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

Chapter 142 You're all busy, you're all busy

That stinky Taoist priest is so annoying!
Even though he chose different answers from the top scorer in both arts and sciences, why was he so calm?
Seeing Chen Shi'an's confident and assertive demeanor, Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu became even more flustered.

Fortunately, the two girls chose the same answer, so if they were wrong, they would both be wrong...

That would be even better, so we can see that stinky Taoist priest get his comeuppance!

Thinking about it this way, it's not a loss either way...

Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu simultaneously looked past Chen Shi'an in the middle and gazed at each other, but immediately looked away the moment their eyes met.

The two girls, who were just allies, now have a rift again—thankfully, she didn't choose the same option as that stinky Taoist priest! Otherwise, if she were the only one who made the wrong choice, it would be really painful…

Pshaw! It's definitely C!

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the school gate.

Tomorrow is the National Day holiday, and all three grades of the school will be on holiday at the same time. In addition, it is close to the evening rush hour, so the streets and roads outside the school gates will be bustling and congested.

Lin Mengqiu instinctively became alert.

As is customary, before leaving, this annoying cicada will probably shout out some deliberately provocative words over its loudspeaker.

Fine, go ahead and shout. It'll be good for me to find out what you're planning to do with Chen Shi'an this time...

Lin Mengqiu had made up her mind to hide her itinerary just like she had done last time when she ambushed Chen Shi'an to play ball, and to ignore whatever the annoying cicada was shouting over the loudspeaker.

It allows one to project an image of nonchalance while secretly making progress – truly ingenious.

But to everyone's surprise, Wen Zhixia seemed to have changed her personality today. Not only did she not mind Chen Shi'an coming to her house for dinner, but she also stopped making a big fuss before leaving.

Under Lin Mengqiu's wary gaze, Wen Zhixia simply waved her hand naturally and said:
"Taoist priest, I'm leaving~ Bye-bye!"

"Bye-Bye."

Then she just turned around and left.

Lin Mengqiu stood there, completely bewildered...

"Squad leader, aren't you leaving yet?"

It wasn't until Chen Shi'an said something that Lin Mengqiu came to her senses and walked to the left with Chen Shi'an, looking suspicious.

Occasionally, she would look back with some lingering worry, but Wen Zhixia was nowhere to be seen...

Chen Shi'an had no idea what the two girls were secretly plotting. He only felt that the sky was unusually peaceful today, truly a time of national celebration.

That's how it should be. We're all good friends, what kind of talk is this, arguing all the time...

"What is the class monitor looking at?"

"……nothing."

Lin Mengqiu withdrew her gaze from behind, certain that Wen Zhixia would not suddenly reappear, but she still felt even more uneasy.

After all, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!

She didn't believe that this annoying cicada had suddenly become a true friend like Chen Shi'an; who knew what kind of underhanded tricks it might be up to!
Thinking of something, Lin Mengqiu asked casually, "Isn't Wen Zhixia going home today? I remember her home is in the county town, right?"

"Well, Xiao Zhi said he'll go back tomorrow morning."

"Not going back tonight? It's still early..."

"Yes, she and I agreed to go back together tomorrow morning."

"..."

As expected! They definitely had a secret itinerary!

"...Let's go back together. Are you going to her house?"

"Yes, Xiaozhi invited me to have lunch at her house."

"XXX!"

Lin Mengqiu's fingers curled up. Inviting a male classmate from so far away to her home for dinner—how could she do that?!

Fortunately... it seems that Chen Shi'an has come to my house for dinner before, and more than once. Thinking about it this way, the sourness in my heart has lessened a lot...

"Did you go to her house specifically for dinner?"

"No, we're just passing by, so we'll grab a bite to eat. I'm going back to the mountains during my vacation."

"Are you going back to the mountains?"

"Ah."

"Going back for a few days?"

"Two or three days."

"You're going back by yourself?"

"Yes, and Fatty Mo too."

"Oh."

Lin Mengqiu felt relieved.

Fortunately, Wen Zhixia wasn't going back with him; it was just that the stinky Taoist priest was stopping by for a meal at her house. Lin Mengqiu suddenly felt magnanimous.

After learning about Wen Zhixia's harmless secret trip, Lin Mengqiu felt completely relieved.

Chen Shi'an had originally planned to invite Lin Mengqiu to the mountains, but since he had already agreed to have dinner at Wen Zhixia's house, he thought that the class monitor would definitely refuse to have dinner at Xiao Zhixia's house, given the long distance and the fact that he would feel uneasy about letting the girl travel alone to the mountains. So he simply gave up on the idea.

"So, squad leader, what are your plans for the holiday?"

"Going on a trip with my dad."

Where to travel?

"South China Sea."

How many days are you planning to stay?

"Three days."

"Are you going to take a plane?"

"Ah."

"How do I fly? I've never been on a plane before."

"..."

The two walked side by side, chatting about their holiday trip, went to the market to buy groceries, and returned home before sunset.

……

It's almost early October, and the seasonal changes are becoming more and more obvious. Just two weeks ago, it was still bright at six o'clock in the evening, but now it's already getting dark. Since his daughter said that Chen Shi'an would be cooking tonight, Lin Ming was happy to have some free time.

Although he felt a little embarrassed to trouble his "junior brother" to cook for him, Lin Ming, like Lin Mengqiu, was indeed craving Chen Shi'an's cooking.

When Lin Mengqiu and Chen Shian opened the door and entered the house, Lin Ming was reading a book on the sofa.

The old father turned around and looked at the well-matched young man and woman, and then at the loads of groceries they were carrying. For a moment, he was in a daze.

Why are you acting like I've retired and you two have started a family?!

"dad."

"I'm home."

"Uncle Lin."

"Hehe, Shi'an's here! Did you go grocery shopping? I was just saying we had a lot of food in the fridge!"

When the two arrived home, Lin Ming smiled and put down the book he was holding to greet them.

"Yes, I didn't know what kind of vegetables Uncle Lin had at home, so I went to the market with the class monitor to buy some. Last time, Uncle Lin cooked for me, so today I'll cook a meal for him."

"Oh dear, we're all family here, no need for any hospitality, you're being too polite!"

Lin Ming smiled brightly, "I've already cooked the rice. Shi'an, what dishes do you want to make? Uncle will help you!"

"It's alright, Uncle Lin, go have some tea and rest first, I'll take care of it."

Before Lin Ming could speak, Lin Mengqiu had already taken the vegetables from Chen Shi'an and taken them into the kitchen. She didn't come out again, clearly indicating that she was there to help out.

Seeing that his daughter was considerate of her elderly father and wanted him to help, Lin Ming decided not to go into the kitchen to join in the fun.

Just like a retired old man, sitting comfortably on the sofa with his legs crossed, reading a book, listening to the clanging and banging from the kitchen, and waiting peacefully for his meal.

in the kitchen.

The class monitor was at a loss, looking helplessly at a pile of ingredients waiting to be processed. She picked up this bag to look at it, picked up that bag to look at it, and looked very busy, but actually did nothing...

It wasn't until Chen Shi'an walked in and saw the girl who was lingering inside that he assigned her some work.

"Squad leader, help me peel it..."

Before Chen Shi'an could finish speaking, Lin Mengqiu interrupted him unhappily.

"anything else?"

"...Could the squad leader help me wash the meat?"

"can."

Lin Mengqiu took the meat out of the bag.

The pork belly was greasy and oily, and she, who was a bit of a germaphobe, felt uncomfortable even touching it with her fingers, but she still endured it and rinsed the meat under the tap.

"It's so oily... I don't feel like it's getting clean."

"The meat is like this; just washing it isn't enough. You have to scrape the pig skin clean with a knife."

"...Can't we just cut off the pig skin? We're not going to eat it anyway."

"No, if you don't remove the pork skin, the braised pork won't have that gelatinous texture. Even if you cut it off, you still have to put the pork skin in to cook with it."

Upon hearing Chen Shi'an's words, Lin Mengqiu, who was washing the meat, picked up the kitchen knife.

Chen Shi'an was startled by the way she held the knife in her right hand and the meat in her left hand under the tap.

If the class monitor were to scrape the pigskin, the knife would surely cut her little hands first. Pigskin is tough and hard to cut, while a girl's skin is so tender that it seems like it could be cut through paper.

"The squad leader washed the pork so clean, that's great. I'll scrape off the remaining pork skin."

"~"

Hearing Chen Shi'an say that, Lin Mengqiu stopped trying to be brave and put down the pork and knife in her hands.

The first thing to do is to quickly squeeze out some dish soap and wash the slippery oil off your hands.

The unruly piece of meat became obedient the moment it entered Chen Shi'an's hands. He held the meat in one hand and a knife in the other, skillfully scraping off the pig hair and dirt from the surface of the pig skin.

"Is there any other work?"

"..."

Chen Shi'an turned around and saw that Lin Mengqiu had already washed her hands, grabbed a tissue, and wiped the water off her hands. She looked like she had finished her work, but her eyes were still searching for more.

If the class monitor were to cook the whole thing, she would probably have to wash her hands countless times and use countless tissues. She would wash her hands as soon as they were even a little bit dirty.

"Then, squad leader, could you help me peel some ginger, peel some potatoes, wash some green peppers and eggplants, and peel some garlic and scallions?"

"it is good."

"Can so many important tasks be completed?"

"...Do you take me for a child?"

Lin Mengqiu turned her head and glared at him.

Although the class monitor was not as capable as the rural children in terms of work, her enthusiasm for work was undeniable, and she conscientiously carried out the tasks assigned to her by Chen Shi'an.

Occasionally, the elderly father would steal a glance into the kitchen and see his beloved daughter squatting on the floor peeling ginger and garlic, and he felt a pang of heartache...

He usually wouldn't let Lin Mengqiu do any work, but when she came to Chen Shi'an, she was treated like a beast of burden!

And yet, it was my daughter who found the job herself. You can imagine how messed this whole thing is…

Of course, Chen Shi'an wasn't idle either. After handing over the leftovers to Lin Mengqiu, he began preparing the dishes.

Cut the pork belly into large, even pieces; it will be used to make braised pork later.

That quarter of a free-range chicken, I bought the leg half, washed it, and chopped it into pieces with a swift chop. I'll make braised chicken with chestnuts in a bit.
There were two crucian carp in the bag. The crucian carp were small, and after deboning and slicing, there wasn't much meat. The stall owner had already cleaned and gutted them for them, and Chen Shi'an continued to process them a second time.

The main tasks are deboning and slicing, which purely test knife skills and experience.

Don't waste the fish head, bones, and meat. Arrange them on a plate, and steam the bones first, then place the fish fillets on top and steam them again.

Lin Ming was full of praise for this move alone.

He had eaten boneless crucian carp at restaurants and had thought about making it for his daughter, but unfortunately his knife skills were far from good enough.

Unexpectedly, Chen Shi'an made this dish with such ease.

"Dad, what are you doing blocking the kitchen? You're getting in our way."

"Okay, okay, you all get busy, you all get busy!"

(End of this chapter)