Chapter 124: Steamed Pickled Cucumbers
Mi Hongdou had heard from Ji Junxin about Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao’s failed attempt to get the Team Change Card, which had been snatched by Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin, including the detail about Yu Naihao helping them get the last coin. Mi Hongdou had a good impression of Yu Naihao, especially after his outburst when he and Lu Changhuai were forced onto the same team by Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
So, when Yu Naihao complained, “Your team isn’t like that too, right? Sister Ji worked so hard washing clothes yesterday,” Mi Hongdou assured him that her team wasn’t like that.
Then she watched as Yu Naihao’s complaining expression turned into one of envy and resentment. He turned his head away and snorted.
…Did I say something wrong again? Mi Hongdou nervously fiddled with the vegetable leaves. And with at least three cameras on you, is that arrogant attitude really appropriate?
Fortunately, Yu Naihao’s mood swings were as quick as they came, and they started chatting while mixing the chicken feed.
The topic, naturally, was about their miserable situation, having to eat plain rice with pickled cucumbers in a world where even chickens ate vegetables.
After complaining and then diligently chopping the vegetables and mixing them with rice for the chickens, they each received one game coin from the old woman.
Mi Hongdou put the coin in her small pouch, which remained… flat.
Yu Naihao, watching her dejectedly touch the pouch, chuckled. “Your team seems poor.”
“We are… that coin just brought us from zero to one,” Mi Hongdou said, tying the pouch.
But… she quickly realized something.
“Hahaha, so poor.” Yu Naihao shook his equally flat pouch. “I also just reached one.”
Mi Hongdou: “…”
What’s so funny about that…
But… Mi Hongdou calculated. If Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao hadn’t wasted their money, they should have had more than ten coins left before the team change. Which meant that they had probably also pooled their money, like her and Jiang Lingling, hoping to get the Team Change Card. But… they had encountered the unstoppable Jiang Lingling…
Thinking this, Mi Hongdou looked at Yu Naihao with sympathy and a tinge of guilt.
Perhaps because her gaze was too direct, Yu Naihao became embarrassed.
“Those vegetables for the chickens, that was almost half a jin, and although vegetables are cheaper than meat, they still cost four coins per jin on the board, our combined coins aren’t even enough for a jin…” Yu Naihao abruptly changed the subject, then realized he was still complaining about their lack of money… it was hard not to, when survival was the priority.
Mi Hongdou glanced at the vegetable patch outside. “It’s a pity that the tasks only give you coins, not vegetables.”
“They do.”
A slow voice came from behind them.
They turned around and saw the old woman, who had just given them the coins, pointing at the vegetable patch. “Give me back the coin, and you can each pick five vegetables.”
Although her tone was indifferent, even slightly disdainful, her words were clear and… generous.
Mi Hongdou quickly calculated. The vegetables in the patch looked good, and she could choose the larger ones. Five vegetables should be more than half a jin, a much better deal than exchanging coins.
As she was calculating, Yu Naihao waved his hand in front of her face. “Five vegetables, is that even a quarter of a jin? Is it worth it?”
Clearly someone who has never shopped for groceries.
“You want to trade too? I’ll help you pick, five vegetables should be about half a jin, a much better deal.” The generous Mi Hongdou paused. “Do you know how to cook?”
“Kind of… I also want to trade, who wants to eat just rice and pickled cucumbers!” Yu Naihao eagerly handed the coin to the old woman. “Trade, trade, trade!”
Didn’t you just have braised duck for two meals… why criticize rice and pickled cucumbers…
Regardless, Mi Hongdou carefully selected five large vegetables for Yu Naihao, then picked five for herself and returned to her house.
This detour left her with no time for more tasks. The priority now was breakfast, then the morning team challenge, which supposedly had a reward of at least thirty coins.
The small, discounted starter pack of seasonings still had some left after making the chicken soup. But the only other ingredient was… bok choy…
So, even after being reborn, I’m still faced with the “clever housewife can’t cook without rice” dilemma.
The staff member in charge of distributing the free rice, pickled cucumbers, and other necessities, seeing Mi Hongdou approach with a cameraman, and realizing she was here for… rice, not cooked rice, was speechless.
“Our rice is freshly cooked, these two pots were just made, not leftovers, see…” He awkwardly showed her the rice cookers, even opening the lids.
“No… I don’t want cooked rice. Just give me a handful of raw rice.” Mi Hongdou calmly closed the lids. “I want to make porridge, it’s better with raw rice. And rice is free anyway, so I’m saving you the water. Or do you want to pay me for the water?”
The staff member: “…”
The live stream viewers: “…”
They all thought of Jiang Lingling, who had just swindled five coins from the show.
The staff member quickly gave Mi Hongdou a small bag of rice without mentioning cooked rice again.
So, the breakfast ingredients went from just bok choy to bok choy, rice, and pickled cucumbers…
Not exactly… a feast…
The viewers who had seen “Imperial Secrets,” and those who had witnessed Jiang Lingling enjoying the chicken soup yesterday, were still interested in Mi Hongdou’s cooking.
Mi Hongdou hadn’t cooked last night, which disappointed the foodies online. But with Ji Junxin switching teams, the number of CP fans increased, and everyone, whether a CP fan or not, figured that… they would definitely see Mi Hongdou cook today.
After all, she was now part of a CP!
The next day, Mi Hongdou did wake up early, she did gather ingredients, she did start cooking. However, those three ingredients… didn’t look very promising! The foodies were disappointed.
Mi Hongdou, oblivious to their disappointment, was focused on making something different from the rice and pickled cucumbers Ji Junxin had had for the past two meals.
She soaked the rice. She thinly sliced the pickled cucumbers, added MSG and sugar, and a few drops of sesame oil.
After putting the rice and water in a pot, she placed a steaming rack on top and put the seasoned pickled cucumbers on the rack to steam.
While the porridge simmered, she washed and chopped the bok choy, separating the leaves and stems, mincing the stems.
When Ji Junxin finished washing up and came out, Mi Hongdou was just taking the steamed pickled cucumbers off the stove. The aroma of porridge filled the courtyard, and Ji Junxin unconsciously quickened her pace.
Ji Junxin’s timing was perfect. The pickled cucumbers were done, she added the chopped bok choy to the porridge, stirred for a few minutes, added seasonings, and breakfast was ready.
She added the last few drops of oil to the porridge, her starter pack of seasonings now completely empty.
If I don’t earn any coins today… I can’t even steam pickled cucumbers… Mi Hongdou thought, a little worried.
Ji Junxin, oblivious to her worries, her eyes fixed on the steaming bowl of vegetable porridge, a mix of green and white, incredibly appetizing.
Mi Hongdou, while answering Ji Junxin’s question about the bok choy, reminded her that the porridge was hot.
The viewers watched as Ji Junxin, after blowing on the porridge, scraped the surface with her chopsticks, then quickly took a bite.
The viewers felt their own tongues burning…
But the next second, they saw the surprise in Ji Junxin’s eyes.
What’s so surprising about vegetable porridge?
“Delicious!” Ji Junxin’s usually gentle voice was now bright with joy, her gaze towards Mi Hongdou… unspeakably sweet.
The viewers, who had been complaining, were now bombarded with sugar.
So much unexpected sweetness…
“Try this.” Mi Hongdou gave Ji Junxin some steamed pickled cucumber.
Ji Junxin took a large bite of porridge and cucumber.
Isn’t it hot! Can’t you blow on it first! The viewers, seeing the steam rising from her bowl, thought, so, that “Eating” skill wasn’t for nothing!
“Sweet!” Ji Junxin finished the bite, licked her lips, her eyes shining even brighter. “This is the free pickled cucumber? Yesterday it was so salty, and a bit… raw. But this is sweet and fragrant, delicious!”
Mi Hongdou, seeing Ji Junxin lick her lips, felt her throat tighten. She quickly looked away and took a bite of the cucumber. “Is it too sweet?”
“No, it’s delicious,” Ji Junxin said seriously. “Everything you make is the best!”
Mi Hongdou blushed.
The viewers, still licking the metaphorical sugar from their faces, were bombarded with another wave.
Just then, a small army of internet trolls flooded the comments section with a synchronized message: “Watching live streams can be hazardous to your health, too much sugar? Don’t worry, Bai Bai Dental Clinic welcomes you…”
Then, before the viewers could even complain, they disappeared.
Like a sudden burst of sugar from a CP, a fleeting sweetness.
After a moment of silence, some viewers expressed their admiration for the cleverly timed, almost endearing advertisement.
So, Bai Bai Dental Clinic successfully advertised without any backlash. The owner was pleased.
The internet trolls had achieved unexpected success. But the official sponsor of the show wasn’t so happy.
Watching Ji Junxin happily devour a plate of pickled cucumbers with her porridge, Jiang Meiwei, the supplier of the pickled cucumbers, after yesterday’s tool kit incident, felt another blow.
Yesterday, everyone had reluctantly eaten the pickled cucumbers, their complaints echoing online.
But now, the same pickled cucumbers, just slightly modified by Mi Hongdou, had Ji Junxin, who had barely touched them yesterday, eating them with relish… the quality of their product had clearly been questioned…
Jiang Meiwei felt conflicted… although she felt a little insulted by Mi Hongdou, watching this, she also wanted to try Mi Hongdou’s method, it might increase sales…
Compared to the blissful, sugar-filled breakfast of Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou, the other teams’ breakfasts were less exciting.
Yu Naihao, having drawn bok choy, made a simple porridge with rice and chopped vegetables, eating it with the unseasoned pickled cucumbers. Simple and bland, but looking at Jiang Duo, who only had rice and pickled cucumbers, he felt slightly superior. At least I have bok choy!
Lu Changhuai and Zhang Zijing, with their sixteen coins, calmly ate their rice and pickled cucumbers. Although they hadn’t explicitly discussed it, Lu Changhuai, still annoyed, wasn’t planning to cook. He hadn’t even bothered with the vegetables Yu Naihao mentioned earlier. They could survive on rice and pickled cucumbers, he didn’t need anyone to cook for him, hmph!
Although not as exciting as Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou, Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao’s team was much more harmonious than the other two. After Mi Hongdou’s reminder, Jiang Lingling had also traded for bok choy and, imitating Mi Hongdou, made vegetable porridge. It tasted… well, not bad, in her own opinion.
Bao Yueqiao, now on Jiang Lingling’s team, was feeling dejected, thinking that her well-intentioned act had backfired, wasting Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin’s 100 coins. Jiang Lingling, while eating, reassured her, saying that she would chop wood after the team challenge, they would have coins, they would have meat.
As Jiang Lingling, in her usual manner, vowed to take care of her teammate, a small group of viewers, watching the live stream, started shipping Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao.
Ji Junxin was the main force at breakfast, finishing three bowls of porridge and most of the pickled cucumbers. Mi Hongdou, wanting to preserve Ji Junxin’s image, tried to stop her. But Ji Junxin gave her a pitiful look, and Mi Hongdou surrendered.
Their interaction, one acting pitiful, the other scooping porridge with a look of helpless indulgence, was captured and turned into short videos and gifs, spreading online thanks to the CP fans.
Regardless of their breakfast choices, the 9 AM team challenge arrived.
So… what is this platform outside the village? And those forty or fifty haystacks, what are they for?
Mi Hongdou regretted letting Ji Junxin eat so much… what if the challenge involved strenuous physical activity?
As she was staring at the haystacks, trying to guess, Ji Junxin approached her, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, “Do you think there will be cockroaches in the bathroom tonight?”
Seriously, while I’m thinking about the challenge, that’s what you’re thinking about?!
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