Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Today, the production team assigned the guests a new task: to make a specialty dish called corn cakes and then sell them at a nearby market. The money earned would be used as funds for their activities over the next few days.

Corn cakes?

The guests were all a bit puzzled. They had grown up in the city and had eaten corn before, but they had never tasted corn cakes, let alone made them.

But since it was a task, they had to complete it.

Zhao Jin suggested first, "Let's look up how to make these corn cakes online and then divide the tasks."

Everyone agreed.

After searching online, they found that corn cakes were made by grinding corn into a fine paste, adding baking soda, milk powder, eggs, and mixing everything evenly. Then, the mixture was shaped into small pieces and steamed.

The online instructions also included pictures of the corn cakes, making everyone's mouths water as if they could smell the sweet aroma through the images.

With a clear goal in mind, everyone began dividing the tasks.

Lin Yi, Shen Feng, and He Nian were responsible for grinding the corn kernels into a paste.

Zhao Jin and Zhou Ke went to the nearby woods to collect firewood for fuel to steam the corn cakes later.

As for the children, they were naturally left to play.

Soon, everyone got to work on their respective tasks.

There was a stone mill in the courtyard of the agritainment place, perfect for grinding the corn kernels.

Lin Yi carried a large bag of corn kernels to the stone mill, washed it clean, and placed a basin underneath to catch the paste.

Honestly, he had never used a stone mill before and found it quite novel.

He poured some corn kernels into the hole of the stone mill and held the handle, turning it half a circle. Some of the kernels were crushed, releasing a white paste.

Lin Yi found this process interesting and turned the mill a few more times. More kernels were crushed, and the paste flowed into the basin.

Huo Mianmian had never seen such a scene before.

He stood by the stone mill, tiptoeing to watch intently, his dark eyes filled with amazement.

Lin Yi added more corn kernels and continued turning the mill.

However, the stone mill was quite old, so he didn't dare to turn it too hard, fearing it might break.

He Nian watched Lin Yi from a distance.

To him, Lin Yi's movements were light and slow, as if he didn't want to do the task at all.

He Nian saw this as an opportunity to show off.

He walked over to Lin Yi and said with a somewhat helpless tone, "Cousin, let's not play around. This is our task, and we should try to finish it as soon as possible."

He Nian had many fans, and when he spoke, the comments section immediately responded.

"NieNie is right; this is a task given by the production team. We should finish it quickly."

"Lin Yi's sense of responsibility doesn't even come close to NieNie's."

"Lin Yi's slow movements are clearly slacking off."

"I've heard Lin Yi has a bad character, and today I see it's true!"

The filming had been going on for some time, and Lin Yi had also accumulated some fans. Seeing He Nian's fans twisting the facts, they immediately countered.

"Haha, wasn't Lin Yi the first one to start grinding the corn? How can he be criticized for this?"

"I always find He Nian's tone annoying. I don't understand why he has so many fans."

"I bet He Nian will have a downfall someday."

The comments section erupted into arguments.

In the courtyard.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and looked at He Nian. "When did you see me playing around?"

He Nian looked innocent and hurriedly said, "Cousin, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to say anything bad about you. I just meant that since we're filming, we should focus on the task. It's not like at home where no one cares if things aren't done well."

As he spoke, he realized he had revealed too much about Lin Yi's shortcomings and glanced at the camera, quickly shutting his mouth.

Lin Yi: "??"

He understood now how the original Lin Yi had been smeared so badly. With such a gossipy cousin, it was hard not to have negative rumors.

If the original Lin Yi were here, he would think He Nian was looking out for him and would be grateful.

But now, standing there was Lin Yi. He sneered and stepped aside, letting He Nian take over the stone mill. "Then you do it."

He stepped back, crossed his arms, and lazily watched He Nian.

Huo Mianmian, seeing this, stopped leaning on the stone mill and walked over to stand beside his father.

He Nian had already set the stage and was ready to show off his skills.

But why did he feel that Lin Yi's gaze was a bit strange? Was there something wrong with this situation?

He Nian was somewhat puzzled, but there wasn't much time for him to think. He rolled up his jacket sleeve and approached the stone mill, ready to show off his skills.

He gripped the handle and pushed hard.

But in the next second, with a "snap," the old wooden handle broke off.

He Nian: "…"

All the netizens: "!!!"

Lin Yi and Huo Mianmian stood aside, watching quietly.

He Nian, holding the broken wooden handle, instantly turned beet red with embarrassment.

Lin Yi slowly reminded him, "This stone mill is quite old; you shouldn't push too hard. Otherwise, why do you think I pushed it gently?"

He Nian: "…"

Now he understood why Lin Yi had looked at him strangely earlier. It turned out this guy knew the handle was already very old and deliberately waited for him to fall into the trap.

But to be fair, Lin Yi didn't do anything wrong since He Nian had volunteered to show off.

So what exactly happened? Why was Lin Yi now so unpredictable?

He Nian's thoughts raced, his face alternating between red and white like a revolving lantern.

"Hahaha, first time seeing such a quick comeuppance!"

"He Nian wanted to show off, but ended up making a fool of himself."

"Applause! A day of celebration! I've never liked He Nian's pretentiousness."

"Where are He Nian's fans? They were so active just now. Why aren't they saying anything now?"

"How dare they show their faces? They're probably as embarrassed as their idol."

"Hahaha, so satisfying!!!"

At that moment, Shen Feng arrived late.

Yawning, he walked over to the stone mill.

Seeing He Nian holding the broken handle, he couldn't help but mock, "You really are clumsy, breaking something like this!"

Shen Feng usually didn't like He Nian, so he didn't hold back.

Unfortunately, He Nian feared Shen Feng's background and dared not retort, silently enduring the insult.

"Hahaha, first time feeling like Shen Feng is speaking my mind."

"Shen Feng, I support you. Keep talking."

Because the handle of the stone mill broke, the production team had to remake a new one.

By the time they fixed it, quite some time had passed. Even Zhao Jin and Zhou Ke, who had gone to collect firewood, had returned.

They were puzzled why Lin Yi and the others hadn't started grinding the corn kernels yet. After learning what happened, they glanced at He Nian several times.

While they didn't confront him like Shen Feng did, they formed their own judgments.

He Nian always cared about his image and felt deeply humiliated this time. Embarrassed and secretly vowing to make up for it somehow.

After another hour, everyone finally finished grinding the corn kernels together.

A large bowl of yellow corn pulp could make many corn cakes.

They added eggs, cream, and other ingredients, then shaped the corn batter into pieces.

While Lin Yi was shaping the corn cakes, Huo Mianmian sat beside him, obediently accompanying him.

As Lin Yi worked, he said to Huo Mianmian, "Baby, see these corn cakes? They're delicious."

Delicious?

Huo Mianmian tilted his head and then took a small piece of the corn cake and put it in his mouth.

In the next second, Huo Mianmian immediately scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue.

Not very tasty.

Lin Yi noticed Huo Mianmian's reaction and laughed, "It's not cooked yet. It will taste good once it's done."

Hearing this, Huo Mianmian blinked, then lowered his head, playing with his fingers.

He felt embarrassed and didn't want to look up.

"Hahaha, my little Mianmian is so cute!!!"

"I want to feed Mianmian lots of yummy things and make him chubby!!!"

After putting the corn cakes in the steamer, Lin Yi took Huo Mianmian upstairs to wash their hands and change clothes.

He planned to dress Huo Mianmian in an adorable penguin costume, which would surely attract attention when selling the corn cakes later.

Lin Yi found the penguin outfit and handed it to Huo Mianmian, "Baby, wear this later."

Then he went to find his own clothes.

Huo Mianmian held the penguin outfit and decided not to trouble Lin Yi, opting to change by himself.

So he took off his coat, leaving only an undershirt, and began to put on the penguin costume.

The penguin costume was a one-piece suit and quite difficult to wear.

Huo Mianmian struggled to put it on, and when he finally managed, he froze.

Why can't I see anything?!

"Hahaha, help! Our Mianmian has put the costume on backwards, with the back of his head showing instead of his face."

"My silly little treasure, come let me help you put it on!"

"Everyone, don't laugh at our Mianmian. He's only three years old, and being able to put on such a complicated one-piece suit by himself is already impressive, even if he put it on backwards!!!"

Huo Mianmian stood there, wearing the costume backwards.

In the camera frame, a faceless little penguin stood bewilderedly, melting the hearts of netizens with its cuteness.

In the darkness, Huo Mianmian stood still, trying to expose his face. However, after fumbling with the hat a few times, he failed.

Huo Mianmian: "…"

He recalled the direction of his dad and started feeling his way towards him.

But he ended up veering off course and heading towards the bed.

He reached the edge of the bed, tripped, and with a "thump," fell onto the soft mattress.

Huo Mianmian: "…"

QAQ!

Lin Yi was rummaging through the suitcase for clothes when he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw a little penguin tumble onto the bed.

Wasn't the penguin costume worn backwards?

Lin Yi couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

He put down what he was holding, walked over, picked Huo Mianmian up from the bed, and removed the backwards costume.

A minute later, Huo Mianmian finally saw light again.

His face still showed a bit of confusion, but mostly surprise.

Phew, saved!

Lin Yi found his expression adorable and sat on the bed, asking, "Mianmian, how did you manage to get into that?"

Huo Mianmian shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

He just kept putting it on, and then everything went dark.

Huo Mianmian thought his dad was asking to comfort him.

But the next moment, Lin Yi said with a mischievous look, "How about you show me once more? I'm really curious."

Huo Mianmian: "…"

What the meow?

"Hahaha, is Lin Yi speaking human language?"

"In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing it again either."

"Me too..."

"Hahaha, you mean adults, don't bully our little Mianmian."