WS - Chapter 76
Chapter 76
Yu Nianbing, who had been counting to five hundred and two, paused slightly at this number that seemed a little interesting yet very ordinary. She turned her head to look at Song Shiyue, a faint smile rippling across her face. "Just two hundred and eighty-one."
The number Yu Nianbing casually spoke made Song Shiyue, who had been rushing against time, exhale in relief and smile as well.
The viewers on StarNet, however, were not as easily fooled as Song Shiyue, who had been busy working and hadn't even checked the time on her wristband.
"How is it two eighty-one? Was Yu Nianbing counting at a one... one... one... two... two... two... pace?"
"Half a beat slow? I already counted to over four hundred and ninety, hahaha..."
"So I wasn't the only one counting. I reached five hundred and seventeen!"
"Everyone counts at different speeds. No one specified a uniform pace. I was so hyped watching Sister Song smashing frogs earlier that I counted a little too passionately and hit over seven hundred just now, hahaha. Am I the highest?"
"I concede, I concede. Four hundred seventy-three here."
"Just passed six hundred, bowing out."
"What's the point of counting high? Are you a number machine? I happened to count right to 520, so I'm the best, right! — From a Little Sunshine straddling the fence"
"520? Hahaha! Works for me!"
"Too bad Yu Nianbing only counted to a little over two hundred. If she had happened to count to five-two-oh, how meaningful would that be? It would've been super sweet!"
"So true, so true. Just thinking about it makes my blood sugar spike!"
"It's sweet right now too. Isn't this the most tender smile Yu Nianbing has shown since the show started?"
"Is it? She also smiled very tenderly when she shared the taro soup with Sister Song last time."
"She was also very tender when she saved the biscuit-wrapped meat for Song Shiyue."
"Timidly raising a little hand here. So do you guys think Yu Nianbing was afraid to embarrass Song Shiyue, who had said three hundred before, so she deliberately said a number under three hundred?"
"???"
"!!!"
"Why, why does the danmaku always have so many masterminds!"
"So did Yu Nianbing count to 520? Rubs hands, opens mouth for candy!"
"..."
Unlike the viewers on StarNet who wished they could airdrop a StarNet client to Yu Nianbing just to personally ask what number she had actually counted to.
Song Shiyue's attention had instead fallen on Yu Nianbing's complexion, which looked more relaxed and better than she had imagined.
Thank goodness. It seemed that indulging Captain Yang in catching that third frog hadn't startled Yu Nianbing into feeling worse.
It was just this midday...
"How about I use the jerky and jicama to simmer some soup for you at noon?" Song Shiyue thought for a moment and spoke.
"Hm?" Yu Nianbing pointed at herself. "Are you asking me?"
Song Shiyue smiled. "Right. Who else but you?"
Ning Chuyang, who had been standing by a tree two steps away for several sentences' worth of time yet remained unacknowledged, spoke up faintly. "There's still me..."
Song Shiyue turned her head to look, her face showing some confusion. "Aren't you in Mu Xingzhou's group?"
Ning Chuyang: "..."
She knew it! The moment she failed to contend for Song Shiyue during group division, she had lost this person!
This person was really so rigid, strictly differentiating closeness based on group divisions? Didn't she know that girls were natural allies?
Ning Chuyang was so angry she could barely speak.
Even when Song Shiyue added another line afterward: "Do you want some soup at noon?" Ning Chuyang didn't want to bother with her anymore... for now!
Fuming, Ning Chuyang shot Song Shiyue a glare and ran off toward the pond.
Song Shiyue felt somewhat baffled, yet she turned her gaze back to Yu Nianbing. "What's with her?"
Yu Nianbing merely smiled and didn't answer.
"So, are you having soup at noon? I have a feeling this place might be the Noon Rest Stop, after all, there's a water source here. Although you never know, there could be one up ahead too. I'll go ask Director Zhang in a bit." Not getting an answer, Song Shiyue circled back to the previous topic.
Yu Nianbing shook her head and spoke. "I won't have any. Didn't we say we're eating... frog..."
"If you don't dare to eat it, just have jerky. We have jerky anyway." Song Shiyue picked up on the pause in Yu Nianbing's words.
Yu Nianbing hesitated for a moment, then solidified her earlier answer. "I'll eat frog too. Jerky can keep. It's fine. If we don't conserve a little, we'll end up having to eat bugs later. Frog is much better than bugs."
That was indeed sound reasoning.
Those who adapt to the environment always fare better.
All along this journey, aside from that one venomous snake at the very start, the "prey" the production team had secretly prepared later on, and those strange things Dog had caught, Song Shiyue had yet to see any true wild game. Naturally, she couldn't make any promises.
Since she couldn't guarantee protecting someone into a pampered greenhouse flower, then not hindering a person's growth was a basic principle.
Seeing Yu Nianbing so resolute, Song Shiyue didn't press further. She only added a reminder: "When we deal with the frogs later, if you don't dare to watch, don't come over. I reckon Ning Chuyang will be back soon too. You two can chat. Don't go gathering firewood yet. Wait for me to come back."
The little feet that had been itching to try shuffled forward half a step, but ultimately drew back again.
Alright, Yu Nianbing admitted, she didn't quite dare to watch.
Song Shiyue was about to leave after giving her reminder.
"This time, how high are you counting?" The moment Yu Nianbing opened her mouth, she herself was slightly startled.
"Mm..." Song Shiyue calculated the number of frogs and thought for a second. "Three hundred?"
Another three hundred.
Yu Nianbing had by now a rough estimate of what Song Shiyue's "three hundred" meant, so she smiled and waved her off.
As for firewood, as long as she didn't enter the forest and just gathered some at the edge, it should be safe enough.
Before heading over to the pond, Song Shiyue first went to the back and called out to Director Zhang. She confirmed that this place was indeed the Noon Rest Stop and the midday water replenishment point. It was only because they had risen early and walked fast in the morning that they had arrived ahead of schedule.
No wonder. Although this pond wasn't large and had frogs, the water was quite clear. Looking at it now, it might even be a man-made pond.
Having received confirmation from the production team, even if it was still a bit early, they ought to start preparing lunch.
Truthfully, dealing with frogs was definitely easier than dealing with a snake. It didn't necessarily have to be Song Shiyue doing it.
When Song Shiyue returned to the pondside, the three male guests had just finished counting the frogs. Seeing her approach, they all waved excitedly, telling her to guess how many they had caught in total.
The three bags were placed together, forming quite a large pile.
Song Shiyue didn't need to look closely. She opened her mouth and said, "Thirty-six frogs."
"Hahaha, amazing, amazing. Teacher Song knew the count of every stone she threw," Zhuang Jiachuan said. Having seen Captain Yang suffer a setback earlier, the pent-up frustration in his heart had completely dissipated, and he found Song Shiyue's swift, clean strikes more and more endearing. His words now were naturally full of praise.
Although it was praise, it was also indeed the truth.
"For these frogs, Teacher Song, your group gets twenty. We've all discussed it," Mu Xingzhou spoke up.
The others all echoed that they were still benefiting from Song Shiyue's skill; otherwise, even given three more hours, they probably couldn't have caught this many.
If this were the apocalypse, Song Shiyue would have accepted their offer. After all, in catching the frogs earlier, the technical skill of everyone's division of labor was right here.
But, this was, after all... just a variety show...
And besides, food right now was still quite plentiful.
Song Shiyue, of course, wouldn't accept. She knew even more clearly that even if she accepted, Yu Nianbing absolutely would not.
It wasn't a life-or-death survival juncture anyway. After two rounds of back-and-forth declines, they settled back on the rule of dividing per headcount.
There were thirty-six frogs here, plus Captain Yang's three, making thirty-nine in total. Song Shiyue actually suspected that it had originally been calculated for seven people: six times seven, forty-two frogs. Maybe when Wang Daming released them, before they arrived, a few had escaped, leaving this current number.
It was fine as it was. The six per person for the six of them was perfectly preserved. The frogs were quite plump too; lunch should be a filling meal.
"Let me handle these frogs. Everyone's water canteens shouldn't be too depleted from the morning, right? Bring out those two stainless-steel lunchboxes now and start boiling water. It's still early; a few rounds of boiling should produce enough for everyone." Song Shiyue looked at the pond, having formed some considerations in her mind.
Letting slide the matter of the snake earlier was one thing, but although the frogs seemed very difficult to deal with now, the three male guests felt it wouldn't be right to always let Song Shiyue, a young woman, stand at the forefront. They spoke in unison, telling Song Shiyue to rest—they would handle it.
Had it not been for other considerations, Song Shiyue would have let them. It wasn't anything critical, after all, and there was no sense in refusing someone's goodwill or blocking their screen time.
But now...
The three were earnestly enthusiastic. Song Shiyue finally spoke to explain: "Because dealing with this... it's rather unsightly. I want to do it in the water..."
Hearing this, the three had a moment of enlightenment.
Thinking about it, that was probably true. A frog, that thing... didn't it... still move as you were killing it?
"We really can't do it in the water. We'll have to trouble Teacher Song again..." Zhuang Jiachuan was the first to sensibly retreat a step. "We'll go gather firewood and boil water. What else does Teacher Song need? We'll go look."
What could Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi say besides yes? This thing was already hard enough to kill. Who could kill so many in the water...
Naturally, each of them dispersed to find firewood, stones, and to set up a stove to boil water.
Ning Chuyang didn't dare linger either. The moment Song Shiyue rolled up her sleeves, she scuttled away after the three.
Everyone had left. The three bags of frogs were all still stunned. Song Shiyue paid them no mind for now. She got up, casually picked up a relatively flat large stone from the ground, and dug a pit not far from the pond.
Then, between the pond and the pit, she dug an earthen channel that sloped from high ground to low ground, diverting the pond water over.
So what was still needed...
While the few were gathering branches at the forest edge, they saw Song Shiyue running back and forth, sometimes picking up stones, sometimes picking up large leaves...
Ning Chuyang was truly curious. She followed back to the pond for a look and saw Song Shiyue sitting beside a pit that had appeared from who-knows-where, both hands stretching under the water, constantly stirring. Over her hands was draped a large leaf that made it impossible to see the underwater movements... Ning Chuyang wanted to look closer, but then saw a blush of pink bloom in the pit water. A moment later, Song Shiyue lifted out of the water a skinned, headless frog that was still twitching, and placed it onto a large leaf off to the side...
Focused on her frog-butchering assembly line, Song Shiyue didn't notice that not far away, Ning Chuyang had already covered her mouth and run off with a squeal, before she could cover the cleaned frogs with another large leaf.
Meanwhile, the viewers on StarNet, though also squealing, did so for reasons vastly different from Ning Chuyang's.
"Sister Song is so considerate. She must have been worried that we watching the livestream would feel uncomfortable, so she did it this way!"
"The large leaf in the water pit basically blocks the action of killing the frogs. Blind killing, pure blind killing. Why is my Sister Song so awesome!"
"Sure enough, she's the daughter of a butcher's household. Casually chopping cattle, blindfolded frog killing hahaha..."
"Fanned, fanned. This time it's not because of the Song-Yu CP, but simply because I'm a fan of such an amazing and considerate person!"
"If I may be blunt, I think Song Shiyue doing it like this isn't necessarily for us... From an honest Little Mooncake"
"You Little Mooncakes are almost too much. What's the deal? Yu Nianbing is still standing so far away on the bank. If Sister Song isn't doing it for us, could she possibly be doing it for her?"
"Honestly, Mooncake candy is basically real at this point. Don't you guys go making fake candy to eat, okay."
"Right, precisely. Give us girlfriend-fans some space to enjoy candy too. Sister Song, marry me~~~~~"
"No, no, no! Marry me!"
In just two days' time, those viewers on StarNet had managed to transition from Song Shiyue antis to CP fans, and then to girlfriend fans. It truly matched the distinctive character of the StarNet era.
However, no matter how the viewers on StarNet speculated or argued.
The truth was always singular.
When Guan Yongyi brought the stainless-steel lunchbox over to the pond to fetch water, he also saw the setup Song Shiyue had created.
Unlike Ning Chuyang, who had run off scared, Guan Yongyi was quite interested in this newly constructed little spot. He walked over and watched Song Shiyue kill two frogs before he couldn't help but ask, "That looks very impressive, but why did you set it up like this?"
"Isn't the pond water meant for drinking too? Not great to kill them inside it," Song Shiyue answered while nimbly dispatching frogs.
"No, no, no. What I'm asking is, why cover the water surface with a leaf? Doesn't that make it dangerous since you can't see?" Guan Yongyi pointed at the large leaf currently covering the back of Song Shiyue's hand.
"That..." Song Shiyue smiled. "If Teacher Yu is watching this program and a frog-killing scene suddenly appears, she'd be scared witless, right?"
Guan Yongyi paused, asking subconsciously, "Teacher Yu still watches this program?"
"A past interview said she watches all the finished productions she films herself." Song Shiyue smiled again. "This program seems to have an edited version. If a frog-killing close-up suddenly comes on then, she'll probably jump right off her sofa."
So... she had already even figured out that she watches this program from her sofa?
Guan Yongyi felt something was off, yet the information was both scattered and sparse. He could only rub his head and walk away with a lunchbox full of water and a head full of question marks.
This was the truth. A truth that made some people rejoice and some people squeal.
Due to limitations on seasonings and cooking utensils, the guests' lunch today was Stone-Slab Frog.
The best head chef, Yu Nianbing, didn't dare look much. The second chef, Song Shiyue, had already done an untold number of times more work today than everyone else combined...
Mu Xingzhou took in the indescribable expressions on the head chef's and second chef's faces when Zhuang Jiachuan had volunteered. He raised his hand and took over the task of making lunch.
The one who didn't dare look and the one who needed to rest both withdrew to the second line.
Although Yu Nianbing had said she'd eat frog together for lunch, even looking at the cleaned, washed raw frogs that were brought over, she didn't dare to look much.
Perhaps, perhaps it would look better once cooked...
Such a notion, when Mu Xingzhou brought over a cooked Stone-Slab Frog for everyone to sample the flavor, burst like a flimsy soap bubble with a pop.
It was still very frightening...
If she requested it to be cut into pieces, would that be too much trouble for Mu Xingzhou... they weren't even that familiar...
Yu Nianbing struggled between her survival instinct and her level of acquaintance. She couldn't help but think: if it were Song Shiyue cooking right now...
If it were Song Shiyue, the difficulty of asking would probably decrease a bit.
Mu Xingzhou used one frog from his own team to test the flavor. The frog fried on a stone slab coated with a thin layer of butter retained its juices while also mixing in the aroma of butter. With advance marination using scallions, ginger, and salt, the flavor was already acceptable.
It was just that, whether it was Mu Xingzhou the cook or the others tasting it, everyone felt the flavor could be enhanced a bit more. Mu Xingzhou thought for a moment, then took the frog that had been picked at a few bites and put it over an open flame to roast.
After a few rounds of this, the surface of the frog, already saturated with butter, tightened over the open flame and roasted into a layer of crispy, oil-fragrant meat. One bite and it had a bit of that battered, deep-fried crispy sensation—truly crispy outside, chewy inside—making it quite interesting to eat. Even Ning Chuyang, who originally had some lingering reservations about the frog, couldn't help but repeatedly "sample the flavor."
Thus, from then on, the officially prepared frogs were all first fried on the iron plate until seventy percent cooked, and then collectively finished over the open flame to roast the remaining thirty percent.
Soon, one finished frog after another was placed onto large leaves that had been washed and prepared in advance. Mu Xingzhou started calling for everyone to come get them.
Even Yu Nianbing, who hadn't even participated in the flavor sampling just now, sat somewhat far away. Even if she had to eat what came next, she hoped to be the very last person to receive one.
But Song Shiyue, sitting beside her, stood up the moment Mu Xingzhou called people over to divide the frogs. She even lowered her head and said to Yu Nianbing: "You sit. I'll get it for you."
With that, Song Shiyue walked off, completely missing the hand Yu Nianbing had weakly raised half a palm's height in an attempt to stop her.
This heart full of gratitude... Sometimes it was deeply moving. Other times... it was deeply speechless.
Yu Nianbing watched Song Shiyue's back as she strode toward the fire, a wry smile on her face.
Never mind the frog's appearance. Having been both fried and roasted, even the smell was very fragrant now.
In a blink, they had been busy until lunchtime, and this was the perfect moment for things to come out of the pan.
When Mu Xingzhou called, aside from Yu Nianbing, the other four went over very quickly.
Ning Chuyang was the first to return. In the large leaf she held in her hands were frogs packed full... one stacked on top of another.
Even though Yu Nianbing averted her gaze the moment she caught sight of it, she couldn't erase the image from her mind.
So she really was quite afraid of frogs, Yu Nianbing belatedly realized this fact.
It seemed she would have to give Song Shiyue even more than she had originally planned to split soon.
Yu Nianbing thought this way, and only when thinking of Song Shiyue did she notice that after Ning Chuyang, Zhuang Jiachuan had also returned. Song Shiyue and Zhuang Jiachuan, however, were standing by the fire, heads lowered as they muttered about something, and hadn't come back for a long time.
After a good while, Song Shiyue, Zhuang Jiachuan, and Mu Xingzhou finally walked over together in a group.
Yu Nianbing let out a long sigh inwardly, then composed her expression, stood up, and walked toward Song Shiyue, reaching out to take the large leaf in Song Shiyue's hands.
Only, as she drew closer, Yu Nianbing realized there was something off about the two large leaves Song Shiyue was holding in both hands.
"Yours." The moment Yu Nianbing came over, Song Shiyue tucked her left hand behind her, shoved only the large leaf in her right hand into Yu Nianbing's hands, and added, "Go sit somewhere off to the side to eat. Don't look over at us."
In Yu Nianbing's moment of hesitation, a leaf parcel was thrust into her hands. Inside was a pile of frog legs roasted to a golden hue.
Nothing else. Only frog legs.
The frog legs with the webbing removed were clean and tidy, like miniature... lotus root segments linked two by two.
Looking at them like this, they didn't trigger any of the discomfort Yu Nianbing had worried about earlier.
Song Shiyue... this person...
Really...
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