The Incompetent Barbecue Master

The sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze was gentle.

It was already ten o'clock when they arrived at the breeding farm, and the air was gradually warming up.

Today's temperature was only in the teens, making the three layers of clothes Shen Nian wore out the door seem a bit excessive; two layers would have been perfectly fine.

Shen Shi and Chen Minyue were here to work, so they couldn't join Shen Nian and the others for a picnic. After parking the car and instructing them to only play nearby, they put on their rain boots and headed towards the farm.

"Do you guys want to go in and take a look?" Shen Nian asked as he grabbed some chairs from the back of the car.

"No."

"I'm not going either..."

Li Shiyan actually wanted to go see the farm a little, but since her Bestie wasn't going, she couldn't possibly go in alone with Shen Nian.

"Then you guys handle setting this stuff up. I'll go get a blowtorch." After saying that, Shen Nian also walked in the direction of the farm.

This entire area belonged to Shen Shi. Even though there were other people's ponds nearby, they wouldn't run into anyone else here. As long as they didn't run around, they would be fine.

The farm was entirely made up of dirt paths. After walking about fifty meters, there was a small brick house. Inside, there was a bed, an air conditioner, a table, a water dispenser, and so on. If someone occasionally needed to stay overnight at the farm, they could rest directly here, and workers could also lie down for a while during their breaks.

Walking further in, one would finally reach the breeding area of the farm. It was a massive pond primarily used for raising shrimp and crabs. The water at the drainage outlet was over a person's head, while the rest of the pond was about waist-deep.

Along the edge, there were simple little boats made of foam and wooden boards tied together. Workers would regularly sit on them, pulling along pre-strung ropes to feed the animals along a set route.

As the wind blew through the treetops and the tips of the grass, Shen Nian stretched his arms, feeling the caress of the sea breeze, in a very relaxed mood.

All of this is my magnificent empire.

Barbecuing required lighting charcoal, and there was a blowtorch in the farm. Shen Nian casually looked around for a bit before grabbing the blowtorch and heading back to the pickup truck.

Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan were still fussing over where to put the barbecue grill.

"Put it over there," Shen Nian pointed to a small piece of flat land not far away. "It's a bit higher up, so the view is better."

"Help us bring the charcoal over, okay."

"Got it."

"Pipi Yan, let's go!"

The flat land was indeed more comfortable. Standing on her tiptoes, Xia Yanchun gazed out at the sea. She could even see boats heading out, and there were some dilapidated, rusty small boats near the shore.

When they were young, she and Shen Nian would occasionally come here to play. Back then, Chen Minyue would keep a close eye on the two of them, while Shen Shi would do the work all by himself. She remembered that this place used to be covered in waist-high grass, but now most of it had been buried and trampled into paths.

So nostalgic.

Those carefree days.

Xia Yanchun glanced at Shen Nian, who was currently squatting by the barbecue grill, using the blowtorch to light the charcoal.

Sure enough, they weren't kids anymore.

Li Shiyan was standing on her tiptoes taking photos. The sea and everything... once you were here, you just couldn't help but want to take pictures.

"We used to be able to see cranes here, the kind with really long legs." Seeing how happy Li Shiyan was, Shen Nian uncharacteristically decided not to tease her.

"Red-crowned cranes?!"

"I don't know either. They were all white, with long, thin legs."

Shen Nian didn't actually even know if they were cranes, but those creatures with long legs, pointy beaks, and pure white feathers perfectly matched the image of a crane in his head.

As for what kind of crane they were, he had no idea. After all, he wasn't a biologist. Perhaps they were some kind of seabird he had never seen before. It was just that his knowledge was limited when he was a kid, so he thought they looked like cranes and mistook the seabirds for them.

"I've never even seen a crane before..." Li Shiyan was a little disappointed.

After her disappointment, she slowly cheered up again, looking around, snapping photos everywhere, and even dragging Xia Yanchun into taking a bunch of pictures.

"Stop taking pictures, sisters. I've already got the fire going for you." Shen Nian washed his hands with some drinking water, pulled up a small chair, and sat down. Like an emperor, he pointed at Xia Yanchun and ordered, "You, yes, you. Come over here and grill me two lamb skewers."

Xia Yanchun put her hands on her hips, her expression unfriendly.

Did she not have any dignity? Bossing her around like that in front of Shiyan.

Xia Yanchun sighed. Forget it, for the sake of Shen Nian's hard work lighting the charcoal, she would indulge him just this once.

She pulled up a small plastic chair and sat down. "I'm going to put a pile of chili peppers on it and spice you to death."

"Whatever, I'm a master at eating spicy food." Shen Nian bared his teeth, then pointed at Li Shiyan, who was still fiddling with her phone. "You, go grill me two hot dogs."

"Ah, oh..."

Li Shiyan pouted, found a chair to sit on, and obediently went to grill the skewers.

She had planned to barbecue anyway. Once she started, she grilled quite a few skewers, her technique looking quite professional.

Shen Nian had already become an emperor.

Empress Puppy Chun, and a little eunuch loli chick. What a life.

"Here, I don't know if it's cooked." Xia Yanchun felt it was about done, so she handed a lamb skewer to Shen Nian.

"Wait, you're letting me eat it when you're not sure if it's cooked? Using me as a poison tester here?"

"I thought you looked a bit like a savage, so I assumed you could eat raw meat too."

"How bold! To speak so insolently to Us!"

"..."

Xia Yanchun couldn't be bothered to argue. She tested one of the skewers herself, then handed the other one to Shen Nian. "It's cooked. Take it and eat."

"Not bad, not bad. Grill Us five more skewers."

"Don't get too into character. You're just a nobody."

"Insolent!"

Xia Yanchun curled her lips and spoke quietly to Li Shiyan.

"Let's ignore him. He's an idiot."

"..."

Li Shiyan completely agreed. She wanted to nod, but Shen Nian was right next to them. If she dared to nod, Shen Nian would definitely kick her to death when school started.

Shen Nian acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. He crossed his legs and scrolled through his phone, reaching out his hand whenever they finished grilling something.

Especially Li Shiyan. She grilled a dozen skewers in one go, and Shen Nian kept reaching out for them, to the point where Li Shiyan only got to eat one skewer herself, becoming a heartless barbecue tool.

"You know what?" Shen Nian bit off half of a piping hot hot dog in one go. "Before these skewers were eaten by me, they were calling your name all along, thinking they would be eaten by you. Yet, you can't even protect the skewers you grilled yourself."

Li Shiyan was angry but didn't dare speak out. It was bad enough that he was eating the skewers she grilled, but to actually say such things to provoke her.

Even a clay figurine has some temper! Even a pushed rabbit will bite.

Li Shiyan felt a surge of wicked courage. She was angry and decided to teach Shen Nian a lesson.

She sprinkled a pile of chili powder and cumin powder onto a handful of meat skewers in her hand, brushing them with soy sauce and oyster sauce to blend the powders into the meat.

She was already fantasizing about Shen Nian eating the explosively spicy meat skewers and then baring his teeth and sticking his tongue out, hehe... hehe...

Shen Nian looked at Li Shiyan, who suddenly started giggling foolishly, pinched his chin, and fell deep in thought.

Wait?

Is being an incompetent barbecue master that enjoyable?

Thinking deeper about it was terrifying. Shen Nian felt a chill of fear.

The kid was already silly to begin with, and constantly bullying her made his conscience feel a bit guilty.

Shen Nian patted his stomach and smiled, "I'm a bit full. I'll rest for a while."

"Ah..." Li Shiyan's brows instantly drooped, leaving her in a dilemma with the several explosively spicy skewers in her hands.