From the standpoint of being inhumane, the production team was actually quite humane. At least they provided free breakfast every day.
There was an unlimited supply of boiled eggs and soy milk, and everyone could take two steamed white buns.
When Xie Ji came downstairs, he saw Mu Yao sitting at the dining table, frowning at the breakfast on the table in dismay.
The buns were certainly buns, every one plain and unadorned, solid and dense, with the sort of dryness that made it seem as though one bite could suck every drop of liquid out of your mouth.
There was not even a strip of pickled vegetable.
The soy milk was "lovingly prepared" from instant powder. Some undissolved powder was even floating against the sides of the cups. A mouthful of that would probably be harder to swallow than the buns.
The boiled eggs were even more bland and tasteless, utterly unappetizing.
Mu Yao was truly hungry. He had not eaten a proper meal since coming to the island.
Yesterday on the boat, something had inexplicably gone wrong with him, resulting in Shang Yan kicking him overboard. Only after soaking in the seawater for fifteen minutes had he barely managed to calm down.
The first task he had accepted after arriving on the island was cleaning a fishpond.
The fishpond covered over a hundred square meters. He had spent the entire afternoon trudging through sludge to clean it, barely earning enough startup funds for the pond.
Last night, to save points, he had only exchanged them for a sandwich in the shop.
A grown man, and one who had done excessive physical labor at that, had eaten nothing but a sandwich over an entire day and night.
Mu Yao felt as though he was about to faint from hunger.
But the food provided by the production team was utterly unpalatable. Even with his stomach growling, Mu Yao found it hard to take a bite.
Shang Yan was particular too. He took one look at the food on the table, then turned and left.
Zhou Heyu, however, did not mind at all. He took his portion back to his room.
[Damn them, how could they feed our young master this stuff!]
[What's wrong with this stuff? This is what ordinary people eat for breakfast, okay? Sure, they used to be young masters from wealthy families, but isn't the whole point of this show to become farmers? Of course they have to eat this!]
[Exactly. At least they have such a luxurious place to stay. What real farmer has accommodations this good? I suggest the production team move the guests somewhere else, or people will really think farmers live in places this nice.]
[Why not just give the guests two bricks and have them build it themselves? No beds, no air conditioners, no refrigerators, not even a toilet. Such wonderful accommodations. Your reward is to live there for two years.]
[I agree. The production team really is going a bit too far. This isn't the young masters' farmland, it's the young masters' death warrant!]
[Zhou Heyu's adapting just fine. These rich second-generation kids are just spoiled rotten! You women just like these sissy, glamorous men. Guys willing to work hard like us are the ones with real potential! Marry a man like us and you won't regret it!]
[Male, seeking a wife. I'm 41 this year, the prime of a man's life, and very handsome (not being narcissistic, people call me handsome when I go grocery shopping). I have some savings, though not much (3,000 yuan), but I have a job with excellent prospects (food delivery). I earn over two thousand a month, but if I work hard, I can definitely reach ten thousand. I have a primary school education and have admired good students since childhood, so I require a partner with a bachelor's doctorate or higher. She must earn her own money and not ask me for any. I don't like women who aren't financially independent. She must do housework and cook well, with three meals a day and no repeats all month. The whole reason I'm getting a wife is for a hot meal. Oh, and preferably she should own a house and car. Bride price must not exceed three thousand yuan.]
[Oh, an average yet overconfident man. Never mind, then.]
[What rotten luck, seeing this first thing in the morning.]
[Summary: wants a live-in maid with a house, a car, and a bachelor's doctorate for three thousand yuan, not per month, but for life. Are you posting job ads as marriage ads now? Could he actually be a genius?]
The topic in the bullet comments was quickly derailed, and no one paid attention to the young masters' inability to stomach their breakfast anymore.
After washing up, Xie Ji walked over to the table, pulled out a chair opposite Mu Yao, sat down, and picked up a bun to stuff into his mouth.
He had traveled through so many worlds and endured plenty of hardship. The food the production team provided was quite decent to him. Back when he had transmigrated as a beggar, he had even eaten white clay.
Mu Yao froze for a moment, raising his eyes to look at Xie Ji eating with great relish across from him.
Xie Ji kept his eyes lowered, concentrating on his meal, his wandering gaze resting on the food. He took a big bite of bun and chewed slowly, the food bulging in his cheeks like a little hamster hoarding food.
A faint wheaty fragrance drifted beneath his nose. Mu Yao suddenly felt that the meal before him was not so bad after all. His mouth began to water, and appetite took over his brain.
Looking at Xie Ji's face, he lowered his head and bit into a bun.
The fragrance of wheat spread through his mouth. The buns were actually steamed very well, with plenty of spring and a satisfying chew. Combined with the incompletely dissolved soy milk, they had a distinctive flavor.
Xie Ji ate quickly, but he did not wolf his food down. He managed to maintain both elegant table manners and a rapid eating pace, and paired with that pretty face of his, it truly whetted the appetite.
For the first time, Mu Yao deeply appreciated the true meaning of "a feast for the eyes."
It was as though, as long as he watched Xie Ji eat, he could chew with relish even if all he had before him was the northwest wind.
Staring at Xie Ji, Mu Yao finished two buns, two cups of soy milk, and three boiled eggs with that face as his accompaniment.
His hunger faded. Mu Yao sat in his chair in utter satisfaction and rubbed his stomach, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Xie Ji's face.
He had never noticed before, but this fake young master of the Xie Household was indeed very "appetizing."
Only then did Xie Ji notice Mu Yao's gaze. He tilted his head at him. "What is it?"
Was there money on his face?
"Nothing." Mu Yao raised his eyebrows, then suddenly propped his cheek on his hand and batted his eyes at Xie Ji. "We haven't really gotten to know each other since joining the show, have we? Let me introduce myself. I'm Mu Yao."
He extended his hand toward Xie Ji and gave him a sweet smile. "Very happy to meet you."
Xie Ji wiped his mouth. "How happy?"
Mu Yao paused before forcing out, "Very happy... I guess."
Xie Ji nodded. "You're happy too soon."
Mu Yao: "..."
When it came to killing a conversation, Xie Ji never disappointed.
Lu Xunji came down the spiral staircase from the second floor just in time to hear this exchange, and could not hold back a laugh.
Before Mu Yao could deploy his myriad flirting techniques, Xie Ji's innate sex-repelling power had already crushed them. He looked a little shattered.
Perhaps no one in this world could emerge unscathed from a flirtatious atmosphere with Xie Ji.
Xie Ji's mouth, the waters of forgotten love.
Ji Shi followed behind him, shoved past him to get downstairs, and plopped himself carelessly beside Xie Ji. Draping an arm around his shoulders, he bared his teeth at Mu Yao like a little beast guarding its food. "Who's happy to meet you? Little Ji, ignore him. He's a total scumbag. He's dumped more partners than I have money!"
Xie Ji looked utterly serious. "! That really is a lot."
Ji Shi said, "Right?"
Mu Yao clicked his tongue. "Ji Shi, what the hell is wrong with you? Haven't seen you in a while. Have dung beetles been visiting your brain again?"