Chapter 140: Small Fried Dough Cakes
After surveying the village for tasks the previous day, Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao calculated that tasks like wood-chopping, shucking corn, laundry, and carrying water, Jiang Lingling could handle alone. With a few additional coins from tasks like collecting eggs and jigsaw puzzles, they could conservatively earn at least thirty coins a day.
Thirty coins wasn’t much, but it was enough for some basic ingredients, a little meat and oil, and with the free rice, they could survive. It was only for ten days, they could think of it as… a diet.
They were trying to be optimistic, but the aroma of stewed tofu from the house across the courtyard, wafting through the closed gate, was too tempting… They could only drool and finish their own bland fish soup, cooked by Jiang Lingling, while being tormented by the delicious smell.
Jiang Lingling didn’t know or care what Bao Yueqiao thought. She only knew that if this continued, she wouldn’t be cooking anymore! What was the point when the food from across the courtyard smelled so much better, making her own cooking taste bland! She might as well just take a bowl of rice and eat in Mi Hongdou’s courtyard, closer to the source of the delicious aroma.
Of course, she knew that if she did that, Dong Yuannan would immediately throw money at the show…
So, to keep her godfather from doing anything irrational, she had to earn more coins. If she couldn’t win with flavor, she would win with ingredients! I don’t believe they can still be tempted by tofu when we’re eating red-braised pork!
So, Jiang Lingling, who had been kept awake by the singing mission and the terrible food, after her interview with the crew, embarked on another day of task-grinding.
She wished she had multiple arms, one for chopping wood, one for washing clothes… she worked tirelessly.
The staff member who interviewed her earlier slumped over his table, exhausted, before going to find his next victim.
Based on the past two days, they had expected Mi Hongdou and Yu Naihao to be the first to wake up, one to cook, the other to grab tasks. And Jiang Lingling waking up first wasn’t a surprise either, she was… unpredictable.
But they hadn’t expected Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing to be the next two, followed by Bao Yueqiao, while Mi Hongdou and Yu Naihao were still sound asleep.
The staff member who had been waiting outside Mi Hongdou’s house, hoping to interview her about sharing a bed with Ji Junxin, reluctantly left to interview the others.
While the crew debated whom to interview next, Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing were negotiating.
The staff member found them outside Yu Naihao’s thatched hut.
On the first day of Reality Online, after the second team reshuffle, Lu Changhuai and Zhang Zijing had to share a hut. And because the hut was so small, with only a narrow passage between the two mud beds, Jiang Duo and Yu Naihao could only hang a curtain for privacy, not even a folding screen would fit. Jiang Duo had strongly protested, demanding better accommodation for the girls, a tiled house with two separate bedrooms. But they didn’t have enough coins. She had complained about the lack of privacy in the small hut, as if the show was forcing her to share a room with a man, ignoring the fact that it was the same rule for everyone.
At that time, Yu Naihao had just ignored her. But when she tried to enlist his support, he exploded, declaring that sharing a small hut was indeed inappropriate, and since there were two empty huts, Jiang Duo could have one to herself. He then proceeded to throw all her belongings into the empty hut next door.
Although having teammates live separately was against the rules, the crew, secretly amused, turned a blind eye.
So, three of the four thatched huts were now occupied. And Yu Naihao secretly regretted that Zhang Zijing hadn’t complained, preventing them from having the fourth hut to themselves.
On the second day, Yu Naihao and Jiang Duo’s team adopted a “whoever earns, keeps” policy, and soon, at Yu Naihao’s insistence, Lu Changhuai and Zhang Zijing did the same. So, on the second day, the four of them diligently completed tasks. However, Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao, having studied the map beforehand, and with their better teamwork and their shared resentment towards Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing, managed to snag most of the easier tasks…
That night, Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing, comparing their earnings, were devastated. Yu Naihao and Lu Changhuai had openly declared their “separate finances” policy in front of the cameras. Jiang Duo hadn’t been able to argue with Yu Naihao, and Zhang Zijing hadn’t expected Lu Changhuai to go along with it. Not having protested then, it was now difficult to change the situation.
Jiang Duo, after thinking about it all night, decided to talk to Yu Naihao. Even with separate earnings, he should at least leave her some manageable tasks. All she had left were the heavy lifting, the smelly pig-feeding, and the difficult crayfish-catching, what was she supposed to do! And Zhang Zijing, seeing the situation, had planned to talk to Lu Changhuai after the cameras and microphones were off. But then came the special mission, and Lu Changhuai went to Yu Naihao’s room… so, this morning, Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo, having reached a tacit agreement, decided to discuss the task allocation with Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao after they woke up.
While Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao were still asleep, and Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo were being interviewed, waiting, Mi Hongdou finally woke up.
Well, it was understandable that she woke up late. Waking up to the person you loved snuggled in your arms, it took time to process the blissful reality, to savor the moment, to reluctantly pull away.
Although it was a 24/7 live stream, there was still some privacy. The thick blackout curtains were effective, the room dark without lights. Mi Hongdou carefully disentangled herself from Ji Junxin, tucked her in, lingered until it was almost time to make breakfast, then kissed her forehead and went to the bathroom, leaving through Ji Junxin’s empty room.
After trading for some flour for breakfast, she only had twelve coins left. To have a better meal, she would have to work harder today.
Jiang Lingling, having finished the wood-chopping, corn-kernel-removing, and egg-collecting tasks, and with her earnings from yesterday, bought four eggs, planning an extravagant breakfast of two candied soft-boiled eggs each for her and Bao Yueqiao. Four eggs in one meal, Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin wouldn’t be so extravagant, right? Although her cooking wasn’t as good as Mi Hongdou’s, she could earn coins! Not wanting to be looked down upon by her teammate, Jiang Lingling, clutching the eggs, proudly returned to her house.
Then…
Jiang Lingling stood at her gate, her hand on the door frame, unable to move. The aroma of frying from the house across the courtyard… Mi Hongdou, you’re frying something so early in the morning? Have you considered my feelings, preparing soft-boiled eggs for breakfast! My carefully planned sweet treat now seems so bland! Can we still be friends! Should we temporarily break up!
Jiang Lingling, tormented by the aroma, hesitated, then turned and walked towards Mi Hongdou’s courtyard.
Approaching the stove, she saw small, palm-sized dough cakes frying in the wok, turning a tempting golden brown. Mi Hongdou’s chopsticks moved swiftly, transferring the cooked cakes to a plate, then adding more raw dough to the wok.
Although it was just dough, the air was filled with the rich aroma of fried pork and scallions, and despite her best efforts, Jiang Lingling couldn’t help but gulp.
Although those small, fried cakes look and smell amazing, I’m not that out of control, am I? I don’t usually care about my image, but… Just as she was berating herself, she heard two more gulps.
Jiang Lingling turned and saw the two cameramen, their throats bobbing, their eyes practically glowing.
Seeing that she wasn’t the only one suffering, Jiang Lingling felt a strange sense of satisfaction. So, you also feel the pain, huh, even though you’re forbidding us from sharing food, heh…
As Mi Hongdou added the second batch of dough to the wok, she finally noticed Jiang Lingling and greeted her. Before they could even speak, Ji Junxin came out of the house.
So Jiang Lingling, who had just planned to leave after a quick look and a sniff, had to stay and chat.
The night before, when the special missions were announced, Bao Yueqiao had wanted to ask Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin about theirs, but Jiang Lingling, wanting to give the “couple” some space, had stopped her, saying it was late, they could talk tomorrow. But she hadn’t expected their mission to be… sleeping together… She regretted stopping Bao Yueqiao, she should have come to see their reactions.
Jiang Lingling, slightly disappointed, tore her gaze away from the frying dough cakes and reluctantly returned to her own courtyard.
As soon as she left, Ji Junxin snatched a cake from the plate.
“Hey! Freshly fried! Hot!” Mi Hongdou quickly grabbed it with her chopsticks. “Let go, use chopsticks…” …to eat.
Ji Junxin, her mouth burned, released the cake.
Mi Hongdou looked at the cake, missing a crescent-shaped bite, then at Ji Junxin, whose eyes were watering, but who hadn’t spat it out, and sighed inwardly. There are two more batches, why so impatient…
Ji Junxin, after swallowing the hot cake and taking the chopsticks from Mi Hongdou, indicated that she was, indeed, that impatient.
“Careful, it’s hot, blow on it…” Mi Hongdou said, flipping the cakes in the wok with another pair of chopsticks.
The small dough cakes were hot and crispy, the thin, flaky layers surprisingly complex, the outer layer crispy and savory, the inside slightly salty with a hint of scallion, and even a subtle meaty flavor, incredibly addictive.
But looking at the cross-section, there were no visible scallions or meat, how strange!
“So good…” Ji Junxin mumbled, her mouth full, her hand covering her lips.
Mi Hongdou, amused and exasperated, pointed at the covered bowl. “Have some porridge, don’t choke. Why so impatient, they’re all yours.”
Ji Junxin obediently took two sips of porridge, then sighed contentedly, her speech now clearer. “I could smell them from inside, I was starving! But Jiang Lingling was there, so I had to wait. It would be too cruel to let her watch us eat…” It would be too cruel, the cakes are even better with porridge! I could eat two pots! No, three!
“Not ‘us,’ just ‘you’,” Mi Hongdou said with a smile, adding more freshly fried cakes to the plate. “I’m not in a hurry.”
Ji Junxin, after eating a cake, seemed to have regained some of her intelligence and, realizing the teasing in Mi Hongdou’s words, blushed.
Just as the viewers were eagerly waiting for a reaction, a playful banter, Ji Junxin, her face red, mumbled after a long pause, “They’re so delicious, I couldn’t help myself!”
Although it was a retort, her tone was soft and almost coquettish. The viewers clutched their hearts, such blatant flirting, so early in the morning! We just washed our faces, and now they’re covering us with sugar again! Have you no mercy! Well done! More, please!
Mi Hongdou, also caught off guard by the sudden sweetness, felt her heart flutter. Ji Junxin, so effortlessly sweet and sincere, it was unsettling… She lowered her head, flipping the dough cakes in the wok, trying to calm her racing heart.
Ji Junxin, blushing and saying such sweet words… I wish breakfast was her, not these fried cakes!
Early mornings were truly a time for… uncontrollable desires…
The viewers had been glued to their screens since Mi Hongdou started making the dough cakes.
The lard from yesterday, infused with scallion flavor, mixed with salt, MSG, and a small amount of dough, formed the filling, which was then wrapped in more dough and divided into small portions, rolled and flattened repeatedly, becoming palm-sized dough cakes. Or rather, piles of dough cakes.
The viewers, who had been drooling since the frying of the scallions, commented that there were too many, they should auction them off! By the time Mi Hongdou started frying, the comments were filled with suggestions for a charity auction. They already had the Welfare Mission System, why not a Welfare Auction!
The crew’s reaction to the comments wasn’t important.
Because when Ji Junxin appeared in the kitchen, the auction requests stopped.
The viewers, their minds dominated by food, suddenly remembered Ji Junxin’s skill…
Seeing Jiang Lingling leave, and then Ji Junxin snatching a hot dough cake and not letting go even with tears in her eyes, they commented, they’re all yours, we won’t fight you for them, Xinxin, you win…
But eating while also delivering sugar… the viewers were pleased. We didn’t support you in vain, Xinxin, even without the cakes, the sugar is enough, and you still get to sleep with Mi Hongdou tonight!
The viewers’ feelings were complicated. The fried cakes looked delicious, and Ji Junxin’s flirting was amazing. But savory and sweet at the same time, it was a strange combination. But we love it!
As Ji Junxin devoured two plates of fried cakes and a large bowl of porridge, the flour companies watching the live stream started making plans, and then a dissonant voice appeared in the comments.
