Zhang Xiaofeng didn’t know what Zhu Yanyi was planning, but she followed her orders seriously. Meanwhile, Zhu Yanyi began pouring cooking wine into the chickens. Fortunately, she had brought plenty this time.
She had considered that while people might bring food, they wouldn’t necessarily bring seasonings like cooking wine. So, she had brought a whole box of it. The wine was bought in bags from a soy sauce factory. To make it easier to carry, she had everyone share the load. It wasn’t a heavy burden, and now it came in handy.
Zhu Yanyi caught two wild pheasants. She poured about five bags of wine into each one. Then she let them go. The birds were so drunk they couldn’t stand. Zhu Yanyi found some yellow mud and lotus leaves. Seeing the birds were unconscious, she slaughtered them, drained the blood, and did a rough cleanup. She stuffed various spices into their bellies.
By then, the newly built stone stove was burning. Zhu Yanyi wrapped the chickens in lotus leaves, then covered them with a layer of yellow mud. She threw them into the fire and told everyone to just let them roast.
After that, she left them alone and went to cook for her own group.
Watching Zhu Yanyi chop and cook with such skill, the classmates who had been watching were amazed. They thought, Sure enough, our team leader is perfect. Nothing is impossible for her.
Since it was a picnic, Zhu Yanyi couldn’t make anything too fancy. She just stir-fried ordinary vegetables. But she paired them well. For example, she made a cold tomato salad. She added chili powder to the stir-fried greens. She mixed green peppers with the eggplant. It wasn’t much, but it looked much better.
Zhu Yanyi also got everyone to pick wild herbs. She made a pot of soup with them. When that was done, she threw sweet potatoes into the fire to bake. Everyone started eating. They laughed and joked, stealing a bite from one group and giving a bite to another. It was very lively. Especially in Zhu Yanyi’s group. Even though they were eating vegetarian dishes, everyone’s mouths were full of delicious flavor.
“I think the team leader’s cooking is better than my mom’s,” Zhang Qinqin said.
“I think so too,” Chen Xiaoxia nodded while eating.
Zhu Yanyi felt speechless. “It’s just some simple dishes. It’s not dragon liver or phoenix gall. Besides, you think it tastes good because you helped make it. You are acknowledging your own hard work. If you help your mom cook at home, you will find the food tastes just as delicious.”
“Really? I’ll help my mom cook when I get home,” Zhu Xiaofang said directly.
“Yeah, I’ll cook too,” Zhang Xiaofeng said.
They talked, laughed, and ate. When they finished, a wonderful smell drifted out. It was the beggar’s chicken.
Zhu Yanyi went over and dug out the two mud balls. She cracked them open. Then she pulled and pinched the lotus leaves. All the feathers fell off. Inside was white, incredibly fragrant meat.
Zhu Yanyi divided the meat into ten portions. She kept one and sent the rest to the other groups. Ten portions meant very little. Each person could only take a small bite. But everyone thought the wild pheasant smelled amazing.
“So fragrant! This chicken tastes so good. Better than what we eat during the New Year,” someone said. Life had improved, but people still couldn’t eat meat every day. So, getting a little meat occasionally felt especially special.
“It’s a pity there were only two birds. So everyone can just taste it,” Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.