Chapter 77
Xiao Mo called out to her dad for another slice of lemon, and the others chimed in, egging her on.
"Mr. Ha, another one."
Qi An crossed his arms, stared at the lemons in the plate for a long time, and quickly drew a conclusion using the observational skills he had honed over years in the business world.
“Look closely, this plate of lemons has two colors.”
He picked up a green piece with his left hand and a yellow piece with his right hand to show everyone, saying, "Fan Lei and I just ate the green ones, so they're sour. The yellow ones must be sweet."
The other guests expressed skepticism about his conclusion.
Qi An was the first to pick up a yellowish lemon, put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and a look of delight appeared on his face. "It's really sweet. Why don't you try it yourselves?"
At first, no one really believed it, but looking at Mr. Ha's expression, there wasn't a trace of bitterness; he really did look like he had eaten a sweet lemon.
Qi An picked up a piece of yellow lemon and handed it to Xiao Mo, "Mo Mo, come and try it, it's very sweet, and it tastes exactly the same as your favorite orange jelly."
Xiao Mo licked her lips, swallowed, and her expression began to show interest, but she still didn't quite trust her father's character. She checked one last time.
Is it really sweet?
After receiving his father's reassurance, Xiao Mo stepped forward, opened his mouth wide, and waited for his father to feed him.
Qi An picked up a piece of yellow lemon and fed it to Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo took a bite and realized that the taste was wrong, but her parents taught her not to waste food. Knowing that she had fallen into her father's trap, she still ate the extremely sour lemon with tears in her eyes.
After swallowing the lemon, Xiao Mo tearfully complained to her mother, "It's so sour it's making my head spin."
In the live stream room,
[Hahaha, Xiao Mo is still too young to compete with President Ha.]
Young man, you shouldn't be so young, hahaha.
[Little Mo is so good! Even though she knows she was tricked by her dad, she still swallows the lemon with tears in her eyes. So cute!]
This also reflects how well-mannered Xiao Mo's family is; even when she's feeling incredibly envious, she doesn't waste food.
Du Xiaoruo patted her daughter's head affectionately, then squatted down and rummaged through the suitcase to find a bag of small red berries. She distributed the red berries to everyone one by one, explaining,
"This is a miracle fruit. Everyone should chew one of these fruits first, and then the lemons will taste sweet."
"Really?" Xiao Mo had already been fooled by her father, so she didn't trust her mother as much anymore.
Du Xiaoruo chewed on a small red fruit, then took a piece of lemon and chewed it. Everyone else frowned, but she remained calm.
"The lemons really do taste sweeter now, you guys should try them."
Perhaps because the little red fruit was so magical, curiosity overcame the fear of the sour lemon, and everyone followed Du Xiaoruo's example, chewing the little red fruit before eating the lemon.
"Holy crap!" Fan Lei exclaimed in shock, "The lemons really turned sweet! That's amazing!"
Tang Tang kicked Fan Lei, signaling him to watch his words, especially since there were children present. But the fact that lemons turned sweet after eating the miracle fruit also surprised Tang Tang, and she curiously asked Du Xiaoruo...
"Xiaoruo, why is this fruit so magical?"
Du Xiaoruo explained, "The pulp of this fruit contains a taste-changing protein that can affect the taste buds in a short period of time. After eating it, sour and bitter foods will taste sweet."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Tang Tang exclaimed. "But how come you carry something like that with you all the time?"
Du Xiaoruo smiled and glanced at Xiaoshu. She had to thank Xiaoshu for the reminder. Xiaoshu had gone up the mountain early and saw a large box of lemons in the warehouse, so she reminded Du Xiaoruo that there might be a prank involved.
Qi An chewed on the lemon that had now turned sweet, his face full of pride. "My wife is really something else."
As Qi An chewed, he noticed the lemon in his mouth tasted different. He gradually realized what was happening, stopped chewing, and loudly questioned Du Xiaoruo.
"Why didn't you take out this miracle fruit before I ate the lemon? Your husband has already been sour twice."
Du Xiaoru smiled, but remained silent.
In the live stream room,
[Hahaha, Mr. Ha's family has a nested, layered scheme, and in the end, Xiaoruo is the big winner.]
Xiaoruo is much more outgoing now, much more lively than when she appeared on the show five years ago. Even though she has a child, she seems even more youthful.
This is probably what it means to be a woman who is loved, pampered like a princess by her husband.
Thanks to the appearance of a bag of miracle fruit, everyone finished a large plate of lemons and was still somewhat unsatisfied, easily solving the first challenge.
The staff dragged out several large boxes and placed them in front of them.
Mu Hua announced, "Now, please put all the toys, snacks, and electronic products you brought into the big box. The production team will keep them temporarily and return them to you as is after the recording of the show."
After the rule was announced, Xiao Mo's face turned a little pale. Everything else was fine, but not being allowed to eat snacks was unacceptable. She opened her suitcase and quickly stuffed a few snacks into her stomach.
At this moment, a total of six cameras were filming them from all directions. Xiao Mo's little movements could not escape Mu Hua's discerning eyes.
"Xiao Mo?"
Xiao Mo immediately stood at attention and answered loudly, "Here!"
As she straightened her back, two buttons on her coat popped open, revealing a bulging bag of potato chips inside.
Guan Guan was crying because her snacks were confiscated, but she was stunned when she saw potato chips growing out of Xiao Mo's belly.
The viewers in the live stream were laughing hysterically.
[Hahaha, Xiao Mo is actually a foodie!]
[Was Xiao Mo raised by Xiao Shu? Her silly, food-loving nature is exactly the same as her second brother's.]
[Nonsense, Xiao Mo's silliness is clearly inherited from Ha Zong, hahaha.]
Xiao Mo's hidden snacks were ultimately lost. She didn't cry when her snacks were confiscated; she just sighed while holding her round little belly.
After confiscating the snacks and cell phones, Mu Hua gave each family a basic cell phone with only the functions of making calls and sending messages.
Afterwards, Mu Hua announced,
"Now everyone can take the rest of their luggage back to their rooms. Also, the kitchen is empty now, so please make your own dinner."
As soon as Mu Hua finished speaking, Xiao Shu immediately left the group from Mr. Ha's house and went back to the film crew. At least there were meals to eat here, whereas with Mr. Ha's father, they were always hungry.
When faced with the challenge of basic survival, even a superficial father-son relationship can crumble at any moment.
As Qi An watched his adopted son walk away, he remembered Mu Hua's promise that he would only be traveling and enjoying the scenery and would never mistreat the guests. He was furious. If looks could kill, Mu Hua would probably be dead 108 times over.
But since they were already there, they had no choice but to drag their remaining luggage toward the courtyard.
Fortunately, the accommodation was very nice, a clean and cozy little courtyard with two bedrooms in total. Fan Lei's family lived right across from Qi An's house.
After everyone went back inside to put their luggage away, Fan Lei and his wife took the jar and went out. While it was still light, they wanted to go to the village to see what food they could find.
As Fan Lei's family stepped into the courtyard, they saw Qi An and Xiao Ruo carrying washbasins out of the room, seemingly preparing to wash up.
Tang Tang asked curiously, "Mr. Ha, why are you washing up at this hour? Aren't you going to find something to eat?"
Qi An yawned and waved his hand, "I'm not going. I'll just go hungry for a meal. We need to rest first."
Fan Lei said, "...It's fine if you don't want to eat, but the child is growing and it's not good for him to go hungry, is it?"
“Yes, children shouldn’t go hungry.” Qi An nodded in agreement, then turned to Xiao Mo, who was sitting on a small stool, and said, “Mo Mo, children shouldn’t go hungry. Go find something to eat.”
Fan Lei, “…”
After Qi An and Xiao Ruo quickly washed up, they went to bed early.
Xiao Mo sat on the small stool for a while, then stood up, picked up a small bamboo basket from the yard, and went out the door. She didn't know where to find food, but going hungry was absolutely unacceptable; she had to go out and think of a way.
Hearing that there was no sound outside, Du Xiaoruo nudged Qi An, "She really went out, is she alright?"
Qi An rolled over, pulled Xiao Ruo into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and spoke in a lazy voice.
"With so many staff members following along, nothing will happen. Children should get more exercise. I believe our little Mo will be able to find food."
Du Xiaoruo reached out and wrapped her arms around Qi An's waist, burying her head in his warm chest. Sleepiness overcame her, and she had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Little Mo, carrying a bamboo basket, wandered aimlessly around the village. There wasn't even a dog on the road. Where was he going to find food?
Tired from strolling around, Xiao Mo found a large rock under a big tree at the village entrance, climbed up, and sat down.
After sitting for a while, I saw an old man riding a bicycle coming this way from afar. There was a gentle slope on the road, and the old man was pedaling with great difficulty.
Xiao Mo picked up the basket and ran down the street with her short legs.
She threw the small basket onto the cart and used all her strength to help her grandfather push it. With Xiao Mo's help, the cart easily made it up the gentle slope.
The old man turned around and saw Xiao Mo, and was startled. "How can such a small child like you have such strength?"
Xiao Mo swung his arm and said, "I'm very strong, let me help you push the car back."
"No, no, no!" the old man quickly refused. Judging from his clothes and appearance, this child was definitely very precious, and it would be troublesome if he accidentally hurt him.
“Sure,” Xiao Mo answered loudly. “I have nothing else to do anyway.”
Finally, the old man couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he simply picked up Xiao Mo and put her in the back of the bicycle, then carefully rode the bicycle back with her.
Sitting in the back of the truck, Xiao Mo started chatting with the old man, "Grandpa, what's your name?"
The young people in the village had all gone out to work, and it was rare to meet such a lively person to talk to. The old man was so happy that his face wrinkled up, and he answered with a smile.
"My surname is Niu, little friend. What's your name?"
Xiao Mo answered loudly, "Grandpa Niu, my full name is Jin Qiemo, my nickname is Momo, you can call me Xiao Mo if you want. My brother is Lele, my father is Boss Ha, and my mother is Du Xiaoruo."
Grandpa Niu had never seen such a talkative child before. He was amused by her and laughed heartily. He didn't notice that the wheel had run over a small stone on the side of the road. The bike wobbled, and Xiao Mo's forehead hit the handlebars with a loud thud. It felt like it hurt quite a bit.
"Ouch, ouch!" Grandpa Niu exclaimed repeatedly, quickly stopping the car, thinking that this was bad, the child was probably going to cry in pain.
Xiao Mo's forehead did hurt quite a bit from the bump. She raised her little hand to touch her sore forehead and loudly comforted herself.
"Xiao Mo, it's okay, it was just a bump, you won't die, it's alright~"
Grandpa Niu burst into laughter again, amused by Xiao Mo, and the live stream audience was completely charmed.
[Our little Mo is so well-behaved! The richest man's daughter isn't spoiled at all, I love her to death.]
Honestly, judging by Xiao Mo's appearance alone, I really thought she would be very spoiled. I didn't expect her to be so capable. No wonder she's Ha Zong and Xiao Ruo's child; they've raised her so well.
[Hahaha, just look at how unreliable her parents are, and you'll know she won't be spoiled. Her parents are fast asleep right now.]
[Xiao Mo: In the end, I bore the entire burden alone.]
When they arrived at Grandpa Niu's house on the bicycle, Xiao Mo helped unload the two baskets of wild mushrooms from the bicycle.
Along the way, the talkative Xiao Mo had already told Grandpa Niu about how he came to the village to record a program, but was bullied by the production team and didn't even get dinner.
Grandpa Niu didn't even have time to drink a sip of water before worrying that the cute little baby wouldn't have dinner that night.
He picked up the bamboo basket that Xiao Mo had brought, put some wild mushrooms in it, and then filled the basket to the brim with rice, pork, eggs, and green vegetables that he had at home.
Grandpa Niu handed the basket full of ingredients to Xiao Mo, saying, "Mo Mo, Grandpa Niu doesn't have anything valuable here. These things are worthless, so please don't mind them."
Little Mo accepted the basket with a generous smile, and bowed earnestly to Grandpa Niu to express his gratitude.
"Thank you, Grandpa Niu!"
Grandpa Niu grew increasingly fond of the child. Before leaving, he even packed some of his aged mugwort, which he used for foot baths, for her, and gave her some instructions.
"Momo, it's very humid in the mountains. Take this mugwort back with your parents and soak your feet in it. A warm foot bath will keep you from getting sick."
Xiao Mo thanked Grandpa Niu again and carried the basket full of ingredients back home.
The basket was actually quite heavy. Although Xiao Mo inherited her mother's strength, she was still too small and had to rest several times before she could carry the ingredients back.
Back in the yard, Xiao Mo banged on the bedroom door, "Mom and Dad, get up! I brought you some food."
Du Xiaoruo and Qi An groggily got up, saw the basket of food on the ground, and praised it repeatedly.
"Wow, Momo is amazing."
Xiao Mo gradually lost herself amidst her parents' constant praise, and even did a few somersaults on the ground.
Xiaoruo squatted down to look at the ingredients in the basket, picked up some dried grass, smelled it, and let out a strange "Eh."
"Why is there still some mugwort? Xiao Mo, what's mugwort used for?"
Xiao Mo stopped somersaulting and stared blankly at the mugwort in the basket with her big gray-blue eyes. Her little brain was working quickly. What did Grandpa Niu say this was for?
Xiao Mo scratched his head, looked at the eggs next to the mugwort, and asked uncertainly,
"Is it possible that it was used to boil eggs?"
Mr. Ha floated over and glanced at it, then nodded with great certainty, “It’s definitely for boiling eggs. I’ve heard that some places have the custom of boiling eggs with mugwort.”
Xiao Mo still felt something was off, but since her father was so certain, she gave up trying to figure it out and pretended that the mugwort was meant to be used to boil eggs.
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