A short while later, Da Bao and the others returned.
Outside, several staff mbers had set up a dazzling array of fruits and vegetables, like a pop-up market. The children could only recognize a handful of the items on display.
The four siblings would often help Lin Feng in the kitchen, peeling garlic, washing vegetables, and doing other small chores. They were familiar with all the vegetables there. San Bao, in particular, recognized most of the produce laid out before them. Jiang An and Zhou Wenwen had been a bit reluctant to participate in the task at first, but now they were starting to have fun.
Many of the little ones, afraid of forgetting their assigned items, muttered the descriptions to themselves.
One child repeated, "Red, red, round, round..." In the end, he proudly walked away with an orange.
Another was whispering about sothing long and thin. However, he ran into a good friend and stopped to chat for a few minutes. By the ti he rembered his task, he was stumped. Huh? What was I supposed to get? Was it long or round? After a mont of indecision, he just grabbed what soone else was holding—an apple. Ooh, I really want to eat this! he whimpered to himself, before happily heading back.
So children worked in pairs, chatting and deliberating.
"What are you getting? Mine's supposed to be round, red, and big."
"Mine is green with a little hat on top!"
"Whoa, so of them have little hats?"
"I don't know! That's just what my mom told !"
"Mine is... wait, mine is round, right?"
"I think so!"
"Round... and big..."
"Mine is green..."
"What color is mine again? Wow, look at that polo! It's huge!"
"Do you think the 'round, big' one is the polo?"
"Probably! Uncle, can I have a polo, please? Thank you!"
So kids skipped out, spotted what they wanted, and bounced right back. Others arrived looking utterly bewildered, grabbed sothing at random, and left looking just as bewildered. And then there were those who made a beeline for their target and promptly returned. Usually, this last group already knew the answer.
For instance, Er Bao and San Bao knew exactly what they were looking for from the very beginning. Da Bao did too.
After making their selections, Da Bao's group was heading back when they ran into Si Bao.
San Bao pattered over to him. "Si Bao, what are you trying to get?"
"Garlic!" Si Bao declared confidently.
Da Bao pointed. "There's garlic over there!"
Si Bao scurried off in that direction, calling back, "I'll be right there once the task is done!"
After walking a little further, the group bumped into Er Bao.
She greeted them with a smile. "Oh, you're all done already? That was fast!"
"Er Bao, what's your item?" San Bao asked.
Er Bao thought for a mont. "Sichuan peppercorns, I think!"
Da Bao looked slightly surprised. "Do they even have Sichuan peppercorns?"
San Bao pondered. "I'm not sure. I didn't see any earlier!"
"What's a Sichuan peppercorn?" Zhou Wenwen asked.
"It's a kind of spice," Da Bao explained. "It makes your mouth tingle when you eat it!"
"Oh, that stuff!" Zhou Wenwen understood imdiately.
Jiang An added, "If they don't have any over there, you probably guessed wrong."
Er Bao's brow furrowed. "I'm going to go look!"
Hugging an eggplant, San Bao waved to her. "We're going ahead then, Er Bao. Bye!"
"Okay!"
When Er Bao went to look, she was amazed. Not only were there Sichuan peppercorns, but also star anise and cinnamon sticks. She recognized them because Lin Feng would sotis add them to his stews. She still rembered the taste of the star anise she had once mistaken for a snack. Besides those, there were also angelica root, dried yam slices, and lotus seeds.
"Wow," Er Bao whispered.
In reality, all these extra items were just red herrings designed to confuse the children.
Er Bao grabbed the Sichuan peppercorns and trotted off.
anwhile, the parents chuckled as they watched their children return one after another.
"Oh my gosh, I told him 'apple,' and he brought back a polo! How could he be so far off?"
"Mine wasn't much better. I said cucumber, and she brought back an apple! She's already eating it without even washing it!"
"Look at how confident they are. I don't have the heart to tell them they're wrong."
"Our housekeeper always does the cooking at ho. The answer this ti was ginger. My daughter is probably just guessing!"
"Hey, my son got it right! What a pleasant surprise!"
Outside, the children reported to a teacher. If they were correct, they earned points; if not, they had to go back and try again.
Zhang Yuxi pointed into the distance. "Honey, they're coming back."
Lin Feng went over to look.
Jiang An's small red pepper was correct, and the staff had thoughtfully wrapped it in paper for him. Zhou Wenwen had a tomato, and Da Bao had a cherry tomato. However, they realized they might have mixed them up while waiting in line.
"Big brother, do you think we swapped ours?" Zhou Wenwen whispered.
San Bao chid in, "I think you swapped them too!"
Da Bao and Zhou Wenwen glanced at each other. They had only caught one key detail from their clue: their items were the sa, just one was big and one was small.
Jiang An wasn't sure. "Why don't you try it this way first? If it's wrong, you can just swap back."
That sounded like a solid plan.
Jiang An earned 0.5 points.
San Bao's cucumber was correct, earning another 0.5 points.
When it was Da Bao and Zhou Wenwen's turn, the teacher told them they were wrong.
They quickly swapped their items. "How about now?"
The teacher was speechless.
Da Bao and Zhou Wenwen each earned 0.5 points.
In the first round, the team scored a total of 2.5 points—a very respectable start worthy of celebration! Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi showered the kids with effusive praise, making Zhou Wenwen and Jiang An blush.
「Next, the second round of the competition began.」
Si Bao returned with the correct item: garlic!
The father who had given him the clue was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected Si Bao to get it right. His description had been too vague, and he later worried that it could have referred to too many things.
"How did you guess it was garlic?" he asked.
Si Bao thought it was simple. "Because your face looked like this..." He scrunched up his own face to imitate the man's expression when describing a pungent taste. The teacher had interrupted the father before he could finish, but Si Bao had caught the most important clue: the item had to have a very strong taste.
The father praised him, "You're a very smart kid!"
Si Bao grinned sheepishly.
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