Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

Without him even having to shout, everyone in the camp had already gathered around, drawn by the smell.

"What are we having for dinner today? It smells so good!"

"I heard that Dr. Su and Captain Zhou caught the snake and rabbit, and stewed a big pot of them!"

"Wow, this smells even better than Chinese New Year!"

Commander Zhao banged the side of the bucket with an iron ladle: "Don't push! Line up! Two servings for everyone today, all you can eat!"

Cheers erupted. More than thirty people, carrying enamel mugs and aluminum lunchboxes, lined up in front of the two large iron buckets, their eyes fixed on the rich, dark braised pork chunks, swallowing their saliva again and again.

Inside the tent, Li Guodong was still engrossed in taking notes.

Although Su Wanqing's words were harsh today, after calming down and thinking about them, he realized they made sense—if he had thoroughly studied the geological structure of this area beforehand, he might have been able to avoid that dangerous section of the mountain. He was at least half responsible for today's accident.

But... the aroma wafting outside is just too overpowering.

The air could drift in even through the tent flap, wafting into his nose in waves, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

Two students lifted the curtain and came in: "Teacher, Commander Zhao is calling for lunch. He said there will be something delicious today, and we should hurry up and get our food."

Li Guodong didn't even look up: "You guys go eat, I'm not hungry."

"Gurgle—"

My stomach growled very honestly.

Li Guodong: "..."

Two students: "..."

Enraged, he slammed his pen down and yelled, "I said I'm not eating, and I'm not! I'm already full of anger because of that woman. Does she think she can win people over with a little food? Do you think I, Li Guodong, am that kind of person? You guys go now, stop dawdling here!"

The two students exchanged a glance and cautiously withdrew.

……

A long line had already formed at the food station, with Commander Zhao personally in charge of cooking. Each person was first given a lunchbox of mixed grain rice, followed by a generous spoonful of braised snake and rabbit stew—the thick sauce coating chunks of meat and mushrooms, piled tremblingly on top of the rice. Next to it was a bowl of milky white snake bone and mushroom soup, topped with bright green scallions, its aroma irresistible.

When Commander Zhao saw Li Guodong's two students, he waved his hand and immediately handed them three servings: "Take one for your teacher too, and bring more if you need it! It's all-you-can-eat today, two servings for each person!"

The two men, holding their lunchboxes, were too embarrassed to say anything. The people behind them were already urging them on: "Are you done yet? Hurry up, there's a long line behind you!"

The two had no choice but to carry the three meals back to the tent and put them on the conference table.

Li Guodong glanced up, his face darkening again: "I said I wasn't going to eat, so why are you still hitting me?"

The male student said cautiously, "Teacher, they said there would be plenty to eat today... If you don't want any, then you can give it to the junior sister."

The female student quickly waved her hand: "Give it to my senior brother, one serving is enough for me."

The male student said, "My stomach isn't feeling too well today..." The two students kept offering the food back and forth, clearly wanting to give it to the teacher.

Li Guodong snorted coldly and continued to take notes.

The two sat down and began to eat.

After the first bite, the female student's eyes widened in surprise: "This snake meat...it's so tender! So bouncy and smooth!"

The male student was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to speak, mumbling, "Rabbit meat is the best! Stewed until it's so tender it melts in your mouth! I could eat three big bowls of rice with this broth on top!"

The slurping sounds of rice being shoveled down, mixed with satisfied sighs, and the irresistible aroma...

Li Guodong's stomach growled again.

The female student swallowed a mouthful of mushroom and whispered, "Senior, if your stomach isn't feeling well, could I have this?"

The male student paused with his chopsticks and sped up his eating: "I can get another serving later, so hurry up and eat, or it'll be gone."

The two students wolfed down their food; their eating habits were simply unbearable to watch.

Li Guodong finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his pen down and grabbed the meal, placing it in front of him. "I want to taste what kind of delicacies could turn my student into this starving ghost!"

Li Guodong has lived most of his life, what delicious food hasn't he seen? He thinks he can be controlled by a mere meal of wild game?

snort!

Five minutes later.

Li Guodong placed the empty lunchbox on the table, smacked his lips with a lingering satisfaction, and cleared his throat: "Um... if you guys go get more food later, please get me one too. I don't know why, but the more I eat today, the hungrier I get."

The two students suppressed their laughter and nodded vigorously.

Li Guodong planned that even if there was nothing tomorrow morning, he would remain silent. "Sigh, why should I argue with a young man? The responsibility of prospecting for minerals still falls on my shoulders."

……

Compared to Li Guodong's awkwardness, Old Zhang and Commander Zhao were much more unrestrained.

Old Zhang was getting on in years. He had originally said that two pieces would be enough, but the snake meat was deboned and stewed until it was tender, and the rabbit meat melted in his mouth. He ended up eating three bowls of rice with the broth. Finally, he patted his round belly and sighed, "My old life will have to end with Xiao Su sooner or later."

Commander Zhao went even further, taking the food back to his tent to eat as soon as he finished the first round. After wiping his mouth, he went back for a second round. Finally, he slumped in his chair, humming with satisfaction, "I'm not exaggerating, Dr. Su's cooking is amazing! But she really goes all out with the seasonings, sprinkling a huge handful of sugar alone. It hurts to see it—but the taste is totally worth it!"

Everyone in the camp ate until they were stuffed.

People's admiration for Su Wanqing has reached a new level—when they think back to the hard times they used to live, can those even be called lives?

Su Wanqing and Zhou Yanshen also returned to their own tents.

This time, the treatment was significantly improved; the storage room was replaced with a proper large tent, which contained a bed, a small table, and two chairs. Su Wanqing placed a large basin of meat and soup, which she had brought back from the cookhouse, on the table, and then took out a few steamed buns.

She didn't like the mixed grain rice, so she gave it all to Zhou Yanshen. She dipped her steamed bun in the broth, eating a bite of meat followed by a bite of bun, her eyes squinting with happiness. She didn't like wild vegetables either, only choosing snake and rabbit meat—the snake meat was really delicious, springy and tender, even more fragrant than chicken.

Zhou Yanshen was initially worried that bringing back too much would cause gossip, but once he started eating, he couldn't stop. By the time he realized it, most of it was already in his stomach. He looked at his wife somewhat embarrassedly, only to find that Su Wanqing didn't seem to care at all, happily munching on the snake pieces.

After finishing five bowls of rice and two bowls of soup, Zhou Yanshen finally put down his chopsticks.

Su Wanqing gathered the leftovers together: "We can reheat these tomorrow."

She still has eight large buckets in her storage space; she can secretly eat them slowly.

Back in the 65th Regiment, we had to keep busy with this and that even after meals.

But here, after eating, there's really nothing to do. You can't do without finding something to do.

Su Wanqing lay lazily on the soft bed. She had brought an extra quilt because she was afraid of the cold before leaving, and now she was using one as a mattress and another as a blanket, making her so comfortable she was humming softly. She was still chewing on some pork jerky, her little mouth smacking like a hamster hoarding food.