By the time they returned to camp, Chu Yi'an and the other two had already dealt with everything. Seeing Gu Wancheng and the others come back in high spirits, Jiang Yu turned green. He turned away, leaving them with, "I'm a little tired. I'm going to rest," and went back to the bamboo hut.
No one bothered with him. Everything that needed handling had been handled anyway, so they let him be.
Chu Yi'an took the wild blueberries from Jian Yue and put them away.
Looking at the box Zhao Chengyu was carrying, Xu Xiashi asked curiously, "You found another box? What's inside?"
Gu Wancheng said somewhat speechlessly, "A pot. Even a few plates would have been better."
Xu Xiashi looked speechlessly up at the sky. Whoever had put a pot in there was a real genius. Thank goodness they had found it on the second day. If they had only found it after ten days or more, what use would it have been?
Chu Yi'an said, "We'll have to trade with the production team for a few plates later."
Jian Yue folded his arms, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What a slave driver."
Chu Yi'an silently handed him a few wild blueberries he had just washed. Jian Yue took them and popped them into his mouth, biting down hard as though they were Chen Liqing.
Gu Wancheng saw it and chuckled quietly.
[Chengcheng, what are you laughing at? Tell me!]
[That expression on Chengcheng looks so familiar!]
[What exactly is Chengcheng laughing at?! (stands up in agitation, scratches butt, then sits back down)]
Chu Yi'an turned slightly away, looking a little awkward, and slipped his hand into his pocket.
No one else had noticed what had just happened.
Gu Wancheng clapped his hands, his smile widening considerably. "I'll go trade for plates."
Chen Liqing happened to hear him. "..."
Xu Xiashi patted his shoulder. "Go on. I have faith in you." He definitely wouldn't come out losing.
Gu Wancheng exchanged a smile with her. Nothing needed to be said.
[Chen Liqing: Stay away from me!]
Gu Wancheng got up and headed toward the production team.
"Director Chen, I'd like to trade for plates." His slightly narrowed peach blossom eyes fixed on Chen Liqing.
Chen Liqing hurried out, rubbing his hands together like a fly. "Wancheng, how many plates would you like?"
"What's the rate for one plate?" Gu Wancheng asked.
"Well, that depends. I'll give you a discount. One..."
Gu Wancheng cut him off. "One moon snail for one plate, right? Give me five to start with."
Chen Liqing stared at him, his eyes wide with shock.
"No way. One octopus for one plate."
[He could've just robbed you, but he actually gave you a plate. Seriously, I'm crying.]
[Director Chen really has some nerve.]
"Really? Are you sure?" Gu Wancheng looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile.
Chen Liqing said shamelessly, "That was the price before the discount. I understand you don't have that many octopuses. How about this: five moon snails for one plate."
[He understands? Director Chen is as shameless as ever.]
[Even an atomic bomb couldn't damage Director Chen's thick skin.]
"Heh. Thirteen moon snails for five plates."
"Wancheng, that's not how discounts work."
"What's wrong with bargaining for half off?" Gu Wancheng's peach blossom eyes curved slightly, his laugh soft and sweet.
As the viewers fell under his spell and started drooling over their screens, they had no idea how much pressure Chen Liqing was under as he stood before Gu Wancheng.
Although his smile was gentle, Chen Liqing felt an extremely powerful presence behind it. All he could say was that he truly lived up to being President Bo's wife. It felt as though Gu Wancheng would knife him the very next second if he dared say no.
Chen Liqing immediately backed down. It wasn't that he was afraid of him. It was just that his husband was an investor.
So he said, "It's not out of the question, but thirteen moon snails is too few. You can only get three plates."
"Deal." Gu Wancheng nodded in agreement. He hadn't expected to get five plates for thirteen moon snails anyway.
He went back, picked out thirteen moon snails that didn't look particularly lively, and handed them over, happily taking the plates from them.
Looking at the moon snails on the table, Chen Liqing waved a hand. "Steam them for me."
"Wancheng, you're back." Zhao Chengyu stepped forward to take the plates.
"Mm-hmm. Thirteen moon snails."
"Have some fruit." Xu Xiashi pushed the washed wild blueberries toward him.
Gu Wancheng thanked her, then asked, "How long have Chaochao and the others been gone?"
Xu Xiashi's brows drew together slightly as she said uncertainly, "About two hours, I think. Speaking of which, I'm a little worried about Mi Tu too."
Gu Wancheng sighed softly. "I'm just afraid they'll be having so much fun they won't want to come back."
Jian Yue said, "No way. They'll know to come back when they're hungry."
Gu Wancheng thought, With the production team watching them, they probably won't eat anything they shouldn't, but there are still wild fruits out there. I'm just worried they'll fill up on those.
Jian Yue asked, "Speaking of which, what dishes are you planning to make?"
Chu Yi'an replied, "Stir-fried moon snails, steamed moon snails, moon snail salad, stir-fried octopus, and kelp soup."
Jian Yue's head swam as a whole string of moon snails floated through his mind.
Since they were on an island, it grew dark relatively quickly.
After much difficulty, Xiaoxiao led Chaochao and the others through the task and returned in triumph.
After receiving word from Chen Liqing, the adults waited for them outside camp.
Several tiny figures appeared.
At the sight of Mi Tu carrying her basket, Xu Xiashi's eyes suddenly grew wet. She went over and took the basket from her, then noticed the red marks its handle had left on her palm. Her heart ached.
She heard Mi Tu's sweet, gentle voice. "Mommy, I brought you flowers."
Her tears suddenly fell.
Mi Tu reached up to wipe her tears. "Mommy, don't cry."
Chaochao dashed past them. He had clearly played to his heart's content and still looked full of energy.
"Daddy, here!"
Gu Wancheng took the basket from him and looked at his raised hand. He was holding a few flowers, the little yellow blossoms filling Gu Wancheng's vision.
Gu Wancheng tilted his head. "Are these for me?"
Chaochao nodded solemnly. "Mm-hmm. The flowers are for you."
Deeply touched, Gu Wancheng accepted the flowers. Oh no. I think I've got sand in my eyes.
"Thank you, Chaochao. Daddy loves them."
Chaochao turned his head aside. "Hmph. I knew you'd like them."
Looking at the awkward little boy, Gu Wancheng smiled. "Come on, let's head back. Xiaoxiao, come here."
Xiaoxiao remained silent. Gu Wancheng rubbed his head and took his basket.
Jian Yue looked down at Zuozuo plaintively. "Didn't you bring anything back for me?"
Zuozuo huffed. "Those are mine. You don't get any."
"Here, big brother."
"Thank you, Tongtong."
"Daddy, hurry up. Let's get them into water."
Once they returned, they called Jiang Yu out to sort through what the children had brought back. They certainly weren't going to leave him out of a chance to work.
His fans started squawking again, saying they were targeting poor, helpless Jiang Yu.
But the moment they posted, other netizens argued back: if they didn't call him, they were excluding him; if they did, they were targeting him. What geniuses of logic they were.
Once everything was sorted, they discovered that the children had picked not only shepherd's purse, but Bubble Fruit as well. Although some weeds had gotten mixed in, that wasn't much of a problem.
Gu Wancheng and the other two hurried to the creek to retrieve the moon snails.
They had already traded with the production team for scallions, ginger, and garlic.
First, they washed the moon snails, then stir-fried them over high heat with scallions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings. They added an appropriate amount of salt and various other seasonings, then finally a handful of shepherd's purse and some water to simmer together. Since there were children, they didn't add any chilies.
Moon snail meat was relatively tender, so it couldn't be cooked too long or it would easily overcook.
The second dish was steamed moon snails. This was simple: they just scattered scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, cooking wine, and other ingredients over them, then put them in the pot to steam until done.
The third dish was moon snail salad. They simply boiled the moon snails, then mixed them thoroughly with scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, vinegar, sugar, and chilies.
The final dishes, stir-fried octopus and kelp soup, were even simpler.
[Our Brother Chu never disappoints!]
[Who's going to be lucky enough to get Brother Chu someday?!]
Soon, everything was cooked, plated, and on the table. Unlike the casual meal on the first day, tonight's dinner was truly good, with color, aroma, and flavor all present, even if the variety was a little limited.