Kang Feier hadn’t slept well the night before, and her condition today was noticeably worse. Even little Zhenzhen, who had gone to draw lots, looked rather listless.
Now, seeing Ji Nuo hand over money and the jar of oil-fried termite mushrooms, Kang Feier waved her hands repeatedly. “No way. We agreed yesterday that I’d work for you. Everything is yours.”
Ji Nuo smiled and pressed it into her hands. “You didn’t come last night, so the fried rice money was already docked. This is all your earned wages.”
Looking at Ji Nuo’s face, Kang Feier was genuinely moved. What kind of kind-hearted, beautiful soul was this? The money from the sold mushrooms was one thing, but he had also considered her love for these mushroom-infused oils, specially making oil-fried termite mushrooms from the ones they picked to give to her. It was so thoughtful.
Remembering her husband’s sarcastic remarks about her working a whole day for Ji Nuo for free, Kang Feier sighed inwardly. She almost couldn’t stop herself from transforming from a face fan into a true fan of Ji Nuo.
On the other side, the production team had already announced the extremely balanced lottery results. Ji Nuo’s family and Ruirui’s family were on one team, while Kang Feier was paired with the Weng family.
The production team thoroughly understood the principle of giving a sweet date after a slap. Teasing the guests was fun, but they couldn’t deny them every chance to earn money, otherwise the guests would easily band together and just give up.
So, the second day of the live broadcast was arranged as a stable money-earning picking task. The original plan was for the guests to go to a nearby orchard to help pick fresh fruit for making dried fruit, paid by the jin based on labor. If they wanted to pay off their debts, they had to work more.
However, Ji Nuo had opened a path to wealth with the Thelephora ganbajun, not only being debt-free but also able to eat and drink well with his child. To prevent a debt-free, pressure-free Ji Nuo from slacking off, the Producer and Director, Bai Yong, adjusted the task into a two-team competition.
The team with the higher total picking amount would not only earn wages calculated by the jin but also receive half of the other team’s wages as a bonus. Correspondingly, the losing team would have their pay docked.
This way, to avoid being a burden, the guests would have to work hard alongside their teammates.
However, Bai Yong was very disappointed with the lottery results. He had thought Ji Nuo’s unlucky drawing hand would pick the worst lot, pairing him with Kang Feier to suffer a bit. Otherwise, in the future, all the guests would learn from him and go against the production team.
Unfortunately, fate didn’t follow his wishes. The final match result was also as expected; Ji Nuo and the Chu family won by a narrow margin.
Although it made Ji Nuo busy for a day and expended a lot of his energy, bringing the exhaustion levels of the four families closer together, it was far from what Bai Yong had hoped for: Ji Nuo and his son having a minor breakdown on the live stream like the other three groups.
Still, after two and a half days of live broadcast recording, Bai Yong was even more certain that Ji Nuo’s weakness was Lu Ao’ao, and this child was also quite the personality.
For the big competition segment on the last day in Jade Mountain Town, he had already designed a Plan B targeting this child. He was determined to make Lu Ao’ao hold Ji Nuo back, preferably breaking down in tears during the competition while Ji Nuo was scrambling. The live broadcast effect would surely be brilliant…
The guests had no idea what kind of mischief was brewing in Bai Yong’s mind. Returning home, each one collapsed from exhaustion. Today, they had truly played a celebrity version of the Transformation Plan.
Lu Aotian finally saw his long-awaited yellow cattle beef again as the sky darkened.
Seeing the child’s impatience, Ji Nuo first made two quick dishes: scrambled eggs with chives and quick-fried beef, paired with cold noodle slices drizzled in oil-fried termite mushroom oil.
Lu Aotian inhaled his food while staring at the beef brisket still soaking in the pot. Ignoring his mouthful of food, he asked indistinctly, “Can I eat braised beef tomorrow morning?”
Ji Nuo smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. After dinner, I’ll start braising the meat, simmering it on low heat until midnight before turning it off. I guarantee it’ll be tender, flavorful, and satisfying tomorrow morning.”
The searchlights in Lu Aotian’s eyes lit up instantly, and the dimples at the corners of his mouth were irrepressible. He gulped twice and returned to burying his face in his bowl.
The quick-fried beef was already super delicious, but Ji Nuo said he was even better at making braised dishes. Lu Aotian was so expectant he was practically flying. Even though he hadn’t slept yet, he wished it was morning already.
After his shower, passing by the earthen stove, he made Ji Nuo open the pot lid so he could take a look.
Ji Nuo had bought three jin of beef brisket in total. One jin was marinated with ginger, garlic, and cooking wine, meant to be braised with chestnuts tomorrow.
The remaining two jin had shrunk noticeably after going into the pot. Seeing this, Lu Aotian grew even more precious about them. He almost wanted to name the four fragrant chunks of brisket—three large, one small—as a memento.
After getting into bed, Lu Aotian rubbed his round little belly, clenched his tiny fist, and announced to Ji Nuo, “I’m waking up early tomorrow.”
Ji Nuo curved his lips in helpless amusement. “You like beef that much?”
Actually, Lu Aotian’s preference for beef was only one aspect. The main reason was that the deliciousness of this yellow cattle beef had been mentioned on the very first morning. Having yearned for it for so long, his anticipation was naturally even greater.
It was amidst this extreme anticipation for the brisket that the child’s long, raven-feather-like lashes slowly closed.
The orchard work wasn’t particularly strenuous, but the long hours had tired out both adults and children. Ji Nuo tucked the cub in properly, rubbed his sore shoulders, and fished his phone from under the pillow to set an alarm.
Although the brisket was already cooked, considering a child’s weaker chewing and digestion abilities, Ji Nuo planned to simmer it for two more hours to break down all the sinews and meat until tender… Midway through setting the alarm, the faint smile on Ji Nuo’s lips suddenly froze.
After a long, busy day, he finally remembered something very important that he had completely forgotten.
Ji Nuo’s gaze fell upon the only bed in the room, a single bed just 1.2 meters wide, and he fell into deep thought…
Could this bed, the sole bed in the house, truly fit two adults and one small child?
The sleeping cub on the bed seemed to sense something. Kicking off the blanket, his short legs shot out into a horizontal split, successfully commandeering more than half of the tiny bed.
Speak of the devil, and Xue Xiaoshan’s call came in.
Ji Nuo quickly pressed the mute button and went to a corner of the small courtyard before answering.
“Brother Cheng is already on the way. He should arrive around eleven.”
After giving a couple of reminders, Xue Xiaoshan thought about how grueling his boss’s current film shoot was. After a period of rapid weight loss and late nights, his body couldn’t take it. He should have been gradually gaining weight back, but Han Cheng had developed symptoms of anorexia…
Remembering Ji Nuo’s excellent cooking skills, Xue Xiaoshan probed cautiously, “Qian Lei said Brother Cheng only had a bit of plain congee this morning. Do you think you could make some vegetable and minced meat congee or something to help settle his stomach?”
Given their contract lovers relationship, even if Han Cheng didn’t want to eat, he would force himself to take a couple of bites of congee Ji Nuo made at midnight.
For Ji Nuo, Han Cheng was both an idol and a benefactor. Although he had other considerations, hearing that Han Cheng was unwell, he naturally wouldn’t refuse.
After hanging up, Ji Nuo went to the pot and picked out a piece of brisket already stewed until tender. He chopped it finely, mixed it with rice grains in a steel basin, added some spinach gifted by the old aunt, and set it to simmer gently over a charcoal brazier.
