoluo watch it."
As soon as Shen Xiaoyan said this, Yizhixie and the other two looked at her.
There was no other reason than Shen Xiaoyan's words had revealed the extraordinary nature of her spatial dimension.
This was one of Shen Xiaoyan's trump cards, but now, to reassure them, she had revealed it.
It was impossible not to be moved. At the same time, they secretly resolved that no matter what, the extraordinary nature of Shen Xiaoyan's spatial dimension would absolutely not be revealed.
Since the issue of the soup was resolved, there was no need for them to linger any longer.
After storing everything in her spatial dimension, Shen Xiaoyan took out clothes for Yizhixie and the other two, identical to their own. After she and Zheng Wei helped them change, they walked forward together.
The snow continued to fall, not heavily, but when the wind blew, the snowflakes hitting their faces felt piercingly cold.
"We're just going to walk like this?"
Lu Taobao struggled to lift his foot and asked Shen Xiaoyan and the others.
Yizhixie replied helplessly, "Otherwise, what do you want to do?"
Lu Taobao was speechless. He didn't want to do anything else.
It was just that the road ahead was long and endless, with snow everywhere. As the blizzard continued to fall, the accumulated snow on the ground was already past their ankles.
If they hadn't been wearing the shoes Shen Xiaoyan gave them, their feet would have long since gone numb from the cold.
They had been walking for a considerable time now. Shen Xiaoyan roughly calculated it to be two to three hours.
But looking back, they could still see the sea in the distance.
This speed was hardly faster than crawling.
That would have been acceptable.
The problem was that it was already getting dark.
They were now cold and hungry. If they had to sleep in a place like this at night, they probably wouldn't see the sun tomorrow.
Although, there wouldn't be any sun tomorrow anyway.
Shen Xiaoyan was impressed with herself for being able to think about such things at this moment.
It seemed her ability to find humor in adversity was indeed top-notch.
While Shen Xiaoyan was lost in thought, Zheng Wei and the others were observing their surroundings.
Their thoughts were naturally the same as Shen Xiaoyan's.
Zheng Wei scanned the area and finally looked at a mountain not far ahead, saying, "Let's head there. Perhaps we'll find a cave or something."
Although the white expanse made it difficult to tell if distant features were snowdrifts, frozen rivers, or snow-covered mountains, at least there was a glimmer of hope.
Even though they could barely lift their feet, they knew they couldn't stop here.
So, the five of them helped each other forward.
Their speed was negligible, and calling it walking might as well have been calling it inching along.
If it weren't for the hot lamb soup they had eaten several times during the afternoon's journey, they would have been unable to go on much earlier.
In her previous life, Shen Xiaoyan hadn't been to the Antarctic or Arctic, but based on her current feeling, she felt that even those places might not be as cold as this.
Even with a hat and a mask, the ice beads on her eyelashes never melted, and the cold made her eyeballs ache.
The group continued forward, struggling immensely for another half hour before finally reaching the side of the mountain Zheng Wei had mentioned.
Shen Xiaoyan had already discovered a benefit of the snowy day.
That was, although it was completely dark, everything was white, so they could still see.
"From afar, it didn't seem that big, but now that we're here, I realize this is truly a mountain."
Lu Taobao looked up at the towering mountain and sighed with emotion.
Shen Xiaoyan weakly replied, "You still have the energy to lament here? We're about to be camping out here tonight."
Zheng Wei didn't respond, but his eyes continuously scanned the surroundings.
"Mimi, do you have any lighting devices?"
Shen Xiaoyan thought for a moment; she seemed to have a flashlight.
She urged Luoluo to quickly bring out a few flashlights, handed one to each person, and explained how to use them.
When everyone turned on their flashlights, they were all amazed.
They truly hadn't expected such things to exist.
Namu Zhong examined it repeatedly, saying, "It's similar to a luminous pearl, just brighter and with a longer range."
Shen Xiaoyan nodded, "That's true, but it's limited by time. After a while, it stops emitting light."
"Each has its own strengths," Namu Zhong agreed.
Lu Taobao listened to their conversation and said helplessly, "I say, you two still have the energy to discuss this? How are we going to sleep tonight?"