Setting up a stove was indeed quite rare.
In fact, setting up a simple stove wasn’t difficult. You just needed to find a few large rocks, but the group of people before had been struggling with a pile of small stones.
They had been struggling for a long time and couldn’t find three large rocks that Huo Xingchao casually brought over to use.
The three large rocks formed an open rectangular shape, with a pot placed on top. With a flicker of fire, it started burning.
The time spent setting up the stove was less than the time it took to find the rocks.
However, after that, because there were so many people, one stove wasn’t enough.
He set up another three-tiered wooden stove and dug a pit-style stove.
He also chopped a few suitable tree branches and created a hanging stove.
A group of boys looked at the fire blazing and the boiling water in the pot, exclaiming in amazement.
“Brother Huo, you’re truly amazing!”
Jiang Wei had already started singing,
“Huo huo huo huo huo huo huo, Brother Huo’s hands are capable of anything, go go go…”
Huo Xingchao kicked him.
Then he hooked his lips, raised his thick and handsome eyebrows, and a brilliant curve appeared at the corner of his eye.
“It’s nothing, it’s what I should do.”
“…”
Jiang Wei rubbed his foot, grimacing.
“Yes, Brother Huo, you are truly selfless and upright. You are our red scarf!”
While setting up the stove, the young man held his friends by the neck, making sure to display his good behavior and noble moral qualities in front of Fang Xiazi.
Jiang Wei was shocked. Wasn’t this making things difficult for them?
Huo Xingchao flashed him a chilling smile.
“If you dare to say a word, believe me, I’ll bury you in the sunflower field and let the farmers fertilize you with natural manure.”
…
Jiang Wei had no choice but to lie without conscience.
Unexpectedly, those ignorant girls actually believed it.
Their eyes sparkled as they surrounded Huo Xingchao, fawning over him, serving tea and water. They were only one step away from holding an award ceremony for him.
Presenting a tea cup for serving the people.
The young man smiled, walked to a small mound with long strides, and squatted down.
“Sister Xiazi, I have nothing to do, let me help you cut the vegetables.”
The girl, who was entangled with the beef, lifted her head and saw him. She raised an eyebrow and her eyes showed undisguised suspicion.
“Do you know how to cut?”
He curved his lips, revealing a shallow dimple, his eyes dark and lively.
“If I don’t, I can learn. How can I let a girl do the manual labor?”
…Manual labor?
Fang Xiazi stared at the piece of beef, wondering if this handsome junior had poor eyesight.
—Does this piece of beef have bones?
Fang Xiazi stood up and handed him the knife, smiling faintly.
“Alright, you can cut it first. Let me see your skill level.”
Forget it.
She didn’t believe this guy could produce anything extraordinary.
Wearing expensive sportswear and coming to this small mountain hollow to participate in summer camp.
Looking at his tender and fair face.
Did he think he was invincible just because he could set up a few stoves?
Haha.
She wanted to see what he could cut…
The girl paused.
The boy crouched halfway, his slender and fair hand holding the knife, easily cutting it down along the grain of the meat.
One after another, the meat he cut was evenly thick, neatly shaped, and beautiful.
Compared to him, the few pieces of meat she had cut before were simply like children in a slum.
It was unbearable to look at.
Fang Xiazi shifted her gaze and fell on the boy’s face.
He was still focused on the beef in his hand, lowering his head, his eyes slightly drooping, his long and thick eyelashes making him look handsome and enviable.
Even in Fang Xiazi’s heart, where her boyfriend’s appearance scored limitlessly, she couldn’t truthfully say that Han Yicheng could surpass him while looking at this handsome and delicate profile.
The girl coughed with a haughty expression on her face.
“Since you you cut well, I’ll leave this meat to you. Cut it properly and don’t disappoint the trust I have in you.”
The boy looked up and blinked his eyes, his black and bright eyes shining. His expression was obedient, his tone bright.
“Don’t worry, Senior Sister, I won’t let you down.”
…
Awooooo.
So obedient! So cute!
She raised her chin, nodded indifferently, and turned away.
Her back was straight, her neck slender, and her ponytail lifted with a proud arc in the air.
Awoo.
Those two eyeballs were really the same as their family’s little puppy!
…
These few days had been sunny, and the firewood on the mountain was dry and easy to use.
After setting up the stove and starting the fire, with the help of the teacher, cooking meals and soups went smoothly.
In short, compared to other camps where they struggled and worked until it was dark, Fourth Camp had a very comfortable time eating because of Huo Xingchao, the little wilderness expert.
After finishing the meal, everyone sat around chatting, taking pictures, and rested for a while. Soon, it was dusk.
The boys set up the barbecue grill, grilling meat and talking about stories heard from grandparents when they were young.
Jiang Wei and the others stared at the meat skewers in Huo Xingchao’s hand, their eyes shining. They coquettishly said,
“Brother, brother, grill one for me, grill one for me.”
Huo Xingchao put the grilled meat in a nearby plate.
One skewer after another, there were lamb skewers, chicken fillets, pork belly, as well as vegetarian dishes like corn, vegetables, and rice cakes. In no time, a large plate was filled to the brim.
He freed his hand from his eager friends and lazily turned the bamboo skewers in his hand.
“I’m not grilling.”
“…. Why did you put so much meat here if you’re not going to eat it yourself? Are you waiting to feed wild wolves? Huo, we’ve known each other since childhood, you can’t treat me like this!”
The young man glanced at him casually, “If you want to eat, you don’t know how to grill it yourself.”
“I’m just trying not to waste resources! Besides, Brother Huo, girls have to maintain their figure. I can’t eat all of this. Can you give me a few skewers? Just a few skewers, bro, I’m begging you, bro!”
“Even calling me ‘dad’ won’t help.”
“Grandpa!”
Jiang Wei, giving up his dignity for the sake of food, grabbed his sleeve and stomped his foot.
“Please pity me, I’ll cooperate with you for the rest of my life and make you into a great and glorious little…”
He was kicked in the bend of his leg again.
Jiang Wei raised his head in despair, ready to rebel and give up his life. But suddenly, he saw two girls’ figures in his line of sight.
One of them was wearing a white sportswear, with a high ponytail and a beautiful face, her expression calm.
—Isn’t this Brother Huo’s Miss Xiazi?
So his words got stuck in his throat, and under the violence of the young man, a sincere smile squeezed out.
“Sister Xiazi, hello.”
The girl who came with Fang Xiazi looked at the abundant skewers in the plate and couldn’t help but exclaim,
“You grilled so much?”
The boy curved his lips, his face showing a sunny smile.
“We grilled too much, and if you want, Senior Sister, you can take it.”
…Huo Xingchao, do you have any conscience left!
After the two girls thanked him and left with the plate, Jiang Wei sat on the ground and cried loudly.
“I don’t want to live anymore! I’m the one who carried all this meat up here, why can’t I eat it!”
“You can eat it.”
Huo Xingchao glanced at him indifferently, then gestured with his chin to the bag full of ungrilled skewers on the nearby table.
“Eat as much as you want.”
…
Jiang Wei couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched the slender figure of the boy moving away. “Brother Huo, where are you going?”
The boy’s voice lazily floated in the wind.
“To play poker.”
“…”
Jiang Wei stood up resolutely.
“Wow, I give up, I give up. I’m determined to defeat you completely today!”
…
Poker was a game for boys, and it wasn’t easy for girls to join in and play together like the boys.
The three grades formed their own groups and sat around the campfire chatting.
The girls in the second year looked at the large plate of barbecue skewers that Fang Xiazi brought back in a short time, and they were all shocked.
“Where did you steal the skewers from?”
“What stealing? It was our junior brother who grilled them and couldn’t finish them, so he gave them to me and Xiazi. Who told you guys not to go, haha. Xiazi, let’s not share with them.”
Fang Xiazi took a skewer of lamb and nodded proudly with a casual tone.
“No sharing.”
Why bother sharing?
This plate of food wasn’t enough for her alone.
No sharing.
The other companions were all jealous.
“Why is it that when we asked them, they hadn’t eaten enough, but when you went, it became too much to finish? That’s not fair!”
“… Actually, I think they can finish it. Maybe they deliberately left it behind. Otherwise, why would they grill so much and have leftovers?”
“Deliberately left it behind? Why?”
“Hehehe, well, you should ask Xiazi about that…”
Fang Xiazi looked up. “What are you asking me?”
“Didn’t you notice? Junior brother Huo not only carries your backpack and cuts vegetables for you, but he also grilled a large plate of meat for you instead of enjoying his own time. Isn’t his intention obvious enough? Xiazi, in my opinion, you shouldn’t waste your youth on Han Yicheng. What’s the difference between having a boyfriend like him and not having one?”
…
The girl lowered her gaze and looked at the meat in her hands, remaining silent for a while. Finally, she shook her head.
“You don’t understand.”
She had liked him for so long.
So long that it had become an unconscious habit.
How could she bear to give up?
“Hehe, I don’t understand at all. If it were me, even if Han Yicheng looked handsome, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate being with someone who has an indifferent, dead fish face for even a minute!”
“Oh dear, um, let’s not talk about this anymore. We’re out having fun, so let’s be happy.”
A companion quickly handed over a skewer of pork belly. “Eat, eat!”
…
While the girls calmly roasted their skewers by the campfire, chatting about their emotions and concerns, the boys’ side had turned into a large gambling den.
“Hey, Jiang Wei, what kind of bomb are you throwing? He still had 19 cards. Are you an idiot?”
“Damn it, did you not shuffle the deck properly?
“Damn it, Chen Ruiming, do you even know how to play cards? Damn it, Brother Huo only has two cards, and you dare to play a pair? You think he doesn’t make enough money?”
…
“I’m done, I’m done!”
Jiang Wei threw the deck of cards on the table with a frustrated face.
“It’s no fun at all.”
Brother Huo’s luck was unbeatable, even if he cheated.
If only they had played for small amounts, like five cents. Otherwise, they could have brought a set of mahjong to play mahjong solitaire. Who would play this 20 yuan double match with him?
The other players shuffled their cards with gloomy faces.
Their hands trembled as they transferred money through WeChat, watching the loose change they had saved up from a year of red envelopes vanish in an instant. For a brief moment, they all wanted to unfriend this little rascal Huo Xingchao.
The young man lazily sat on a large stone, raising an eyebrow.
“Not interesting enough?”
He picked up the cards, stood up, and a benevolent smile appeared on his lips.
“Then let me find something interesting for you.”
…
The companions looked at his tall and leggy figure and suddenly felt that this gentle Huo Xingchao was incredibly terrifying.
Jiang Wei swallowed and said, “Have you seen Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf? In one episode, when Big Big Wolf disguised himself as Pleasant Goat, he smiled like that.”
…What is this wolf going to do?
They were all innocent little lambs, eating a vegetarian diet, reciting sutras, and listening to music. Spare them!
…
Huo Xingchao couldn’t be bothered with this group of paranoid patients.
He took the stacked deck of cards and walked to a small cluster near the campfire, then paused.
The girl who was eating meat felt a large shadow cast over her head.
Her girlfriends also looked up.
They saw a tall figure.
Dressed in a black sportswear, with incredibly long legs, he held a deck of cards in his hand.
Under the flickering light of the campfire, he looked even more handsome.
The corners of the young man’s lips curled up slightly, his voice clear and sunny.
Like reciting poetry, it sounded so charming within the flames.
“Senior Sister, do you play Shuang Kou?”
…
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