When it was time to eat, Xixi's little friend circle had "grown" to four people. Besides Lan Xin and Yang Luoqi, there was also Nan Zhaoyu, a shy little boy who had been pulled over by the three girls to join in the fun.
"My daddy's cooking is super delicious! Mommy told me to bring an extra portion so we can all share and eat together!" Xixi had told her friends early on. She was so happy to have made so many good friends and really wanted to share the things she loved with them.
"But my daddy also packed me lunch," Yang Luoqi said regretfully. "I can't eat that much."
"I brought some too," Nan Zhaoyu said weakly.
"Then I'll eat with Xixi!" Lan Xin said, beaming. "I brought food too, but I can eat a ton!"
"It's okay, it's okay, we'll all eat together!" Xixi said sweetly with a smile. "My daddy is amazing—his cooking is super tasty! There's lots of meat, and I love chicken wings the most!"
"I love them too, I love them too!" Little chubby Lan Xin was practically drooling.
Teacher Shen and Teacher Cai led the kids to the dining area, a large hall where every class came to eat. The white, clean tables and long brown benches were neatly arranged, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Kids, you need to wash your hands first before you can eat!" Teacher Mu said with a gentle smile, clapping her hands softly.
Xixi and the others formed a small line and took turns washing their hands at the sink. Xixi curiously looked around, copying everyone as she turned on the faucet. But she washed very carefully—at home, under her dad and mom's instructions, she always paid close attention to personal hygiene!
Lan Xin, on the other hand, was more careless. She gave her hands a quick rinse and then couldn't wait to leave the line, running up to Teacher Mu: "Teacher Mu, Teacher Mu, can I sit with Xixi, and Qiqi, and Nan Zhaoyu?"
"Oh, Xin'er, why is that?" Teacher Mu asked with a smile. "Don't you want to sit in your usual spot?"
"No, it's not that—we're good friends, and we want to eat together!" Lan Xin explained. "And Xixi said she'd share her daddy's cooking with us. I really want to try it!"
Teacher Mu chuckled and gently rubbed Lan Xin's forehead, saying, "Alright, then I'll arrange for you all to sit together later."
Sure enough, soon Xixi and her friends were seated at a table by the teachers. Lan Xin happily sat next to Xixi, while Yang Luoqi took the seat on Xixi's other side. Poor Nan Zhaoyu had to sit across from them.
"Let me tell you, Teacher Mu is really nice..." Lan Xin chattered happily until Teacher Shen and Teacher Cai started handing out each student's lunch.
Neither Teacher Shen nor Teacher Cai made any mistakes—it was easy to tell because, during the morning check-in, parents had been asked to stick their child's name on their lunchbox.
Xixi got her two lunchboxes and cheerfully opened the blue cat-shaped one first. This lunchbox had a built-in mechanism—just press a button, and it would pop open, unfolding layer by layer, a bit like those automatic pencil cases elementary school kids use.
The bottom layer was white rice. It didn't look as good as freshly steamed rice, but after being reheated, it was still fragrant.
The middle layer was mostly vegetables. To make sure Xixi ate enough greens, Yang Yi had put extra effort into making shrimp and veggie rolls that combined meat and vegetables.
White rice paper wrapped around green lettuce, finely shredded red carrots, and beige almond slivers, with the most tempting part being the bright red shrimp meat inside. These were fresh sea shrimp, boiled, peeled, split open like sushi shrimp, and then soaked in vinegar and lemon juice.
Roll after roll—they looked incredibly appetizing!
But what really caught the kids' eyes was the top layer of meat dishes.
For the first day, to make Xixi happy, Yang Yi naturally made her favorite chicken wings. But this time, he tried a different recipe—three-cup chicken wings that were both tasty and not too greasy. Of course, when packing them into the lunchbox, he picked out the ginger and scallions that Xixi didn't like.
Besides a few chicken wings coated in thick sauce, there were also wood ear mushrooms, cucumber, eggs, and stir-fried pork slices—the legendary Moo Shu Pork. With its vibrant colors, it truly achieved the perfect balance of color, aroma, and taste!
"Wow, it looks so delicious!" Lan Xin's eyes lit up.
Nan Zhaoyu looked at Xixi's lunch, then at his own lunchbox—white rice topped with a few pitiful little cabbages and a couple of sad meat slices. The contrast was unbearable, and he couldn't help nodding in agreement while swallowing hard.
Not only were his friends' lunches inferior to Xixi's, but the two other little boys at the same table also had far less lavish meals.
Xixi was busy opening the second lunchbox. It opened automatically too, with the same internal structure. However, this one had no rice—everything else was the same as the first, except the bottom layer had several extra chicken wings.
Yang Yi guessed that chicken wings would be the kids' favorite, so he deliberately packed more.
"Alright, let's all eat together!" Xixi happily clapped her little hands in front of her chest. Her stomach was growling at the sight of the food, but the little girl still remembered to invite her friends.
"I want a chicken wing!" Lan Xin swallowed her saliva and reached out with her chopsticks to grab one. She had her eye on the biggest wing in the red lunchbox, so she went for it first.
After putting it in her own lunchbox, the little chubby girl felt a bit embarrassed. She pushed her lunchbox toward Xixi and said, "Xixi, do you want to try some of the eggplant my mom made?"
Xixi happily nodded and said, "Okay, I'll have a piece!"
In truth, the little chubby girl secretly hoped Xixi would eat all of hers so she could eat Xixi's—wouldn't that be perfect!
Yang Luoqi ate in small bites. Though kids weren't exactly graceful eaters, she was quieter about it, unlike the chubby girl who sent rice grains flying or Xixi who ended up with oil stains on her face.
But even she couldn't resist the delicious food. After hesitating for a moment, she asked softly, "Xixi, can I have one too? I want this one."
She pointed at the shrimp and veggie rolls. But Xixi was too busy tackling a super tasty chicken wing, using both little hands, and mumbled with her mouth full, "Mm-hmm! Go ahead!"
Seeing Yang Luoqi pick up her chopsticks, the last holdout, Nan Zhaoyu, couldn't help grabbing a chicken wing too.
The two other little boys at the table were also swallowing hard, finding their own meals utterly bland. Finally, one of them couldn't resist and hesitantly reached out his chopsticks.
"Smack!" A chubby little hand intercepted them mid-air.