Chapter 28: How Can I Buy a Gift Without Money?

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The mutton in his mouth was tender and juicy. It was neither greasy nor pungent, and the taste was just right.

A trace of surprise flashed across Lu Jinsen’s eyes. He could not believe that he had cooked this dish himself.

He chewed on the mutton and swallowed it. He looked up and glanced at Meng Chuyuan from the corner of his eye. He said casually, “It’s not that difficult to cook.”

[Looks like this stir-fried mutton is not bad. It made Young Master float.]

[Hahaha, with Sister Meng’s guidance, it should be very difficult to fail.]

[Lu Jinsen still has some talent. Look at how smug he is now. He’s probably so happy that he can’t sleep tonight.]

[Am I the only one who feels that his reaction is irritating? This dish was taught by Sister Meng. How dare he show off in front of her?!]

When Meng Chuyuan heard this, she reached out and put the plate of fried eggs in. She raised her eyebrows and looked at him. “Try it. The taste of this egg might be alright.”

That was what Lu Jinsen had said just now. Now, she was returning those words to him.

“…” He had been a little smug just now, but when he saw the plate of eggs, the look in his eyes disappeared.

Meng Chuyuan had prepared the ingredients for the stir-fried mutton according to the ratio. Lu Jinsen had also finished stir-frying it under her guidance.

In actuality, she was the one who controlled the taste of the mutton and the time that it was stir-fried. This way, even if there were any mess-ups, it still would not destroy the dish. At least it would still be edible.

Although Meng Chuyuan did not expose him in person, she wanted Lu Jinsen to know that there was still a difference between the two dishes he made.

Seeing that Lu Jinsen was silent for a long time, she could not help but tease, “Why? Are you not confident in yourself?”

Lu Jinsen glanced at her and denied, “Who said that?”

The next second, he picked up a piece of egg with his chopsticks and took a bite.

Lu Jinsen chewed twice, and the charred bitterness triggered his taste buds. He gradually lost control of his facial expressions, and he spat it out in less than three seconds.

Upon his disdainful expression, Meng Chuyuan could not help but laugh.

Lu Jinsen poured himself a glass of water to drink.

She tilted her head and asked, “Does it taste okay?”

He perfectly avoided Meng Chuyuan’s question and even tactfully found an excuse for himself. “The fire in the stove is not easy to control.”

After Lu Jinsen finished speaking, he glanced at Meng Chuyuan guiltily.

Meng Chuyuan raised her eyebrows thoughtfully. She quieted down to eat and did not answer him.

[I’m dying of laughter. A young master who has always wanted to be strong. He clearly has a problem with his culinary skills, but he still blames the stove for not being easy to control.]

[I’m sorry, I seemed to have praised you too early. Hahaha.]

[You won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin. Hahaha, Young Master’s culinary skills still have to improve.]

[Let’s be honest. Young Master, you should be the kitchen assistant. This way, you won’t lose face.]

After lunch, Meng Chuyuan continued to wash the remaining hawthorns. Then, she placed them in a cool place to dry naturally.

When they turned off the live-stream during lunch break, the director asked Qi Zhen and Liao Jiake out for a discussion. The director hoped that they could learn from Meng Chuyuan regarding the content of the live-stream.

When Qi Yan heard the director praising Meng Chuyuan, she could not help but feel disgusted. “Director, we can’t even finish the tasks you assigned us. How will we have time to make additional content for you?”

Liao Jiayan was also dissatisfied with the director’s request. “That’s right. Where would we find the time?”

There was no script for this variety show, but the guests had missions to do which could be considered as providing variety show content, but the director was not satisfied with the current situation.

On one hand, the director wanted to make a breakthrough in the content of the live-stream. On the other hand, he hoped that the statistics of the three groups would not differ too much.

Qi Zhen: “Director, I can get you the variety show content, but I refuse to slack around.”

From the moment he decided to film this variety show, the company had a clear rule that he had to behave appropriately and not ruin his character.

This was not only for the team, but also for his own stardom. Qi Zhen did not dare to take the risk easily.

“Then, how about I give you guys some leeway when I assign tasks next time?” The director thought about it and felt that what Qi Zhen said made sense. It wouldn’t be appropriate for everyone to just slack around.

“That’s fine.” Qi Yan nodded in satisfaction.

Although Qi Yan did not do anything, she had been exposed to the elements for the past two days. If this continued, she would not be able to take it.

…

After lunch break, the director gave the guests a mission: Prepare gifts for the villagers.

The first episode of the variety show was recorded for four days, so after the recording tomorrow, the first episode would end.

Considering that it cost money to prepare gifts, the production team came up with another segment to exchange labor coins for funds: one labor coin could be exchanged for 2.5 yuan.

The Qi Zhen team and Liao Jiake’s team exchanged all their remaining labor coins. In the end, they could not gather 100 yuan.

Seeing that both groups had exchanged all their labor coins, the director realized that Meng Chuyuan’s group had not participated yet. He looked up at Meng Chuyuan and asked, “How much do you want to exchange?”

Meng Chuyuan said, “We’re not trading.”

“…” When Lu Jinsen heard this, he turned around and looked at Meng Chuyuan in surprise.

He did not know what Meng Chuyuan was thinking.

The other two groups were stunned when they heard that she was not changing.

[F*ck! What’s going on? Why isn’t their team changing funds?]

[No way? I’ve been here for two to three days. Shouldn’t they prepare some gifts for the villagers?]

[Help, what is this group doing? Don’t tell me they want to slack around again at this juncture? If that’s the case, it’s too much.]

[Does Sister Meng think that the director’s price is too high again? If so, let’s discuss it again.]

The director was equally shocked. After a while, he asked again, “Are you sure you don’t want to change?”

Meng Chuyuan said firmly, “No.”

Seeing that she had no intention of relenting, the director did not make things difficult for her. “Alright, this exchange is over. Everyone can go and prepare gifts.”

After the crowd dispersed, Lu Jinsen’s face darkened and his displeasure was written all over his face.

When Meng Chuyuan made that decision just now, she did not discuss it with Lu Jinsen.

He could not help but ask Meng Chuyuan, “Why didn’t we exchange the funds? How can we buy gifts for others without money?”

Meng Chuyuan asked, “What can you buy with that bit of money?”

When Lu Jinsen heard this, he started to get anxious with her. “That’s money after all. You can buy a few packets of spicy strips at the convenience store.”

[Although Young Master is angry now, I still want to laugh when he speaks. Hahahaha.]

[Has he been eyeing the spicy sticks in the convenience store for a long time? If you want to eat spicy sticks, just say it.]

[So Young Master also knows about things like spicy sticks. I thought he would look down on this thing.]

[I don’t know why, but I feel like Sister Meng is up to no good again.]

[This time, I think Sister Meng is a little mislead. Is she looking down on those dozens of yuan? You can still buy a present for dozens of yuan. Why did she say that?]

[I feel that there’s nothing wrong with what they said. But this time, I’m on Lu Jinsen’s side. Even with that little amount of money, you can still get something else. It’s a small gift, but the intention is what matters.]