Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Fried Small Fish
The staff and audience were dumbfounded, but Tuanzi smiled sweetly as she gathered up the eggplant slices and added some salt to marinate them.
"Now, can Miaomiao stir-fry the eggplant?"
Staff: "...Yes, she can."
Tuanzi had stocked up on firewood yesterday, and she quickly used a lighter to start the fire.
The earthen stove was a bit high for her, so she found a stool, stood on it, and heated the oil in the pan.
By this time, the marinated eggplant was ready. She squeezed out the excess water and tossed them in, not needing to add any more salt.
She held the spatula with both hands and started stir-frying the eggplant.
Since they didn’t have chili or garlic at home, she just stir-fried the eggplant, occasionally adding some seasoning.
Tuanzi had a serious look on her small face as she cooked earnestly, but to the staff and audience, it looked like she was playing house.
[She adds seasoning from time to time; it’s like she’s playing house.]
[Serious little Miaomiao stir-frying is so cute.]
[Cute? It’s wasting food.]
[Exactly, and the staff doesn’t stop her. Isn’t this teaching the wrong things to the audience? Wasting food is wrong.]
[This little girl is just trying to show off.]
[Can’t you just trust her? I think she’s quite skilled.]
For other audience members, the occasional criticism of Gu Miaomiao wasn’t surprising anymore.
People like that are either trolls or professional haters, or even those who are harsh on others but lenient on themselves.
They have strict standards for others, regardless of age or gender, but never apply the same standards to themselves, always criticizing.
At this moment, an unknown staff member murmured, "It smells so good."
Upon hearing this, Tuanzi spun around quickly, a proud smile appearing on her chubby face.
She slightly raised her chin, giving off an impression of proud arrogance that wasn’t off-putting.
"I told you, Miaomiao’s cooking skills are great. She even cooked for my brothers before. My second brother ate everything, not a crumb left, the plate was shiny and white."
[Hahaha]
[Does Gu Che know his sister is spilling his secrets?]
[Oh no, I can already picture Gu Che licking the plate.]
[This imagery is too strong.]
On that very day, the hashtag ’Gu Che’s Clean Plate’ trended above ’Gu Che’s Concert Tour’ on social media.
Fans, onlookers, and haters all clicked on the thread eagerly.
No pictures, no truth, but it was related to the new show "Leisurely Country Life," so they clicked to check it out.
Tuanzi served the eggplant and placed it on the small dining table.
She folded her hands behind her back and circled the table twice, occasionally glancing towards the cameraman.
[???]
[What is she doing?]
[She’s looking at us.]
[No, she’s looking at the cameraman.]
The cameraman was a bit confused, taking over a minute to react, and quickly gave the dish of eggplant a close-up shot.
This homemade eggplant wasn’t oily or dull in color; its hue was just right. Even through the lens, the aroma seemed to waft.
[Oh no, I’m suddenly craving some.]
[Me too, it really looks delicious.]
[I’ve made homemade eggplant before, but it always turns black. Her skills are better than mine.]
[Stop exaggerating. It just looks good; it might not be fully cooked.]
Tuanzi also served the porridge to cool, and soon after, Gu Peihai returned with dirt-stained pants.
Seeing his face, Tuanzi exclaimed in shock, "Brother Pei Hai, you look like wilted greens!"
Gu Peihai, both hungry and tired, sighed.
The farm work he just did was too difficult for him. For someone who excelled academically since childhood and continued winning awards easily after joining the entertainment industry as a Film Emperor, this was a huge blow.
But fortunately, he managed to exchange some food.
"I got some steamed buns and a small bowl of fried fish."
The fish were finger-length, looking golden and crispy. A bite revealed even the bones were fried crisp and could be eaten directly.
Tuanzi ate them one by one.
Thinking about her cousin’s hard work earning them, she took the initiative to give him a piece.
"Brother Pei Hai, you worked hard, eat up."
Gu Peihai took a bite, almost moved to tears.
He finally got to eat some meat.
Upon seeing the stir-fried eggplant on the table, he was a bit puzzled, "Who cooked for our family?"
No one answered.
Gu Peihai looked down to see his sister folding her arms, bouncing her little legs, puffing her cheeks, and sneaking glances at him.
How to describe that look? It mixed a bit of anger with a sliver of expectation and pride.
He understood.
"This stir-fried eggplant looks delicious; it must be made by my sister. Am I right?"
Tuanzi grinned widely.
"You guessed right! Your reward is delicious eggplant!"
Gu Peihai sat down, picked up the chopsticks, and with a face full of anticipation, picked up a piece and placed it in his mouth under his sister’s expectant gaze.
He was determined that even if it was worse than what he could cook, he’d use all his acting skills to show the eggplant tasted great.
Once the eggplant entered his mouth, a delicious and savory taste spread, and its texture was soft and glutinous. In other words, there was no need to act; it was genuinely tasty.
Gu Peihai slightly widened his eyes.
Tuanzi anxiously clutched her clothes, "Is it good?"
"Super good."
Gu Peihai took another bite, savoring it, with tears almost welling up in his eyes.
"Why is even my sister’s cooking better than mine?"
Could it be he was hopelessly clumsy at cooking? No wonder his younger brother disliked playing with him.
The Film Emperor was moved by the delicious food and saddened by his poor cooking skills, drinking two bowls of porridge with tears in his eyes.
The siblings finished the stir-fried eggplant, a small bowl of fried fish, several steamed buns, and a cooker full of porridge.
Full, Gu Peihai suddenly felt lazy.
"I just want to lie in bed and sleep now!"
Tuanzi glanced at him and smiled kindly, "No, you can’t. We still have to plant vegetables."
Gu Peihai: ╥﹏╥
The siblings started looking for tools to soak the seeds.
Once the preparations were done, they picked up the seed packets again.
Tuanzi excitedly said, "Brother Pei Hai, this small bok choy is a fast-growing variety, ready to harvest in twenty days."
Gu Peihai: "This baby spinach grows quickly too."
In addition, they bought several kinds of radishes and vegetable seeds suitable for autumn sowing.
Gu Peihai confidently declared, "This morning, I learned how to transplant from that uncle. Once the seeds sprout into seedlings, I can transplant them. By then, the entire vegetable field will be filled with our vegetables."
Tuanzi waved her hand grandly.
"And half of this courtyard, we can not only plant for ourselves but also feed the chicks and ducklings."
The siblings stood with their hands on their hips, looking at the courtyard as if surveying their conquered territory.
The staff couldn’t bear to watch and reminded them.
"The vegetable field hasn’t been plowed yet, the courtyard soil is still messy, and the chicks and ducklings are hungry."
The siblings: "..."
They started working hard with a sigh.
The other guests faced similar challenges.
This time, the chances for the five groups of guests to meet were minimal as each group had their own tasks to handle.
The production team always chose the most interesting footage for the central camera, while other times, viewers had to switch to the live stream of the guest they were interested in.
Currently, Gu Peihai’s group had the most popularity, followed by Su Hanjiang’s group.
Su Hanjiang, originally from a farming family, became interested in acting and entered the film academy. Despite his long career, he never forgot his roots and was quite dexterous with farm work.
However, he had a romantic and mischievous son. Their cooperation resulted in 1+1