Chapter 12 What to do when you're too rich?
It was almost noon when Gu Mingyan finally arrived late and walked down the spiral staircase alone.
Seeing this, Meng Xian, who had been keeping an eye on the commotion upstairs, was secretly delighted, guessing that Gu Mingyan must have been grumpy in the morning and had a disagreement with Yun Qingqing.
She immediately adjusted her expression and stepped forward: "Mingyan, where's Qingqing? Did you two have a fight?"
She adopted the demeanor of a caring older sister, offering words of comfort: "When filming a show, harmony is paramount. Any minor disagreements should be met with mutual understanding..."
Gu Mingyan glanced at Meng Xian, puzzled, and frowned slightly: "What are you talking about? Yun Qingqing and I didn't quarrel at all."
Meng Xian was taken aback, but still pressed on, "Then, why didn't you come down together?"
"She got up too late and is upstairs putting on makeup. I'm coming down to see what the production team is up to," Gu Mingyan said lazily.
Seeing her calm expression, Meng Xian couldn't help but feel a little surprised and uncertain.
When no one was looking, she quietly took out her phone and quickly glanced at the live stream.
Upon seeing this, Meng Xian's heart sank—in just one morning, the popularity of Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing's live stream had somehow surpassed theirs, and the chat was filled with "hahaha".
Meng Xian put away her phone and bit her lower lip.
After a while, Yun Qingqing, with her exquisite makeup on, walked briskly downstairs.
Upon seeing her, Gu Mingyan merely raised her chin lazily, gesturing for her to come over. The atmosphere between the two was natural, with no sense of distance between them.
Once everyone was present, the director picked up the megaphone and announced the task: "Attention, guests. This morning is the last meal the production team is providing for you. The castle's kitchen has plenty of fresh vegetables, but unfortunately, the chef who is in charge of catering has taken leave due to a family emergency. Therefore, for the next few meals, you and your partners will need to figure out how to provide them."
"What? Solve it yourself?" Ji Sihan was the first to cry out in despair.
He took out his phone, opened the food delivery platform, and his face immediately fell.
The nearest food delivery service is located in a tourist town at the foot of the mountain, more than ten kilometers away, and they don't deliver there at all.
"I can't cook..." he said with a pained expression.
Nan Xu helplessly spread his hands: "I can cook one or two simple dishes, but my skills are just average, I'm afraid it won't be enough to eat."
Meng Xian smiled and comforted her, "It's okay. Each of our groups will cook one or two of our specialties, and then we'll have a lot of dishes together. It'll be more lively when everyone eats together."
The suggestion was immediately approved by everyone.
So, the group moved to the castle's kitchen, which was surprisingly spacious. It was fully equipped with all kinds of cooking utensils, including several modern stoves, enough for several groups of people to work on at the same time.
The group quickly divided up their areas and got to work enthusiastically.
The main camera first focused on Ji Sihan and Nan Xu's group.
After discussing it, the two decided to make a relatively simple braised eggplant dish.
Ji Sihan volunteered to pour the oil, but due to his inexperience, he overlooked the fact that there were still water droplets on the bottom of the pot. As the oil heated up, the water droplets instantly exploded, and the hot oil splattered everywhere!
"Whoa! It's hot!" Ji Sihan screamed in fright as the oil splattered, almost throwing the spatula away.
Nan Xu, watching from the side, was terrified and quickly dumped the chopped eggplant into the pot. With a loud sizzle, the hot oil finally stopped splattering everywhere.
The comments section was hilarious:
[Haha, Ji Sihan's reaction is hilarious! It's just like me when I cooked for the first time!]
[Nanxu: Struggling to survive with my goofy teammate.]
I can almost smell the burning...
[It's alright, although it doesn't look the best, it should still be edible.]
The camera then shifts to Jiang Mingqian and Yu Ran's group.
Yu Ran, wearing an apron, was seen cooking with great flair, while Jiang Mingqian was responsible for cutting and preparing the ingredients.
Jiang Mingqian seemed to want to show off his knife skills. He picked up a piece of fish and confidently began to slice it. His knife moved quickly, but the fish was chopped too finely, almost turning into minced meat.
Yu Ran stared at the pile of misshapen fish meat, remained silent for a moment, and ultimately said nothing, silently starting the wok to heat the oil.
[Is Brother Jiang making fish balls with those knife skills?]
If you slice it like this, won't it turn into a mushy mess when you stir-fry it?
It's okay, it's okay, as long as it tastes good, the appearance doesn't matter (doge emoji)
[Haha, let's just consider this an innovative dish.]
Finally, the camera focused on Meng Xian and Ding Manni.
Wearing an apron, Meng Xian busied herself around the stove, looking quite skilled.
Ding Manni admitted that she couldn't cook and only helped wash vegetables and hand out plates.
While skillfully stir-frying the vegetables in the pan, Meng Xian introduced to the camera next to her: "I'm going to cook three vegetarian dishes, one stir-fried seasonal vegetables, one cold shredded vegetable salad, and a mushroom soup."
She smiled, a look of compassion on her face. "I am a vegetarian, and I feel that this helps me maintain my figure and also aligns with my principle of not killing."
Her words immediately sparked a reaction in the live chat:
Wow, Meng Xian is so kind! She's a vegetarian because she doesn't kill living beings.
[Although this logic is a bit...don't plants have lives too? But let's respect individual choices.]
[Is this a troll upstairs? P.S. Xianxian truly deserves to be my goddess, beautiful inside and out!]
[Beautiful inside and out, she can even make vegetarian food look so appetizing! I love it!]
Meng Xian deftly tossed the wok and seasoned the food, completing the task in one go. Before long, three light and refreshing vegetarian dishes were successfully prepared.
Compared to the two groups of guests next to her who were in a flustered state, her slender and composed figure appeared exceptionally at ease.
Just like the original plot, Meng Xian and Ding Manni have become the most popular couple among viewers due to their kind and capable personalities.
In the novel, Zhang Ying is still trying too hard to impress the camera, making a mess of the stove and perfectly good food. Her relationship with Gu Mingyan is fraught with conflict, a stark contrast to the serene and peaceful scene with Meng Xian, making her unpopular with the audience.
However, when the photographer turned the lens to the last group, Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing, he found that the stove area originally assigned to them was empty, without a single person in sight.
The photographer moved his lens with a puzzled look, scanning the spacious kitchen before finally capturing the two figures in the dining area.
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were sitting side by side in high-backed dining chairs, their heads touching, scrolling through short, mind-numbing videos on their phones.
For some reason, they both burst into laughter.
The photographer couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Gu, Teacher Yun, what dishes are you making?"
Yun gently looked up from her phone screen and honestly replied, "I don't know."
Gu Mingyan said coldly, "I told her to wait."
Meng Xian happened to be serving the first stir-fried vegetable dish she had prepared when she heard this conversation. She said softly, "It's okay if you didn't cook. I cooked a little extra, so there should be enough food."
Ding Manni, who was following behind her, immediately said unhappily, "We've all been busy for half a day and are exhausted. Some people are just sitting here waiting to eat for free. They really know how to enjoy life."
Meng Xian quickly and gently pulled her back: "It's understandable that Mingyan and Qingqing don't know how to cook. Just make more and share it with them."
Her words successfully provoked dissatisfaction among viewers in the live stream:
[No, Gu Mingyan really doesn't intend to put in any effort at all?]
[Gu Gou is acting way too much like a spoiled young lady, and Yun Qingqing is just as clueless, blindly following her around.]
[If you don't know how to cook, you can learn! Even washing vegetables is fine, right? What kind of behavior is it to just sit there playing on your phone!]
[Meng Xian is so kind, she even spoke up for them. If it were me, I'd let Gu Mingyan go hungry!]
[I feel a little sorry for the other guests. What should I do? They worked so hard to prepare the food, but now it's being shared with people who want to get something for nothing.]
...
After a long period of busy work, everyone finally managed to serve their dishes on the long European-style dining table.
Looking around, Ji Sihan and Nan Xu's braised eggplant was a patchwork of dark and light colors, with some burnt edges; Jiang Mingqian and Yu Ran's stir-fried fish fillets were a mushy mess, and their appearance was really not flattering.
In contrast, Meng Xian's three exquisitely presented dishes stood out among the remnants of this group of defeated soldiers.
Out of politeness, everyone quickly praised Meng Xian's cooking skills.
Meng Xian was pleased with everyone's praise and smiled modestly: "You flatter me. It's just some simple home-cooked dishes, nothing special."
Ding Manni glanced at Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing, who were still sitting not far away playing on their phones, and raised her voice with a sneer: "Miss Gu, do you need us to serve you all the food and bring it to you?"
The sarcasm in those words was palpable to everyone.
Gu Mingyan then put down her phone, raising an eyebrow haughtily: "Who said I was going to freeload?"
Ding Manni said sarcastically, "Oh, you're quite ambitious. What, are you planning to starve yourself, or just eat some fruit to tide you over?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a roaring sound accompanied by a strong gust of air rang out from afar outside the castle.
"What's that sound?" Yu Ran looked out the window in confusion.
Driven by curiosity, everyone headed towards the door, ready to find out what was going on.
A helicopter was slowly landing on the lawn in front of the castle. The cabin door opened, and two staff members in smart uniforms stepped out carrying several beautifully packaged food boxes.
The man at the head of the group bowed slightly to Gu Mingyan: "Miss Gu, your meal has been delivered."
Everyone stared in astonishment at the various delicacies in their hands, and then, thinking about the few simple dishes they had made, they suddenly felt ashamed.
Yun blinked gently, turned her head and asked, "Mingyan, is this what you told me to wait for?"
Gu Mingyan reached out and casually pinched her soft cheek: "Yeah. Why bother cooking yourself? Wouldn't it be better to just have it air-freighted over?"
Everyone: "..."
Is it because they don't want to ship by air?!
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