The next day, as the roosters in the village outside crowed, Zhao Mei's alarm clock rang and she opened her eyes at the same time.
Looking to the right, sure enough, Qiao Qiudie showed no signs of waking up. Zhao Mei didn't care, she just made the bed and prepared to go downstairs to cook something.
She herself has an early sleep schedule, and usually at school she sets an early alarm, cleans up first, and then calls Qiu Jiahe.
She went downstairs quietly. The only ones who arrived earlier than Zhao Mei were the diligent camera and program crew.
Zhao Mei first went to the bathroom to wash up. After finishing washing up, she took a lighter and toilet paper from the living room to make a fire. After she made the fire skillfully and quickly, she went to the material room to get some rice and prepared to cook some porridge.
The other stove was used to boil eggs at the bottom and heat up some semi-finished steamed buns and flower rolls at the top.
Just as Zhao Mei was sitting on a stool waiting for the egg buns to come out of the pot, she heard light footsteps coming from outside the kitchen, heading towards the kitchen.
Not long after, a man poked his head in from the kitchen door. It was He Xingwen, who had gotten up early.
He Xingwen originally wanted to wake up early and make some breakfast for everyone, otherwise they would probably go to the town with empty stomachs.
As soon as I went downstairs, I smelled the scent of morning moisture, as well as a hint of rice and the smell of fire in the air, so I found the kitchen.
There was indeed someone inside, but He Xingwen didn't expect it to be Zhao Mei.
"Oh, I didn't expect that you, Zhao Mei, would wake up earlier than an old man like me?"
Zhao Mei pulled down the firewood and smiled: "As college students, we have early classes and are used to getting up early. I thought of making some food for everyone."
He Xingwen also laughed and said, "We were thinking the same thing, but I was a little behind. I originally thought young people like you wouldn't know how to start a fire, but you look quite skilled."
Zhao Mei looked up at He Xingwen and said, "It all came down to the fact that when I was little I used to go to my grandparents' house all the time. They had these big earthen stoves over there, and I always thought it was fun, so I would watch them make a fire, but I didn't actually practice it very often."
"That's not bad. This kind of stove fire is difficult to control. It will easily burn or go out if you are not careful." He Xingwen still gave Zhao Mei a thumbs up.
"No, no, I was just worried that I wasn't good at cooking, so I just made a simple breakfast." Zhao Mei looked away, opened the pot and stirred the porridge.
"Is there anything else I can help with?"
Zhao Mei heard He Xingwen say this and felt that it was indeed not a good idea to let others watch. "Well, you can just cut up the pickled beans and meat I brought out. When the eggs and steamed buns are cooked, I'll fry something to go with the porridge."
He Xingwen nodded, took the chopping board and knife, found a flat surface, and started cutting vegetables.
The food preparation here was quite fast. When Zhao Mei opened the pot over there, she could see that the steamed buns that had been steamed earlier had become plump and white and were cooked through.
After serving everything and cleaning the pot, Zhao Mei started cooking.
Pour a little oil to lubricate the pan, add onions and garlic to stir-fry, and when it smells fragrant, add the minced meat. Wait until the meat is fried until oil comes out, then add seasonings such as light soy sauce and MSG. Finally, add a handful of sour beans and drizzle with some sesame oil. A fragrant sour beans and minced meat dish is ready.
It’s simple, quick and delicious, which is why Zhao Mei always made some extra for herself. It’s a great dish to go with porridge or rice.
After finishing the meal, He Xingwen offered to clean up the kitchen. Zhao Mei thought about it and agreed. She also wanted to call the remaining three people to eat.
As for the boys' room, it was really inconvenient for her to go in, so she just knocked on the door outside, and after confirming with the two people inside that they were up, she returned to her room.
Looking at Qiao Qiudie who was still sleeping soundly, Zhao Mei couldn't help but show an expression of admiration. Even Qiu Jiahe would be half awake with her going in and out like this.
After some effort, Zhao Mei finally woke Qiao Qiudie up completely. Although Qiao Qiudie was not in a bad mood when getting up, she would always fall asleep again the moment Zhao Mei woke her up and prepared to go out.
In the end, she was successfully woken up thanks to Zhao Mei who angrily dragged Qiao Qiudie off the bed and onto the ground. Only then did she open her eyes completely in a daze.
After confirming this side, Zhao Mei went to knock on Tao Pingfan's door next door. After waiting for two minutes, she relied on her excellent hearing to hear a tiny sound coming from the room and confirmed the situation.
After waking everyone up, Zhao Mei went downstairs and sat at the dining table with He Zhiwen, chatting while waiting.
The remaining few people also came down from upstairs one after another, went to the bathroom to wash up, and after washing up, they sat at the dining table still feeling sleepy.
Especially Qiao Qiudie, she was looking at the simple breakfast in front of her with a confused look on her face, her eyes wide open.
It was only after Zhao Mei poked her that she picked up the bowl and started eating.
The six of them finished their breakfast quietly, and the remaining sleepiness disappeared after their stomachs were filled.
Li Teng put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, "I'm happy to have food as soon as I wake up, but I also feel a little guilty... I set the alarm, but didn't get up..."
Xi Jia and Tao Pingfan beside him also nodded repeatedly.
Zhao Mei just held a teacup in her hand and drank tea to smooth her stomach: "It's okay, I have to eat anyway, so I just do more things, and it can also make everyone more energetic when they go to town later. Besides, Teacher He also helped me a lot."
He Xingwen quickly waved his hands: "No, no, I was only responsible for cutting the vegetables. You made all the porridge, vegetables, eggs, etc."
After hearing this, Qiao Qiudie stood up and said, "Since we can't help with cooking, why don't we help wash the dishes and clean up after dinner?"
This statement was unanimously agreed to, and everyone around the table stood up, clearing away the dishes, gathering the leftovers, and wiping the table.
Thanks to Zhao Mei's efforts, when Director Yu Chen and a group of program team members quietly entered the yard through the back door, they only saw Li Teng and Xi Jia who had already finished their meal and were even bored enough to start catching chickens.
Inside the house, Qiao Qiudie came out with a look of regret and put the chicken back into the chicken coop. Li Teng even stopped Qiao Qiudie and asked her, "Why did you put this chicken back after catching it with so much effort?"
Qiao Qiudie said helplessly, "Meili said this chicken might have been raised by its original owner, so it's not appropriate to let anyone eat it."
After hearing this, Li Teng and Xi Jia sighed regretfully. Without chicken to eat, there was no point in catching chickens, so they went into the house with Qiao Qiudie.
Yu Chen and his assistant director Wang Hong stood stiffly at the back door. After hesitating for a moment, they walked in confidently.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw six people sitting together happily. The laughing atmosphere made Yu Chen feel particularly helpless.
The desired show effect was ruined, but the effect was not bad either. Thinking of this, Yu Chen could only be thankful for the perfect shot he had arranged, otherwise it would have been a real loss.
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