Chapter 12 Neither advancing nor retreating

"Come on, don't just stand there. Come and help after you wash your hands. There are still two dishes in the pot. We need at least ten dishes to entertain the villagers, right? You can add more if you think it's not enough."

As soon as Zhu Tu finished speaking, the glass door to the kitchen was suddenly pushed open, and Yu Shuling, wearing an apron, was holding a plate of stir-fried cucumber with vinegar. Chicken soup was boiling in the pressure cooker in the kitchen, and another pot was filled with stewed chicken and potatoes. The fresh, spicy aroma wafted out with the steam, filling the empty-handed guests' hearts with joy.

Zhu Tu and Zhao Cheng were dumbfounded.

But the dishes did look quite appealing, and there were no food packaging bags on site. It was impossible to fake it for the camera to create a persona for Yu Shuling. Zhao Cheng swallowed back the words he was about to say and could only go and help Yu Shuling tidy up in the kitchen.

"Shuling, did you do all of this by yourself?"

Du Xuan seemed quite surprised, with a hint of unease mixed in. She felt embarrassed at being unable to help, though it had nothing to do with anything else. Although she was somewhat displeased with Yu Shuling for causing trouble for Zhao Cheng earlier, she figured one thing at a time.

Du Xuan volunteered to join in, saying she had learned some basic home-style cooking techniques while filming and could help out. She suddenly noticed that Yu Shuling seemed to have more ingredients than what was in the refrigerator, and, puzzled, removed the microphone from the director's side and whispered:

"Didn't we say we weren't allowed to use our own money here? Did you ask the villagers for credit?"

Some ingredients are simply not available at home, and it's impossible to get them quickly from the market, nor can they be delivered by food delivery. Du Xuan was genuinely curious whether she could borrow or ask others for things if she was missing them, since in the past, when there were many restrictions on variety shows, they basically earned money and props by performing and showing their faces.

But they aren't very well-known, so probably not many people in the countryside would buy into their products.

“It’s on credit.” Yu Shuling nodded seriously, while stirring the vegetables in the pan. “I promised to help them with farm work in the next few days to pay off part of the debt, and I’ll pay back the rest after I earn money from the program team.”

[Does anyone understand lip reading? Can you tell me what they're saying? The microphone suddenly came off, so the sound is terrible.]

[Du Xuan asked Yu Shuling if she had incurred debts on credit. Yu Shuling said she planned to do farm work to help pay off the debts, and then earn money from the program to pay them back as soon as possible.]

[Huh? Has she never participated in a variety show like this before and doesn't understand? The production team usually helps pay for these things privately, right?]

[Hmm, they didn't bring their phones; they left them where they were. They didn't have any cash on them, so the production team will probably give them money before they leave. But isn't it fine for Yu Shuling to do this? Earning money from the production team is her own hard-earned money, after all, she agreed to be self-reliant.]

The barrage of comments paused for a moment after the long string of comments, and then a new comment was added: "Suddenly I think Yu Shuling is not bad either..." followed by several "+1" comments.

From the very first moment they saw Yu Shuling participate in this variety show, they were very pessimistic about her. They would say something bad about her whenever she had a conflict with someone, or even if there was no conflict at all. They could always come up with all sorts of reasons to criticize her.

But all the dishes on this table were prepared by Yu Shuling. In fact, if she hadn't stayed, the banquet to entertain the villagers that night might have been canceled, or she would have been in such a chaotic mess that she herself felt embarrassed. After realizing this, several guests looked at Yu Shuling with apologetic eyes.

Chen Qiyang kept his mouth shut the whole time and followed behind, doing odd jobs.

A few hours earlier, facing the simple dishes in the refrigerator, Chen Qiyang had planned to borrow a phone from the program crew to search for some easy-to-make home-style dishes, such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Unexpectedly, Yu Shuling took him out to buy something on credit.

Chen Qiyang was initially embarrassed to do such a thing, but seeing that Yu Shuling had already gone out, he had no choice but to hurriedly follow. He was a little at a loss as he followed behind, but Yu Shuling actually got the ingredients she needed in just a few words, and then confidently returned to the kitchen.

At first, Chen Qiyang suspected she was just being stubborn and suffering for the sake of saving face, since conditions in this rural area weren't great, and cooking was all done in communal pots. These days, unless you're specifically going to a farmhouse inn, who living in the city has ever seen a communal pot like that?

But when Yu Shuling saw the stove, her eyes lit up. She readily directed him to help her, cooking while starting the fire with incredible skill. And she wasn't making ordinary dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes; she was making dishes he'd never even heard of, like stir-fried chicken breast and stuffed pork tenderloin. Ordinary ingredients were transformed into something extraordinary in her hands.

Chen Qiyang was stunned by what he saw, and gradually felt a little guilty, so he chose to keep quiet and help start the fire.

When Yu Shuling saw the fire he had started, she waved her hand and said, "Go play somewhere else, I'll do it."

Her voice was gentle, like she was coaxing a child. Although Chen Qiyang's persona as the younger brother of Li Nian was correct, why did it feel a little strange?

As a result, Yu Shuling quickly started a fire with one hand, and the flames leaped up, becoming much stronger than the one he had just started.

Yu Shuling had served in the army for several years and hadn't always lived a life of luxury in the capital. Cooking, starting fires, and bandaging wounds were all essential skills for her. Seeing the calculated look in Chen Qiyang's eyes, she pretended not to notice.

This guy is way too early to try and outsmart her.

After a flurry of activity, the food was served, and the villagers who had been waiting at home were invited over.

Summer is the busy season for farming. Some people have just finished working and returned home. Although they have wiped themselves down briefly, they still carry a faint smell of sweat. Huang Dingyu had just washed his hands and came over to help greet the villagers when he smelled that odor, and his expression changed.

Although he tried his best to hide his discomfort, some of the more sensitive people still noticed and became somewhat awkward, unsure whether to stand or sit. The warm and tactful Du Xuan quickly smoothed things over, asking him to help Yu Shuling set the table.

"This whole meal was made by Shuling today, and it looks really good. She's really good at cooking." Editing blogger Lin Mucai smiled and praised Yu Shuling a couple of times, "Such a beautiful girl can cook so well. The fans have great taste."

Lin Mucai and Tan Xiu handed out sliced ​​watermelons to the people to help them cool off. By this time, all the dishes were on the table, and they looked quite appetizing. The people had been busy all afternoon and were tired, so they sat down and picked up their chopsticks.

"Lingling, are you still eating?" Zhu Tu had just sat down when he saw Lu Lingling about to pick up a piece of stewed chicken and immediately joked, "Your weight has exceeded 100 pounds, right? You won't look good on camera."

Seeing this, Lu Lingling awkwardly paused with her chopsticks, unsure whether to go forward or back.

A note from the author:

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Almost on the list! This is my first time visiting Huanyan, and I'm so grateful to all the lovely angels who liked and commented. Love you all!!

I'll update more frequently once it becomes a paid service, although it'll probably be a while since then. *sadly look to the sky*

But I will try my best!