Tuesday, December 24th.
Chemistry teacher Guo Ran fulfilled his promise from yesterday and gave Xue Yuantong a lot of snacks, including pecans, dried mangoes, dried strawberries, and beef jerky.
Xue Yuantong was so happy that she would take out a snack from time to time and secretly put it into her mouth since morning self-study.
Jiang Ning held a pecan in his hand. The cream-flavored pecan tasted good, a little sweet and crispy. Children loved it.
The only problem is that it is not easy to peel because the kernel is too brittle. Even with a nutcracker, it is easy to break when peeling.
Xue Yuantong peeled two with her bare hands, and the kernels were all broken. She was secretly competing with the pecans, determined to peel out the most complete kernels.
Jiang Ning mobilized his spiritual power, moved it around the inside of the pecan, and peeled off the kernel perfectly.
He placed the whole and plump nut in front of Xue Yuantong with a smile on his face.
"Wow, how did you peel it?" Xue Yuantong asked in surprise.
Jiang Ning said: "It's very simple."
He took another pecan from the bag and demonstrated again. He gently broke it open with one hand and quietly used his spiritual power to peel the kernel out of the shell.
Xue Yuantong stared intently. She felt that she understood this miraculous scene, but at the same time, she understood nothing.
"What?" She pinched the pecan, and used force, but the pecan didn't move.
Seeing that she was unhappy, Jiang Ning gave Xue Yuantong two pecan kernels and said:
"If you want to eat it, I'll peel it for you."
Shan Kaiquan in the front row heard the noise and turned his head:
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Ning grabbed six pecans and gave them to him: "We are peeling them, you give half to Bai Yuxia."
"What's this?"
"Walnuts?"
Shan Kaiquan asked in confusion, it was the first time he had seen it.
Pecans are not cheap, costing dozens of yuan per pound. Many people in big cities may be tired of eating them and think that this thing is nothing special.
In later generations, it became a popular nut on the Internet, but at that time, people in a small city like Yuzhou, especially those who came from rural areas like Shan Kaiquan, had never eaten it or even seen it.
For example, pork jerky, a popular internet celebrity food in later generations, was not eaten by many people in the era when online shopping was not popular. The first pork jerky that many people ate was often from a certain internet celebrity squirrel or a certain Pinpu.
"This is pecans."
"Oh oh." Shan Kaiquan did not rush to ask, but distributed the pecans to Bai Yuxia. There were six fruits, he gave four to Bai Yuxia and kept two for himself.
He said to Bai Yuxia: "Jiang Ning gave it to both of us."
While speaking, he deliberately showed the two pecans in his hand, hoping that she would notice his little thought and know that he was willing to give most of them to her.
Bai Yuxia didn't think so much. She had eaten pecans before, although they were a little difficult to peel. But she had nothing to do during morning self-study, so she just peeled them.
Xue Yuantong told them: "Jiang Ning is very good at peeling pecans. When she opened her palm, there was a whole kernel inside."
Dan Kaiquan didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but Bai Yuxia looked at the nut kernels with a little envy. It must be very delicious to eat such a complete nut in one bite.
It's a pity that she couldn't peel it to that extent.
"This peeling is really good, but it is very difficult." Bai Yuxia commented.
"Hahaha, this was peeled by Jiang Ning. He's super good at it. He peeled it in no time." Xue Yuantong boasted.
Shan Kaiquan heard this and blurted out:
"Bai Yuxia, I'll peel it for you!"
He caught a pecan and went up to it.
However, it was Dan Kaiquan's first time eating pecans, and because he was so impatient, the kernels broke into pieces.
He felt embarrassed and continued to peel the second one. This time he was much more careful, but two corners were still broken.
Shan Kaiquan's heart was broken and he lost the opportunity to perform.
Disappointed, he ate a piece of nut reluctantly, and found it quite delicious, which made him feel much better.
…
noon.
Xue Yuantong suggested: "Jiang Ning, it's too cold outside today. Let's not go home to cook. Let's eat outside."
“It’s really cold,” she added.
Jiang Ning glanced at her, feeling that he was being looked down upon. He used his magic power to keep Xue Yuantong warm. With his control over magic power, how could he be cold? Absolutely impossible!
"You're not cold, you're lazy," he said.
Xue Yuantong argued: "I didn't, I'm really cold, stop talking, let's go eat."
"All right."
Jiang Ning brought Xue Yuantong to the restaurant they had been to last time. What was different from the past was that there was now a food truck at the entrance of the restaurant, with large black characters written on the white paper on the truck:
"Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, 8 yuan."
The proprietress was standing by the dining cart serving food. When she saw Jiang Ning and his companions, she smiled and asked them what they wanted to eat today.
Although Jiang Ning didn't come here very often, the proprietress was deeply impressed by them. The boy was handsome and the girl was cute, and the dishes they ordered were often priced higher.
Jiang Ning had no plan to eat boxed lunches. He had been eating boxed lunches for many years, and now that conditions were better, he could upgrade a little.
Xue Yuantong tugged at his sleeve: "Jiang Ning, let's have a box lunch."
She eats too much during the day and is not hungry.
"Boss, two box lunches." Jiang Ning said.
"Okay, let's see what dishes to choose."
The two of them selected their dishes and went to the restaurant to eat.
Ma Shicheng and his group arrived late. Recently, the boss introduced boxed lunches, so they came more often, almost every day, and became regular customers.
Although it is more convenient to go to the school cafeteria, the food in the No. 4 Middle School cafeteria is not delicious.
The cafeteria is rented out by a big boss. It is not like a university cafeteria where there are all kinds of food restaurants competing with each other.
The cafeteria of No. 4 Middle School has no competitors. There is only one large cafeteria. No matter how it is prepared, there are students eating there and the business is good, so they don’t pay much attention to the taste.
Ma Shicheng used to think eating out was too expensive, but ever since his boss introduced boxed lunches, he can spend less money and eat more dishes, which is really cost-effective.
When Ma Shicheng, Shan Kaiquan, Guo Kunnan and others saw Jiang Ning, they greeted him and came in with their meals.
Ma Shicheng was a little surprised to see Jiang Ning eating a box lunch today. He had met Jiang Ning here several times, and every time he had fried dishes with Xue Yuantong.
Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning sat face to face. She was halfway through her meal when she couldn't eat anymore.
"Oops, I ate too many snacks this morning," Xue Yuantong thought to himself.
She never had the habit of wasting food. Even if she couldn't finish it, she would force herself to eat it, putting rice into her mouth in small bites.
At this time, Jiang Ning had almost finished eating.
Xue Yuantong was still digging over there.
She took a bite, raised her head, and looked at Jiang Ning pitifully, hoping that he could help her.
Jiang Ning was looking at Ma Shicheng and others who were chatting. They seemed to be talking about Christmas Eve and discussing the topic of buying gifts.
Seeing that Jiang Ning didn't look at her, Xue Yuantong swallowed a few mouthfuls of rice. She couldn't eat anymore. Her good character made her never waste food.
She hardened her heart and pushed the rice plate towards Jiang Ning, just like she used to do when she ate with her mother.
Xue Yuantong raised his head and said in the most arrogant tone: "Humph, Jiang Ning, you must not be full. In order to prevent you from being hungry in the afternoon, I will share some of my meal with you."
Jiang Ning turned his head and moved his gaze to Xue Yuantong. Her hair was tied behind her ears, revealing a delicate little face. Her pretty eyes were charming and her lips were shiny.
Jiang Ning stared at her lips, which were more charming than any lipstick he had ever seen.
Jiang Ning said, "Is this really good? Eat half of it and give it to me. Is it drooling?"
Xue Yuantong lost his composure in a second and lowered his head: "Eat your food, why are you talking so much..."
Jiang Ning sighed and poked at the rice plate.