Chapter 11: Jade Tree and Orchid

Chapter 11: Jade Tree and Orchid

In the live stream room, there were 5,854 people at this moment. Many were giving small donations. Ignoring the rowdy fans, Xiong Zhaozhao placed the scallop meat into Big Lin Zi's bucket and earnestly advised, "Sister will save it to cook and eat at home. Humans need to eat seafood cooked. Well done, my child!"

"The streamer has no heart, tricking the dog into not knowing any better."

"Promised to eat at home, I want to supervise."

"Not eating isn't Chinese."

Big Lin Zi was quite envious. He moved closer, extending his hand in front of the dog, indicating, "Why don't I have any? Go take a picture for brother too. You big-eyed dog, how can you be biased? I wash your dishes every day!"

Gungun didn't understand, so Big Lin Zi showed that his palm was empty, indicating he had nothing to eat.

This time, Gungun seemed to understand. It pushed the water bucket with its paw, possibly meaning, 'Don't you have this?'

"This bucket is what I pried open; it's mine! You didn't give me any, Gungun. You can't be biased!" He then showed his empty palm again for it to see.

Did it really understand this time?!

Gungun ran back to where it had smashed the scallops earlier, picked up a piece of shell, and returned, spitting it into Big Lin Zi's hand before tilting its head to look at him.

The fans in the live stream room were already melting from the cuteness, paying no heed to Big Lin Zi's broken heart.

"What a thoughtful child."

"After the parrot, the dog has also become smart."

"Is this what they mean by treating people differently? Got it, got it."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh so smart."

"Can this big-eyed dog bully others now? Showing favoritism even though it's not as tall as a milk bottle?"

"Limited treatment for Little Bear in Gungun's eyes."

"Get out of the way!! Let me kiss it."

"So this is the kind of dog you are."

"Other people's dogs! I want one so badly, streamer, please get one."

"No, I'm still a Yao Guang fan, firmly refusing to switch sides. Yao Guang, come back quickly, or it might be too late."

"The streamer should switch to being a cute pet streamer. It seems like no one here actually came to watch the sea foraging." The remaining outdoor live stream enthusiasts struggled to say.

Big Lin Zi was annoyed. "From now on, this dog will only have apples for three meals! After all the milk powder I've given you!"

The live stream team spent two hours harvesting two buckets of scallops before ending the stream. They went home to start making dried scallops, also known as abalone.

Xiong Zhaozhao filmed the process and edited it into tonight's video.

Washing them clean one by one, she simmered them over low heat until the shells opened, removed the meat inside, and laid them out on a drying mat to dry. It would take about two to three days to turn into dried scallops, also called abalone. Known as the "sea egg," it has an extremely high protein content, eight amino acids, and various minerals and vitamins. Although affordable, its nutritional value and cost-effectiveness are undoubtedly high.

That night, she finished editing the video and uploaded it. In the beginning, she included footage of Yao Guang playing outside.

The brightly colored parrot circled and danced on the roof of the rustic old inn, accompanied by cicada songs and morning mist, proudly displaying its magnificent wings, exuding an ethereal charm.

Then, the scene switched to the live stream, showing the fisherman's village scenery along the way, the tranquil rocks of Lovers' Bay, the clear waves retreating, the strong dog smashing shells, Big Lin Zi's clothes fluttering in the wind, and the gifts of nature they had harvested, all displayed one by one.

Finally, the process of processing dried scallops was shown, purely wild and manually sun-dried, followed by her dish for tonight, spinach mixed with scallops. Xiong Zhaozhao could manage common fisherman's dishes, and this dish looked fantastic. She even deliberately applied a filter, making it look very appetizing.

The final caption read, "Fan benefit: Two fans will be selected from the comments section to receive one pound each of today's dried scallops to try."

The entire video was condensed into ten minutes. After uploading it, Xiong Zhaozhao went to eat. Soon, there were fan comments:

"How can I make Little Bear notice my comment and pick me? Is it possible that I've never eaten scallops in my life?"

"It has a bit of the feeling of A Bite of China, really does."

"The person above is trying too hard for good food. Let me say it's better than A Bite of xx, pick me!"

"You guys only know how to eat. The hand fetishists have been captivated by the beautiful hands in the video. Is it Sister Little Bear?"

"It's hard to buy truly wild ones nowadays. Those sold outside are all farmed. It's too difficult to be chosen. Does the streamer sell them?"

"I want to buy some too."

When Xiong Zhaozhao saw the comments later, she thought it wasn't a bad idea. She wondered if anyone else on the island had stock. She went to the backyard and called Big Lin Zi over to ask, "Wait to till the land tomorrow. I want to ask you, do you have any dried scallops left?"

"Today's harvest isn't enough for you to eat? What's so good about this stuff?" He really had eaten enough of it every day on the island.

"No, some fans want to buy them. We can put some up for sale on the Panda store to warm up the atmosphere. Dried abalone is easy to transport and suitable for selling to fans far away."

Big Lin Zi thought it wouldn't fetch a high price. "Everyone on the island probably has a few pounds. We don't really like eating this here."

Xiong Zhaozhao thought about it and posted a message in the comments section: "I see many fans want to buy dried scallops. The islanders have some stock they keep for themselves. 50 yuan per pound including shipping, pure wild and manually sun-dried, additive-free abalone. If you want to buy, like this comment. The streamer needs to prepare some packing tools, please be honest." After posting this, she didn't bother with it anymore. She would see the results tomorrow.

That night, she bought a vacuum sealer online, which she would eventually need.

You know how shopping websites work; once you open them, it's hard to close them easily.

She and Yao Guang started browsing with their heads together. There were no loquats in space, so she bought a few. There were cherries, so she bought some to plant in the backyard. Otherwise, someone would eventually notice something strange.

Now that her family's homestead had been exchanged, connected to the small inn, they had a vast backyard. Big Lin Zi had just been tilling a small vegetable patch in the corner.

In the end, she simply bought all the trees she needed. Picking up packages wasn't easy. Xiong Zhaozhao calculated the spacing and figured that the two backyards combined could accommodate forty to fifty trees. She and Yao Guang began a major shopping spree. With the Earth Vein Fruit Core cheat, ordinary fruits could taste delicious outside.

She bought what she liked to eat, while Yao Guang bought fruits he hadn't seen before. Anyway, they could plant those unsuitable for the island's climate in space.

After searching the entire internet, they decided on the following for planting outside: two to three apple, honey peach, cherry, lychee, pear, persimmon, jujube, and loquat trees, forming a circle around the yard.

They would supplement the space with tropical fruits: bananas, mangoes, durians, dragon fruit, rambutan, red mao dan, kiwi, pineapple, and custard apple. Later, they could build a greenhouse in the backyard and move a few trees out to block outsiders' view.

Thinking about the layout of the backyard, Xiong Zhaozhao couldn't help but think of her favorite spirit fruit in Yao Guang's realm. There were many plants in the mountains that didn't exist in the real world. Not mentioning the Earth Vein Fruit, there was another called Loli Seed that Xiong Zhaozhao loved the most. Although it was a low-grade spirit fruit, besides its delicious fruit, the plant itself was a rare ornamental treasure.

She was stunned when she first saw a valley full of Loli Seeds. At that time, it was in full bloom. All she remembered was asking Yao Guang if this was the Jade Tree and Orchid from the Heavenly Palace. She was mocked by Yao Guang, who said it was the lowest-grade fruit from ancient times, abundant everywhere, and except for its beauty, it had no practical use.

The black branches were thick and rugged, covered with jade-colored flowers without a single leaf, deserving of the name Jade Tree and Orchid. It was a plant where flowers and leaves never met. Leaves fell when flowers bloomed, and flowers fell when fruits formed. Standing under the tree when it had leaves, the lush greenery blocked the sunlight. Xiong Zhaozhao was determined to have one in her own yard. She would place a stone table under the tree or hang a rocking chair on it, which would be beautiful.

Speaking of the fruit, it was the size of a fist, crystal clear. When mature, it became as soft as a water balloon. Using a knife to remove the seed, she would put the skin and flesh into a bowl. After some time, the skin would magically fuse with the gelatinous and tender flesh, turning into a large bowl of crystal-clear, wobbly fruit jelly, which was very satisfying to eat with a spoon. Xiong Zhaozhao could eat two bowls a day without getting tired of it.

Delicious and beautiful, she couldn't think about it anymore. She must save money to build a yard! She wanted to plant a Loli Seed tree outside her bedroom window so she could see it upon waking up.

After hastily paying, she dove into Yao Guang's realm. She would have a bowl of Loli Seed first.

The next day, it was overcast early in the morning, so she couldn't go out to sea. She simply lay back in bed.

Opening the Panda app, she checked her homepage. Her number of fans had increased by more than two thousand. More importantly, her test comment had received 1,200 likes?

She opened the comment thread and saw that it had over two hundred replies, quite lively.

"The price for wild ones is reasonable, similar to farmed large ones."

"A kitchen novice, hearing the streamer say it's so nutritious and simple, I feel like I can handle it."

"The price is acceptable. I'll buy some."

"Seeing that the streamer is new, is she reliable? I'll buy some if they're all wild. The sea around this island is pretty clear, looking good."

"It would be nice to cook congee with scallops and scallop meat. Does the streamer sell scallop meat? I'll buy some together."

Xiong Zhaozhao created a pre-sale link and put it up, planning to sell 500 pieces first. She wanted to test the waters, not necessarily for profit but to create buzz and earn some pocket money for the villagers. As a beginner, she feared she might not be able to handle too much.

By noon, they were all sold out.

At noon, the village committee's loudspeaker broadcasted Secretary Liu's voice. Xiong Zhaozhao took out her phone to record it, planning to use it in a video on the product page later.

"Ah?! Hello! This is Secretary Liu. I have something to tell everyone, listen carefully! It's good news! In two days, we'll collect 500 catties of dried scallops at the village committee courtyard. It must be this year's new crop, cleaned properly. 35 yuan per catty, first come, first served. If you have some at home, you can sell them to us. I'll repeat, we're collecting 500 catties of dried scallops! Again, it must be clean and new. This is for selling to customers from other places, don't embarrass the island! Alright, that's all. If you have any, prepare them."

Their island accent was close to Mandarin, with a slight local flavor, which would likely add an interesting touch to the video.