A Young Woman's Heart

"It's too hot next to the stove." Li Wanyan wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh of relief. "Let's find an open space to eat."

"An open space? Hmm, how about the osmanthus tree area?"

"No, no, there will definitely be a lot of people sitting there later. Let's go a little further out..." Hua Yinyin's gaze stretched into the distance and then settled on a pavilion two or three hundred meters away. "How about there?"

"Isn't it too far?"

"It's not far, three people can carry it over in one go!"

"What about Wanyan?" Mo Xueyao asked for her opinion.

"Either is fine." Li Wanyan didn't mind, or rather, she was quite satisfied with the location Hua Yinyin had chosen.

"Okay, let's go there then."

The three of them worked together to carry over the dishes and soup bowls.

In reality, it was completed in two separate sessions.

After all, everyone has their own bowl for eating, and even freshly cooked rice has to be served into a large bowl.

Otherwise, if I want to eat some more later, I'll have to walk 200 meters to get more, which is a hassle just thinking about it.

The other groups also finished their dinners one after another, and the students dispersed and set up their meals in the open space.

Some groups have merged, which has greatly enriched the variety of dishes.

"Oh dear, I've been looking for this for ages! Here it is!" Mo Zhuyou shouted as she and her sister walked over carrying plates of food, followed by Ai Xiuer and Ye Banxia, ​​who were also carrying tableware.

"It's too crowded over there," Mo Xiaoxiao explained, casually placing her plate of stir-fried gluten and pork on the newspaper.

"It seems like I can't let it go a little?" Mo Zhuyou muttered.

"It's alright, I can take out a few more newspapers." Mo Xueyao said, pulling out two newspapers from a stack of newspapers under her.

"Oh, you made soup! That's perfect. We didn't make any," Ye Banxia said with delight. "I can't eat without soup."

"Hmm, that's perfect! And it seems like none of our dishes are the same." Mo Xueyao pointed to a few round green peppers on her plate with a puzzled look. "What are these?"

"You hollow out the green peppers and then stuff them with meat," Mo Zhuyou proudly introduced. "It was my sister who invented it!"

"Pfft, I didn't invent it, Youyou, don't talk nonsense." Mo Xiaoxiao patted her head helplessly. "It's just a local specialty dish."

"Ours seems pretty ordinary..." Mo Xueyao glanced down at what she had made.

Li Wanyan's cooking skills are also quite good, but the types of dishes are all very conventional.

One dish was boiled sliced ​​pork, another was stir-fried chicken breast with chili peppers, and then there was stir-fried shredded potatoes and a bowl of tomato soup.

Mo Xiaoxiao's group was quite different; they not only had vegetables with minced meat hidden inside green peppers, but also fried chicken cutlets and fried crispy pork.

Even though each group received the same amount of meat, Mo Xiaoxiao deliberately made it look like she had more.

There were also plenty of vegetarian dishes, including tender and springy Japanese tofu, spicy and sour lotus root cubes cut into even cubes, and a stir-fry of various fresh mushrooms—shiitake, oyster, king oyster mushrooms, etc.

Although Ye Wen stipulated that there should be three people in each group, the total number of students in the class divided by three would definitely be more than three. So Ai Xiu'er, who was with Mo Xiaoxiao and the others when choosing dormitories, also ended up in the same group.

When there are four people eating, there should naturally be more dishes.

"Why do your vegetarian dishes smell like meat?" Mo Xueyao asked, puzzled.

"Because it's cooked with lard." Ye Banxia revealed a shy yet proud smile. "I specifically went to ask, and I didn't expect that there really was lard available."

"Wow, I should have asked too! I thought only vegetable oil would work!" Hua Yinyin looked like she'd been ripped off. "It's all because the class monitor was too honest!"

However, it actually had nothing to do with Li Wanyan. The main reason was that the three of them never thought that, besides the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar on the stove, they could ask the person in charge for other condiments...

Night always seems to fall earlier in the countryside than in the city.

A little after five o'clock, the sun had almost completely set. Sitting in the pavilion, Mo Xueyao watched the sky gradually darken until night fell completely and the dim streetlights slowly lit up.

"Damn it, Gao Yuan, what kind of dish did you cook? It's burnt, and it's so salty!" Zhou Yong laughed and cursed, his voice carrying far even in the noisy environment. "Damn it, how are we supposed to eat this?!"

Many people have encountered the problem of stir-fried dishes being hard to eat, and some people simply cannot swallow them.

However, the school doesn't provide any other ready-made food. If the food isn't very good, you can ask the instructor to help you cook it, or you can go to someone else's place to eat.

Perhaps it was also to let the students experience the hardship and difficulty of cooking, as well as the various shortcomings of those old earthen stoves that made it inconvenient to control the heat.

However, most students don't think that much about it; they just complain that the school is always making things difficult for them.

Gao Yuan, being shameless, had already failed twice and really didn't want to continue, so he simply picked up his bowl, filled it with rice, and started eating the 'mixed dishes'.

"Oh my god, you guys are already eating sweet and sour pork, can I have a piece? Let me see, let me see, where the hell did this sauerkraut fish come from?"

"Given to me by the farmer."

"You can actually get this?"

"Uncle is very enthusiastic, and Yang Yankai is especially favored by him," Yang Yankai's group laughed.

Are there many thorns?

"Black carp, the bones are alright, not too many."

"Alright, have one!"

"Gao Yuan, you're not being polite at all!"

Gao Yuan's approach inspired those who hadn't managed to cook, and eventually, even the groups that had managed to cook started sharing their food with each other.

They were each cooking for their own group of three using their own stoves, but the meal ended up feeling like a buffet.

At first, some people were quite possessive of their food, but later they found that most people were very generous, so they simply let others take whatever they wanted. After all, if they didn't have enough, they could just go and eat from other people's places!

The school's original goal was not achieved, but it unexpectedly fostered closer relationships among the students, making them more willing to share.

However, this is not bad either, at least the waste is reduced to the greatest extent.

The extra food from those who ate less could be eaten by those with larger appetites. After this round of eating, the girls who cooked well suddenly became famous.

The boys discovered that many girls, though not particularly beautiful, possessed unique charm in other ways.

The qualities of a virtuous wife and loving mother are also very attractive.

Perhaps after this agricultural learning activity ends, a few more couples will be added to the grade.

After dinner, students are required to wash the dishes and utensils, and remember which stove they used that day, as they will use it every night thereafter.

"Everyone, take your labels and stick them on your own stoves. Is there anyone who hasn't received a label yet?" Ye Wen walked back and forth near the stoves in her class, asking as she went.

"I—!" Mo Xueyao shouted.

Li Wanyan pressed her hand down, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said softly, "I'll take it."

"Huh? Eh? You got it?"

"Is Mo Xueyao the one you want?"

"No need, no need, I already have one!" she immediately replied loudly.

"Whose is it? How many months old is it?" Gao Yuan immediately asked.

"Oh my, she's pregnant?" The others joined in the teasing.

"I mean, there is a tag!" Mo Xueyao glared at them with a black line on her forehead. Perhaps because they had become very familiar with each other recently, the boys kept joking about her, and no matter what the joke was, they would always bring it up with her.

If the boys hadn't actually bullied her, she would have thought she was being bullied at school!

……

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Small Shop at the Agricultural Training Base

That deep black night was not the end of everything.

The countryside may appear dark at night, but it is actually still early.

The birds have returned to their nests, but the symphony of insect chirps and frog croaks has only just begun.

It was now free time, and the students were free to wander around as long as they didn't leave the agricultural training base.

Some people chose to take a shower, while others chose to continue strolling around this town-like base.

Each room has its own bathroom, and the hot water is supplied centrally. However, during peak shower times, the hot water may become less 'hot' or even a bit cold.

Mo Xueyao didn't want to shower at the same time as everyone else, so she dragged Li Wanyan out with her.

As for Hua Yinyin, who was clinging to her arm... it wasn't that she pulled her along, but the latter insisted on coming along, so she had no choice but to bring her along.

Upon closer inspection, you'll find that the agricultural learning base is quite large. Calling it a small town might be an exaggeration, but it's definitely a 'township'.

"What is a village?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

Having rarely returned to the countryside, she had always had only a superficial understanding of these things.

"A township is bigger than a village, it's like several villages combined together, but it's a little smaller than a town..." Hua Yinyin muttered, and as she spoke, she became confused herself.

“Townships and towns are at the same level.” Li Wanyan clearly knew more about this, “but townships are smaller in area and have less development potential.”

"So, a village is like a market town formed by the union of rural villages?" Mo Xueyao asked, seemingly confused.

"It should be... about right?" Hua Yinyin didn't give a definitive answer.

"More or less," Li Wanyan replied affirmatively.

This agricultural learning base was originally a township.

Buses coming from the county town can only go this far at most; they absolutely cannot reach the natural villages further back.

If you live far from the village, you'll have to walk back or have someone pick you up.

Perhaps it is because of this special historical significance that this place was transformed into an agricultural learning base.

Mo Xueyao was lost in thought when she saw several swings in a corner not far away. No one seemed to care about them; the wooden frames of the swings were covered with vines, as if they had been abandoned for a long time.

Several students passed by, clearly saw it, but ultimately didn't get on.

Perhaps they were afraid that others would think they were childish if they saw it.

Moreover, this dusty swing doesn't look like it can bear any weight, so it has almost no practical value and is only good for decoration.

The dust covering the bench and the vines that have withered and flourished many times seem to tell the story of the passage of time.

Time is always the most ruthless. Even just two or three years of neglect is enough to gradually bury this place in the dust of history.