Chapter 278: Return, My Friend!

On the way out, George heard people complain about the food at the medical station more than once.

In fact, during the first few days after arriving, the wounded here were praising the food endlessly!

It was a thick soup made by simmering fresh beef bones with high-quality ham bones, then left in a temperature-controlled room at about 4 degrees Celsius until the thick layer of fat on top solidified. Afterward, a large spoon was used to easily scrape off that layer of fat, creating the base broth.

Then, fresh herbs, shelled grains, and a small amount of peas were added to this thick soup to make a pot of barley porridge. Finally, instead of using salt, crushed dried salted fish was used for seasoning. This became the main staple food at the medical station most of the time.

Planning the meals for the wounded was a huge headache for George! Since this world had no concept of nutrition, there were no references for what the patients should eat.

George had no choice but to rely on his memories from before he transmigrated. Was the final result the worst possible choice? No, it wasn’t. Besides, George’s own eating habits were quite similar to what he had before transmigrating, and after all these years, he had no bad reactions.

In the world before he transmigrated, due to huge advancements in medicine, rapid improvements in material living standards, and people’s desire for health and freedom from illness, this field that combined prevention and auxiliary treatment was also booming.

Not every path is smooth. At that time, some foolish people said: “Having a healthy body is not enough with just a balanced diet, and taking medicine seems too heavy. The best way is to take health food with specific functions.”

So, some people ate deep-sea fish oil every day, while others drank XX oral liquid every day… But people found that while simplifying things and seeking quick results, health could not be obtained easily. Blindly pursuing health food often backfired.

In fact, this had shown a sickening trend. Some people even believed in the magical effects of health supplements, thinking they could cure all diseases. They ignored daily diet and proper medical care, causing one tragedy after another.

Although such tragedies were just individual cases, one sentence was absolutely correct: “Any product claiming to cure diseases is a lie.”

At that time, many unscrupulous merchants deliberately blurred the line between health food and medicine in their advertisements, explicitly or implicitly suggesting they had curative effects. In reality, no matter how good the health food was, it could not replace the treatment effect of medicine. Food cannot cure diseases. Health food is first food, and only secondly is it beneficial to the human body.

Moreover, in some cases, these so-called nutritional supplements could have negative effects. Many patients took nutritional supplements while using drug treatment, hoping to achieve auxiliary therapeutic goals.

Although most health supplements had no obvious problems in this regard, a few Chinese medicinal supplements did have incompatibilities with certain drugs. If taken together, it would not only hinder the effect of the health food but also affect the drug’s treatment results or cause harmful reactions to the human body. They should be avoided from being taken together.

All in all, under the overwhelming flood of advertising, even George’s mother almost became obsessed with it before he transmigrated. It was only after he persuaded her that she gave up spending a large amount of money on it.

In fact, taking these health supplements in the form of medicine in fixed daily doses, even if it did not interfere with disease treatment, would still have some negative effects.

First, it gave people a clear suggestion. Once stopped, users often felt a sense of loss, causing psychological discomfort.

Second, taking food in the form of medicine easily made people ignore the importance of obtaining nutrition from normal diets and strengthening the body through food therapy.

Third, from a nutritional perspective, as long as the variety of food was diverse, the human body could obtain comprehensive nutrition. Daily diet also provided delicious enjoyment, and chewing could strengthen teeth and beautify the face. Relying only on health supplements to replace the process of nutrition intake involving all body organs was, in the long run, unfavorable to health.

Furthermore, from raw materials to finished products, the price of health supplements increased by several to dozens of times. From the perspective of consumption economics, it was not economical for the users either.

George, who had wanted to get involved in this money-making scheme right after he transmigrated and use it as a tool to gather wealth, had to admit that his moral standards had dropped in some aspects after transmigrating. No! It could not be said that his morals had dropped; perhaps he had no morals in this regard before. It was just that the resources he had at that time were not enough to get involved, so he had no chance to show this side of him.

However, his idea was easily crushed by the cruel reality. Nobles relied on Divine Arts and Alchemy Potions, while Commoners were still worried about their three meals a day. The former did not need it, and the latter could not afford it. This left George with the idea of fooling people but no way to put it into action.

However, here George could finally use some of his fooling techniques to squeeze the meager savings from the poor pockets of Adventurers. In fact, the result was still that the other party felt grateful to George. It was so good to do ‘bad things’ and still receive thanks from the other party.

Hospital meals were the main way for patients to obtain nutrition. Before he transmigrated, scholars had formulated hospital meals based on the basic nutritional needs of the human body and the treatment needs of various diseases. This meant that hospital meals in that place were very diverse, usually divided into basic meals, therapeutic meals, experimental meals, pediatric meals, and so on.

However, the people receiving care here had no special diseases; they were all Adventurers injured by external forces. This made things much simpler, so George directly referred to ordinary diets: suitable for those with mild conditions, normal body temperature, no digestive disorders, in the recovery phase, and not requiring dietary restrictions.

The key points were: 1. It must be a balanced diet suitable for the body’s needs, containing sufficient nutrients. 2. Generally, normal foods could be used. 3. Strongly spicy or irritating foods or seasonings should be avoided. 4. Fatty foods, fried foods, and other hard-to-digest foods should be used sparingly.

However, after the initial menu planning, George realized that if he wanted to make enough profit from this food, he could not make the cooking too complicated. Preparing many different food combinations like in the big cafeteria before he transmigrated was an extremely luxurious thing in a world with huge defects in transportation and preservation.

Just preparing the ingredients was enough to give many people a headache, let alone the wages of chefs who could handle these things skillfully, which were not cheap either. What George wanted was food that used simple ingredients and could be made independently by ordinary teenage apprentices. Only then could he make a large profit.

At the same time, this food had to be beneficial to the recovery of those Adventurers. At the very least, it could not be a complete scam. Choosing from these options had given George a hard time.

Finally, he remembered hearing before he transmigrated that in Foot Basin Chicken, porridge was specially made for patients. This point woke George up, and he decided to use this as the main diet for those wounded. It was a case of being blind to what was right under the lamp. In the South of Tianchao before he transmigrated, porridge was a food that could be eaten almost every day. So George naturally had not even considered it as an option.

Porridge, in the general sense, is a thick paste made by boiling rice, millet, corn, or other grains. Its history in Tianchao is said to be long and profound. In the four thousand years of recorded history in Tianchao, porridge has always been present. The earliest written records about porridge appear in the Book of Zhou: “The Yellow Emperor was the first to cook grains into porridge.”

Entering the medieval period, the function of porridge further integrated “eating” and “medicine,” reaching a level of “health preservation” with a humanistic touch. It was said that the best porridge should be cooked in a clay pot, boiled vigorously over high heat, and then simmered gently over low heat until fully cooked. The ingredients were also prepared using various methods. The basic effect of the cooked porridge had to be fragrant, soft, and smooth.

However, here there was no need for such refinements. More importantly, there were no Eastern grains like rice or millet to make porridge. It could not be said that there were none at all, but as expensive imported goods, they had always been pricey—at least before they could be widely planted on the Western Continent. But before he transmigrated, the West also had oatmeal! Following the example of others, the result was the semi-liquid staple food we have now.

For those wounded, the most important thing was easy digestion. This grain porridge, after long simmering, underwent gelatinization. The soft and cooked porridge melted in the mouth and was very easy to digest after going down the stomach, making it suitable for people with stomach discomfort.

Compared to Black Bread, which could be used as a siege weapon, barley porridge could effectively reduce the physical exertion of the wounded during eating when they were weak.

Moreover, porridge contained a lot of water. Drinking more porridge daily could not only satisfy hunger but also replenish the body with water, effectively preventing constipation. Especially for moderate wounded who were bedridden, it was a blessing. Those who had been lying in bed for a long time without exercise were quite troubled by this!

However, such a diet was not without flaws. First, porridge belonged to liquid food and was inferior in nutrition compared to rice of the same volume. Also, porridge was “not filling enough.” It felt full while eating, but one became hungry again very quickly.

If this continued for a long time, some people might suffer from malnutrition due to insufficient energy and nutrient intake. So, one should also pay attention to balanced nutrition when drinking porridge. Making the porridge thicker, pairing it with meat and vegetables, or eating some snacks between meals could all supplement energy.

That was why George used the thick soup made from beef bones as the broth for cooking porridge, to supplement protein and some energy. Actually, if he were not afraid that a large amount of fat would cause stomach discomfort for these wounded, he would not have spent so much effort removing the beef fat. They were the best source of energy! Of course, the removed fat should not be wasted either; it was quite useful for lighting lamps or making soap.

At this time, beef bones were not as valuable as before he transmigrated, when they could be sold for more than beef. In a way, they were a cheap nutritional supplement here, even though almost no one usually ate them.

As for the issue of satiety, why should these violent men eat so full when they had nothing to do? They were here for rest and did not need to work. Did he want them to eat too full and then fight for fun? You should know that many of them still had unresolved grudges from before.

People in this era did not have the civilized habit of not fighting in hospitals. Oh! He almost forgot that before he transmigrated, many scum also liked to commit crimes in hospitals. Although there was the Lord’s pressure here, George still thought it was better to add an extra layer of insurance.

One more point was that although many people believed porridge was good for the stomach, this view was not comprehensive. Because drinking porridge did not require slow chewing, it could not promote the secretion of oral salivary glands that helped digestion. Moreover, porridge with high water content, after entering the stomach, would dilute stomach acid, accelerate stomach expansion, and slow down stomach movement, which was also unfavorable for digestion.

Therefore, patients with stomach problems should not drink porridge frequently but should choose other diets that were easy to digest and absorb, chew slowly, and promote digestion. For this reason, George specifically chose to add peas that required chewing as an important component.

However, such food might be fine for one or two days, but if it was the same thing every day for several days, anyone would not be able to stand it! These Adventurers began to miss the sweet and mellow flavor and crispy texture of vegetables, as well as the chewy texture of the silk-like fibers in roasted meat. So, protests were inevitable, but they were all shut down by the nurses’ words that it was not conducive to recovery.

However, to make the money-making seem reasonable, George even made a “medicine” made from shell powder and added it in to fool those Adventurers lying in the wards. He naturally set the price of the barley porridge three times higher than that of Black Bread of the same weight.

Ignoring the protests of those Adventurers in front of the nurses, George left the hospital with a satisfied heart. Because today he had already gained enough, now he needed to prepare the Contract and the cost for the transaction.

Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock, the two brothers, had been searching for the trail of the Copper Dragon, Cleff.

To achieve this goal, they had wandered aimlessly on this turbulent Continent like rootless duckweed for a full 12 years—at least until they met Jinluoke. The hardships and tribulations during this period were countless. However, Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock had never retreated or given up for even a moment, because they firmly believed that they would eventually find Cleff, find that kind, witty, and incredibly powerful Dragon, the only… relative they had in this world.

The father of Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock, this pair of twins, was a Dragonborn with Bronze Dragon bloodline, while their mother was a Human. They lived in a deep mountain in the south of the Continent, far away from the noise and troubles of the world. Living with them in this secluded place was a neighbor—the object served by the family for generations, a Dragon named Cleff.

Cleff, the Copper Dragon, was a humorous and witty old Dragon. Although he often fell into sleep, he was very talkative when awake. The rich experiences brought by his long life made the young Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock often deeply fascinated.

Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock also had deep affection for the kind old Dragon in their hearts. After their parents passed away one after another, and Calvert Beverstock took over the family duties to become the Shaman serving Cleff, this feeling only grew deeper. And the more talented Fairbanks Beverstock became a Dragonfire Sorcerer under Cleff’s guidance.

However, just when Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock thought they would live like this forever, two unexpected guests suddenly broke this peace… Two young and strong Red Dragons broke into this mountain range on a leisurely afternoon.

Their wings stirred up fierce gales, their roars were deafening, and they rushed into Cleff’s sleeping dragon cave with wild laughter… Immediately, the light of magic flamed and scattered, and the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. Just 24 years old, Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock felt confused and helpless about all this. They could only stare blankly as Cleff engaged in fierce combat with the two Red Dragons.

The three Dragons rolled from the dragon cave to outside the cave, then fought on land and then in the sky. Large amounts of Dragon blood fell on the ground like raindrops, and the peaceful mountain range became a mess. Gradually, both Red Dragons and Cleff were covered in wounds.

It was only at this moment that the young Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock realized it, and they clumsily launched futile attacks on the Red Dragons. As expected, one of the angered Red Dragons took the opportunity to give Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock a blast of Dragon Breath.

In the instant the conical flame appeared, the brains of Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock went blank. The last images they remembered in their minds were the huge and thick body of Cleff blocking them in front, and the sinister Dragon Claw of the other Red Dragon aimed at Cleff.

When Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock woke up, both Cleff and the Red Dragons had disappeared. They lay in a pool of blood, a pool of blood emitting amazing heat and a familiar scent. They knew that was Cleff’s blood…

Finally, when Fairbanks Beverstock and Calvert Beverstock recovered, they were surprised to find that their strength had been enhanced. And this pair of brothers understood that the elder who granted them this power, the one they should serve for their whole life, was indeed who they thought.

So, to make up for the mistakes caused by their own incompetence and to find their only remaining relative, the young Dragonborn who had always been on the fringe of the world embarked on a journey destined to be filled with chaos and turmoil.

Due to their identity as Dragonborn, their travel life became quite difficult. People rejected them, feared them, and treated them as monsters. This situation lasted for several years until they met Jinx and his team.

Since then, this pair of unfortunate brothers finally had a change of luck, because someone truly accepted them. Moreover, during subsequent adventures, the elder brother, Fairbanks, even found his love. However, they never forgot their original intention of leaving the deep mountains and still pursued possible clues to Cleff.

Of course, after contacting civilized society, they also discovered the importance of money. Not only did the lives of the two brothers and the search for clues require the support of Gold Coins, but now one of them also bore the burden of a family.

However, walking a dark road for too long eventually leads to meeting a ghost. In this battle against Dark Elves, they met their nemesis. To cover the retreat of his teammates, Fairbanks was hit by the enemy’s Magic Item. But he did not regret it, because he believed his teammates would take good care of his family.

However, it seemed he had spent a long time in the darkness. Just when he thought he would enter the Divine Realm of Bahamut, he seemed to regain sensation after being tossed around like in a washing machine for half an hour.

Opening his eyes instinctively, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. His whole body was in pain, and he could not move even a single finger.

“Welcome back, my friend!” This was the first sentence Fairbanks heard when he woke up—if his brain was not damaged, the voice should have come from Jinluoke.