Insufficient balance

  "Everyone, slow down! We will definitely improve the problems at work and make more delicious food for everyone!" Zhang Ban Zhang saw off the last soldier leaving the cafeteria, his whole person was like a deflated balloon, soft and panting heavily on a stool. Until I and Chang Sun Ting helped to clean up the dishes on the table, he barely regained some energy, "Fu Yin Xue, Chang Sun Ting, you two stay behind, I have something to discuss with you, everyone else can disperse and do their own thing."

  The monitor, Zhang, remained silent. We sat quietly beside him. The canteen, which had been so lively just a moment before, fell into silence. It wasn't until night began to fall that we could only barely see the outline of each other's bodies in the darkness.

  It wasn't until much later that Zhang, the class leader, cleared his throat and said: "Fu Yinxue, Chang Sun Ting, I know it's a demotion for you both to be assigned to our cooking class. To be honest, I've never seen Asuda, that Mongolian guy, afraid of anyone before. You don't know how powerful and confident you looked at that moment. I think you two can really become big shots in the future. But there are some things I need to talk to you about.

  "I think the higher-ups sent you to my cooking class not as a punishment, but to grind off the sharp edges on your bodies. The army is like a chain, it needs each link to be hard enough not to break, and also needs each link to strictly adhere to its own position, through overall coordination to transmit power to the wheels, so our war chariot can advance at high speed."

  "Now you two have become cooks, I can understand that you are naturally very dissatisfied. You came to this poor mountain with a full load of ambitions, but ended up becoming someone else's nanny. It's hard for me to accept. But people who can achieve great things should be like pearls, shining brightly wherever they are, not giving up on themselves as soon as they encounter setbacks. In my eyes, Zhang Huaizhong, only those who can withstand setbacks and fight again and again are true heroes. Otherwise, you two are just reckless and impulsive fools!"

  If it were yesterday, we wouldn't have heard a word from Zhang the class monitor, but now he dares to stand in front of over a hundred people, puffing out his chest to protect us. Both Chang Sun Ting and I remembered every single one of his words. "Even if you two can win against a hundred people, what's the point? Won't you still have to face the military court and receive the harshest punishment? Is it not possible to show your bravery and individuality without revealing your sharp edges and making others bleed? If you use your bravery and individuality to help your comrades and blend in with everyone else, won't you find it easier to gain everyone's recognition and respect?"

  This is a golden saying from an old soldier ten years older than us. Sergeant Zhang said all the words in one breath, stood up and said in a low voice: "You think about it carefully, I hope you can wholeheartedly devote yourself to your work tomorrow, and use the fastest speed to accept others' kind opinions and correct your mistakes, isn't that also a kind of personality and courage?"

  We watched Zhang Classmate's chubby body walk out of the cafeteria, and Chang Sun Ting asked: "What do you think?"

  I stretched my numb body from sitting for too long and said, "If we two brothers can't even listen to other people's kind and correct advice, what qualifications do we have to become the strongest and most powerful soldiers in the world? From now on, let's muster our spirits and make a name for ourselves in the cooking class!"

  As for my confidence, Zhang Sun Ting suddenly poured a bucket of cold water: "You can't even make the most basic scrambled eggs now, and you want to be admired by future generations? Unless you have the ability to create a full Manchu-Han banquet in our cooking class!"

  "Cut!" I made a vulgar gesture at Chang Sunting, "Even if we managed to whip up a full Manchu-Han banquet, it would only be enough for each of Master X's students to have a small bowl. Apart from earning the reputation of being extravagant and wasteful, who would remember ten or twenty years later that in this humble cooking class, there were two extraordinary individuals, Fu Yinxue and Chang Sunting, who left behind unforgettable and beautiful memories?"

  "Now, what are we in other people's eyes? Do you think they'll still remember us ten or twenty years later?! If we really spend the next two years stuck in the kitchen, it'll be a disaster. I'm afraid that when we retire, we'll still be just two low-ranking soldiers with no stripes or stars on our shoulders."

  "So we must strive to be strong, and do things that others can't do in ordinary positions," my eyes flashed, and suddenly burst out with great confidence, proudly saying: "In school, I studied marketing, although I only read for a year before dropping out, but with my talent, I can surpass others who have spent years studying hard. Compared to you, a crazy bull who only knows how to use brute force, I have a more unique perspective and wisdom. I am confident that under the guidance of my vision and wisdom, our cooking class will become the best in the whole school!"

  Chang Sun Ting looked at the guy in front of him with disdain and sneered, "We two are known as the 'Deviant Bull' by everyone. Since I'm the bull, that makes you the deviant! This nickname is really tailor-made for you! So, I'd like to ask Mr. Deviant, with your unique perspective and wisdom, what kind of geometric changes can you produce? Can you steam rice into mantou or stew dried onions into beef?"

  "Indeed, great minds think alike!" I exclaimed, slapping my thigh: "It seems you've also noticed that our mess hall's menu is too monotonous - apart from dried onions and potatoes, other vegetables are limited in quantity due to transportation difficulties. We only get a taste of them during holidays. Think about it, we two brothers have only been here for a few days and our mouths are already getting tired of the same old flavors, let alone others!"

  Chang Sun Ting lazily responded, "Then what do you want to do? Are you going to open up a small farm in the camp and plant vegetables? You have to remember that this is a high plateau with an altitude of several thousand meters, the average temperature is too low for vegetable growth, unless you can come up with some kind of greenhouse."

  "Humph! You think you can open up a farm in this rocky camp, let alone with your arrogant attitude? I'm afraid even if we were to invite the great Cow Demon King himself, he'd have a headache trying to figure it out!" I stood up and gazed out the glass window at the brightly lit military camp amidst the humming of the generators, and declared proudly: "I will change the food situation for the entire army within three months. Whether it's ten or twenty years from now, in this military camp, our names will forever be remembered, and future generations can learn from us the principle of self-reliance!"

  Three months to change the diet of all teachers, this is absolutely a big plan, in Zhang Sun Ting's serious gaze, I took a deep breath and said loudly: "I want to establish the first tofu house in X School!"

  Chang Sun Ting almost fell off the stool, but after a moment of contemplation, his eyes lit up and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming: "Not bad! This is indeed something my brother and I can accomplish right now. As long as we get a stone mill going and open a tofu house, we can provide tofu, tofu skin, and dried tofu for the entire school's culinary class, making our meals completely new!"

  "That's not all," I laughed, "now everyone is tired of eating dried bacon, but the amount of fresh meat is limited. We can make a batch of tofu and cook it with beef for several hours until the meat flavor is fully absorbed, isn't that a great ingredient? Even stir-frying it in dishes is a kind of artificial meat! Moreover, we can also make nutritious soy milk, and the leftover tofu residue is also a useful treasure. Just mix it with some rotten vegetable leaves and potato skins from the kitchen, and it's another feast..."

  "Wait a minute!" Zhang Sun Ting stared at me with his eyes wide with amazement, "It wasn't until today that I realized you really have the potential to become a swindler! Isn't tofu dregs something used to feed pigs? How dare you take it and add some things that should be thrown into the trash can, and then create a big meal out of it? If everyone eats it and doesn't overturn the kitchen, it would be strange. The others will all be implicated, and in the end, only you and I, the two culprits, might be able to escape unscathed."

  "That's what it's for, to feed you!" I glared at Zhangsun Ting and said: "Since we have enough food, my brother and I can both work as tofu makers. Why can't we raise a few pigs and improve our diet? In the future, if we want to eat pig trotters, we can eat pig trotters; if we want to stew ribs, we can stew ribs, and eat one piece after another."