Chapter 39: 《Poisonous Candied Haws》

Due to the trending searches regarding Chi Ye "saving people" twice, he has now, in the eyes of the trolls, transformed into a "Hua Tuo reborn," becoming an indispensable element of various dramatic scenes.

"Teacher Chi, some viewers are saying you should remember to livestream next time you 'save someone'."

The PD followed in front of Chi Ye, watching the live comments, attempting to interact with Chi Ye for the first time.

Who would have thought, upon hearing this, Chi Ye was astonished: "Save people? Let me debunk that rumor right here; I actually didn't intend to 'save' them at all."

PD: "..."

Everyone: "..."

"So you didn't intend to save them." Yang Zi’s skin had already been tempered to perfection; he recovered as if nothing had happened and looked at Chi Ye calmly: "I heard that just now, Xia Xia wanted to deposit money for me, but you wouldn't let her?"

Chi Ye: "?"

"Teacher Yang, don't misunderstand." Chi Ye explained: "I simply didn't want you to live too comfortably inside, nothing else."

Yang Zi: "?!"

Chi Ye, go to hell!

Chi Ye seemed to hear his inner voice, glanced at him, and shouted: "Yo ho ho! Driving this electric tricycle is truly exhilarating!"

"Pfft."

Jin Xia pursed her lips tightly, but she still couldn't hold it in.

Yang Zi’s face flushed red instantly!

"Ahem, everyone, welcome to the 'Hutong Entrance Market' mission location."

Li Dao coughed twice, his small eyes scanning the various monsters, wary of them "getting caught" again, still feeling a lingering fear: "So, first, we need to confirm that in the upcoming mission, everyone must not violate the law or commit crimes..."

"Eh, don't talk about that, it's boring."

Huang Mou was displeased: "We were just fined, that doesn't count as a crime, right? Isn't that the production team's fault?!"

Yang Mou nodded: "Don't look at people through colored glasses, Director!"

Lu Mou lectured: "Director, you aren't following orders."

Lin Mou frowned: "Let's start quickly. It's the middle of winter, and my hip joints were rattled out of place riding that tricycle just now."

Production Team: "..."

Chi Ye was amazed: "Can hip joints be fine-tuned after being rattled out of place? Is modeling technology this advanced now?"

Lin Jingyi: "?"

Li Dao: "..."

"Then everyone, please familiarize yourselves with the environment; we will officially open in half an hour."

Li Dao dared not say another word, fearing that the "Four" might suddenly "turn violent" and "finish him off" again.

Mainly because this incident was indeed the production team's massive blunder, and he also had to make private calls to everyone's teams to handle the trending search situation.

Yes, although the *See You* production team was to blame for this incident, who told the "Four" to get arrested on the spot?

Therefore, the negative impact still had to be eliminated.

Seeing that the production team had given them space, the "Four" immediately walked out of the camera's view, one by one starting to contact their teams to remove trending searches and buy PR articles.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that everyone returned to the camera's view, sizing up the "stalls" the production team had prepared for them.

——There were two stalls in total, located on both sides of the street, with a small temporary shed inside for storing ingredients and boiling sugar.

The raw ingredients provided by the production team for the two groups to choose from were kept in a certain room.

"Is this... a green pepper?"

"Eggplant... cucumber... poisonous green beans?! Stinky tofu?!"

"What about hawthorn? Isn't this for making candied haws? How can we make them without hawthorn?"

Every time the group saw a new "ingredient," their vision went dark; by the end, it was "total darkness"!

The so-called ingredients the production team prepared for them were mostly vegetables; there were fruits, but hawthorn was pitifully scarce.

They even saw a beautiful and cute "little turtle"... oh, it should be a farmed soft-shelled turtle!

"Candied haws are a winter culture." Li Dao chuckled: "In the North, there has always been a saying that 'everything can be candied'."

"So, you must use these ingredients today to make unique candied haws."

"Unique? Do you mean green bean candied haws + turtle candied haws?!"

Chi Ye was shocked: "Are you trying to send all the customers who buy these candied haws to the afterlife?"

Li Dao: "Green beans aren't poisonous, and then... in the Northeast, this is called 'Turtle-Bestie' candied haws."

Everyone: "..."

Turtle: What kind of hellish joke is this?!

"Eh, that's not right." Chi Ye raised an objection: "It's alive."

Li Dao was also very confused; he glanced at the ingredient team and guessed: "Maybe it's fresher if it's alive?"

Chi Ye fell silent.

Someone nearby asked in surprise: "Why aren't you talking, Teacher Chi? This isn't your style."

"..." Chi Ye paused and said: "Um... actually, I want to say something, but... how should I put it... um, you guys are truly committing a sin!"

Everyone: "..."

The group of monsters was very dissatisfied with the ingredients provided by the production team, but there was nothing they could do.

Seeing Li Dao and the production team members snickering, everyone understood why the hell the production team had that expression when they heard them say candied haws were "easy to make."

Damn, what kind of candied haws are these? They are all poisonous haws!

Can these even be sold?!

"Alright, everyone, start preparing now; the peak customer flow is about to arrive."

Li Dao kindly reminded everyone.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the number of people at the market was indeed increasing.

Seeing a group of people in "strange costumes" here, they would steal glances from time to time and even take out their phones to record.

"Ahem, then... let's pick the ingredients first."

Teacher Huang coughed twice and was the first to take a basket of poisonous green beans: "Jingyi likes to eat this, eat more."

Lin Jingyi: "..."

"What kind of sin did Jingyi commit in her past life for you to take revenge on her like this?"

Chi Ye shook his head, "standing up for justice" for the tech-person, pointing at the stinky tofu: "Besides, Jingyi clearly likes eating this the most. One look and I can tell you don't understand Miss Jingyi at all!"

Lin Jingyi: You two, that's enough!

"Oh?"

Teacher Lu heard this, glanced at the stinky tofu, then looked at Lin Jingyi’s plump lips, and began to ponder.

Chi Ye looked back, surprised: "Does the stinky tofu also have to follow orders?!"

Teacher Lu twisted his mouth and gave a wicked, charming smile: "...Naughty!"

Chi Ye: "..."

"Teacher Chi, Teacher Chi, the little turtle is so cute!"

Jin Xia poked her head out. The moment the "little turtle" appeared, her charming peach-blossom eyes never left it, because this turtle looked very special, possessing a kind of ugly-cute charm.

"Fine, then we'll take the 'Turtle-Bestie'!"

Chi Ye was doting and decisively took the Turtle-Bestie.

The turtle glanced over here and felt relieved in its heart.

Such a beautiful young girl, it survived!

"Alright then, everyone, let's split the hawthorn and strawberries..."

Seeing that the CEO and the Know-It-All were both temporarily too busy to "lead everyone," Yang Zi immediately acted as the big shot.

Hmm... wait.

The CEO was considering the matter of making stinky tofu follow orders, but what about the Know-It-All?

He glanced over and saw Teacher Huang currently "earnestly" picking ingredients, while his other hand, hidden from the camera, began to quietly swipe the production team's vegetables and fruits.

Eggplant, green beans, hawthorn, corn...

"What are you doing?"

Others couldn't see Huang Mou's actions, but Yang Mou saw it clearly and asked in confusion: "You're acting all sneaky, what are you doing?"

Seeing this, Teacher Huang hurriedly made a "shh" sound and chuckled: "The ingredients here are too rich. With these things, why are we even doing the mission?"

"I'm swiping some back so I can make a 'Manchu Han Imperial Feast' for everyone later!"

"Is that so? That's great?"

Yang Zi’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and then...

He turned around, raised his hand, and shouted: "I report! Huang Mou is stealing things over here!"

Everyone: "?!"

Production Team: "??!"

Chi Ye was shocked: "Did Shen Qingyu come to participate in the show?!"

Teacher Huang: "..."

"Stealing things?!" Li Dao hurried over, looked at the various ingredients in Teacher Huang's hands, and was speechless for a moment: "Teacher Huang, you... what are you doing!"

Teacher Huang stared at Yang Zi, cursing in his heart that this grandson was truly not a human being.

On the surface, however, he shook his head and called Yang Zi by his "nickname": "No, Yang Mou is slandering me; I was just looking."

Chi Ye had PTSD: "Everyone protect your belongings! Toilet brush! Teacher Huang's mentor Shen Qingyu is here!"

Teacher Huang: "?!"

"I understand the things, but what do you mean by a toilet brush?"

Chi Ye asked suspiciously: "Don't you know? Someone on the internet leaked that Shen Qingyu likes to steal other people's toilet brushes..."

Peng Chen: That's right, it's me!

Everyone: "......"

Chi Ye dared to speak so "openly and honestly" about other artists on the show, but the others were still a bit wary; one by one, they stopped talking, picked their ingredients, and went to their own stalls to prepare.

Chi Ye's group also arrived at their stall.

He glanced at the boxing champion, who had been like an invisible person the whole time, then looked at the Old Buddha, who was happily holding a small turtle, and immediately felt immense pressure.

Fortunately, Teacher Shi had already started working, carrying pots and pouring water, her hands and feet as nimble as ever.

"Teacher Shi, do you know how to make candied haws?"

"I do."

Chi Ye was overjoyed: "Have you made them before?"

"I have."

"Then we're counting on you. You can handle boiling the sugar, right?"

"No problem."

Chi Ye: "......"

He suddenly discovered with surprise that the boxing champion, who was usually quiet, seemed to have entered a robotic state while working seriously.

It had been like this several times.

He thought for a moment, curiosity piqued, and probed: "Teacher Shi, I'm hungry."

"Don't be hungry."

"I want to die."

"Don't die."

"I'm not going to live anymore."

"Don't live."

Chi Ye: "?"

You really entered standby mode, sister?!

"......Uh." Shi Daifu also realized it, lifted her head, her pair of almond eyes soft and weak.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Chi Ye actually saw a sense of resentment within them.

"Um... let's just leave it at that, I'll go check on the Old Buddha."

Chi Ye felt guilty and turned to walk in front of the Old Buddha, only to see Jin Xia currently extending her scallion-white fingers, poking the little turtle's head; every time she poked it, the little turtle would shrink back in fear, then curiously poke its head out again.

"......Fun, isn't it?" Chi Ye asked.

"Fun, so fun!" Jin Xia stood up happily and issued a "military order": "Teacher Chi, let me handle the little turtle!"

Chi Ye was surprised: "Do you want to give it a massage or a beauty treatment?"

"?!"

The Old Buddha was suddenly slightly angry: "Teacher Chi, why are you looking down on people!"

Chi Ye was impatient: "Is it a massage or a beauty treatment?"

Jin Xia thought about it carefully and said coquettishly: "A massage!"

Everyone: "......"

Chi Ye had already stood up, turned around, and shouted to the director's team: "This won't do, it's not fair. We were already short two people, and now looking at it... we're short three people. Only Teacher Shi knows how to do it, and there are four people on the other side. This isn't fair!"

Li Dao was very surprised: "I understand being short two people, but how did you calculate being short three?"

Chi Ye: "I don't know how to do it either."

Li Dao: "......"

He paused and pointed at Teacher Lu's group: "It doesn't matter if you don't know, look over there."

Chi Ye was stunned and looked over.

At this moment, in front of Lu Xiaoming's group's stall.

"Boiling sugar is a matter of great technique. Too much heat won't do, and too little won't do either. Just listen to me on how to boil it specifically."

Teacher Huang's small lecture began, and as soon as he started, he stunned the other three.

But, they were all "know-it-alls," who would submit to him?

Yang Zi was the first to disagree!

"That's not right. Boiling sugar is indeed a difficult task, but I actually think the hardest part is the technique."

Yang Zi talked eloquently: "After the candied haws are skewered, the white sugar is boiled to an amber color. When you roll the syrup in an instant, you have to let the syrup adhere to the fruit to form a layer of crispy sugar skin. During this process, if the technique is wrong, it won't be easy to succeed."

Teacher Huang: "?"

He squinted: "Did you just look all this up on Kuaishou?"

"?!"

Yang Zi was "exposed," and flew into a rage: "What are you saying! How is that possible? I've done this before!"

"You didn't even turn down the volume on your Kuaishou... wait." Teacher Huang's gaze was suspicious: "Is this something you did on purpose because you want to get on the trending list?!"

Yang Zi: "......"

F*** you, Huang Jianfeng, you can insult me, but you cannot insult my trending topic!

"Ahem, everyone, can you listen to me for a second?"

Teacher Lu had been frowning on the side, wanting to interject but unable to, and now that he finally had the chance, he immediately spoke bluntly: "I might not understand technique or boiling sugar, but I'm familiar with doing business! I was a store manager at a Chinese restaurant!"

"So, everyone listen to me. We'll unify our pace, divide the work, and cooperate. Just listen to my commands, and there won't be any problems!"

"No way, you haven't even done it before, what are you commanding?"

"Xiaoming, don't be stubborn with me about this. Yang Zi is a young master and has never done this at all, but I really have done it before!"

"......"

The three old men began to argue, their voices getting louder and louder, and their faces gradually turning red.

Lin Jingyi shouted from the side in a cutesy voice: "Please, don't fight anymore!!"

Unfortunately, no one listened to her.

She watched the three sexagenarians silently, and after calling out a few times to no avail, she could only despairingly go to fetch the water bucket herself—the production team didn't care about the transport of ingredients and buckets; it was all up to the guests to carry them.

Now that the three "dads" wouldn't go, she was the only one who could!

Fortunately, she had applied anti-freeze before leaving today, so she wasn't afraid of the cold.

But what kind of heavy labor had a tech person ever done?

She panted and wheezed while carrying half a bucket of water, but when she was almost at the door, her foot slipped, and she had her daily fall.

"Ouch!"

"Are you okay? Jingyi!"

"What happened? What happened?"

"Who told you to go do manual labor! Girl, just watch from the side, we'll do the work! You have to take care of your nose!"

Teacher Lu was being extremely overbearing.

Lin Jingyi: "......"

I want to slap you right now!

"I can't take it anymore, family. Who would have thought." Chi Ye was stunned watching this scene: "Lin Jingyi can actually be forced to do manual labor?!"

He waved his hand at Li Dao: "......It's quite fair, there's really nothing unfair about it."

Production Team: "......"

Do you know now what a wealthy battle you are fighting?

Chi Ye looked over and found that the boxing champion was already boiling sugar in an orderly manner, and the Old Buddha... the Old Buddha was still "massaging the body" of the little turtle.

Chi Ye: "......"

"Teacher Chi!"

Seeing Chi Ye come over, Jin Xia's eyes sparkled: "I've decided!"

"Hmm?"

Chi Ye was surprised: "Decided on a new massage technique?"

"No." The Old Buddha shook her head and said coquettishly: "I've decided what kind of candied haws to make!"

"Oh?" Chi Ye was curious: "What?"

Jin Xia's pair of peach-blossom eyes flashed with longing: "Um... I'm going to carve the strawberries into a rose, um... to make them taste better, it's best to add some additives, strawberry essence... um, what else?"

Chi Ye reminded: "Industrial pigment, formaldehyde solution!"

"Oh? Right, right!" Jin Xia nodded repeatedly, seeking approval: "Teacher Chi, what do you think?"

Chi Ye sighed: "What do I think? I think it's too good!"

"Really?" Jin Xia clearly didn't believe him.

"Really." Chi Ye nodded and suggested: "But for such a precious body as the Old Buddha's, I suggest you do something else before making the candied haws."

"Hmm?" The Old Buddha was curious: "Do what?"

Chi Ye: "Act like a human being."