Chapter 164: Delivering Food

The Physics Class One classroom was located in the corner on the second floor of Siyuan Building. She unlocked the door and took a quick glance inside; the desks and chairs were complete—not brand new, but still in fair condition. There were eight sets of desks and chairs in a row, with five rows in total, making forty sets altogether.

A layer of dust covered the windowsills, desks, and chairs alike. A thorough cleaning would be necessary once the students enrolled.

She locked the door and stepped back out into the hallway.

With nothing else pressing to do, she made a trip to the textbook distribution warehouse and claimed a set of first-year textbooks. Leaving aside other considerations, she needed to prepare her lessons now. Drafting them at present would make following the lesson plans much easier later on.

Zhong Yuxiu returned to her office and began by browsing through the physics textbooks. Left entirely undisturbed, she immersed herself completely in the task of reviewing the material. Relying on her spiritual energy, she finished in just over two hours, jotting down key points in a notebook. She highlighted the crucial concepts, outlined the sequence, and completely overhauled the flow of the theoretical knowledge presented in the physics book.

For future lectures, she wouldn't even need the textbook; her lesson notes would be more than sufficient.

Of course, she only recorded brief outlines of the essential concepts rather than meticulously detailing every minor point. As long as she could understand them and knew how the upcoming classes should proceed, she had her own theoretical framework in the back of her mind, leaving her free to improvise and deliver her lectures naturally.

Spending half a day, Zhong Yuxiu completed her lesson plans for the entire semester, instantly feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.

One must realize the difference between having a plan and lacking one; a lack of planning always leads to oversights, whereas a plan provides a clear framework. So, one might ask: is it better to have a framework or not?

By noon, the sun had risen. The winter sunlight was not scorching, but rather pleasantly warm.

Zhong Yuxiu stretched lazily, finally putting the finishing touches on her lesson notes. Just as she was about to get up to stretch her muscles, Professor Ding arrived, accompanied by Hao Nan, Tian Shangguo, and Yan Rushan.

"Comrade Zhong, I've brought the people to you. I'm an old man, so I'll go grab my lunch first." It wouldn't be proper to intrude on the young couple.

Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo chuckled. The moment Professor Ding left, they departed as well.

Yan Rushan walked into the office carrying a thermal food jar and a roasted duck wrapped in oil paper. "Yuxiu, when did you change offices?"

"Just now." Yuxiu stood up from behind her desk and walked over to sit on the rattan chair meant for guests. "I only found out today when I met Professor Ding that because my professional title changed and I'll be solely in charge of a class, President Guo arranged a new office for me—a private one."

"That's how it should be."

Understanding dawned on Yan Rushan. He walked forward, set down the thermal jar, opened it, and laid the items out one by one on the coffee table. Then he unrolled the oil paper package, revealing a golden, mouth-watering roasted duck. One of the tiers in the thermal jar contained pancakes and green vegetables, perfectly suited to be eaten alongside the duck.

Zhong Yuxiu smiled brightly as she pinched a slice of roasted duck and popped it into her mouth. "As delicious as always. I'm going to wash my hands. Brother Yan, do you need to wash yours?"

"I do."

The two walked together to the school restroom to wash their hands. Upon returning, they found Professor Ding and Professor郑 holding two lunchboxes each, standing outside the door rather than entering the office.

"Professor Ding, Professor Zheng, why are you two here?" Zhong Yuxiu asked with a smile.

The two turned around. Professor Ding laughed heartily, "You're back. We picked up some food for you both, let's eat together."

As the saying goes: uninvited guests crashing for a meal.

Zhong Yuxiu let out a helpless, light laugh. "Please come in, both of you. Rushan bought a roasted duck, so it will go perfectly with it."

"Haha, I knew there was good stuff in your place."

The group entered the office and took their seats. Professor Ding and Professor Zheng handed over a portion of the food they had brought.

"Just food from the school cafeteria, plus a couple of extra dishes." Professor Zheng handed a food container to Yan Rushan. "Little Yan, don't mind the plain fare."

Yan Rushan shook his head. "How could I? This isn't my first time eating the school's food. Although it can't compare to dishes from state-run restaurants, it's still quite palatable. As long as one can eat their fill—many people are still struggling just above the subsistence line these days."

Zhong Yuxiu: "..."

The person who minded plain food was sitting right here.

"This young man has a good head on his shoulders." Professor Zheng gave a thumbs-up. "It's true that many people in our country are still struggling on the line of subsistence. Because of this, those old folks at the Agricultural University are working themselves to the bone with their research, hoping to breed more high-yielding crop varieties."

Professor Ding fell silent for a moment, then raised a hand to pat Professor Zheng's shoulder. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, let's eat."

"No more talk, no more talk." Professor Zheng nodded repeatedly.

Everyone present understood that high grain yields were not something they could control; none of them specialized in this area, and their understanding of it was minimal. Brooding over it was merely borrowing trouble.

Yan Rushan took out the two pairs of chopsticks from the oil paper, handing one pair to her and keeping the other for himself.

"Please help yourselves, Professors. Don't stand on ceremony." Yuxiu accepted her chopsticks and reached out for a piece of roasted duck, while still remembering to play the host.

"I've got thick skin, I won't be overly polite." Professor Ding joked.

Professor Zheng smiled without speaking. Along with Professor Ding, he reached for the roasted duck with a speed and precision that rivaled the best. Quanjude roasted duck was not easy to buy; old folks like them had to ask favors just to have someone bring them one, and even then, such requests couldn't be fulfilled every time.

Quanjude roasted duck was not only expensive, but also scarce. Yet, people couldn't resist how good it tasted—truly one of a kind in Beijing.

That went to show that good products would always find buyers; the key was maintaining quality and quantity.

In no time at all, the roasted duck was picked clean. Zhong Yuxiu felt a lingering craving, but she stopped her chopsticks and refrained from competing with the two elders. Yan Rushan did the same, redirecting his chopsticks to place meat on her plate instead.

With the roasted duck gone, even the braised pork lost its appeal.

"You eat it, you don't need to pile meat on my plate." The roasted duck was a nice change of pace, but braised pork was only good for satisfying a sudden craving.

Yan Rushan switched to serving her vegetables instead—a stir-fried napa cabbage. For people who had just enjoyed a lavish New Year feast, fresh vegetables were surprisingly popular. At least, that was true for the few of them; once the duck was gone, everyone's targets shifted squarely to the cabbage.

After finishing the rice and dishes in her lunchbox, Zhong Yuxiu ate a few more pieces of braised pork, then set her bowl down and watched the others eat. Her gaze drifted to the lunchboxes of Professors Ding and Zheng; the cafeteria food inside remained largely untouched, while most of the rice was gone.

Zhong Yuxiu: ??

Didn't they just say that being able to eat one's fill was already good enough? Why did they deliberately pick out the best parts first?

By the time they finished eating, not a single piece of the meat dishes brought by Yan Rushan remained, whereas half of the cafeteria food was still left over. Professor Ding and Professor Zheng synchronized their movements, snapping the lids back onto their lunchboxes, leaning back leisurely in their chairs, and wiping their mouths.

So, their earlier words had just been polite remarks.

She had inadvertently stumbled upon the truth.

"Yuxiu, are you full?" Yan Rushan glanced sideways at her and asked.

"More or less." Halfway full, to be exact.

One look at her expression told him she wasn't full. Yan Rushan began packing up the items. "You chat with the two professors. I'm going out for a bit and will be back in half an hour. Professors, please make yourselves at home. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

"Off with you then. We bathed in your culinary light today; I'll treat you to a meal another time." Professor Zheng still had a thin skin and, knowing he had partaken of someone else's fine food, offered a courteous formality. Professor Ding simply said two words—"Walk slowly"—to dismiss him.

Zhong Yuxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Professor Ding truly stood on no ceremony with people he knew well.

"Be good, and don't touch cold water. Washing your hands for a meal was unavoidable, but avoid cold water whenever possible from now on. Wait until you get home to use warm water for washing." Yan Rushan tossed out a parting instruction, causing Professors Ding and Zheng to straighten their postures and pretend to be deaf and dumb.

The moment Yan Rushan left, Professor Ding smiled warmly. "Comrade Zhong, Comrade Yan treats you quite well. From the few times we've met, I can tell he has good character and is someone worth entrusting your life to."