Zhang Ze's face stiffened. He knew that Lan Qing must have seen the live stream. Thinking about how the embarrassing situation that afternoon had been seen by the viewers in the live stream, Zhang Ze felt like he wanted to die.

"There was no hardship at all, it was all normal operation. The real hard work was done by Teacher Chen and Teacher Huang. They built our beds and the stove in just one afternoon. Even now, they are still working hard to cook and stir-fry the dishes!"

Chen He laughed and said, "It's nothing. Three meals a day are essential, whether you're poor or rich. My job is to provide logistical support so you can have a wonderful weekend!"

Lan Qing smiled and teased Chen He, "Teacher Chen, please don't be so polite. Everyone knows you're a famous chef in the entertainment industry. It's an honor to be able to eat your personally cooked dishes. I'm also fortunate to be among the first batch of participants in this program thanks to President Fang. I'm afraid countless people will be scrambling to get in later. It won't be easy to get in then!"

Chen He laughed and said, "It's not as amazing as you think. You can come anytime you want. Our production team is really on a tight budget, so we don't have any fancy dishes to serve you. I'm truly ashamed!"

"My suggestion is that if someone orders food tomorrow, they should bring their own ingredients so we can cook them for them. Otherwise, it will be too difficult for us, and we won't be able to satisfy the guests."

Zhang Ze had been working all day and was exhausted. He remembered that Fang Yang would be coming tomorrow. Although it wasn't appropriate to mention Fang Yang's name directly, it wouldn't be too much to give the person ordering the food a hint, would it?

“I think it’s a good idea. Besides, we’re in a rather remote area. If the dishes our guests order are too complicated, we won’t be able to buy them even if we have the money, let alone since we don’t have any money.”

Mu Yu stretched out her little paw and was the first to agree. With the intensity of this afternoon, let alone making money, it would be a miracle if they could even fill their stomachs. This was only because Zhang Ze wasn't picky about food. Even so, they had no next meal after lunch. It was really too difficult!

Huang Guang and Zhang Ze exchanged a glance. "Then it's settled. We'll come up with a plan later and do it this way from now on. Xiao Xu worked the hardest today. I haven't seen him rest since I arrived at our Mushroom House. This isn't good. Even the donkeys in the production team aren't treated like this. They're not even fed properly. The production team has really gone too far!"

Xu Peng had just finished cutting the snails and washed them several times. The snail shells were shiny and glossy, making them very appealing.

Chen He took the snails that Xu Peng brought over and could tell at a glance that they were clean. "Xiao Xu, you are very thoughtful. They are very clean. They will go perfectly with a couple of drinks tonight."

Xu Peng was a little embarrassed. "Teacher Chen, I just washed it briefly. Because of time constraints, I added some cooking oil so that the snails could expel the mud and sand as quickly as possible."

Chen He praised, "Xiao Xu, I didn't expect you to be so young yet so experienced. This is even better. I hadn't thought of this method before, but I've heard of it. It's a very practical method. Alright, now that the ingredients are ready, let's start cooking. Xiao Xu, do you know how to start a fire?"

Xu Peng chuckled and said, "Those are skills I learned when I was just a few years old, how could I not know them?"

Xu Peng had already chopped the firewood that morning, so it was ready to be used to start a fire. Xu Peng skillfully lit the fire and added more firewood. Chen He only started cooking after he saw that the firewood was burning.

Thanks to Xu Peng and Zhang Ze's bountiful harvest this afternoon, the dinner was quite sumptuous. Everyone ate until their mouths were greasy. Even Lan Qing and Mu Yu, who had been clamoring to lose weight, exclaimed after dinner that they were going to die, saying they must have gained another pound and that they needed to find a way to lose weight after dinner!

Xu Peng laughed heartily, "Sister Lan and Sister Mu, you're right to do it this way. Remember this in the future: even when you're trying to lose weight, you must eat a full meal first. How can you have the energy to lose weight on an empty stomach!"

Mu Yu spat, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. If you say another word, Sister Lan will pinch your ears."

Everyone burst into laughter. Lan Qing teased, "Xiao Yu, why was it me pinching his ear and not you?"

"He's like a monkey, I can't keep up with him."

Mu Yu said aggrievedly, but then gave Xu Peng a playful smile, which made everyone burst into laughter again.

Huang Guang pulled out a tin of tea from somewhere and brewed a cup of tea for Chen and Zhang Ze. As for Xu Peng and the other two, they were busy taking a shower. Xu Peng, in particular, had been doing hard labor all day, and his clothes were wet and then dried, making him smell of sweat.

"Teacher Zhang just told me that we have to tear off all the beverage packaging. We can't just give the production team free advertising. We don't get any benefit from it, and we're being pressured by the production team..."

After taking a sip of tea, Huang Guang recounted Zhang Ze's earlier words to Chen He. This matter needed an explanation. Even if Fang Yang said he wanted to create a poor production team, the production team had gone too far. They couldn't even afford a chicken, which would inevitably be criticized. It would be better to say it directly on camera to gain the audience's sympathy, and then they could justify paying more money later.

Chen He nodded, "That's true. Look at us, we're so busy today that our legs are aching, and we only got fifty yuan. What can we do with that little money? If it weren't for Teacher Zhang and Xiao Xu going fishing for some river fish today, we would only be able to eat stir-fried green peppers with pork and an egg for dinner, and then just some side dishes. Not to mention anything else, it would feel stingy even to entertain ordinary guests, let alone celebrity guests like Teacher Zhang and Teacher Lan!"

"That's right. These two are relatively easy to talk to. What if one of them is difficult to talk to one day? Wouldn't we offend someone for no reason? They might say we're deliberately pretending to be poor, that we've taken so much advertising money but can't even provide a decent meal. Wouldn't we be wronged to death?"

"Yes, yes, I just can't imagine what it would be like if there were only stir-fried green peppers with pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and two side dishes. Teacher Chen, even though we're very close, it wouldn't stop me from having some thoughts about it. Is it because I did something wrong to offend you that you don't welcome me and are trying to get rid of me by cooking two side dishes so I can leave early? Haha, is that the logic?"

Zhang Ze laughed and expressed his feelings. Although his words were harsh, they made a lot of sense. As the saying goes, the words may be rough, but the reasoning is sound. Even among friends, it can feel stingy, let alone a large production team like yours. If there are people with big appetites, these dishes are not enough for one person to cook!

"That's true, Teacher Zhang. I heard you went out to film a movie with Director Fang this time. How did you feel about it?"

Seeing that Xu Peng and the other two had finished washing up and come downstairs, Chen He changed the subject and started talking about the most important part of tonight's variety show—the trailers for the films and TV series that had just been filmed.