The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 17

The local specialty dishes they needed to prepare were drawn by lot.

Lin Yan’s group had fish fillet noodles, Liu Yangran’s group had spicy tofu, and Su Xue’s group had a dessert, glutinous rice cake.

Su Yun’s group drew the most unique local dish, “steamed fish.”

Steamed fish appeared to be the simplest, but the most important part was the dipping sauce, which could almost be considered an exclusive secret recipe, the hardest to replicate.

After the draw, they each headed to the market to find the ingredients they needed.

After discussing with Jiang Zhi, Su Yun decided to buy the fish first and then see what seasonings they could afford with the remaining money.

The production team had given them plenty of time, allowing them to compare prices at different stalls.

Su Yun wasn’t in a hurry and chatted with Su Yun beside her, “What were you thinking when you were guessing the idioms?”

She had played this kind of game with others at gatherings before, and the outcomes were invariably disastrous.

【I want to buzz in for this question! Jiang Yinghou probably went through every idiom she learned in her life in her mind!】

【Su Yun is asking so seriously; I can almost see her face saying: I’ve found a kindred spirit!】

Jiang Zhi paused for two seconds before replying, “I was thinking that the more likely an answer is, the less correct it is.”

【Going against the grain, Jiang Yinghou, you live up to your name!】

【Su Yun: All these years of feelings have ultimately been misplaced.】

However, after saying that, Jiang Zhi smiled and comforted her, “No matter what method we used to guess, we indeed scored higher than the other groups.”

Su Yun nodded, “Yeah, but in the future, I definitely want to partner with you for this kind of game.”

When she had played this game with colleagues during team-building activities, she had achieved the glorious feat of answering zero questions correctly in five minutes, breaking the company’s long-standing tradition, making her the first in history.

Others didn’t understand her well enough; they couldn’t see the good intentions behind her simple drawings.

Jiang Zhi looked at the bright spots of light swaying under the trees by the roadside, seemingly indifferent: “Who else do you want to partner with?”

【Wait a minute, is Yinghou subtly declaring her territory?】

【Oh my, “I definitely want to partner with you.” “Who else do you want to partner with?” Isn’t this the behavior of a young couple?】

【Guys, I’m swooning. I want to see the big shot produce some content tonight!】

Hearing Jiang Zhi’s question, Su Yun felt a bit conflicted and remained silent.

All Jiang Zhi could hear was the sound of the warm wind passing by her ears.

The live stream was also silent.

【Why did Su Yun hesitate? Is there someone better at guessing than Yinghou? I don’t believe it!】

【No, I was just saying that casually! You guys are not a young couple; you’re all married, no need to argue!】

【The CP I was about to ship, is it going to end badly? Is this what happens when love moves too fast, like a tornado?】

Jiang Zhi’s fingertips moved slightly, and a beam of refracted sunlight flashed across the tip of a leaf, causing her to overlook the slight discomfort in her heart.

Jiang Zhi: “It’s just a game; partners can’t be fixed. I was just asking casually.”

Su Yun shook her head: “It’s not about being partners or not; I just think we shouldn’t play this game too often.”

“Explaining it is quite tiring.”

The kind of tacit understanding she had with Jiang Zhi would make others envious.

Jiang Zhi: “…”

The netizens in the live stream: …

Alright, it’s all just the routine of young couples.

–

It was around two or three in the afternoon, the time when the market was relatively quiet, and the vendors were all drowsy.

Upon seeing someone enter, they merely glanced over, confirmed it wasn’t a big customer, and continued dozing in their seats.

The two of them walked in and first stopped at a fish stall. Su Yun asked, “What kind of fish do locals usually use for steamed fish?”

The fish vendor replied, “For steamed fish, you can choose perch, yellow croaker, or silver cod, but I’d recommend perch.”

Perch was cheaper and the size was just right for home cooking, so vendors usually recommended it to customers.

Su Yun looked over and pointed at a relatively small fish. “How much for this one?”

As she spoke, the fish she pointed at was still lively and swimming vigorously in the water, splashing droplets that looked particularly beautiful, it was practically a perfect fish.

In her heart, she still held onto a sliver of hope. If it happened to be exactly fifteen yuan, she wouldn’t even need to bargain and could buy it with great generosity.

[Su Yun’s confidence is off the charts hard to believe she only has thirty yuan in her pocket.]

[Is she pointing at the smallest one in there? So bold in attitude, so timid in action.]

[First time seeing Su Yun so lacking in confidence, LOL.]

The fish vendor had been selling fish for decades. With just a glance, even if the estimate wasn’t precise, it wouldn’t be far off.

Vendor: “This one’s about thirty yuan. It’s just the right size for two young ladies like you very suitable.”

Su Yun: It is suitable just not sure if forcing the local judges to eat it raw would deduct points from their score.

Clutching at her last shred of hope, she asked, “Boss, what’s the lowest price you can give for this fish?”

Bargaining wasn’t unusual in the Herong County market. For regular customers, vendors might even throw in something extra, so the boss was quite magnanimous. “If you really want it, I’ll give it to you for twenty-five.”

Su Yun: “How about twelve-fifty?”

Beside her, Jiang Zhi clearly saw the vendor rub his ears, as if questioning whether he’d heard correctly.

[HAHAHAHAHAHA, so this is how you haggle by halving the price!]

[Twelve-fifty okay? No? Then how about six-twenty-five!]

[I feel like the vendor’s about to sharpen his knife next.]

Just kidding, would Su Yun be scared?

Yes. She was terrified.

Su Yun valued her life dearly. “Just joking. Do you have any fish under twenty yuan?”

The vendor waved his hand. “Fish under twenty definitely aren’t suitable for steaming. I can’t sell you that.”

Boss, your heart is so cold, colder than a fish-gutting knife!

Herong County was nestled by the river, and one could say the river had nurtured its people. Their reverence for fish was reflected in every aspect of their daily lives.

The fish vendors here had all been in the trade for decades, passed down through generations. They never shortchanged customers or conducted business against their conscience.

If he hadn’t known Su Yun wanted the fish for steaming, he might have had options under twenty yuan. But once he knew, he had to refuse.

After explaining, the vendor asked, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Su Yun wiped away the tears of fishless despair and nodded with Jiang Zhi, careful not to mention their mission.

After all, the director had warned them beforehand, they couldn’t use their celebrity status to gain advantages.

“We came here for vacation and wanted to try making steamed fish ourselves, but we’re on a tight budget,” Su Yun explained.

“Oh, here for vacation?” The fish stall owner perked up at this. “Not many tourists come to our Herong County because of the poor transportation, but they’re fixing the roads now. Did you see the construction on your way here?”

Jiang Zhi nodded. “We did. The new road is very smooth. I’m sure more and more people will come here in the future.”

Hearing this, the stall owner smiled warmly. After all, everyone wants their hometown to thrive and be loved by more people.

“Running into me here must be fate. How about I just give you this fish for free?”

[The fish stall owner is so sincere! Honestly, I’d never even heard of Herong County before, but now I kind of want to visit.]

[Herong County has great food, beautiful scenery, and honest, kind-hearted people, what more reason do you need to go?!]

[Does this mean Su Yun’s task is halfway done?]

Su Yun: So it’s just handed to me without any effort?

Then why did she sharpen her knife earlier when she bargained for twelve-fifty?

Her mind teetered wildly between accepting and refusing.

Finally, she exchanged a glance with Jiang Zhi, trying to silently convey her thoughts. After seeing Jiang Zhi nod, she turned back to the auntie and said, “Auntie, running a business isn’t easy. We’ll look around a bit more, we might still find something suitable.”

Lin Yan and Xu Zhi from the fish porridge team happened to arrive at the market just then, catching most of their conversation.

As Su Yun walked away from the stall, Lin Yan approached with a pained expression. “Why did you refuse? If you’d taken that free fish, thirty yuan would’ve been enough for seasonings, right?”

Were they just letting victory slip through their fingers?

Xu Zhi also lifted the fish they had just bought. “Twenty yuan. That leaves us only ten for noodles and seasonings.”

Jiang Zhi replied, “The auntie works hard, and the director probably wouldn’t allow it anyway. Even if we accepted, it’d violate the show’s rules.”

If they weren’t allowed to rely on fan help, then the locals’ goodwill technically fell under the same restriction.

Lin Yan nodded. “Good point. The director’s ruthless, he’d definitely say the free fish doesn’t count and make you buy one with your own money.”

In less than a day, Lin Yan had already grasped just how cutthroat the director and production team could be.

[Director: Keep talking. I’m listening. Next mission: survive on fifteen yuan for a day.]

[Lin Yan, you’re a director too, why are you roasting yourself in the heat of the moment?!]

Su Yun agreed and added, “Besides, we already have two points. No matter what, we won’t end up in the fourth room.”

Sometimes, being too capable is hard for others to understand.

For example, Lin Yan hadn’t even considered that angle.

[I think I just heard the sound of a heart breaking!]

[Lin Yan: What am I even asking? Why does every question end up hurting me?]

[At this moment, a million ellipses should be floating above Lin Yan and Xu Zhi’s heads.]

Su Yun cheerfully asked, “Want to chat a bit longer? Jiang Zhi and I aren’t busy right now.”

Lin Yan and Xu Zhi: Thanks, but no thanks. We’re busy, we don’t want to fight for ownership of the fourth room later.

After Lin Yan and Xu Zhi had completely left and Su Yun could no longer see their figures, she finally took out the fishing rod she had borrowed from the auntie.

Bet you didn’t see that coming since she couldn’t haggle, Su Yun naturally had her own way of solving the problem.

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