The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

When we got back to the mine, it was lunchtime. In the cookhouse, the firewood crackled and sparked, and the aroma of wild vegetables and oil wafted into our noses.

Everyone had been busy all morning, and their backs ached. The smell of this food immediately made their stomachs rumble in protest. Several young men couldn't help but sniffle, their throats bobbing, their eyes fixed on the curtain that had been lifted in the back kitchen.

Sweetie was feeling a bit listless because they hadn't found a vein. But then she twitched her little nose and sniffed hard in the direction where the smoke was rising.

The aroma tantalized her sweet taste buds, and she subconsciously rubbed her tummy, softly murmuring, "Daddy, it smells so good."

Before the words were finished, with a "whoosh," the heavy cotton curtain of the mess hall was lifted from the inside.

Old Ge leaned out, an apron tied around his waist, tapped the edge of the pot twice with a long-handled iron ladle, and waved to the outside: "Secretary Feng, dinner's ready!"

"Hey, Lao Ge, you've got this meal just in time!"

Feng Dapao laughed heartily, using this opportunity to boost everyone's morale and turn around the gloomy atmosphere.

"Comrades, why are you all acting like defeated roosters? We've never succeeded in our revolution, let alone in mineral exploration. Isn't it normal to make a few more trips and dig a few more times?"

He patted a few young miners on the shoulder and said in a loud voice, "Go on, don't just stand there, wash your hands and eat! You'll have the energy to work when you're full. Those who need to go up the mountain, go up; those who need to organize the data, organize the data. We absolutely cannot let a rolling boulder stop us!"

His shout lifted a lot of the gloom that had been weighing on their hearts. They exchanged glances, some even smiled silently, and their previously sluggish steps became lighter.

"The secretary is right, success and failure are common. If we didn't find it this time, we'll keep looking next time!"

"Exactly! As long as we're full, we'll have energy!"

"Look what delicious food Chef Ge made for us today!"

"It smells so good, it's almost unbearable! Master Ge's cooking skills are getting more and more amazing!"

Everyone grabbed their enamel mugs and aluminum lunchboxes and lined up to head to the stove.

In the mess hall, the firewood in the stove was burning brightly, and the flames licked the bottom of the pot, making a crackling sound.

Old Ge pushed out a large, dark iron pot. He lifted the lid, and steam billowed up. Wild vegetables, mushrooms, and slippery vermicelli were stewed together, and the aroma was irresistible.

"Master Ge, something's not right—" a burly young man peeked out, "Why does this smell so strange? What did you put in there?"

The boys, already restless, gathered around the pot, staring eagerly at it.

"Don't push, don't push, line up!" Old Ge waved his long ladle. "Secretary Feng, please move forward a bit and smell what this smells like?"

Feng Dapao sniffed and asked curiously, "What's that smell? Besides the aroma of the food, there's another fragrance that I can't quite describe."

Everyone started teasing, "Old Ge, stop keeping us in suspense, what treasure did you put there?"

Suddenly, someone with a keen sense of smell exclaimed, "Hey, I smell meat! Old Ge, did you put some meat in?"

"No, no," another shook his head, "It doesn't taste like meat, it tastes more like... the aroma of stewed free-range chicken from the village."

"Yes, yes, yes! It's chicken!"

Old Ge smiled without saying a word, simply stirring slowly in the large pot with a spoon. He dipped the spoon down, scooped up some from the bottom of the pot, and when he lifted it out, there was something else in it—

A chicken skeleton that's been stewed until it's very tender.

Even the bones are soaked in the rich broth.

That one move was enough to make all the workers stare in disbelief.

"Wow, it really is chicken?!"

"Where did you come from?!"

Old Ge gently placed the chicken carcass back into the pot, stirred it with a spoon, and the carcass sank to the bottom of the broth, disappearing among the bubbling wild vegetables and glass noodles. He wiped his hands and said with a smile, "Secretary Feng, to be honest, I went to town yesterday to buy some meat and exchanged all the meat coupons I had saved up for half a year to bring back this chicken. I'll stew it for everyone today to help them recover."

He spoke casually, but everyone understood the weight of his words. They had used up half a year's worth of meat coupons to exchange for just one chicken, which showed how precious it was.

Everyone sniffed as they looked at the hard-won chicken stew, and for a moment they were too embarrassed to approach.

Old Ge didn't give them a chance to feel sentimental. He waved his spoon and called out, "Come on, everyone, don't just stand there, eat it while it's hot! It won't taste good when it gets cold!"

He took the first person's bowl and ladled out a full spoonful, soup and vegetables. The young miner, smelling the enticing aroma, exclaimed excitedly, "Master Ge, you're truly our living saint!"

"Alright, alright, go get some dry rations over there. Eat as much as you like," Old Ge said with a smile, gesturing to the next person.

When the others heard that they could actually eat stewed chicken, their mouths watered so much that they all swarmed over.

"Line up, line up!" The other cooks maintained order while serving food to everyone.

When it was Liang Zhe's turn, Lao Ge specially scooped out a stewed chicken leg that was cooked until tender from the bottom of the pot and put it into Liang Zhe's jar.

"Master Ge, please don't..." Liang Zhe quickly declined.

"Keep it." Old Ge pointed to his ear, indicating that he couldn't hear clearly, and said, "This is for the girl. She's growing, and we can't let her suffer."

Feng Dapao chimed in from the side, "That's right, we should listen to Master Ge."

Sweetie tilted her little face up obediently and said in her sweet, childish voice, "Thank you, Grandpa Ge."

"You're welcome." Old Ge smiled and scooped up another chicken leg, putting it into Xu Qiang's bowl.

"Old Ge, I don't need..." Xu Qiang was interrupted by Old Ge before he could finish his sentence.

"Dean Xu, you're a researcher, and I admire you for staying here in these mountains with us. This chicken leg is for you."

Xu Qiang looked at the glistening chicken leg in the bowl, hesitated for a moment, then tore off a piece of meat with clean chopsticks, placed the chicken leg on the aluminum lunchbox lid, and pushed it back to the table.

"I'll eat one piece of this chicken leg, and share the rest with everyone. This belongs to the community, and I can't be a special case."

Old Ge and Feng Dapao wanted to persuade him, but Xu Qiang had already taken his bowl and walked towards the dry food stall next door.

Liang Zhe and Tian Tian sat on a bench to the side. The little girl took a bite of the chicken leg, her eyes instantly narrowing into crescent moons, as if she had tasted the most delicious thing in the world. She chewed a few times, then suddenly stopped and carefully tore apart the uneaten half of the chicken leg with her chopsticks.

"Daddy, Sweetie doesn't want this piece," she said earnestly, pointing to half a chicken leg. "She wants to give it to Sister Xiaoyu."

"Sister Xiaoyu?" Liang Zhe was taken aback.

"Yes, Sister Xiaoyu is Tiantian's good friend." Tiantian recounted what happened last night in her childish language—how Sister Xiaoyu helped her keep away the bugs, how she disappeared in the back mountain, and how she appeared at the crucial moment to take her home.

Finally, she solemnly concluded, "Sister Xiaoyu wouldn't let the bugs bite Tiantian, and she even came to pick Tiantian up. She's my good friend. Mom said that good friends should share with each other."

"So, Tian Tian is going to save this piece of meat for Sister Xiao Yu?" Liang Zhe's heart softened when he heard his daughter mention his wife.

"Yes!" Sweetie nodded vigorously. "Daddy, Sister Xiaoyu doesn't come here to eat. Shall we take some to her?"

Liang Zhe pondered for a moment. Xiao Yu's behavior was indeed a bit strange. She rarely went out, and the few times she did go out were when she was hungry and looking for food.

But Liu Mazi has already been put in solitary confinement. Is Ah Zhen going to mistreat her and not give her food?

Moreover, she first led Tian Tian to the back mountain, and then disappeared along the way. It is unknown whether there is another reason behind this.

Since Tian Tian considers her a friend, why not use the opportunity of delivering food to test the waters?

"Okay, after you finish eating, Dad will go with you to deliver food to Sister Xiaoyu."

"Yay!" Sweetie cheered and happily buried her head in her food.

Her little cheeks were bulging out, like a little squirrel struggling to find food.

Old Ge finished scooping out the last spoonful of food, straightened up, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His gaze casually swept across the room, finally settling on Tian Tian, ​​who was enjoying her meal.

A second later, he looked away, smiled, and pushed the pot back into the kitchen.