"Zhuang Yan, can we have dinner here tonight?"
Zhuang Yan was cooking a mushroom and tender pork soup. The aroma was irresistible. The soup looked so delicious that I couldn't imagine how delicious it would be with wild mushrooms and cured pork.
Zhuang Yan was in charge of the food. He brought not only fresh and cured meat but also side dishes and spices, leaving nothing out. For someone with a sensitive stomach, eating is the most important thing, and he would never deprive himself of food.
When Zhuang Yan heard that Fang Chen and the others wanted to freeload a meal, he didn't say anything, he just watched them.
"We're not just eating for free. These are wild mushrooms we found. We can even help you with some chores," Ling Xuan said somewhat shyly.
Zhuang Yan put down the long spoon in his hand: "How many of you are there?"
"There are three of us." Isn't that obvious?
Although Xia Wan didn't look this way, she kept her ears open and paying close attention to what was happening here.
"You two can stay for dinner, but Xia Wan can't. I have a grudge against her." The camera was still rolling, and Zhuang Yan dared to openly isolate Xia Wan. What kind of character is that? Isn't he afraid of causing controversy?
Fang Chen paused for a moment: "This isn't appropriate. We're all recording a show together; there's no need to make things so ugly..."
"Since you don't like it, you should go back."
Zhuang Yan ladled out the soup and started stir-frying the mushrooms. The aroma wafted towards people along with the smoke, impossible to escape. Ling Xuan watched the oil frying in the pot, and the Maillard reaction produced by the food made him swallow hard.
Ling Xuan couldn't imagine how delicious this stir-fried cured pork with wild mushrooms would be. He stood there reluctantly, and for the first time, he envied An Xinrong for being able to join whichever team she wanted.
Zhuang Yan isolated Xia Wan for a reason; even if it were broadcast, no one would say anything, but the two of them wouldn't be.
Two grown men abandoned their female teammate for a meal. Are they even human?
Unable to make it, the two could only sheepishly carry the mushrooms back home and then start a fire to cook.
With limited food supplies, it was impossible to learn to cook from Zhuang Yan; the dishes were too complicated and wouldn't taste the same. I could only try to make them simple.
So they decided to make mushroom porridge, which was quick and easy.
Xia Wan sat in the tent, watching Ling Xuan and Fang Chen wash the pots and start the fire, and knew that their attempt to freeload a meal had failed.
She loved Zhuang Yan's cooking and had been thinking about him ever since he left.
Yesterday she did eat the food Zhuang Yan cooked, but he made all the green beans she hated the most, and it was a whole green bean feast.
Zhuang Yan hates her so much now, it's likely that yesterday's incident was intentional, and he also took the opportunity to teach Gu Qian a lesson.
The sizzling sound of oil coming from the pan could be heard all around, and along with the sounds of stir-frying, the aroma wafted over on the breeze.
Xia Wan has always loved eating wild mushrooms. Fresh wild mushrooms are hard to find in Chengdu, so every summer, Zhuang Yan would ask someone to buy them for her.
Good ingredients paired with a good chef result in top-notch cuisine. She could almost imagine how delicious the dinner Zhuang Yan was making would be.
An Xinrong's voice came from next door.
"It smells so good! When can we eat?"
Zhuang Yan said, "Have some soup first; the rice will have to wait."
Xia Wan sat on the ground, burying her head in her knees. She was actually a little envious of An Xinrong.
...
She came with such confidence, but now she feels so ashamed and disheartened. She hasn't accomplished anything. She couldn't get any information about Boss Yi'an from Zhuang Yan, nor could she get Zhuang Yan to withdraw the lawsuit.
She didn't know how to face her father when she went back. He would definitely be very disappointed in her, and might even scold her... After all, she was the one who caused all this mess.
No matter how much Xia Qingshan loves his daughter, when it comes to matters of interest, his daughter still has to take a backseat.
A minor defamation case would normally be easy to resolve, but Xia Qingshan has been raising funds recently for that piece of land in Xicheng.
If this matter is not handled properly, the Xia family's reputation will be damaged and its stock price will drop, with incalculable consequences.
Moreover, Zhuang Yan is backed by Yi An, and it is unclear what his relationship with Yi An is. The more unknown something is, the more frightening it becomes. Will he cause Yi An Group to target the Xia family?
While Xia Wan was lost in thought, Zhuang Yan had already started eating.
An Xinrong drank soup and ate meat. Although she was tempted by the mushrooms, she resisted the urge to pick them up.
"Why are you only drinking the soup and not eating the mushrooms?" Just as An Xinrong finished her third bowl of soup, Zhuang Yan finally couldn't help but speak up.
Holding the bowl guiltily, An Xinrong said, "I like to drink soup, and the soup you make is delicious."
Zhuang Yan: "You should drink less soup. If you drink too much, you'll need to go to the toilet at night. The wild is not like home; there are snakes outside."
An Xinrong turned pale with fright upon hearing this.
"Don't scare her. If you need to go to the bathroom tonight but are too scared to go, you can ask me to go with you." Lu Yan scooped a spoonful of mushrooms and meat into An Xinrong's bowl: "Eat more mushrooms. Once you leave here, you won't be able to eat such fresh wild mushrooms."
Lu Yan could tell that An Xinrong was probably embarrassed not to eat, because she hadn't been able to find any edible mushrooms that afternoon.
With Lu Yan feeding her, An Xinrong's cheeks bulged out, and she quickly became full.
An Xinrong volunteered to wash the dishes, but she knew she couldn't manage it by herself, so Zhuang Yan had to help.
Lu Yan and Jiang Ning returned to the tent, sprinkled snake repellent powder around it, and sprayed insect repellent inside and outside the tent.
Forget about taking a bath in the wild; you can only boil some water and wipe yourself down.
How's your foot?
Lu Yan could tell that Jiang Ning was concerned about her. Lu Yan took off her socks, and her wound was a little wet and red, which looked painful.
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt too much." After washing her feet, Lu Yan sprayed iodine on the wound, then applied some powder. She used a band-aid for small wounds and wrapped the larger ones with gauze.
We're going back tomorrow, and Lu Yan's wound won't heal anytime soon. I'm afraid Zhuang Yan will have to carry her down the mountain again.
"The director said we should take three days off, but I'd like to meet Zhuang Yan for one day."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lu Yan chuckled, looking at her.
Jiang Ning felt she should report it to the authorities. If Lu Yan also wanted to meet Zhuang Yan, she didn't think she was confident she could win.
“I only asked him for one day. My mother is sick and has been wanting to see him again for years. I mentioned it to Zhuang Yan a while ago, and he agreed.” At this point, Jiang Ning added a few more words, “Don’t worry, I have no other feelings for him. We’re just ordinary friends.”
"Just explain it to him clearly, I have no objection."
Jiang Ning breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you."
...
Outside, while An Xinrong and Zhuang Yan were boiling water and washing dishes, the neighbors next door had just finished cooking.
Fang Chen and his friends made the simplest mushroom porridge. They first boiled the rice, then added the mushrooms, and finally added some salt.
The stove was really hard to keep burning. After finally getting the water to a boil and adding mushrooms, the fire went out again. It just simmered on a lukewarm flame, and the cooked porridge wasn't white but bluish-purple.
Fang Chen was still a little worried: "Is this edible?"
Ling Xuan said confidently, "Mushrooms are supposed to be this color, so why can't we eat them? Don't worry, they've been cooked for ten or twenty minutes, so they shouldn't be poisonous anymore."
Ling Xuan sprinkled some salt into the porridge and tasted it to see if it was salty enough. Sure enough, high-end ingredients often only need to be cooked in the simplest way to taste good.
Fang Chen went to call Xia Wan to come out for dinner.
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