With so many classmates helping, she seemed to have some free time.
But she still needed to find something to do, she couldn't just stand by and watch others work.
Su Xiaotian was a very disciplined child, so she took the initiative to take out the meat and start slicing it.
The unfrozen meat couldn't be made into rolls, but with fresh cuts, it was possible if the knife skills were good.
Although Su Xiaotian wasn't particularly skilled in cooking, she had grown up around chefs, so she worked with a semblance of competence.
Soon, a group of girls were watching Su Xiaotian with wide eyes as she skillfully sliced piece after piece of meat into thin slices.
Why were they shocked?
They felt that even they couldn't slice this soft meat into such uniformly thin slices.
That's right, Su Xiaotian's meat-slicing technique was taught by Grandma Su.
However, she didn't have a particular passion for it, so she hadn't practiced much. Now, when she sliced, she was a bit rusty.
"Xiaotian, your skills are amazing!" Zhao Hongmei felt embarrassed thinking about her own cooking skills, which were only good enough to assist.
Other girls had decent cooking skills, but seeing Su Xiaotian's display at this moment, they instantly felt inferior.
"Just practice more, and you'll get it!" Su Xiaotian said casually.
But in reality, for the people of this era, having just solved the problem of basic sustenance, eating meat was still a luxury.
A family would be overjoyed to eat meat once a month.
Moreover, when stewing meat, it was usually cut into chunks and stewed directly. Who had so much meat to practice knife skills?
"You guys eat some fruit and rest first," Su Xiaotian said, seeing that all the vegetables had been washed. "Take a break, and then help me skewer the meat."
Since they were still going to have a barbecue, skewering the meat in advance would make things much easier later.
When Su Wuyang returned, he saw several girls giggling and gathered around, with many skewers of meat neatly stacked in the large basins in front of them.
"Xiaotian, I'm back!" Su Wuyang coughed.
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Brother, what delicious food did Grandma prepare?"
When Su Wuyang heard his sister ask this, he helplessly spread his hands and said, "You were right, Grandma was really afraid we'd go hungry."
Su Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh, her eyes curving into crescent moons, looking very clever and cute.
Su Wuyang carried in the large basins he had just unloaded from the tricycle.
"This is braised pork bones made by Grandma. I estimate these braised pork bones alone are enough for us to eat. And this is stewed beef..."
Su Wuyang brought them in one by one, introducing them as he went.
The girls listened, feeling even more bewildered.
Wasn't this Su Xiaotian's home?
Why did they need to move braised pork bones and other dishes from elsewhere?
However, since Su Xiaotian didn't say anything, they didn't dare to ask.
Although the few of them had a good relationship now, they hadn't known each other for too long. Everyone had their secrets.
Actually, it wasn't that Su Xiaotian didn't say anything, but that Su Xiaotian had completely forgotten about it.
She subconsciously thought she had already mentioned it.
"Later, find some plates and put them all on the table. Brother, why haven't your comrades arrived yet? It's already noon!"
Su Xiaotian looked at her watch and found it strange. Logically, soldiers were very punctual.
Su Wuyang was also curious. According to the time, they should have arrived, but in reality, none of them had.
About half an hour later, Su Xiaotian and the others had filled two tables with ingredients when they finally heard a knock on the door.
Su Wuyang went to open the door, and indeed, his comrades had arrived, led by Qiao Guangyuan.
Qiao Guangyuan first surveyed the surroundings upon entering and couldn't help but sigh.
He really didn't expect that Su Wuyang's family had such good living conditions.
It was rare for such a family environment not to raise a spoiled rich kid.
Little did he know that just a few years ago, the Su family was so poor that their pot was almost bare.
"Wuyang, you really made us look for you. We went the wrong way several times before we finally found it!" Lu Yang said loudly, completely oblivious to the glare Qiao Guangyuan was about to give him.
That's right, they had gotten lost, and repeatedly so.
None of them were locals, and they were unfamiliar with the alleys of the capital, so they kept making mistakes.
Su Wuyang and the others finally understood why they were so late. It made sense, as his comrades were not people who would deliberately be late.
Some of the comrades were carrying mesh bags, which they placed on the stone table in the courtyard.
The mesh bags were heavy and dug into their hands. Since they had arrived, they quickly put them down.
"Everything is ready, we've been waiting for you. Commander, shall we wash our hands and start?" Su Wuyang hurried to invite.
Qiao Guangyuan patted Su Wuyang on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, you always said your family had poor conditions."
Su Wuyang felt embarrassed by Qiao Guangyuan's words. He genuinely felt that his family's conditions were poor.
This courtyard belonged to Xiaotian. If Commander Qiao had seen their house in Nanling Village, he wouldn't have thought his family was well-off.
It seemed impossible to explain this clearly.
Forget it, there was no need to explain.
"Commander, it's only in the last two years, with the opening up, that my family has been doing a little business, and our conditions have gradually improved."
Su Wuyang explained in a low voice, feeling a bit embarrassed. Qiao Guangyuan smiled and said, "I understand, I'm not blaming you, I just think you're quite low-key!"
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard Lu Yang's boisterous voice!
"Oh, isn't this Xiaotian? These big fools, they all said they hadn't seen you. Come on, let them have a good look and see if they've seen you!"
Lu Yang's voice was particularly annoying. If they weren't at Su's house, those people he called big fools would have probably rushed over and beaten him up.
Su Xiaotian looked at Lu Yang and found him quite amusing. It was not easy to have such a lively character in a serious military academy.
"Hello, Instructor Lu. Welcome to my home with your colleagues."
Lu Yang, looking at Su Xiaotian, who acted like a proper hostess, couldn't resist teasing her.
"Xiaotian, tell me, what delicious food have you prepared to welcome us guests?"
Su Xiaotian smiled and pointed to the two tables laden with various ingredients and cooked food under the large tree nearby.
Lu Yang's gaze followed the direction of Su Xiaotian's slender fingers and was startled.
My goodness, what kind of treatment is this?
He had never eaten such a lavish meal in his life.
"Xiaotian, did you really prepare so much delicious food to welcome us?"
Are you sure this isn't for some important figure?
Lu Yang felt like he was floating.
He was indeed floating, feeling like an important person who was being specially valued.
"Snap out of it, look at your pathetic state," Qiao Guangyuan scolded, seeing Lu Yang's uninspired look.
Lu Yang was pulled back to reality by his commander, his eyes round as he stared at the braised pork bones on the table.