Chapter 21
Led by Wang Jun, Cui Youyi entered his study.
Wang Jun suppressed the strange feeling in his heart. He thought that it must be because an outsider had arrived in his private territory, especially a girl, that was why he felt so abnormal.
It is said that knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. The furnishings in a room can also reflect a person's character. Cui Youyi would certainly not give up such a legitimate opportunity to understand the target of the mission.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw huge bookshelves standing symmetrically, with different books classified and labeled on them. At first glance, Cui Youyi thought she had returned to a modern library.
Inside, there was only a slightly spacious desk with two piles of books on both sides. The pens, ink, paper and inkstone were neatly placed, and all the items were placed in the same direction.
The study is not overly decorated and looks a bit cold.
Just like Cui Youyi's initial impression of Wang Jun - a nerd, who loves cleanliness and organization, and may even have a little obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Without giving Cui Youyi time to think about anything else, she began to "plot" her own plan with Wang Jun.
*
It was another day of heavy snow. Cui Youyi skillfully picked up a bamboo broom and began to sweep the snow in the yard. It was now late November, and the snow was more than three inches deeper than the ankles. If a path was not swept out in time, it would be difficult to travel in the future.
Cui Youyi and her companions still live in the place prepared by the county government for the contestants. Their daily activities are to get together to design new large ice sculptures and exchange some carving techniques.
Fortunately, this year the county government has equipped each group of contestants’ residence with a special cellar to store ice sculptures in order to collect the works from the ice sculptors and auction them off after the ice sculpture competition.
Everything in front of her eyes was white, and Cui Youyi couldn't help rubbing her blurry eyes.
The moment I closed my eyes, tears instantly came out, and I felt a lot better.
"Yiniang, let me help you sweep the snow." Lin Yinniang walked out of the ice sculpture room and joined the snow-sweeping business swiftly.
She wanted to come out and sweep the snow to relax. She had been carving ice so hard these days that she was almost sick. She had never imagined that one day she would have too much ice to carve.
"These past few days, Diaobing's neck feels like it's broken, and my hands don't feel like they're my own."
"Who isn't?" Cui Youyi replied with a smile. "This winter is really unbearable. My hands are so frozen that I can't even hold an ice pick. Let's take advantage of this opportunity to shovel some snow and get some exercise to warm ourselves up."
The two chatted casually until it was already afternoon. Seeing that the three teammates had not come out of the ice sculpture room yet, Cui Youyi stood in the yard and started shouting for them to go out.
"Three of you! If you don't get going now, you'll be late for the draw."
Yes, today is the day for the ice sculpture competition to draw lots. The county government posted a notice early, requiring every contestant to go and draw lots, and the new competition rules will also be announced today.
The place that had been silent for a long time finally became noisy again. People rushed there in groups of three or five early in the morning. If they didn't set off now, they wouldn't know when the lottery would end.
Cui Youyi lived a very fulfilling life during this period. The plan she and Wang Jun had conspired to implement was gradually implemented, and the people in Xiaoguan Village had a new way to make a living.
The second side quest assigned by the system, to change the perception that ice sculptures in Xiaoguan Village are useless, has been deemed completed.
As for the third side mission - reserving ice sculpture talents and training reserve personnel for the ice sculpture competition, the progress is relatively slow, but the completion rate has been judged to be 40%.
Perhaps because she was preparing for the ice sculpture competition during this period, the system did not assign her any other tasks, and would drop some survival time gift packs as she practiced.
In short, Cui Youyi's survival time was maintained at about five days.
The system had already given her a spoiler early on. If she completed the ice sculpture competition draw today, she would get an extra five days of survival time. During the ice sculpture competition, her survival time would be kept at a minimum of ten days, and winning a game would give her more survival time.
Cui Youyi continued to battle wits and courage with the system, and finally got a promise - as long as she entered the finals, she could get an unlimited ultimate mission and have the opportunity to survive for a hundred years.
Cui Youyi was looking forward to the ice sculpture conference more than anyone else. She never wanted to live a life restricted by the system again.
Furthermore, she always felt that by completing this ultimate mission, the reason why she came to Ningguta would be answered, and maybe she would have a chance to go back.
Hou Yi ran out quickly while adjusting his clothes, followed by Li Sheng and Lin Erwen.
"Here we go, here we go, Sister Cui, let's go!"
Hou Yi, Lin Erwen, and Lin Yinniang were all attending the ice sculpture conference for the first time. They were nervous and excited, and talked a lot along the way, asking questions to Mr. Li from time to time.
The closer they got to the county government office, the more nervous they became. In this atmosphere, Cui Youyi also felt a little anxious.
Cui Youyi took a deep breath and decided to win the small ice sculpture competition!
The county government office was filled with noise, and Cui Youyi and others quickened their pace to go in and line up.
"If we had known, we would have come earlier." Hou Yi paced back and forth with some regret.
The registration line was longer than he had imagined. If there weren't five registration spots for the individual and team competitions, they would have frozen to death in the queue today.
"The ice sculpture competition is like this every year, you'll just get used to it." Mr. Li said calmly.
Lin Yinniang hugged the hot water bottle tightly in her hand and added silently: "Fortunately, we drank the hot water bottle, which can at least help us hold out a little longer."
Lin Erwen tilted his head and looked at the team that was not moving much: "Why do I feel like the team next door is faster?"
"No doubt, just go faster!" Cui Youyi, who had counted the number of people countless times, was in tears. "The guy in blue from the next team, originally had fewer people in front of me than him, but now he has fewer than me."
The biggest pain of queuing is choosing the wrong queue. Every time I see a shorter queue, I can't help but join it. The first queue is the slowest, but next time I can't help but choose the shortest one.
In the winter in Ningguta, night always comes impatiently.
Cui Youyi was already numbed by the wind, but fortunately it was finally her turn.
"Name?" The yamen runner in charge of registration began to speak reluctantly.
Cui Youyi opened her mouth, but her face seemed to be a little out of control from the cold.
She had no choice but to tighten the winter clothes wrapped around her body, jog a few steps on the spot, and move her mouth. Only then did she feel that she had regained control of her body.
"Cui Youyi, you have not changed your old habits. I still follow Youyi's rules."
The yamen runner raised his head, his eyes filled with impatience at her wasting time: "Speak simply."
Cui Youyi: ...
"You means childish, Yi means graceful."
After mechanically drawing the lot, it was still a little light in the sky.
The gene engraved in Cui Youyi's bones kicked in, and she ignored everyone's opposition and asked to go to the venue of the ice sculpture conference to familiarize herself with the venue.
In order to prevent anyone from causing trouble, layers of protection were set up around the ice sculpture conference venue, and huts were built for night watchmen to keep warm.
Cui Youyi didn't bother to admire the slightly humane design and hurried in to find a place.
The first place you must inspect is always your own "examination room".
At Cui Youyi's suggestion, the design of this year's ice sculpture venue was more humane - a windbreak was hastily built.
Cui Youyi found the Bingzi venue where she was, and then went to look for a place to store ice carving tools with satisfaction.
Some ice sculptures are reserved in each venue as a backup, but various unexpected situations occur every year, so additional ice sculpture tools are stored not far from each venue in case of emergency.
My tools are system-produced, so the possibility of problems is small, but accidents happen, so you can't take chances.
The third place is for storing hot water, food and for convenience. The ice sculpture competition has always been a long-term battle, and replenishing physical strength is an indispensable part. She can save time by familiarizing herself with the route early.
Only after checking out all the spots did Cui Youyi leave with satisfaction.
Along the way, everyone was eager to go home - the mutton pot at home was waiting for them!
Within a few months, Cui Youyi's brother had recovered. No one knew what kind of profitable business he had come up with, but the family suddenly had a lot more money.
Cui Youyi no longer had to worry about her family and could concentrate on preparing for the ice sculpture competition.
When Cui Jingshuo heard that registration was a difficult and arduous task, he drove a sheep to her.
Knowing that they would not be able to go back for a while, Cui Jingshuo acted like a caring brother - he took people to help them deal with everything related to eating the hotpot before driving back.
In winter, after drinking warm ginger tea, and then having a steaming hot mutton hotpot, Cui Youyi felt her saliva secreting just thinking about it.
If her brother and the Hou family hadn't sent some fresh food over in the past few months, she felt like she would have vomited from eating all that big pot of food.
The freshly cooked mutton, dipped in Cui Youyi's special sauce, was so delicious that Cui Youyi felt her hands and feet warm up.
"It would be nice if we could eat hotpot every day." Hou Yi was young and couldn't hide his words, so he gently expressed everyone's new life.
Cui Youyi poured ginger tea into the cup and said boldly, "Come on, let's go."
"Today we gather together to celebrate our new life. We must win the ice sculpture competition!"
“We will have a bright future!”
After saying this, Cui Youyi raised her glass with pride and smiled brightly.
Lin Yinniang was no longer as timid as before. She imitated Cui Youyi and made a cup of ginger tea: "Cheers to you."
This period of time was the most relaxing and happiest time in her life. Fortunately, she was not too unlucky and still had the opportunity to rewrite her life at this age.
Hou Yi chuckled and raised his glass: "Come on, let's go! A day like this would be perfect with a glass of wine."
After saying that, he smacked his lips, reminiscing about the sip of wine he had secretly tasted many years ago.
Mr. Li smiled and shook his head, feeling quite helpless, but he still joined this "game" which he felt was a bit childish.
Li Erwen smiled foolishly and drank the ginger tea as if he was drinking wine.
The five wine glasses clinked together, making a clinking sound, as if they were also celebrating for them.
After having a good meal and a good drink, Cui Youyi went back and had a good sleep.
The next day, the first thing Cui Youyi did after opening her eyes was to feel whether her nose was unobstructed. She swallowed her saliva to make sure her throat was normal.
To ensure her good health, Cui Youyi rolled over in bed with satisfaction, then stayed in bed for a while. Finally, she left the warm bed because she really wanted to drink some water.
Thinking that she was about to participate in the competition, Cui Youyi was looking forward to it very much. She wondered who she would be in the same group with and what theme of ice sculpture she would win.
With this uneasy mood, Cui Youyi came to the outside of the venue. Before she could even stand still, she met her old enemies Zhou Yunchao and Zhou Yunkai.
Great, I encountered garbage again.
She reasonably suspected that the Zhou family, especially Zhou Yunchao and Zhou Yunkai, had taken the villain script. After all, they were everywhere! And they would pop up from time to time to cause trouble!
"Oh, isn't this the famous Cui Youyi?" Zhou Yunkai went straight to Cui Youyi, and it was hard for him to ignore her.
Yo yo yo, Tiantian yo, why don’t you sing rap? You were born in the wrong era!
Cui Youyi couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Hey, Master Zhou, it looks like we can have a second round of our last ice fighting competition!"
"This is truly God's will! After all, Master Zhou seemed to be scared later!"
"You..." Zhou Yunkai wanted to say something, but Zhou Yunchao interrupted him directly.
"That's enough, Yun Kai. I'm not saying this to you, but a barking dog should be beaten to death. Why are you arguing with an animal?"
Cui Youyi has a bad temper. Your family is like a rabid dog, biting anyone you catch and nitpicking. Now you are turning the tables on us!
"Sure enough, the ancients never lied to us."
Cui Youyi spoke calmly, neither servile nor overbearing, "Even if a beast changes into a human being, it still can't change its bad habits. It sees everyone as the same kind as itself in its previous life."
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