"People have varying degrees of closeness and distance. The activity areas of groups B and C are adjacent to our group A. We've met in the activity areas before. We can treat you to lunch today."
After this meal, you will all owe my chubby girl a favor—something that is morally acceptable and within your capabilities.
"After all, most of this seafood was caught by my chubby girl." As soon as Huang Xiaoming finished speaking, the members of groups BC looked at each other, and then their faces lit up with smiles. They were obviously amused by the sudden invitation and the slightly playful condition.
“I’m willing to eat these grouper, salmon, yellow croaker, and lobster. It’s a great deal.” Dilraba was the first to respond.
"I'm willing too."
"Me too, I'm willing too."
"I do."
Upon hearing this condition, the members of both groups (b and c) unanimously agreed, and the atmosphere instantly became lively and cheerful.
They knew this was more than just an invitation to a lavish lunch; it was a demonstration of their friendliness and generosity, and a bridge that could potentially be built for mutual assistance and friendship in the future.
"Haha, it seems everyone here is a straightforward person!" Huang Xiaoming laughed heartily, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction.
"The fish caught by Group A weighs 95.7 jin and the fish caught by Group E weighs 100.05 jin." At this time, the staff also weighed the fish from Groups A and E and announced the weight of the fish from the two groups.
"Hahaha! Great! We've become the first in terms of variables in the second round. It's a pity that most of these fish are sailfish, which are inedible." Song Tie and Jiang Xin, members of Group E, happily hugged each other.
"First of all, congratulations to Group A for completing the hidden task set by the program team in the second round of unexpected events."
The hidden task released by the program team is to catch the heaviest sea fish among the five groups, and the reward is five pounds of weight. The 95.7-pound sea fish plus five pounds will make a total of 100 pounds and 7 ounces, which is two ounces more than the 100 pounds and 5 ounces sea fish caught by Group E.
"Congratulations to Group A for winning first place in the second unexpected match, plus three points." He Jiong watched Group E cheer and continued his announcement calmly.
"What?"
"Gah!"
Upon hearing this sudden news, the smiles on the faces of the members of Group E instantly froze, replaced by expressions of disbelief. Song Tie stared wide-eyed, as if trying to see the news out of thin air, while Jiang Xin's mouth gaped open, unable to close it for a long time, seemingly forgetting even to breathe.
"This...how is this possible? We clearly caught the heaviest fish!" Song Tie broke the silence first, his voice filled with resentment and doubt.
"Yes, is there some mistake somewhere?" Jiang Xin quickly chimed in, looking anxiously at He Jiong, hoping for a reasonable explanation.
He Jiong smiled slightly, a smile that held a hint of mystery and cunning. "Everyone, please calm down and allow me to explain in detail. As I said, the production team set up a hidden task: among the five groups, the one that catches the heaviest single sea fish will be rewarded with five jin (2.5 kg) of weight. Group A just happened to do this; the heaviest sea eel they caught weighed over eighteen jin (4.5 catties), far exceeding the weight of the single sea fish caught by your four groups. Therefore, they received an extra five jin (2.5 kg) reward."
The members of Group E looked at each other, their initial shock gradually turning into wry smiles, as if they were beginning to accept this sudden outcome.
"We're in first place again! This turnaround was too fast!" Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Yixing, Lixiang, Zhao Liying, and Liu Yifei had no hope of winning first place in the second round of unexpected events. Unexpectedly, their group completed a hidden task released by the program team, which allowed them to turn defeat into victory.
This surprised and delighted everyone in Group A.
The viewers in the live stream went wild. The barrage of comments flooded in, and the text on the screen scrolled so fast it almost overflowed.
"Haha, Master, that's a brilliant move! Inviting someone to dinner also incurs a favor as a bonus. What a profitable deal!"
"The leader's move was absolutely brilliant, showcasing both emotional intelligence and IQ. I'm in awe!"
"But then again, this seems to have brought everyone closer together, and the team atmosphere is perfect!"
"It's hilarious! Everyone's saying 'I do,' you'd think these were couples getting married. And then they're all saying 'I do!' Hahaha!"
"The reversal was too fast. Everyone in Group E was stunned. It's hilarious."
"Hahaha, originally in first place, but defeated by unforeseen circumstances, now relegated to second place, poor Group E."
"Look at the expressions on Group E's faces, it's like they're questioning their very existence. This plot twist is more exciting than a TV drama!"
........
"It's 11:30 AM now, lunchtime. The production team has prepared seasonings, ingredients, and cooking utensils for you. Feel free to use them. The third round of the variable competition will begin at 2 PM." After the second round of variable rankings was finalized, He Jiong announced loudly with a smile.
At this time, the staff also brought over pots, pans, scallions, ginger, garlic, mustard, salt and other seasonings.
"Put the tables of our three groups together and start cooking. I'll go get the cooking utensils and seasonings!" Li Yinsheng instructed Huang Xiaoming and Zhang Yixing.
Hu Ge and Xu Zheng from Groups B and C rushed over to help.
Yang Mi, Song Qian, Dilraba, Tang Yan, and several other women also went with Li Yinsheng to choose ingredients for cooking.
“Fatty, we need those things, I’ll get them for you!” Zhao Liying asked.
"Knife, cutting board, two steamers, wok, scallions, ginger, garlic, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, mustard... and also the bowls and chopsticks for our ABC group. That's all. If it's not enough, we'll come back for more." Li Yinsheng counted on her fingers, listing out what she needed one by one. She would list one item, and Zhao Liying and the others would take one item. The group of seven or eight people had both hands full of things.
"Fatty, what are we having for lunch?" After getting everything and walking back, Dilraba asked Li Yinsheng.
"Salmon and grouper sashimi, yellow croaker and grouper steamed, abalone and lobster steamed with garlic, eel grilled, octopus braised, and a fish soup would be about right." Li Yinsheng planned how to turn these ingredients into delicious dishes.
"I'll grill the eel! I've grilled it myself at sushi restaurants before!" Liu Yifei said.
"I'll chop the garlic and chili seasonings!" Zhao Liying said.
“Then I’ll clean and cut the seafood!” Reba Ye said eagerly.
“I know how to make the sauce, I’ll take care of it,” Yang Mi added.
"Okay, let's divide the work and try to finish this sumptuous lunch in the shortest possible time." Li Yinsheng smiled happily as she looked at everyone's enthusiastic expressions.
It's true that numbers matter. No, it's more like many hands make light work. Each person was busy with one step, and the meal was ready in less than an hour.
Of course, only two-thirds of the ingredients were used; the rest were intended to be returned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com