A Young Woman's Heart

In the distant sky, the setting sun seemed drunk, swaying and sinking slowly.

Another day of learning about agriculture is coming to an end.

The students cheered and dropped their farm tools, eagerly awaiting lunch.

Even if you have to cook the meal yourself, it's still easier than doing farm work.

"What are you doing? Put away your farm tools!" Li Hongran shouted. "Put away your farm tools properly, or you can't leave!"

This was also the teachers' instruction: although it's called learning about agriculture, it still needs to be organized and disciplined.

The old man had just refilled his pipe and was almost finished smoking. He stood up unsteadily and said to his son beside him, "Actually, that teacher teaches science."

"Huh? Oh... Dad, don't think about it anymore. Let's go back to the shop and have business again."

"Haha, I'll go pick some persimmons tomorrow and sell them at the shop."

"Students might not like this; it tastes too astringent."

"Eat a little less, it'll definitely taste good. Our persimmons are sweet. The dried persimmons from before should be dried by now, right?"

"almost."

"Bring these over, let's sell them." The old man poured all the cigarette ash on the ground, put his arm around the uncle's shoulder, and said, "Come on, help me back, I'm tired of sitting."

"Okay, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"You see for yourself, don't ask me. I'm old, everything tastes pretty much the same to me, so I'll just make do with what I have."

The instructor left temporarily, while the students, led by their homeroom teacher, went to the earthen stove to prepare food.

The ingredients are the same as yesterday, except there are more types of meat available, including fish. But if you go too late, they might be sold out, since the supply of other meats is not very large.

The total allocation of all meats remains the same; if you don't hurry, you won't have any to choose from.

"Wait, wait, everyone quiet down and listen to me!" Gao Yuan scurried to the front of the line. "I think we can all cook together, the whole class can cook together, that way it'll save some effort. We only need four or five stoves, right? The pots are so big, I feel like we can cook enough for ten people at once. Then we can cook the rice together, those who know how to cook can cook, those who know how to chop can chop, and the rest of us can help out..."

"how about you?"

"I don't know anything, hehe." Gao Yuan scratched his head without blushing or skipping a beat.

"So you're the one who got the better deal, huh?" Wang Jiale said, hands on her hips and pouting. "No way, I refuse!"

“I think it’s a good idea,” Li Wanyan stepped forward. “Let’s all do it together, so we can eat earlier than the class next door.”

"That's right, look, even the class monitor agreed."

"Okay, let's work together!" Li Hongran, who was leading the team, nodded vigorously. "Let's get to work. The boys will handle the physical labor, and the girls will be in charge of chopping vegetables and such!"

Mo Xueyao glanced at the other classes and found that their pattern was still the same as yesterday. So, is Class 2 of Grade 11 the first class to decide to work together to make dinner?

……

Chapter Seventy-Six: Big Pot Dishes

Blue clouds shroud the dawn, jade trees hang in autumn, and golden bracelets adorn the branches.

The green leaves and branches are as green as those of the osmanthus, and the flowers, with their soft stems, shyly face the wind.

The osmanthus flowers bloom most profusely after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and even the smell of cooking oil seems unable to overpower their fragrance.

The fragrance of osmanthus flowers cannot be contained even after ten miles of blooming.

Especially in the Jiangnan region, people particularly love this flower, and by extension, they have come to love this tree.

The wind blows and the flowers fall; the osmanthus is probably the least concerned about staying on the tree for long.

Mo Xueyao just stood there with her hands clasped, and in just ten minutes she had already collected quite a few flower petals.

"Ah, the sweet osmanthus-flavored Yao Yao! Awoo!" Hua Yinyin ran over and lightly bit her arm, leaving behind a lot of glistening saliva.

The tasks have already been assigned to the second class.

Some were responsible for washing vegetables, some for chopping vegetables, and some for cooking. Those who didn't know anything else would add firewood. Those who didn't even know how to add firewood would do manual labor—carrying firewood from other stoves for later use.

In no time, some were washing vegetables, others were chopping vegetables, and Class Two was busy as a bee. Mo Xueyao stuffed the osmanthus flowers into her pocket and went over to help.

Her job is to wash vegetables.

Chopping vegetables is done by someone else who is better at cooking, and cooking, of course, requires a recognized 'master chef'.

For example, Mo Xiaoxiao and Li Wanyan.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work; with so many people working together, efficiency is very high.

The potatoes, cleaned of mud, were handed to the students who peeled them. Some were responsible for shredding them, while others were given directly to the vegetable cutters to slice them.

The first batch of vegetables has already started to heat up in the oil, and the person demonstrating this first dish is Mo Xiaoxiao.

Although the earthen stoves in the container houses aren't that big, they still offer some reference value.

There was probably still some water in the pot, so when the oil was poured in, a few drops immediately splattered out.

A large pile of chopped mushrooms was put into the pot, along with some slices of meat.

"Splash—!" Even though it had only just begun, the aroma of oil was already making Mo Xueyao swallow hard.

"Any guys with a bit of strength?" Mo Xiaoxiao shouted loudly amidst the noise of stir-frying after shaking the pot.

"Someone stronger? Me!" Li Hongran was the first to step forward. "So, do you need any help?"

"Come help me—flip the wok! I can't lift it!" Even though the two were standing very close, they had to shout to make their voices carry.

"OK, leave it to me!" Li Hongran made a gesture, and confidently grabbed the pot handle with one hand, intending to lift it up. However, the pot only moved slightly, which made him blush a little. This time, he used both hands and put all his strength into it.

You should know that this big iron pot, plus a pot full of vegetables, is quite heavy.

Fortunately, Li Hongran exercises regularly and is strong enough to shake the pot with both hands.

Is that so?

"Yes, that's right, toss it a bit harder, there's too much food in there, you can't stir it with just a spatula!" Mo Xiaoxiao said loudly, while Li Hongran was tossing the wok, she also stirred it a few times with the spatula, and only let him put it down when it was almost done.

"Damn, it's pretty tiring. Cooking is hard work."

"Of course! Otherwise, why would male chefs usually cook large pot dishes?"

The other stoves also started cooking, and Li Hongran quickly arranged for a few strong boys to go and help, otherwise, it would probably be difficult to stir-fry the dishes evenly if only the girls were to do it.

Yang Yankai is the only boy in Class Two who cooks large pot dishes.

Moreover, he is very strong and doesn't need anyone's help at all.

"Whoosh—!" He quickly poured in the cooking wine, then grabbed the pot handle and gave it a sudden shake. Half of the food in the pot flew into the air, and the fire from the stove even reached the pot. He looked every bit the master chef.

"Whoosh—whoosh—!"

"Holy crap, Yang Yankai is so handsome."

"Wow, you wouldn't usually notice, but that move was really cool!"

Even the boys praised him highly, and many girls were attracted to him as well.

Women's standards for men's appearance are actually far lower than men's standards for women's appearance.

For example, Yang Yankai, who was a dark-skinned boy from the countryside when he was in school, looked rustic, but when he got serious, everyone thought his dark skin was very unique.

It's often said that a man who is serious is the most handsome, which shows that a man's charm is greatly enhanced, even to the point that people can overlook his ordinary appearance.

This dish is stir-fried pork liver. Because we have a whole class supporting us, once we decide what dish to make, we can get almost any ingredient, it's just a matter of how much or how little.

"How about it, Lao Yang is awesome, right? Gao Yuan, can I come to your house to be your chef?" Liu Xiaowei teased, nudging Gao Yuan's arm.

"Yes, it absolutely can!"

"Gao Yuan, do you have a chef at home?"

"Yes, there are professional chefs who earn over five thousand a month!"

Holy crap, they're rich!

A monthly salary of five thousand is a high income that even white-collar workers might not be able to match in this day and age.

Many business owners and shopkeepers only aim to earn a net profit of five thousand yuan per month.

Opening a shop requires you to bear the profits and losses yourself, but being a chef does not, making the risk much smaller.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you have the skill level to command such a high price.

"Gao Yuan, you usually eat chef's cooking at home, so why can you still eat so much?"

"To me, they all taste good, it's just a matter of whether they're really delicious or just averagely delicious."

"I thought you were a picky eater."

"Go away, I don't have that problem." Gao Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

The other classes were stunned by the orderly scene of cooking.

It was as if a professional culinary team had come to the village to host a banquet.

Other classes had thought of this, but only Class Two actually organized it.

"Mo Xueyao, could you please go and borrow a few large tables and chairs from your uncle's house? Let us know if you manage to borrow them, and we boys will go and get them," Li Hongran said with a sly grin as she approached Mo Xueyao again.

This looks suspiciously like a conspiracy.

"Why are you looking for me? Can't you go yourselves?"

"Well, it's better for a girl to go. Girls are more popular, and you're the prettiest one. The key is that you're mixed race, so your uncle and the others might treat you like a half-foreigner, which would make them easier to talk to you about."

"What? I'm a true-blue Chinese." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes.

"Please, please, once this is settled, you won't have to do anything else."

“…Okay.” Mo Xueyao glanced at the many unwashed vegetables and was somewhat tempted.

The store at my uncle's house was open at the moment. The old man was dozing off with his pipe in his arms. He only slowly opened one eye after he noticed someone coming in.

"Grandpa, where is... Uncle?"

"What happens next?"

"What's up? What do you need?" The uncle who was tidying up the snacks in the back stood up. "Need any help?"