166: Chef's skills

Gao Xiaofan and Qiu Gu stood there with cigarettes in their mouths, watching the scene before them with shocked expressions.

They saw Pillar brushing on oil with his left hand and turning the skewers with his right; his movements were skilled and fluid.

"Holy crap, Pillar is a Chef, right?"

Gao Xiaofan finally remembered that during the introductions last night, someone seemed to have mentioned Pillar was a Chef.

Just moments ago, Pillar had shoved Qiu Gu aside with a look of disdain and sniffed the sauce Gao Xiaofan had mixed.

"Alright, let me do it. You guys go rest!" After saying that, he began to show off his skills.

Jars and bottles flew through the air without any chaos. A new sauce was ready, and within minutes, the small table was neatly arranged. Several gutted Grass Carps had been cross-cut, skewered, and placed on the grill.

"Yeah, Pillar even works at a hotel in Beijing," the Regiment Commander chuckled, unfolding a newly brought small table.

Gao Xiaofan gave a thumbs up. "Everyone in your Independent Regiment is a talent."

Qiu Gu, who had been pushed aside, started setting up the tent, with the Company Commander nearby helping out.

Before long, everyone finished their tasks and sat down to start drinking, except for Pillar, who was still busy.

"Come on, have some Drunkard Peanuts first. I got a whole crate. Usually, when I'm fishing, I eat and drink a bit at the same time."

The Regiment Commander tore open a bag and poured them onto the table.

Gao Xiaofan picked up a few and tossed them into his mouth. The taste was excellent. He had eaten them before, but back then, he didn't have much money and thought they were quite expensive.

"Let's buy some on the road next time, Brother Gu."

Qiu Gu nodded, indicating he had noted it down.

"Come on, let's congratulate Brother Gu for successfully opening his 'Newbie Gift Pack' this afternoon!"

After a can of beer, the Chef Pillar had finished his work.

A large pot of milky-white Crucian Carp soup was steaming. It was a pity there were no chopped green onions; otherwise, it would have looked beautiful.

There was a serving of steamed Crucian Carp and another of grilled Grass Carp, covered in cumin and chili.

Beside him, Li Yuer picked up a bowl, ladled a full serving of fish soup for Gao Xiaofan, and carefully pushed it over.

"It's cold. Drink less beer and have some fish soup."

Gao Xiaofan blinked at Li Yuer and said affectionately.

"Little Yuer, you're surprisingly nice. I almost thought you were the one who cooked this soup."

"Get lost!" Li Yuer huffed and plopped back into her seat.

The others nearby all burst into laughter.

"Hurry up and taste the Chef's cooking."

After Gao Xiaofan finished speaking, he gently blew on the white soup in his bowl and brought it to his lips. Before he even took a sip, the aroma hit him, making his mouth water uncontrollably.

"Slurp... Ah, so fresh!" Gao Xiaofan closed his eyes in satisfaction and let out a groan.

There are three key points to Crucian Carp soup. First, the fish must be fried until it's broken and golden. Second, when adding water, it must be boiling hot. These two points are the main reasons why the soup turns milky-white.

The third point is the flavor; adding the right amount of pepper powder makes it even better.

After downing the bowl of piping hot fish soup, his whole body warmed up. As for beer, Gao Xiaofan really didn't like it—to be precise, he didn't like any kind of alcohol.

But when he met people he clicked with, he enjoyed drinking; even if others tried to stop him, he wouldn't listen.

Although his tolerance was only one bottle, it didn't stop him from joining in.

"The Chef's skills are truly impressive!"

Gao Xiaofan picked up the beer can, poured the last bit into his mouth, and let out a burp.

Then, he picked up his chopsticks with his right hand and rapidly pecked away, quickly stabbing at the golden-brown grilled fish.

The remaining Grass Carp was about two pounds, and there was only one. However, there were quite a few large Crucian Carps weighing around seven or eight taels, which were used for steaming.

Half an hour later, they were mostly finished eating. The members of the Independent Regiment dispersed; they had originally planned to stay and help clean up, but Qiu Gu and Li Yuer declined.

It was almost pitch black, so it was better to rest soon. If the navigation could lead them astray during the day, it wasn't impossible for them to drive into the river in the dead of night.

Gao Xiaofan looked at the two tents—one large and one small—and nodded in satisfaction.

Luckily, he had chosen a spare one when picking them out; otherwise, Li Yuer really wouldn't have had a place to stay.

Once Li Yuer and Qiu Gu finished tidying up, the three of them said goodnight and returned to their respective tents.

Qiu Gu and Gao Xiaofan slept together, but they had sleeping bags, so they were essentially just squeezed into the same tent.

The two of them curled up in their sleeping bags, scrolling through TikTok on their phones—one chuckling, the other giggling.

"Brother Gu, is fishing fun?"

After scrolling through videos for a while, Gao Xiaofan looked over at the still-laughing Qiu Gu with a hint of boredom.

How does this guy get so many funny videos pushed to him?

"It's fun! It's so interesting! I'm planning to buy a fishing rod later too!"

"Why buy one? Just use mine. I brought doubles of everything."

"No, using your own rod feels much better!"

Gao Xiaofan blinked. Man, he's tasted the sweetness and is already hooked.

"By the way, Xiaofan, have you signed up yet?"

Qiu Gu suddenly thought of something and turned to ask.

"Huh?"

"For Kings Battle."

"Oh, right. No, not yet. It's still early anyway. I'll sign up whenever I have time."

The two chatted casually, neither in the mood to sleep. Gao Xiaofan wasn't tired because he had napped on the way there that morning, while Qiu Gu was as hyper as a maggot, squirming around in his sleeping bag because he had caught fish today and had a bit to drink.

"You two stop talking, you're making so much noise."

Li Yuer's voice came from nearby. The two tents were close together to prevent any accidents at night.

Gao Xiaofan curled his lip. "Got it."

The tent went quiet instantly, except for Qiu Gu's occasional giggles. Before long, Gao Xiaofan drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up the next day, it was already light out. Beside him, Qiu Gu was still snoring away, sleeping soundly.

Gao Xiaofan scratched his head and was about to go back to sleep when he saw a shadow flickering outside the tent. He was startled.

A thief.

Without time to think, he unzipped his sleeping bag and dashed out wearing only his boxers, only to see Li Yuer turning her head to look at him with a strange expression after hearing the commotion.

"You're wearing shorts in this cold weather?"

Gao Xiaofan immediately retreated into the tent, hurriedly pulled on his pants, threw on a jacket, and then walked back out.

"Uh... I thought there was a thief. Why are you up so early?"

Gao Xiaofan quickly changed the subject.

"It's not early. I've been up since six to see if I could catch the early bite. Look."

Li Yuer said while fiddling with the fish in her hands.

Only then did Gao Xiaofan notice the small bucket nearby was half-filled with Crucian Carp. Seeing how serious Li Yuer was, he felt a bit ashamed.

He claimed to love fishing, yet he wasn't even as dedicated as a girl.

"So what are you doing? Is this for breakfast? I can just have the Independent Regiment guys bring some for us later."

"I saw you enjoying the soup so much last night, so I thought I'd give it a try. You can have some when you wake up."