Free Web NovelChapter 681: Chapter 680: End of Round 7 (Forgot to Mark Yesterday)
The setup looked quite grand, with dishes laid out on a string of round tables, and the aroma wafting into the air was so fragrant it almost brought tears to one’s eyes.
As soon as the signal to stop working was given, a few people who were starving rushed towards the sunshade.
They moved faster than the car Guo Yin was driving earlier.
"What dishes, what dishes? What did you bring me? It’s not spicy hot pot, right?!"
Li Yang rushed over and caught the assistant next to the manager, sweeping his eyes over the half-arranged dishes.
Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Luckily, it’s not."
With his mind at ease, he plopped into a chair and turned to look at the others with a grin.
"Did any of you get spicy hot pot?"
The manager gave him a glance, rather disdainfully, "Who would bring something like that in a fasted state to an artist..."
"Ah—my sister! Why did you bring me rice soaked in soup?!"
Shu Ran’s soprano rang out.
Everyone looked over as if watching a show.
Shu Ran’s new manager pulled out the rice soaked in soup and other items, unhurriedly, and only after arranging them did she calmly say, "Don’t worry, after seeing you lose the bet, I immediately had more things bought for you."
Shu Ran: "...It’s not like I needed anything else."
Though it was quite shameful, at least it wasn’t a case of everything in one pot.
Looking at the table, there was a small box of summer-essential rice soaked in soup, a box of cold mixed salad, a piece of chicken breast, a bowl of vegetable soup, and additional items like mung bean soup sent by others.
Her dinner for the day included just a tiny bit more rice soaked in soup added to her usual diet meals. Compared to others’ feast of meat and various snacks, hers was pathetically plain.
Han Xizheng leaned back in his chair and glanced at what she had in front of her, "You’re only eating this much?"
This was while they were all famished.
Shu Ran: "I can only eat this much."
"I mean after removing one dish."
"..." Damn, she almost forgot; amidst this plain meal, she had to give one portion away.
While she was considering what to remove, the manager had already made the decision for her.
"How about the rice soaked in soup be removed since rice is high in sugar and calories."
"... I refuse."
She gave away the chicken breast and went with the box towards Chu Qiu, observing others’ dinners along the way.
Having been exhausted, thirsty, and hungry the whole day, energy was needed. At this point, the managers were no longer monitoring their diets, so indeed, it was a large spread of meat and fish, although mostly without staple foods.
Except for Mu Qiu’s side.
Assistant Liang strictly controlled the order of meals. Cheng Zhirang led Mu Qiu and Zhao Yu to the sunshade, where room temperature cooling soup and snow fungus soup were already laid out.
Cheng Zhirang, leading ahead, handed a serving of snow fungus soup to Mu Qiu, who naturally passed it to Zhao Yu behind her. Then as she turned her head, Cheng Zhirang picked up a second serving and held it to her mouth.
Mu Qiu leaned into the gesture, took a couple of sips, and licked the corners of her mouth before lightly pushing his hand away. He then set it down.
"The sweetness is just right. Aren’t you going to drink any?"
"I’m not very fond of this."
He pulled a chair for the two ladies to sit down before sitting next to Mu Qiu, taking a couple of sips of the cooling soup himself.
Just as he set down the soup bowl, Assistant Liang happened to bring out the food arrangements.
Congee and rice were provided, along with the deliciously tangy pickled lotus root, and even two boxes of octopus balls.
One was placed by Mu Qiu’s side, another by Zhao Yu’s. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Cheng Zhirang received none.
Zhao Yu thanked them and sat waiting for the main dishes to arrive.
This informal outdoor meal somehow gave a feeling of waiting for signature dishes at a fancy restaurant.
The final set meal was carried out by Chen Song, round-faced assistant, and Assistant Liang together, comprising three different colored insulated boxes, three layers each, with a rather hefty weight.
Mu Qiu opened her own, revealing the top layer of stewed egg with minced meat still steaming, which wobbled when picked up, the soy sauce dripped left and right, finally disappearing at the edges of the steamed egg, adding a layer of dark color to the tender yellow egg.
The middle layer contained lightly fried slices of yam, good for the stomach. The bottom layer had tender tomato and potato braised beef brisket, with the tomato-colored broth clinging to the potato cubes and brisket, bursting with a savory tangy sweet aroma upon uncovering.
There was also a similar soup container, hers with kelp bone broth.
This was simply too extravagant, one almost wanted to cry in front of this insulated box for two minutes.
When Zhao Yu opened her insulated box, the aroma was slightly different, and she leaned over to take a look, "Oh? Ours are different; mine is tomato and potato braised beef brisket, yours is Kung Pao chicken."
Since theirs were different, Cheng Zhirang’s should be too.
She leaned over to take a peek at Cheng Zhirang’s, waiting for him to display all the dishes.
"You have fish, huh."
Cheng Zhirang looked down at her dish, gently asking, "Would you like to switch?"
"No, I still prefer mine." She shook her head, but her gaze lingered on the beautifully presented huoxiang perch for several seconds.
Cheng Zhirang took a clean pair of chopsticks, picked out the meat from both sides of the fish, placed it in a bowl of rice Li Ama brought, and pushed it over to her.
"The outer skin is quite crispy, and it should taste fine. Give it a try."
The person who just said "no" was now smiling delightfully, sampling a bite, her eyes lighting up.
"This is delicious!"
"Then have some more."
He hadn’t even tasted a bite himself and had already transferred several pieces to her bowl.
Sitting on the side being a third wheel, Zhao Yu rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, thinking she really shouldn’t be here at this moment.
Those annoying couples, weren’t they just complaining about being so hungry their legs went weak? How come they’re now busy with this ’you serve, I’ll taste’ routine?
Turns out they weren’t stricken by sheer hunger after all.
She took a sip of hot soup quite enjoyably, followed by a scoop of steamed egg, a bite of Kung Pao chicken, and sighed in delight, nearly soaring to heaven.
"You guys really went all out with this feast??"
Guan Yu, drawn in by the aroma, sat across from them with a lunchbox, her gaze fixated on their insulated boxes, drooling.
Mu Qiu finally snapped out of the "delight of being with her boyfriend" and looked up at her.
Their dining table was at the edge of the sunshade, and looking over Guan Yu’s head, they could see the staff and other guests chatting enthusiastically, laughing with satisfaction.
Noisy, hot, and even with everyone’s heads drenched in sweat, but the barely noticeable evening breeze outside carried only joy, comfort, and happiness.
The corners of her mouth curled into a faint smile as she pulled her gaze back to look at Guan Yu.
"What are you eating? Did you give away the dish you lost?"
Mentioning this was infuriating. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Guan Yu said resentfully, "I strongly suggest that everyone sit and eat together; Chu Qiu’s winnings are almost too much to fit."
So many dishes that they couldn’t fit?
Mu Qiu immediately suggested uprightly to Cheng Zhirang, "I think eating together sounds nice too."
Cheng Zhirang was indifferent, but nodded and said, "Sure."
He wasn’t concerned about the number of dishes, but noticed that with one or two people per table, including agents and assistants, the table would never fill. And it’s impossible for the staff to squeeze in to sit with them, so many crew members of the show were still standing, squatting, without a seat.
If they all sat together, agents and assistants could sit at two other tables, leaving space for many crew members.
