Chapter 5 Ginger Soup

Chapter 5: Ginger Brew

It's raining!

Qin Shizhen sat up with a start, exclaiming in shock, "Xingyao! What did you just say? It's raining!"

There was no need to doubt, as he immediately felt raindrops hitting his face.

Tropical rainstorms hit hard and fast. What started as a few scattered drops quickly intensified, turning into a violent downpour in less than a minute. The large raindrops stung upon impact.

Yu Xin quickly sprang to his feet and shouted, "Get under the shelter! Move all the supplies into the shelter!"

The others were still reeling from the shock, but Yu Xin's shout snapped them back to reality. They hurriedly grabbed their belongings and ran toward the makeshift shelter.

Fortunately, the shelter had been erected just in time, so they didn't get too wet. Qin Shizhen patted his chest as if he had narrowly escaped disaster and said gratefully, "Thank goodness we listened to Yu Xin and prepared in advance. Otherwise, we'd be doomed... Wait, is someone missing? Where's Shen Tong?"

Ruan Qing's expression suddenly changed, and she cried out in alarm, "Tongtong hasn't come in yet!"

"How absurd!" Qin Shizhen grew anxious upon hearing this. "Quick, call her in!"

The rain was coming down in sheets, blurring their vision. They could only make out Shen Tong's faint figure still in the same spot, scrambling for cover.

But where in the jungle could she hide? The rain was pouring down relentlessly.

Ruan Qing stood at the edge of the shelter, anxiously shouting toward her, "Tongtong! Come in quickly!"

Shen Tong had been resting under the shade of a tree when the sudden downpour took her by surprise. She was stunned, and for the first time, she felt a pang of deep regret.

She heard Ruan Qing's urgent calls, but she had already made her stance clear. Going to the shelter now would be no different from admitting she was wrong to Yu Xin. How could she, Shen Tong, maintain her pride after that?

Moreover, the others had toiled all afternoon to build the shelter while she had contributed nothing. Shen Tong's pride wouldn't allow her to enjoy the fruits of their labor without lifting a finger.

Perhaps the rain would pass soon, Shen Tong thought, gritting her teeth as she resolved to tough it out.

But the rain only grew heavier. It wasn't the light, teasing drizzle she had expected but a full-blown storm. Shen Tong was soon drenched, her face pale.

Ruan Qing, seeing that Shen Tong had no intention of coming over, was beside herself with worry. "What do we do? Shen Tong refuses to come!"

"Shen Tong is being so unreasonable. How can she pick now to be stubborn? I can't believe it."

"Does she even know how dangerous it is to stand under a tree during a rainstorm? She could get struck by lightning."

"Serves her right if she does. Who told her not to believe Yu Xin and insist on resting?"

"Tongtong, come over here! It's so dangerous! Shouldn't the production team do something?"

A flash of lightning cut across the sky, followed by a deafening boom of thunder that roared right beside them.

Shen Tong trembled all over. She had never experienced anything like this and was on the verge of tears. She couldn’t see through the rain, slipped, and tripped over a tree root, falling to the ground.

Suddenly, someone wrapped in a rain poncho rushed over. A cold hand gripped her wrist firmly, pulling her up.

It was Yu Xin, who barked at her sternly, "This is no time for stubbornness. Come with me!"

Shen Tong bit her lip and retorted, "I don't need you to worry about me!" She struggled fiercely, unwilling to accept Yu Xin's pity.

But Yu Xin's grip was too strong. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free from his unyielding hold.

"I couldn’t care less about you! But we can't afford to have someone fall sick right now, understand? After today, do whatever you want. But today, I won't just stand by and watch you get struck by lightning in front of me!"

Shen Tong finally broke down into loud sobs. Her resistance faded, and she allowed Yu Xin to pull her into the shelter.

Ruan Qing hurriedly wrapped her in a dry towel. "Tongtong, quick, dry your hair. Don't catch a cold."

Shen Tong continued to sob, unable to stop. As she cried, she felt utterly humiliated and overwhelmed with self-pity.

After all, she was still just a young girl, though her pride had always been her downfall.

"How does Shen Tong even have the nerve to cry? This was all her fault from the start."

"Exactly. She should be thanking Yu Xin. If it were me, I wouldn't have bothered with her. Who can stand that temper?"

"Hey, why don't you try being in her shoes? Would you have believed Yu Xin then? Easy for you to say."

To avoid embarrassing her further, Qin Shizhen and Sheng Xingyao tactfully looked away. After pulling her to safety, Yu Xin retreated into his usual distant demeanor, busying himself with organizing their belongings.

After a while, he suddenly said, "I'm going out for a bit. Stay here and don't wander off. Wait for me."

Sheng Xingyao grew anxious. "Where are you going in this heavy rain? I'll come with you—"

Yu Xin cut him off quickly. "No need."

Without another word, he threw the waterproof sheet over himself and disappeared back into the rain, his figure soon vanishing from sight.

Sheng Xingyao wanted to follow, but Yu Xin moved too fast. With no time to find extra cover, he could only wait anxiously inside the shelter.

Fortunately, Yu Xin returned before long. He was slightly damp from the rain and dumped a bundle of wet, slender green leaves onto the ground. Then he grabbed a dry towel to wipe his wet hair.

Curious, Qin Shizhen picked up one of the leaves and asked, "Yu Xin, what is this?"

Yu Xin replied succinctly, "Ginger."

While cutting bamboo earlier, he had noticed a type of wild ginger growing nearby. Now was the perfect time to put it to use.

Fresh ginger brew was excellent for warding off chills.

He brought out the dry firewood they had prepared earlier and started a fire on the relatively dry ground. Then he filled a pot halfway with rainwater, added several pieces of prepared ginger, and set it over the flames.

Qin Shizhen couldn't help but marvel, "Xiao Yu, you think of everything."

Once again, he was struck by how reliable this young man was.

Qin Shizhen genuinely felt that encountering Yu Xin on this dreadful show was their greatest stroke of luck.

"Let me help," Sheng Xingyao suddenly offered, silently pitching in to add more wood to the fire.

Yu Xin had blown him away too many times that day. He even felt as though he had never truly known the real Yu Xin.

The water soon boiled, filling the bamboo shelter with the pungent, spicy scent of ginger brew. Yu Xin lifted the lid, and a cloud of steam wafted out.

He poured the brew into the aluminum lunchbox provided by the production crew and handed it to Shen Tong while it was still hot.

"Drink this, and you'll be fine," he said in a flat tone. His still-damp black hair clung lightly to his face.

In the firelight, the contours of his profile appeared soft yet distinct, his long, curled eyelashes casting shadows downward.

Shen Tong had stopped crying. She took the lunchbox from Yu Xin. The ginger brew was hot, warming her palms and spreading a comforting heat all the way to her heart.

Her face flushed bright red with shame, and she could barely speak. She was flooded with regret and guilt. She never would have imagined that Yu Xin would go so far for her.

"Yu Xin, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you, I..." She choked up a bit but persisted in finishing, "I was so foolish, really."

"Don't worry about it," Yu Xin said in his usual light tone, which sounded surprisingly soothing.

"Ah..."

"Have to say, Yu Xin is seriously such a good guy."

"Yeah, after watching this show, I've completely changed my view of him. He's actually a pretty decent person."

"Not sure what was up with him before, but from now on, yours truly is officially a fan of Yu Xin."

"Same!"

The guests were completely wiped today. After finishing the pitiful single-day ration of nutrient supplements provided by the show, they each lay down to rest. The sound of rain pattering on the bamboo shelter made them sleepy, and they soon fell into a deep slumber.

Slept like a log.

By the next morning, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared.

Early in the day, a rainbow arched across the horizon, and the red sun was slowly rising not far away.

"Slept amazing!" Ruan Qing emerged from the bamboo shelter, stretching with satisfaction. "Haven't slept that well in ages."

She had always had some sleep trouble, but strangely enough, even with melatonin and her high-end bed at home, she hadn't slept as soundly as she did last night, curled up in a cramped sleeping bag out in the sticks.

Qin Shizhen laughed, "After how wiped we were yesterday, of course you slept well."

After a quick wash, they faced a harsh reality.

They had nothing left to eat.

Qin Shizhen rubbed his face in worry. "Today, we have to start looking for food, or we'll actually starve."

"Ah... but I don't have a clue how to cook. Does anyone here know how?"

"All I know is eating..."

In the Interstellar Age, smart home systems and household robots had become commonplace in every household. Except for those who worked in the field, most people no longer cooked for themselves. AI could handle everything, even tailoring algorithms to suit personal tastes and calculating customized menus that perfectly matched their preferences.

Getting takeout was easy enough too when out and about. Moreover, people in the Interstellar Age pursued scientific efficiency, often replacing proper meals with nutrient supplements to precisely intake the energy and trace elements the human body needed.

It seemed people in the Interstellar Age had lost the pursuit and reverence for food that people had during the Blue Star Era. They had gone far too long without experiencing hunger.

"I don't know how either... Oh, right, where's Yu Xin?"

"He's probably still sleeping."

"Huh?" Sheng Xingyao, the last to come out of the bamboo shelter, said, "But when I came out, there was no one inside anymore."

"Are you looking for me?" A clear masculine voice sounded behind them as Yu Xin emerged from the woods, casually tossing them a few fruits.

He had gotten up early, gone for a run around the nearby woods to exercise, and picked some wild fruits for breakfast. After a moment's thought, he brought some back for the others at the campsite.

"I picked these in the woods. They're not poisonous, so dig in."

The wild fruits were small and round, green with a reddish tint, looking not quite ripe.

"These... are they edible?"

"Bet they're sour."

"Won't they upset our stomachs? (tongue-in-cheek)"

But it wasn't the time to be picky. Something was better than nothing. Qin Shizhen distributed them, giving each person just three or four.

Ruan Qing took one, hesitantly brought it to her mouth, and after taking a bite, her eyes immediately lit up. "So good!"

The unknown fruit looked sour and astringent but tasted unexpectedly sweet and tangy, with especially abundant juice, making it refreshing to eat.

After eating the fruits, they had somewhat taken the edge off their hunger, but fruits couldn't substitute for a proper meal. They still needed to solve the food problem.

"If worse comes to worst, we'll go talk to the show's production team. They can't possibly let us starve for four days," Shen Tong said.

Seeing them all frowning and worried, Yu Xin didn't quite understand what was going on. "What's with you guys? Did the production team give you some new impossible challenge?"

This crappy production team was capable of any shady move.

"Not exactly, but we have nothing to eat, agh!" Ruan Qing wailed. From yesterday until now, she had only had one tube of nutrient supplements and a few small wild fruits!

She felt like she had lost several pounds already. Her agent would be over the moon when she got back.

Yu Xin was even more puzzled. "Nothing to eat? Isn't food everywhere here?"

What grew on trees, what was buried in the ground, what swam in the water—this lush, resource-rich primitive jungle was, in Yu Xin's eyes, a natural treasure trove of ingredients.

Organic, green, fresh!

How awesome is that!

"Pfft, eat what? Dirt?"

"Or leaves? I heard during famines on Blue Star in the past, when there was nothing to eat, people ate tree bark. They could give it a try, hahaha."

"Fake wilderness survival, real weight-loss show."

"This season's really brutal... Will they have to rely on the production team later?"

"Little Yu, this isn't the time for jokes," Qin Shizhen said with a bitter smile. "We should think about what to do."

"I'm not joking," Yu Xin knew that, given people in the Interstellar Age's shallow understanding of the wilderness, they might not believe he could find food.

"Sheng Xingyao, work on starting a fire. Qin Shizhen, take Ruan Qing and Shen Tong to gather some firewood. The more, the better. Remember to pick dry branches. If you can't find any, strip off the outer bark of the dead branches—the inner layer should be dry."

"As for food, I've got it covered."

He decided to show these pampered space-folk just how astonishing the food culture Blue Star had developed over thousands of years truly was.

Author's Note:

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Ginger soup... counts as gourmet food, right? (pleading)