My hometown is far away in Moscow.

026 Peng Song Performs

Hu Yi lived to be eighteen and always ate New Year's Eve dinner with his whole family, as did all the other preparatory students. Now, Yan Zhiwen, Lu Tao, and other former students had all returned to China for the New Year, leaving only them in Moscow to spend New Year's Eve together.

Student gatherings are different from hosting a dinner party. Although splitting the bill wasn't common back then, everyone invited was expected to prepare a decent dish. Those who couldn't put together a dish were responsible for providing drinks and snacks, so everyone could eat with peace of mind. As the hosts, it was reasonable for Hu Yi and Li Baoqing to prepare a few extra dishes.

The dishes Li Baoqing presented fully showcased the regional characteristics of Russian cuisine, with potatoes taking center stage as the main ingredient: potato stew with ribs, potato stew with beef, potato stew with chicken, and potato, carrot, and onion stir-fry. Yu Feifei frowned as she watched, saying, "Can you please not stew potatoes in every dish? I need potatoes in my salad too, and please use mushrooms instead of potatoes in the stew with ribs."

Li Baoqing rubbed his hands shyly: "Hehe, okay, I'll do as Feifei says. I was originally thinking of making some hot and sour shredded potatoes."

Peng Song, who was standing in the corner of the room with his hands behind his back and pressed against the wall, suddenly took a step forward: "We've been eating the same stewed chicken with potatoes for the past few months, and we're getting tired of it. Let's change things up for New Year's Eve. I'll stir-fry some Zaozhuang spicy chicken for everyone!"

"What? You're tired of it? When have you ever missed a bite of Baoqing's stewed chicken?" Hu Yi glanced at him, both angry and amused. "You can even cook chicken? That's rare. I haven't seen you cook in months. You come over for meals every few days, and you still have the nerve to say you're tired of it."

Peng Song blushed and shrank back. Li Baoqing felt sorry for him and quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Hey, it's the New Year, everyone cooking makes it more lively! Peng Song, this spicy chicken dish is yours! Damn it, we cook for you all the time, this time we have to try your cooking."

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Hu Yi and others went to the market to make a large-scale purchase according to the raw material list, and immediately began preparations upon returning to their dormitory.

Although it was the first time organizing such a large-scale gathering, and the conditions were extremely simple, Hu Yi arranged all the tasks in an orderly manner, and everyone performed their duties according to the schedule, so it did not seem particularly chaotic.

Outside, it was snowing heavily, but inside the house, the heating was on, and they didn't feel cold even in just a light shirt. They didn't have a refrigerator, so they hung the meat they bought outside the window and brought it inside to thaw in the afternoon. They also moved the beer and drinks outside so they would be perfectly chilled and delicious when it was time to eat.

Li Baoqing was very efficient. He chopped ribs, sliced ​​beef, peeled potatoes, and soaked mushrooms. He took the lead in putting his two main dishes on the stove to simmer over low heat. Then, after wiping his hands, he walked over to Hu Yi and said in a hesitant voice, "Old Hu, I forgot to tell you, um... I also invited a guest."

Hu Yi was playing cards with several classmates, making a ruckus, and casually replied, "Sure, it's Chinese New Year, let's get together and have some fun." Turning around and noticing the subtle expression on his face, he couldn't help but feel a little strange and asked again, "Who is it?"

"He's Russian, you know him too. He should be here soon, I'll go downstairs to meet him." Li Baoqing smiled shyly, dressed neatly, and hurried out the door.

"Damn, he's pretty mysterious." Hu Yi shook his head and smiled as he watched his retreating figure. After playing two more hands of cards, Li Baoqing pushed open the door and came back, followed by a tall figure whose forehead and above were obscured by the door frame, with only most of his face visible.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Li Baoqing coughed twice and introduced him with a hint of pride: "Everyone, this is Masha, our classmate Maji."

The person outside bowed and entered; it was the tall girl with a ponytail from the girls' basketball team. Li Baoqing stammered, gesturing to her, "These people are my friends. We'll cook dinner later, then we'll eat."

"Hello everyone, Happy New Year." Martha waved gracefully and calmly, took a bottle of red wine from her handbag and handed it to Li Baoqing, then looked at Hu Yi in a friendly manner: "Hello, Anton."

"Hello." Hu Yi gathered the playing cards and handed them to the classmate watching the game behind him. He got up and went over to exchange a few simple pleasantries with her. Then he stared at Li Baoqing with a half-smile: "How did you two get together? What's going on?" They sometimes played ball with Masha in PE class, but they didn't talk much. It was quite unexpected to see her on New Year's Eve.

"Don't talk nonsense, nothing's wrong." Li Baoqing's face flushed. "I ran into her in the cafeteria a few days ago, and she asked me what was wrong with my face. I chatted with her for a while and invited her to spend the New Year with me."

"You actually managed to have a good talk with her?" Hu Yi crossed his arms and looked at him with a smile. "Not bad. Don't let your lack of coherent sentences in class fool you; you're quite skilled at picking up girls."

"Don't look down on me, my Russian is actually pretty good." Li Baoqing puffed out his chest, and seeing Hu Yi's dismissive expression, he could only scratch his head and laugh, "Hehe, I have a Russian-Chinese electronic dictionary, I can look up any words I don't know."

"Okay, that can be considered a kind of motivation to learn." Hu Yi wanted to continue making sarcastic remarks, but Li Baoqing interrupted, "There's no place to sit inside. I'll go with her to Peng Song's room for a while, and then we'll come over for dinner later." After saying that, he squeezed to the table, picked up the Russian-Chinese communicator, and took Masha to the next room.

"You little rascals." Hu Yi chuckled, turned around, and told everyone to end the card game. He then began tidying up the house and setting up the tables and chairs. Yu Feifei and the others arrived one after another with various kitchen utensils. They went into the kitchen one by one to chop vegetables, cook, plate, fry, stir-fry, and cook, each showing off their skills and busy themselves with great enthusiasm. Masha and the Ugandan from next door were attracted by the aroma of stir-fries wafting from the room. They stood at the kitchen door, asking questions curiously. Li Baoqing answered them one by one with his electronic dictionary, learning quite a few words in the process.

The ribs and beef were stewed until tender, and several cold dishes were served one after another. The dining table, made up of two writing desks pushed together, was filled with all sorts of utensils, bowls, plates, pots and pans. It looked messy, but it was also filled with a unique festive warmth that only those who are far from home can fully appreciate.

Peng Song's spicy chicken was the grand finale dish. The chicken had been hanging outside the window for most of the day, frozen solid like a rock. Even after being brought inside and placed on the radiator for a long time, it still hadn't thawed. Peng Song swung his cleaver and chopped a few times, only managing to create a few messy cuts on the surface.

It looked like it would take a long time to thaw. Peng Song thought for a moment, then put the battered frozen chicken in a wok and carried it into the toilet. He turned on the tap and filled the pot with hot water. After the frozen chicken slowly thawed, he laboriously lifted the pot and prepared to pour the water into the toilet.

He placed the wok on the edge of the toilet, clumsily used a wooden spatula to block the chicken, and slowly tilted the wok. He saw that most of the water had been poured out, but unexpectedly, the chicken "slipped" past the spatula, rushed out of the wok, and slid into the toilet in a circle.

"Ouch!" Peng Song exclaimed softly, hurriedly putting down the pot and reaching out to scoop the chicken out. But the chicken had just been blanched and was piping hot, making it difficult to handle. The chicken skin was also smooth and greasy, and with the slightest effort, it slipped and slid along the toilet bowl. He scooped it out several times, making the chicken somersault and writhe all over the toilet bowl, wiping the inside of the toilet bowl until it was shiny with oil, before he was finally able to lift it out and put it back in the pot.

Peng Song winced as he was burned, blowing on his hands and frantically turning his head to look outside. Fortunately, everyone inside was engrossed in their conversation and didn't notice the commotion in the toilet. Only Hu Yi, who happened to be sitting diagonally opposite the toilet, was staring at him in astonishment.

The two stared at each other, speechless for a moment, before Hu Yi lowered his eyelids first. Peng Song stood there for a while, then casually walked into the kitchen with the pot in his hand. He quickly rinsed the chicken under the tap, then chopped it into small pieces. He heated the oil, sautéed the chicken pieces, and poured them all into the pot.