In the end, she really sat down and grilled food for everyone.

They had salt now. Back at the coast, while they were building the saltworks, they had Fan Wenqing and the others boil and filter the salt. They boiled ten large clay pots full of edible coarse salt and shared five pots with the camp next door. If they saved, they could have at least a month's supply.

As the tides rose and fell, everyone caught a lot of small stranded sea fish in the shallows. Some of them were cooked and eaten, and the rest were smeared with salt and exposed to the scorching sun to become dried salted fish, which were then brought back.

This time, Si Lan roasted pheasant meat, and took wild boar meat that had been distributed and dried by the residents from the camp granary. She added wild vegetables, fruits, spices, etc. that she had collected on the road, cut them, put them in a clay pot, placed it on another fire, and fried several dishes in a row and made soup.

It was not yet dinner time, but the aroma of her dishes attracted all the busy people in the camp.

Everyone held back for a moment, but couldn't help themselves and greeted her from afar, "Miss Si, what delicious food did you make? It smells so good!"

Si Lan never liked to shout, so she just held up a roasted pheasant, shook it, and said, "Come and try it later."

Everyone was a little surprised: Is there a share for everyone this time?

In the past, everyone was short of food, so if there was any hard-to-find food like meat or mushrooms, we would cook it and eat it together.

Now that we have more food resources and a variety of pottery, everyone has started making their own. I never thought...

Everyone couldn't help but glance at the dishes she had, and their mouths were watering just by looking at them.

In the evening, Tao Zhenzhen, who had mustered up the courage to follow Liu Qing and others out to collect resources, also returned.

They brought plenty of camping equipment and searched outside for three days before returning, so they had no idea that Si Lan and others had returned to the camp.

When Tao Zhenzhen saw a familiar figure sitting in front of her house, she was stunned at first, then rushed over: "Sister Si Lan, Sister Si Lan?! Are you back?!"

Si Lan turned around and saw that it was her. She first looked at her limping leg, then raised her eyes and asked, "Where have you been? What's wrong with your leg?"

Tao Zhenzhen was sure that it was Si Lan, and her eyes turned red.

I heard her ask about her legs again, feeling aggrieved and a little embarrassed, staring at her toes: "Um... I accidentally fell while climbing a tree."

Si Lan looked at the leg again and finally stretched out her hand: "Let me see."

Tao Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, and when she saw that she was showing her legs, she limped over.

Si Lan could basically tell the situation just by looking at the way she walked.

When she came closer, he lifted up her pants, touched and pinched the place where she felt pain, then took out the corresponding herbal medicine from the storage space and handed it to Liu Qing who was walking from behind: "Crush it and apply it to her with large leaves. She will be fine after resting for two days."

Liu Qing was also very excited to see her come back, but when he saw her looking at Tao Zhenzhen's legs, he felt a little guilty: "I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of her and let her fall."

Si Lan didn't even raise her head: "It's not a big deal, just a sprain, there's nothing wrong with my muscles and bones."

Liu Qing still felt guilty, after all, he had promised Si Lan to take good care of the little girl.

"It was my fault that I was so quick-witted and kept an eye on her. She wouldn't have lost her balance and fallen."

Only then did Si Lan raise her eyes.

Seeing Liu Qing's apologetic face, she looked at Tao Zhenzhen again: "Tell me what happened at that time."

Tao Zhenzhen had already noticed the various dishes she had cooked. Hearing this, she withdrew her gaze from the fragrant meat with difficulty and replied, swallowing her saliva: "I want to pick fruit from the tree... Sister, didn't you say that if I wanted to go out with you, I would work harder? I, I just want to work harder..."

Si Lan: "So climbing the tree was your own idea."

"yes."

"Was it your idea to go out with your sister?" She pointed at Liu Qing again.

Tao Zhenzhen: "Yes."

Si Lan nodded: "So whether you went out or climbed the tree, it was all your own free will. Falling down was due to your own carelessness, not your sister Liu Qing forcing you to do so."

Tao Zhenzhen: "Yeah, it has nothing to do with Sister Liu Qing. It's all my fault. I told her everything, but she still looks very sad and guilty."

Liu Qing: "Ah, after all, Zhenzhen is still so young..."

Si Lan: "At this age, everyone should take responsibility for their own actions. As long as it's not intentional on either side, or life-threatening, then we'll be hurt. We'll just learn from it in the future."

As she spoke, she forked out half a fish from the clay pot, put it in a bowl and handed it to Liu Qing to distract her: "Here, try it, your sister made it."

When Liu Qing heard it, he asked, "What is it?"

When she heard "her sister", she belatedly thought of Fan Wenqing and looked up again: "Where is Wenqing?"

Si Lan: "We got information about a mining resource point. Officer Fang led a team to mine, and she followed."

"That's dried sea fish, salted and sun-dried. She made it, too. She said she'd make it for you guys to try."

Liu Qing quickly took the bowl and said incredulously: "She really can't sit still."

Si Lan didn't say anything. Tao Zhenzhen glanced at the fish in Liu Qing's bowl and became even more greedy. At the same time, she asked Si Lan curiously, "So, Sister, aren't you going with Officer Fang this time?"

Si Lan also served her some fish and vegetable soup, but shook her head when she heard this: "No."

"Ah? So my sister is always home lately?!"

"It's hard to say."

Tao Zhenzhen immediately pouted, took her bowl with disappointment, and sat next to her.

But when she tasted the dried fish in the bowl, Tao Zhenzhen, who hadn't eaten salty food for a long time, brightened up. All her worries were forgotten, and she praised it profusely: "Mmm, it's delicious, really super delicious!"

Si Lan seemed to be used to this kind of praise. After she had eaten for a while, she asked her to call other residents to come and taste the food.

The others didn't feel comfortable coming empty-handed, so they said they would cook some dishes themselves, and bring some grains like corn, sweet potatoes, etc. that they had recently stockpiled, so they could eat together in the camp.

Si Lan said nothing and continued to concentrate on grilling her meat.

A little later, another group returned from outside. This was the team Pei Wen had led in the mountains. Arriving at the new camp, they became somewhat familiar with everyone else. They were still used to working together and searching for resources together most of the time.

When she came back, she saw a very conspicuous platform beside the lake in the camp. Zhu Yunya was startled, and then she saw the familiar figure in front of the platform again.

She raised her leg and walked over: "Hey, Professor Pei, you're back?"

Pei Wen was currently explaining the meaning of a technical term to the soldier Yuan Kuo so that he could accurately translate it to the infrastructure group.

Someone called him, but he didn't notice at all and was still explaining quietly.

Zhu Yunya walked all the way to his side, and saw a platform that she could not understand at all. She was stunned for a moment, and after a while she looked at Pei Wen: "Professor Pei?"

Pei Wen's words were interrupted by her.

He turned his head silently and saw that it was her. He turned his head again and looked behind him, and saw the familiar team walking towards him.

"Going to look for resources?" he asked casually.

Zhu Yunya was very happy and replied with a smile: "Yes. Professor Pei, have you eaten? We dug up some yam today. They are very sweet. Can I cut some for you?"

Speaking of food, Pei Wen couldn't help but glance at Si Lan.

Seeing that she was still sitting there without moving, he felt relieved and turned back to shake his head lightly: "No, thank you."

Zhu Yunya then remembered that he didn't accept food offered by anyone other than his assistant. Thinking it was normal, she didn't insist and looked at their signal communication station: "What is this station? What is it used for? Did you make this, Professor Pei? That's amazing!!"

Pei Wen didn't want to talk much, so he just replied, "Not entirely."

Yuan Kuo was also in a hurry to get down to business, so he politely told Zhu Yunya to let them go ahead and asked Pei Wen to continue explaining the terms.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunya didn't say anything more, but listening to Pei Wen's low and magnetic voice, even though she couldn't hear what he was saying, she somehow didn't leave and stood aside to watch them talk.

It was not until it was completely dark and everyone's vision was restricted that a man suddenly came to their communication station, holding a torch and lighting the two rock fires on the side of the station to provide them with lighting.

When Pei Wen saw who was coming, he immediately stopped talking and frowned: "I told you to sit still, didn't you hear me?"

Si Lan looked at him in confusion: "Am I wrong to light a fire for you?"

"We don't communicate with the infrastructure team at night. This isn't written or drawn, so why are you so angry? Is it so hard to get you to be quiet for half a day?"

Si Lan was puzzled: "I'm not you. I can walk a few more steps and get into the hospital."

Pei Wen: "Don't exaggerate the facts."

"Am I exaggerating? I've accompanied you to the hospital more times than I've eaten meals. And you dare to yell at others in another place?"

Pei Wen was so angry that his face turned black: "You are talking nonsense."

Si Lan snorted coldly and pointed at the watch on her wrist: "It's past seven o'clock now."

"In real life, if you don't eat at this time, you'll end up in the hospital again. So are you going to eat or not?"

Pei Wen's expression froze. Realizing that this was a fact that was completely irrefutable, he finally stood up reluctantly.

"A bad stomach is congenital, it has nothing to do with me, you know?"

Si Lan: "Your stomach still has nothing to do with you? Are you ignoring logic just for the sake of face? Come on, it's a great honor for you to have me, Si Lan, cook a meal for you."

Pei Wen almost rolled his eyes at her: "The food you cooked before wasn't even edible. Now you've been hanging around somewhere else for two years and you're so cocky now?"

"So are you going to eat it or not?"

"eat."

Si Lan called Yuan Kuo and others over, and seeing a young girl standing next to them, she called out to them and left together.

When we arrived at Si Lan's small camp, the residents had already brought their own cooked meals and grains, as well as straw mats, which they had put together on the ground to form a huge cushion.

All kinds of food were placed in the middle, and the dishes alone were unprecedentedly rich.

Not to mention the added flavor of salt.

Everyone was busy distributing bowls and food, and wondering why Si Lan hadn't come back yet.

When I turned around, I saw Si Lan coming over with a few people.

After everyone sat down, Si Lan first distributed the barbecue to Liu Qing, Tao Zhenzhen and other people in the small camp. Then she picked up a dried sea fish, rinsed it with boiling water, and mashed the fish meat in a bowl.

Under the confused gazes of the crowd, she handed the "carefully" processed fish to Pei Wen who was standing beside her.

Pei Wen: “…”

"Are you trying to humiliate me on purpose?"

Si Lan smiled, "It's a matter of reciprocity. Who told you to be so rude even when someone takes a few more steps? Who are you looking down on?"

Pei Wen: "I suspect there's something wrong with your brain circuit."

"Forget it."

"Put it down."

Si Lan had just put down the bowl when Pei Wen heard someone asking her such heart-wrenching questions as "Is Professor Pei in poor health? Why does he have to prepare fish before eating it?" and "Do professors have these strange requirements? Is it necessary to be so particular in order to maintain the health of their brains?"

The corner of his lips twitched, and he thought for a moment, moving all the dishes away from Si Lan: "She is very picky about food. She won't eat these kinds of dishes, and she will feel sick when she sees them."

Si Lan sneered and reached out to hold his hand. Her face, illuminated by the firelight, was filled with a genuine smugness.

"People grow up."

"After all the hardships I've gone through, I'm no longer the picky, childish kid I used to be, Pei Jiaojiao."

The author has something to say:

Crowd: ...You two are childish.

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