Although the price of fresh Yellow Cattle Beef in Jade Mountain Town was considerably higher than regular beef, its quality was genuinely top-notch. The milk cake-selling older sister had bought twenty jin in one go.
The older sister was simple and warm-hearted. On the way, she even pointed out which cattle produced the best-tasting meat. “This beef is incredibly fragrant whether you pan-fry, stir-fry, or braise it. Don’t just look at the tenderloin being forty-eight a jin. Once shipped into the city, it’ll sell for at least three to five yuan more per jin. We’re definitely at the lowest price for good Jade Mountain beef here…”
The quality of the beef was evident at a glance, and Ji Nuo was very tempted. Unfortunately, conditions limited his purchasing power. In the end, he stuck to his original plan and bought one jin of tenderloin and three jin of brisket—the cut with beautiful marbling of muscle, tendon, and fat. That small purchase alone set him back nearly two hundred yuan.
Ji Nuo followed the older sister back to their stalls. Seeing his Cub puffed up into a Little Pufferfish again, the reason wasn’t hard to guess.
After these days together, he had come to understand the Cub somewhat. Probably due to his background—having suffered too much malice after birth—the child had grown into a little hedgehog covered in protective spines. It reminded Ji Nuo of his own childhood.
Without parents to protect, support, and shelter them, yet limited by their young age, small, weak, and easily bullied, they could only grow a coat of hard spines as a bluff.
He had grown up just like that. Naturally, he hoped Ao’ao could be a bit more carefree, more like a real child, and grow up without worries.
Watching the milk cake older sister pat her Golden Retriever and repeatedly praise, “Good job, Wangwang!”
Ji Nuo’s lips curved into a smile. He bent down and patted the huffy Little Pufferfish, his voice gentle yet dramatic: “Ao’ao is so awesome!”
Lu Aotian was already furious at being treated the same as a golden retriever. After roaring away several hands attempting to pat his head, his anger had reached its peak. But for the sake of the Yellow Cattle Beef, he had endured it.
Ji Nuo’s pat successfully ignited this little firecracker.
He was the mighty Long Aotian!
Being left to watch the stall like a dog was already a supreme humiliation. And now this damn stinky little brother dared to add fuel to the fire?! At this rate, he’d be walking all over Lu Aotian’s head!
Outrageous! This time, he absolutely must teach the other a lesson.
Lu Aotian folded his arms, twisted his small body, and his feet rotated against the smooth ground. He naturally intended to spin around and give Ji Nuo the cold shoulder.
But whether his soles were too slippery, the ground was too smooth, or he spun too forcefully in his fury… from Ji Nuo’s perspective, he saw an angry firecracker Cub defiantly folding his arms and spinning away, only to execute a perfect 360-degree rotation and end up facing him again.
A flash of bewilderment crossed the Cub’s eyes. The two stared at each other. Immediately after, the Little Pufferfish visibly inflated another size.
If not for the laugh-suppression skills these days with the Cub had tempered in Ji Nuo, he would have almost lost it.
Ji Nuo swiftly clamped a hand on the Cub’s small shoulders, taking a deep breath to forcefully suppress his laughter. He hefted the fresh beef in his other hand to change the subject. “Does Ao’ao want stir-fried beef slices? Chestnut braised beef? Or aromatic spiced beef?”
Lu Aotian huffed “Hmph!” and turned his head away, refusing to communicate.
Ji Nuo was dying from his cuteness. He continued his feigned cluelessness, asking, “Could it be Ao’ao doesn’t want any of them?”
Seeing the little guy still silent, Ji Nuo muttered to himself while looking around with exaggerated seriousness. “This beef is too expensive. If Ao’ao doesn’t want to eat it, I’d better sell it to someone else…”
From the corner of his eye, Lu Aotian glimpsed Ji Nuo standing up with the beef, as if about to ask the neighboring stall if they wanted to buy it. His eyes threatened to burst from their sockets as a milky roar erupted: “Don’t you dare sell it!”
This was legit Jade Mountain Yellow Beef—payment for his enduring humiliation, for stooping to being colleagues with a stinky dog!
Ji Nuo held back a laugh and responded, “Ao’ao forgives Uncle then?”
Lu Aotian’s face crumpled back into a sullen pout. If a mirror had been present, Lu Aotian would have been shocked at how childish his expression was, leading to another outburst of humiliated fury.
But right now, he only felt he had finally displayed some of his Big Brother authority. He suppressed his milky voice and scolded sternly, “So you know you were wrong! You were definitely doing it on purpose!”
Ji Nuo drew the Cub into his embrace. Having gotten used to being held recently, Lu Aotian only struggled slightly before allowing Ji Nuo to hold him. He knew his stinky little brother would surely apologize, and he could magnanimously grant him a way out.
But Ji Nuo shook his head. “Ao’ao, Uncle didn’t have a choice at that moment, right? It was just the two of us. Someone had to stay and watch the stall, correct?”
Lu Aotian glared with his large, watery eyes. Hearing this, his pretty gray-blue irises trembled slightly.
Although the other’s reasoning was sound, being treated the same as a dog still grated on him. He felt his dignity had been severely trampled.
Ji Nuo looked at him with gentle eyes. “How about this: next time, if we’re buying something lighter, we’ll let Ao’ao go. Uncle will stay behind and watch the stall with the doggy, okay?”
Lu Aotian pouted even higher and huffed, “As if there will be so many ‘next times’…” Crafty Ji Nuo, he wasn’t a kid so easily fooled.
Hearing this, Ji Nuo knew the issue was about smoothed over. Looking down at the Cub’s soft crown, he couldn’t resist ruffling it. Before the Cub could erupt, Ji Nuo frowned and interjected, “…There’s dust on your head. Where did Ao’ao get it?”
Lu Aotian blinked: “Dunno.”
He then cleared his throat, and his voice dropped back to its low tone: “Tell me next time. I’ll handle it myself.”
The Danmaku was melting from the father-son interaction:
[Hahaha, the Cub is so tsundere, Mama wants to kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss!]
[Why is this seemingly innocent Ji Nuo tricking kids too? I also want to trick him! I also want to touch! Ao’ao ao’ao! /rolling on the ground.gif]
[Aww, Ji Nuo is so gentle. He must be of Italian and Chinese mixed blood! Otherwise why would he so closely resemble my ideal lover? /shy /dog head]
Ji Nuo professionally suppressed his laughter and nodded seriously. “Alright. Come, put the beef into our back basket. I’ll clear out the remaining mushrooms and then we’ll go home.”
Father and son divided the tasks. Ji Nuo stood up and began calling out to customers. After a price reduction, he quickly cleared out the remaining mushrooms, making a total of two hundred eighty yuan.
For the last little bit, he just gave it to the neighboring milk cake older sister, thanking her for telling him which family had the best quality Yellow Cattle Beef.
The milk cake older sister refused to take them for free. She grabbed her own milk cakes and tried to give some to Ji Nuo. The father and son fled; the older sister pursued fiercely.
Ji Nuo knew the local milk cake was famous, but it was made with goat’s milk, which had the strongest gamey smell. Ao’ao vehemently resisted eating it.
Although Ji Nuo was capable of making even mutton delicious, he lacked confidence in dealing with simple-to-prepare dairy. But he couldn’t resist the older sister’s overwhelming enthusiasm. In the end, he had to accept half a jin to try.
Lu Aotian spoke while pinching his nose, his voice muffled: “You eat it yourself. Don’t let it stink me up.”
Afterwards, Ji Nuo timed his trip and bought some fruit, ham, and preserved fruit at the market…
Since starting this show, Ji Nuo had grown accustomed to the trailing staff and the curious looks from passersby. He didn’t notice that not far behind him, a girl with a camera had been following at a discreet distance.
The girl’s expression was complex and shifting, but her footsteps never stopped. She even occasionally lifted her camera and snapped a few shots of the father and son.
~
Back home, Ji Nuo put down the back basket. First, he trimmed the fresh beef into cuts and soaked them in water. This was to draw out residual blood from the meat, removing any gaminess. The cold well water also helped prevent spoilage.
Then, he took the child to the original farmhouse courtyard where filming began, to regroup with the others.
Ji Nuo had woken up early, and despite the busy morning, it was only just nine thirty. When he arrived, Ruirui and Tiantian’s families were already there.
Both families had been thoroughly exhausted the previous day. The Weng family was sore all over from excessive lactic acid buildup. The Chu family, on the other hand, had upset stomachs, pale faces, and unsteady gaits.
Seeing the two families together, they didn’t look too bad. But when Ji Nuo’s father-son duo—who had been eating like royalty every day—appeared, the contrast was immediately stark.
It must be remembered that initially, Ji Nuo was so excessively thin and pale there were rumors he was dabbling in unsavory substances. Lu Aotian, standing in the shadows, was just a scrawny, dark little monkey. Standing together, they looked like famine refugees.
But now, Ji Nuo’s complexion had improved. The child seemed to have re-entered a growth spurt, his cheeks rounding out daily and his frame visibly stronger.
The Danmaku was filled with amazement:
[Lol, why does it feel like they aren’t on the same show? Weng Kai’s group is on “Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” while Ji Nuo is on “The Good Life”! Hahaha!]
[Don’t just say Ao’ao is growing like a balloon. These past couple of days watching Ji Nuo cook, I’ve been craving five meals a day.]
[Are blacklisted scandal-ridden stars rehabilitating their image this quickly? Spent quite a bit on paid trolls, huh /covering mouth laughing]
[Separating issues is one thing, how is that being a troll? What’s there to criticize about Ji Nuo’s Livestream cooking?]
Before going to sleep the previous night, the Weng and Chu families had checked their phones and finally learned how comfortably Kang Feier had been living alongside Ji Nuo.
But while envious, the Weng and Chu families had already established their careers in the industry and had stable positions.
Coming on the show, their approach was naturally to seek no great achievements but avoid any mistakes. Regarding Ji Nuo, who was perpetually at the center of public opinion storms, they remained very cautious.
After all, people have many faces. Brief interactions couldn’t provide a reliable character assessment. If they got along well on the show, and the other person’s reputation crashed the next day, they’d be in a difficult position. Especially in the entertainment industry, a high-risk zone for image collapses. After thinking it over, they preferred to keep their distance from Ji Nuo.
After some polite small talk, Kang Feier also arrived at a jog, clutching her daughter. Ruirui’s mother glanced behind her. “Weren’t Zhenzhen’s dad and older brother supposed to come?”
Kang Feier, worried about being late, was panting heavily. After catching her breath, she explained: “Linlin still wasn’t feeling well. The child’s father took him to see a doctor.”
In reality, after seeing the task card, Xu Chengyi didn’t want to come. Using his son’s illness as an excuse, he had called in the family doctor.
The moment the child’s illness was mentioned, the Production Team naturally gave them a free pass. They even sent over the private chef the children’s grandmother had prepared for them.
Upon hearing the child was unwell, everyone expressed concern about his condition. Kang Feier couldn’t very well say the father and son were using illness to dodge work. She explained briefly that her stepson had a mild heart condition and, combined with motion sickness and Jade Mountain Town’s slightly higher altitude, the child’s body wasn’t adapting well.
Seeing everyone gathered, the Producer and Director, Bai Yong, picked up his microphone and waved to the group. “The task for gathering is about to begin. Please send one representative from each guest group to draw lots.”
Lu Aotian naturally felt such a minor task was rightfully his little brother’s job. But last time, Ji Nuo had managed to draw the worst “condemned house” out of five choices. Lu Aotian had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility of Big Brother. He joined the other little dumplings heading to the central drawing area.
Taking advantage of this time, Ji Nuo gave Kang Feier one hundred yuan from the morning’s mushroom sales. He also handed her a jar of Oil-Fried Termite Mushrooms he’d whipped up on the side.
The Weng and Chu families had just resolved to keep their distance from Ji Nuo. But now, looking at the hundred-yuan bill and the Oil-Fried Termite Mushrooms in Kang Feier’s hands…
Staying resolute was proving incredibly difficult!
