Chapter 163 Impressions of Baitan
A meal for two people doesn't require too many dishes. Wen Susu plans to make some braised pork, some stir-fried beef with hot peppers, and some stir-fried Chinese cabbage.
I learned how to make braised pork from Fang Wei's mother when we were having dinner at his house. It doesn't require any sugar color, but the taste is still very delicious.
Wen Susu put the purchased vegetables into Fang Wei's car basket and sat back in the back seat of his car. Fang Wei drove her back to the dormitory to cook.
Unlike last year, there are now a lot more seasonings in her kitchen. Even though it is relatively clean, you can still see some traces of cooking on the stove.
Fang Wei was very surprised. He didn't expect that just because he cooked a bowl of noodles for her, she would start learning how to cook.
He didn't know what kind of life Wen Susu had led before, but after coming to the island to teach, this young lady who had never been involved in housework had indeed changed a lot.
"Sister, do you need any help?"
"No, go play over there! I have lots of paintbrushes and paper in my living room, why don't you go and learn how to paint?"
"...That's not necessary."
Fang Wei is well aware of his own painting skills, this thing really requires talent.
Seeing the camera that Wen Susu had placed on the table, he picked it up.
"Sister, can you lend me your camera?"
"Let's have fun. Oh, I remember that photo you took of me on Baitan Bridge during our last home visit. It was great! You have quite a talent for photography!"
"That's not my credit, it's all due to the beautiful scenery and beautiful people."
"Hahaha, so sweet!"
"Where is the photo? Can I see it?"
"Look for it yourself in the album in the drawer."
Fang Wei opened the drawer and took out the photo album.
The photo album was custom-made by her. There were four big characters [Impression of Baitan] on the cover. It was a very thick book with many photos inside.
During art class, Wen Susu would often show her classmates the photos she took, but she had never brought this album to class.
Fang Wei curiously opened it and found that the photos were all taken by her on the island. There were unfamiliar people, familiar scenery, the campus, classmates, her luggage on her first day on the island, her undecorated dormitory, classrooms that had not yet started, her desk, and so on.
This photo album is more of a record of life than an artistic one.
Not long after, Fang Wei found the photo he took of her on Baitan Bridge that day. The scenery was indeed beautiful and the people were beautiful.
In addition to this photo, he also saw his own photo, the photo taken during the home visit that day of him planting vegetables and pumping water from the well, as well as photos of Cailing, Zhiyi, Asheng, and many other people in the class, and the photo of the four people from Pineapple Island sitting together at the end-of-term ceremony. In the photo, Cailing and Zhiyi were smiling and making the scissors sign, and Fang Wei and Asheng were also linked shoulders...
"Sister, are you crazy about taking secret photos?!"
"What? You're saying it so harshly. This is called Baitan Impression!"
"Ha ha……"
Fang Wei smiled, picked up her camera, and took a picture of her cooking in the kitchen, and a picture of the cat sleeping on the balcony...
It was July’s first time taking a photo. When a click sounded, it raised its head curiously, came over to sniff the lens, and probably thought it was something inedible, so it lay back down in boredom, and turned over to let the sun shine on the other side.
Seeing Fang Wei playing with the camera, Wen Susu's teacher got addicted and started teaching him how to take good-looking photos.
“The most important thing in photography is composition and light source. The same scenery or person will look different when photographed from different angles. This really tests your eye for capturing beauty!”
"I'm not good at painting, but I have a good eye for capturing beauty! I'm good at taking pictures of landscapes!"
"Ha ha……"
"Don't laugh, I'm serious!"
"Have you ever learned photography before?"
"No, it's pure talent!"
Fang Wei said this shamelessly.
He had never learned how to take photos with a camera as professionally as Wen Susu, but he had taken many photos with his mobile phone before. Putting aside the hardware conditions, the techniques of finding angles and composition were actually similar.
Boys and girls of the same age actually seldom pay attention to the scenery. Usually they have to wait until they grow up and look through the pictures in their memories to realize that the sky in their childhood was so blue, the water was so clear, the smoke from cooking was curling, and the countryside was picturesque.
Thinking of something, Fang Wei put down the camera in his hand and said:
"sister."
"Ok?"
"It suddenly occurred to me that our class hasn't held any class activities yet, right?"
"School sports meet, final weeding."
"…Those are all school activities! I mean our class's own activities!"
"Why, do you have any good suggestions?"
Wen Susu put the chopped beef into a bowl, added oil, salt, soy sauce and other seasonings to marinate it, then turned around to look at Fang Wei who was standing at the kitchen door.
"Here's what I was thinking. Why don't we take some time to organize a spring outing for our classmates?"
"Spring outing?"
"Yes, we can do it on the weekend. It's spring now, and the weather is neither too cold nor too hot. Let's find a place with good weather and beautiful scenery, such as the beach. Then we can go hiking together, or go fishing, and have a barbecue and eat."
"interesting!"
After hearing what Fang Wei said, Wen Susu's eyes lit up. She was worried about being bored on weekends.
It’s just that I’m unfamiliar with the place and don’t know where to go for fun. Wouldn’t it be great to take advantage of the spring outing and invite all the classmates to go for a picnic and barbecue together?
Wen Susu nodded repeatedly and turned back to say:
"Your suggestion is very good! As the monitor of our class, Fang Wei, please give me a spring outing plan!"
"..."
Well, in the end I got the job for myself.
Fang Wei was both angry and amused, so he nodded and agreed.
……
Although it was just three simple dishes, Wen Susu was still busy for a long time.
After observing her, Fang Wei also found that the reason why she was so slow was that she was not skilled enough in knife skills. Cutting pork was easier, after all, for braised pork, you only needed to cut large pieces. Cutting beef was much slower, and you had to use the knife to carefully "saw" the meat into thin slices little by little...
In addition, she has a habit of cleanliness. She will wash her hands if there is a little oil on them, wash her hands after cutting vegetables, wash her hands after cutting meat, and wipe the stove if there is even the slightest oil stain. All you can hear is the sound of the faucet turning on and off.
Since he had nothing to do anyway and Wen Susu didn't want his help, Fang Wei just leisurely appreciated her paintings or the photos she took.
Soon, the air was filled with the aroma of food.
Even the cat lazily lying on the balcony couldn't help but raise its head, jumped down from the balcony, walked into the kitchen, and nudged Wen Susu's legs with its big head. "Hmm? Qiyue, are you hungry?"
"Meow."
"No, you just ate a big rat. Are you hungry so soon?"
"Meow……"
Wen Susu was speechless, thinking that there was a reason why this cat was so blessed.
Seeing that July was very hungry, she picked up a piece of fried beef and gave it to it. Only then did the greedy cat walk away contentedly.
"Sister, is the food ready? I'm so hungry!"
"Haha, then you just eat more, I'll just stir-fry some vegetables!"
“It smells delicious!”
Fang Wei walked into the kitchen and helped bring out the prepared braised pork and stir-fried beef with chili peppers.
Wen Susu bought a small square table to use as a dining table. It couldn't accommodate so many people, so it was just enough space for the brother and sister to sit.
The rice in the rice cooker is also cooked.
Fang Wei hadn't eaten rice cooked in a rice cooker for a long time, so he washed two sets of bowls and chopsticks and helped serve the rice.
After the pan was heated, Wen Susu poured oil into it and added a few slices of garlic to stir-fry. The hot oil was sizzling. She no longer hid far away like she did at the beginning. She calmly poured the washed cabbage from the basket into the pan and stir-fried it.
By the time she untied her apron and brought out the last plate of juicy green garlic-fried bok choy, Fang Wei had already served the rice and set the table and chairs for her to sit down.
"Come here, time to eat! Fang Wei, eat more and don't be polite to me!"
"I'm not polite at all!"
Without the elders present, the two of them ate casually. Wen Susu opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of Coke.
"Want a toast?"
"Cheers~!"
When the two people touched the Coke in their hands, the bubbles burst.
Fang Weixian picked up a piece of braised pork and tasted it. The taste was just right. He probably learned it from his mother’s cooking method. It tasted quite like home-cooked food!
"Delicious, delicious! Sister, you really have mastered the art of braised pork!"
"Haha! That's still not as delicious as Auntie Tian's. The braised pork I ate at your house the other day was really delicious. I didn't like braised pork before because I thought it was too greasy, but Auntie Tian's is not greasy at all."
"Mmm, this beef and cabbage stir-fry is delicious too! If you don't become a teacher anymore, maybe you can open a restaurant and cook there. It's like a private restaurant or something like that. You can cook whatever you want and the customers will eat whatever you want!"
"You're exaggerating! How can it be this delicious?"
Having said that, after listening to Fang Wei's shameless flattery, Wen Susu also felt a little proud.
I never thought before that cooking would become one of my few pleasures. Watching the ingredients I bought being sorted and cooked into delicious dishes, I inexplicably felt very relaxed and fulfilled.
Think about it, as a teacher, I not only have to teach, but also have to cook for students. It’s really unique!
Of course, Wen Susu was still very happy to invite Fang Wei to come over for dinner. Compared to the loneliness of eating alone, having someone to accompany you for dinner would make the dormitory feel like home.
"How are you doing? Are you keeping up with the new semester's studies?"
"That must be no problem."
"I heard from Teacher Niu that you and Cailing have joined the school track and field team?"
"Yes, don't worry, it will definitely not affect your studies!"
"I'm not worried about that, but I didn't expect you guys are so good at sports."
"I'll just be careless. Cailing is really good at sports."
"Does Cailing plan to attend a sports school?"
……
The two of them ate and chatted, and most of the topics revolved around things in class.
As Mr. Wen's lackey and spy, Fang Weizhen suspected that she came to this meal just to get various information about his classmates from him.
However, it also indirectly shows that Wen Susu is really concerned about the teaching work in the class. After all, she came all the way to this place where seabirds shit everywhere. Apart from teaching the book well, there is nothing else that can distract her.
After eating and drinking, it was already half past twelve in the afternoon.
In addition to not sleeping well in the past two days, Wen Susu finally felt sleepy at this moment, and it looked like she could hardly open her eyelids.
After helping to clean up the dishes, Fang Wei picked up the cat that was almost melted by the sun.
"Sis, if there's nothing else, I'll go back first. If there are any more mice, tell me."
"Okay! I don't think they will dare to come again! Thank you Fang Wei, thank you Qiyue~~"
"Meow."
Wen Susu reached out and rubbed July's big head.
In fact, she had also thought about raising a pet, such as a cat or a dog, but she was busy with work and worried about not being able to take good care of them, so she had to give up.
"I'm leaving then. See you next week."
"See you next week, and don't forget your spring outing plans!"
"……well."
"Let me take you downstairs."
"No need, sister, you can hardly keep your eyes open, go to bed! Bye."
Fang Wei stopped her and carried Fat Cat downstairs.
Wen Susu was standing on the balcony watching. Fang Wei sat on his bicycle and put the cat in the basket. When he turned around and looked up, he saw her camera.
With a click, Wen Susu took this photo.
A boy riding a bicycle, a tabby cat in the bicycle basket, and the bright sunshine in the spring afternoon.
There is one more photo in my impression of Baitan.
(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone~)
(End of this chapter)
