Chapter 37

The group followed the directions on the map and walked two or three kilometers through the dense forest to reach the destination.

It was a beach with small flags inserted into the sand, next to a spacious wooden platform.

On the platform was a small table with an envelope on top.

The group opened the envelope and read its contents aloud.

"Please gather various foods within one day's time to prepare a dinner meal. Each person should prepare one dish and conduct mutual evaluations. The highest scoring dish will receive extra points. Those who fail to complete the task will not receive points."

A few people gathered around to look at the letter.

Others looked at the tools in their hands.

Sang Xueqing had carried an electric saw the whole way and was extremely tired.

Upon hearing the contents of the letter, she simply tossed the electric saw on the ground with a sigh, "Why give me an electric saw to cook? This makes no sense!"

"Are these pots meant for cooking?" Song Xiang asked as she looked around at the other guests, "We only have these two pots! No bowls, plates, or seasonings either?"

Han Yusheng went to communicate with the program team first and finally learned the details of this task.

There were indeed only the pots Song Xiang had, and currently only salt for seasoning.

They'd have to find other tools and food themselves.

Han Yusheng helplessly relayed this information to everyone.

Hu Hui laughed bitterly upon hearing this, "The program only gave us salt and wants us to cook and grade ourselves! How could this possibly taste good?"

"I don't think taste is the issue now. We should think about where to find ingredients and how to cook them!" Qiu Ye, the veteran senior, reminded.

Indeed, where could they find food?

Everyone looked towards the fishing rod and bait in Qiu Ye's hands.

The island was by the sea. Did the program team want them to go fishing?

After a while, everyone split up in different directions to look for food while collecting firewood on the side.

Many followed Qiu Ye to discuss finding a place to fish. None of them had fishing experience and could only hope for good luck to catch a blind fish.

Fishing seemed like the simplest way for them to obtain food for now. Song Jixing stood in place thinking for a bit before deciding to take a walk around the area. The lapping waves along the coastline were not very suitable for fishing.

Sang Xueqing also paused to consider before following Song Jixing directly when the others left.

"Teacher Song, may I walk with you? I'd also like to take a look around!" Sang Xueqing said amiably as she caught up.

Song Jixing did not refuse.

The two walked one after another, each carrying a basket on their back. Song Jixing's basket also held a chopping knife diagonally across it.

The program's staff followed closely behind the two with cameras on their shoulders.

As the pair passed through a cleared garden space, they discovered two lush banana trees that seemed to have been transplanted from elsewhere.

At Sang Xueqing's request, Song Jixing ignored the warning sign from the staff,

[The banana trees are expensive! The program team will have to pay!]

And directly stripped half the leaves off each banana tree, stuffing them into Sang Xueqing's basket.

"These leaves are quite thick! They'll be great for boiling water and cooking. We won't have to fight over pots with the others later!"

They also happened to pass by mulberry and loquat orchards.

The two picked quite a lot of fruit each.

Sang Xueqing beamed as she carried the fruit. "Fresh fruit counts as a dish right? A fruit platter? Does that complete our task for today?"

Song Jixing: "Mm!" She wasn't sure either.

In contrast to Sang Xueqing's lively enthusiasm, Song Jixing behaved like a calm and dignified senior.

She led her left and right the whole time, harvesting quite a bit. She even cared for the other girl, "Can you carry all that? Let me pack some for you!"

The two baskets gradually filled up. Song Jixing's chopping knife no longer fit, so she simply carried it in her hand.

Led by Song Jixing, they walked farther and farther, almost crossing the entire island.

On this side of the coast, there were many people wearing straw hats working along the beach and rocks.

Sang Xueqing went to chat and learned they were island staff who went fishing daily for fresh ingredients.

Sang Xueqing's eyes lit up immediately!

Flashing her sweetest smile, she traded fruits with several staff members for some fresh seafood.

Sang Xueqing successfully obtained over twenty shrimp, two crabs, and two small mixed fish.

Carrying the bountiful plastic bucket, a delighted Sang Xueqing laughed as she walked over to Song Jixing, "We've gathered enough ingredients to cook!"

Song Jixing smiled gently, "Let me carry that for you!" "No need, I'm very strong! I'll do it myself! Your basket already has so much. I can't let you carry such a heavy thing too."

Sang Xueqing insisted Song Jixing not lift anything heavy. But it was a bucket of water with fish and shrimp after all.

After walking over a kilometer, Sang Xueqing's small face was flushed as she panted and set the bucket down. "I'll rest a bit, Teacher Song. Wait for me!" Sang Xueqing said, waving her hands.

Song Jixing stepped forward and naturally picked up the bucket. "I'll help you carry this. You can put some things from the basket in mine."

"I'll do it!" Sang Xueqing rushed to grab it.

Song Jixing gently held Sang Xueqing's wrist. "Let me. I'm stronger. We should hurry back for lunch."

Upon hearing this, Sang Xueqing immediately let go of her hand and nodded, "Then thank you for the trouble, Teacher Song! Let me know if you need any help!"

Song Jixing nodded.

The two continued walking one after the other for over an hour before finally reaching the other end of the island.

In contrast to their bountiful harvest, the pickings of the others were clearly more miserable.

The other guests had given up on fishing early and turned to digging in the sand beach for small fish and crabs instead.

With the salt she had, Song Xiang caught quite a few clams buried in the sand.

Hearing Sang Xueqing describe how they found fruit all along the way and traded for fish and shrimp, the others could only sigh enviously at their luck.

"Is there anywhere good for fishing on this island?" Qiu Ye asked helplessly. She had been assigned a fishing rod for her task prop.

Song Jixing: "There is!"

"Really? Can you actually catch fish there?" After a morning of frustration, Qiu Ye finally realized you can't catch anything along the shore. You'd have to go out to sea or inland.

Song Jixing told Qiu Ye about a lake she saw on the way and pointed in a direction. "There seem to be some fish in the water there. You can go take a look!"

Qiu Ye thanked Song Jixing and hurried over with her fishing rod.

The afternoon seemed especially leisurely.

Sang Xueqing pulled Song Jixing to the side to wash their morning harvest. Sang Xueqing chose to make roasted fish, but she didn't know how to prepare them. So she asked Song Jixing for help.

Using a prop knife borrowed from the other guests, Song Jixing helped Sang Xueqing chop up the fish.

As she was chopping, a staff member came by to notify that the last guest had arrived.

When that person walked over, Song Jixing's knife slanted and chopped her own hand.

Sang Xueqing's attention was fully on Song Jixing. Seeing her movement, she screamed in fright.

She immediately went to take a look, "Are you alright? You didn't chop your hand did you?"

Song Jixing smiled and showed her intact hand, also hiding the knife under the table.

Her hand was indeed fine. She just needed to secretly use her spirit power to fix the knife later.