Volume 1 Hello, Lu Mingfei Chapter 95: The End of Fire (Part 3)
"It is now midnight on February 13, 2010, the Chinese New Year. The Moniach is anchored at the Three Gorges Reservoir. The river is quiet and the equipment is operating normally. Tonight we will implement the Bronze Plan. I am Captain Manstein. This is my thirteenth captain's diary for this voyage." Professor Manstein glanced at his watch and dialed the overseas phone. "We are ready. Please give us the final order from the Board of Directors."
"Start the action, and I wish you good luck." Principal Angers hung up the phone. The entire mission was handed over to Manstein for command. The Kassel College headquarters provided full support but did not remotely command, because Principal Angers almost broke with the board of directors on this matter. Although the board of directors finally chose to compromise, it still had great doubts.
Unlike last time, this time the Moniach is fully armed, and the equipment department has stuffed all the latest stuff into the bottom hold. This ship has concentrated the most advanced technology of mankind to date, and its firepower can rival that of a destroyer.
In addition to the Moniah, there are two other such ships.
Manstein looked out of the porthole in the captain's room. Xenon lamps were circling over the river. He could vaguely see numbers on the blue-gray side panels of the ship. They were 105 and 106, which were their hull numbers.
"Everything is ready and we are at your service at any time, Professor." A young man wearing thin-framed glasses walked into the captain's room with a briefcase under his arm. He was wearing a black suit and a black striped tie, and his leather shoes were shining brightly. At first glance, he looked like a manager working in a bank. It was hard to imagine that such a person would appear on a ship that was about to go on a dragon-slaying mission.
"Your abilities are much stronger than we thought." Manstein did not look back at the young man. This man had a special status tonight and deserved to be treated well by Kassel, but the feeling he gave people was too uncomfortable.
There is a Chinese idiom called "two-faced three-knife", which means to say one thing in front of others and another behind their backs with bad intentions. It is usually used to describe a villain. Manstein didn't want to use this word on this young man, but he was just that kind of person. Although he was polite and had an impeccable smile, and he was very organized and steady in his work, when he saw his smile and slightly narrowed eyes, Manstein instinctively felt that this guy was like a despicable bastard who would stab someone in the back.
"Are you talking about the dispatch from the Shipping Bureau?" The young man was slightly stunned. "I don't think this kind of thing is worth being surprised about. With Cassel's ability, it should be easy for him to get a government blockade order when performing such a mission in the United States."
"No, I mean those two ships. Hull numbers 105 and 106. They should have been retired and used as museums three years ago. They shouldn't be here."
The young man laughed humbly, "They are well maintained, but it would be a waste to use them as a museum. In fact, we paid a large deposit for their deployment. If today's operation results in any damage to them, we will have to spend more money on the construction of new ships with the same hull number."
"In your opinion, that's just a small amount of money, right?" Manstein also laughed. As a discipline committee member, he has always been a serious person and it is rare for him to choose to make a joke about such things.
"Your expression gives me a bad feeling. I always feel as if you will use those two beautiful destroyers as bait to sink them." The young man had to put away his business negotiation style and chose to surrender. "To be honest, I'm a military fan and don't want to see this happen."
"Don't worry. Tonight is the day of the decisive battle in Cassel. Dragon King Norton will be buried at the bottom of the river. Those of us on the ship are only doing auxiliary work. The young people are the ones who are really going to kill the Dragon King. If Norton really wants to kill us all, then the Moniach will only fight with your ladies to the end." Manstein patted the young man on the shoulder. "Do you want to go meet the elite students of Cassel together? Maybe a friendly exchange will make both of you gain something."
"Although I do want to accept this honor, I'll forget about it tonight." The young man smiled bitterly and adjusted his glasses. "There are people in there who don't want to see me. If we meet in a place like this, we might get into a fight and affect morale."
"We are from the same family, how can our relationship be so bad?" Manstein was a little curious.
Nuonuo seldom mentions her family background to people around her, but the professors in Cassel know something about it. Her real name is Chen Motong, and she comes from the Chen family in China. That ancient family has gone through many wars in its long history of five thousand years and has rich experience in slaying dragons and means of survival.
Cassel's branches are all over the world, except for China and Japan, because the hybrids in these two places have their own way of survival and do not want to be disturbed by the outside world. But in the face of the great cause of slaying the dragon, they and Cassel have a common position and are willing to provide help for this, and of course hope to gain some good benefits from it.
The Chen family is the best among the Chinese mixed-race family. The young man who appeared on the Moniah tonight is called Chen Jun. He is the full agent for the execution of all parts of the Bronze Plan related to the Chen family. Although he seems young, it is obvious that he is deeply trusted by the family.
"No... Mainly because I'm more afraid of her..." When Chen Jun mentioned that devil-like woman, his face showed a bit of fear, like a wandering merchant who saw a ghost jumping out of a grave and asking him for tolls. "When we were young, we didn't get along well. We always had disagreements on various things. The way to solve it was to fight directly, and whoever won would listen to the other."
"Oh." Manstein nodded. This story really sounded like Nono's style. She is now a little witch who is mischievous in the world. It seems that she must have been a devil-like naughty child when she was young.
"But I've never beaten her. I always got beaten black and blue. So now I'm a little afraid of her when I see her." Chen Jun lowered his head and adjusted his glasses to cover up his most embarrassing history. It was easy for a boy to feel bad when he couldn't beat a girl when he was a child. He will probably never forget Chen Motong in his life.
"The fate of childhood sweethearts." Manstein's Chinese is very good, and his evaluation is very sharp. "When I see Nuonuo, I won't tell him that you are here too."
"Many thanks!"
Manstein returned to the lower cabin and saw the students gathered around a big pot, holding bowls and slurping their food. For some of the students it was the first time they had eaten such a thing and they were not used to it. After swallowing the whole thing, their faces were distorted by the heat, but they could not resist the temptation of the delicious food and were reluctant to spit it out. They rolled the food in their mouths around with a devil-like face.
"What are you doing?" Manstein frowned slightly.
"Eat dumplings! Today is the Chinese New Year, and we should follow the local customs. Here we have to eat dumplings for New Year's Eve!" The chef in charge of cooking, Finkel, was wearing a chef's hat. He picked up the pot and spoon to scoop three dumplings and passed them to Manstein. He was very happy, like a waiter promoting his own restaurant's signature dish. "The pork and green onion stuffing is so delicious! Professor, would you like some too?"
The tense dragon-slaying battle was about to begin, but the A-level elites were gathered here eating dumplings stuffed with pork and scallions. Manstein didn't know whether the students lacked a sense of tension and treated this as an outing, or whether Finkel, this bastard, was a nuisance wherever he was. He began to consider whether throwing this guy off the deck to feed the fish would be the best option.
But he had to admit that this pot of dumplings was indeed very fragrant... The smell wafting from the pot was so strong that even the fish in the Yangtze River couldn't resist jumping out of the water and trying to jump onto the deck to taste it. Judging from the glossiness of the dumpling skin, the beautiful shape like ingots, and the rich Shanxi aged vinegar on the table, the guy who suggested eating this pot of dumplings was definitely an authentic Chinese, with a determination to eat his fill even if he died, and an indelible foodie soul.
"Who made the dumplings?" Manstein looked around at every student in the cabin. He didn't believe that Fingel's German stomach, which was used to eating pork elbows and sauerkraut, could make an authentic Chinese New Year's Eve dinner alone.
"I..." A weak voice sounded in the crowd, followed by little hands raised with flour on them. Many people consciously made way to expose the culprit, but Caesar and Nono looked at each other at the same time and decided to guard against the enemy and never betray the good boy stood in front and refused to move away. If you ignore the bowls and spoons in their hands, this scene would have a bit of the flavor of the Spartan warriors in front of Thermopylae.
Manstein had to go around a big circle to push through the crowd and get in. There were piles of kneaded dough, a pot of pork and scallion stuffing with a fragrant onion, and a lot of dumplings that had not been put into the pot in the dustpan next to it. Lu Mingfei, wearing an apron, lowered her head with her hands behind her back and dared not look at the professor. She felt like she had made a big mistake, but Chu Zihang, who was opposite her, still had a blank expression on his face. He could pinch dumplings with one hand while looking at Professor Manstein. This skill could give him the God of Dumpling Pinning Award.
"I think the chef on our ship should have provided you with a sumptuous dinner." Manstein said with a dark face.
"But he is a German chef professor. We have been eating German food in the academy for many years. We should improve the taste." Caesar was the first to stand up to rescue his Chinese classmate. The Italian nobleman had eaten many absolutely traditional Chinese dumplings, but this was the first time that they were made for him by his opponent and a beautiful girl. He enjoyed being served by Chu Zihang, so even if Chu Zihang was involved, he was willing to come out and be a troublemaker. Anyway, he was such a person. He fought with Manstein, the discipline committee member, in Kassel an average of once every three days and was very experienced.
"You can ask him about it," said Manstein weakly.
"I mentioned it!" Nuo Nuo raised her chopsticks high, but she hadn't finished the dumplings in her mouth yet so she took some time to chew before she could continue talking, "But he said he can't cook Chinese food! If we want to eat, he can provide the tools and ingredients for us to cook it ourselves!"
"Aren't you worried that eating so much will affect the combat?" Manstein had to get down to business.
"You'll have the strength to work only if you're full, professor! In ancient times, when soldiers were fighting, they would have extra strength after eating their own wife cakes!" Finkel waved his spoon, and seemed happy to be the chef taking care of his big pot, because Lu Mingfei said that if he was willing to do this job, she would provide him with an extra dish with mushroom and leek flavor. This loser didn't know what dignity was when he got extra benefits, and he almost knelt down to lick Lu Mingfei's shoes.
It seemed that this meal of dumplings had successfully subdued everyone. Even Ling was silently enjoying the deliciousness and didn't even want to participate and waste her time. Manstein had to turn his eyes to Chu Zihang. In his opinion, Chu Zihang might be the person who knew the importance of the matter best here, even though he was also a culprit now.
"My mom sent me a message tonight telling me to eat dumplings." Chu Zihang looked serious, with the words "I am very filial" almost written on his forehead. "She said that Chinese people must eat dumplings on New Year's Eve no matter where they are, so that they can be happy and healthy in the coming year."
This is really a killer move. Chu Zihang has always looked very traditional and obedient. He would not do anything out of the ordinary, except when he was on a mission. Therefore, many professors like Chu Zihang. But when Chu Zihang brought up this classic saying of my mother, Manstein knew that he had completely lost tonight. How could you have the heart to take away the dumplings that he had just wrapped from such a filial and good child, and make him unable to listen to his mother?
Manstein was an orphan, so he cared more about family ties.
After a long silence, Manstein had to raise his hands in surrender: "Okay, you win, but you must not let your greed affect your work! I don't want to see anyone report to me after completing a mission, saying that he ate too much and had a stomachache and asked to go to the toilet!"
There was a huge cheer among the students, applauding Manstein's wise decision. Finkel took out all the remaining dumplings in the pot and made a big portion for Professor Manstein. Nono pressed Manstein's shoulders and pushed him to his seat. A group of people held their bowls and watched Manstein eat the dumplings eagerly. If they could get his approval, this extraordinary feast would end perfectly.
"Indeed...it's delicious." Manstein looked at the spoon in his hand. He had to admit that Shanxi aged vinegar and pig head and green onion dumplings were a perfect match. Even the German stomach was conquered at this moment.
The person who laughed the happiest was probably Lu Mingfei, because this was what she thought, that this was how the Chinese New Year should be celebrated, even if you had to go to war after eating this meal, so she borrowed tools from the chef. Unexpectedly, everyone who passed by was curious at the beginning, and they gave their full support after understanding the process. In the end, even his senior brother joined in, because Chu Zihang said that he had just received a text message from his mother asking him to eat dumplings tonight.
Before conquering a person's heart, you must first conquer his stomach. Thanks to the cooking skills learned from her aunt since childhood, everyone must have been very satisfied with this meal. Even if the students participating in this Bronze Program have never seen Lu Mingfei, they should quickly remember this small, S-level Chinese girl named Lu Mingfei.
