11 rooms

Gu Sinan pursed her lips, frowned, and handed the ball to Ye Zhenzhen, who hugged her and patted her reassuringly.

“I really liked that yard just now. There was a big tree where I could cool off, and a small vegetable garden too. What do you think, Dad?” Ye Zhenzhen said with a smile, then looked at Gu Tingshen.

"Yes, the flowers in that yard are beautiful." Gu Tingshen met her expectant eyes and softened his expression.

Gu Sinan carefully observed his parents' expressions to make sure they genuinely didn't mind. Only then did he slowly smile. He also really liked the rooster in the yard, but he was worried his parents would think the yard was too shabby.

Yan Xu stepped forward, picked up a ball marked with the number 1, his cool face expressionless. Zhou Jingyi and Liu Lele drew numbers 2 and 3 respectively.

Liu Kangkang and Liu Lele won the swing villa in the lottery and happily hugged each other. Zhou Jingyi was coaxed by her parents and soon smiled as well.

They had a simple lunch under the pavilion in the middle of the square and rested for a while before the director said, "For the next few days, we will be living in Shatang Village. The production team has prepared transportation for everyone's daily travel. Please go to your accommodations."

The director pointed to a corner of the square.

There were five sidecar motorcycles parked there, painted in bright colors, looking quite stylish.

The children immediately let out a burst of curious exclamations; they had rarely seen such a strange vehicle.

Ye Zhenzhen chose a light blue motorcycle. After Gu Tingshen got on, she first helped Gu Sinan climb into the back and put a matching helmet on him. Only then did she put on her own helmet, sit on the back, and hold onto Gu Tingshen's clothes.

With a sputtering sound, several motorcycles sped off. The cameramen following behind on their motorcycles also filmed.

They gradually separated from the other groups, and as they walked, a flock of geese waddled out from around the corner.

Gu Sinan tugged at Ye Zhenzhen's sleeve, "Mom, look, what a beautiful white goose! Let's walk slowly."

Ye Zhenzhen turned around and saw it too, and hesitated a bit. The geese she had seen when she was a child were not very friendly.

Gu Tingshen slowed down and stopped the car. He also looked back and saw the lead goose with snow-white feathers leading a group of underlings, walking with an arrogant air.

It was walking slowly when it saw the motorcycle in front of it stop. Suddenly, it flapped its wings, let out a loud cry, and stretched its neck to rush forward.

Gu Sinan had never seen anything like this before. The cute goose instantly transformed, her voice trembling with fear, "Daddy, it's chasing us!! Ahhh, run! It's going to peck us!!"

Ye Zhenzhen watched as the goose lowered its neck and came toward them, making a loud "quack" sound. She nervously pressed herself against Gu Tingshen's back.

Gu Tingshen lowered his head, pulled her arm around his waist, and said with a smile, "Hold on tight."

He then twisted the accelerator and sped away.

The cameramen had just stopped to film enthusiastically when they were suddenly chased by a flock of geese. One of them, who was running slowly, was pecked by a goose and screamed. The camera was so startled that it almost fell off, and the cameraman also started to run for his life.

Finally shaking off the flock of fighting geese, they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, looked at each other, and felt a sense of relief at having survived a disaster.

Ye Zhenzhen entered the main room, took off Gu Sinan's helmet, and found that the little boy's hair was wet with sweat and his face was flushed.

She gently pinched the child's cheek. "Nannan, let's wash our faces before taking a nap."

The two stepped out of the house and saw Gu Tingshen drawing water from the well in the yard by hand.

Although the courtyard is somewhat old, it has running water and a solar water heater in the bathroom. The courtyard also preserves an old hand-pumped well and a cement-lined water tank.

He had already taken off his sun protection shirt and was now only wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. His arm muscles bulged, and his large hands pressed down on the handle of the well, as clear water flowed into the cement pool, splashing up sparkling water droplets.

Gu Sinan was seeing this way of fetching water for the first time, and she squatted down to watch intently.

Ye Zhenzhen took the basin prepared by the production team, placed it under the water outlet, and tossed a towel in. As soon as her fingers touched the water, she felt a cool sensation from her fingertips.

"The water is so cold, Nan Nan, come quick."

Gu Sinan stretched out her small hand, which was splashed by the water. Her eyes lit up. "It's so cool, like ice water. Why is this water so cold? Where does it come from?"

Ye Zhenzhen took a towel out of the basin, wrung it out, and wiped his face. Pointing to the hand pump well, she explained, "This is called a hand pump well. It can pump water up from deep underground. In summer, the surface gets very hot from the sun, but the water underground doesn't get sun exposure and stays at the same temperature all year round, so it feels very cool."

After Ye Zhenzhen finished wiping him, she washed the towel, wrung it out, stood up, and handed it to Gu Tingshen, who was standing by the well.

"Nannan, can you press the water so Daddy can wash you?"

"Okay!" Gu Sinan hopped over to the handle and pressed down with all her might.

As the water flowed out, the children pressed down even harder.

Ye Zhenzhen finished washing up and went back inside, leaving the father and son to play in the water outside.

There are three rooms in a row on the north side. The main room has a sofa and coffee table, functioning similarly to a living room, while the rooms on either side are bedrooms. The entire courtyard, except for the bathroom on the west side, is equipped with security cameras.

Ye Zhenzhen first went to the small bedroom on the east side to check on Gu Sinan's room.

The furnishings inside were simple, with a cabinet and a desk against the wall, and a small bed in the center of the room.

Ye Zhenzhen went over and pressed the mattress; it wasn't too firm. She then went back to the other bedroom.

The three of them took a short nap and woke up at 5 p.m. They rode their sidecar to the small square, where the production crew was already waiting.

"The production team has prepared a variety of ingredients and cooking utensils for everyone. Starting today, every meal here will need to be cooked by hand, and each family will need to prepare at least two dishes. Now, please prepare a sumptuous dinner."

The group arrived at the room on the west side of the square, where the table was covered with various fresh ingredients. In addition to the essential meats, vegetables, and fruits, there were also several large basins on the floor containing crabs, oysters, and shrimp.

"Hiss, I have to clean up myself?" Zhang Siqing came in excitedly, only to be dumbfounded.

It was indeed plentiful and fresh, but everything was unprocessed; the meat was in whole pieces, the vegetables were unwashed, and the shrimp and crabs were all jumping around.

Ye Zhenzhen thought to herself, no wonder they're preparing dinner so early. If they start dealing with these things now, it'll be considered early if they can eat by sunset.

The children all went to see the giant, menacing crab, while the adults discussed how to divide the tasks.

These people are usually busy with work and rarely cook for themselves. The production team must have done it on purpose; the more chaotic the cooking process and the more unrealistic the final product, the better the show's effect.

"Oh dear, let's leave the cooking to Lao Yan. He's a professional; he even has a chef's certificate!" Wang Liqing said with a smile, pushing Yan Feng forward.

Everyone was taken aback, and the production crew was hearing about it for the first time. The director and cameramen exchanged bewildered glances; they hadn't discovered this information when they were gathering information beforehand! They had only heard that Yan Feng fully supported his wife's work outside the home, but they never expected him to be so devoted—he even had a chef's certificate?!

"Really?! Brother Yan, you're amazing! Could you give us some pointers later?" Lan Nuo exclaimed in surprise. She was a complete novice in the kitchen, and her housekeeper usually cooked for her at home. Zhou Haitao, on the other hand, was an artsy young man who was completely unskilled in physical labor and knew nothing about farming.

"Brother Yan, I'm not good at cooking, but I'm strong. What do you need me to prepare? I'll do it. You can give me some pointers on how to cook!" Liu Wei also stepped forward, asking for guidance.

The few who couldn't cook looked at Yan Feng as if he were their savior. After all, they were going to live here for a few days, and they all had young children at home. They couldn't just freeload every day, so they had to learn something, at least to cook properly.

Ye Zhenzhen was also tempted. Of all the ingredients, she only knew how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes. She couldn't eat the same dish every day. She looked at the man beside her, stood on tiptoe, and whispered, "Can you cook? I only know how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

Although I asked, I didn't really have any expectations. This person probably hadn't even been in the kitchen since he was a child, and was probably not as good as me.

She's prepared to practice her cooking skills diligently for the next few days. She's quite capable with her hands, and with Chef Yan around, she's sure she'll learn a few signature dishes.

"Don't worry, you won't go hungry." Gu Tingshen lowered his head to listen to her and calmly replied.

He straightened up, noticed her suspicious look, and explained with a smile, "When I was studying abroad, I would occasionally cook for myself."

Seeing her blank expression, and not knowing what she was imagining, I decided not to explain further, and simply reached out and tapped the microphone at her collar.

"Ah, I forgot." Ye Zhenzhen looked down and cursed herself for being so stupid.

She completely ignored the cameras, even forgetting the microphone clipped to her collar. There was absolutely no need to whisper; the microphone clipped to her collar would have picked up everything.

"What would you like to eat? Go ahead and pick one, I'll cook it for you."

"I'll go ask Nan Nan," she said, running lightly to Gu Si Nan's side before quickly returning. "We want to eat shrimp, crab, beef, and broccoli. Do you know how to cook them?"

A slight smile appeared on Gu Tingshen's lips as he calmly nodded and turned to get the groceries.

Ye Zhenzhen followed behind him and watched as he carefully selected a piece of beef and handed her a broccoli.

"Do you know how to wash it?"

"Of course, do I need to break it apart?" Ye Zhenzhen took the broccoli and went to the pool after receiving an affirmative answer.

As soon as she turned on the tap, water splashed everywhere, and she quickly stepped aside.

She looked around and found the aprons provided by the production team. The cotton plaid aprons were in refreshing colors and had the logo of the sponsor, Sunflower Soy Sauce, printed on them; they were quite nice. She picked out three, tied a pink one on herself, and then went to deliver them to the father and son.

The man was picking shrimp, and Gu Sinan was helping him with a small net. The shrimp were still wriggling when they were scooped out of the water. Gu Tingshen saw her coming over with an apron and straightened up.

"Raise your hand, and I'll tie it for you."

Seeing that his hands were wet, Ye Zhenzhen simply walked behind him and helped him tie his apron.

Standing behind the man, she felt his broad shoulders completely shielding her. She unfolded her apron, holding it in one hand, and wrapped her other arm around his waist, fumbling for the straps before tying a bow behind her back.

Gu Tingshen stood there cooperatively, his eyes lowered, watching her fair hand flash by, a tenderness in his expression.

Ye Zhenzhen tied a small apron on Gu Sinan and assigned him the task of peeling scallions and garlic before continuing to wash the broccoli.

The production crew filmed them from the sidelines. Because of Yan Feng's unexpected incident, the whole scene looked like a cooking tutorial channel.

Yan Feng exuded a distinct military bearing; he didn't talk much, but every word he uttered was to the point. Zhou Haitao and Liu Wei followed closely behind him, like humble apprentices eagerly seeking instruction, watching him demonstrate and explain the precautions for cooking, wishing they could take notes in their notebooks.

When the two of them tried to do it themselves, they still encountered numerous problems and were completely flustered, which vividly illustrates what it means to have the eyes understand but not the hands.

Gu Tingshen's style was different again. The materials he would use later were neatly arranged on the table in front of him, leaving Ye Zhenzhen in awe.

She suspected that this man not only had obsessive-compulsive disorder but also a strong sense of order. She was also certain that he was a truly skilled cook. Not only was the shrimp deveined incredibly clean, but he also sliced ​​the beef into evenly thin slices and marinated it. His stir-frying movements were fluid and effortless, as if he had everything under complete control.

She immediately felt relieved, finished washing the vegetables, and focused on watching him cook, becoming completely absorbed in the process.

From the first time she met Gu Tingshen, she felt that he was the standard domineering CEO from romance novels, looking cold and exuding an aura that kept people at a distance.

In order to fulfill her duty of raising the male protagonist, she chose to maintain the marriage, but never had any designs on this unattainable beauty.

She considered herself an ordinary person. Even though she had transmigrated into the body of a rich second-generation heir, deep down she was still the ordinary girl from her previous life. The gap between them was too great, and there was absolutely no possibility of anything happening between them. Therefore, she could face him calmly, like admiring a two-dimensional character. No matter how handsome or rich he was, she could get along with him without any psychological burden.

But at this moment, perhaps it was the filter of a foodie, smelling the aroma emanating from the pot, she felt that he was enveloped by this earthy atmosphere, becoming warm and slowly coming to life from a flat figure.

After Wang Liqing and the other two finished their work, they looked around the house and were greatly surprised to see Gu Tingshen wearing an apron.

Zhang Siqing nudged Ye Zhenzhen with her elbow, "Wow, I didn't expect your husband to be able to cook! Tsk tsk tsk, truly a woman who can grace the living room and cook in the kitchen!"

Ye Zhenzhen snapped out of her daze and realized that she had been staring at Gu Tingshen so intently that she blushed slightly, looked away, and dared not look at him again.

[Author's Note]

Keep it up! Little Peach Blossom has discovered Old Gu's charm!