Chapter 232: Let Me Tell You Quietly ①
Thus, the entire class began to divide labor and cooperate. Some set up the tablecloths, some assisted Nie Qiu by handing her things, and those who brought dishes naturally placed them on the table.
Because there were duplicate dishes, Nie Qiu stir-fried the same dishes together. Even so, Nie Qiu, a young girl, couldn’t compare to the masters in a large restaurant. Although she didn’t have to toss ingredients in a wok, her arm began to ache from constantly wielding the pot shovel.
The charcoal had burned out. Peng Yu Yang, who was putting firewood into the iron plate, saw Nie Qiu rub her arm and knew she was tired. His family owned a restaurant, so he understood perfectly. He stood up and said to Nie Qiu with a smile, “Nie Qiu, are you tired? You rest first, let me try. My family owns a restaurant, and although I haven’t cooked myself, I’ve watched a lot. Tell me what to put in.”
Nie Qiu’s arm was indeed a bit sore, so she handed the pot shovel to Peng Yu Yang and said with a smile, “Stir-fry this dish a dozen more times, add MSG, stir-fry a few more times, and then it can be served.”
Peng Yu Yang nodded and said with a smile, “Then you help me watch the fire.”
Ma Xin nudged Li Kai, who was setting up small stools with him, and whispered, “Hey, Li Kai, look at how Peng Yu Yang is smiling at Nie Qiu.”
Li Kai looked up and saw Nie Qiu handing the pot shovel to Peng Yu Yang. He frowned, stood up, took off his coat, unbuttoned his collar, opened his cuffs, folded them up, and walked step by step towards where the food was being cooked with a look of determination. To be clear, he wasn’t going to fight, but he simply disliked the smell of cooking fumes.
He also knew that Nie Qiu might be tired from stir-frying over a dozen dishes, so she let Peng Yu Yang help, but he just felt a little unhappy. Even though he disliked the smell of cooking fumes, he still wished it could be him who helped Nie Qiu.
He walked up and said to Peng Yu Yang with a smile, “Peng Yu Yang, are you tired? Leave the rest to Nie Qiu and me.”
Nie Qiu, who was talking to Peng Yu Yang, was a little surprised to see Li Kai. Hearing Li Kai’s words and seeing his expression, Nie Qiu burst out laughing. He was jealous without any pretense, openly declaring, “This person is mine, and everything about her is mine.”
Although Peng Yu Yang was reluctant, he knew that the two of them had already confirmed their dating relationship. He didn’t say anything, just handed the pot shovel in his hand to Li Kai. Li Kai took it and began to stir-fry the dishes in the pot, but he used too much force, and the food spilled out.
Nie Qiu shook her head and reached out to take the pot shovel from Li Kai, “You hand me the ingredients and things! I’ll stir-fry.”
“Wait, you need to rest. I can do it now.” After the experience of using too much force once, Li Kai was more careful now and was doing a decent job. However, the expression on his face, as if he were in a world war, made Nie Qiu laugh. She told Li Kai what to add, took the dishes from other classmates, and let Li Kai stir-fry while she guided him.
Working together, they finally finished stir-frying all the dishes. Because they were afraid the dishes would get cold and taste bad, when Nie Qiu had finished stir-frying about half of them, some classmates had already started eating. When Nie Qiu and the others finished cooking and sat down to eat, the dishes Nie Qiu had stir-fried first for their group were already gone, not even a scrap left. One boy even took a disposable food container that had held food and scooped up the remaining sauce from the dishes to eat.
After a noisy meal, it was already past one in the afternoon. Everyone wandered around, exploring this hilltop, washing their feet in that stream, picking wild mushrooms here, pulling wild grass and vegetables there, and gathering firewood. By three o’clock, most of the classmates had returned to the camp.
Huang Yan was teaching everyone oral English and tenses using a first-grade English book. The day was fulfilling and noisy, with boys and girls chasing each other, freely indulging in their youth, filled with laughter and joy.
Because of the lesson learned at noon, everyone consciously washed, trimmed, and cut vegetables for dinner, waiting for Nie Qiu to stir-fry. Most of the dishes they brought at noon had been eaten, and there wasn’t much left. Most of the dishes for dinner were dug up from the mountain, picked up along the way, or caught in the river.
After dinner, Zhang Haiyang organized the building of a bonfire. It’s unknown where Zhang Haiyang and a group of men borrowed the firewood from a household, but each piece of wood was as thick as an arm and dry, making it easy to light.
Corn stalks were lit in the innermost part, then small branches were placed around the corn stalks, followed by finger-sized branches, and finally, the arm-thick, round logs. The bonfire was built in a triangular umbrella shape. Soon, smoke began to rise from the inside, and the firelight gradually emerged. Once the thumb-sized firewood ignited, the flames appeared. The camp, which had been gradually darkening, was suddenly filled with firelight, illuminating everyone’s faces brightly. Coupled with the receding red clouds on the horizon, the boys let out shouts of joy.
They never imagined there would be anything more fun than playing games. The attraction between the sexes has been an eternal and unchanging law of the universe for a hundred million light-years. Among the boys playing with girls, there are always some who like to show off, and there are always some boys who like to tease girls. Those who like to show off naturally attract the girls’ attention, and those who like to tease girls naturally make the girls chase after them. With such a group having a picnic and an excursion, the boys naturally had a great time.
Although they were about a hundred meters from the reservoir, they were still considered to be by the lakeside. The night breeze was a bit cool, but once the bonfire was lit, everyone gathered around the fire and played the flower drum game. Whoever the drum was passed to would sing, dance, or perform a talent.
The person who received the drum would then become the next person to pass it, meaning they would be the one to beat the flower drum. Huang Yan stood up and said, “Although I agree to play this game, I must say, our study tour is about playing and learning. We studied English for two hours this afternoon, so everyone must first recite five words each and form a sentence.”
Many girls agreed with this statement, while many boys looked distressed. As expected, ninety percent of the girls could recite some of the words they learned that day, but the boys could only remember one or two, which made the girls laugh a lot.
After laughing, it was time to play games. They pretended to recite poems and the like. When it was Li Kai’s turn, the flower drum was passed to Li Kai again, and Li Kai happily stood in the center of the bonfire.
He discovered that Nie Qiu always liked some of the popular songs from their childhood, so he specifically listened to some of them. He heard a song with a confession theme and found it quite nice. So, when the small pencil case, which served as the flower drum, was passed to him, Li Kai unhesitatingly stood in the middle of everyone, by the bonfire.
