Shui Yiyao took the small paper box, which exuded the aroma of sauce and eggs.
"Omelette?"
"It smells so good." Shui Yiyao put the paper box on the table and slowly opened the lid of the food box.
As soon as the lid is removed, steam rises, carrying the aroma of the sauce with it. The pale yellow round pancake is adorned with green scallions and a caramel-colored sauce. It's tiny, about the size of a bottle cap, perfect for one bite. It's incredibly cute.
The small pancakes were neatly arranged in three rows, with 6 in each row.
"Dean Ao, you can do this." Shui Yiyao gave him a thumbs up: "Amazing!"
Ao Li: "That's easy."
"This isn't easy. I wouldn't normally do this."
Ao Li hesitated: "Don't you like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it. I like it. I really like yours." She said, then added: "But, to make pancakes, you have to start by kneading the dough, and then you have to wait for it to ferment. Pancakes also have to be shaped, and I don't like it if it looks ugly. I think it's troublesome. So, the pancakes are delicious, but I don't deserve it."
She just felt it was a waste of time. Every time she made pancakes, it was not smooth sailing. She would often burn the pancakes. Moreover, when she made pancakes, it was difficult for her to make them look good. They were only barely oval. At worst, they were not even round. They were all weird shapes. Perfect circles were impossible.
But the egg pancakes made by Ao Li were all round, with slightly browned crusts, and none of them were burnt. So she thought they were really good.
"You deserve it." Ao Li picked up the chopsticks and handed them to her: "Try it."
Shui Yiyao took the chopsticks: "Don't you want to eat together?"
"I've eaten."
"Is this the little omelet you're eating?"
"right."
"Do you think it tastes good?"
"It's OK. It's edible."
Shui Yiyao picked up a small omelet and put it in her mouth.
The omelet was soft and the sauce was fragrant and tasty: "It's delicious. Ao Yuan is modest. It's much better than what I make."
After she finished one, she looked up at Ao Li and said, "I taste the red pepper."
Ao Li nodded: "Red pepper flakes are added to the sauce. I remember you like spicy food."
Shui Yiyao smiled and nodded: "It's delicious."
“Is it spicy?”
"Yeah, it's the spicy kind I like."
"As long as you like it."
Shui Yiyao picked up another small egg pancake and put it in her mouth. Ao Li didn't like spicy food, and neither did his family's Jiang Luo, so this sauce was specially made for her.
She likes it.
Shui Yiyao ate up a box of small egg pancakes without leaving any.
When she put down her chopsticks, she looked at the empty plate and sighed, "I wanted to save some for lunch, but I didn't. I ate it all before I knew it."
Ao Li watched her clearing the dishes and said with amusement, "There's something else for lunch."
Shui Yiyao became interested and asked, "Anything else?"
Ao Li: "Hairy crab, pork ribs and radish soup, bamboo fungus soup, garlic and cabbage. Or, is there anything else you want to eat? You come first."
Shui Yiyao shook her head: "I think it's great, nothing to add."
After she finished speaking, she asked, "Will you make lunch?"
Ao Li nodded: "I'll do it."
Shui Yiyao suddenly smiled after hearing this: "Then my only concern is your service fee. How are you going to pay back such a large sum?"
"I'm making the donation voluntarily. Legally speaking, you don't have to worry about this."
"Do we in the Sea Tribe also have such laws?" The laws of the Sea Tribe were very rough and didn't cover such detailed matters. But they were both from the Sea Tribe, so if there was a dispute, in principle, it would be resolved according to the laws of the Sea Tribe.
Ao Li remained calm and said, "Of course."
Shui Yiyao: “…”
At this moment, Shui Yiyao's cell phone rang.
——Uncle Zhao.
"I'm going to take a call." Shui Yiyao picked up the phone and looked at Ao Li.
Ao Li nodded to show that he understood, stood up and walked to the side, and took out his laptop from the file bag he brought with him.
He brought his laptop and sat down a little distance away from Shui Yiyao to start working.
Shui Yiyao answered the phone before Ao Li completely left.
"Good morning, Uncle Zhao. Are you looking for me about the Jade Friends Association? Have you decided on the time and place?"
There was silence on the other end of the line, then a sigh: "It's confirmed. Four days later, 7pm, on the 15th floor of Deep Sea Building."
"Why are you sighing? Can't find anyone to participate? That's unlikely."
"As you said before, quite a few people have signed up."
"Then why are you sighing?"
"Xiaoshan Country has come with ill intentions. Chengyu, you should reconsider this. The Tiangong Qinghuo Tournament is coming soon. If we lose, we'll have to wait another year. We can afford to wait, but the two-nation league is coming soon, and the Tiangong Tournament is the threshold for the league. You should think carefully about this."
"Not considering it." If the competition was about speaking the language of Xiaoshan Country, she would have to think about it again. But if it was about looking at jade, what was there to consider?
Shui Yiyao's tone was so unforced that the person on the other end paused, no longer trying to persuade her. "Well...if you still want to come after considering it, I'll email you the time and address later, and send the invitation to your studio. You can come directly with the invitation."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhao."
"That's the thing. The main thing is... if we win, everyone's happy, but if we lose, no one will be happy. The impact... is not good."
Shui Yiyao was surprised: "Winning and losing are common, why do you think so much about it?"
Uncle Zhao: "...It's not that I have to think so much, it's just that the impact is huge. Are you...confident of winning three games in a row?"
"Not sure. Normally, wins and losses are split evenly."
"Losing has a bad impact. If you don't compete, you won't lose."
"But if you don't compete, you'll never win."
Shui Yiyao: "Don't think too much. You'll know whether you win or lose only after the competition."
Uncle Zhao: "Okay. I'll send you the opponent's information later. I won't bother you now."
After hanging up the phone, Shui Yiyao still felt strange. How could he persuade his own players to quit before the game even started? He didn't even shout "Come on!"
Seeing Shui Yiyao hang up the phone, Ao Li stopped what he was doing and asked her, "Are you going to participate in the competition?"
"I guess so." Shui Yiyao nodded. "The Jade Friends Association is mainly for appraising the craftsmanship of jade artifacts. It's a competition of eyesight. But this time, it's a competition of eyesight with Xiaoshan Country."
"The Small Mountain Nation is gambling on qualification for this year's tournament. It's a big gamble. And they have no good intentions."
As she spoke, she still felt strange. It seemed like Uncle Zhao was under too much pressure. The last time she brought this up, he had told her to think about it, but he hadn't tried so hard to dissuade her from doing so, as he had this time.
Ao Li: "When will it be too late for you?"
"Just in time, four days later."
Before she could finish, Shui Yiyao's phone rang again, and the caller ID showed - Lu Jiayu.
Shui Yiyao said to Ao Li, "I'm going to take a call."
Ao Li nodded and went back to doing his own thing.
Shui Yiyao answered the phone: "Sister Jiayu, it's me. What's wrong?"
Lu Jiayu: "I heard from Uncle Zhao that you are going to join the Jade Friends Association of the Xiaoshan Kingdom delegation."
"That's right."
Lu Jiayu immediately said, "Think about it again. You are too young. There is no need to work so hard."
Shui Yiyao laughed when she heard this: "That's why you called me to tell me this?"
If you’re not a good person when you’re young, then when should you start?
"What's going on between you and Uncle Zhao? You're both trying to boost others' morale and undermine your own prestige. Why should you be afraid of them? The competition hasn't even started yet."
Lu Jiayu: "It's not that he and I want to destroy your prestige, it's just that the current situation is not optimistic. Everyone is raising the significance of the competition. If you lose, you will become a sinner. You are still young and can go a long way. If you are delayed by this incident, it will not be worth it."
Shui Yiyao frowned as she heard this. How could this even involve the question of whether one was guilty or not? Why was it so serious? They say the future holds infinite possibilities. Even if you lose once, you'll always have a chance to win it back later. How can losing once make you a sinner? And you haven't even lost yet.
Lu Jiayu: "So you still..."
Shui Yiyao interrupted: "Sister, are you participating?"
"I did participate..."
"What's there to say?"
Shui Yiyao felt strange. She wanted to see what everyone was saying now. Why did they start to act like sinners?
She logged into the jade carving community forum account.
Jade carvers are quite active in this forum, and they will talk about current market trends and chat about current affairs.
Shui Yiyao would occasionally log in to the forum because it seemed very convenient and there were summaries of previous experiences, such as the characteristics of a certain Tiangong Award and a summary of the most popular jade carving studios. She would also post her own summaries, such as her analysis of past Tiangong Award winners and their development trends, which she posted on the forum.
Very convenient for communication.
As soon as I logged in, the message notification showed: 99+.
Why so many messages?
She opened the message notification bar.
They were all replies to the post she posted.
She posted a sharing post titled "Summary of previous Tiangong Awards and analysis of development trends of major jade carvers".
She posted it because she had just finished a summary and wanted to share it with everyone. She didn't pay attention to other issues.
- Development trends? I don't understand that. But the summary of past Tiangong Award winners and their works in the first half is quite interesting, and it's even categorized. I don't think even the official summary is that clear.
-Thank you, man! This is awesome!
-Can anyone tell me whether the author's analysis is reliable?
-It seems so simple, but is it really that simple? It can be summed up in just a few words.
-It's obviously very complicated, but you didn't understand it.
-I won’t comment on the future development trend, but you can take a look at the previous one.
-I think it makes sense.
-Why does it feel like nonsense?
-I think it's nonsense too.
Until a building suddenly appeared at the back, and the style of this building was completely different before and after.
Zhao Mingjue: Your analysis is very sound, and you have excellent discernment. Regarding my column, you're absolutely right about the future direction of development. I agree with you on many other jade carving trends, though there's room for discussion on a few points. Would you mind a private message? I'd love for you to appreciate some recent works by renowned artists.
Zhao Mingjue, Zhao Bo's younger brother, was once a winner of the Tiangong Award. He is a very talented jade carving master and is very famous in the industry.
Shui Yiyao's posting name was CD, the abbreviation for Chengdao Jade Carving. Zhao Mingjue didn't recognize it.
After Zhao Mingjue came out, the back of the building was full of praise and some were seriously discussing the content.
- Saved it, thanks sir.
-Useful information!
-Fine Posts.
-Mr. Sun will try to expand the subject matter. I think the original poster is right about this. I heard last time that Mr. Sun had done a special subject matter.
-The OP has a unique vision. It seems that he can see far ahead and see the essence directly through the appearance.
Shui Yiyao generally looked at several floors, but there was nothing special.
She used to share her summaries on the community, and they always attracted a lot of attention. Therefore, she wasn't surprised by the popularity of the post.
She closed her post and clicked on the homepage.
On the homepage, a popular post was listed high up, almost reaching 10,000 views. Because it was so popular, the system had colored the post red.
Normally, this forum has at most four or five hundred posts. It is rare to have thousands of posts, let alone tens of thousands.
The title is very eye-catching - no one is participating in the jade friends club, it's so embarrassing.
Xiaoshan State held a Jade Friends Association and invited us to attend, but I heard no one showed up because they were afraid of losing. They say it's better to lose the battle than the person, so if no one showed up, it would be so embarrassing.
-I heard that too. No one is attending. Not a single person! Wow, that's hilarious.
What's so funny? If they don't participate, there must be a reason. Why should we compete with Xiaoshan Country just because they want to? Why bother?
-Don't comfort yourself, it's embarrassing.
-I don't even dare to compete.
…
-The latest news is that there are people participating, and the list is as follows:
-What? Someone's going? Why?
-The people of Xiaoshan Country want to have fun, and we join them? Is that childish?
-Play with me?
-I shouldn't have participated. It would be so embarrassing to lose.
What are these people thinking? Do they all think they can win? I think they're all destined to lose.
-We shouldn't have agreed to hold this jade club in the first place. It's against the rules.
-The two countries' league matches were about to begin, so we had to win and not lose. The other team's intentions were actually quite sinister, and they disgusted me.
-It will affect the leagues of both countries.
-I understand everything else, but who is that Chengdao jade sculpture? Why haven't I heard of it...
-Then your home has not had internet access for a long time. The rising star in our jade carving industry is very amazing.
-You’re only 23 years old, that’s pretty impressive.
-Really? It's not just hype?
-I would like to advise some young people not to sign up if their skills are not up to par. Just cancel it.
-Not participating! It's better than losing!
-Those who participate knowing they will lose, please stop embarrassing yourself.
-If you go and lose, it would be a sign of lack of professional ethics.
-Yes, you could have avoided losing, but you insisted on participating, and then lost.
Shui Yiyao: ...
These people are not active in communication, but are the best at quarreling.
She frowned, edited the reply box, and sent it out after a while.
CD: What's it to you? Winning and losing is a normal thing. If you lose, you can just win it back. As for building a 10,000-story building, instead of cursing, why not just participate? They can do whatever they want. So, do you really need me to admit defeat before the competition to satisfy you?
There was a quarrel going on in the high-rise building. When Shui Yiyao said this, someone immediately recognized her.
-cd! Isn't this the guy who posted the strategy guide?
-Yes, the big guy who analyzes development trends.
- Boss, go and participate in this.
Some people also argued with her.
- So what if I admit defeat? That's self-awareness. Rather than being beaten into submission and disqualified, it's better not to participate. Isn't it embarrassing to lose?
CD: This is the first time I've heard someone describe giving in so refreshingly and elegantly. You make such a coherent argument, why don't you sign up?
-I know I have no ability, so of course I won’t embarrass myself.
-CD: If you know you don’t have the ability, just shut up and focus on carving. No one wants to listen to your nonsense.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
