Volume 3 Hello, Eri Chapter 285: Blooming Cherry Blossoms at the Foot of Mount Fuji (V)
Lu Mingfei set up a pocket-sized barbecue grill. This grill was less than the length of a keyboard and was made entirely of metal. It could be folded when not in use. After standing it up, charcoal could be placed underneath. It did not produce strong smoke when used and was a perfect portable gadget for one or two people.
Pork tenderloin, ox tongue, pork neck, pork belly, hamburger patties, and skewered chicken were all frozen items from the supermarket. Two people definitely couldn't finish them all if they grilled them all, but Lu Mingfei still bought them all for variety first. Each one was in a frozen package of about 2 to 300 grams. Spring and summer are good seasons for barbecue, and Japanese supermarkets are also very knowledgeable about the market. The meat shelves are filled with finished products, so you don't even have to spend time choosing.
The rest is the hot pot. The portable small gas tank is connected to the aluminum pot bottom frame. Although the flame does not look big, it is enough for stewing. Lu Mingfei opened the fresh food packaging and poured all into the pot. Japanese ramen, kelp soy sauce, radish, cabbage, tofu and Naruto rolls, barbecue is the main course, and the hot pot is relatively light. The combination of the two is a simple delicacy suitable for lakeside camping.
When Sheqi Hachika was taking care of Eri, he would also take her to some high-end restaurants run by his family. She had to sit in the car when she went there, and the restaurant would have been cleared in advance when she ate, so she would be the only one left in the restaurant. Of course, Eri didn't have to cook the barbecue in that kind of restaurant by herself, as there were special waiters taking care of her, who could accurately control the seasoning and the timing of teriyaki.
This was the first time that they had such a free barbecue opportunity. Lu Mingfei skillfully used the tongs to turn the greasy and meaty tenderloin. Eiry couldn't help but pick up the chopsticks to get some of the fishy taste. She aimed at the largest piece of meat and quickly picked it up. Before Lu Mingfei could react, Eiry had already put the piece of meat into her mouth and took a light bite. She covered her mouth and moaned because it was so hot. Lu Mingfei was so scared that she quickly unscrewed the drink and handed it to her, and she drank it in big gulps.
"It's not like we don't have a few pieces of food! Why are you in such a hurry? Are you a thief?" Lu Mingfei really wanted to blame Eri, but seeing her tears welling up from the burns made her feel distressed. It was like taking care of a child at home. If you're not careful, he'll always make something wrong.
"Good job!" Eiry didn't care about Lu Mingfei's pretended seriousness at all. She knew that Lu Mingfei would not do anything to her. After the burning sensation in her mouth passed, she swallowed the remaining meat in one gulp with a look of happiness on her face. In front of Lu Mingfei, she didn't need to follow any troublesome table etiquette, because Lu Mingfei also ate happily in this way.
"Ming Fei?"
Lu Mingfei was busy using a towel to wipe the oil off the corners of Eri's mouth when she suddenly heard someone calling her name from behind. More importantly, the voice sounded familiar...
No way? she thought.
Turning around, I saw that it was indeed an old acquaintance. Uncle was standing there in a shirt and shorts. At first glance, he looked like a big guy getting ready to sunbathe. However, the bundle of firewood under his arm and the small axe in his left hand gave away his identity. It looked like he had just picked them up in the woods. The more generous camp owners would allow the guests to chop the firewood themselves.
"It's really you! I said you looked a bit like me from the back!" The uncle showed his joy. Ever since Lu Mingfei moved out to live with Samson, she would only come back to see him during the Chinese New Year. Apart from this, it has been almost two years since they sat down and chatted properly. He really didn't expect to meet her in a place like this.
Lu Mingfei looked down at herself and cursed inwardly that this was such a bad timing. She was dressed like a punk rock nightclub queen, with earrings so big they could be used as bracelets. She looked like the bad kid that traditional Chinese parents would talk about, and yet she met her uncle in this situation. As a civil servant, her uncle must not be taking advantage of his position to travel, so where he was, there must be my aunt...
"What? Are you unhappy to see me?" Uncle immediately noticed that Lu Mingfei looked embarrassed.
"No, no!" Lu Mingfei quickly shook her head and smiled, just like the good girl she used to be. "Uncle, why are you in Japan?"
"Here we are on a trip!" The uncle was very proud, holding his firewood and pointing to the distance, "Here with your aunt, and Mingze."
Lu Mingfei's heart trembled and she said, "I know it's bad. Next, please don't say, 'Oh, we haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's catch up together...'
Before she could finish what she was thinking, she saw the middle-aged man in front of her was as excited as a child. He jumped three feet high while holding his firewood and waved towards the distance, shouting, "Hey! Hey! Look who I met!"
"Who is he?" Eiry secretly wrote in a small notebook for Lu Mingfei to see.
"My uncle..." Lu Mingfei was helpless. It was certainly a good thing to reunite with relatives after a long separation, but there was someone with him. This should have been a moment of love between the two of them under the moonlight, but it suddenly turned into a plot of taking a girl to meet his parents. And he was dressed like this. It was hard to accept it no matter how she looked at it.
The uncle's loud Chinese voice attracted the attention of many tourists, which made him smile embarrassedly. Japanese people don't like to disturb others in public, even to the point of being a little indifferent. However, Chinese gentlemen naturally don't understand this. From a distance, Lu Mingfei saw a little fat boy over there who heard the uncle's call and was rushing over with people.
Unexpectedly, in addition to the aunt and Lu Mingze, there was also a couple coming with them, and next to them was a girl about the same age as Lu Mingze, with classic student short hair, wearing red-framed glasses, looking like a good girl.
It took the aunt a few seconds to recognize that the bad girl in front of her was Lu Mingfei. She was so shocked that she almost fainted. Lu Mingze saw it first, but pretended not to know her without saying a word. He has always had a bad relationship with Lu Mingfei. The two of them have been fighting for pocket money since they were young. The siblings get along harmoniously on the surface, but they don't get along well behind the scenes. So he just pretended not to recognize her and didn't say hello.
"Come, come! It's better to be lucky than to be lucky. Let me introduce you. This is my niece, Lu Mingfei!" The uncle put his arm around Lu Mingfei's shoulder and happily pushed her forward as if he was offering her his own pearl. "This is Director Chen, this is Mrs. Chen, and this is their daughter Jiajia!"
My aunt's face was obviously unfriendly. My uncle was so attentive to call people over and introduce her proactively, as if Lu Mingfei was their daughter. My uncle secretly gave her a look and said, "Don't worry about it. I have my own ways."
It’s a long story to talk about how my uncle’s family appeared here. This year, it happened to be Lu Mingze’s turn to graduate from high school. He applied to a college in the United States and will soon become a sea turtle. It happened that my uncle’s boss, Director Chen’s daughter Jiajia, was also going to study in the United States. When my aunt heard the news, her eyes lit up immediately and she said this was a good opportunity. We can talk to Director Chen about Jiajia and Lu Mingze, and let them be boyfriend and girlfriend first, and get engaged in two years, and everything will be smooth sailing! Isn’t it better for everyone to know each other well than for Mingze to go to the United States alone and look for a girlfriend blindly? What’s more important is that Director Chen can still promote you!
Uncle thought it made sense, and he liked Jiajia very much. The girl was raised by Director Chen strictly and was pampered since she was a child. She spoke softly and made people think she was a good daughter-in-law. So the couple decided to go to Japan and invited Director Chen and his family to travel together. They would cover all the expenses. Although it was a bit painful, when the aunt thought that this was an investment in the future of her son and husband, she could only grit her teeth and spend the money.
Director Chen's family naturally knew that his aunt and uncle had ulterior motives, but Mrs. Chen was also worried that it would be difficult for Jia Jia to live in the United States alone. Her daughter had been a good girl since she was young, and her eating, speaking, behaving and studying were all the education of a scholarly family. She was afraid that such a good cabbage would be taken away by a foreign white pig, and she was worried every day.
Auntie happened to send a pillow at this time, so Mrs. Chen had to think about it carefully. Although Lu Mingze looked a little fat, he had a blessed face. It was not a bad thing , and he could lose it with some effort. In addition, his uncle and auntie were generous in planning the trip, so they should have a good family background. Both husbands worked in the same unit, so it would be a good thing if they could get together and help each other.
But the problem lies with the two children. Jia Jia has been strictly controlled by her parents since she was young. She has the temperament of a rich lady, but she is cautious in words and not proactive at all. When the parents try hard to create opportunities for them to be alone, Jia Jia often can't say a few words.
Lu Mingze's situation was not very good either. Jia Jia was indeed cute and well-behaved, but he really couldn't like her because she was a bit of a taciturn person. The perfect goddess in his heart was the girl from his boyhood, the sunset engraving on the Internet that haunted him. Talking to that girl, even if it was just about daily life, would make him laugh like a dogtail flower. Her words were full of quirks, which reminded him of a giggling little witch.
He once thought that he could only be with Xiyang Kehen in this life, but unfortunately Xiyang Kehen has hardly been online in recent years. It is said that he went to study in the United States and was too busy with his studies to raise his head. Whenever Lu Mingze thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh, and tried his best to persuade his parents not to go to Europe but to the United States for Xiyang.
Appearance cannot determine everything. Lu Mingze feels that he is an ordinary person, but he is also ordinary in a very sophisticated way. He will not easily betray Xi Yang for Jia Jia's beauty. Therefore, these two children always have nothing to say to each other and the atmosphere is awkward. The parents are so anxious that they scratch their heads and can't think of a way to break the deadlock.
That's why the uncle was so happy when he happened to meet Lu Mingfei. As a civil servant, he understands people's hearts best. He saw that there was an invisible barrier between the two children, but this was not something that adults like them could forcibly intervene. They were so different in age, perspective and ideas, how could they talk to each other? But it was different when there was a peer. The most important thing was that this peer was Lu Mingze's sister, a family member! How could a sister not help her brother?
The uncle was a qualified social expert. He quickly turned the atmosphere into a gossip-filled one. Everyone introduced themselves to each other, and when it was Eri's turn, he said, "This is my classmate." Eri smiled stiffly and said nothing, giving people the impression that she was not good at speaking.
Mrs. Chen was very curious and said, "Your niece has a very special style!" Her eyes kept drifting towards Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "No, I have a band and I'm the lead singer. I just finished my work and came out to play. I just didn't bother to change clothes!"
This was not a lie. In any case, she, Chu Zihang and Caesar did sing as a group in Takama-ga-hara. If Mrs. Chen wanted to get to the bottom of it, Lu Mingfei planned to use Caesar and Chu Zihang as shields!
After this, everyone decided to put their tents together and brought together all kinds of outdoor cooking utensils and camping gear. Since there were so many people with my uncle's group, the things they used were naturally more luxurious. The blue flame of the stove seemed to be able to reach the sky when it was lit. The ingredients they brought were all high-end products, even the indispensable rum.
The seats of a large group of people were arranged very thoughtfully, with the adults sitting on one side and the children on the other. Lu Mingfei sat next to her uncle so that it would be convenient for her to pass messages to him. Next to her was Eiry, and further over were Jia Jia and Lu Mingze. The children held one-foot-long skewers in their hands and put them on the charcoal fire. There were big pieces of tenderloin on them. It was a Middle Eastern-style barbecue method, and the whole thing was very bold. Judging from the quality of the meat, I'm afraid that one piece could feed a naughty child.
Lu Mingfei observed the expressions around her and soon understood the meaning of her uncle and aunt's trip. She knew that her aunt was the one in charge of the financial power in the family and she was also very stingy. When they went on their honeymoon, they only went to the next city and used the rest of the money to decorate their home.
Therefore, my aunt would definitely not easily spend a lot of money to travel to Japan, and Director Chen's family opposite had a sense of nobility even though they were all wearing vacation-style clothes. The girl Jia Jia was wearing a beautiful long skirt with peach blossom patterns. Lu Mingze even used hair wax to style his hair and looked very sunny. If he had less fat on his body, he would definitely be considered a warm man. This scene was really like a blind date, almost catching up with If You Are the One.
My aunt kept calling him Director Chen and chatting with him intimately. It was obvious that Jia Jia's father was a higher-ranking official than my uncle. It would not be convenient for other people to participate in such a blind date, but my uncle was so happy when he saw me. There must be something fishy.
"Uncle, are you going to push Jia Jia to Lu Mingze?" Lu Mingfei whispered to her uncle. In the past, this old man and the young would always do shameful little tricks at the dinner table.
"You have to do me this favor!" The uncle simply stopped hiding anything and said it directly. He knew that his wife was a little mean and jealous of Lu Mingfei back then, but he was henpecked and had no good way to deal with it. He could only help Lu Mingfei as much as possible in private. This niece was absolutely of the same mind as him, and he had the confidence in it.
