Who: Samantha Carter & Wen Kexing What: Matchup Where: Empress of China When: late afternoon Warnings: nope Status: complete
With Logan being sent home and Lisa being further along in her pregnancy, Samantha was covering a lot more classes at Anytime Fitness which meant she had less time at home to cook for Jack and Six. As much as she loved Jack, his culinary skills were limited largely to breakfast and grilling and it was still difficult to get Six to eat meat and veggies. Before leaving the gym today, she put in an order at Empress of China and stopped by to grab it before heading home.
She entered the restaurant and realized she probably should have showered at the gym before coming here since she was a little sweaty. Bits of hair had escaped her ponytail and were plastered to her face and she was still wearing her leggings and tank top.
“Hi, order for Carter,” she said, walking up to the counter.
Empress of China, thanks to a bit of hard work, was actually thriving. More authentic than it truly claimed to be. Western cultures had a weird view on authenticity which was one of the reasons he decided to work in the establishment. Well, that and his love for cooking. He wasn't cooking for his soulmate or anyone else but he was doing something that he loved.
When the order is called back Kexing comes forward in a traditional hanfu which was pink in color and his stark white hair pulled up. He was probably the only one in the place that wore traditional style clothing and that was fine. Though he'd told the other workers that if they wanted he would make them traditional hanfus. He was good at what he did and he could make whatever they needed or wanted.
"Is there anything else you want with the order?"
He would accomadate whatever Sam needed even if the order was a decently sized one. Though, he's cooked far more than what she ordered before. When he wasn't spending his zhiji's money.
Sam was a little surprised when she was greeted by a man who appeared to be wearing traditional Chinese garments. During her travels with the Air Force, before joining the Stargate program, she’d had the occasion to have authentic food in many Asian countries and she hadn’t been expecting Empress of China to be anything other than the Americanized version.
“Oh, wow, uh… do you happen to make biang biang noodles?” Sam asked, a note of hope in her voice. They weren’t on the menu in most American Chinese restaurants and even if they were, they never seemed to be as good as the ones she had when she was actually in China.
Kexing wasn't, honestly, overly fond of the American garments that were provided. Just as he wasn't fond of some of the foods that were around either. When he'd found the Empress of China he'd decided to make things better. Luckily, it hadn't been too hard to do. He would do it again if he needed to and in more than one location, if that's what was needed or wanted.
"Unfortunately, biang biang noodles are not on the menu," He tells her. "Though, we have what is needed in order to make them. So, if you wanted to wait a bit longer, or if you wanted to return tomorrow, I could have some made for you." Perhaps he'd make that a suggestion and have them put it on the menu. Or, if Sam decided to be a regular, he'd make sure there was biang biang noodles made just for her.
“If I call in advance next time, maybe you could make them?” she asked. They usually got takeout once or twice a week, depending on how busy they were and what was going on around town, so Sam knew it wouldn’t be that long before they were back here again.
In the meantime, she rattled off their usual order that actually contained a few things Six would eat. “I’m Samantha,” she added. “It’s nice to meet you.”
"You could do that, as well." The other employees might not be overly fond of it, but that didn't matter much to him. This was something that he was offering the woman before him. It wasn't like he'd have someone else make them anyway. Not when he wasn't sure how many of them in Empress of China truly knew how to make an authentic dish. That would be something to find out. He would teach them if they truly wished to be taught.
He gives a slight nod when she rattles off the usual order and he's sure that the bag is just right. Especially when he'd made sure to make most of the food with a little help from others. "Wen Kexing. It is nice to meet you as well, Samantha."
Making a mental note of his name, Sam decided that she’d add it to her phone when she got home so she wouldn’t forget. “Have you been in Madison Valley long?” she asked. She didn’t recall seeing him around before, but she also wasn’t the most social person, so it was entirely possible they just hadn’t crossed paths.
"I've been in Madison Valley a little over a year now. A year and a couple of months, I believe," He tells her. When he'd first shown up in Madison Valley, it had been in the darker part of Madison Valley. Where everyone was trying to harm or kill the other. He'd had his little waystation of home in order to keep people safe. That darker part of the town had made him miss The Four Seasons. Unfortunately, he couldn't drag his home into Madison Valley or he'd do just that.
He gives her a bit of a smile,” Whenever you’re ready, your food is read.”
Sam returned his smile. “I’ve been here about a year and a half, so only slightly longer. My fiance and I adopted our daughter recently.” Yes, she absolutely stumbled over calling Jack her fiance since it was still so new. By the time she got used to it, they’d be married and she’d have to start using husband. Holy Hannah.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the bag of food from him. “I should get this home to my family. I will definitely talk to you again though.”
That smile brightens a bit at the mention of how she'd just adopted her daughter recently. They did not do anything official like that back home. However, his zhiji's disciple was like a son to them. They'd taken the boy in and was raising him. Chengling was a good boy and had grown up rather well the last he remembered. However, he hadn't seen the boy since ending up on his snowy mountain after gaining immortality.
"You're welcome. If you need anything else, reach out, and I will see what I can do."