Chapter 188 – Expert Yang Has Worked Hard
The mountains and forests, which have just entered autumn, were still lush with greenery. The “multicolored layers of trees” described in books have not yet appeared, and only occasionally drifting fallen leaves carried a hint of autumnal yellow.
However, before one such leaf could touch the ground, it was caught by a large hand.
Yang Yi walked at the back, carrying a mountaineering bag. He casually tore the leaf he had picked off and stripped away the withered part, leaving behind the veins. He wrapped the stem around his finger like a ring before tossing it aside.
This was a bad habit he had picked up during his childhood life and death training in the jungle in his previous life. Whether it was a way to pa.s.s the time or ease the pressure of life and death situations, this bad habit was still smooth and easy for him to do now.
But it was only a memory.
Looking at the two beautiful flowers walking ahead, one blooming big white azalea and one small and adorable orange jasmine, Yang Yi felt that this life was just perfect.
“This spot should do!” Yang Yi called out to Mo Fei and Xixi, smiling slightly. “Being too close to the stream can actually make it a bit damp.”
The place Yang Yi had picked wasn’t too far from the road. They could still see the car parked on the side of the road. More importantly, there was a small stream flowing down from the mountain, and Yang Yi could already hear the sound of the water from a distance. Being close to the stream made it easier to wash up.
“I want to play in the water,” Xixi looked eagerly at the small stream dozens of meters away while holding her mother’s hand and pleadingly said.
“This won’t do. You promised Papa that you would take care of the kittens,” Yang Yi unhooked the cat cage hanging from his mountaineering pack, pointed to the restless little ones and said.
Xixi pouted, feeling a little reluctant, but still said, “Okay…”
However, there was also a three-year-old Mo Fei here! 1
“It’s okay to go play for a bit! Let Papa watch the kittens first, they can’t run away from the cage anyway. I wonder if there are any small fish in the stream, we could catch some to feed the kittens!” Mo Fei’s eyes darted around mischievously. She put down the backpack she was carrying, moved it closer to Yang Yi’s mountaineering bag, and smiled as she pulled Xixi’s small hand and said.
Although she knew that the two-month-old kittens couldn’t eat them, it was still a good enough excuse. Thinking about the cool stream flowing through her feet, Mo Fei felt a surge of childlike excitement.
“Great, great! Kitties love to eat fish the most!” Xixi quickly put the cat cage on the ground, pushed it towards her father, and pleaded, “Papa, can you help Xixi take care of Xiao Guai and the others?”
The little girl’s tone was particularly sincere, and she even used her invincible watery big eyes. Yang Yi couldn’t resist. He reluctantly waved his hands and said, “Go ahead, go play!”
“Mo Fei, you have to hold Xixi’s hand well. The pebbles there may be slippery”, Yang Yi couldn’t help but remind her.
In fact, he could see that the stream was very shallow, probably just covering the ankles. But as a parent, how could he not worry?
“I know!” Mo Fei took the giggling Xixi and ran out.
Yang Yi shook his head, found a few stones nearby, and started building a stove. In fact, the outdoor barbecue today was much better than in his previous life. Except for the need to find materials to build the stove, everything else, such as charcoal, wire mesh, and forks, were all readily available, and they were all in his large mountaineering bag!
“Xixi, come here. It’s comfortable to step on here, it doesn’t hurt your feet!” Mo Fei’s happy voice came from the stream, mixed with the little girl’s silver bell like laughter.
Yang Yi turned his head and glanced. Under the wisps of sunlight shining through the forest, Mo Fei and Xixi were playing barefoot in the water.
Sometimes, the water splashed by Mo Fei’s feet would splash onto Xixi’s face. The cold feeling made the little girl to exclaim in surprise, but she also found it very interesting. She began to step harder herself!
Yang Yi smiled slightly and continued building the stove, filling the large gaps with small stones.
When Mo Fei and Xixi had enough fun, the little girl came back hoa.r.s.e from shouting. Meanwhile, a wisp of white smoke had risen. Yang Yi was covering the wire mesh and preparing to wait for the charcoal to turn red before putting the ingredients on for barbequing.
“Wow, you’re amazing!” Mo Fei leaned over and exclaimed in surprise, “It only took a moment to light the fire? When dad2used to make barbecue, it would take a long time. Later on, he bought an electric grill to make do!”
“Mama’s Papa is Xixi’s grandfather!”3The little girl dutifully introduced to her father, afraid that he wouldn’t understand, “Not Papa!” 4
Yang Yi smiled and said, “Of course, how else could I dare to call myself an expert in front of you?” 5
“Do you want me to help?” Mo Fei rolled up her sleeves and asked enthusiastically.
Yang Yi remembered the time when she suddenly wanted to go to the kitchen to make fried eggs for Xixi for breakfast. A dark “object” appeared in his mind, and he firmly shook his head and said, “No, I’ll handle the barbequing. You guys just wait and eat!”
“Okay then, Expert Yang, you better do a good job! I want to eat delicious grilled chicken legs, grilled eggplants, and grilled mantou…” Although Mo Fei said so, she still helped Yang Yi take out the ingredients from the mountaineering bag and laid them out on the canvas mat.
Xixi was playing with the kittens on the side, but when she heard her mother talking about the food, her mouth began to water!
Mo Fei spread out the picnic blanket and laid it flat on the gra.s.s, which would be the place for everyone to rest after eating and playing. However, Xixi took the cat cage and enjoyed it first. She opened the cage and released Xiao Guai, Duoduo, and Xiao Hui.
Although these three little ones were not timid, they were sticking close to Xixi. She even took out some cat toys from her small backpack, and the kittens started playing on the picnic blanket.
Mo Fei wasn’t idle either, she took out the cat’s bowl and poured some cat food into it.
Soon, a tempting smell of meat wafted over from Yang Yi’s side, mixed with a strong and stimulating aromas of c.u.min powder and black pepper powder. Xixi’s stomach growled at the smell, but she couldn’t help but sneeze twice.
Mo Fei walked over, and Yang Yi raised his head, smiled and said, “You still have to wait a while, it’s not cooked yet!”
He thought that Mo Fei was getting impatient.
However, Mo Fei squatted beside him, holding a small handkerchief, and wiped the sweat off Yang Yi’s face. She smiled and said, “I’m afraid you’ll get roasted!”
In fact, Mo Fei was also quite distress while she watched Yang Yi barbecue. A 1.87-meter-tall man squatted in front of the small stove in the wilderness. The thick smoke from the barbecue blew east and west, and when it blew straight, it covered Yang Yi inside, making him feel choked and uncomfortable.
“Don’t stay here and get choked with me!” Yang Yi said with a smile, “Go play with Xixi, we can eat barbecue later!”
“You’re driving me away!” Mo Fei pouted and pretended to be unhappy, “I’m not happy anymore!”
Yang Yi looked at her rosy lips and couldn’t help himself. He secretly looked in Xixi’s direction, and the little girl didn’t look over here, so he became bolder.
With a lightning-fast move, Yang Yi turned his head and kissed Mo Fei’s red lips, then pretended that nothing happened. He turned back and used a bamboo stick to poke at the tin foil wrapping the golden needle mushrooms, leaving only Mo Fei with a blushing face.
“Yang Yi!” Mo Fei exclaimed reproachfully, her face blushing red and ears burning. She didn’t even bother to hit Yang Yi with her small fists, and instead looked quickly in the direction of Xixi.
These intimate actions were not a big deal, but Mo Fei was just afraid that her daughter would see them!