NOVGO.NET Chapter 71: Praise
Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Praise
Lin Jingjing sat on a small stool, listlessly flipping the enoki mushrooms and greens on the wire rack.
’Why is everything happening today? How come no one ever came to inspect the back mountain before?’
’But today, of all days, they show up.’
With a group of leaders here, the pressure on them was immense.
The three of them lowered their heads in silence, focusing only on flipping the food on the grill.
The nearby chickens were about done marinating. Feng He and Mo Xuan skewered them one by one with sharpened, clean sticks, then planted them in the ground.
Once that was done, they threw firewood into the pit, stoked the fire, and started roasting.
Feng He continuously basted the outside of the chickens with honey water.
"How long have you been in the logistics department?" General Zhang asked.
"Two or three months, I guess," Lin Jingjing replied.
’They’re new recruits. No wonder their discipline is a bit lacking.’
’But after two or three months, they should have learned by now.’
’How could they still make such a rookie mistake?’
"Did no one tell you that you’re not supposed to come to the back mountain?"
Hearing this, the trio’s hands paused. Their minds filled with confusion. ’We can’t come to the back mountain?’
’No one told us.’
’If we weren’t allowed, we definitely wouldn’t have come.’
Lin Jingjing shook her head honestly. "No one did."
That simple denial made Beisang’s back tense. Her gaze toward Lin Jingjing turned stern. ’Is this girl trying to get me in trouble?!’
’Didn’t they see the sign that was posted there?’
Fortunately, General Zhang wasn’t the type to fuss over details. Hearing Lin Jingjing’s answer, he simply gave a reminder: "This back mountain is off-limits for the next few months."
It’s off-limits until the corps competition is over. They’re using the entire back mountain as the event grounds.
They’ll start setting up the competition grounds after this inspection is finished.
"Mhm," Lin Jingjing hummed in agreement, handing the grilled enoki mushrooms to him. "They’re ready."
Captain Li, who had left and returned, brought a large amount of ingredients, a much more lavish spread than what they had prepared.
"Grill these, Lin Jingjing," Captain Li said, handing her the ingredients with a solemn expression. "Give General Zhang your best."
Hearing this, Lin Jingjing felt the pressure mount. If they were in the cafeteria, she could whip up a five-course meal with a soup that would be guaranteed to amaze General Zhang.
But not with this... a barbecue.
Lin Jingjing quickly grabbed Captain Li’s sleeve, pulled him aside, and whispered, "You want me to serve them... barbecue?"
"Captain Li, you might as well build me a stove. I could stir-fry a few dishes and really blow them away."
"This barbecue was just something we did on a whim because we felt like eating it."
Lin Jingjing added, shaking her head seriously, "It’s not suitable for entertaining guests."
Captain Li thought for a moment and said, "I have a pot, but no stove."
’A pot is good enough. The rest is easy.’
"A pot is all I need," Lin Jingjing said confidently.
Their conversation was overheard, and the people behind them were all a little curious about how she planned to manage without a stove.
As soon as they finished talking, Lin Jingjing immediately called Mo Xuan over. "Build me a stove here." She said, handing him the pot she had taken from Captain Li.
Mo Xuan didn’t say much. He just took the pot and immediately started gathering stones to build one.
Like a proper hostess, Lin Jingjing turned to those still standing and said, "Well, since you’re all here, let me stir-fry a few dishes for you."
Everyone: ...
The commander of the Second Corps nudged Beisang’s shoulder, a grin on his face. "Beisang, your soldiers are pretty amusing."
Beisang covered her face. ’These five are really something else.’
’They run into all the important and dangerous situations. There’s definitely some kind of weird luck or metaphysics at play with them.’
’There’s nothing here, how is she going to pull this off?’
Beisang had gone numb. She had come to accept whatever Lin Jingjing did. This girl’s spiritual power had even dropped to Grade F—was there anything that was truly impossible where she was concerned?
"Well then, I’ll be looking forward to it," the commander of the Third Corps chimed in.
This commander of the Third Corps was a man with long black hair. He had a gentle and refined appearance, and his voice was pleasant.
"I’d like to see how you’re going to manage this. But let me be clear, if it tastes awful, I’m not eating it," the Fifth Corps commander spoke up.
Just then, a shorter girl came up to Lin Jingjing’s side, her eyes sparkling as she watched her. "Can you really pull it off?"
This girl was the commander of the Sixth Corps. She looked so adorable, it was hard to imagine she had already reached the rank of commander, in charge of so many soldiers.
Lin Jingjing was checking the seasonings. Hearing the question, she nodded and replied, "I can."
’Soldiers in the cooking squad can caramelize sugar in the wild, so we can too.’
’These were all Skills they had learned.’
Everyone watched them with anticipation. Mo Xuan worked quickly, digging a pit and then stacking stones around the top, creating a space just the right size for the pot.
The ones who had gone to clean fish returned just then, and Lin Jingjing called them over to help.
The ingredients Captain Li had brought were already washed, which saved them a lot of time from having to wash them again.
Lin Jingjing took the lead as chef, and with the help of her five companions, she soon had meat sizzling in the pot.
Soon, the aroma of pig’s trotters filled the air, mingling with the scent of roast chicken drifting from the side.
The tantalizing smells were enough to make one’s mouth water.
General Zhang watched them, impressed. ’To be able to stir-fry such fragrant dishes in the wild with only a pot... Not bad.’
"Beisang, haven’t you been looking for people for your logistics department? It’ll be these five," General Zhang suddenly said, his words surprising everyone.
For General Zhang to make such a personal recommendation could only mean he approved of this group’s skills.
Beisang was very surprised, but she still explained the situation to him. "Their spiritual power is no good."
"What does that matter?" General Zhang said dismissively. "As long as they can cook, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?"
During the corps competition, their only job would be to handle the participants’ food and well-being. Spiritual power was more or less irrelevant for them.
Beisang said no more. Her gaze fell upon the group; each wore a cold, stoic expression, seriously focused on the task at hand.
But judging from their expressions, they didn’t seem very happy about it.
The group was indeed annoyed. They’d just come out for a picnic and ended up running into their leaders, and now they had to cook for them.
How could Lin Jingjing and the others possibly be happy?
The braised pig’s trotters were done. Lin Jingjing immediately served them up, washed the pot, and moved on to the next dish.
Chicken stew with mushrooms. This one was easy.
The fire was strong, and it stewed quickly. An hour later, it was ready.
Lin Jingjing glanced at the remaining ingredients and finally made a shredded pork with potato stir-fry.
After that, she stir-fried a vegetable dish for them.
Once the several dishes were ready, the roast chickens managed by Feng He and Aidan were also cooked through.
Night had completely fallen by then. A few light orbs had been released into the sky, illuminating the area.
"It’s ready," Lin Jingjing said stiffly as she brought out the last dish.
’Exhausted...’
’I just want to go back and sleep.’
The dozen or so people had been so tempted by the aromas that they couldn’t help but swallow their saliva from time to time. When they heard it was all ready, the eyes of the dozen or so people lit up.
"Not bad. No wonder you’re in the logistics department. This craftsmanship is excellent," General Zhang praised.