The Salted Fish And Protagonist A Ended Up Together - Chapter 4

Wen Mian wasn’t afraid. She took a step forward, smiling as she tucked her arm into the grandmother’s, employing her full suite of charms. “Grandma, now that we’ve met, how could we be strangers?”

Grandma Zhong’s expression stiffened. She seemingly hadn’t expected Wen Mian to grab hold of her, and her voice wavered with hesitation. “Regardless, I don’t want to help you. Go find someone else.”

Wen Mian let out a playful “Eh?” before continuing, “Grandma~ How about an equal exchange? Is there anything you need help with?”

Grandma Zhong shot a side glance at Wen Mian. Looking at her fancy clothes, her eyes darted as an idea formed. She spoke up: “I want to plant vegetables in the backyard. If you help me pull the weeds, I’ll give you what you want.”

Wen Mian agreed with an upbeat nod.

The live stream chat exploded with surprise.

【Is this still the Wen Mian I know? Does she even know how to work the land?】

【Plus one. Hasn’t she always had a ‘rich young lady’ persona? Why isn’t she angry?】

【She’s definitely faking it! I don’t believe it!】

Grandma Zhong led the two to the backyard. The yard wasn’t large, but it was overgrown with weeds. Wen Mian rolled up her pant legs, stepped into the dirt, and bent down to start weeding.

Luckily, it had rained two days prior, so the soil wasn’t too hard, making the pulling quite easy. Seeing this, Su Shiqiu quickly joined in to help.

Grandma Zhong furrowed her brows, waved her hand, and said gruffly, “Sigh! Forget it, forget it. What do you two know about weeding? Here’s the stuff, just take it and go.”

Hearing Grandma Zhong’s words, the viewers in the live stream let out a sigh of relief.

【I told you, Wen Mian wouldn’t actually weed.】

【She can’t even put on a good show. She just started and gave up, who is she trying to fool?】

【Exactly, the production team must have arranged this beforehand.】

Unwilling to change their negative perception of Wen Mian, the audience left comment after comment. That is, until someone said:

【But… look at Wen Mian, she hasn’t stopped…】

Snapping out of it, the viewers looked closely. Wen Mian was still bent over, pulling weeds. She wiped the sweat from her face, her smile radiant. “We agreed on a trade; I can’t break my word! Grandma, just wait a little longer.”

After wiping her sweat, she lowered her head and went back to work.

Her fair skin flushed red from the labor, making her stand out amidst the lush green weeds. The audience found themselves unable to look away. As the sun dipped and the sky grew dim, the viewers became immersed in the quiet world, realizing only later that they had been watching Wen Mian for quite a long time.

After estimating they had cleared about half the weeds, Wen Mian straightened up. “Grandma, we’ll pull this much for today. We’ll come back tomorrow for the rest.”

The audience “woke up” and, unwilling to admit they had watched her for so long, quickly started typing.

【See, I knew she couldn’t last long!】

【Exactly, she’s just doing it for show!】

【Though I don’t really like Wen Mian, she actually did the work. Do you guys have to be so hostile?】

【Agree with the above. Besides, Wen Mian said she’d come back tomorrow.】

【Then I’ll keep an eye on her to see if she actually shows up tomorrow!】

Grandma Zhong had stayed with them the whole time. Hearing Wen Mian say she would return, she felt a slight sense of loss in her heart, but her voice remained stubborn. “Who wants you to come back? Just take your things and leave. I’m sick of you!”

Wen Mian smiled gently. She stepped out of the field, her shoes caked in mud. “I’m coming anyway, it doesn’t matter if you’re annoyed.”

“Honestly! I didn’t even say I was annoyed,” Grandma Zhong muttered under her breath, so softly that no one heard.

Taking some vegetables from Grandma Zhong, Wen Mian and Su Shiqiu carried their basket and left. Before leaving, Wen Mian didn’t forget to turn back and wave. “Grandma, I’ll be back tomorrow!”

Grandma Zhong quickly turned her head away, grumbling, “Whether you come or not is none of my business.” Despite her words, her eyes involuntarily followed Wen Mian’s retreating figure.

Wen Mian shared a secret smile and looked at Su Shiqiu. “Shiqiu, let’s go.”

Su Shiqiu nodded, her gaze lingering on Wen Mian with a hint of surprise. “I didn’t expect you to be so good with the elderly.”

Wen Mian looked out at the wheat fields and teased, “Why? Suddenly discovered another side of me and feeling amazed?”

Su Shiqiu confirmed, “I really am amazed.”

Wen Mian shrugged. “As long as you’re amazed. There will be even more surprises in the future.”

Su Shiqiu burst out laughing. “Alright, I’ll look forward to seeing more surprises.”

After the banter, the atmosphere between them improved, but the live stream erupted.

【What did Wen Mian just say? Is she going to cling to our Qiuqiu now?!】

【Please no! Wen Mian, stay away from our Qiuqiu!】

You couldn’t blame them for being nervous; they were terrified after seeing how she used to cling to Gu Man.

Back at the House

Returning to the living room, Zhang Yunxi was peeling scallions. Seeing Wen Mian, she immediately brightened up. “Mianmian, you’re back.”

Wen Mian hummed in response, set down the vegetables, and sat beside her to help peel scallions. She asked, “How do you plan to cook the chicken you caught?”

The live stream audience immediately pounced on the topic.

【I knew it! She’s going to try and get close to our Manman!】

Zhang Yunxi replied, “Sister Gu said she’d make Big Plate Chicken (Dapanji), but I don’t know how, so I’m just prepping the scallions.”

Wen Mian thought for a moment. “Big Plate Chicken? Does she need potatoes? We brought some back.”

Zhang Yunxi, a total kitchen novice, immediately hopped up and ran toward the kitchen, calling out, “Mianmian, wait for me, I’ll ask Sister Gu.”

In the kitchen, Gu Man had her sleeves rolled up, revealing slender arms, as she washed the chicken. Seeing Zhang Yunxi enter, she looked confused. “What is it?”

Zhang Yunxi pointed outside. “Sister Gu, Mianmian asked if you need potatoes.”

Gu Man paused for a second before realizing “Mianmian” referred to Wen Mian. After a few seconds of thought, she spoke: “I do. Just bring them to me.”

Zhang Yunxi chirped an “Okay” and ran back, sitting close to Wen Mian. “Mianmian, Sister Gu said she needs them.”

The live stream audience laughed.

【Hilarious! Wen Mian wanted to get close to Manman, but Manman just told Xixi to bring them in!】

【As expected of Sister Man, she knows exactly how to handle this!】

Unfortunately for them, Wen Mian had no intention of approaching Gu Man.

Hearing Zhang Yunxi’s reply, she didn’t even budge. “Then let’s peel the potatoes and you can take them to her.”

Zhang Yunxi agreed but looked around in confusion. “But is there a peeler here?”

Wen Mian turned to Su Shiqiu, who was peeling garlic. “Shiqiu, could you check the kitchen for a peeler?”

Su Shiqiu, who had heard the rumors about the tension between the two, immediately agreed. “Sure, I’ll go look.”

The audience was baffled:

【Wait? That’s it?】

【Where’s the drama? Wasn’t Wen Mian supposed to be obsessed with clinging to Gu Man?】

【I don’t know… I’m starting to think Wen Mian isn’t that kind of person.】

Su Shiqiu successfully found a peeler and a basin of water. Wen Mian gave her a thumbs-up and began peeling. Soon, four potatoes were done.

“Do you need anything else?” Wen Mian asked.

Su Shiqiu shook her head. “No, but since Manman and the others are making Big Plate Chicken, what should we make?”

Wen Mian looked at their vegetables. “How about we make pumpkin porridge and a stir-fried lettuce dish?”

Su Shiqiu nodded. “Luckily I have you, otherwise I’d be worried sick.”

Wen Mian smiled helplessly. “It seems Shiqiu doesn’t know how to cook?”

Su Shiqiu nodded sheepishly. “You caught me. I really can’t cook.”

The fans in the live stream ruthlessly exposed her, revealing her as a “kitchen disaster” and a source of “dark cuisine.” This led curious passers by to her social media, gaining her 200,000 followers in ten minutes.

Since Su Shiqiu couldn’t cook, it meant Wen Mian had to go into the kitchen. Wen Mian sighed inwardly, glancing toward the kitchen with some hesitation. Even if she didn’t want any more interaction with Gu Man, in this situation, it was unavoidable.

Showing no outward emotion, she comforted Su Shiqiu. “It’s fine, I’ll cook this time.”

“Yay!” Su Shiqiu cheered, hopping up. “Then I’ll be your assistant.”

Wen Mian agreed. At least with a third person there, the netizens wouldn’t focus solely on her.

Gathering the scallions and garlic, Wen Mian carried the basket into the kitchen. Hearing the noise, Gu Man glanced over but then continued her work with indifference.

After washing the aromatics, Wen Mian stood before the clay pot. Su Shiqiu followed, humming a tune happily while washing the pumpkin. Wen Mian marveled at her voice as expected of a top singer, even her casual humming sounded beautiful.

After the pumpkin was washed, Wen Mian split it open and cleaned the inside. Since it was for porridge, it needed to be diced. Wen Mian began chopping on the cutting board. Her movements were slightly stiff at first, but they quickly became fluid and rhythmic, her arms showing a graceful, practiced beauty as she worked.