Chapter 149 Dinner Test (1/2)

Around dinnertime, the boys' dormitory at the educated youth settlement became lively.

The fat chicken that Yu Hao had taken from Yan Yu had already been chopped into eight pieces by Duan Zhou, who chopped it on the cutting board with a loud "bang bang".

"Haozi, you silly kid, I asked you to wash some vegetables, what's wrong with them?"

While tossing the ginger and garlic in the wok, Duan Zhou turned his head and berated Yu Hao.

Yu Hao was squatting on the ground, struggling with a pot of cabbage, his neck stiff as he shouted, "What's wrong with me? I washed it so clean! I almost scrubbed the leaves raw!"

He didn't stop his grip, and with a "crack," a tender cabbage leaf snapped off.

Duan Zhou rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to pay any more attention to this idiot, and turned to shout at Tao Yuming, who was tending the fire by the stove: "Tao Zhiqing, turn up the fire! The oil needs to be hot enough so the chicken pieces will smell good when they go in!"

"good."

Tao Yuming responded and added two more pieces of firewood to the stove.

The flames leaped high with a "whoosh," casting flickering light and shadow on his gentle face. His movements as he added firewood were unhurried and steady, revealing a calm and collected demeanor that set him apart from the two boisterous men beside him—people from completely different worlds.

Just as things were getting lively, the dormitory door creaked open.

A gust of cold wind swept in, carrying a thin figure.

It's An Sanchuan.

His faded work clothes hung loosely on his body; he was as thin as a sheet of paper, his face was sickly pale, and his lips were bloodless.

Upon seeing him, Lu Hongwei, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) like a corpse, immediately sat up and asked warmly, "An Zhiqing, why aren't you wearing more clothes? It's windy outside, don't catch a cold."

Looking at him, Lü Hongwei always felt that this person could be blown away by a gust of wind.

An Sanchuan gave him a faint, weak smile, shook his head, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing, thank you. It's warm inside."

His gaze swept lightly across the room, lingered on the three busy people, and finally settled on the flickering flames in the stove. There was an indescribable weariness and gloom in his eyes.

Duan Zhou hated this half-dead attitude the most. His hands didn't stop moving, but he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He simply disliked An Sanchuan's gloomy demeanor; it looked ominous to him.

Yu Hao didn't think much of it and greeted him casually, "You're back."

In his view, this person was introverted, aloof, and didn't like to talk.

Only Tao Yuming paused almost imperceptibly as he added firewood the moment An Sanchuan entered.

He lowered his eyes, his expression remained normal, but his heart was in turmoil.

Others only saw An Sanchuan's frail health, but with his insight gained from living two lives, he caught that fleeting glimpse.

That's not a scan, that's an assessment.

The moment An Sanchuan entered the room, his gaze took in the location and status of everyone in the room, and even the only exit.

It was an instinct imbued with scrutiny and vigilance, something that an ordinary, sickly young man should never possess.

This guy is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

An Sanchuan ignored the others and went straight to his bunk, taking out an enamel mug and a cloth bag from his bundle.

The cloth bag was opened, revealing two white steamed buns.

He unscrewed the jar, and a fragrant aroma of rice porridge wafted out; it was very thick and well-cooked.

In the dim light, he sat on a small stool not far from the stove, quietly eating his porridge and steamed bun.

Lu Hongwei stared wide-eyed at the food he was eating.

These days, eating white flour steamed buns with millet porridge every day is quite an achievement.

He couldn't help but ask, "An Zhiqing, where did you get this food? I didn't see you start cooking."

An Sanchuan swallowed the porridge in his mouth and answered slowly, "I'm not in good health and don't have the strength to cook. So I made an agreement with Aunt Wu from Dr. Han's family to give her some money and food coupons every month, and she will cook three meals for me."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room understood what was going on.

An Sanchuan is rich.

Just then, Duan Zhou made a big move.

He poured all the marinated chicken pieces into the boiling oil with a "whoosh".