Financial crisis, big salary cuts, fresh graduates fighting fiercely for a job paying only 1,200 yuan. Fresh graduate Chen Feng couldn't stand the gap and became a loafer at home, smoking and d...
"You have to put the dry grass at one end of the firewood and light it, and you also have to prop up the branches. If you burn it directly from the middle of the branches, how long will it take to catch fire?"
"Let's go get some more dry grass, and I'll show you."
Upon hearing this, Chen Feng could only stand up and, together with Zheng Ping, gathered a lot of dry grass. Zheng Ping worked while Chen Feng watched from the side.
Actually, Chen Feng wanted to try again, but Zheng Ping wouldn't let him.
As Zheng Ping put it, once you start the fire, we should go panning for gold.
Chen Feng could only squint at this; how could it be so exaggerated?
Zheng Ping not only set up the firewood, but also stuck a few branches into the dry grass.
Once the fire was lit, Zheng Ping would blow on it from time to time, and soon the firewood was crackling. Zheng Ping then gathered a lot of branches and threw them on top, and the fire was finally fully lit.
"Have you learned it?"
For the first time, Zheng Ping found confidence in Chen Feng, and a hint of pride appeared on his face.
"Easy peasy, I'll demonstrate for you next time," Chen Feng said, pretending to be nonchalant.
He felt he understood it, but whether he could put it into practice was still uncertain.
It can only be said that nothing is as easy as it seems unless you try it yourself.
"Haha, you'll get the hang of it after a few tries. It's not that hard to learn." Zheng Ping chuckled.
The two went to wash rice together. Today, Huang Fei took out two bags of flour and found gold in both. They definitely had to celebrate.
Chen Feng isn't planning on eating instant noodles today; he's going to try something different and have a clay pot rice.
After rinsing the rice clean, Chen Feng borrowed some oil from Zheng Ping and poured it in, along with some soy sauce and other seasonings.
Afterwards, I borrowed some vegetables from Yin Xing, washed them, and put them in my lunchbox.
He took out two sausages, borrowed a knife from Huang Fei, sliced the sausages, and put them inside.
Since there was no cutting board, Chen Feng cut the intestines into all sorts of sizes and crooked shapes, but since he was eating them himself, he didn't care much about the size or shape, so it was fine as is.
It's fair to say that we were able to have this claypot rice meal entirely thanks to the help of our fellow villager, who had nothing but rice, a lunchbox, and ham sausage.
After everything was ready, Chen Feng threw the aluminum lunchbox into the fireside. Soon he would be able to enjoy a delicious outdoor claypot rice.
Chen Feng was also doing this for the first time and was a little unsure of himself, but as long as it cooked through, it was better than bread.
Apart from a few who ate their own rice, the rest of them ate pancakes rolled with scallions and some pickled vegetables.
Huang Fei had almost finished his noodles when Chen Feng's claypot rice was just about to be ready.
Chen Feng used a twig to hook the lunchbox back, and then used his fingernail to pry it open. The aluminum lunchbox burned his fingers, so he took it back and blew on it.
As soon as the lunchbox was opened, a delicious aroma wafted out, and everyone couldn't help but crane their necks to look.
"Wow, it smells good."
"Looks pretty good, Fengzi is awesome, damn it."
"How do you make it? Teach me, I don't want to eat pancakes tomorrow."
Chen Feng chuckled upon hearing their words. He felt he had done a decent job and was surprised that his first attempt had been quite successful.
Zheng Ping, sitting next to him, couldn't help but peek over.
He had just been thinking, "How can you eat perfectly good rice if you put this and that on it? Won't it taste bad?"
Now he suddenly felt embarrassed. It actually looked pretty good, much better than his tasteless rice.
Chen Feng used his sleeve to hold the lunchbox, placed it on the stone in front of him, picked up his chopsticks, and eagerly took a bite.
"Hmm! It's alright, just a little bland. I didn't dare put in too much salt, but it tastes really good."
"Brother Zheng, give me some pickled vegetables."
Chen Feng reached for Zheng Ping's jar of pickled vegetables with his chopsticks, but Zheng Ping handed the jar to him and told him to take some himself.
After putting the pickled vegetables on top of the rice and thinking that was enough, Chen Feng returned the pickled vegetable jar to Zheng Ping.
"What are you staring at? Want some? Here, have a taste?" Chen Feng grinned at Zheng Ping, who was staring intently at him.
Zheng Ping didn't stand on ceremony and picked up a bit with his chopsticks. He really wanted to taste it and see if it was good.
"Hmm...it's really good." Zheng Ping couldn't help but nod and praise.
"Hehe, serves you right for not trusting me earlier. I even offered to make you one too, but you wouldn't have done it. Now you regret it, don't you?" Chen Feng laughed smugly, picking up some rice and putting it in his mouth.
"I've never eaten it like this before. Who puts so many ingredients in rice? I thought it wouldn't taste good." Zheng Ping was indeed a little regretful.
"It's just pig feed. With so many ingredients, it can't possibly taste bad."
Chen Feng now has confidence, something he would never have dared to say before the claypot rice was cooked.
"Brother Xing, give me some chili sauce."
Chen Feng took a few bites and shouted to Yin Xing.
Something spicy would be great; Yin Xing's homemade chili sauce is quite delicious.
"Here you go." Yin Xing reached out and handed the canned food jar to Chen Feng.
Chen Feng stepped forward, took the chili sauce, and scooped some onto his rice with his chopsticks.
The fragrant claypot rice, served with a little chili sauce and pickled vegetables, was a real treat for Chen Feng. He especially enjoyed the crunchy bits at the bottom of the rice bowl, which he chewed with increasing delight.
These people watched Chen Feng eat, and they were all a little envious.
They were quite envious; how could Chen Feng be so good at eating and even invent such things?
To put it simply, they have all of these things except for sausages.
No, I have to get Chen Feng to make me one tomorrow too. Let whoever wants this lousy pancake eat it; if I keep eating it, I'll turn into a pancake myself.
After everyone finished eating and cleaning up, they all got into the car to go to sleep. This time, Chen Feng refused to sleep next to Zheng Ping. Who could stand the constant rummaging around in the middle of the night?
But all the other seats are taken, so who can I find to switch with him?
After looking around for a while, he realized that Huang Fei's position was the most comfortable, so he thought for a moment and walked over.
"Dafei, I need to talk to you about something."
Upon hearing this, Huang Fei turned around and looked at Chen Feng with a somewhat bewildered expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Let's switch places today. I'll sleep here, and you can sleep next to Brother Zheng," Chen Feng suggested.
Zheng Ping, who was sitting in the back, looked completely innocent when he heard this.
Am I a restless sleeper? Why did Fengzi want to change positions?
"What's wrong, Fengzi? Is Brother Zheng restless in his sleep?" Huang Fei peeked at Zheng Ping and couldn't help but laugh.
"It's alright, let's switch." Chen Feng didn't say much, afraid that if he said too much, Huang Fei wouldn't switch.
"But Fengzi, I'm actually quite used to sleeping here. If you really want to change..."
Huang Fei's words were pointed, and a sly smile played on his lips.
Chen Feng immediately understood what was going on and said, "I'll bring you a claypot rice tomorrow."
"Okay, but I prefer sausages..." Huang Fei pretended to get up, then gave Chen Feng another squeeze.
"Add another sausage!"