Chapter 108: Field Training Pleasant Dinner
Although Class Eight Students had some ideas about the now almost routine process of “Classmate Xiang Chuan cooks, Man Man tastes, everyone follows up,” the entire class only had two with astonishing courage: one was Classmate Xiang Chuan, who impassively gnawed on a roasted chicken leg after advocating to start cooking herself and establishing the first new club in thousands of years if no one else would; the other was Chou Manman, who quickly finished a bowl of chicken soup and immediately started scooping a second bowl after swiftly following suit to establish the second new club out of full enthusiasm and ideals.
Only Classmate Xiang Chuan, who gave 100% trust to ancient recipes, dared to unhesitatingly put fungi on the dining table, and only Chou Manman, who trusted such a Classmate Xiang Chuan, dared to be her guinea pig; even the A Bite of China Club members felt inferior in this regard.
Classmate Xiang Chuan: Why does it sound like I’m poisoning my friends when I’m kindly cooking??
These complex emotions didn’t last long, because the next second everyone started scrambling for the chicken soup, scaring the Class President and Mandy and others into quickly stepping up to maintain order, and even the usually slacking Nancy was pulled in to dutifully fulfill class cadre duties.
It finally ended with everyone getting a bowl of chicken soup and the soup pot completely emptied, making Classmate Xiang Chuan’s face twitch: What big eaters are these people?
But seeing everyone’s happy expressions while tasting the chicken soup, the slight displeasure in her heart also dissipated like smoke; she took a bite of chicken leg and stared blankly ahead, thinking: Whatever, they’re just kids; once they’ve tasted it, they’ll know it’s good—no rush, educate them slowly.
“It would be great if there were some medicinal materials,” Classmate Xiang Chuan put down the chicken leg bone, wiped her oily hands with cleaning gel, “angelica and goji berries, or maybe red dates; that would make the soup even tastier.”
“Really?!” Chou Manman lit up at these words and hurried over, “Classmate Xiang Chuan, can you try making it when you get back?”
“I can, but only if you all haven’t gotten tired of it in the next few days.” Classmate Xiang Chuan looked toward the chicken coop, “The next few days will probably mean chicken every day.”
“What’s wrong with chicken every day? It’s so delicious.” Nancy smilingly brought over a plate of stir-fried chicken, following Classmate Xiang Chuan’s lunchtime method by putting deboned chicken and shiitake mushrooms into steamed buns, taking a big delicious bite full of fresh flavor.
“We still need to watch out for too much rich food every day; from now on, it’ll probably really be fish and meat daily…” Classmate Xiang Chuan chewed worriedly on her straw, “How about having the Patrol Group pick some wild vegetables tomorrow?”
“That’s fine, but do you think the Patrol Group can tell which vegetables are edible and which aren’t?” Nancy laughed.
She really hit the nail on the head! Classmate Xiang Chuan’s face scrunched up; she simply ducked back into the tent, opened Geegle, and started urgently copying an outline for the wild vegetable picking task for the Patrol Group.
“Hm? Where’s Classmate Xiang Chuan?” The Class President walked over with a cup, looking around for today’s biggest contributor.
Chou Manman pointed toward their tent: “In the tent, preparing to assign a new task to the Patrol Group.”
“Oh?” The Class President was delighted, “That’s really something to look forward to—what will tomorrow’s lunch and dinner be?”
“But this works out perfectly for you, doesn’t it, Class President?” Nancy raised an eyebrow, “After today’s two meals, you must have a plan for our class’s next steps, right?”
“Calling it a plan might be exaggerating a bit, but…”
The Class President looked around: If the first day was tense and thrilling, the second was full of energy; the midday grilled fish and fish soup injected a powerful boost of motivation into the Class Eight Classmates; the Patrol Group walking outside gained more swagger in their step, while the Stalwart Group bustled preparing two meals for the classmates while minding the camp.
And what surprised him most today was that a hidden danger he’d been worried about since heading into the forest seemed resolved with today’s two meals: According to the senior students, after the confrontation match began, the biggest headache for class presidents was often not attacks from other classes, but coordinating conflicts between the Stalwart Group and Patrol Group within the class. Class Presidents often selected people based on physical fitness charts for maximum efficiency, but this inevitably led to conflicts between the Stalwart Group and Patrol Group. The Stalwart Group felt they were guarding teammates who did nothing at the camp, while the Patrol Group basically followed a routine of returning just before meals, eating, trash-talking the Stalwart Group, and everyone getting upset.
With no group meals before, everyone ate separately, so there were naturally no diet-related interest conflicts with other students, and when contradictions arose, they were straightforward; so when the Class President set up the tent for captives on the first day, he worried that without a common enemy temporarily, the two sides in the class might erupt into new problems.
But Classmate Xiang Chuan’s midday All Fish Banquet and evening chicken and fish grand feast unknowingly resolved this hidden crisis. The Stalwart Group busied with fishing, preparing ingredients, and hosting cooking under Classmate Xiang Chuan’s command; the Patrol Group gathered ingredients from the woods or helped find firewood, etc.; both sides cooperated in different environments and ultimately produced two sumptuous gourmet meals. Moreover, both were busy in their roles, so when returning to the camp and seeing each other’s ingredients or semi-finished products, there was naturally no mutual resentment like “why do they get to chat and laugh at the camp while we’re working hard outside” or “we’re vigilant against enemies and caring for captives at the camp while you leisurely stroll in the woods”; plus, it helped classmates get to know each other better, which was the best form for a Class President managing the whole class.
“But there’s also a problem.” Ainuo downed half a bowl of soup in one go, “That’s the movements of the central region and southern region classes—this will determine how long our current arrangement can last.”
“This morning Mandy and the others set up alarms at the boundary; if there’s anything unusual, us class cadres will know right away. Vice Class President Nancy, don’t lock the class cadre notices away again.” The Class President helplessly glanced at his vice class president; Nancy just shrugged without responding; he sighed helplessly and continued: “As for the other classes issue, I have a vague idea—Ainuo Classmate, Ouyang Classmate, Vice Class President Nancy, can you all come to our tent with Classmate Xiang Chuan after breakfast tomorrow?”
The three exchanged glances: The Class President is planning something big.
Unaware she’s about to face major trouble, Classmate Xiang Chuan now sat in the tent corner silently reciting spring wild vegetables: “Dandelion is good… but these kids might not handle bitterness… locust flowers are good but around here… elm seedlings, elm seedlings…”
