Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Xie Yezhou led Ning Yuyi to the three people.

"Xiao Xie, it's been a while." Luo Bin, wearing a white T-shirt, stood up with a cheerful smile, "This must be Ning, right?"

Ning Yuyi replied in a soft voice, "Hello, Teacher Luo."

"Ah, yes, yes." Luo Bin turned and nudged a middle-aged man beside him who was munching on a corn cob, "Old Liu, can you please act a bit more decent in front of the younger generation?"

Before arriving, Ning Yuyi had done his homework and had been briefed by Zhou Er on many things.

He knew that the first to speak, Luo Bin, was a national-level host. He hosted official national programs and also managed shows popular among the youth with their trendy slang. His hosting skills were truly commendable.

Naturally, alongside his hosting skills was his esteemed status in the entertainment industry.

The one playfully nudged by him as "Old Liu" is actually named Liu Tiancheng, a highly acclaimed director in the film industry. He's already achieved a grand slam in domestic cinema and now has his sights set on international awards. He's been close friends with the director of "Old Friends" for many years, rumored to have been bunkmates in college.

Sitting gracefully on a small stool on the other side is an esteemed actress, Zhuang Rong, who has a close relationship with Liu Tiancheng. Under his direction, she's also clinched a grand slam for Best Actress and is internationally recognized.

This is why the variety show "Old Friends" became instantly popular upon its debut. With these three major stars on board, how could it lack buzz or publicity?

Numerous actors and budding stars, either friends or sycophants, shared and promoted it.

So, when Zhou Erna handed Ning Yuyi the final regular slot on the roster, Zhou Er was genuinely taken aback.

"I heard from the director that you found a litter of kittens on the way here," Zhuang Rong said, rising from her stool and walking over to Ning Yuyi. Bending down, she remarked on the kittens, "They're not very skittish, are they?"

"Yes," Ning Yuyi replied confidently, holding the box steadily. "There's one mother cat and two male kittens."

"Have you named them yet?" Despite knowing one shouldn't touch wild cats, Zhuang Rong couldn't resist, particularly as they seemed docile, gazing at her with large, round eyes. She gently caressed the tri-colored one's neck.

"Not yet," Ning Yuyi shook his head.

"There are two dogs in the cabin, Uncle Liu named them," Zhuang Rong pointed towards the house where two dog heads, a Golden Retriever and an Alaskan Malamute, peeked out.

"I know, I binge-watched the first two seasons in the last few days."

Zhuang Rong chuckled, "Was it your agent's insistence?"

Ning Yuyi sighed, nodding, "They wouldn't let me eat unless I watched everything. Tyrannical behavior."

After saying this, Ning Yuyi turned to the VJ, "Don't air this part, my agent will definitely watch."

Zhuang Rong laughed even more, finding the youngster rather adorable, "Come in first. Have you had dinner?"

"Had some snacks in the car."

"We've got corn boiling in the pot. I'll bring some for you, to tide you over."

Twenty minutes later, all five sat around a long table in the courtyard, each munching on a corn cob.

Ning Yuyi enjoyed his the most. He placed the tri-colored cat and two kittens in a small storage shed in the backyard, cleaning it thoroughly to ensure they were comfortable.

The director had already contacted a vet to come over, planning to deworm the cats and vaccinate them. Until then, they couldn't be brought into the cabin to avoid possibly transmitting fleas to the resident dogs.

If those large breeds got fleas... the director would definitely turn the bathing chore into a task.

We're talking about a Golden Retriever and an Alaskan Malamute!

Bathing them is an ordeal in itself!

"Is the corn good?" Liu Tiancheng squinted, a sly grin on his face as he watched Ning Yuyi and Xie Yezhou.

"It's okay," Xie Yezhou said, tossing his finished cob into a bin.

Ning Yuyi, however, was more enthusiastic. He nodded fervently while taking large bites, "Mmm, it's soft and sweet."

"Of course, we handpicked them ourselves. How could they not be sweet?" Recalling yesterday's ordeal of picking corn, Luo Bin thought of his sore back that still ached.

"Wow, sounds intense." Ning Yuyi glanced towards the vast corn and sugarcane fields outside the yard, "We're not responsible for all of that, are we?"

Zhuang Rong, holding her forehead, nodded in agony.

"...” The corn in his hand suddenly lost its appeal.

“Now, we have an even more pressing issue,” sighed Luo Bin. “In the previous two seasons, He Xiangyun did the cooking. This time...”

He Xiangyun was one of those who, due to being stuck overseas, couldn't participate in this season.

Xie Yezhou silently cast a glance towards the kitchen.

Understood.

Luo Bin snapped his fingers, fixing his hopeful gaze on Ning Yuyi.

"I'll do it," Ning Yuyi said after finishing his bite, wiping his mouth. "I'm decent at cooking; I can make a meal for myself."

！！！

The moment the words left his mouth, he noticed the sparkling eyes of the three beside him.

"Perfect!" Zhuang Rong clapped, "Let's keep the menu simple tonight. Anything will do."

"It's only the afternoon. Would you believe that Baldy will torment us once more before dinner?" "Baldy" referred to the director.

Liu Tiancheng knew his old friend too well. He wore a cheerful smile, but he'd already calculated everything internally.

Everyone might be at a disadvantage, but not him!

However...

Liu Tiancheng glanced at Xie Yezhou and Ning Yuyi, who were whispering together. He suddenly felt that Baldy's reputation might be in jeopardy this season.

As expected, shortly after Liu Tiancheng finished speaking, some crew members approached with five small cards.

"This can't be good," Luo Bin said, stretching before taking the card from the crew member.

"Dig up fifty kilograms of fresh bamboo shoots from the back mountain in exchange for a chicken," Ning Yuyi read aloud. "Where's the back mountain?"

"Over there," Zhuang Rong pointed in the direction.

"Fifty kilograms, by the time we're back it'll probably be dark," Liu Tiancheng mused while studying the card. Suddenly, he stood up, grabbed a basket from the corner, and headed toward the director at the other end of the yard, "Thirty kilograms, not a gram more."

"Impossible." Even though they'd been friends for many years, when it came to bargaining, the director never let friendship get in the way!

"Thirty-five!" Liu Tiancheng brandished the basket at him, "Either thirty kilograms, or my life!"

The director contemplated, "Forty-five."

"Forty!"

The director turned to consult with the assistant director, "Alright, let's settle for forty, in honor of our longstanding friendship."

Honoring a longstanding friendship, indeed.

Liu Tiancheng scoffed, silently hoping that Baldy doesn't cross him.

Reducing the task by ten kilograms essentially means reducing it by a fifth.

Everyone's expressions brightened up a bit. Ning Yuyi was about to fetch a basket to wear on his back when Zhuang Rong stopped him.

"Let the three of them go. If you go to the mountain and then return to cook, do you think you'll be able to wake up tomorrow?"

That's a valid point.

Ning Yuyi obediently took off the basket, which Xie Yezhou smoothly took from him.

Before leaving, Xie Yezhou patted Ning Yuyi's head.

"Don't always pat my head," Ning Yuyi covered it, "I won't grow taller."

His lifelong ambition: to grow from 178cm to 180cm.

Even though he's already twenty-two.

Luo Bin sized him up and down, "Young man, you have ambition."

Ning Yuyi: "???"

"I had the same goal decades ago," Luo Bin said, looking mournfully at the sky. "Alas, all these years later, I've yet to achieve it."

...Ning Yuyi felt like he was being teased.

Zhuang Rong chuckled, "Stop teasing Ningning. I'll show him around the kitchen first. You all go complete the task."

In just an afternoon, Zhuang Rong's way of addressing Ning Yuyi evolved from 'Xiao Ning' to 'Ningning.'

Liu Tiancheng and Luo Bin noticed the change. However, they both liked Ning Yuyi, finding him to be a pleasant young man.

He's certainly more likable than the cold Xie Yezhou.

To get closer to rural life, the kitchen was equipped with traditional stoves and such. This was also why their meals in the previous two seasons weren't all that great; they had to rely on another guest to make dishes that looked somewhat appetizing.

But that was just in appearance.

Even though they all had some basic cooking skills, like making fried rice, facing the rural marvel that is the traditional stove rendered most of their skills ineffective, perhaps utilizing only a tenth of their potential.

Yet, Ning Yuyi wasn't worried in the least.

The orphanage of his childhood was situated in a remote suburb with poor facilities; they always used a traditional stove for cooking. As the favorite child of the matron, he was all too familiar with this.

Ning Yuyi first added water to the long-unused stove to give it a thorough cleaning.

Watching Ning Yuyi's adept movements, Zhuang Rong paused in her table-wiping.

"Ning, are you very skilled at this?"

"Mhm." Ning Yuyi, while cleaning the second day, responded, "It's a skill from my childhood."

Having spent many years in the entertainment industry, Zhuang Rong could tell that Ning Yuyi didn’t want to elaborate, so she didn't press further.

But one could guess that referring to it as a 'childhood skill' hinted at a less fortunate upbringing.

Zhuang Rong gazed at the cloth in her hand, letting out a sigh.

A sigh tinged with an undertone of heartache she herself might not even be aware of.

Ning Yuyi took out the dried bamboo shoots that the old vet had given them earlier and soaked them in a basin, planning to make a dish of bamboo shoots stewed with chicken chunks for dinner.

"It tastes wonderful," he remarked, thinking of the flavor making him salivate. "The savory taste of the chicken infuses into the bamboo shoots. It's especially good with rice."

The firewood had been chopped earlier in the morning by Liu Tiancheng. Ning Yuyi brought two bundles in from the yard, intending to stir-fry some corn kernels first.

However, the corn kernels... had to be hand-peeled.

Although hand-peeled kernels might not look as nice as the store-bought ones, as long as they taste good, that's all that matters!

Ning Yuyi also found a cucumber and a carrot in the kitchen refrigerator, which Zhuang Rong mentioned were grown in their backyard garden.

After peeling the cucumber, Ning Yuyi diced it and the carrot into pieces roughly the size of the corn kernels. He then blanched them in boiling water before stir-frying them in oil heated to medium temperature.

The unique refreshing taste of cucumber combined with the sweet and sticky sensation of corn makes a dish perfect for the month of June.

Ning Yuyi scooped out the stir-fried corn and placed it on the lid of another stove pot cooking rice.

"Aren't you serving it immediately?" Zhuang Rong asked.

"If I serve it now, it'll cool quickly. Keeping it here ensures it stays warm," explained Ning Yuyi.

Zhuang Rong nodded, continuing to help Ning Yuyi chop the vegetables.

Bowl after bowl of vegetarian dishes were prepared, and the sky outside gradually darkened.

Just as Ning Yuyi finished stir-frying the last dish, the trio that went out to dig bamboo shoots finally returned.

—With a chicken as their task reward!

Author's note: Nothing much to say today~.