In the midst of the lively discussion, Yan Yueqing had already reached the foot of the mountain with Tang Tang.
Perhaps seeing that the village chief's expression was struggling to maintain composure, after earning thirty yuan, she didn't look for tourists to perform for but instead knocked on the door of a villager's house.
Village vegetable prices are generally low, and those grown by the villagers themselves are even cheaper.
Both the elderly man and woman were earnest people. With thirty yuan, Yan Yueqing exchanged for a pile of fresh vegetables and several crucian carps that the old man had caught himself.
The house they drew was the worst of the lot this period, lacking even cooking seasonings other than the essential living items.
Tang Tang had followed the original host in eating congee for a day or two, looking pitifully pale!
Yan Yueqing thought for a bit and decided to negotiate with the elderly woman to cook a big pot of rice using their stove.
It was a rare occasion to have so many people in the house; the elderly woman nodded again and again with joy.
After cleaning the crucian carp, she heated the vegetable oil, added slices of ginger and fried the fish until both sides were golden, then poured in spring water to cook until the soup turned white, and tossed in a few blocks of tofu to roll in the pot.
She sliced the fresh bamboo shoots and soaked them in water, then stir-fried them in the pot until fragrant. The simple seasonings danced in the pot, emitting an incredibly tempting aroma.
The freshly picked tree sprouts were a seasonal delicacy of the season. After washing and chopping them, blanching in water followed by stir-frying with tender yellow eggs, the aroma made the crew's stomachs growl.
The audience in the live stream began to wail:
[Is Yan Yueqing that impressive? She's managing the fire, cutting vegetables, and stir-frying all at once? Such tight coordination? Is she a time management master?]
[This is killing me, she can cook, yet she let Tang Tang drink porridge for two days?]
[A good wife struggles without rice. They drew a house that only had a pot, and all ingredients and seasonings had to be exchanged by completing missions! If they didn't get them, they could only cook porridge!]
[Tofu crucian carp soup, stir-fried bamboo slices, scrambled eggs with tree sprouts, cold mixed three shreds, roasted cauliflower… My god, how did she make such a big table of dishes? Why is the camera zooming in? My mouth is watering!]
[It looks really delicious! Tang Tang's expression isn't lying!]
[At this moment, a hungry man opened his Meituan delivery app.]
The villager's bowls were large, several dishes were brought to the table, and another pot was steaming a barrel of rice which was also ready.
Yan Yueqing was tidying up the stove: "Tang Tang, go call grandpa and grandma, and the uncles and aunts to come to eat."
The crew stood there stunned upon hearing this.
They were already hungry, but still had to wait until the live broadcast ended before they could remove their equipment to eat their boxed meals.
Only God knows how tortured they were when filming Yan Yueqing cooking!
It was like watching "A Bite of China" on an empty stomach.
And now… Yan Yueqing was inviting them to join for the meal?
"Girl, what are you doing that smells so good?" The elderly woman came over, warmly inviting the crew, "You kids come over, it's already dark."
Tang Tang approached the village chief, "Uncle Chief, come have dinner with us."
The pleading voice sounded soft and adorable.
The village chief was extremely troubled.
He really wanted to eat!
But his mission right now was to prevent Yan Yueqing from stealing the limelight!
He had spent so much effort blocking her all the way from the mountain top to the base, and the live stream's popularity had not fallen but risen instead?
If he went over to eat now, wouldn't that be outright supporting her show?
How would he explain to the directors at the station QAQ?
However…
Man needs food as iron needs steel; the aroma of this meal is truly irresistible!
The village chief, with a stern face, was about to refuse righteously when he lifted his head and saw Yan Yueqing bringing out the last dish of fried garlic sprouts with cured meat.
The verdant garlic sprouts, coupled with the cured meat thin as cicada's wings, each slice emitted an exquisitely beautiful fragrance.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
His stomach embarrassingly rumbled twice.
With a harden heart, the village chief raised his hand and waved over several staff members, "Let's eat first!"
The station's matters could be communicated with the leadership, and at worst, it would just mean losing his job!
He didn't want to be eighty years old, lying in a wheelchair, with his descendants asking him if there was anything he regretted? He would shakily reply, "That year, I didn't eat the meal made by Yan Yueqing!"
Finally, with the village chief's nod, the staff members quickly put down their equipment and dashed for bowls and chopsticks like in a sprint.
The newly made cured meat from the farmhouse didn't have the texture of old cured meat; it tasted more like canned meat, salty and soft with a hint of fragrance, and particularly thin slices that melt in the mouth. The scrambled eggs with Chinese toon were cooked so tenderly that they almost bit their tongues.
The bamboo shoot slices were crisp and refreshing, the cauliflower soft and glutinous, and with a sip of the rich and flavorful crucian carp soup, everyone exclaimed it was a taste of heaven!
As they were eating, a knock came from outside the door.
Yan Yueqing opened the door and, to her surprise, it was Qin Youran with Li Hao in tow.
"Yueqing, Hao Hao and I discussed it, and though the village chief said we couldn't share ingredients, he didn't say we couldn't share dinner, so—"
She walked in with a basket in hand and, out of the corner of her eye, caught sight of the bustling scene inside, abruptly falling silent.
Yan Yueqing smiled, "Thank you, please come in."
Qin Youran entered the room, her face filled with surprise.
Earlier, while cooking, she overheard the staff murmuring about Yan Yueqing's live broadcast room's soaring popularity, higher than all other guests combined.
Qin Youran was extremely astonished!
According to her past life memories, Yan Yueqing had fainted and seduced Director Tang in the hospital, while she herself had invited Tang Tang, who was on her own, for dinner in the group.
With such a stark contrast, the fans would tilt their hearts toward her.
You could say, tonight was her turning point!
Why had everything changed now?
As Qin Youran entered, the live broadcast room's barrage once again became lively.
[Sister Youran is truly kind-hearted and beautiful, their group wasn't ranked high and they only got two types of ingredients, eggplants and corn. But look in the basket, Sister Youran brought all their food over.]
[She's a nice person, but it seems a bit meager in comparison, haha!]
[Youran is doing things by the book, while Yan Yueqing created something from nothing, the difference is clear.]
[If you want to praise Yan Yueqing, just praise her, but why pull my Youran into it? It's not nice to lift one by stomping on another, right?]
[But Qin Youran just doesn't have the culinary skills Yan Yueqing has, that's a fact!]
No matter how the comments argued, the people in the courtyard were quite friendly toward Qin Youran.
Especially after the village chief saw her, he became much more relaxed.
The station hadn't yet decided whether this episode would prop up Li Manman or Qin Youran? But regardless of who it was, it would be better than letting Yan Yueqing dominate alone!
Qin Youran placed the food she brought on the table, and out of politeness, everyone tasted a bit of each dish.
The next second, their chopsticks, as if by tacit agreement, reached for the dishes made by Yan Yueqing.