Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 76 Xiao Hong and Chen Xiao

Chen Xiao asked Xiao Wei, "Why aren't you cooking? Aren't you a chef too?"

Chen Hui laughed heartily, and Xiao Wei said, "The rest of you can handle it. I'll just take it easy. I'm at home anyway, so I can just make do with whatever I can find."

Even Xiao Hong couldn't help but laugh. Chen Xiao was bewildered and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Xiao Hong covered her mouth and chuckled for a while before saying, "He can't do anything, haha, he's barely even chopped vegetables a few times."

Chen Xiao choked on his water and coughed, pointing at Xiao Wei and asking, "What kind of chef are you, learning nothing?"

Xiao Wei said, "You only learn something if you don't know it. What's the point of learning if you already know it?"

Chen Xiao opened her mouth, blinked, and stared blankly for a moment before turning to ask Wang Lu, "Aren't these classes and stuff where you get your certificates?"

Wang Lu said, "It is for obtaining a certificate, but it doesn't say that people who don't know how can't learn."

Chen Xiao thought for a moment and asked Xiao Wei, "Is your teacher not crazy?" Xiao Hong laughed, and Chen Hui laughed too. Xia Maosheng poked his head out from the kitchen and said, "He's a celebrity in our class. The teacher won't let him ask questions. He says that seeing him makes him lose his mood for teaching, hahaha."

After laughing for a while, Chen Xiao asked, "So what are you learning now?"

Xiao Wei said, "I can cut vegetables and meat now. I'm cutting potatoes in the kitchen when I go to class to practice my knife skills."

Xiao Hong nodded and said, "He is quite serious and works very hard. His hands are all worn out. How can he learn well if he is so serious about it?"

Chen Xiao asked, "So what did you do before?"

Xiao Wei said, "When she was in high school, I was working on construction sites, building houses. After she got into this university, I came to stay with her. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her here alone. Anyway, I'm a grown man, I can do whatever I want, anywhere."

Chen Xiao stared wide-eyed and asked, "How long have you two been together? It sounds like it's been years."

Xiao Hong blushed and looked at Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei said, "Our two families live in adjacent houses. Her dad and my dad are close. We grew up together. She used to bully me when we were little, and she still does now." Xiao Hong punched Xiao Wei.

Chen Hui fiddled with the camera, took out the film, and said to Xiao Wei, "Come on, I'll teach you how to load the film."

Xiao Wei asked, "How do I get on this thing? Can I handle it?"

Chen Hui said, "It's easy. Even a bricklayer can do this, so it's no problem. The key is the feel for it. If it's done well, you can take more pictures. If it's not done well, you can still get a decent 36. No problem, come on."

Xiao Wei sat down, and Chen Hui held up the film and said to him, "Look at this, the film head is only half-bent. In the camera, on this spool, see? There's a notch. Pinch this head and hold the film in this position. You can feel it clicking in. Then pull this head out and insert it into this notch from above. Then pull it tight by hand, but not too hard. After pulling, turn this handle until you feel it's taut. Then close the back cover, and you're done. Try it. No, no, this one's already taken. Get a new one."

Xiao Wei took out a new roll of film, looked at the film head, squeezed it with his hand, then looked at the spool in the back compartment, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

Chen Hui said, "Just pretend like this, just take a couple less pictures. Once you've mastered the technique, you can use a dark bag." He then handed the camera to Xiao Wei.

Xiao Wei held the roll of glue up and down for a few moments, then said, "Do we need to blow it up with a balloon too?"

Chen Hui said, "It's fine if you blow on it, it's fine if you don't, it doesn't matter, but you can blow on it a few times."

Xiao Wei put down the film roll, clumsily took out a balloon and blew it into the camera compartment a few times. Then, as was his habit, he was about to blow it with his mouth when Chen Hui pushed his head aside and said, "Are you crazy? Do you think we can just throw this camera away? Let me tell you, if you do that to the lens, it'll be ruined. It'll be covered in dots."

Xiao Wei was a little embarrassed and said, "I'm used to it. I'll just have to bear with it from now on, okay?"

Chen Hui said, "Okay, go ahead and do it. Pull it out slowly, don't pull out too much, otherwise it will be exposed and unusable."

Xiao Wei inserted the film roll into the back compartment, then pinched the film tip and pulled it out. Although he was careful, he still pulled it too far, inserting the film tip into the spindle. Then he tried to pull it back, but Chen Hui said, "Don't pull it back, just shake it this way to tighten it."

Xiao Wei held the film with one hand and clumsily turned the crank with the other, gently tightening the film, and asked, "Why can't I turn it back? Can't I turn it back if I pull it too far?"

Chen Hui said, "You're outside, so if you poop too much, it won't work anymore. Shaking it back won't help either. It would still work if it were in the inner pocket, but it's best not to poop too much. Take it slow, you'll get used to it. Close the back cover, it's all set up."

Xiao Wei closed the back cover, then looked the camera up and down and left and right, and said, "That's it? Can I take pictures now?"

Chen Hui nodded and said, "You can take pictures now, but you can't yet. You need to read books first and learn about shutter speed, aperture, and things like that, otherwise the pictures will be useless."

Xiao Wei nodded, put the camera on the table, and said, "This thing is more troublesome than cooking."

Chen Xiao, who was watching from the side, said, "You're going to learn photography too?"

Chen Hui said, "He just bought this camera today, not to learn how to use it."

Chen Xiao pointed to the Ricoh and Seagull watches placed to the side and asked, "Did you buy all of these?"

Chen Hui said, "Those two are from my family. I originally wanted him to use ours to practice and learn first, but this guy is impatient and bought them first. By the way, Xiaowei, why don't you practice with this Seagull film first? This film is cheap, and you can develop it yourself at my house. It's also a good opportunity to learn some darkroom work."

Xiao Wei asked, "Why is this so cheap? And can you wash it yourself?"

Chen Xiao said, "It's black and white. My dad also washes it at home, making the toilet so dark and gloomy that you can't even go in."

Chen Hui said, "This operation is much simpler; yours is too complicated. 135 also has black and white film; you can buy some to practice. I have a darkroom at home, with all the chemicals and stuff. We can just come to my place to develop it later."

Xiao Wei asked, "Can't the colored ones be washed by yourself?"

Chen Hui said, "That works, but the chemicals are different, and color film can't be exposed to any light at all, while black and white film can be lit with a red light."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look sometime. I don't need yours anymore. I'll buy a few black and white practice sheets tomorrow and use mine to practice. It's something I'll have to learn sooner or later."

Chen Hui said, "Okay, let's go together tomorrow and get the photos from today developed."

Xia Maosheng poked his head out and said, "Put the table down, it's time to eat."

Xiao Wei got up, set the table, and arranged the chairs.

I had congee and steamed buns, six stir-fried dishes, and a bowl of soup with chopped scallions floating on top. It looked delicious.

Everyone sat down at the table, and Chen Xiao picked up a steamed bun and said, "This was bought downstairs, right? Don't buy from this place again. Go a little further ahead, that place is better, it's made with old fat. This one is made with yeast, it doesn't taste good." She stood up, poured herself a small bowl of soup, took a sip, nodded, and said, "It's delicious."

Several young men ate steamed buns, soup, and vegetables with Chen Xiao. Xiao Hong and Wang Lu didn't want steamed buns, but drank a bowl of porridge with the vegetables and ate some pickled vegetables.

After the meal, everyone warmed up and stopped sweating. The girls cleaned up, and the rest of the group sat down to smoke.

While washing the dishes, Chen Xiao said to Xiao Hong, "Do you guys eat like this every day? Won't you get fat? Cooking is so different for those of us who study cooking; they seem to think it tastes much better."