Chapter 563: Jasmine Field
Chapter 563: Chapter 563: Jasmine Field
Huo Tao had also bought a few pounds of mushrooms and some sweet potatoes from the villagers. Everyone skewered the cleaned fish along with the mushrooms and potatoes on sharpened wooden sticks and enthusiastically began to grill them.
The girls all knew how to cook, and even if the boys weren’t experts in the kitchen, they at least knew how to grill. So, no one was idle. Soon, the aroma of grilled fish filled the courtyard.
"It smells amazing!" Du Chuan said, taking in the aroma with a blissful expression. "In my whole life, I’ve only grilled fish outdoors once, during our school trip last fall. This is my second time, and the smell is just to die for."
Xie Lei said, "It’s all thanks to Su Qing’s honey. Without it, the fish wouldn’t smell this amazing."
Huo Tao laughed. "Yeah, who would’ve thought Su Qing would have the foresight to bring a small jar of honey."
Su Qing smiled and said, "I just figured we might end up grilling something, so I brought it along. I didn’t actually expect we’d use it."
This honey was, of course, from Su Qing’s personal dimension. It was wild honey she had collected with three bears on Da Hu Mountain, which she then divided into small jars and stored away. Infused with the green mist, it was not only sweeter and more fragrant but also possessed some restorative, health-boosting properties. Since Su Qing was having a good time with her classmates, she didn’t mind sharing a little of its benefits with them.
As the aroma in the courtyard grew stronger, the fish and everything else finished grilling. Everyone eagerly started to eat. Their eyes widened in surprise after the first bite—it was incredibly delicious.
For a while, the entire courtyard was filled with cheerful chatter and laughter, the atmosphere harmonious and congenial.
In the end, Song Yufang and Zhao Xiaohui never came out to the courtyard. Seeing that Xie Lei was completely ignoring them, Huo Tao had no choice but to put some grilled fish, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes on a plate himself and head to their room.
"Who is it?" Zhao Xiaohui asked irritably when she heard the knock.
"It’s me. I brought you something to eat," Huo Tao called out after knocking and hearing Zhao Xiaohui’s voice from inside.
"We don’t want it. Take it back. I didn’t pay, so I have no right to eat it," Zhao Xiaohui huffed.
Huo Tao frowned at her words. ’Honestly,’ he thought, ’Zhao Xiaohui was the one who started this whole thing. Su Qing was just an innocent bystander. It’s perfectly understandable that Xie Lei would defend her. And it’s a fact that Xie Lei paid for the fish to treat everyone. But Zhao Xiaohui is being way too petty about this. Besides, I really don’t agree with the way she’s targeting Su Qing.’
"Zhao Xiaohui..." Huo Tao started to say, but she cut him off. "I said I’m not eating, and I mean it! You think I’m desperate for some of that fish? I wouldn’t eat it even if you brought it to me."
With no other choice, Huo Tao could only take the food back. When Xie Lei saw him return, he scoffed. "So? How did it feel to offer a kind gesture and get the cold shoulder?"
Huo Tao frowned and sighed. "Forget it. I’m done. Let them do whatever they want."
Chen Weijun, who was standing nearby, laughed. "I told you, Class President, you don’t need to bother. Those two are just looking for trouble. Did anyone provoke them? No. They just come out swinging with all that passive-aggressive nonsense. You’d think we were their parents, expected to coddle them."
Chen Weijun really couldn’t stand Zhao Xiaohui. He thought there was something wrong with her head for actually believing Song Yufang had been wronged in that past incident. Anyone with half a brain could see that Song Yufang had brought it all on herself.
The incident with Zhao Xiaohui didn’t cause much of a stir. Xie Lei and the others didn’t tell Su Qing what happened. The evening cookout concluded in a lively atmosphere, and everyone had a wonderful time eating.
Su Qing and her friends agreed to go see the flowers at the Jasmine Field the next day, then they all went back to their rooms to rest.
After waking up the next day, Su Qing and her friends had a simple breakfast and set out together for the Jasmine Field. As they were leaving, they happened to see Song Yufang and Zhao Xiaohui coming out as well. Zhao Xiaohui shot Su Qing a cold snort, rolled her eyes, and dragged Song Yufang away.
Su Qing merely raised an eyebrow, paying Zhao Xiaohui’s provocation no mind.
"What is wrong with that Zhao Xiaohui?" Chen Meizhen frowned at the display. "Is she asking for a fight this early in the morning?"
"I know, right? I’m starting to think anyone who hangs around Song Yufang is bad news," Ye Qingqing added, glancing at their retreating backs in disgust.
"Just ignore them," Li Huan said. "Let’s go see the flowers and not let them ruin our good mood."
"Yeah, Li Huan’s right."
The girls put Zhao Xiaohui’s provocation behind them and headed happily to the Jasmine Field.
Because Qiyun Village worked with a tea factory, they had planted a huge Jasmine Field. According to Qi Dazhu, it was about fifty mu, and there were plans to expand it even further in the future.
A fifty-mu Jasmine Field, and it was the perfect season for them to bloom. The vast expanse was predominantly white, but it was dotted with numerous pink, yellow, and purple jasmine buds. It was a stunning sight. Even though they were only buds, they were still incredibly beautiful to look at.
Ye Qingqing couldn’t help but sigh. "It looked so pretty from a distance when we arrived yesterday, but it’s even more beautiful up close."
"Yeah, it’s absolutely gorgeous."
Seeing quite a few villagers in the fields picking jasmine buds, Liu Juan commented, "Are they picking these jasmine flowers before they even have a chance to bloom?"
"That’s right," a passing villager said with a smile, having overheard Liu Juan. "Our village partners with the tea factory, and they need the buds to make jasmine tea. So, we have to pick them before they bloom and send them over."
Li Huan sounded a little disappointed. "Doesn’t that mean these jasmine flowers never get a chance to open?"
The villager just chuckled, not answering her question. Instead, he said, "You must be the college students staying at Qi Dazhu’s guesthouse, right? Be careful in the fields. Don’t slip."
"Thank you, we’ll be careful," Su Qing and the others replied with a smile. They said goodbye to the villager and headed toward another part of the field. Even if they were only buds, the jasmine flowers were still beautiful, and the girls decided to take some pictures among them.
The camera belonged to Su Qing. It was a Canon she had bought in Xiangcheng. It was the latest model available there, with state-of-the-art technology, including multi-mode auto-exposure. The photos it took were excellent, which made it a huge favorite among her dorm mates in Room 206.
The girls were happily taking photos in the field when the village chief arrived with two foreign guests, touring the fields with a cheerful smile. When one of the foreigners saw Su Qing and her friends, he froze.