I really like your sand sculpture group friends

He carried the still-fluttering chicken to a chicken stall in the market, paid a processing fee, and asked the owner to kill the chicken for him.

Although it may sound strange, slaughtering live poultry is a very common service in the markets here.

When he returned to the yard carrying two clean, sleek chickens, Bai Shishi immediately ran up to him, her eyes shining as she stared at the chickens in his hands: "Xiao Yi! Are you making roast chicken?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Mo Xiangwen said, still keeping everyone in suspense. He found an old shovel, located an empty spot in the corner of the yard, and began digging a hole.

Seeing this, Bai Shishi and Yan Nuoya both came over to offer their help.

“I’ll do this.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head, refusing their suggestion to dig the pit. Soil and heavy physical work were not suitable for them. “How about this, you guys help me marinate these two chickens, and I’ll take care of digging the pit and starting the fire.”

He began to explain the marinade combination to the two of them in detail: "Use light soy sauce, a little dark soy sauce for color, more cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, ginger slices, scallion segments, and a little bit of sugar to enhance the flavor. If you have five-spice powder, sprinkle some on it. If not, that's fine. The key is to coat it evenly inside and out and massage it for a while to make it easier for the flavor to penetrate."

"By the way, Shishi, you are not allowed to touch the knife. Let Nuoya handle the parts that require the knife."

“Okay, then leave it to us.” Bai Shishi patted her flat chest and said, “Sister Nuoya and I will do our best to complete the mission.”

Upon hearing about the assigned task, especially one closely related to food, Bai Shishi immediately perked up and excitedly pulled Yan Nuoya into the house to prepare the chicken.

Mo Xiangwen smiled as he watched their retreating figures and continued swinging his shovel.

After digging a pit large enough to bury the two clods of earth, he went to the small earthen slope next to the house and gathered a lot of dry branches and firewood, which he piled up around the pit.

The sunlight gradually warmed up, and the courtyard was filled with the aroma of spices and the fresh scent of earth.

Chapter 193 Yan, smile?

Mo Xiangwen carried an empty plastic bucket and strolled toward a few dilapidated empty houses on the outskirts of his hometown.

There are many old houses like this in this area. The owners have long since moved to the city or town. The houses have been neglected for a long time, and the roof tiles have fallen off and broken into pieces, buried in waist-high weeds.

Even if the homeowner were standing right there, he probably wouldn't mind if he picked up some of these broken tiles to use.

Not to mention, the other households living nearby, who are all related to him in some way, are not a big deal to him.

As he was bending down to pick through the tiles, an uncle carrying a hoe passed by. He squinted at him for a moment, probably recognizing him, and then asked loudly in the local dialect with a smile, "Hey, isn't this Wenzi? When did you come back? How are your parents? How's university in the city?"

Upon hearing the voice, Mo Xiangwen quickly straightened up, smiled, and chatted with his uncle for several minutes before his uncle picked up his hoe and continued walking towards the other side of the field.

He continued to lower his head, picked out some larger pieces of tile that weren't completely broken, and filled a small bucket.

On his way back, he turned to the riverbank again, picked a few large, green wild bamboo leaves, washed them, and then carried the bucket back.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Bai Shishi and Yan Nuoya standing next to the pit they had just dug, looking around as if they were looking for him.

The two chickens were already marinated and placed in a large basin. Their color had darkened, and they looked very flavorful.

"Where did you go?" Yan Nuoya asked as soon as she saw him.

Mo Xiangwen lowered the bucket in his hand so that they could see what was inside: "I picked up some broken tiles from the side."

"Tiles?" Bai Shishi leaned closer, curiously peering inside. "What are you going to do with these?"

“It’s a bit complicated to explain,” Mo Xiangwen smiled and said mysteriously, “but you’ll see soon enough.”

He carried the bucket to the edge of the dug pit and began mixing the tiles with the wet mud prepared next to it, layering them up to the edge of the pit.

Two girls stood around him, watching his actions with puzzled expressions.

"Aren't we going to make roast chicken?" Bai Shishi asked again as she watched him pick up another tile.

“Not entirely,” Mo Xiangwen’s subordinate continued, keeping him in suspense, “it’s a more special approach.”

Once the small, kiln-like structure was mostly completed, Mo Xiangwen began to put dry firewood into the pit and light it. The flames gradually leaped up and burned brighter and brighter.

"Should we put the chicken in now?" Yan Nuoya asked kindly, seeing the fire growing bigger and him not making any move.

“No rush,” Mo Xiangwen shook his head. “We need to wrap it up first. Nuoya, could you please get me some water? No need for bottled water, tap water is fine.”

Yan Nuoya nodded, turned and went into the house, and soon came out carrying a basin of clean water.

Mo Xiangwen took it and slowly poured some water into the pile of dry soil next to him, stirring it with his hands to make a suitable mud.

Next, he took the marinated chicken, rinsed it carefully with water again, and then wrapped it tightly in the bamboo leaves.

Next, he had to wrap the bamboo leaves with mud. He had to hold the chicken while also spreading the mud evenly on the leaves. He was a bit flustered and looked a little clumsy.

Upon seeing this, Bai Shishi immediately moved closer to him and volunteered, "I'll help Xiao Yi!"

Mo Xiangwen thought about it and realized that having someone help would make things easier. Besides, it was just playing in the mud, and as long as he washed his hands properly later, there was no risk.

"Okay, then I'll hold the chicken, and you can smear mud on it."

"Okay, I'll take care of it!"

Bai Shishi was very excited and imitated Mo Xiangwen, scooping up mud with her little hands and smearing it on the zongzi leaves.

She applied the cream very meticulously, seemingly not minding the trouble at all, applying layer after layer.

Suddenly, she wasn't paying attention and a bit of mud flew up and splashed right onto Mo Xiangwen's cheek.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Xiao Yi!" Bai Shishi quickly apologized.

“It’s okay,” Mo Xiangwen turned his head and rubbed his shoulder. “Let’s wrap it up first. If we wipe it now, it might get dirty again later.”

Working together, the two quickly finished making two "mud lumps" and set them aside to wait.

Bai Shishi immediately ran inside to wash her hands. When she came out, she had several wet wipes in her hand and carefully wiped the mud off Mo Xiangwen's face.

The slightly cool, damp wipe and Bai Shishi's gentle movements made him feel a little embarrassed. He reached out to take it, saying, "No need, I'll just go in and wash my face, or you can let me do it myself."

Bai Shishi's face fell, and she reluctantly handed over the wet wipes.

Mo Xiangwen's hand had just touched the tissue when he saw her like this, and he shook his head with a smile: "Then let's give it to Shishi."

"Uh-huh."

Bai Shishi immediately brightened up, a bright smile spreading across her face, and carefully wiped him clean with a tissue again.

"Alright," Mo Xiangwen said, looking at the slowly burning fire after wiping it clean. "The fire needs to burn for a while, and we'll have to watch it, so we can't go upstairs to play on the computer. Hmm... how about we play cards? How about Dou Dizhu?"

"Okay!" Bai Shishi responded happily immediately. Yan Nuoya also nodded slightly.

Mo Xiangwen went inside and found a deck of cards, and then brought out a small low table.

Bai Shishi and Yan Nuoya brought three small stools from inside the house, and the three of them sat down around the table in the yard.

"Playing alone isn't fun, how about some punishment?" Mo Xiangwen asked with a smile as he shuffled the cards.

"What punishment?" Bai Shishi asked, puzzled.

“Hmm, it’s not convenient to draw a turtle here. How about this, the loser,” Mo Xiangwen thought for a moment and chuckled, “just sticks a piece of paper on their face. The landlord can stick two people on their face, and the loser will have two people sticking their face on their face.”

"How about writing 'I'm an idiot' on the note?" Yan Nuoya blinked at him: "After we finish playing, take a picture and send it to the group chat."

Are we really going to go this far?

Mo Xiangwen's smile froze. He paused for a moment, then turned to look at her.

Yan Nuoya smiled faintly, and from his perspective, there was absolutely no sign of anything unusual.

Although Mo Xiangwen felt that she had ill intentions, he still agreed.

Since Mo Xiangwen had already agreed, Bai Shishi naturally wouldn't object and nodded slightly.

Games start.

In the first round, Mo Xiangwen was the host and had a good run of luck, winning easily.

He held the cut-up little strip of paper and looked at Bai Shishi with a smile.

Bai Shishi obediently raised her face, closed her eyes, and looked like she was ready to be left to her own devices.

Mo Xiangwen carefully stuck the note on her forehead. She opened her eyes, the note drooped down, and she shook her head and complained, "I'll definitely win the next round, and then I'll stick it on Xiao Yi's nose."

This made Mo Xiangwen and Yan Nuoya chuckle softly.

But soon, the punishment came to Yan Nuoya, and the smile on her face faded considerably.

"Yan," Mo Xiangwen said, holding a piece of paper in front of her, "Smile?"

Chapter 194 Fairness

Yan Nuoya pursed her lips and reluctantly forced a faint smile.

Mo Xiangwen, satisfied, followed Bai Shishi's instructions and stuck the sticker on Yan Nuoya's nose.

In the second round, Yan Nuoya was the landlord. She had a clear strategy and good luck, and even memorized the cards that had already been played, silently calculating the cards in Mo Xiangwen and Bai Shishi's hands based on her own.

Although Mo Xiangwen and Bai Shishi teamed up, and Bai Shishi even deliberately fed him cards, they still lost to Yan Nuoya.

Yan Nuoya picked up the note and gently stuck it on Mo Xiangwen's nose. She was much kinder to Bai Shishi, sticking it on the same spot where he had just stuck it.

Mo Xiangwen, with the note on his head, shrugged helplessly and continued dealing the cards.

They played and joked around like that for about an hour.

During this time, Mo Xiangwen would occasionally get up to add firewood to the fire to keep it burning.

When the firewood in the pit had burned out, leaving only glowing embers and scorching ashes, he used a stick to pry away the embers and carefully placed the two heavy lumps of mud into the hot ashes at the bottom of the pit. Then, he carefully sealed the pit shut with the tiles and hot soil he had used to build the kiln.

"Is this all there is to it?" Bai Shishi asked curiously, looking at the sealed-off pit.

"Yes, let it cook on its own." Mo Xiangwen patted the dirt off his hands. "Let's continue playing."

They played poker for a while longer, and for some reason, Yan Nuoya's luck was consistently good, with her winning percentage remaining at the highest level.

Unlike Bai Shishi's warm treatment of sticking the notes to almost one place, Yan Nuoya was ruthless when sticking them to his face, trying to stick the notes in different places, making his face covered with notes.

And with each sticker he received, Yan's smile deepened.

No, if we continue like this, it will only lead to endless humiliation.

Mo Xiangwen felt the time was right and quickly called out, "Stop, stop, stop! The beggar's chicken is almost ready!"

Just as he was about to run away, Yan Nuoya grabbed his clothes.

"Yan, I need to put out the fire, otherwise..."

"We agreed to take a picture and post it in the group." Yan Nuoya teased with a smile, "Is Mo the kind of person who can take a joke but can't accept defeat? Look, Shishi has already taken a selfie and posted it in the group."

Although it was meant as a joke, I still felt a strange chill about it.

Mo Xiangwen turned his head and glanced at Bai Shishi, just in time to see Bai Shishi taking a selfie with her phone.

“Come on, Mo, smile.” Yan Nuoya held up her phone and smiled, “I’ll take a nice picture of you and post it in the group.”

"What's so good-looking about this? How can this look good?" Mo Xiangwen complained under his breath, but still stood still and forced an awkward smile.

Yan Nuoya immediately pressed the shutter button, waved her hand with satisfaction, indicating that he could leave.

Feeling his lifelong reputation ruined, Mo Xiangwen sighed and staggered to the fire.

Although all three of them posted photos in the group chat, he had already foreseen the future when Su Mengyao would tease him, and he had no interest in reading the group messages at all.

Right now, only the beggar's chicken here can soothe his wounded heart.

He picked up a thick wooden stick and carefully pulled the two hardened lumps of mud out of the still-warm ashes.

The clay shell was burned to a hard appearance, with numerous cracks on the surface and wisps of steam rising from it.

He gently tapped the mud shell with a wooden stick, and the surface cracks gradually widened before he peeled it away little by little.

As the mud shell peeled off, the bamboo leaves wrapping the chicken were revealed, and an indescribable aroma, a blend of meaty fragrance, fresh grass and wood scents, and the unique aroma of baking in the mud, instantly filled the air, making one's mouth water.

"It smells so good!" Bai Shishi's eyes widened, and she couldn't wait to reach out and touch it.

"Careful! It's hot!" Mo Xiangwen quickly warned, but her fingertips had already touched the wrapped lotus leaf, and she immediately withdrew her hand, blowing on it to cool it down.

Mo Xiangwen quickly grabbed her little hand, helped her up, and took her to the tap to rinse and cool her down for a while before holding her little hand in front of his eyes and carefully checking that it hadn't turned red before he felt a little relieved.

He looked up at Bai Shishi, about to say something, but saw her smiling foolishly.

"What are you laughing at?" Mo Xiangwen sighed helplessly. "Is your hand alright? Does it still hurt?"

"It was just a tiny bump," Bai Shishi shook her head vigorously and said with a grin, "It doesn't hurt."

"It's good that you're alright. Let it air out for a little while longer," Mo Xiangwen said, as he and Bai Shishi returned to the table and placed the two chickens on large plates.

After a while, Mo Xiangwen felt it was about time and said, "Okay, that's fine now."

Bai Shishi carefully stretched out her finger to test the temperature again, but it was still a little hot. She frowned and shook her head.

Mo Xiangwen found Bai Shishi's greedy yet hot-fearing appearance both funny and cute, and wondered how she could be showing signs of becoming like Meng Yao.