Chapter 6: Apple Tree
Dressed in a panda onesie, Yang Miemie rolled in like a ball. Before she could correctly snuggle up to Yang Lianyi, she was caught by a group of people who rushed in after her.
The tiny Yang Miemie was held in the arms of a very flustered young girl, who stiffened even more after seeing Yang Lianyi on the sofa. Following behind her were two burly men, tall and sturdy, with fierce faces. Seeing that the girl had caught Yang Miemie, they didn’t enter but stood on either side of the door, like door guardians. Those who didn’t know the situation might think it was a scene of a gang attacking an innocent girl.
In contrast, the woman who followed last, dressed in a pearl-colored cotton outfit, beige cloth shoes, and her hair simply tied up with a light green jade hairpin, was neat and composed as she stepped forward to greet Yang Lianyi.
As soon as Yang Miemie was caught, Mi Hongdou recognized the people. They were all brought in by Yang Lianyi to take care of the child, as a way to make up for yesterday’s mistake. Speaking of which, Yang Lianyi’s handling of Yang Miemie was really as simple and crude as always. If she was hungry, she would be fed to her heart’s content. If she was cold, she would be covered with the whole blanket. The day before, she carelessly lost the child, and the next day, she brought a bunch of people to watch over her. The woman who came in last was originally only responsible for making food for Yang Miemie, and occasionally making some snacks to bring to Mengguan for everyone’s benefit. Now, she was also looking after the child.
That young girl was probably some relative of the Yang family, someone they knew well enough to be temporarily asked to take care of the child. However, thinking about the mess of the Yang family in a few years, Mi Hongdou’s head started to ache.
Because of her experience in her previous life, Mi Hongdou wasn’t too surprised by the chase scene between the “gang” and the “innocent girl.” But what surprised her was that Qiao Rubai didn’t seem to react much either.
She didn’t know if Qiao Rubai was just that calm, or if her own suspicions were growing deeper. While pretending to be calm, she was also unsure whether she should probe or avoid the topic.
Speaking of Qiao Rubai, the industry’s evaluation of her was that she was serious and earnest to the point of being unfeeling. After Mi Hongdou switched to Qiong Yu in her previous life, she had a lot of contact with her. She felt that apart from being a bit too serious about work and avoiding Yang Lianyi, there was nothing else. Most importantly, Qiao Rubai once accidentally discovered that Mi Hongdou was a fan of Ji Junxin and kindly introduced them.
If it weren’t for her, Mi Hongdou wouldn’t have had those years of slowly fulfilling her dream of getting closer to her idol.
On the second day after her rebirth, she had to face a suspected fellow time traveler. Mi Hongdou felt a lot of pressure.
Before she could find a place to quietly digest and think, Yang Lianyi, holding the child and her new favorite “cute thing,” took Mi Hongdou out for lunch.
Yang Lianyi suggested lunch, but the restaurant was arranged by Qiao Rubai. Anyway, Mi Hongdou no longer had any expectations for Yang Lianyi’s IQ. They went to Qiao Rubai’s favorite private kitchen, where dishes were made to order. As long as the requests weren’t too strange, they could basically make any dish you ordered. Even if it wasn’t on the menu, they would go out and buy fresh ingredients, which took more time. In her previous life, Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin also liked to come here. Mainly because after Ji Junxin retired from acting, she became obsessed with cooking, no, to be precise, she became obsessed with eating. It was as if the suppressed appetite from years of acting was suddenly unleashed.
If she read about or saw something delicious on TV, she would always want to come here and have the chef make it for her to try. But this didn’t last long. At one point, Ji Junxin got her hands on a few ancient cookbooks written in classical Chinese. The dishes described in them sounded delicious, but they were difficult to read and even more difficult to make. Even this frequently visited restaurant refused to make them for her. Later, Mi Hongdou went back and consulted with her mother while also experimenting on her own. Whether it was authentic or not, at least it tasted good. She discovered her own culinary potential and also satisfied Ji Junxin’s foodie heart.
After that, they came to this restaurant less often. If they had time to get together, they would cook at Ji Junxin’s house instead.
It had been a long time since she last ate here. Mi Hongdou looked at the signature dishes on the menu and had many ideas.
Unfortunately, Qiao Rubai had already ordered the dishes via text message on the way here.
Springy crystal meat jelly, tender hand-shredded three-yellow chicken, deep-fried peanuts mixed with cucumber sections, thinly sliced five-spice pork liver dipped in a slightly sweet and rich soy sauce with garlic leaves – simply delicious. And the soft, honey-glazed pumpkin with red dates and the lighter salted white shrimp were perfect for children. Yang Miemie had a spoonful of pumpkin puree from Yang Lianyi in her left hand and a shrimp from Qiao Rubai in her right, happily eating with both hands. In her previous life, although Qiao Rubai avoided Yang Lianyi, she really liked Yang Miemie. Because of this, Yang Lianyi used Yang Miemie as an excuse to chase after her several times. She also contributed a lot to the little fatty’s weight loss journey.
But, the three of them only met for the first time today! Is it really okay for them to interact so naturally and intimately?
Mi Hongdou, who felt like she was about to explode today, looked at the three busy people at the table and felt like an outsider.
There were only four people eating, so the portions of the cold dishes weren’t large, and they were almost finished in a short while. Mi Hongdou put down her chopsticks and started thinking about whether the first dish to arrive would be today’s chef’s recommendation, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, or the signature dish, sesame steamed chicken. If a sweet soup with fermented rice and small glutinous rice balls came first, that would be nice too.
The homemade fermented rice mixed with lotus root starch made the sweet soup thick and smooth but not greasy. The small glutinous rice balls were mixed with osmanthus powder when they were made, and the fragrance filled the mouth as soon as you took a bite. Qiao Rubai’s favorite dish, salt and pepper pork knuckle, was also her favorite. The skin was crispy, the meat was fragrant and tender, and with the aroma of salt and pepper, one bite was crispy and delicious. Anyway, those three were gathered together, and Mi Hongdou was happy that no one was paying attention to her. She indulged in her own imagination, completely forgetting the pot of congee she had in the morning and the several pieces of snacks she had just eaten.
However, even after thinking through all the dishes she wanted to eat, Mi Hongdou never expected that the first dish to arrive would be a plate of “apple tree.” “Apple tree” is usually made by blanching broccoli florets, letting them cool, and then mixing them with oyster sauce. They are arranged on a plate in the shape of a tree crown. Small cherry tomatoes are cut in half and placed cut-side down on the crown to resemble apples. The trunk is made of seaweed wrapped around an omelet. If it were just an ordinary apple tree, Mi Hongdou wouldn’t be so surprised. The key was that you could tell at a glance that the “apples” on the tree were red grapes, not cherry tomatoes.
Taking a couple more bites, the broccoli crown was drizzled with honey instead of oyster sauce, with the sweetness of broccoli and honey complementing the crispness. The omelet in the trunk didn’t have scallions, but instead had thin slices of ham. One bite and the savory seaweed wrapped the tender omelet, and another bite filled the mouth with the rich aroma of ham. It was simply amazing. The savory apple tree was made with a sweet top (the crown) and a savory bottom (the trunk). This was clearly her own modified version from her previous life! Because Ji Junxin didn’t like to eat scallions, ginger, and garlic, Mi Hongdou specifically removed the scallions from the omelet and replaced them with ham for flavor.
Tasting it this way, this dish was simply a pirated version!
Eating this dish, Mi Hongdou felt a little indignant, but also a little relieved. Only Ji Junxin and Qiao Rubai, who had come to visit, had eaten her modified version a few times. So, the problem was Qiao Rubai, not some random person around her whose background she didn’t know.
Identifying the target was always reassuring, although Mi Hongdou didn’t know what the next step should be.
“The movie script for Imperial Secrets is almost finalized, and filming will begin soon. I’ll send you two contracts this afternoon, one for Imperial Secrets and the other for Reality On Line. The contracts for the movie and the show must be signed together.” Qiao Rubai gave Yang Miemie a few chopsticks of broccoli and interrupted Mi Hongdou’s self-immersion.
Even though Mi Hongdou had confirmed Qiao Rubai’s strangeness, Reality On Line… what was that? And Yang Lianyi, staring at Qiao Rubai with a lovestruck smile, was completely unreliable! This was a disaster!
It couldn’t be more of a trap!
“I don’t know what Reality On Line is…” Self-sufficiency through one’s own efforts, Mi Hongdou pretended to be ignorant and eager to learn.
“Reality Online is a large-scale reality show planned to be produced by the same team as Imperial Secrets. The current idea is to film it immediately after the movie. Of course, since it’s still in the planning stages, the specific content is subject to change. The contract for Reality Online is just to ensure that the main cast of the film will also participate in the reality show. The company believes that the movie and the reality show can complement each other.” Qiao Rubai said it very calmly, but it scared Mi Hongdou quite a bit.
Right now, reality shows in the country were just starting to gain some traction. In her previous life, Qiao Rubai didn’t get in on the action in time. By the time she wanted to, Qiong Yu’s reputation for being serious and earnest, not letting actors use stunt doubles, and insisting on authentic performances without faking it had already spread.
Everyone knew that entertainment shows always had some artificiality. It was one thing that their artists weren’t allowed to lip-sync or use stunt doubles, but everyone also knew that reality shows often involved pranking artists and making them suffer. Qiao Rubai was so serious to the point of being stubborn, who would dare to participate in Qiong Yu’s reality shows? Now, Mi Hongdou knew this, but others didn’t. Should she get on this pirate ship or not?
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