Chapter 30 Digging Lotus Roots

At 10:30, everyone changed their clothes and arrived at the director's team on time, except for Meng Meng and her boyfriend who were late.

The director looked at Shen Yingying and asked, "Where are Meng Meng and the others?"

Shen Yingying replied, "She said they haven't finished yet and might arrive a little later."

The director couldn't help but frown.

Zhou Yan leaned closer to Su Tangtang and whispered, "They really are the kings of being late."

Su Tangtang nodded, her tone tinged with helplessness, "I'm truly convinced."

Zhou Yan said worriedly, "You're still in the same group, they'll definitely drag us down if they do this."

Su Tangtang naturally thought of this as well, and sighed, "If they go too far, I'll talk to the director."

Zhou Yan expressed her agreement.

Everyone waited for a while longer, but Meng and the other person still did not appear.

The director was clearly getting impatient and said to Shen Yingying, "Call again and ask if they've finished packing."

Shen Yingying responded.

Actually, Meng Meng had said she would be a few minutes late when she finished work and was heading back, but now that she's still not here, it's really a bit unreasonable.

Han Yang was initially worried that Su Tangtang would cause trouble, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, it was the others who kept getting into trouble.

It's really a headache.

Shen Yingying quickly finished her call and returned, telling the director, "They'll be here soon."

The director nodded. "Okay."

About five minutes later, Meng Meng and her boyfriend finally arrived.

Upon meeting, Meng Meng immediately apologized and explained why she was late.

Although everyone was somewhat skeptical, no one said much.

Once everyone was present, the group set off for the pond that the production team had booked.

The pond is not far from their village, only a ten-minute drive away. There are many ponds in this area, and it is currently the season when lotus flowers are in full bloom. As far as the eye can see, the lotus leaves reach the sky and the lotus flowers reflect the sun, creating a very pleasant scene.

The pond contracted by the program team is planted with early-maturing lotus roots. At this time, the lotus roots have a crisp texture and are perfect for both cold salads and stir-fries.

After getting off the bus, the production team distributed waterproof clothing and rubber boots specifically for going into the pond to prevent getting their clothes wet or dirty.

After changing into their gear and grabbing their tools, everyone went down into the pond one after another. The pond was quite large, and the group first gathered in one area to start digging for lotus roots.

Su Tangtang seemed excited as she walked toward the center of the pond, while Huo Yizhou followed silently behind her.

When they reached the middle, Su Tangtang stopped and turned to Huo Yizhou, saying, "Look, there might be a lotus root hidden under each lotus leaf." She picked up a lotus stem at random, "Like this one, the leaves aren't very big, but the stem is lush and green, which means there's a lot of lotus root underneath."

Huo Yizhou raised an eyebrow slightly, "You know so much about this?"

Su Tangtang laughed, "Yes, I did my homework beforehand."

Huo Yizhou gave a soft "hmm" and then asked, "What if there isn't one?"

Su Tangtang didn't answer. Instead, she bent down and put her hands into the water. She brushed aside a layer of silt, which was quickly washed away by the current. She looked up and said confidently, "Even if this one isn't there, it could be a branch of the lotus root. If we follow the vine, we'll eventually find the main root."

Huo Yizhou listened attentively, also choosing a lotus leaf and reaching into the water to feel for it.

Su Tangtang frantically dug into the mud at the bottom of the water, and because of the effort, her body involuntarily leaned back.

Huo Yizhou cautioned, "The surface mud is soft, but the soil underneath is hard. Be careful."

Su Tangtang nodded and continued digging. After a while, she finally found a section of lotus root, but she was almost completely submerged in the water. It took her a lot of effort to pull the lotus root out, and she swayed and almost lost her balance.

"Found it!" She held up the three-sectioned lotus root and waved it at Huo Yizhou. "It's not long, but it was so hard work."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Yizhou pulled one out of the mud, and it was noticeably larger.

Su Tangtang exclaimed, "Your is huge!"

Huo Yizhou nodded. "It really wasn't easy."

On the other side, Zhou Yan saw that they had both dug up something and shouted, "Tangtang, you guys are amazing! We haven't even figured it out yet!"

Everyone looked over, and saw that the two of them were holding freshly unearthed lotus roots.

Gu Qingke found it particularly irritating to see them standing together laughing happily. What made him even more uncomfortable was that he had dug for a long time without finding anything, while the other party had already taken the lead. He lowered his head and stopped looking, focusing on digging lotus roots.

Not long after, he finally dug one up.

He held it high and asked loudly, "Look at mine, isn't it big?"

People nearby turned to look, and Qiu Nan remarked, "Yours is quite big!"

Gu Qingke was a little smug and subconsciously looked towards Su Tangtang's direction, only to find that the two of them weren't even looking in their direction, which immediately annoyed her.

Shen Yingying noticed his glance.

She stood in the water, her hands unconsciously clenching. He dug out the lotus roots, why wasn't she the first one he showed them to? Why wasn't he "showing off" to her? Instead, he went to look at Su Tangtang's side.

The more I think about it, the worse I feel.

She has noticed a clear change in Gu Qingke lately.

In the past, whenever she complained about Su Tangtang, he would always agree with her and even join in the cursing. But now, whenever she mentions it, he first frowns, then offers a perfunctory reassurance, no longer standing by her side without hesitation as before.

This change made her inexplicably panicked and couldn't help but feel sad.

Su Tangtang gradually mastered the skills of digging lotus roots, but the soil was too hard, making it a bit difficult for her.

But Huo Yizhou seemed to be handling it with ease, digging out one after another with clean and efficient movements.

Su Tangtang couldn't help but exclaim, "You're amazing! In just a short while, we already have several in our pot!"

Huo Yizhou was clearly pleased with her praise; the more she praised him, the more enthusiastically he dug.

On the other side, Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu had only just begun to grasp the basics, and the few roots they dug out were all thanks to Ke Tangshu.

Meng Meng said somewhat angrily, "It's too hard to dig, I can't get any strength in it at all."

She looked up and saw that Su Tangtang had successfully dug out another one, which ignited her competitive spirit.

She mustered all her strength to dig down, but because she used too much force, she fell backward and into the water with a "plop".

She screamed and instantly submerged herself in the water, only her hands frantically reaching out to struggle above the surface.

Everyone around was startled.

Ke Tangshu, who was closest to her, rushed over to rescue her.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and was close by, so Meng Meng didn't choke on too much water.

Ke Tangshu helped her out of the water and quickly asked, "Are you alright?"

Meng Meng choked so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. She coughed and spat out water, "Oh my god... I'm choking! I swallowed a huge gulp..."

Seeing this, the others asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

After spitting out some water, Meng Meng said, "I'm fine."

Ke Tangshu advised, "You go and rest on the shore first, I'll do the digging."

Meng Meng was soaking wet, her hair plastered messily to her face, with a few strands of seaweed still clinging to it, but she stubbornly shook her head, "No, I'm going to dig anyway."

After she finished speaking, she subconsciously looked at Su Tangtang and found that the other person was looking at her.

Meng Meng's cheeks flushed instantly, a wave of shame and anger washing over her. Was that look in her eyes mocking her? Did she think she was incredibly embarrassing?

She couldn't help but glare fiercely at Su Tangtang.

Su Tangtang was bewildered by her glare and ignored her, lowering her head to continue digging her lotus root. In her heart, she couldn't help but think: Meng Meng really brought this on herself. She's always been too cunning, and now she's getting her comeuppance.

When Meng Meng saw Su Tangtang look away, she became even angrier. Her competitive spirit surged up, and she completely forgot her original plan.

She originally planned to deliberately slack off and deal with things passively, so that Su Tangtang's group would neither get first place nor second place, since she didn't care about the reward anyway.

But at this moment, watching Su Tangtang dig up lotus roots one after another and show them to everyone with a smile, Meng Meng felt particularly annoyed.

She gritted her teeth and made up her mind: she must dig more and faster than Su Tangtang, and she had to outdo her!

She wrung out her soaked clothes, then casually twisted her hair and tied it up neatly, completely disregarding her appearance, and buried herself in digging lotus roots.

This time, she was much more careful.

Before long, she actually dug one up. She proudly held up the lotus root and shouted to Su Tangtang, "Su Tangtang, look, mine is bigger than yours, isn't it!" After saying that, she "coolly" threw the lotus root into the basin.

Su Tangtang was taken aback by her shout, then seemed to understand something, and smiled slightly, "Still not as good as me."

These words completely ignited Meng Meng's competitive spirit. She snorted and, without saying another word, bent down and continued digging.

Seeing her enthusiasm, Su Tangtang couldn't help but smile. This person was really a bit neurotic, actually competing with her. But it was good, the more she dug, the more their group would benefit. Su Tangtang couldn't wait for her to dig even more.

On the other hand, Shen Yingying found herself unable to dig any further.

She had originally agreed with Meng Meng to play it badly and let Su Tangtang's group be at the bottom, but unexpectedly, after Meng Meng fell down, she became more and more enthusiastic about digging.

She glanced at Meng Meng several times, only to see that the other woman was engrossed in digging, comparing the size of each lotus root she dug out with Su Tangtang's, as if she were having a competition.

This made her feel even worse.

Why is it that everyone's attention is always drawn to Su Tangtang?

Before we knew it, it was already 1 p.m. The production crew called everyone ashore for lunch, and it was only then that everyone felt hungry.

As soon as they got ashore, Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu carried their basins straight to Su Tangtang. After looking at Su Tangtang's harvest and then at their own, which was clearly less, Meng Meng said defiantly, "Su Tangtang, we'll definitely dig more than you this afternoon!"

Su Tangtang replied with a smile, "Okay then, I look forward to you surpassing me."

Meng Meng raised her chin and said arrogantly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely surpass you!"

Lunch was boxed lunches prepared by the production team, and everyone sat together to eat.

Liu Shimeng remembered that Zhou Yan had previously complained about how bad the boxed lunch was, so she said, "This boxed lunch really does taste so-so."

Zhou Yan sighed, trying to make the best of a bad situation, and said, "Since I've cooked for myself a few times, I think boxed lunches aren't so bad after all."

She then confessed, "Qu Xian and I are both just average cooks."

Wang Ye immediately chimed in, "Your cooking is more than just average. I ate at your house before, and the food was so salty and tasteless that I didn't eat much and had to rely on takeout to make up for it."

Everyone laughed when they heard that.

Su Tangtang joked, "You've made me curious too. I really have to go to Sister Yan's house to try it sometime."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Welcome, welcome!" Then she added, "But Tangtang and Yizhou's cooking is really delicious!"

She blinked, keeping everyone in suspense, "Guess how I knew?"

All eyes turned to Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou, with Gu Qingke's gaze being particularly intense. When did she learn to cook? In the past, to please him, she had even specially ordered a table of takeout and pretended it was cooked by herself. He recognized it at a glance as dishes from a famous restaurant.

Su Tangtang asked curiously, "Sister Yan, how do you know if you've never tried it?"

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "I heard it from our photographer! They said the colleagues who were filming you two praised your cooking every day, and they've almost gotten fat from it."

Su Tangtang turned to look at the photographer who had been following behind her, but he immediately turned his head away, as if to say: Don't look at me, I don't know anything.

She couldn't help but laugh, "We two are alright, not bad, edible."

Qu Xian interjected, "Tangtang is clearly being modest."

Meng Meng suddenly chimed in, raising an eyebrow at Su Tangtang, "How about we go to Tangtang's house together tomorrow night and try it?"

Su Tangtang saw through her thoughts at a glance and calmly looked back at her, while Meng Meng met her gaze with a smile.

Su Tangtang readily agreed, "Sure! But the arduous task of starting the fire is yours."

Just as Meng Meng was about to refuse, Su Tangtang interjected, "Mengmeng won't refuse, will she? After all, it's her way of contributing to everyone's dinner."

Meng Meng chuckled dryly, "Of course not."

She had originally planned to deliberately delay, so that Su Tangtang and the others would cook a large meal without anyone's help, exhausting them. However, she was outmaneuvered instead.

I'm so angry! Humph, I'll just wait until the last minute to show up, after the food is ready.

Su Tangtang seemed to see through her thoughts and continued, "Then it's settled. If you don't come to light the fire, we won't start cooking."

Meng Meng: "..."

The others ate while watching the two women exchange barbs, and secretly rejoiced when Meng Meng was defeated.

Shen Yingying was utterly speechless.

What's going on today? Why is Meng Meng always so easily controlled by Su Tangtang?