Chapter Thirty-One: A Real Picnic

  Several people followed Zou Ze and tied a fruit knife to the front of a wooden stick, holding it to stab at the fish in a flurry, but seeing that Zou Ze had already caught several fish, while they hadn't even seen any fish scales here!

  "You can't stab like that, although you've got the strength and aim right, but fish swim, so by the time you stab it'll be gone. You have to aim ahead of where it's swimming." Zou Ze saw that apart from the few he had caught himself, no one else had caught any, if this continued everyone would go hungry.

  Yu Yao did as he said, but it still didn't work. "Zou Ze, what you said doesn't work at all! The fish is too slippery and it runs away as soon as the knife goes down."

  Zou Ze smiled and said, "Then watch how I do it." He then gave them a demonstration, and in just a few moves, he caught another one.

  Ji Xin'an watched for a while before trying it himself. After several attempts, he still couldn't do it. Just then, he saw a fish over 10 centimeters long swimming by, so he slowly approached it, observed the direction it was swimming in, and suddenly pounced, actually catching it! He excitedly held up his prize and shouted, "Look, I caught one!"

  Everyone turned around and saw her holding up a fish that weighed at least two catties, beaming with joy. "Not bad, this is still the biggest one today!" Zou Ze couldn't help but laugh when he saw it.

  Others were not as lucky as her, and after being unable to catch any for a long time, several boys took off their clothes that had just been dried and used them to scoop up fish in the water, unexpectedly they actually got some.

  Yu Yao and Shi Lin saw this and discussed it, then gave up fishing and went to dig wild vegetables. As a result, only Ji Xin'an was left to persist in this place.

  Almost at noon, everyone returned with their own prey. The people on Ji Xin'an's side got more than a dozen big and small fish, but after Ji Xin'an caught that big one, he didn't catch any more. Those few boys who used clothes as bait really managed to scoop up two, although they weren't very big, it still made them extremely happy.

  "You really caught fish, we thought you were just pretending." The people who went to dig wild vegetables came back and were surprised to see that they had actually brought back so many fish.

  "With the big brother leading, of course, we can catch some. It's just that there are only fish in this river. If there were something else, it would be eye-opening for you guys." Zhang Tao looked smug, as if he had caught everything himself.

  "What delicious food have you all found?" Zou Ze patted Zhang Tao, telling him to stop bragging.

  "These are the mushrooms I found, they should all be edible. My family and I came to dig them together." A shy girl put down the mushrooms in her arms.

  "We've got all sorts of wild vegetables here, but I'm not sure if they're all edible." Yu Yao also brought out a big pile of different vegetables.

  "There are still quite a few fruits here, let's see if they're good to eat. If they're good, we can pick some more on the way back and bring them home for everyone to try. There are many on that tree over there!" Shilin didn't seem to plan on being the test subject herself.

  At this time, a boy shouted and ran back, still holding a struggling chicken in his hand. "Hurry up, who can help me, I can't hold it." Several boys rushed over to help him hold down the chicken.

  "This chicken of yours was stolen from someone's house, aren't you afraid of being chased by dogs?" Zou Ze laughed at his disheveled appearance.

  "What's stolen? You guys take a closer look, this is a genuine wild chicken." The boy relaxed and sat down on the ground to wipe his sweat.

  Everyone gathered around, wanting to see what was different about this wild chicken that they had never seen before. After looking for half a day, they couldn't find anything different. Ji Xin'an went over to take a look and found out that it was actually just a domestic chicken. It might have gotten lost and run over here, and unfortunately met up with this classmate who didn't even know the difference between wild and domestic chickens.

  But Ji Xin'an still thinks it's better not to say, let's just consider them a beautiful memory. And many years later, they will proudly tell others that they caught a wild chicken during their junior high school outdoor adventure!

  "Time's almost up, everyone stop looking, so many things to do and someone has to cook, let's take attendance." Zou Ze had to stand up and call a halt as they were still examining the creature.

  Suddenly all the sound was gone, only Ji Xinan hinted that she would do something, and everyone else's eyes were wide with surprise, as if no one had thought of this problem.

  "Except for Ji Xin'an, you're telling me that none of you know how to cook?" Zou Ze looked at each of the girls in disbelief, and every time he looked at one, she would lower her head in embarrassment.

  "Alright then, I'll be the head chef and everyone can assist me." Ji Xin'an saw that no one was speaking up, so she helped them find a way out.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  "What can you all do? Sign up." Ji Xinan thought it would be better to allocate tasks reasonably, so as not to waste time.

  "I came to pick wild vegetables. I know which ones can't be eaten." Zou Ze himself applied for the things they picked back, separating the edible and inedible ones.

  "Is there anyone else?" Ji Xin'an saw that no one else was speaking up. "If not, I'll be the one."

  "You girls are in charge of picking vegetables and washing them." Ji Xin'an pointed at several girls who said they couldn't do anything.

  "You two go kill the chicken and then clean it." He pointed at two boys who seemed a bit more courageous.

  "Others dug a hole in the ground for me, just big enough to hold a chicken, and also picked up some branches. Can it be done?" Seeing everyone nodding their heads. He himself took the fish on the ground and prepared to go to the riverbank to clean them.

  Just arrived at the river and started killing fish, Yu Yao followed over, "So many you can't handle by yourself, I'll help you clean up."

  Ji Xin'an was somewhat surprised, she didn't let the girls do these things, just afraid they wouldn't dare to see blood, unexpectedly Yu Yao even took the initiative to come and help. "Okay, I'll kill it, you're in charge of cleaning."

  Yu Yao nodded, and neither of them spoke again. They silently did their own parts in perfect sync.

  At this time, a shout came from the other side, and the two of them turned their heads to see that the two boys who were killing the chicken hadn't held it down tightly, and it had run away. They ran after it, ending up in a heap on the ground. The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and they chatted with each other like friends.

  After everything was ready, Ji Xin'an started making the finished product.

  She put mushrooms and seasonings inside the cleaned chicken belly, wrapped it in leaves and buried it in a newly dug hole. Then she lit another fire on top. The fish were so many that some were stewed in pots, some roasted over the fire, and the largest one was even made into sashimi by her.

  Those wild vegetables were used as a side dish with fish, and also made into a cold dish. The fruits that Shilin found were not wasted either, they were directly made into a fruit salad.

  After a flurry of activity, everyone's eyes were dazzled, and many methods and materials were unseen by people at this time, which made everyone admire even more.

  "Ji Xin'an, you're too amazing! We thought you just knew how to cook simple dishes, but we didn't expect you to come up with so many varieties." Zhang Tao's eyes widened in surprise.

  "These are all simple, just looking at the style is more, usually doing more, will be more." Ji Xin'an smiled and spoke to him while his hands were still flipping the fish.

  Ji Xin'an worked quickly, and by the time it was ready for dinner, everything was basically done. Everyone looked at these dishes and their mouths began to water. Finally, they turned off the heat, dug out the chicken from inside, and a fragrance burst forth. Not only was there the aroma of chicken, but also the refreshing scent of mushrooms.

  "Stop staring and start eating." Ji Xin'an said as she saw everyone gazing longingly at the food in her hands.

  Everyone gathered around as soon as they saw something edible, and no matter what it was, they would grab it and stuff it into their mouths.

  "It's really delicious, this fish is even better than my mom's cooking." A boy was using chopsticks made of tree branches to pick up the fish from the pot, taking one bite at a time. Zhen Xinan was worried that he would eat the bones along with the meat.

  "Yes, this roasted one is also delicious, better than those in the barbecue shop." Another one grabbed a freshly roasted one and started gnawing on it.

  "How was this wild vegetable dish made? I've had it before, but the original one only tasted like grass. How did you make it so fragrant?" Yu Yao didn't fight with them for meat to eat, instead she started eating the wild vegetables that didn't look very appetizing.

  "Really? I'll try some too." The others heard her words and came over as well.

  "This chicken is the most delicious, I've never had such a good-tasting chicken in my life. The flavor of the meat is like it's been roasted, and it's even more fragrant than roast chicken. There's also the aroma of mushrooms inside, and the mushrooms are also very tasty, they're the most fragrant mushrooms I've ever had." Zhang Tao closed his eyes with a look of indulgence while eating the meat in his hand.

  "If you like eating, then eat a bit more, let's get rid of all these." The things I made myself are loved by everyone, which is certainly delightful.

  "Ji Xin'an, I've found that you're really too amazing! Not to mention your good grades, but your singing is also great. And now, even your cooking is so delicious! There's a saying... Ah yes, it goes like this: 'A woman who can take care of both the living room and the kitchen.' Whoever marries you in the future will surely die from happiness!" Zhang Tao couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration, then turned his head to look at Zou Ze with a somewhat mischievous smile. "Don't you think so, boss?"

  Before Ji Xinan could say anything, Zou Ze threw a chicken bone over and hit him right on the head. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

  "Hey, I didn't say anything, why did you hit me?" Zhang Tao covered his head with one hand and protested.

  Ji Xin'an looked at him and smiled: "Zhang Tao, if you don't shut up, I won't give you anything to eat."

  Zhang Tao listened and immediately covered his mouth with his hand, indicating that he would no longer speak.

  Everyone laughed when they saw him like that.

  Everyone was happy, but Yu Yao felt a bit downcast. She thought about Zhang Tao's words and felt that the more she interacted with Ji Xin'an, the less confident she became. Every time she thought she had gotten close to her, Ji Xin'an would reveal another side of herself, leaving Yu Yao feeling surprised and helpless. As she looked at Ji Xin'an laughing happily, Yu Yao suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness wash over her.

  When she turned her head to look at Zou Ze again, she saw him grabbing food with others and occasionally glancing at Ji Xin'an with a smile. Yu Yao felt even more suffocated in her heart, but later, thinking of her own determination, she let it go. She believed that she would succeed one day, and Zou Ze would see her goodness too.

  Heartfelt thanks to 'Little List' for the two votes, your support is my entire motivation, thank you again.