To make kiln chicken, one first had to build an Earth Kiln, and the dirt blocks for the kiln had to be dug out with a hoe. So, as soon as they arrived at the Wooden House and put their things away, Tang Chengmin prepared to go dig for dirt blocks himself.
However, he checked the time on his phone and saw it was already 3:30 PM. After a moment of thought, he decided to divide the labor. This was for efficiency because kiln chicken was quite time-consuming. Otherwise, if he had to dig the dirt and build the kiln alone, he would be busy until nightfall. It was better to finish up early and pack up to go back and eat…
“Sis, want to go build the kiln?” Tang Chengmin first turned his gaze toward his younger sister and raised an eyebrow.
He figured that since Tang Yayun had made kiln chicken with him and their eldest brother so many times before, she wouldn’t be completely clueless, right? Unfortunately, it was exactly as Tang Chengmin expected—
Upon hearing this, the girl immediately became embarrassed. She gave a dry laugh, her expression quite awkward. “I’d like to, but I don’t know how…”
“You’ve watched so many times and you still don’t know how?”
“Uh… wasn’t it because you and Big Brother were there? I just had to be responsible for eating.”
Tang Chengmin was speechless. This sister of his really was… a little cutie…. In that case… he’d have to do it himself….
As for why he didn’t ask the other two… In Tang Chengmin’s eyes, his cousin, who was here for kiln chicken for the first time, definitely couldn’t be relied upon. And as for Qin Nanfeng, looking through the lens of a local’s prejudice, he felt this young master who clearly came from an extraordinary family would be even more out of his element.
He sighed. Just as he was about to start building it himself, Qin Nanfeng suddenly spoke up. “I’ll do it. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“Brother-in-law, have you done this before?”
Qin Nanfeng smiled and shook his head. “No, but I’ve seen videos. It shouldn’t be difficult. I can give it a try.”
“Alright then…” Tang Chengmin nodded and didn’t say anything else. If it didn’t work out, he could just do it himself anyway. Besides, he felt that Qin Nanfeng seemed quite smart, and building a kiln really wasn’t that difficult. At any rate, he was much smarter than his sister… who only knew how to eat…..
—
Thus, the basic division of labor was settled. Qin Nanfeng would build the kiln, the Tang siblings—one would dig dirt blocks and the other would gather firewood nearby—and Lin Xinyuan was responsible for carrying the dirt blocks. The four of them attended to their respective duties and began to get busy.
Not just any dirt would do for kiln chicken. They had to choose dry, hard dirt; otherwise, the Earth Kiln wouldn’t hold up at all. Fortunately, the soil in this forest was dry and hard, making it relatively easy to dig and source materials on the spot.
However, the open space in front of the small hut obviously couldn’t be ruined, so they had to go a bit further away to start digging. Tang Chengmin swung the hoe over there while Lin Xinyuan put on the cotton gloves prepared in advance and started lugging the dirt blocks, huffing and puffing. Between her constant trips back and forth, she also watched step by step as Qin Nanfeng successfully built the Earth Kiln…
“Not bad, Brother-in-law. Building it like this on your first try, you’ve got half my skill!” Nearly an hour later, Tang Chengmin looked at the large Earth Kiln before him with some surprise. Building a kiln really wasn’t hard, but if one wanted a large one, it still required a bit of experience. He hadn’t expected Qin Nanfeng to build it so well on his first try…
To his words, Qin Nanfeng only smiled, his gaze then turning toward the person beside him. Clearly, the girl’s stamina was still too poor. Just from carrying some dirt blocks, she was already tired enough that her breathing was slightly ragged.
“Do you have any tissues?” Qin Nanfeng suddenly asked.
Lin Xinyuan blanked out for a moment, thinking he wanted a tissue, so she pulled a pack of tissues out of her jeans pocket. Ever since truly becoming a girl, things like tissues were almost a necessity to carry at all times. And she wasn’t surprised that the “experienced” Qin Nanfeng knew this.
Humph…. Scumbag… definitely a stinky blondie….
Thinking this, her movements couldn’t help but become a bit rough as she slapped the unopened pack of tissues into the young man’s palm with a “thud.”
This girl…
Seeing the girl’s unconsciously pouting little mouth, how could Qin Nanfeng not understand what she was thinking? He couldn’t help but find it a bit funny. He intentionally didn’t explain. He simply took the tissues, tore open the packaging, and pulled one out. Then, he didn’t return the tissues to her but instead stuffed them into his own pocket with a smile.
Seeing this, Lin Xinyuan became even more annoyed and unconsciously turned her face away. However, she soon froze again. A sudden warmth came from her cheek, along with the sensation of a tissue.
“Mmh…”
Qin Nanfeng’s gaze was gentle as he used the tissue to carefully wipe the girl’s fair cheek. Seeing her look as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, Qin Nanfeng put on a serious face. “Your face is dirty. I’m helping you wipe it.” As he spoke, he opened his hand and held it up in front of Lin Xinyuan.
Lin Xinyuan looked up and, sure enough, a jarring smudge of yellowish dirt had appeared on the originally white tissue. She didn’t know when she had gotten it on her… She glanced at the two people nearby from the corner of her eye. When she saw that the siblings both had looks of jealousy, she immediately became a bit bashful. Finally, after holding it in for a long while, she only managed to squeeze out two syllables: “Oh… okay…”
“Uh, alright, let’s go heat the kiln…” Tang Chengmin was the first to find the pink bubbly atmosphere between the two unbearable. He turned around.
“Yeah.” Tang Yayun strongly agreed with her brother’s words. However, she ultimately took one last look at her older cousin and said somewhat mysteriously, “Sister Yuan is really lucky, hehehe~”
“Eh…” Hearing these baseless words again, Lin Xinyuan felt inexplicably flustered and annoyed. She just wanted to call out to Tang Yayun and teach her a good lesson, but this girl seemed to know what she was going to do in advance. After speaking, she didn’t wait for a reaction and turned around as well, looking very busy.
Lin Xinyuan’s face burned hot, and she hesitated to speak. Looking again at the young man who was smiling and staring at her, even the tips of her ears turned a bit red. “I’m going to help too……” she murmured.
What Tang Yayun said just now really made her feel strange, as if there was some underlying meaning. Inevitably, thinking about what had happened between her and the young man during this time, a sense of shame surged in her heart. I… I… actually already went that far with this guy… It’s clearly been less than half a month….
Thinking of this, Lin Xinyuan was about to walk away, but she hadn’t even taken two steps before Qin Nanfeng pulled her back.
“What now…” She bared her teeth slightly, her tone intentionally unpleasant, trying to drive the stinky blondie away.
Qin Nanfeng looked at the fair and pretty girl before him whose face was a bit dirty. She looked just like a baring-talons-and-brandishing-paws Little Calico Cat. The kind that didn’t even have full claws yet and could only use its soft paws to threaten its master…. It really only made him want to tease her more…
“There’s more on your face.” Qin Nanfeng pointed to his own face with his index finger, his chin tilted up slightly, gesturing that there was something on Lin Xinyuan’s face.
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan calmed down a bit and retracted that expression she thought was “terrifying.” She blankly touched her face and, sure enough, felt a sandy texture. Looking at her hand, her finger was already dirty. It was the originally dry, hard yellow dirt meeting the moisture on her face, becoming a mess….
“Believe me now? Let me help you wipe it……” The young man chuckled softly, preparing to continue wiping her with the tissue.
Lin Xinyuan didn’t say anything more and simply bore it silently. “Oh…”
“Hehe, Little Calico Cat Yuan.”
Upon hearing this, the girl’s body couldn’t help but tremble slightly. Feeling embarrassed, she closed her eyes and let him have his way.
“Mmm…”