Next was finding the villagers to score the dishes.
During this time, Ji Zhaoxi had become quite familiar with everyone in the village. She was very popular, and people were happy to give her face.
The beggar's chicken was very well-received, with almost everyone giving it a perfect score.
However, no one dared to touch those few steel wool balls next to it.
"The girls are leaving soon, and you're not giving them any face at all," an old man joked.
An old woman couldn't stop laughing. She picked up her chopsticks and tried to stuff the steel wool ball into the old man's mouth. "Talking such nonsense! You try it first. You're so old anyway, if something goes wrong, you can just go lie straight in your coffin."
A few children curiously touched the charred black spun sugar, as if examining some bizarre novelty.
A cat suddenly jumped onto the table, stared intently at the candied lotus root in the bowl, and started making motions like it was burying its poop.
But relying solely on the beggar's chicken, Ji Zhaoxi and Jiang Yanchen still won first place.
And their reward was that they wouldn't have to work for tomorrow's farewell banquet.
Ever since When the Cooking Smoke Rises began filming in this village, products featured on the show like lotus roots, pheasants, and dried goods instantly became star-endorsed items. The village party secretary livestreamed every day to help the farmers sell their goods.
The village also had a special kind of fruit that was sweet and sour, but it wasn't well-known and had never sold well.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't know what kind of fruit it was either. The grandmother next door gave her some, and she just munched on them every day.
Netizens were also very curious about the taste of the fruit Ji Zhaoxi was eating. As soon as the village secretary posted a link online, the fruit sold out instantly.
The fruit that would have otherwise rotted in the fields brought income to the villagers.
After the show concluded tomorrow, the village would fully open up to the public, becoming the next popular tourist spot.
Knowing that Ji Zhaoxi and the others would finish filming tomorrow, the village secretary specifically went to the director and offered to arrange a farewell banquet for them.
The village started preparing the food this evening, and the other guests joined in to help. The winners of today's game could only wander around the village.
"Little girl, are you really leaving tomorrow?" an old lady stood at her doorway, her hands trembling.
"Yes, Grandma, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon," Ji Zhaoxi quickly held her hands to support her.
The old lady's eyes grew red, and she gripped Ji Zhaoxi's hands tightly. "Why are you leaving so soon?"
This old lady's son worked out of town and didn't even call during the holidays. She was in poor health. Before the production crew arrived, she only ate rice porridge every day.
The old grandmother's house wasn't far from the self-built house where Ji Zhaoxi and the others stayed. After Ji Zhaoxi discovered her situation, she brought the grandmother meals and dishes every single day.
"Grandma, we spoke to the village secretary, and he has already contacted your son. He's coming back this month," Ji Zhaoxi told her patiently. "Also, we helped you submit your paperwork. From now on, government workers will come to check on you every month, and you'll receive a monthly allowance."
The old grandmother didn't quite understand, but she just looked at Ji Zhaoxi with red eyes, nodding continuously.
"You are all such good children..."
Ji Zhaoxi didn't dare to look into her eyes. She knew all too well what life was like for the elderly in rural areas.
The old grandmother walked them to the door, wiping her tears and repeatedly reminding them, "Take good care of your health. You young people never eat properly."
Ji Zhaoxi's eyes reddened. She lowered her head and gave a muffled response of agreement.
She hated this feeling.
By now, the lights in the main courtyard had been turned on, and the air was filled with the mixed aromas of various ingredients.
The tables were covered with red plastic basins of all sizes. A few villagers were scrubbing pots with bare arms, while Ye Mubai and the others were smiling and peeling bamboo shoots with the village women.
"Do you guys ever fight when you're filming the show?" an auntie asked curiously.
The older sister next to her clicked her tongue. "People are bound to argue, why even ask that."
"You really are something, what's wrong with asking?"
A few children playing hide-and-seek nearby were scolded by the older sister and immediately quieted down.
The older sister asked curiously, "I see that girl, and that Xiao Jiang, are the two of them together?"
Ye Mubai glanced at the camera and smiled, "Sister, I definitely don't know the answer to that question."
The older sister raised an eyebrow and lowered her voice, "How could you not know? I see the two of them glued together all day long, you couldn't pull them apart if you tried."
Both Ye Mubai and Sang Ranbai were amused by the older sister's description.
The auntie swatted her and raised her voice, "You are an uncultured woman, speaking so crudely. Young people nowadays are all about romance."
The older sister scoffed, "At least I have a middle school diploma. You only have an elementary school diploma and you're lecturing me."
The auntie started cracking melon seeds and said speechlessly, "What era was I from? How can you compare yourself to me."
She lifted her chin toward Ye Mubai and the others, whispering, "But that Xiao Jiang is indeed a bit like that, sticking to her like nougat. Last time I saw the girl go pick some vegetables, he had to follow her."
The children nearby also leaned in to listen. The auntie picked up one of the children. "Take my little one here. Back then, we happened to run into Xiao Jiang. Then my daughter asked Xiao Jiang, 'Bwother, Bwother, why are you always following behind Sister Zhaoxi? Are you her little shadow?'"
Hearing this, the group of people laughed uproariously. The auntie wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, slapping her thigh repeatedly, "And then Xiao Jiang's face turned incredibly red, just like a monkey's butt, and he didn't say a word."
"Later, my daughter asked him again if he liked Sister Zhaoxi, and he just turned around and walked away, almost falling off the field ridge."
The older sister laughed so hard she couldn't even hold the bamboo shoots in her hand, her hands shaking, "Then how is Xiao Jiang going to court that girl in the future if he doesn't even dare to speak?"
"Ah, you don't understand. It's better for men to talk less. If the woman talks a lot and the man talks a lot too, the house will be terribly noisy."
Ye Mubai and Sang Ranbai originally didn't want to laugh, but the auntie's description was so vivid that they simply couldn't hold it back.
An orange-red sunset blanketed the entire sky, and cooking smoke rose from the chimneys of every household. The elderly sat under the large banyan tree, fanning themselves and chatting about daily life, while a few children skipped around nearby.
After tomorrow, all of them would return to the neon-lit city.
Jiang Yanchen suddenly sneezed.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him. "Catching a cold?"
Jiang Yanchen lowered his eyes and shook his head.
The two walked side by side. During this period, they had taken walks like this almost every day, but today's walk carried an indescribable sense of regret.
"Will we... will you still talk to me after the show ends?" Jiang Yanchen pretended to be calm, matching her pace.
"I will."
"Oh." Jiang Yanchen coughed lightly.
His gaze uncontrollably fell on her profile. Under the setting sun, her loose hair gently brushed past her ear, her eyelashes were dyed a light brown, casting a small shadow beneath her eyelids as she looked down at the path.
Jiang Yanchen's eyes suddenly reddened; he abruptly thought of his manager's words.
"What's the point of you doing this? Once the variety show ends, your connection will be broken. You guys can't stay in that village forever."
He couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept this ending.
"Ji Zhaoxi..." Jiang Yanchen called her name stiffly. He rarely addressed her like this, so he was a bit unused to it, and the end of his voice was still trembling.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him in surprise. Jiang Yanchen immediately turned his head away, not daring to look at her at all. The corners of his eyes were red, and his voice kept trembling.
"My brother is the founder of the brand Leviathan, and he also cooperates with many luxury brands, not just in the automotive industry." His voice was a bit hoarse.
Ji Zhaoxi chuckled softly: "I know, you mentioned it before."
Jiang Yanchen felt that he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He looked up at the leaves on the tree, holding back his tears: "I am also the global spokesperson for blue-blood brands. I've already been on the covers of the top five magazines. You know I'm someone with a lot of resources, right?"
Ji Zhaoxi nodded helplessly: "I know, you're amazing."
"I haven't acted in a movie, but if I want to, I can throw money at those big directors and make them film me." Jiang Yanchen couldn't help choking up, his voice full of insecurity.
"That's enough." Ji Zhaoxi looked at him speechlessly.
"I asked the people who worked with you before, and they said that after you finished cooperating, you rarely contacted them. When you ran into them, you didn't even talk to them!"
Jiang Yanchen's tone was a bit urgent, as if he was accusing her, but the sadness in his eyes was about to overflow.
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi didn't speak, his eyes grew even redder, and he looked like he was about to cry: "Ji Zhaoxi, how can you be like this? Were you lying to me just now too?"
He didn't even know what he was saying right now. His mind was in a mess. He wanted to say some nice things, but all that came out were these harsh words. The thought of her pretending not to see him in the future felt like a knife cutting his heart.
"Ji Zhaoxi..."
His voice was even hoarser than before, and an unspeakable sourness kept surging up in his heart.
He turned his head to the side, a whimper escaping from deep in his throat. His eyes were very red, and tears flowed down like pearls from a broken string. He didn't make a sound, only his shoulders trembled slightly.
Let it be embarrassing... Anyway, she didn't want to be with him, anyway, she didn't care about him...
She just despised him. She despised him for being too demanding, despised him for not knowing how to speak properly, despised him for being bad at playing games and always dragging her down. He had lost face in front of her so many times; she definitely wouldn't like him...
"Jiang Yanchen."
Ji Zhaoxi looked helplessly at Jiang Yanchen, who was sinking into sorrow in front of her. She thought he was going to continue talking, but he started crying as he spoke.
"Jiang Yanchen!"
She cupped his face and looked into his red, crying eyes: "What are you overthinking again? I haven't even said anything yet."
Jiang Yanchen choked out: "I don't care. I know you despise me. Have you always thought..."
Seeing that Jiang Yanchen was about to start again, Ji Zhaoxi let out a sigh. She tugged at his clothes, and Jiang Yanchen obediently lowered his head while crying.
The next second, Ji Zhaoxi directly pressed her lips against his.
Jiang Yanchen froze completely. His tear-filled eyes instantly widened, teardrops still hanging on his eyelashes, his pupils trembling violently in the setting sun.
"Jiang Yanchen, can you calm down now?"
Jiang Yanchen stared at her blankly and nodded.
The tears stopped instantly.
He looked at Ji Zhaoxi cautiously, a little nervous in his eyes. His voice cracked a bit because he had been crying for too long, and it trembled uncontrollably.
"Ji Zhaoxi... can you piggyback on my screen time for the rest of your life?"
