This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 116 Chef Chen

The six of them parked their car and walked together into the lawn campsite.

It was midday, and the lawn campsite had a relaxed atmosphere.

Looking around, picnic blankets are spread out on the lawn, and tourists bring their own snacks and fruits, sitting or lying down, chatting and laughing with their family and friends.

"Wow, it's so lively over here." Wen Zhixia looked around curiously.

"Has Zhixia never been to this barbecue buffet before?" Li Wanyin asked with a smile.

"No, it must have appeared in the last two years. I don't think I've seen it before. But there are always a lot of people camping here. I've never camped before!"

Wen Zhixia felt it was novel. Although it looked like just laying out a picnic blanket and sitting on it to eat, drink and have fun, it felt different from sitting indoors. There was a kind of inexplicable comfort to it.

"Taoist priest, have you ever camped before?" Wen Zhixia asked.

"Me? I grew up in the mountains, living a life of hardship and sleeping outdoors all the time."

Chen Shi'an never expected that what was a forced outdoor meal for him would become a uniquely interesting activity in the big city.

City people really know how to have fun.

Next time, I'll trick Xiaozhi and the class monitor into going to the mountains to help dig bamboo shoots, under the guise of experiencing life.

"Where's Mengqiu? Has Mengqiu ever camped here?" Li Wanyin turned the conversation to the quiet Lin Mengqiu.

Lin Mengqiu shook her head: "No."

Usually, it's just her and her dad at home. Playing badminton is fine, but sitting idly on the lawn with her dad on a mat is less enjoyable than going home and lying in bed reading...

Of course, today's activities were ultimately because Chen Shi'an was there. If it weren't for Chen Shi'an, she wouldn't have bothered to come. Just thinking about Chen Shi'an being there, about being able to eat the barbecue he made, and then sitting on the lawn with him in a fun way, made the class monitor very excited. It was the same thing, but with Chen Shi'an instead of her dad, it became much more fun.

On the west side of the lawn, there are mostly camping families traveling by car, while the self-service barbecue area on the east side of the lawn is a popular gathering place.

Li Wanyin, who is thrifty and hardworking, rarely places orders directly on-site. Instead, she takes the six-person all-you-can-eat barbecue voucher she ordered through group buying to the store to redeem with the staff.

The total price is 399 yuan. The merchant provides two clean barbecue grills and charcoal, a six-person camping chair set, a sunshade, a picnic blanket, and various meat skewers, vegetables, fruits, and drinks included in the package.

The ingredients are plentiful and you can choose your own combination. The portions are also generous. Group purchase vouchers like these don't include beverage packages, which are where the business makes its money. Since none of us drink alcohol, the price of 399 is quite reasonable. If six people split the cost, it will only cost a few dozen yuan.

"Come and pick out your ingredients," Li Wanyin called out to the group, busy placing orders with the staff.

The ingredients are not unlimited, but there are options to choose from within the set menu.

All the girls knew how to eat; apart from Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin, they had no idea how to choose.

Chen Shi'an then opened the freezer door, took a plate, selected some good meat and vegetables, and handed them over to the staff to weigh.

While we were choosing our food, the staff set up a sunshade and picnic blankets for the six-person set meal on an open space outside the lawn.

It was convenient to have a barbecue under the shade of a tree; otherwise, if we had to do everything ourselves, Chen Shi'an figured he would have to do all the work when traveling with a few girls.

After the tables and chairs were set up, the staff brought out plates of skewered meat and vegetables, along with a large bottle of Coke from the set meal.

Two clean barbecue grills were set up, and the staff laid out charcoal and helped several people start a fire.

"Please enjoy your meal. If you need to order anything, just scan the QR code on the table."

"OK, thanks."

"Hello, do you have a power bank?" Wen Zhixia asked.

Before the staff could speak, Li Wanyin took out a power bank from her bag and handed it to Wen Zhixia.

"Sister Wanyin, you brought a power bank."

"Yes, I brought it with me in case my phone runs out of battery. I also have some bread here; you can take some if you want to eat later."

My thoughtful and home-loving older sister always takes good care of me. With the bread she took out of her backpack, there was plenty of meat, vegetables, staple food, drinks, and fruit.

The only people in the venue who know how to cook are Chen Shian and Li Wanyin.

Without a doubt, the two barbecue grills were prepared for the two of them.

"Let's get started, Sister Wanyin."

Chen Shi'an smiled and finally understood what Li Wanyin had said before: "You work alone, but you eat together!"
Fortunately, the remaining four little rascals were good at providing emotional support. Instead of playing by themselves, they curiously gathered around Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin to watch them barbecue.

Chen Shi'an went to the barbecue grill on the left, while Li Wanyin went to the barbecue grill on the right.

The chicken wings, fresh from the freezer, were still cool. They had already been simply marinated. Chen Shi'an sniffed them, then adjusted the seasoning slightly. At the same time, he used a toothpick to poke many tiny holes on both sides of the chicken wings and skillfully made several cuts with a knife, allowing the sauce to seep into every fiber of the wing through the gaps.

The charcoal fire glowed orange-red under the grill, and you could feel the heat wave as soon as you got close.

Chen Shi'an placed six skewers of prepared chicken wings on the plate. With a soft 'sizzle,' the oil burst into white smoke as it came into contact with the high temperature.

At first, the chicken wings were still moist, but as the charcoal fire continued to heat them, the moisture slowly evaporated, the skin began to tighten, and the edges gradually turned golden. The originally light pink meat also slowly turned light brown in the high temperature. Gradually, the aroma of the meat rose with the heat, immediately attracting several little noses that were sniffing around.

"It smells so good! Taoist priest, you really know how to do this!"

At first, the girls were quite reserved, crowding around Li Wanyin to watch her barbecue. But before they knew it, they were all drawn to the commotion from Chen Shi'an's side.

Li Wanyin laughed and said, "You're trying to steal my business."

"Sister Wanyin, I think you should give me your stall too."

"Okay, come on—"

"?"

Chen Shi'an was just joking, but he didn't expect that Li Wanyin would actually go out of business and give him the stall.

With two stalls in hand, Chen Shi'an was not flustered at all. He grilled chicken wings on one grill and eggplant and potato slices on the other.

His nimble movements made him look like a barbecue stall owner who had been running his business for many years.

The girls were all stunned.

Wen Zhixia chattered excitedly, asking the Taoist priest how to bake this, how to bake that, what he just brushed, and how much longer it would take...

Lin Mengqiu stood quietly to the side, drinking the cola she had just poured. Then, as if remembering something, she went back to the table, poured another cup, and handed it to Chen Shi'an, who was busy at work.

"Give."

"Huh?...Oh, thank you, class monitor."

Chen Shi'an freed one hand, took the cola she handed him, drank it all in one gulp, and then handed the empty cup back to her.

Wen Zhixia, who had been chattering away, suddenly fell silent.

Then she immediately made a new move: she brought over a fruit plate, poked a piece of watermelon with a toothpick, and handed it to Chen Shi'an, who was busy grilling.

"Let's eat watermelon."

"Oh? Thank you, Xiaozhi."

Chen Shi'an was busy grilling with both hands when he saw the watermelon practically shoved in his face, as if it would stab him to death if he didn't eat it. He had no choice but to open his mouth. Wen Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then blushed slightly and fed him the watermelon. Lin Mengqiu suddenly choked on her cola and coughed incessantly beside her…

Most of the ingredients for the self-service barbecue are prepared by the restaurant, but some of them need to be prepared by yourself.

There wasn't much work to do; it was all small tasks. Li Wanyin didn't ask the girls for help, because if she did, they would probably do more harm than good.

After handing the barbecue grill to Chen Shi'an, Li Wanyin came over to tidy up the rest of the dishes she needed to prepare.

Seeing the two girls' actions, Wu Jiayun and Yan Yufei, who were standing next to Li Wanyin, quickly nudged her and gave her a look.

"what……"

"What are you still doing... hurry up and get going..."

"What the hell..."

"Give me the scissors, give me the scissors, I'll do it, I'll

"Give me a break, you're all just making things worse, so get out of here..."

Li Wanyin pretended not to understand the look in her two best friends' eyes, and ignored the interaction between Chen Shi'an, Wen Zhixia, and Lin Mengqiu. She obediently helped Chen Shi'an prepare the remaining ingredients...

Wu Jiayun and Yan Yufei facepalmed.

You're such a disappointment, Wanyin!

Aren't you afraid your little boy will be completely taken advantage of?

As time passed, the chicken wings developed beautiful charred marks, and the oil dripped from the gaps in the wire rack onto the charcoal fire, crackling and sparking, while the aroma grew increasingly intense.

"It smells so good!"

The aroma of the seasonings, the freshness of the chicken, and the smoky fragrance of charcoal blend together, permeating the air layer by layer.

Chen Shi'an picked up the brush and brushed on a thin layer of honey. The syrup melted quickly when it encountered high temperature, forming a translucent syrup on the surface. The original golden skin was given an amber luster. Fine sesame seeds were sprinkled on top. Before even tasting it, the eyes and nose were already captivated.

"Is everything ready? I'm so hungry!"

"Don't rush, the chicken wings are of different thicknesses. Grill the others a little longer, but this one is ready."

Just as the group was wondering who Chen Shi'an would offer the grilled chicken wings to first, even Li Wanyin herself was surprised when Chen Shi'an turned around and handed the skewer of chicken wings to her.

"Sister Wanyin, try it first. Those who do the work should eat first."

A feeling of inexplicable gratitude welled up in Li Wanyin's heart. She realized that he had seen all the hard work she had been doing behind the scenes…

"Hehe, then I won't be polite."

Li Wanyin stopped what she was doing, wiped her hands with a tissue, and took the skewer of chicken wings that Chen Shi'an handed her.

After blowing on it to cool it down, I took a bite. When my teeth touched it lightly, I could feel the elasticity of the meat. The moment I tore open the skin, the juice slowly seeped out along the fibers. The outer skin was crispy from being grilled over charcoal. When I bit into it, I first tasted the crispiness of sesame seeds, followed by the sweetness of the caramelized skin. Inside, the meat was tender and juicy, with a salty and savory flavor and a hint of garlic and spiciness. Every bite allowed me to taste the deliciousness of the meat juice and the layers of seasoning.

Li Wanyin couldn't help but narrow her eyes and nod repeatedly.

"How is it? How is it?" Wen Zhixia, Wu Jiayun, and Yan Yufei asked. Seeing Li Wanyin eating so much that she couldn't even speak, they were all incredibly curious.

After a while, once she had swallowed the meat in her mouth, Li Wanyin nodded vigorously and said:

"So delicious! Shi'an's cooking skills are really amazing! I bet if Shi'an set up a barbecue stall, his business would be booming!"

"Really?! Is this just a PR ploy?! Is this a lie?!" Apart from Lin Mengqiu, who had already tasted Chen Shi'an's cooking and remained silent, Wen Zhixia, Wu Jiayun, and Yan Yufei were all intrigued by her. Seeing Li Wanyin eating so deliciously, they were all incredibly hungry.

"Haha, of course I was just kidding. It tastes awful, so don't eat it. I'll just have to."

"Damn, that statement is more credible."

Wanyin ate first, and Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu had no objections. Besides Chen Shi'an, Wanyin was the one who worked the hardest.

Before Li Wanyin had finished eating her chicken wing, the remaining five chicken wings were also baked and taken out of the oven.

With Li Wanyin's advertisement preceding it, without Chen Shi'an even asking, four of the five chicken wings on the plate were instantly devoured by the four girls.

"It's so delicious!!"

Aside from the pine nut candy, Wen Zhixia's eyes widened as she tasted Chen Shi'an's cooking for the first time. She had eaten many roasted chicken wings, but none of them had ever tasted as delicious as this!

She held the chicken wing tip in one hand and the skewer in the other, eating it horizontally. The skin was crispy but not burnt, the meat was tender but not dry, and even the bones had a unique barbecue aroma. After eating, her fingers were still covered in sweet sauce, and she couldn't help but suck them clean.

Wu Jiayun and Yan Yufei ate with abandon, never expecting that this young boys' high school was not only pleasing to the eye but also easy on the stomach!
Lin Mengqiu remained silent, her back to the others, and quickly began to eat...

Luckily, I came along today, otherwise I would have had to eat my dad's cooking again for lunch.

But the thought of having to eat her dad's cooking when she got home that night made the girl feel a little melancholy again...

……

Having a chicken wing to fill my stomach... I feel even hungrier after eating it!

Even though they were craving food, the girls didn't leave the busy Chen Shi'an behind and started eating first.

"Don't wait for me, you guys eat first."

"It's okay, we'll eat together after you've finished baking it."

Li Wanyin had already processed the ingredients according to Chen Shi'an's requirements, and came with Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu to watch Chen Shi'an's barbecue.

"Shi'an, how about I record a video for you? Then you'll have material for Douyin (TikTok)."

"Okay."

Li Wanyin took out her phone to record a video.

Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu realized they were a step too late, but they each took out their phones to record the video, to keep it for later study.

Giving the two barbecue grills to Chen Shi'an was the best decision we made today.

Chen Shi'an worked on two barbecue grills all by himself, yet he did so in an orderly and efficient manner, and even faster than two people could do it together.

After five hungry people and a gluttonous cat waited anxiously, all the ingredients were finally cooked.

Although the portions of each dish were small, the variety was abundant. Skewers of freshly grilled vegetables, emitting a fragrant aroma, were placed on plates and filled the table under the parasol.

With barbecue, fruit, and drinks, mixed with the scent of grass and trees in the lake breeze, the girls couldn't resist any longer and started eating without any restraint.

Seeing the abundant and enticing dishes, some tourists who were also having a barbecue here came over specifically to ask Chen Shi'an if he was setting up a stall, and if they could pay him to help with the grilling...

"For personal use," Li Wanyin said.

"No!" Wen Zhixia said.

Lin Mengqiu then glanced at the newcomer.

My dad has baked it for you!
(End of this chapter)