First Time (Revised)
The task of starting the fire naturally fell to Zhou Dongdong, who was enthusiastic about it. Liu Chang'an waited for the fire to Bear Bear, and Zhou Dongdong's face was flushed from the firelight. She sat contentedly watching the flames as Liu Chang'an placed the large iron pot on the fire.
Stir-frying is still best done in a large iron wok. Modern kitchen products are technologically advanced, and various pots with technological elements or professional improvements certainly have many advantages and are more suitable for modern life, but Liu Chang'an just likes this kind of rough pot.
Speaking of which, many iron pots that claim to be hammered thousands of times are actually no different in effect from those hammered by machine, and machine-hammered ones are even better. Are all the works produced by some Japan sword-making masters in their seventies and eighties handmade? They are not Liu Chang'an, where would they get the strength to hammer thousands or tens of thousands of times?
Liu Chang'an's habit of using these iron shovels to scrape the iron pots, producing a "crunching" sound that makes your teeth ache, is purely a personal hobby and has nothing to do with whether they are useful or not.
The first dish, of course, is the spicy rooster that's been all the rage in the neighborhood lately. Many people who tried the Hong Soup Spicy Rooster really love the topping, and when they learned that Liu Chang'an was having a banquet, quite a few people insisted on eating this dish.
However, the way you eat the vegetables is different from putting them in the soup. It's not as strong in flavor, and it's a bit lighter, otherwise you'll get a sore throat from eating too much.
Liu Chang'an was cooking a dish when the phone rang. It was An Nuan calling, sounding very angry, asking why Liu Chang'an hadn't invited her to the banquet.
Liu Chang'an hadn't really thought about this. It seemed that everyone else took the "banquet" very seriously, but Liu Chang'an felt it was just cooking, no different from cooking at Gao Dewei's house that day.
Liu Chang'an could only say that it was already noon and they were about to eat, so she shouldn't come over. He said he would come to her house specially next time to cook for her. An Nuan then hummed in agreement that she didn't want to argue with him for the time being.
Liu Chang'an was puzzled as to how An Nuan knew he was hosting a banquet. An Nuan said that Zhang Taole told her.
Zhang Taole heard about it from Bai Hui in the classmates' group chat.
How did Bai Hui know?
Liu Chang'an didn't pay any attention to it. Who would be curious about such a question for no reason? Fortunately, Bai Hui didn't intend to come to the banquet even though she found out. After all, they were classmates and from the same year. It seemed unlikely that Bai Hui would bring a red envelope if she came to the banquet, so it was better if she didn't come.
Bai Hui was told this by Zhong Qing, because Zhong Qing asked Bai Hui about her score and also asked about Liu Chang'an. Bai Hui told Zhong Qing that Liu Chang'an had scored very high, and Zhong Qing said that it was no wonder he was holding a banquet at home.
How did Zhong Qing know? It was because Zhu Juntang said he was going to Liu Chang'an's house because Liu Chang'an was having a banquet that day.
How did Zhu Juntang know? Because Qin Yanan posted a picture of a cutting board, the background of which looked like Liu Chang'an's front door, with the caption. "My little cousin is having a big celebration after passing the college entrance exam, come help me out, see how my knife skills are?"
Therefore, information spreads too quickly in modern society, and the key is that the channels of dissemination are often unexpected. A completely unrelated person may very well cause another person's personal information, data, life, etc. to be leaked or disrupted.
Just like Liu Chang'an, even though he didn't seem to care, his every move had already attracted a lot of attention and influence.
Unlike An Nuan, Zhu Juntang doesn't have to travel from the River West to the River East. Even though there's a subway, it still takes more than 30 minutes to get there, and if you have to wait for a bus or get stuck in traffic, it can easily take an hour.
After observing the scene through binoculars in her room for a while, Zhu Juntang felt that the banquet was in full swing and very lively, so she wanted to come and join in the fun... even though she felt that her relationship with Liu Chang'an had been very bad lately.
"I'm going to find Zhou Dongdong to play." Zhu Juntang finally came up with this very reasonable excuse.
The two people who were most enthusiastic about Zhu Juntang's arrival were Zhou Shuling and Zhou Dongdong. Zhou Shuling thought that Miss Zhu was an elegant and well-mannered young lady, while Zhou Dongdong was excited because she had seen a fairy who was carrying a small box of exquisite desserts.
Zhou Dongdong stopped looking at the flames and carried a small stool to eat under the sycamore tree.
"Dinner's almost ready, and she's eating sweets now. She might not eat dinner later, right?" Zhu Juntang asked with concern, trying to show she was a person of common sense.
"Yes, I can eat it," Zhou Shuling said shyly, because a lady like Zhu Juntang would probably find this hard to understand. Aren't ladies supposed to only eat a little bit of everything?
"She could eat ten portions of what you have. She can also eat three bowls of rice later." Liu Chang'an knew Zhou Dongdong's appetite like the back of his hand. Zhou Dongdong wasn't the kind of person who just ate vegetables; she liked to eat vegetables and rice at the same time.
Zhu Juntang unconsciously touched her little belly, imagining what it would look like to eat so much, then turned to look at Zhou Dongdong and suddenly felt that Zhou Dongdong looked like a little panda, all round and plump.
"Those who come to the banquet should give a red envelope," Qin Yanan said to Zhu Juntang.
"How much did you give as a red envelope?" Zhu Juntang knew, of course, but was also a little dissatisfied. "I even got a red envelope for my great-grandmother's birthday banquet, but I've never given one before."
"I didn't give a red envelope. We're relatives, and our custom is that younger relatives who don't have jobs don't need to give red envelopes when they attend banquets." Qin Yanan glared at Liu Chang'an, who was about to speak, signaling him not to expose her.
"How dare you!" Zhu Juntang thought Qin Yanan's skin was as thick as her breasts.
"Leave without giving a red envelope."
"Fine, I'll take care of it." Zhu Juntang said, then paused for a moment, "How?"
Because she didn't have a single penny on her, Zhu Juntang's life basically didn't require her to handle anything herself. She always felt that as long as she thought about it, she could get what she wanted, and her requests would automatically be fulfilled.
"I need some money." Zhu Juntang thought for a moment and then made a phone call.
Zhong Qing quickly arrived with two boxes of money. She didn't ask Zhu Juntang how much money he wanted, because Zhu Juntang always required others to understand her instructions. If she had to give detailed instructions on every little thing, it would be too troublesome. Why would she hire a bunch of people to serve her? Were they there to teach them how to use their brains?
The life of a young lady of leisure is one where she doesn't use her brain and lets others use their brains to solve everything that requires thinking.
"I only need some money, not a whole box of it," Zhu Juntang, still somewhat dissatisfied.
Zhong Qing remained calm and inquired about Zhu Juntang's needs. He then took out a thousand yuan, had someone buy a red envelope from the convenience store, and gave it to Zhu Juntang.
"This is the first time I've ever given someone a red envelope..." Zhu Juntang actually felt a little excited.
Zhong Qing simply smiled, then left with the money and the people.
Zhu Juntang handed the red envelope to Liu Chang'an, saying with some pride, "This is my first red envelope."
"A red envelope for the first time?" Qin Yanan had already turned her head and laughed, but she was an elegant woman and couldn't bring herself to associate it with a dirty joke, so she pursed her lips and held back.
"Are you out of your mind?" Zhu Juntang looked at Qin Yanan with a puzzled expression.
"Vulgar," Liu Chang'an criticized Qin Yanan, then said to Zhu Juntang, "No need. When we have a banquet, a group of people will sit at one table and eat together, just like eating at home. They'll all be people you don't know. Are you sure you'll sit down and eat?"
Zhu Juntang hesitated for a moment, then quickly took the red envelope back; she couldn't accept this situation at all!
Thankfully, I didn't lose my virginity to Liu Chang'an!
Thinking this to himself, he suddenly realized what Qin Yanan had been laughing about, and spat, "Qin Yanan, you scoundrel!"
"That's ridiculous." Qin Yanan ignored her and continued chopping her vegetables.
Bored, Zhu Juntang turned to go back, but saw Zhong Qing walking back. Not far behind her, a woman with a swaying figure, ethereal as a fairy, walked step by step.