Chapter 138 Camping in the Canyons (2/2)

”All of us?” Ilfen pointed to herself and her companions, ”We’re included too?”

Mr. Li laughed and said, ”Of course, but I hope that you girls are used to eating Chinese food, because I’m preparing to make a hot-pot dish.”

Ilfen said, ”Cool, I’ve eaten Hai Di Lao hot-pots. They’re great, but expensive.”

Hai Di Lao hot-pot was a Chinese dish that had entered the global market. It had followed a high-cost model in the global market, but failed due to that gutsy move.

That, however, was unrelated to Li Du. He packed up his things, carried the tents, crockery, and ingredients, and then they went to the supermarket to buy some meat and vegetables. Afterwards, he went to Oak Creek Canyon with the rest.

Oak Creek Canyon didn’t allow free camping, and had marked out a camping area. It was in a forest near the road. There was also payment needed to book a spot; 18 dollars for a site.

A camping spot could accommodate two double-person tents. There were five girls together with Tina, so with a fifth person, they had to pay for an extra camping spot.

Tina immediately stood with Li Du and said to the person at the counter, ”We’re together.”

Li Du rolled his eyes; not to Tina, but to the Forestry Bureau.

The local Forestry Bureau sure knew how to make money. Almost everything charged a fee. They were more merciless than the ”black shops” in China.

But as he passed through the forest into the camping spot, he understood why they charged a fee.

The canyon didn’t just provide space, but there were also showering facilities and barbecue stands which were free to use.

The camping spot was situated on slightly elevated ground. The view was broad, and the surrounding forest was full of beeches, oaks, and pine trees. They were green and luscious, with flowers on the ground in full bloom. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.

The camping ground had over 80 spots with pop-up tents of various colors.

Li Du found an empty spot and stopped there. He was prepared to set up camp when Tina smiled sweetly and said, ”Leave the tents to me—we’ll help you with it—you go prepare lunch. Let’s split up the work.”

Li Du hesitated and said, ”That’s fine, but I’d like to clarify some things, Tina. Just now, to save money, we said that we’re together. We should stay separate tents.”

Tina couldn’t hold back her laughter and said, ”Of course, what do you think I am? A sexually-frustrated middle-aged wife?”

Mr. Li observed her bold figure; she did somewhat look like a mature lady.

The camping spot had a tap. The water was apparently from a clean creek, and could be drank right from the tap.

After washing the crockery, Li Du added wine to the pot, and flames came bursting out, heating up the pot.

He poured in the soup base, added onions, garlic, and ginger, and then a large serving of spices and chili. Soon, the soup began to boil, and a spicy fragrant began to emit from it.

The five girls seemed to be experienced campers. They were good at setting up the tents. By the time that the hot-pot was ready, they had already set up the three tents.

Li Du asked Ilfen, who was walking over, ”Only two tents? What are the five of you going to do?”

”We’re letting Tina sleep in your tent. Then won’t it be fine for the four of us?”

Li Du could tell that Ilfen was joking, so he said, ”Since you girls have kindly proposed this, then I’ll gladly accept. Remember not to close your tents, I’ll visit at night.”

Ilfen licked her lips and asked with anticipation, ”Can you handle five people?”

The other girls looked at him with interest, and at this point, Li Du couldn’t keep up the joke anymore. ”Ah, alright, you win. I’m an advocate of abstinence—wash your hands and prepare for lunch.”

The other girls didn’t continue to make fun of him, and fervently took their bowls and utensils over to sit together.

Li Du added some slices of lamb into the pot. Soon, he said, ”Alright, we can begin now.”

”Is it cooked?”

”Of course, these cook quickly.” He used peanuts and chives and mixed them together, and said that everyone should eat it all together.

After eating the lamb, he added vegetables, beans, lettuce, cabbage, kale and coriander. Green, blue, white, yellow: All sorts of vegetables were cooking in the red soup, giving a fresh taste to it to go with the spicy fragrance.