Chapter 942 Clinging to Chen Jiaxin's Thigh?
Ouyang Rong arrived at the Qingliang Valley Dining Hall early.
Among all these skilled cooks, he was one of the early arrivals, unlike the other cooks who preferred to arrive at the appointed time.
There wasn't much work to do in the morning, so Ouyang Rong politely declined the help of the other cooks and carried firewood and picked vegetables himself, like a quirky, unassuming man with a strange habit.
Wu Cui arrived early, just like Ouyang Rong, among the first group of people to arrive at the dining hall.
Perhaps life on that small, unassuming island was dull and monotonous, but young people like Ouyang Rong and Wu Cui couldn't stay idle.
Unlike those middle-aged women who have long since seen through life and just get by day by day.
It's not that they're lazy.
For example, Madam Zhu, who loved to chat with Ouyang Rong, was always late because the other gossipy old ladies hadn't arrived yet, and if she came too early, there would be no one to gossip with her.
Ouyang Rong was too dull, merely a cold-blooded listener; his only redeeming quality was that he would respond occasionally, giving them some face. Wu Cui, on the other hand, was too quiet, always staring at her tattered book, ignoring everyone… These young people in the dining hall were clearly not good conversation partners.
Ouyang Rong went to his stove as usual and checked the pots and pans.
"There was some extra water in the tank this morning, so I washed you."
Wu Cui's voice came through.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her; the freckled young woman was still sitting in her usual spot by the window, looking down at her book, her unkempt bangs obscuring her profile.
She was simply dressed, and although her appearance was not outstanding in Jianze, she was a clean and tidy girl.
Thank you.
After inspecting the place, Ouyang Rong found it was indeed much cleaner and tidier. It was quite nice to have someone with OCD help with the cleaning.
After circling around, he turned back to look in Wu Cui's direction, his gaze falling on the small booklet of sword techniques in her hand.
The pages of this booklet are almost worn out from being flipped through so many times.
Ouyang Rong recalled the sword technique manual he received before the first trial in Peach Valley during his initial entrance examination.
They were only given the time it takes to look at a cup of tea or two, and they were allowed to remember as much as they could.
It all comes down to talent.
Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly in his heart.
Sometimes fate is cruel; those without talent simply lack talent, regardless of their effort, especially in the realm of sword cultivation.
Wu Cui has studied and researched diligently for so long, but she still failed both rounds of assessments. Clearly, she is lacking something.
He might not even be as good as Er Gou.
Therefore, Madam Zhu's sarcastic remarks were indeed sometimes correct, so why make things difficult for yourself?
Madam Zhu didn't mean to hurt her.
Wu Cui turned a deaf ear.
Ouyang Rong understood.
A person with obsessive-compulsive disorder is likely to also compulsively believe that they are exceptionally clean and tidy.
However, Ouyang Rong still admired people who were so stubborn.
It's good to fight and lose repeatedly, but to keep fighting.
People always need something to strive for in life, even if they never reach the other side in their lifetime.
Of course, he would never admit that he had this same headstrong and impulsive spirit when he was studying hard for his postgraduate entrance exam in his previous life.
Ouyang Rong firmly believed from the beginning that he was very talented in studying, but he was just born in the wrong era and had to learn some subjects that his ancestors considered messy.
"I don't know much, but I've seen Miss Song and Miss Yu practice. Actually, even if you read a lot, you still need to practice yourself. Swordsmanship is definitely not something you can comprehend just by reading books on paper."
Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke to Wu Cui.
The latter paused slightly, then turned her head to meet his gaze.
After a moment, she nodded, her tone serious:
"Okay, thank you."
Ouyang Rong clasped his hands in a fist salute from afar, then turned and left.
It was still early, with the morning sun just setting.
Ouyang Rong took some time to go to the purchasing office to try and find out what Madam Chen had to say.
There was still no news from Chen Jiaxin, and it couldn't be left hanging like this.
Ouyang Rong would occasionally go shopping and look around. A few days ago, he happened to run into Madam Chen, and she remained calm and didn't give any hints.
Today he came to the purchasing hall again, walked around, but did not see Madam Chen.
"What, you're on vacation?"
Ouyang Rong was somewhat surprised. He stopped a familiar purchasing agent and received a reply.
After a pause, he asked again, "When will you next go down the mountain to buy houses?"
The purchasing agent thought for a moment and replied:
"Brother Liang, according to the usual practice, we should go down the mountain at the beginning of each month, which is ten days later. Now we need to start contacting the various canteens and preparing the list of goods to be transported."
"But Madam went out yesterday and came back saying that things are tense down the mountain lately, so the time to go down the mountain has been postponed. The specific time to go down the mountain depends on the Fairies of Lantang. We'll have to wait for their notification... In short, the point is that we have to act together and can't go out alone, so the checklist compilation before going down the mountain has also been postponed..."
Ouyang Rong nodded thoughtfully and clasped his hands in a fist salute.
Thank you.
"You're too kind, Brother Liang."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ouyang Rong excused himself to take his leave.
He didn't know where Madam Chen had gone, and he thought he would come back to look for her after he finished his shift.
They returned to Qingliang Valley Restaurant by the same route.
When they arrived at the dining hall, they saw Madam Sun smiling as she saw off a slightly plump Yue woman.
The latter wore a silver medal at her waist, which shone brightly in the sunlight, but Ouyang Rong's gaze fell on the wide sleeves of her Wu skirt.
There was a faint orchid there.
"Please wait patiently, Fairy He..."
Madam Sun waved goodbye, her warm voice faintly drifting over.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at it.
He knew this slightly plump Yue woman.
He mistakenly gave Li Shu extra tutoring without understanding why, and later, when investigating the situation, he found that Li Shu was among the girls in Lantang Yue School.
She should be the silver-ranked Yue woman in charge of miscellaneous tasks at the Lantang.
Whether it was a misperception or not, Ouyang Rong saw that the slightly plump Yue woman in the distance seemed to have turned around and glanced at him.
However, the woman did not linger and soon left.
Grandma Sun's smile faded, and she turned around, somewhat surprised, and said:
"Brother Liang, you're quite late today, that's unprecedented."
Ouyang Rong made up an excuse on the spot: "I came here in the morning, but my stomach hurt in the middle of the trip, so I spent some time in the outhouse."
"I see."
Madam Sun nodded, showing no intention of leaving, and leaned closer to whisper:
"Does Brother Liang know about the matter that Fairy Lantang instructed?"
Ouyang Rong saw this and gestured with her chin in the direction the slightly plump Yue woman had gone.
He asked, puzzled, "What is it?"
Madam Sun scrutinized his expression and, finding it genuine, lowered her voice:
"Fairy Lantang has ordered you to be assigned to night duty."
"Night watch?"
Ouyang Rong frowned, somewhat puzzled.
“That’s right, night shift. We need a head chef to stay in the dining hall and prepare a midnight snack before dawn.”
Ouyang Rong pressed further, "Late-night snack? Who's eating?"
Grandma Sun put her index finger up to her lips, indicating to speak softly:
"Brother Liang, don't ask any questions. Just do as instructed at night. If anyone comes looking for you, just stay in the dining hall and wait for them to arrive..."
Ouyang Rong glanced at her and nodded imperceptibly:
"good."
Madam Sun sighed softly, "The night shift was originally the responsibility of Chef Hong, but she has suffered from insomnia for many years, so she takes the night shift... I heard from Fairy He just now that Lantang is worried about her health, probably because she has been staying up all night to cook for many years..."
As she recounted the reasons she had just heard, she secretly glanced at Ouyang Rong's expression out of the corner of her eye.
He seemed very curious about Ouyang Rong's reaction after hearing about this.
Unfortunately, Ouyang Rong had a blank expression on his face and showed no sign of surprise.
Because he didn't know either... Of course, seeing the current situation, he had some vague guesses.
Madam Sun nodded:
"It seems Brother Liang really doesn't know." After a pause, she covered her mouth and whispered, "Brother Liang, if you really have any thoughts, you can tell me. There's no need to trouble the other fairies."
Ouyang Rong understood what she meant, guessing that she thought he was the one who pushed for the transfer behind the scenes.
"Uh-huh."
Ouyang Rong agreed and didn't say anything more.
It's not surprising that Madam Sun was so suspicious, because with so many skilled cooks in the dining hall, why did Lan Tang choose him? In addition, he had made a big splash a few days ago, giving Madam Sun and the others the impression that he had a powerful background and a lot of fairy friends.
“Let’s start tomorrow night. Brother Liang, you don’t need to come during the day tomorrow. Go and rest. Come to the dining hall to change shifts at night. I’ll arrange some reliable people to assist you at night.”
Grandma Sun smiled and gave the instructions.
"Thank you, Chef Sun."
"You're welcome, you're welcome..."
Aunt Sun turned and left, quickly making the arrangements.
Ouyang Rong watched her figure disappear from sight, and after a moment, he looked in the direction where Lantang Yue Nu had left.
He had a vague suspicion in his mind.
Before long, lunchtime was approaching, and Ouyang Rong turned back into the dining hall to prepare today's lunch.
Now, he receives a small amount of merit points every time he cooks, which motivates Ouyang Rong.
There's still hope for the future.
The daytime was spent in busy silence.
As dusk fell, Ouyang Rong finished his shift as usual, but he prepared an extra dish during his dinner.
These are his specialties, such as Dongpo pork and Luhua chicken soup.
As Ouyang Rong finished his shift carrying a food box, most of the people around him turned a blind eye. Just as he reached the door, he saw a familiar figure.
It's Madam Chen.
She was pulling Wu Cui by the door, as if she was asking her to pass on a message.
Wu Cui turned around and happened to see Ouyang Rong:
"Liu Aliang, Madam Chen is looking for you." Then, in front of Madam Chen, she pointed to Ouyang Rong: "He's out."
Madam Chen stepped forward with a smile and greeted Ouyang Rong.
"Brother Liu, it's been a long time."
"Um."
Some of the guesses made during the day seemed to have been confirmed, but Ouyang Rong's reaction was rather indifferent, and Madam Chen didn't seem to care.
The two exchanged a glance, made an excuse, and tacitly left Wu Cui behind. They went to the beach, found a secluded spot, and chatted while gazing at the lake.
"What's this?"
Madam Chen glanced at the food box with curiosity.
"A small token of my appreciation."
"Alright, come with me. Miss is still at the usual place."
The young man asked blankly, "The sudden transfer announced today from Lantang, was it also done by... Miss Chen?"
"Then..." Madam Chen began, but immediately changed her words, "I don't know, maybe."
She looked at him carefully and said:
"Some things don't need to be asked. Miss doesn't like people who ask too many questions or are hesitant and indecisive. In Miss's words, she dislikes stupidity and prefers intelligent people."
"Okay, sure."
Ouyang Rong nodded calmly.
The two set off, walking together towards the towering mountains behind them in the sunset on the beach.
It's the same mountain path leading into the valley as last time.
The old place is that pavilion.
On the way into the valley, night had replaced dusk. However, the wind was strong tonight, and the white mist on the mountain was much thinner than last time when they almost got lost. Ouyang Rong could roughly see the waterfalls cascading down the cliffs on the east and west sides of Qingliang Valley.
He squinted slightly, looked around, and then realized that much of the mist in Qingliang Valley was produced by the waterfall crashing against the cliff rocks; and from a distance, the sound of the waterfall could be faintly heard... It was quite a spectacular sight.
"Miss, they've arrived."
Madam Chen led Ouyang Rong to a stop outside the pavilion.
A languid voice drifted from inside the pavilion, hidden behind curtains:
"Um."
Madam Chen stepped back and left, leaving Ouyang Rong behind.
The taciturn young man stood outside the pavilion for a while, and only stepped into the pavilion after the young woman behind the curtain inside, who seemed to be turning the pages of a book, made a gesture of closing the book.
Chen Jiaxin wore a snow-white Wu dress, her lips were as red as cinnabar, her eyes were sharp, and her hair was tied up in a man's crown style, adding a touch of heroic spirit.
As Ouyang Rong approached, he happened to catch a glimpse of it.
It was only later that I realized this young woman had quite thick eyebrows; on a man, that face would be described as having sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, red lips, and white teeth.
At this moment, there were still faint traces of sweat on her forehead, dampening the hair on both sides of her temples. The two strands of hair she had gathered behind her ears were jet black and shiny, wet and reflecting light, and had not yet dried.
Judging from her attire, she probably just finished her cultivation and came here in the evening.
The two people inside the pavilion remained silent.
Chen Jiaxin held the scroll and gently patted her forearm, raising an eyebrow at the dull young man who had opened the food box and was quietly arranging the food in front of her.
Ouyang Rong remained silent throughout, set out the food, and took two steps back.
She suddenly spoke:
"I put you in the cafeteria not for this purpose."
Ouyang Rong replied neither humbly nor arrogantly:
"Miss helped me, so I should repay her; it's basic etiquette."
Chen Jiaxin glanced at the steaming hot food and snorted coldly:
"You didn't even tell me beforehand, just put it in front of me and forced me to eat it. What if you had ulterior motives and drugged it?"
Ouyang Rong calmly replied:
"If you ask this question, it means you've already confirmed that no drugs were used. Otherwise, you wouldn't have wasted your breath talking."
Chen Jiaxin glanced at the young man's blank face with some surprise.
"You look dull, but you're quite the talker."
She put down her book, picked up her chopsticks, added a bite of food, and put it in her mouth.
After chewing for a few breaths, his eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded gently.
"Your cooking skills are really good, even better than the chefs in Peach Blossom Town. What kind of temple did you work in before? How could those monks who only chanted the six precepts eat so well?"
Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment, then said, "Buddha is not poor."
Chen Jiaxin suddenly smiled.
His spirited eyebrows rose, and he gave a clear rebuke:
"They should have been burned to the ground, as should that foolish emperor who worshipped Buddha and made those statues. My senior sisters and uncles did the right thing!"
(End of this chapter)
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