Reborn to Stew Soup (GL) 157

Chapter 157: Grilled Meat Skewers

When Ji Junxin woke up, Mi Hongdou was gone. She sleepily reached for the other side of the bed and, finding it empty, hugged the blanket, yawned, and snuggled into her pillow.

Last night, perhaps because of their heartfelt confessions, they had chatted for a long time, their sleepiness gone. The conversation had drifted from cooking to food, and listening to Mi Hongdou’s soft voice describing various dishes, from preparation to cooking, Ji Junxin had felt a pang of hunger in the middle of the night.

What did we talk about after food? she wondered, yawning.

Then, from food, they had talked about Mi Hongdou’s cooking skills, her mother’s talent for pastries, and Mi Hongdou’s family. From the present to the past: a single-parent household, her mother’s hard work, her father’s traditional views and his remarriage, their distant relationship, her stepmother, her half-sister who constantly asked for favors… her childhood longing for her father, her teenage disappointment, her current indifference. Mi Hongdou had spoken calmly, as if talking about someone else’s life, but Ji Junxin, listening, had felt a surge of anger and protectiveness, repeatedly interrupting.

And then… Ji Junxin, remembering their conversation, turned over and suddenly felt more awake. She had also talked about her own childhood… her workaholic parents who seemed to forget they had a daughter, the tragic day she was locked out of the house, the always-empty kitchen, the endless takeout meals… what else? She sat up, rubbing her face. She remembered feeling sleepy as she talked, recalling her lonely childhood, and then she must have fallen asleep, she couldn’t remember the rest.

She had never told anyone about her childhood, not her classmates, her teachers, not even her fans. They only knew she came from a scholarly family, that her parents were respected university professors. No one would have guessed how distant and cold their relationship actually was. Even Qiao Rubai had only discovered it gradually, after years of friendship.

Ji Junxin, thinking about her unguarded confessions last night, blushed. It was all so long ago… and now, talking about my childhood grievances, wouldn’t Mi Hongdou think I’m being petty? After all, every family was different, and Mi Hongdou, who had grown up with a loving mother and her delicious home-cooked meals, probably couldn’t imagine a childhood of silent dinners with takeout boxes. Would she think I was… overreacting?

The lack of warmth in her childhood, the almost nonexistent parental love, those lonely evenings with a key hanging around her neck, the silence of an empty house despite having three people living there, she had envied the other children, those with loving parents, those with laughter in their homes, those with noisy but caring families on TV. That was her… missing piece, a childhood regret that even now, with friends, fans, and good food, couldn’t be filled.

Those were memories she didn’t want to revisit.

She hadn’t meant to tell Mi Hongdou, but she had, like spilling her secrets from a bamboo basket.

It must have been the atmosphere last night, the conversation drifting towards childhood, and her own sleepiness, that had made her… lose control.

As she remembered more of their conversation, her sleepiness completely vanished. She sat in bed, conflicted, feeling exposed and vulnerable, like a small animal showing its soft belly, hoping it wouldn’t be rejected.

Her childhood regrets carried a hidden insecurity. A child unloved by her parents, how could anyone else love her? Even now, with millions of fans, a lingering anxiety remained, a memory of the envious little girl watching other children being taken to the park by their parents.

In the morning, in the empty bed, Ji Junxin’s heart sank.

The reassurance from last night seemed to have faded.

If life were a tragedy, then the next logical development would be Ji Junxin spiraling into self-doubt, convinced that if even her parents didn’t love her, how could Mi Hongdou, then withdrawing, their relationship ending, her descent into darkness, a bitter ending.

But life, of course, wasn’t always a tragedy.

Ji Junxin, lost in thought, suddenly smelled a slightly acrid but familiar aroma. It jolted her out of her melancholy. She swallowed unconsciously.

In the courtyard, Mi Hongdou had set up a charcoal grill, skewers of meat sizzling over the hot coals. Before she could even finish brushing them with oil, Ji Junxin, dressed and her hair neatly styled, came out.

The grill, the skewers, Mi Hongdou, wielding a large fan and a small brush… Ji Junxin, standing at the doorway, was stunned. What is all this?

Not just Ji Junxin, but the crew and the viewers were also confused.

Mi Hongdou had left the courtyard before dawn, while the cameramen were still asleep. If it weren’t for the fixed cameras in the courtyard, they wouldn’t have even known she was up.

So, while most of the crew were still asleep, without a cameraman, Mi Hongdou, clutching a pouch of coins, had gone to the deserted Supplies Exchange.

The viewers watched as a sleepy, yawning staff member, his buttons misaligned, clearly having just rolled out of bed, served a very alert Mi Hongdou.

So early in the morning, just to trade for breakfast ingredients? The viewers checked their phones, takeout breakfast isn’t even available yet!

And then, listening to Mi Hongdou’s list of requested items, both the staff and the viewers wondered if they were still dreaming. Who would want to eat that for breakfast?!

Their complaints, of course, didn’t reach Mi Hongdou.

Washing, marinating, skewering the meat, starting the fire, grilling…

A morning of preparation, all culminating in this moment, when Ji Junxin came out.

“Here, try this.” Mi Hongdou sprinkled spices on the skewers, turned them over, and then held one out to Ji Junxin – a grilled sausage on a thin metal skewer.

Ji Junxin looked at the steaming, crispy sausage, then at the smiling Mi Hongdou, unsure which was more tempting.

The aroma of grilling, filling the courtyard, was so familiar, reminding her of the food stalls outside her school when she was young. The other children, with their parents, enjoying their skewers, while she, clutching her key, her pockets empty… So, in my sleepy haze last night, I even told her about this…

Remembering this, the question of Why are you grilling skewers for breakfast? became unnecessary.

The sausage, fresh off the grill, was hot, and Ji Junxin, after blowing on it, burned her lip on the metal skewer.

But it was so fragrant, so delicious.

“It’s hot…” she said, blinking back tears.

Mi Hongdou’s grilling technique wasn’t as professional as the street vendors’, but she had tried her best. The rectangular metal grill, the skewers, the scored sausages, the thinly sliced lamb… the flavors missing from Ji Junxin’s childhood memories.

This must be what those street food skewers tasted like. Ji Junxin took the handful of lamb skewers from Mi Hongdou and sniffed appreciatively, the spicy aroma making her eyes water.

“You eat first,” Mi Hongdou said and turned towards the stove.

She started a fire, the oil in the wok sizzling, and Ji Junxin followed, watching as she added skewers to the hot oil: chicken, chicken bones, pork tenderloin, rice cakes, squid, flounder… and more sausages…

So that’s what I was complaining about in my half-asleep state last night… Ji Junxin, looking at the sizzling skewers, her heart filled with emotion, Is she trying to… recreate my childhood?

She soon had her answer. After frying the skewers, brushing them with sweet and spicy sauce, and placing the plate in front of her, Mi Hongdou smiled and said, “Let’s go to the amusement park next time.”

The little beast, its soft belly exposed, received a gentle head pat.

Ji Junxin bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

The live stream comments exploded. The foodie is crying, what did we miss?!

Those who stayed up all night reported that the lights in Mi Hongdou’s room were off the whole time, no clues at all. So… she’s crying because the food is so good!

The crew also wanted to cry. You’re crying while eating grilled and fried skewers?! We, who woke up early to prepare everything, we’re not crying! We, who haggled with you for every ingredient, we’re not crying! We, who are watching you eat without any food ourselves, we’re not crying!

Why are you crying! So weak!

We’re also crying! No meat for us! Okay, stopping now…

Those were the untold stories of Ji Junxin’s past. Mi Hongdou’s desire to protect her intensified. Last night’s conversation, their shared vulnerabilities bringing them closer, the missed opportunities of her previous life, she had to make up for them.

But although they had shared so much last night, Mi Hongdou still had secrets, the story of their past lives, the looming threat in this one, she didn’t know how to tell Ji Junxin.

Yes, the threat in this life.

Although Qiao Rubai thought that their deaths in the previous life were because she had inadvertently dragged Mi Hongdou into Qiong Yu’s conflict with someone, Mi Hongdou had a feeling that it wasn’t just that.

A nobody from an ordinary family, newly famous, not yet established, she didn’t have Qiao Rubai’s resources. Qiao Rubai was currently investigating, but Mi Hongdou thought that after “Reality Online,” with the money she earned, she would also investigate, she couldn’t just let Qiao Rubai handle it alone.

Just a few more days… For now, she just wanted to enjoy this… interesting reality show with Ji Junxin.

And her priority… was earning coins!

Although they had saved most of their earnings yesterday, her extravagant breakfast had depleted their funds, even after haggling with the show for every ingredient…

Everything was so expensive!

But their financial woes would soon be over.

The previous night’s NPC meeting had been a disaster for Pan Xiang. Madam Wang’s bluntness, Uncle Niu and Grandpa Li’s opportunism, and then Miss Liu’s proposal, all confirmed that these NPCs were about to become even more uncontrollable.

Fortunately, there was Plan B.

But even with their preparations, Pan Xiang and the crew were still stunned by the NPCs’ audacity.

Starting with Madam Wang and the egg-collecting task. A popular task, usually completed before the 9 AM team challenge.

Today was no exception.

Having made grilled and fried food for breakfast, Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin had no treats to offer. Madam Wang, looking at their empty hands, was disappointed.

But disappointment wouldn’t stop her. With four chicken coops and dozens of egg-laying hens, she was resourceful.

So, the egg-collecting task was upgraded to a “five-spice egg” task, requiring them to submit two-thirds of the collected eggs as five-spice eggs. This meant that if they collected twenty-two eggs, like before, they could keep seven or eight, a much better deal than the original three eggs for one coin.

Eggs cost five coins each at the Supplies Exchange, so seven or eight eggs were worth about forty coins, almost five times the value of the original reward.

Five-spice eggs only required a few seasonings and some time, it was a good deal.

With this new task, they would have eggs for the next two days, there was no reason to refuse.

Perhaps because of the tempting reward, Mi Hongdou collected twenty-five eggs in thirty seconds.

Carrying the heavy basket back, Mi Hongdou couldn’t believe the show’s sudden generosity. Had they changed their “frugality” policy?

The change wasn’t from the show…

Pan Xiang, watching the live stream, could only smile wryly. These NPCs… so unpredictable…

Mi Hongdou, suspecting a trap, decided to act quickly. She started preparing the five-spice eggs before the team challenge, planning to submit them afterward.

Sometimes, just one night could change everything.

Madam Wang’s five-spice egg task that morning had already surprised them. And then, before the team challenge, the director’s announcement stunned them again.

“Before we begin, an announcement about newly purchased props,” he said, his voice excited. “Congratulations to Team Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao for acquiring the ‘Switching Cups’!”

The other six were shocked. They were struggling to earn coins for food, and those two had bought props? The simplest prop, the “Colorful Rope,” cost twenty coins, and this “Switching Cups” sounded much more… advanced.

The director, pleased with their stunned expressions, cleared his throat and continued, “Since this is the first prop purchase, we’ll explain how it works. For future purchases, we’ll only announce the item and the team, not its function. Please refer to the Props Board for details. The ‘Switching Cups,’ as the name suggests, are a pair of cups. During the team challenge, the owner can use it on any other team. The targeted team has to immediately stop and drink a cup of fruit wine, then switch positions. The other teams can continue with the challenge. The cups can be used up to nine times, with a limit of three uses per challenge.”

That’s… overpowered! If Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao used it strategically, targeting each team once, they would have a huge advantage.