Chapter 114 - 106: Crocodile Park Autumn Outing

Chapter 114: Chapter 106: Crocodile Park Autumn Outing

After school in the evening, Chen Qiyun appeared again, holding her small floral umbrella. It was raining. The rain wasn’t heavy, but her hair would get wet without an umbrella, and she’d be scolded once she got home. Entering the courtyard of Chen Jingle’s home, she immediately closed her umbrella, turned on the tap to rinse her feet and shoes, and then went to put down her backpack.

Chen Jingle lay in his rocking chair with his eyes drooping, feeling a bit too lazy to move. It wasn’t until Chen Qiyun tilted her head and stared at him that he reluctantly yawned and sat up.

Dinner had already been cooked and served on the table: sweet and sour pork tenderloin and hot and sour shredded potatoes. Chen Jingle had made a small experiment to achieve a breakthrough in flavor despite the simple ingredients. Therefore, these two dishes could be considered the ultimate versions.

Chen Qiyun had no opinion on what to eat. She only knew how to eat; as long as it was delicious, the specific dishes didn’t matter. Having eaten at Chen Jingle’s place for a while, she understood that good-looking food wasn’t necessarily tasty. It was extremely difficult to make something both visually appealing and delicious. As long as it didn’t look awful, taste was the most important thing!

For example, tonight’s sweet and sour pork and shredded potatoes looked ordinary, but the taste was absolutely incredible. At her home, potatoes were usually just simply stir-fried, and pork was either boiled and sliced or used for soup. At Chen Jingle’s place, she could always try different cooking methods.

"By the way, Teacher Li said the weather forecast shows it probably won’t rain tomorrow. Even if it does, it’ll just be a light drizzle. So tomorrow, we’re going to the Crocodile Ecological Park with Class 1." Chen Qiyun only remembered what she wanted to say when she was almost full. She blamed Chen Jingle for cooking such delicious food. She had been thinking about eating as soon as school ended and completely forgot what her teacher said.

"Oh." Chen Jingle scooped rice into his mouth impassively. "What time exactly?"

"Teacher Li said we leave at 9 AM, but it’s best to arrive at the classroom early so we can head down together." At this point, Chen Qiyun looked at Chen Jingle with pitiful eyes. She had previously mentioned wanting him to make her lunch in the morning, but he hadn’t agreed at the time.

"Got it." He glanced at the Little Douding. "Come get it from me before you leave tomorrow. Prepare your own lunchbox."

Hearing this, Chen Qiyun beamed with joy. "Thanks, Brother Le! By the way, what are you planning to prepare for me tomorrow?"

Chen Jingle thought for a moment and said, "Cold-tossed beef. It doesn’t need to be heated, and we don’t have to worry about the oil solidifying when it gets cold."

Chen Qiyun nodded repeatedly. "That sounds great!" In truth, she had no idea what cold-tossed beef looked like. But since Chen Jingle was making it, she knew it would definitely be delicious.

For Chen Jingle, cold-tossed beef was a dish he had wanted to make for a long time but never had the chance to. Braised beef, shaped and sliced, then mixed with seasonings, made up the cold-tossed beef.

Back when Chen Jingle worked in the provincial capital, he often bought cold-tossed beef from the deli downstairs from his rented apartment. He would buy twenty yuan’s worth each time, cook two bowls of rice at home, and make a meal out of it. If it was for a late-night snack, he would buy some salt-baked peanuts and milk-flavored sunflower seeds to go with the braised beef, along with a can of pineapple beer or Taishan craft beer. Adding the beef slices to noodles made beef noodles; slicing, plating, and serving them with dipping sauce made braised beef. In short, well-braised beef was a lazy person’s blessing. Whenever he was hungry, he could just take it out of the fridge, slice a bit, and enjoy its savory flavor however he ate it.

After dinner, Chen Jingle began preparing the ingredients needed for the braised beef.

"Are you starting now?" Chen Qiyun asked curiously.

Chen Jingle explained, "Making braised beef is quite troublesome and takes a lot of time. After the beef is braised, it needs to be shaped. Without shaping, it’ll fall apart. It has to be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and left in the fridge for several hours. If I make it now, by the time I wake up tomorrow morning, it’ll have chilled in the fridge for over two hours, which should be just about right."

Chen Qiyun seemed to half-understand. But it didn’t matter. Her only job was to eat, anyway.

As the saying goes, wear satin for clothes, eat shank for meat. It was best to use beef shank for braised beef. If shank wasn’t available, regular beef would do. Chen Jingle first poked a few holes in the beef with a bamboo skewer, then soaked it in clean water to wash away the blood and surface impurities. The soaking time should be as long as possible, ideally one to two hours, with a little cooking wine added.

Next, he prepared the various seasonings. Braised beef naturally required paste. Dry yellow bean paste was best, but if that wasn’t available, the regular soybean paste Chen Jingle always kept at home worked too. Then came the common spices: cinnamon bark, star anise, bay leaves, ginger, scallions, garlic, dried chili peppers, tsaoko, Angelica dahurica, and white cardamom. For beginners or those not confident in their cooking skills, more spices could be used. Conversely, fewer spices should be added to maximize the natural aroma of the meat, preventing it from being overpowered by the spices.

If using a pressure cooker, after blanching the beef, it only needed to be pressured with the braising broth for five minutes. Then, the heat could be turned off, leaving it to steep for twelve hours to absorb the flavors. Once completely cooled, it should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and chilled in the fridge for a few hours to set its shape perfectly, ensuring the beef wouldn’t crumble when sliced. The preliminary prep work alone took an hour or two. So, while this dish was undoubtedly delicious, making it was truly a hassle.

Chen Qiyun went home after finishing her meal. Chen Jingle wasn’t in a hurry either. He just took his time; it wouldn’t interfere with his evening extracurricular studies. He didn’t use a pressure cooker. Instead, he simply combined the blanched beef with the boiling braising broth. After simmering it for half an hour, he turned off the heat, transferred it back into a sealed pot, and let the beef steep just like that.

He would deal with it when he woke up tomorrow! Now, he was going to take a shower and begin tonight’s extracurricular reading.

The next morning.

When Chen Jingle woke up, he first went downstairs to the kitchen to check on last night’s braised beef. Not bad! Even after leaving it overnight, a rich aroma wafted out the moment he lifted the lid. The color and the extent to which the flavors had seeped into the beef were absolutely perfect. He quickly scooped the beef out, wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap, pressed it firm, and put it in the fridge to chill.

Since there was a light drizzle outside, he decided not to go out for his morning run and opted to exercise at home instead. After his workout, he made a simple bowl of noodles for breakfast. By this time, the beef had practically finished shaping. Chen Jingle took a piece out, sliced a few pieces, and felt it was ready. He decided to add a few slices to his own noodles first.

The braised beef slices, mixed with chili oil and noodles, were piping hot. Eating this instantly drove away the morning chill brought by the drizzle. So satisfying!

At eight o’clock, Chen Qiyun arrived. She took out a round lunchbox from her backpack, which had an upper and lower tier inside. Chen Jingle packed the rice and tossed beef slices for her, then secured it in a plastic bag to prevent any spills.

"All right, off you go. Have fun," he said.

"Got it!" Chen Qiyun, carrying her backpack, happily went out the door.

The Grade 8 Class 2 classroom was bustling with activity. After all, there were no classes today. As long as they stayed in the classroom and didn’t run around, no one cared if they talked. Of course, they couldn’t be too loud, or it would disturb the Grade 9 students, and teachers would come over to scold them.

"Chen Qiyun, did you bring food?" her desk mate suddenly asked.

Chen Qiyun looked puzzled. "I did. Why?"

Her desk mate chuckled. "Nothing. I just wanted to say that if you didn’t bring anything, I brought some small pastries."

Chen Qiyun paused for a moment and shook her head. "No need. I have food."

"It’s fine. If you don’t have enough to eat, I have more here," her desk mate said kindly.

"..."

With the meal Chen Jingle made for her, Chen Qiyun had absolutely no desire to eat anything else. Nowadays, she hardly even ate snacks anymore.

The tourist minibus arranged by Fatty Liu arrived directly at the school gate for pickup. Under the guidance of the teachers, the students from the two classes lined up and boarded the bus one by one, just like during the Monday morning flag-raising ceremony.

"Sister Yun, why are you still carrying a backpack?" a chubby boy asked.

Chen Qiyun maintained her persona as the aloof, cool girl at school. "A backpack is convenient for carrying things." Inside, there was not only her lunchbox but also tissues. It looked quite bulky, but it wasn’t heavy at all.

"Then help me carry my mineral water and bread."

"No! You have your own bag!"

"..."

Li Beixing was a little nervous. With so many students, if even one wandered off while she wasn’t paying attention, she would break down. Therefore, before even leaving the classroom, she had been emphasizing discipline: no running around, reporting before going to the restroom, and ideally going and returning in groups. After boarding the bus, she counted the students to ensure everyone was accounted for before announcing their departure.

The school wasn’t far from the Crocodile Ecological Park; they arrived in just twenty minutes. As the vehicle drove into the park, the students immediately looked out the windows in curiosity, chatting excitedly among themselves.

"Is this the Crocodile Ecological Park?"

"This main gate is so grand."

"The flowers on both sides are so pretty! I want to take a picture here!"

Someone nearby couldn’t help but interject, "I’ve been here before. It’s just okay. There’s nothing fun inside."

"Shut up, Chen Zihan! We don’t need your spoilers!"

"Yeah! What are you showing off for? Think you’re so great. Do you think we don’t have eyes to see for ourselves?"

"..."

Chen Zihan resentfully shut his mouth, grumbling inwardly that he hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed later. He hadn’t really wanted to come, but since everyone else was going, he would seem a bit antisocial if he didn’t join them. Besides, if he didn’t come, he’d be supervised to do homework at home, so he figured he might as well go.

The bus drove deeper into the park and stopped in a designated parking spot. The students got off the bus one by one, unable to resist looking around in all directions. Li Beixing and the other teachers quickly called out, "Everyone, line up! Don’t run around! Follow the tour guide and don’t fall behind!"

Fatty Liu had arranged a tour guide for them, so the group followed behind the guide and began their sightseeing tour. The entire Crocodile Ecological Park was divided into multiple zones, including the crocodile breeding area, the science museum, the family playground, the board game entertainment area, the water world, the handicraft sales area, and the dining area. The most interesting attraction, naturally, was the crocodile breeding area.

The people who visited here were mostly residents of Jiangbei and nearby counties and cities. For the vast majority, it was their first time seeing crocodiles in real life, so they were quite curious about these fierce creatures. However, with high iron mesh fences surrounding the area, there was no need to worry about safety as long as one didn’t foolishly jump in.

There were restaurants here where people could eat. However, Li Beixing and the other teachers felt that the hygiene of outside restaurants couldn’t be guaranteed. If a student got sick from eating there, parents would complain. So, they simply had everyone prepare their own food. This way, they wouldn’t be suspected by parents of overcharging for student meals and lining their own pockets. From beginning to end, Li Beixing and her colleagues hadn’t asked the students for a single penny.

Lingnan was different from the North. If teachers here dared to impose unreasonable charges, parents would turn around and complain to the education department, which could easily cost them their jobs. In contrast, in some northern provinces, teachers openly accepted gifts from parents and would even actively drop hints for them. Li Beixing found this completely unimaginable. It could only be said that the differences between the North and South were quite stark.