My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 43.1

In the meantime, the live broadcast of “Summer Youth Tour” continued.

After picking the mangoes and putting them into a large bamboo basket, Ji Jiayu and Lin Qiaoxuan walked along a path until they reached a small hut in the center of the mango orchard on the back mountain.

At the entrance, there was a huge sign prepared by the show’s crew: “Summer Youth Tour, Happy Mood.”

They walked into the hut together and handed over the bamboo basket of mangoes to the farm owner and staff for inspection.

“Wow, your group did so well…” The farm owner’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the basket full of large mangoes.

“I didn’t expect you to pick so many mangoes. After all, the other workers had already picked the lower ones once…”

—The show crew is such trash. They obviously had people harvest the outer layer of mangoes in advance to deliberately make things difficult for the celebrity guests.

Lin Qiaoxuan turned to look at Ji Jiayu beside her, her lips curving into a vibrant smile. Her dark, round eyes darted around mischievously. “Haha, Jiayu is amazing. She climbed up the tree in a flash.”

“Before coming to the show, I didn’t expect Jiayu to have no idol baggage at all, like a rocket monkey.”

Being called a “monkey,” Ji Jiayu pouted. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, and her light-colored eyes turned to stare at Lin Qiaoxuan. “You don’t have any baggage either… Just now, you were chased by the chickens in the mango orchard.”

“Qiaoxuan, you’re beautiful, and your perfume smells so good. Otherwise, why would the free-range chickens only chase and peck you, as if you’re a fresh grain weevil just dug out of a rice pot?”

Ji Jiayu spoke unhurriedly and methodically, while also sarcastically calling Lin Qiaoxuan a “grain weevil.” It was a tit-for-tat retort to Lin Qiaoxuan calling her a “monkey.”

Lin Qiaoxuan just wanted to close her eyes and secretly roll them at Ji Jiayu’s two-sentence comeback.

[I love the ‘grain weevil and monkey’ combination~]

[Ahhh, their bickering is killing me with laughter…]

[Wow, they actually picked so many mangoes. They’re definitely in first place this time!]

After handing over their fruit baskets, they got into the car arranged by the show crew.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a farmhouse restaurant near Xiaozhu Village.

The host, who was a permanent fixture on the show, built up the suspense: “The results for the points are about to be revealed. Guess who the first-place winner is?”

“Who else could be in first place? Isn’t it me?”

Yu Hu held up his net, which contained a large, plump, and lively fish. The fish’s fins were still flapping, splashing water all over Xiao Tao.

Xiao Tao took a step back, looking disgusted.

“The first-place winners are the team of Ji Jiayu and Lin Qiaoxuan! Their total points are the highest among all the groups. They will receive A-grade ingredients! The farmhouse has a wide variety of ingredients and cooking utensils for them to choose from!”

“Hehe, it’s normal for them to get first place,” Yu Hu’s lips curled into an awkward but polite smile as he tried to save face. “We were just letting them win. It’s only right to let the young ladies have it.”

As expected, Ji Jiayu and Lin Qiaoxuan’s group was far ahead.

“The second-place winners are Teacher Yu and Xiao Tao. You caught a large, lively fish in Fairy Lake, but our Summer Youth Tour emphasizes teamwork. Unfortunately, the two of you had a falling out later on. After the bonus points were added, points also had to be deducted. You can only get second-rate ingredients!”

—Movie star Yu got Xiao Tao all wet while rowing the boat, and Xiao Tao held a grudge about it. Later, the two of them didn’t really focus on catching fish, which led to their group’s points falling far behind, so they could only get second-rate ingredients.

The second-rate ingredients: bok choy, cabbage, spinach, carrots, green radishes, white radishes… It felt like this selection of vegetables was just for feeding rabbits, with no protein at all.

Xiao Tao lowered her eyes to glance at the fish in Yu Hu’s hand and reluctantly asked, “Can we cook the big fish we caught later?”

The host nodded. “Of course.”

A look of joy appeared on Xiao Tao and movie star Yu’s faces. “Then we want to cook fish!”

The host then added, with a hint of nonchalance:

“If you’re willing to trade all of your vegetables for it… The points for one fish are almost equivalent to the total value of all your second-rate ingredients combined.”

Xiao Tao and movie star Yu’s faces instantly fell, turning a sickly green. QAQ: “…” Speechless. Who eats only one fish for lunch? The director of the show has no conscience!

And the group with A Yang and Kai Kai was even more miserable. A Yang and Kai Kai were silent the whole time, and the show’s effect was terrible. Their teamwork was extremely poor.

Kai Kai was responsible for picking, and A Yang was responsible for selecting the best fruits and discarding the bad ones.

However, A Yang wasn’t focused on the work and didn’t fulfill his duties, nor did he improve quality control. Their fruits were of uneven quality.

Not only did A Yang’s group not get many points, but they were also deducted points from the previous day by the show crew.

The show crew gave them one potato.

“This is your ingredient for lunch today,” the host said, handing over a bamboo basket.

“It’s a potato. People in Kuncheng also call it ‘yangyu’.”

In the huge bamboo basket was A Yang’s group’s ingredient: a single large potato.

Kai Kai and A Yang could only stare blankly at it.

[Hahahahahaha… I’m laughing so hard I’m making goose noises. The show crew gave A Yang one potato. At noon, Kai Kai and A Yang will eat stir-fried yangyu with potatoes!]

[Wow, sure enough, Qiaoxuan and Jiayu’s group got the highest points. My Jiayu got first place!]

[OMG, the ingredients Jiayu’s group got with their points could make a full-on Manchu Han Imperial Feast.]

[Haha, movie star Yu’s expression just now was hilarious. Yu Hu said, “Who else could be in first place? Isn’t it me?” So funny. Movie star Yu’s face was instantly slapped!]

…

The show crew took them to the open-air kitchen at the farmhouse. There were even grills, seasonings, and everything else they needed.

The two girls who had been so confident and boasted about being great chefs a moment ago were now in a difficult position.

“I’m sorry, I really was a bit exaggerated just now,” Lin Qiaoxuan’s lips curved into a slightly embarrassed smile.

“I can really only make sugar-coated tomatoes…”

Ji Jiayu lowered her long, curled eyelashes and glanced at the ingredients prepared by the show crew. She frowned slightly and said in a calm voice, “I can make stir-fried noodles and fried rice… I might only be able to make these two things…”

Fried rice and stir-fried noodles use cheap ingredients and are very filling.

When Ji Jiayu was a child, she didn’t have much money, so she helped out at a small food stall. The kind owner would sometimes make extra food and give the leftovers to her.

While working and studying, she also learned how to make simple snacks like fried rice and stir-fried noodles from the stall owner. But Ji Jiayu hadn’t learned to make other dishes.

The dishes she had made for Qiu Miaoran at her house before were either takeout disguised as home-cooked meals or pre-made semi-finished products bought from convenience stores that only needed simple cooking. Starting from raw ingredients might not result in something very delicious.

Ji Jiayu and Lin Qiaoxuan’s group had so many ingredients, but the two of them clearly didn’t have the culinary skills to make a rich and delicious lunch.

Xiao Tao and movie star Yu, holding their fish, came over and looked longingly at Ji Jiayu, who was making fried rice.

The regular female guest Xiao Tao suddenly asked, “Do you want to eat fish?”

Ji Jiayu glanced at them and lifted the pan in her hand. “If you want to eat fish, you should ask Qiaoxuan…”

“I want to eat fish… I really want to eat fish…” Lin Qiaoxuan nodded repeatedly as she mixed the sliced tomatoes with white sugar.

“We can work together, and we can share the dishes we make.” Ji Jiayu offered a suggestion.

Xiao Tao and Yu Hu came over with the fish and went to the kitchen to help.

Kai Kai also walked over and voluntarily took on the responsibility of cleaning up the kitchen waste. “I’ll go sweep the floor and take out the trash.”

Only A Yang, from the other side of the stove, stood on his tiptoes and looked around, then smiled ingratiatingly.

“Is there anything I can help with?” A Yang asked, feigning concern.

“Then go wash the vegetables,” Xiao Tao told him.

A Yang looked at the vegetables covered in dirt and the raw meat with its strong fishy smell. He rinsed the vegetable basket under running water and pinched his nose, disgusted by the smell.

With an impatient expression, A Yang called out to Kai Kai,

“Kai Kai, are you done taking out the trash? Come and wash the vegetables. I’m not very good at it myself, and this meat… it smells so fishy…”

Before leaving the washing area, A Yang turned back and said insincerely,

“Ah… Whoever knows how to wash vegetables, go ahead and do it. Don’t tire yourselves out just for a variety show.”

[A Yang is slacking off again, doing nothing and just waiting to eat. Before he left, he even made a point of saying that, as if to show he’s innocent? I’m so annoyed.]

[Lin Qiaoxuan is the real pampered young lady. She can’t cook anything. I’m so scared she’ll cut her hand when she’s chopping vegetables, hahaha. At least Jiayu can make stir-fried noodles and fried rice…]

[Jiayu is even helping to kill the fish… Unbelievable. How is she so skilled? Did she really kill fish at RT-Mart for ten years, hahaha…]

[Wow, Xiao Tao is amazing. She can cook so many dishes. I suspect Xiao Tao’s real profession is a chef. Does her family own a hotel?]

…

In the end, Xiao Tao made three main dishes, Ji Jiayu made stir-fried noodles and fried rice, Lin Qiaoxuan helped chop vegetables and plate the food, and Kai Kai and movie star Yu washed the vegetables and rice at the sink.

Xiao Tao brought the cooked dishes one by one to the table in the small courtyard. “The dishes are here. Since they’re the result of everyone’s hard work, let’s eat together~”

A Yang walked over with his hands in his pockets. He raised his chin and stretched his neck to look at the sauerkraut fish on the table. “Ah, who killed this?”

Ji Jiayu was washing her hands at the sink, gently rubbing her fair knuckles with a layer of hand sanitizer. The water slowly rinsed the back of her hands.

She turned her head slightly to glance at A Yang and said nonchalantly, “What’s wrong? Teacher Yu and I killed the fish together…”

When she was working and studying at the food stall, Ji Jiayu had helped the owner process fish, cutting open the belly, discarding the intestines and internal organs, and cleaning it.

“That’s so cruel. Why did you just kill the fish?” A Yang blinked his innocent eyes and said artlessly, “I thought movie star Yu was going to take it home and raise it…”

—A Yang was implying that Ji Jiayu was a cruel woman who was not only unkind but also not cute at all.

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