"It's fine. I'll pluck it now, and we can roast it on the mountain!"
This was San Leng's first time finding a wild chicken on the mountain, and his first time roasting one. Excitement was evident on his face.
Cheng You's eyes brightened, and a hint of happiness appeared on her fair face. "Then I'll go back and get some seasonings."
San Leng put down his basket and held the wild chicken in his hand. "No need. Cheng You jie, you wait here. I'll go back right now!"
If he let Cheng You go back for them, what if his stepmother caught her?
Cheng You had no choice but to put down her basket and sit to the side, propping her chin as she waited.
San Leng was quick. Before she waited long, he returned to the mountain with a plucked wild chicken, carrying some seasonings and a few lotus leaves.
"Jie, you do it. I'm not very good at it."
San Leng had brought all the seasonings they had at home, which were only a few types anyway.
The reputation of being "delicate, lazy, and gluttonous" was deliberately created by Song Yu Lian and Cheng Tao. In reality, as long as she didn't earn work points, Cheng You could do all the household chores. Especially cooking, she did more than Song Yu Lian and had good culinary skills.
San Leng had cleaned the chicken thoroughly, removing its insides and even the giblets.
Cheng You put in ginger, garlic, and some seasonings, rubbing them inside and out of the wild chicken and giving it a massage. "We need to wait for a while to let it marinate."
San Leng stood up. "Then I'll go gather some firewood."
He hadn't walked a few steps before he stopped and called out, "Yan Ge!"
Cheng You followed the sound and saw it was Qi Cheng Yan. She couldn't help but curve her lips, standing up, her voice tinged with a hint of excitement, "Qi Zhi Qing."
Qi Cheng Yan wore a white undershirt, revealing his well-built, firm arms. As he carried something, his muscles tensed, and his contours became visible. In his hand, he carried a plump, large rabbit, its legs tied, clearly caught by himself.
San Leng, however, looked at the rabbit in his hand with surprise. Because he had killed the wild chicken, he only realized when he got home that the chicken's feet were tied with a rope. And that rope was exactly the same as the one on this rabbit.
"Yan Ge, this chicken..."
San Leng quickly came to his senses. The wild chicken was actually caught by Qi Cheng Yan.
Qi Cheng Yan said calmly, "It's fine."
Although he didn't say it directly, Cheng You understood. So they had been congratulating themselves on their luck in finding a wild chicken, but in reality, they had taken advantage of him.
"I'm sorry, Qi Zhi Qing. We haven't eaten this chicken yet. We can give it back to you."
Qi Cheng Yan looked down. The chicken was already plucked and marinated. His gaze made Cheng You feel something indescribable, a sense of shame. "I'm sorry, we didn't know..."
Qi Cheng Yan said calmly, "It's fine." With that, he turned to walk down.
San Leng quickly said, "Yan Ge, you should eat with us too. Otherwise, if my grandma finds out I ate your wild chicken, she'll scold me." His grandma doted on him, but she had also hit him often, and the bamboo switch was painful.
Qi Cheng Yan initially refused. If it weren't for San Leng's persistent pleading, he absolutely wouldn't have stayed.
With Qi Cheng Yan's presence, Cheng You felt a little more constrained. Seeing that the time was about right, she said, "San Leng, go start the fire."
"Okay!"
She wrapped the wild chicken in lotus leaves, layer after layer, and then smeared mud on the outside. Cheng You glanced at her palms, where there were two blisters that hurt when touched. If she were to handle mud, the blisters would surely break.
Just as she hesitated, Qi Cheng Yan stepped forward. He asked San Leng to bring some water and, without any aversion to the dirt, began mixing mud with his bare hands.
Cheng You watched his hands, lost in thought. With every movement, his muscles would bulge, revealing smooth lines that highlighted his masculine strength. His rough hands mixing yellow earth—it should have been unappealing, yet Cheng You stared, mesmerized. He was nothing like a city person, not like other educated youths who were fair-skinned. His hands had visible fine scars.
After the fire was burning hot, he threw the chicken in. The rest of the time, of course, was spent waiting.
San Leng asked enthusiastically, "Yan Ge, how did you catch this chicken?"
Qi Cheng Yan was a man of few words, only answering him occasionally. But this did not dampen San Leng's curiosity. Cheng You sat and listened. She was not yet divorced from Zhao Yun Lin, so it was inappropriate to have too much contact with Qi Cheng Yan.
After an unknown amount of time, the sun hid behind dark clouds, and only sparse embers remained of the fire. Cheng You calculated the time. "It should be about ready. Let's dig it out."
San Leng's mouth watered; he was already hungry. The last time he saw Cheng Wen Yu and others roast a chicken like this, but he had never eaten one himself.
Cheng You and Qi Cheng Yan didn't even need to act. San Leng found stones himself and began to chip away at the dry, hard mud on the outside. The lotus leaves were wrapped in many layers, ensuring the chicken inside remained clean. When it was opened, the sauce inside was still bubbling, and the steaming aroma rose, making one's mouth water.
Cheng You licked her red lips with her small tongue, unable to resist patting her stomach. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she last ate meat.
San Leng wanted to pull off a chicken leg for her, but he thought that since the chicken wasn't his, he couldn't make the decision. He looked at Qi Cheng Yan. Qi Cheng Yan had to step in himself and pull off a chicken leg for each of them.
"Eat."
Cheng You pursed her lips and smiled, accepting the greasy chicken leg. "Qi Zhi Qing, thank you." As she took the chicken leg, her pale, slender fingers, like scallion segments, touched him. Qi Cheng Yan felt as if her fingertips were as cool and smooth as white jade, and a tingling sensation spread from his hand. He raised his eyelids, glancing at her casually. Seeing that she was unaware, he quietly settled his agitated emotions.
Cheng You didn't dare to eat too much. This was meat, after all. Being able to taste one or two pieces was good enough. "You two can finish the rest. I'm going home now."
San Leng looked up at her. "Jie, why don't you leave it? I'll take the pig feed to you." The pig feed naturally had to be taken to the pigsty. Cheng You waved her hand. "No need. I'll take it myself." Since she had decided to support herself, she couldn't always rely on others.
Watching Cheng You's retreating back, San Leng mumbled, "Cheng You jie isn't as bad as they say. I think she's quite good, right, Yan Ge?" Qi Cheng Yan didn't reply; he wasn't familiar with Cheng You. But Sun Xiao Wan talked endlessly at the educated youth point, so he roughly knew how everyone in Wu Jing Village spoke of Cheng You.
The two of them finished the remaining wild chicken. San Leng saved a piece of meat to take back to his grandmother. He rubbed his stomach. He wasn't completely full, but he was extremely satisfied. He had never eaten meat so heartily before.
A hint of surprise appeared on Qi Cheng Yan's usually impassive face. He looked down at his legs. His deep, dark eyes stirred with a great wave. Ever since he was injured that time, his legs had never reacted like this. With a slight ache, unlike the numbness he used to feel, this sensation was incredibly rare. He fell into deep thought, considering going to Uncle Li's house later.