Chapter 31 of the Trash Picking

When Xu Jing returned, he was alone, indicating that Gao Shiman was helping out with the third group and wouldn't be coming back for dinner.

Xu Jing didn't even have time to tell her that her group had something delicious to eat. Seeing how busy the third group was, she hurried back.

When he got back, his first words were, "Is the food still warm?!"

Mi Xia immediately burst into laughter.

The resentment she felt towards Xu Jing for not being able to see her situation and always agreeing with Gao Shiman completely dissipated.

She should have known long ago that Xu Jing's true personality was carefree and easygoing; he probably never noticed the complicated relationship between Gao Shiman and Mi Xia.

Moreover, given the show's obvious malicious editing of Mi Xia, which negatively impacted her popularity with the audience, the guests from other groups became somewhat distant from her, and Xu Jing's attitude remained largely unchanged from the beginning.

"It's not cold, it's still warm. Come and sit down to eat, we've been waiting for you."

Mi Xia waved and, as she spoke, had already served the three of them their meals.

After Xu Jing sat down, the two, who had been tempted by the sumptuous meal, immediately started eating.

Upon taking the first bite, they felt that even the signature dishes of so-called high-end chefs at those high-class banquets they had attended before were not as delicious as this bite!

The two of them didn't care about talking, or even about maintaining their figures, and kept eating one bite after another, unable to stop.

During this meal, the two of them ate most of a suckling pig, and the chicken and fish were reduced to bones. The small amount of vegetables and fruits were also completely devoured.

After finishing the meal, the two were so full that they slumped on their chairs, unable to even bend over.

The little robot, which had been eating slowly and methodically according to its normal portion size, also stopped eating and started clearing away the dishes.

Xu Jing then realized that he had been so focused on eating that he had forgotten to entertain this guest.

Moreover, since the guests brought such good food, it's fine for us to enjoy it ourselves, but why should we make the guests clean up the dishes?

He quickly pressed down on the little robot's hand, indicating that he would leave the bowl there, wash it, and return it.

Seeing that the human was determined, the little robot let him do as he pleased.

Xu Jing wasn't in a hurry to wash the dishes. Instead, he gestured for Mi Xia to introduce the person: "I don't know who this is?"

Mi Xia also realized that the snow-haired boy made a living by collecting garbage. How could he suddenly produce so many delicious dishes!

She briefly introduced the little robot's name and how the two met the day before, then asked the little robot her question.

Mi Xia didn't feel like she had been deceived, but she was worried that the young man had paid a price he couldn't afford for this good meal.

Mi Xia, who works in the entertainment industry, knows a lot of messy things.

The little robot shook its head, indicating that it hadn't contributed anything.

He glossed over the "other world" and said what he could: "They were all sent by the family servants, some were invited by others, and there are many more, so don't worry."

She was indeed a household servant, but it was a "house" from the previous world, and a servant from the previous world.

Maid, servant?

Mi Xia thought she had misheard something wrong with her ears.

Isn't this boy in front of me a pitiful child who lives alone in a garbage dump and survives by scavenging for trash, without any parents?!

Why are there servants with them?!

For a moment, Mi Xia even doubted whether the person she met yesterday was the same person she met today.

Moreover, the container she went to yesterday was barely big enough for the boy to live in, let alone any other servants.

Mi Xia became even more puzzled: "Don't you live in the mountains?"

The little robot nodded: "Now we live on the mountain."

"Now? What about before?"

"I used to live in Nagqu province. As for the specific location, I'm sorry I can't say."

Mi Xia and Xu Jing looked at each other in bewilderment.

Is this what they meant?

Before the two could even hesitate about whether to ask further questions or how to ask them, Gao Shiman, who had gone out for a free meal, finally returned leisurely.

The third group received several eggs and half a hen today, as well as some leftover ingredients from yesterday. The meal included both meat and vegetables, and Gao Shiman was very satisfied with it.

As for the other two people in his group who didn't get to eat it?

What does this have to do with her?

However, in order to maintain her public image, Gao Shiman deliberately left an apple, intending to give it to Xu Jing.

As for finding summer?

Ha, I finally got this apple, if she had any shame, she should have refrained from eating it!

Regardless of what Gao Shiman was thinking, her face betrayed no emotion. Smiling broadly, she called out as soon as she saw the people sitting outside, "Brother Xu Jing, I'm back! I'm sorry, there wasn't much food for Group Three. I wanted to invite you all to eat together, but I was too embarrassed. But I brought you... a roast suckling pig?!"

As Gao Shiman approached and saw the items on the table, her tone suddenly changed when she spoke about the end of the conversation.

She stared in shock at the remaining half of the roast suckling pig on the table, the aroma so enticing that she wanted to convince herself it was something even a fake model couldn't replicate.

"Where did you get this roast suckling pig?! Did you have this for lunch today?!"

Xu Jing shook his head: "No."

Gao Shiman's "I knew it!" expression had barely appeared when Xu Jing continued, "Not only roast suckling pig, but also eight-treasure chicken and peacock fish. The boiled cabbage leaves soaked in the broth are also incredibly delicious, especially that small pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, tsk tsk, it's so fresh!"

As Xu Jing named each dish, Gao Shiman's eyes widened more and more.

"How is this possible!" Gao Shiman exclaimed in disbelief. "Where would you find such food in this remote rural area!"

"Look, these plates haven't been cleared yet, why would I lie to you for no reason?"

Xu Jing pointed to the table.

Gao Shiman looked in that direction and had no choice but to believe it.

For a moment, she found it hard to accept.

Why did this sumptuous lunch have to come at the last minute, just when she couldn't resist going out for a free meal?

Gao Shiman felt extremely annoyed when she remembered that Xu Jing had called her before dinner, and she had deliberately made excuses not to come back.

She took a deep breath and silently comforted herself.

Don't be angry, it's just pork, chicken and fish. After the show is over, I can easily get an endorsement deal and have enough to eat as much as I want. It's not like it's some kind of dragon meat or phoenix marrow, so what's there to be angry about?

However, despite trying to comfort herself, Gao Shiman still looked away from the food on the table, not wanting to see it.

When she turned her gaze, she noticed that there was another person next to her.

"This is?"

"This is our honored guest, hahaha!" Xu Jing looked at the little robot with great enthusiasm and introduced it to Gao Shiman, "This whole table was delivered by Xiao Tong today, and they even have the ingredients for dinner. If we convert this into points, we might even get first place!"

Upon hearing that so many good things were brought by this young man, Gao Shiman's eyes lit up.

After carefully examining the young man, Gao Shiman was increasingly delighted.

He looks like a rising star in the entertainment industry! His demeanor is also good, it's just that he's a bit young. But being young is a good thing, it means he lacks experience. If he puts in a little more effort, it'll be so easy to coax this greenhorn.

The fact that such expensive-looking dishes could be delivered to a place like this suggests that the person is not a farmer from the village.

As for whether this was a script arranged by the production team, Gao Shiman wasn't worried at all.

She has inside information; if such a script really existed, how could she not know?

As Gao Shiman thought about it, a gentle smile appeared on her face as she sat down next to the little robot: "Little brother's surname is Naji? That's a very unique surname. I wonder where little brother Naji is from? What are you doing in Anjia Village?"

This is a tactic that Gao Shiman often uses. No matter what the other person says, she always tries to connect them with some kind of "fate" in terms of place, name, or something else.

However, this time she was disappointed; the little robot had no interest in getting close to humans.

The little robot simply nodded and greeted Gao Shiman, a human, with a "hello." Then, realizing that it no longer needed to interact with humans, it bid farewell to Mi Xia.

"I won't keep you from working any longer, Sister Mi Xia. I'll be going now. I'll make a list of what you need to buy and bring it to you tomorrow morning."

With that, he left via the same route he had taken from the back of the mountain.

Mi Xia gave him a piece of the food, and Xu Jing, having almost finished digesting it, quickly got to work clearing the table and washing the dishes. He also had to put the dishes back in the food box to return them when the person came tomorrow.

For a moment, only Gao Shiman, who had not received a response and whose face had darkened, remained standing there.

Realizing the camera had been filming, Gao Shiman quickly tried to hide her less-than-pleasant expression.

Seeing that the boy who ignored her was so close to Mi Xia, whom she disliked, she also began to dislike both of them.

She started thinking that she should find an opportunity to meet with Brother Li soon and ask the editing team to put in more effort. She wanted to see Mi Xia unhappy so she could vent her anger.

And this lunch today, it's best not to show any of it on camera, it's so annoying to watch.

However, the production team couldn't make the decision on its own. The contrast between the exquisite dishes that were so out of place in the rural setting at noon today was so striking that anyone with a brain wouldn't miss the opportunity to create material. In the end, the production team still included this segment in the final cut of the second episode.

Even the scene where Mi Xia meets the snow-haired boy was not cut by the production team.

This resulted in Xia Mi having twice as much screen time as in previous episodes.

The second episode connects directly to the first, starting with Mi Xia sending the little robot home late at night.

When the audience saw Mi Xia walking with someone late at night, on a dark, back alley, and constantly heading into the mountains, they were filled with people calling her naive and stupid. Some even went so far as to "bless" her by saying she should be kidnapped.

However, a few comments did suggest that people should take precautions to protect themselves.

When they arrived at the container and saw the living conditions of the little robot, there were many comments in the live chat expressing pity for the boy.

"Oh my god, all the adults in the family are gone, how pitiful!"

"You don't even have a proper house?"

"No wonder he has to pick up trash, he probably has no other source of income."

"It's so pitiful that it's hard to find a job at the age of sixteen or seventeen."

"The place is so small, and there's so little stuff. How can we possibly live here?"

"Doesn't anyone care about him living here all by himself?"

"Actually, looking at it this way, Mi Xia is quite kind."

"Oh no, really? Nobody thinks this is real? This is obviously scripted, okay? Just look at this boy's appearance, he'll probably debut soon."

"Exactly! With Mi Xia being such a pampered little thing, walking such a long mountain path at night, even a dog wouldn't believe she wasn't up to something!"

Among the various bullet comments, one stood out as particularly inconspicuous.

"Speaking of which, that tea set looks somewhat familiar..."