The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 19.1

Their luck was good. With the old man’s help, both of them managed to catch fish and they were decently sized at that.

Su Xue put down the lump of glutinous rice dough in her hands, her eyes widening. “Where did you buy these fish? And two of them at that!”

Liu Yangran and Ye Ying, upon seeing the fish in Su Yun and Jiang Zhi’s hands, then looked down at the tofu they were currently slicing.

No, perhaps they should add an adjective now: pitifully small tofu.

Ye Ying: “Did you just rob the market? How did you get so much stuff?”

It wasn’t unusual for celebrities to be unaware of market prices. It was only after walking around today that they’d gotten a rough idea.

So when they saw what Su Yun was holding, they were certain, there was no way all that could be bought with just thirty yuan!

“These two fish alone must cost at least fifty yuan, right?” Liu Yangran stared at the flapping fish, feeling just as bewildered as they looked.

There was also a sense of impending doom, as though the fourth room was already waving at them.

Lin Yan, who knew part of the story, asked, “Did you go back to the fish stall and ask for the fish again? But that still doesn’t explain how you got an extra one?”

Sensing something was off, they all turned to the production crew. “Did you secretly give Su Yun’s team extra money?”

Other than that, they couldn’t think of any other explanation.

The director, innocent, raised both hands in surrender.

[Those of us who know the truth are currently laughing our heads off at our desks!]

[Director: Don’t blame the road for being uneven when it’s your own legs that are weak.]

Seeing their guesses getting wilder, Jiang Zhi took the initiative to explain, recounting what had happened at the market and how they’d gone fishing.

Lin Yan suddenly understood. “Why didn’t I think of catching fish myself?!”

Liu Yangran’s team was making spicy red oil tofu, while Su Xue’s team was preparing glutinous rice cakes neither dish could be sourced from nature, so their regret wasn’t as strong as Lin Yan’s.

Su Xue remarked, “When I saw your team draw steamed fish, I thought you might not win this round. The fish alone would take up a huge portion of your budget.”

The director, seeing that time was up, picked up the megaphone and announced, “The final scoring by the locals is crucial. There’s still half an hour left, the outcome isn’t decided yet, so everyone, do your best!”

Hearing this, they stopped chatting and focused on preparing their ingredients.

[Look at Su Xue and Jing Zhaozhao next to them, why is the glutinous rice flour flying through the air? Mom, I’m seeing snow in June.]

[Hahahahahaha, Liu Yangran’s team’s spicy tofu seems to have backfired they’ve both burned their tongues and can’t taste anything now.]

[Are Su Yun and Jiang Zhi mixing the sauce? The color looks, somewhat normal?]

Following the fish vendor’s instructions, Su Yun placed the wild greens and fish into the pot, then quickly prepared a dipping sauce.

With only thirty yuan, they couldn’t afford many seasonings. In the end, they’d only bought the cheapest, most reliable options, which limited their choices.

Jiang Zhi also tried mixing a sauce. After tasting each other’s attempts, they fell silent for a few seconds before Jiang Zhi spoke first. “How does it taste?”

Su Yun took a sip. “It’s only about thirty or forty percent similar, but with our fresh fish, it’ll bump it up to fifty percent. If we round it off reasonably, our steamed fish should score a perfect ten, assuming nothing goes wrong.”

Jiang Zhi: “Thanks for your kind words.”

[It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone with such clear logic and perfect speaking skills.]

[Sorry, but I can’t find any logical flaws in this statement! Full marks!]

[Never belittle yourself, lesson learned!]

[Don’t you guys think Jiang Zhi’s response is hilarious too? “Thanks for your kind words”, what a genius!]

–

By the time all the guests finished cooking, the production team brought out their dishes.

The judges invited by the show sat around a round table, watching as each dish was presented.

[Remembering their cooking scenes earlier, I’m actually a little worried for these judges.]

[Worried +1. Shouldn’t the production team get a silver needle to test for poison first?]

[That’s too harsh, LOL!]

To some extent, the dishes they made had vibrant color combinations and decent presentation.

As the judges picked up their chopsticks, the guests pursed their lips, silently praying that their food would win over the judges’ taste buds.

The judges after tasting the dishes: “…”

After sampling all four dishes, the director announced, “Now, we invite the judges to comment on the dishes prepared by our guests.”

“We believe that since this is the first time cooking for all our guests, each dish has exceeded our expectations.”

[“Exceeded expectations” LOL, I’m always amazed by the depth of the Chinese language.]

[The judges’ expressions say it all, they’re struggling so hard to hold it together!]

[Judges: Must remember we’re filming a show, must maintain composure, can’t say it’s terrible outright, can’t throw the chopsticks!]

“For example, this glutinous rice cake is sweet but not cloying, and you can even taste the natural aroma of the rice.

“The fish noodles have absorbed the umami of the fish broth perfectly. The spicy tofu has a strong flavor, though it’s best not to eat too much.

“And this steamed fish even incorporates local wild herbs very impressive.”

Director: “It seems the judges have high praise for all the groups. I wonder who the final winner will be?

“We’ll now give the judges time to score. In the meantime, guests, feel free to sample each other’s dishes.”

Thanks to Xu Zhi, Lin Yan’s group succeeded with their fish noodles.

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi’s steamed fish, having learned from the fish vendor, was the best they could manage.

So Su Yun decided to try the supposedly “sweet but not cloying” glutinous rice cake first.

Su Xue watched eagerly, waiting for Su Yun’s reaction.

After tasting it, Su Yun savored the flavor in her mouth, it seemed sweet, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

She turned to Su Xue and asked, “It’s indeed ‘sweet but not cloying.’ You didn’t use much sugar, right?”

She suspected there might have been none at all.

Su Xue pinched her fingers together shyly and said, “When we bought the sugar, we didn’t have much money left, so I only added just a tiny bit.”

Which meant very little. Everyone present understood immediately.

Jing Chaochao helplessly covered Su Xue’s mouth, if she was going to confess, she should’ve at least waited until the judges left.

As for Liu Yangran’s group’s spicy tofu, everyone chose to steer clear.

She tried hard to promote it: “Are you guys really not going to try it? The judges just praised our dish earlier.”

Lin Yan: “Don’t think we didn’t notice after tasting your red oil tofu, the judges waited a full three minutes before trying the next dish.”

Liu Yangran: “…”

They just didn’t want to waste anything and used all the chili peppers they bought. At least they were more generous than Su Xue’s group, QAQ.

Jing Chaochao, who loved spicy food, took pity on them and asked, “Do you want me to give it a try?”

Hearing this, Ye Ying was especially welcoming. She placed a small plate in front of Jing Chaochao with a warm smile. “Please.”

[Chaochao, you’re so brave! Just looking at it makes me hesitate to take a bite.]

[When Ye Ying set the red oil tofu in front of her, her smile was so warm it was like she was serving a bowl of poison, lol, she might as well have said, “Chaochao, time for your medicine.”]

After Jing Chaochao spoke, everyone’s eyes were fixed on her.

Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to eat it anymore.

But under the expectant gazes of Ye Ying and Liu Yangran, she still picked up a piece of tofu.

Liu Yangran even pointed to another piece. “Chaochao, do you want to try that one? It’s bigger.”

Jing Chaochao didn’t even know what to say to that.

After eating the tofu, her only thought was that she was glad she hadn’t listened to Liu Yangran and taken the bigger piece.

Su Yun, standing nearby, couldn’t escape the pungent chili fumes assaulting her nose. It smelled unique, to say the least.

She handed Jing Chaochao a glass of water. “Chaochao, care to give us your thoughts?”

The others nodded eagerly, they wanted to hear it, loved hearing it.

Jing Chaochao took a sip of water, her expression unchanged. “Not bad. You should all try it. It’s a bit spicy, but their score probably won’t be low.”

[Huh? A plot twist?]

[But Chaochao ate it without any issues maybe it actually tastes good?]

[The judges back then might’ve just been overwhelmed by the spiciness, but they never said it tasted bad.]

Liu Yangran and Ye Ying grew a little more confident after hearing Jing Chaochao’s words.

Lin Yan, intrigued, kept glancing at the plate of red oil tofu. “Should we all give it a try?”

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