Chapter 36
Zong Mo was certain that Ruan Chi had not slept well.
The bedding was too thin, the floor too hard. He woke up with a sore back and had slept restlessly. When Zong Mo woke up in the middle of the night, he saw Ruan Chi looking at him in the faint moonlight, his gaze like the cold glint of a knife.
He was startled and only fell back asleep after a long while.
When he woke up in the morning, Ruan Chi was sleeping soundly, a rare sight of him in a deep sleep.
Ling Han didn’t want to be in the same room with the two of them. He had arrived the latest but was the first to wake up, going to the courtyard to tune his guitar. The twins followed soon after, going out for their morning exercise, very self-disciplined.
Zong Mo, on the other hand, had to cook, so he had to get up.
He left Ruan Chi to sleep peacefully, even thoughtfully leaving the door ajar.
In his sleep, Ruan Chi felt a wetness on his face and mumbled groggily, “Hmm… don’t mess around.”
The live stream room was quiet in the morning. Most of the viewers were with the few who had already woken up, but there were still fans of Ruan Chi who had stayed behind at the bedroom camera. Upon hearing this sleep-talk, they all rushed to comment.
【Hmm? Don’t mess around?】
【Why would CEO Ruan say ‘don’t mess around’ when a dog licks him awake?】
【Something’s not right here, it’s definitely not my problem (confident face)】
Only after a second lick on his face did Ruan Chi slowly wake up. Then, he did a carp flip, springing up from the floor, and shouted, “Zong Mo!!”
Zong Mo: ?
“I think someone called me?”
“What are we having for breakfast today?” Qi Zhiyi asked.
Zong Mo turned his attention back and said, “Let’s see what we have to eat first…”
【CEO Ruan is hilarious, hahahaha】
【Why can the live stream cut to Mo Mo’s camera so perfectly, hahaha】
Ruan Chi stood in a corner, in a standoff with Hope for five minutes.
In the end, Hope gave up first, wagged its tail, ignored him, and ran out.
Ruan Chi quickly went to lock the door, then came back, picked up Zong Mo’s quilt, and wiped his face.
【Mo Mo, your quilt is not clean anymore!!!】
【Can someone tell Mo Mo, hahahaha】
Zong Mo, completely unaware, seriously contemplated the day’s meal problem.
Ruan Chi, without any sense of conservation, spent half an hour washing up, put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses to hide his exhausted face, and went downstairs to get someone.
【How does CEO Ruan look so young after washing his face?】
【Gold-rimmed glasses, hiss ha hiss ha, can they be permanently welded to his face?】
Zong Mo hadn’t found anything to eat yet when he was caught and questioned by Ruan Chi.
“Why is this dog always pestering me?”
“Is it?” Zong Mo didn’t quite agree. “I feel like it’s quite even-handed?”
It’s wagging its tail at Ling Han right now!
Ruan Chi refused to accept this explanation. Zong Mo thought for a moment and said, “Maybe you have a dog smell on you? Because you had a dog before?”
Ruan Chi: ?
A dog smell from two years ago still lingers today?
Ruan Chi glanced at him, the corners of his lips curling up meaningfully. “Mm, indeed.”
Zong Mo: ?
Was he just insulted? Yes, right?
Only then did Zong Mo notice that Ruan Chi was wearing glasses. His eyes, hidden behind the lenses, were half-lowered, concealing the fatigue in them. And the distance added by the lenses gave him a bit of a cool and reserved air.
“Why are you wearing glasses, Ruan-ge?” Zong Mo asked after staring for a while.
Ruan Chi lifted his eyelids, his terrible mood written all over his face.
It was the first time he had seen him wear glasses, and the first time he had seen him look tired. Zong Mo found it interesting and asked again, “Can I borrow your glasses when I’m cooking later? To protect against the oil smoke.”
【Using CEO Ruan’s glasses to protect against oil smoke, hahaha】
【Has anyone recognized the brand of the glasses? I suspect our Mo Mo can’t afford to pay for them (kneels)】
Tu Bu silently entered the frame and handed a card to the few who had run out of ammunition.
As the head chef and the backbone, Zong Mo naturally took it and read the contents of the card out loud, “Today’s breakfast menu: fried dough sticks and soy milk. Upon successful completion, you will receive some vegetable seeds.”
Zong Mo: ?
The simplest breakfast often has the most difficult cooking method.
“Fried dough sticks… do we have to start from making the dough?”
Director Tu nodded without emotion.
“What about the soy milk? Do we have to grind the beans?”
Nod.
Zong Mo: ?
Tu Bu didn’t push things to the extreme. He added, “You can now discuss the ingredients needed for breakfast and inform the program team within ten minutes. No extra ingredients are allowed. Any ingredients not used in the breakfast will be confiscated.”
They already had flour. Zong Mo didn’t think for long and said directly, “I need baking soda, yeast, and eggs.”
These were the necessary ingredients for making fried dough sticks. Tu Bu nodded.
“And milk.”
Tu Bu timely vetoed, “The drink for breakfast is soy milk.”
Zong Mo said, “I want to use milk to make the dough. It will be more fragrant.”
Tu Bu looked at a female colleague who knew how to cook, who nodded.
Zong Mo continued, “For the soy milk, I need soybeans, red beans, millet, lotus seeds, peanuts. Hmm, we used up the peanuts yesterday…”
“Wait,” Tu Bu emphasized again, “it’s soy milk.”
“Mixed grain soy milk,” Zong Mo said. “Is that not allowed?”
The focus of this segment was to let the guests experience making dough, frying dough sticks, and using a primitive stone mill to grind soy milk. Tu Bu didn’t hesitate much and generously met Zong Mo’s request. The ingredients he gave were probably worth another half of Ruan Chi’s watch.
So rich!
Zong Mo hadn’t even proposed to assign tasks when Qi Zhiyi proactively came over and asked, “Little Mo, do you need our help?”
“Do you know how to make dough?”
Qi Zhiyi shook his head and said, “No, can you teach me~”
Without measuring tools, Zong Mo used his intuition to mix the milk, eggs, and flour in a basin, then instructed, “Wash your hands, then knead the flour and water into a dough. If it’s dry, add some milk. If it’s wet, add some flour.”
“Mm,” Qi Zhiyi nodded seriously. “How many grams to add?”
Probably a habit from living in M Country.
Zong Mo pondered for a moment and said, “An appropriate amount.”
The essence of Chinese cooking.
They were two 23-year-old adults anyway. Zong Mo didn’t think kneading dough would be that difficult. There was still the task of washing the beans and various grains left. He unceremoniously found Ling Han, who had been treating him like a monstrous beast.
He even added a compliment, “You washed the bowls very clean yesterday. Why don’t you wash the beans today?”
Ling Han: …
His face turned even darker.
Ling Han, who had just debuted and didn’t have many activities, unexpectedly gained a large number of fans in the live stream and became a top meme-maker.
【Hahahaha I finally know why Ling Han has a problem with Zong Mo!!】
【As expected of the chef, he’s so good at stabbing people with a knife.】
【So Ling Han’s persona is the group’s punching bag, hhh】
“Then what are you doing?” Ling Han asked.
“I have to fry the dough sticks and cook the soy milk later. It’s very tiring,” Zong Mo said frankly.
Ling Han glanced at the idle Ruan Chi. Although he had long guessed the reason, he still found it hard to accept and asked again, “What about him?”
“Hmm…” Zong Mo thought for a moment and said, “Grinding the beans?”
Ruan Chi: ?
Zong Mo returned to the topic and urged, “Hurry up and wash them. Bring them over early so we can have breakfast early.”
Ling Han wanted to say something but held back. In front of the live camera, he could only swallow his questions. His face grew darker and gloomier. He silently carried the basin and left.
Considering that Ruan Chi hadn’t rested well and was a big CEO who never touched household chores, Zong Mo hadn’t originally intended for him to work. But since he had already said it, and it would be strange for one person to be idle while everyone else was busy, his reputation might turn bad. So he just had him supervise himself grinding the soy milk.
Finding the small stone mill in the courtyard, Zong Mo added the soaked soybeans and water, scooping them into the round hole on top, one spoonful at a time, while turning the mill. It was a bit strenuous at first, but soon, a white, foamy liquid began to flow out from under the mill.
In this age of blenders, it was the first time Zong Mo had used such a primitive method to make soy milk. He found it fresh and interesting and said to Ruan Chi, “Ruan-ge, want to try?”
“Wait,” Ruan Chi realized a problem. “This mill… has it been washed?”
Zong Mo: …
“The inside of the mill can’t get rained on. It should be clean.”
Ruan Chi looked at the mill, which was constantly spitting out yellow foam, and felt an indescribable discomfort.
“Is this how all soy milk is made?”
“Of course not. At home, I just use a blender to make soy milk with one button,” Zong Mo said, then, remembering he was on a live stream, he corrected himself as if to salvage the situation, “Hmm, when I’m at my home…”
Ruan Chi: …
“There seems to be some red powder inside.”
Zong Mo waited for Ruan Chi to point it out to him, then complained in his heart that CEO Ruan was too particular. He said nonchalantly, “It’s probably red dates.”
“Did you put in red dates?”
Zong Mo: …
In the small basins next to them, the freshly washed red dates were still piled high.
“It’s fine,” Zong Mo said with a straight face. “When the soy milk is ready, let Ling Han drink it first.”
When frying the dough sticks, Zong Mo successfully borrowed Ruan Chi’s glasses. Although the effect of protecting against oil smoke wasn’t that great, he definitely looked cool.
So satisfying!
It wasn’t until noon that the long-overdue breakfast was served on the table.
Qi Zhiyi was starving but still hesitated, “My manager sister doesn’t allow us to eat fried dough sticks…”
Ruan Chi also had no interest in fried dough sticks, and it was even more impossible for him to drink the clearly problematic soy milk.
As expected, Ling Han was the first to pick up his chopsticks.
Last night’s meat buns had disappeared without a trace after entering his stomach. He was really hungry now, not much better than yesterday. His stomach wasn’t even growling anymore; it was aching with hunger pangs.
Anyway, it was definitely not because he was craving Zong Mo’s cooking!
He first took a big gulp of soy milk, and then—
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!”
The eighteen-year-old boy’s on-screen image was already ruined in the live stream.
His fair little face instantly turned the color of pig liver. After coughing for a while, his thin lips were as red as blood. The schadenfreude in the bullet comments finally subsided a little, and the shorts started flying.
Zong Mo secretly marveled. No wonder Ling Han was only Gong #5. Besides being young and bold, he was also shorter and thinner than him. He really didn’t look like a gong at all.
He didn’t mind giving his husband fans to Ling Han at all.
After finally finishing coughing, Ling Han roared, “So spicy!!”
Zong Mo was puzzled, “I put in rock sugar. How can it be spicy?”
No one believed Ling Han’s words, and no one was willing to test the danger themselves.
Tu Bu, who was not hiding his craving for Zong Mo’s cooking, proactively ran over and took a small sip.
His reaction wasn’t as intense as Ling Han’s, but he couldn’t help but let out a low cough, “It really is a bit spicy.”
“Director Tu, is there a problem with the ingredients you gave?” Zong Mo asked. It couldn’t be a problem with his cooking skills!
Ruan Chi, who had witnessed it all, reminded him, “You didn’t wash the mill.”
Zong Mo: …
“It was probably used by the villagers to grind chili peppers before. It’s fine. It’s all edible. It’s not dirty.”
Ling Han: ?
After this incident, even Ling Han, who was so hungry his chest was sticking to his back, refused to eat the fried dough sticks.
The dough was made with eggs and milk, without a drop of water, and then deep-fried at high temperature. So fragrant!
Zong Mo ate his fill. The twins and Ruan Chi just tried a little. Half of the fried dough sticks, which had been painstakingly made from scratch, were left.
Wasting was impossible. Zong Mo directly included the remaining fried dough sticks in the dinner menu and ruthlessly rejected the black-hearted and freeloading program team.
The task of the set menu was barely completed. The group received a batch of vegetable seeds, which they painstakingly planted. They probably wouldn’t be able to eat them before the end of the show.
Fortunately, the program team was not so harsh as to be inhuman. After planting the seeds, they were rewarded with dinner ingredients, including vegetables and meat, not a large amount, but enough to not starve.
Even if he had to maintain his figure, Zong Mo would never be stingy or make do when it came to eating. He tried every way to add more dishes for everyone.
He added the remaining mixed grains to the white rice to make a visually pleasing and richly textured mixed grain rice. He mixed the remaining milk and flour together, adding green onions and chili powder to half of it to make egg pancakes, and adding rock sugar and baking powder to the other half to make sweet and soft muffins.
Even though it was staple food paired with staple food, it made Qi Zhiyi so hungry he wanted to cry, loudly praising the goodness of the motherland.
But Qi Nanfeng said, “But the egg pancakes we had at the hotel before were very average.”
Qi Zhiyi nodded vigorously, “Mm! It’s Mo Mo’s cooking skills that are good!”
Zong Mo was a little at a loss from the two’s back-and-forth praise. Ling Han on the other side was even more at a loss.
Even if he starved to death, he had to hold on. He absolutely could not bow down for five pecks of rice!
As long as Zong Mo apologized to him for the soy milk, or urged him to eat, he would…
Eagerly, but absolutely not showing it, pick up his chopsticks.
The twins were eating with gusto. Ling Han, on the other hand, sat stiffly to the side with his head lowered, occasionally glancing at Zong Mo.
【What on earth is Ling Han doing, hahaha】
【My baby, don’t hold on anymore. Mama knows you’re hungry.】
【Angry alone, no one cares.jpg】
Zong Mo wouldn’t go looking for trouble by staring at Gong #5 for no reason. Naturally, he didn’t notice the sulking Ling Han. He even picked up a piece of the reddest and best-looking dish and put it in Ruan Chi’s bowl.
Ruan Chi: “This… what is this?”
“Mm,” Qi Zhiyi swallowed the food in his mouth and joined in, “I was wondering too. Although I couldn’t tell what it was, it was quite delicious.”
Seeing Ruan Chi’s rare look of shock, Zong Mo was happy and said, “Sweet and sour fried dough sticks.”
Ruan Chi’s brows furrowed. “Sweet and sour… what?”
He was so shocked that even the usually decisive CEO Ruan was talking nonsense.
“Sweet, sour, and crispy. It’s very delicious.”
“I don’t like sweets.”
“I already reduced the sugar by half,” Zong Mo said, his tone rising with anticipation. “Want to try?”
【Old married couples are the best to ship, yyds】
【Mo Mo is so considerate, ahh, if CEO Ruan doesn’t eat it, give it to me, wuwuwu, I don’t mind and I’m not afraid of dying from the sweetness】
Ruan Chi refused, “No. Take it away.”
“Just try a little,” Zong Mo relentlessly fed him. “Sweet and sour dishes are a hassle to make. It’s best to eat it hot now. It will get soft if you leave it for a while.”
【LMAO, can’t be serious for two sentences without starting to drive.】
【It’s just eating fried dough sticks, where’s the driving, hey!】
【You bullet comments are really unclean!!】
【By the way, what on earth is sweet and sour fried dough sticks?】
The rice had been contaminated by the strange fried dough sticks Zong Mo had placed on it. Ruan Chi had no choice but to hold his breath, frown, and stuff the fried dough stick into his mouth.
?
It didn’t seem that bad.
Author’s Note:
ps. Sweet and sour fried dough sticks is a real dish, really.
But the author himself hasn’t dared to eat it, hahaha
