205: Chapter 205 Pick Anything

The group packed up, walked out of the school gate together, and headed toward the suburbs along the tree-lined street.

Twilight had just arrived, with a hint of faint orange-red still lingering on the horizon. The evening breeze rustled through the sycamore leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow onto the sidewalk.

Everyone walked in small groups of two or three.

Some were still recapping the display board they almost left behind while packing up, while others complained that after standing all afternoon, their legs no longer felt like their own.

The sound of laughter and chatter blended with the faint noise of street traffic, filled with the tireless, lively energy typical of youth.

Jiang Chen walked a bit slower and, without realizing it, lagged behind the rest of the group.

Lin Wan didn't rush to join the fun at the front either, maintaining a steady, unhurried pace. The two of them ended up walking side by side at the back, separated by a short distance from the group laughing and joking ahead.

They had been busy with their own tasks throughout the day and hadn't managed to say more than a few words, so this was their first moment of leisure.

"Are your legs sore?" Jiang Chen glanced at her, his tone casual, as if asking offhandedly.

Lin Wan curved her lips and shook her head. "I'm fine, I'm used to standing. What about you? You barely drank any water all afternoon, right? I saw you organizing materials the whole time, busy from start to finish."

"I had a couple of sips in the middle, but then I got busy and forgot."

Jiang Chen smiled, not making much of it.

"But having you there to help manage the flow kept things orderly and saved me a lot of effort. If it had all been left to me, today would have been really tough."

Lin Wan felt a bit embarrassed by his praise. She raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair blown by the wind behind her ear, her voice tinged with a smile. "I just helped out a little; don't flatter me."

Neither of them talked much, but they chatted sporadically, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.

The evening breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees in waves. Zhao Fan, up ahead, must have said something that made several people burst into laughter simultaneously. By the time the laughter reached the back, it had changed in tone, sounding even funnier.

Jiang Chen had booked a well-regarded farmhouse restaurant in advance. The shop was hidden in a courtyard surrounded by green trees, far from the bustling city and very quiet.

Pushing open the wooden courtyard gate, a rich aroma of food immediately greeted them.

Several sturdy solid wood round tables were scattered around the courtyard. Near the wall, there were a few patches of vegetables, and bean vines had climbed halfway up the bamboo trellises.

An Orange Cat was curled up in the corner. Hearing the commotion, it only lazily lifted its eyelids, its body remaining motionless as it continued to doze.

The owner, a middle-aged man with a round face and a booming voice, wiped his hands and came up with a smile to greet them, leading everyone across the courtyard and into a spacious private room inside.

The sounds of chair legs scraping against the floor rose one after another. A few boys scrambled for the seats by the window, while the girls laughed and placed their bags on the chairs beside them. The previously quiet space suddenly erupted with noise.

After sitting down, the tension they had held all day finally loosened, and a sense of fatigue rushed in.

Zhao Fan spread his arms across the table, pressed half his face against the tabletop, and wailed, "My legs are no longer my legs."

Chen Siyue, sitting beside him, mercilessly exposed him. "You were clearly sitting in the tent registering people all afternoon."

"That's tiring too! Writing is hard on the legs—no, wait, hard on the hands!" Zhao Fan argued righteously.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Jiang Chen casually pushed the menu to the center of the table, his tone relaxed. "Don't be polite. We've been busy all afternoon, so just order whatever you want to eat. Meat, vegetables, drinks—take your pick."

As soon as he finished speaking, a round of cheers immediately erupted.

Liu Xinyi was the first to grab the menu and open it, and Zhou Kai immediately leaned in. The two pointed at dishes one after another, while Chen Siyue reminded them from the side, "Don't just order meat, get something vegetarian."

Zhao Fan, lying on the table, raised his hand and shouted, "Shredded potatoes! A gathering without shredded potatoes has no soul."

Song Zhiyi, sitting in the corner, added with a smile, "Let's also get some sweet and sour pork tenderloin; the sweet flavor is satisfying."

The menu was passed around among them, and dish after dish was ordered: stewed chicken pot, stir-fried local pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, braised platter, and the signature stewed tofu.

Wang Hao was in charge of checking off items on the order sheet. From time to time, he would look up to confirm, "Do we want fish?" When everyone replied in unison, "Yes," he would bow his head again and make a checkmark.

In the interval while waiting for the food, the private room gradually became lively, and everyone leaned back in their chairs, chatting in small groups.

When Zhou Kai brought up the printer paper jam from the afternoon, Wang Hao immediately perked up, gesturing vividly as he accused the printer of having a grudge against him, making several people laugh.

Zhao Fan and Chen Siyue were arguing about whether standing all afternoon or sitting all afternoon was more exhausting, with neither able to convince the other.

Liu Xinyi and Song Zhiyi huddled together, scrolling through the photos taken during the day on their phones, occasionally handing them over to the people beside them, triggering shouts of "This one is shot well!" or "I closed my eyes in that one, delete it quickly!"

Jiang Chen didn't deliberately join any of the conversations, just relaxing against the back of his chair. Occasionally, he would curve his lips when amused by the sudden raised voice from Zhao Fan's side, or chime in occasionally to respond to something Wang Hao said.

Lin Wan was sitting right next to him, mostly listening quietly to everyone laughing and talking, occasionally picking up her cup to take a sip of tea.

Her gaze would occasionally land on Jiang Chen's profile.

He was slightly turned, listening to Wang Hao complain about the printer. The warm yellow light spilled down from above, outlining a clean line along the contour of his profile.

Perhaps sensing something, he turned his head to look at her. She didn't look away, just curved her eyes and lowered her head to continue drinking her tea.

Jiang Chen paused, the curve of his lips deepening slightly. He didn't say anything, just turned back to continue listening to Wang Hao.

Not long after, the door to the private room was pushed open. The owner entered with a tray, and steaming dishes were served one after another.

The golden, oily stewed chicken soup was served in a clay pot, bubbling and steaming. A thin layer of oil floated on the surface of the soup, and the aroma went straight to the nose. The chicken was stewed until tender, and the meat fell off the bone with a single pinch of chopsticks.

The stir-fried local pork had a mix of fat and lean meat, stir-fried with green and red peppers. It was rich in color and oily, looking appetizing enough to go with rice.

The sweet and sour pork tenderloin was fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, drizzled with an orange-red sweet and sour sauce that glistened under the lights. Song Zhiyi was the first to reach out with her chopsticks.

The braised platter was arranged neatly. Braised beef, braised dried tofu, and braised eggs were sliced thin and arranged in a circle, with a small dish of garlic dipping sauce placed in the center.

The stir-fried choy sum was oily and emerald green, with the faint, fragrant scent of sautéed garlic wafting over.

When the tofu pot was served in a stone bowl, it was still sizzling. The tender tofu was topped with minced meat and sprinkled with green onions, making it look incredibly appetizing.

With the table full of dishes, Wang Hao was the first to raise his glass, which was just filled with orange juice. "Everyone worked hard today. The recruitment was a complete success, and everyone here deserves credit. Let's toast first."

Everyone raised their glasses in succession, the clinking of the glasses ringing out together as they shouted, "Hard work, hard work!" and "Cheers, cheers!"

Zhao Fan picked up his soup bowl and joined in to clink glasses, only to be teased by Zhou Kai, "Why are you clinking glasses with a bowl of soup?" He argued with conviction, "Soup is a liquid too, why can't it clink?"

After the drinks were downed, chopsticks simultaneously reached for the dishes on the table.

The physical labor of the afternoon had long since emptied their stomachs, and at this moment, no one bothered with politeness; their way of eating could be described as fully committed.

Zhou Kai picked up three helpings of the stir-fried pork with his chopsticks and ate with his rice without even lifting his head.

Liu Xinyi said the stewed chicken soup was delicious, drank two bowls in a row, and urged the people next to her to hurry up and try it.

After eating for a while to line their stomachs, their pace slowed down, and the chatter gradually increased.

The topic naturally circled back to the afternoon's recruitment, and as they talked about funny things, bursts of laughter followed one after another.