Until now, Kuz had never shown his extraordinary strength. Sometimes, I acted childishly and wrestled with him on the back of a rhinoceros. I would also pin him down and make him beg for mercy. Kuz would always laugh heartily and concede defeat.

At that time, I didn't think much of it. I thought his strength was only slightly greater than mine, at most, he was good at running, had great endurance, could climb trees, and jump higher than me.

Even today, when we return from hunting guinea pigs, I still feel that we both made an equal effort in carrying them back. But now, looking back, I realize that I've fallen into the same old pattern of thinking, imagining myself to be strong, when in reality, I probably wouldn't have been able to lift even the smallest of the guinea pig carcasses.

It seems that Kuz took on most of the weight at that time, and I was careless enough to not notice as I walked ahead. I quickly turned to Mr. Leipa, the steward, and said, 'Mr. Leipa, does this mean we can get started? Perhaps I can do some other tasks, like washing and carrying water. Kuz is quite the skilled cook.'

Mr. Leipa, with his slender eyes, looked at me and Kuz with a smile before turning to the chubby and greasy cook, Mr. Anlu. He ordered, 'We'll leave tonight's stewed meat to these two young men. I have one request, Mr. Anlu, listen carefully: I need you to ensure their safety. If anything goes wrong, you'll feel my wrath. And I guarantee that you won't receive any medical treatment for the rest of the journey. Do you understand?'

Mr. Anlu, with his round, oily face covered in wrinkles, wiped his sweat with a handkerchief of indiscernible color. He struggled to pull in his pot-belly from the crowd and said to Mr. Leipa with a distressed expression, 'Please rest assured, sir. I will take good care of these two young men.'

When Kuz kept trying to speak, I tightly grabbed his sleeve. After Mr. Leipa left, the crowd dispersed, leaving only me and Kuz with a shovel. I said to Kuz, 'I'll be in charge of everything, but I'm not very strong. You'll need to put in some effort, after all, we're cooking dinner for over 200 people. Even if it's just one dish, I can't do it alone.'

Kuz relaxed his nervous face and took a deep breath. 'I don't know how to stew meat, but I have plenty of strength. Just tell me what physical tasks need to be done, Jia. I'll do whatever I can.'