Chapter 21
Wu Cuiju was terrified and could only run all over town to clarify what she had said.
The more smug she was before, the more regretful she felt now. After sheepishly clarifying and apologizing, she retreated to her home.
Some people in the town felt a sense of satisfaction, but a small minority felt that Tang Yao had gone too far, after all, they were all from the same town.
Regardless of what people said, Tang Yao didn't care much. she just wanted to live her own life.
Because of Chen Yong's family's disgusting actions, their factory was significantly affected. Many locals refused to buy their flower cakes. Outsiders also heard about it, leading to a sharp drop in orders. This resulted in the factory's cash flow problems, ultimately forcing it to close down.
But that was a future story.
The third episode of the variety show officially began amidst everyone's anticipation. Replacing Zheng Xinrui was the currently popular idol actress Qiao Yunyun.
The variety show was no longer the no name program they once were. They had become hugely popular for various reasons and with the increased viewership, even well-known celebrities were willing to appear on them.
After the last variety show ended, Lu Bei returned to the capital. He seemed to be in much better spirits than when he first came here.
Tang Yao also looked up a few of Lu Bei's movies online. His acting skills were undeniable; he truly deserved the title of "Best Actor."
Tang Yao had seen his last film. Lu Bei's eyes were incredibly expressive, instantly drawing the viewer in. He handled his multiple personalities exceptionally well, and the scene where he sat in the interrogation room recounting the events was a classic. His manic demeanor and seamless switching between personalities were truly chilling.
...
The program started quickly and this time the live stream had even more comments. Everyone had their own fans.
Qiao Yunyun had short hair, a lively and cheerful personality, and a girl-next-door feel. She rose to fame after starring in a campus drama.
Qiao Yunyun didn't act arrogantly because of her popularity. Instead, she greeted everyone sincerely, earning their goodwill.
Everyone was used to the beauty of the guesthouse, while Qiao Yunyun exclaimed in amazement, unsure where to look once inside.
"So beautiful, like a fairyland," Qiao Yunyun exclaimed.
“Right? I thought so too. When I first arrived, I felt like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden,” Sun Yi said with a smile, walking beside her.
Qiao Yunyun nodded vigorously in agreement.
Xu Wan looked somewhat haggard and her face expressionless.
She was still thinking about what Xu Anguo had told her before she left.
“Wanwan, Dad knows you’ve been wronged, but Tang Yao might know someone from the Ji Family now. Our family really needs this opportunity to advance further. For everyone’s sake, you must try your best to please her, let her know that Mom and Dad really want her to come home. Dad has raised you for so many years, you should understand Dad, right? When you come back, have your mom take you to buy the jewelry you like.”
Though Xu Anguo’s tone was gentle, Xu Wan felt he was a complete stranger.
Thinking of this, Xu Wan’s hands clenched quietly. Why should she have to please Tang Yao? She was just a country girl, how could she possibly know someone from the Ji Family?
After choosing their rooms, the guests gathered again at the restaurant.
This time, Huang Yong changed the format of the variety show after discussing it with Tang Yao.
The guesthouse's restaurant would be opened to the public and the guests would serve the diners.
Of course, for the sake of the show's effect, there would be people arranged by the production team, but for authenticity, there would also be real guests.
Tang Yao also had a role and was still off screen. She would act as the manager, assigning tasks to the guests.
Her voice could be heard on camera.
Many viewers in the live chat asked if the manager was the guesthouse owner, Tang.
Their first task, naturally, was to properly serve ten customers who came for lunch.
Everyone accepted this format well.
Everyone was eager to try creating the menu and then cooking with Xiao Li.
And with only ten people, it didn't sound too difficult.
The idea was great, but when it came to implementation, things became chaotic.
Disagreements arose during the menu-creating stage.
The older Du Meijuan and Shen Wentao preferred lighter flavors, while the younger Qiao Yunyun and Sun Yi favored stronger tastes.
However, neither side engaged in heated arguments. Instead, they communicated peacefully, and ultimately, their preferred dishes were added to the menu.
Next, they needed to prepare the ingredients for the menu.
Some went to pick vegetables, while the rest followed Xiao Li to slaughter a pig.
The slaughtering team was mostly composed of men. Lu Bei, Sun Yi, and Shen Wentao all volunteered to join. Xu Wan, not wanting her hands and feet to get muddy, also joined the slaughtering team, thinking she could just coast along later.
Du Meijuan, Zhang Qing, and Qiao Yunyun went to the vegetable garden.
The camera focused on the fat, robust pigs in the guesthouse, making netizens drool.
At this moment, Xiao Li dragged a large sack from a pile of miscellaneous items. Opening it, it was discovered to be full of low-quality ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms, along with some other precious medicinal herbs. Although the quality wasn't great, the price wouldn't be low on the market.
She instructed everyone to mix the herbs with grains and feed it to the pigs.
But when the cameraman approached the sacks with his camera, both the cameraman and the viewers in the live stream fell silent.
Who could tell them what these pigs were eating?!
Why did these things look like ginseng?!
They desperately wanted to jump into the screen and see for themselves.
"These...are all ginseng and lingzhi?" Shen Wentao asked in surprise. "Is this what the pigs we usually eat feed on?"
Xu Wan rolled her eyes, thinking Tang Yao was definitely putting on a show. Who would feed pigs such good stuff?
Some people in the live stream thought the same thing.
"This is a show, right? Who would feed pigs ginseng?"
"The owner is so fake. She knew it was going to be a live stream and deliberately put these things here."
"What's the point of her doing this? To make everyone think she's inhumanly wealthy?"
However, most netizens were more rational. Seeing some leftovers in the trough, they knew the pigs had eaten more than just this one meal of this.
Just as everyone was wondering, one netizen suddenly posted a photo. The photo was dated a few months ago.
This netizen was the couple who had stayed at the guesthouse when it first opened. They happened to witness the pigs being fed ginseng and took a picture out of curiosity, never expecting it would come in handy.
"It's true, the photos were taken when the guesthouse just opened."
Although the guests were also shocked, they still followed Xiao Li's advice and mixed these items with rice bran.
When grabbing ginseng and lingzhi, Shen Wentao resembled a cafeteria worker, shaking a handful of ginseng repeatedly until only a few pieces remained before putting them into the rice bran.
At this time, Xiao Ling came to help. Seeing this, she stepped forward and poured out a third of the bag.
Shen Wentao: "..."
Netizens found this scene amusing, especially Shen Wentao's expression, which was even turned into memes.
The next second, an even more shocking scene appeared.
Xiao Li and Xiao Ling carried out a huge, fat pig weighing at least 200 jins.
The pig's hands and feet were already bound and it was still struggling, but Xiao Li and Xiao Ling seemed oblivious to the weight, lifting it effortlessly.
The live chat was silent for a moment.
"What kind of incredible strength do you two sisters possess?"
"No wonder you were able to chase away the thieves; that strength is amazing!"
Shen Wentao, Sun Yi, and Lu Bei went to help, only to find they were barely able to contribute.
Xiao Li and Xiao Ling placed the pig in the designated slaughtering area and deftly started boiling water.
Once everything was ready, Xiao Li swiftly wielded her knife, stopping the pig's struggles with a single stroke.
Her movements were so fast that even the cameras couldn't capture them.
Next, Xiao Li skillfully cut the meat into different sections, slicing meat as easily as cutting tofu.
With sleeves rolled up to help cut meat, Lu Bei revealed his well-defined arm muscles, making fans swoon.
Xu Wan casually strolled around, and the morning passed by just like that.
Everyone had a fruitful day.
Upon seeing Qiao Yunyun and her friends, Sun Yi approached them and recounted their day's experiences, using gestures to elicit a gasp from Qiao Yunyun.
She kept asking, "Really? Is it really that amazing?"
Sun Yi nodded, "Of course, I saw it with my own eyes."
So, when Xiao Yue trio entered the kitchen, they were met with starry-eyed admiration from the two.
With Xiao Li helping out, cooking wasn't too chaotic, but it still provided plenty of laughs for the audience.
The customers invited by the production team and the actual customers selected online had all arrived at the restaurant.
The sunlight was beautiful today. The glass room was crystal clear as sunlight streamed through, casting a golden glow.
Whether for photography or videography, the scenery was incredibly beautiful.
Tang Yao even saw a familiar face in the live stream.
She hadn't seen her for a few months. Her skin seemed a bit tanned, her hair was tied in a bun, and she was taking pictures of the surrounding scenery with her phone.
Having finished preparing the food, the guests brought it to the restaurant. While serving dishes, Xu Wan's hand slipped and she accidentally spilled food and soup on one of the customers.
The customer was a middle-aged woman in her forties, brought by her son for dinner. She didn't care about the status of a celebrity's daughter or a rich heiress and she immediately launched into a tirade of insults, before her son could even stop her.
Xu Wan had never been treated like this before and her face instantly darkened.
At this critical moment, Shen Wentao stepped in to smooth things over, barely managing to deflect the situation.
However, Xu Wan refused to serve any more dishes.
The others didn't force her and went back to their own tasks.
"Although the eldest miss was clumsy, that old lady's insults were really harsh."
"But since you chose to participate in a variety show, shouldn't you be more magnanimous? Look at Elder Sister Meijuan, she just got yelled at by that customer, but she's still smiling."
"Yeah, and Yunyun too, always so energetic."
"But getting covered in soup and water for no reason is quite frustrating."
"How can the eldest miss be the same? She's been raised in luxury since childhood, she's probably never been scolded before."
Various comments flooded the comment section, but everyone was quickly drawn to the fresh humor.
Xu Wan sat alone on a chair outside the kitchen, her phone clicking furiously, as if venting her anger.
Soon, a group of online trolls joined in, attacking the middle-aged woman who had been insulting her in the comments, and some even started doxxing her.
Netizens were somewhat confused, and some cautiously wondered if this was going too far.
But it was quickly overwhelmed by the comments from online trolls.
Shortly afterward, a large group of uninformed onlookers joined the online trolls in flooding the social media platforms of the middle-aged woman and her relatives with insults.
Everything happened so fast that no one had time to react.
It wasn't until lunchtime, after the live stream was turned off, that the director revealed that all the nitpicking was pre-arranged.
The director had also informed the guests beforehand, but Xu Wan hadn't paid attention.
The woman who had been hurling insults even went to find Xu Wan to apologize. Xu Wan outwardly accepted, but her expression remained indifferent, seemingly unsatisfied.
Meanwhile, there was a knock on Tang Yao's door.
Tang Yao opened the door, and the girl opposite her waved: "Boss, long time no see."
"Long time no see, looks like you've been traveling a lot lately?" Tang Yao replied with a smile.
The visitor was none other than entertainment blogger Jiang You. The two hadn't seen each other for a few months.
Tang Yao had Xiao Li bring over some drinks and desserts.
“My family has agreed to let me continue in this line of work, and they won’t try to stop me anymore. They just want me to come home occasionally,” Jiang You said. “I only signed up for this variety show on a whim, and I didn’t expect to actually be selected.”
Tang Yao rested her chin on her hand, smiling as she watched Jiang You speak.
As they talked, Jiang You took out a brocade box from her backpack: “This is a return gift my family asked me to bring. It’s not as nice as the piece of mutton-fat jade you gave me.”
The box opened, and inside laid a jade bracelet.
The jade was warm and translucent, appearing to be of very high quality.
Knowing that Jiang You came from a well-off family, Tang Yao didn’t refuse. After thanking her, she accepted the jade bracelet.
The two chatted for a long time, mostly Jiang You talking, and Tang Yao listening.
She told me about her visits to lesser-known but still beautiful cities, her adventures with a group of explorers venturing into the mountains, and her seafood feasts in coastal cities.
Because she'd traveled to so many places, her skin was tanned.
Although she disliked her skin tone, her eyes shone with a confident radiance.
That evening, Tang Yao invited Jiang You to stay for dinner. Since they had just slaughtered a pig, the meal was predominantly pork.
Xiao Li prepared a variety of dishes, and Jiang You ate with gusto. Her mouth was brimming with flavor.
"I watched the live stream. I didn't know these pigs ate so well! No wonder it tastes so good," Jiang You remarked with her mouth full.
After dinner, Jiang You said goodbye to Tang Yao and left.
"Maybe next time we meet, I'll be a blogger with millions of followers!" Jiang You waved to Tang Yao, carrying the various snacks Tang Yao had prepared for her as she left.
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