At the crack of dawn, Leng Bingqin woke up as if she’d been injected with chicken blood. She stared at the ceiling, blinking rapidly, before tossing off her covers and jumping out of bed. Her transition into high-energy mode was swift.
After thinking about it all night, she decided that today she would shine for Ji Nanchan!
She flipped her pillow over, reached deep into the pillowcase, and rummaged around for a long time before finally pulling out her saved pocket money. After counting it, she found she had exactly 100 yuan. She gripped the bills tight and cheered herself on. “I will definitely become a good wife for Chan-chan. Go, go, go!”
(Ji Nanchan, if you saw this, you’d probably be moved to tears. Otherwise, you’d deserve all the internet hate in the world.)
After a quick wash, Leng Bingqin ran into the yard to hold a “morning meeting” with the Five Golden Flowers (the hens). Today’s KPI was booming; she gathered a basket of about sixteen or seventeen eggs, piled so high they were crowning.
Sneaking into Ji Nanchan’s small room, Leng Bingqin leaned over the bed and kissed her forehead, reporting in a whisper, “Chan-chan, I’m taking Fugui for a walk. You keep sleeping in. Mua!” One kiss wasn’t enough, so she added another.
With the overflowing basket of eggs in one hand and Fugui’s leash in the other, she headed straight for the mobile market outside the alley entrance. To prove she wasn’t just a spendthrift who only knew how to eat and drink, she found a corner in the market to set up a stall.
Though the “Rich Little Flower” had lost her memory, the drive to make money was etched into her soul. She had already collected recyclables; what was selling eggs compared to that?
She found a few bricks to sit on and started calling out, “Home-raised eggs! Twenty-five yuan for the whole basket! Last one left! Cheap prices, don’t miss out! You won’t regret it, family doesn’t cheat family!”
Her shout caught the attention of an older woman selling vegetables nearby. “Young lady, are you sure these are home-raised?”
“The chickens I raise eat millet and snack on bugs I catch. They’re fresh from the coop, as fresh as the morning air.” Having spent so much time with Ji Nanchan, the little maid’s tongue was getting smoother by the day.
“Let me see.” The woman picked one up, checking it against the light and feeling the texture. The quality was good, and twenty-five yuan for a huge basket was a steal. “How about selling them to me? A bit cheaper?”
Leng Bingqin eyed the tomatoes on the woman’s stall and started negotiating. “How about this? I’ll give you the whole lot for twenty-two yuan, but you have to give me two tomatoes. Deal?”
The woman didn’t hesitate. This was a guaranteed profit; even if she couldn’t sell them, she could eat them herself. She handed over two tomatoes. “You’re easy to talk to, girl. Deal.”
Money and goods exchanged hands. Leng Bingqin’s egg stall went out of business in less than ten minutes.
The little maid’s ultimate goal was to prepare a sumptuous dinner for Ji Nanchan. After all, Ji Nanchan had been worrying herself sick over her lately. Leng Bingqin had secretly kept those simple “marriage requirements” in mind.
Standing before the pork stall, she tilted her head, pretending to be an expert. “Brother, how much for this meat?”
The butcher, dangling a cigarette while sharpening his knife, glanced at her. “Which piece do you want?”
“This one.”
“Pork belly is twelve yuan a pound. How much do you want?”
“Make it cheaper, eight yuan.” The little maid’s haggling was a bit too aggressive.
“Eight yuan?” The butcher slammed his knife into the cutting board, refusing impatiently. “The pigs would cry if they heard that price. No deal!”
“How about eleven? I’ll take the whole piece.” Leng Bingqin didn’t understand portion control. The slab of pork belly she wanted weighed at least five pounds.
“Fine.” The butcher tossed it on the scale. “Five point two pounds. Let’s call it fifty-five yuan.”
Her pocket money dropped by fifty-five yuan. Looking at the remaining sixty-plus yuan, she realized that buying groceries was expensive. Chan-chan works so hard to support me, I cherish her even more now!
She eventually bought all her ingredients just before her money ran out. With exactly one yuan left, she tucked it into her pocket like a treasure. She planned to fold it into a heart for Ji Nanchan, it would be so meaningful.
Ji Nanchan sped on her motorcycle, reaching the training base just as the contestants finished their warm-ups. The area around the ring was packed with company staff. The noise echoed through the empty factory building, making her ears ache.
This was the company’s unique team-building event: the annual “Top Prize” arena match. The winner could take home nearly 100,000 yuan in prize money. Participation was restricted to those whose professional skills met the threshold.
Lu Zhiming was standing on the second-floor balcony watching the fun, though unusually, she held a beer can instead of coffee.
Ji Nanchan walked up to her, huffing. “What’s wrong with you? Who holds an arena match this early in the morning? And you’re drinking!”
Lu Zhiming took a big gulp of beer. “I’m the boss, I make the rules. I was in a good mood and wanted to stir up some excitement. If you have a problem, complain to your superior.”
“Don’t pull rank on me. Standard rules, are we betting?” Ji Nanchan began pulling out her wallet.
“A rare opportunity. I must fleece this stingy ghost while I can,” Lu Zhiming accepted.
Ji Nanchan placed all her money under a beer can. “Don’t be so sure. Who knows who will be fleecing whom.”
“By the way,” Lu Zhiming said, “Qingrang really wants to treat you to dinner. Pick a restaurant you like.”
Ji Nanchan childishly covered her ears. “I’m not listening! The turtle is chanting scriptures again!”
“I’m not joking. We’re serious. You’re my best friend and my family; I still need your blessing.”
Seeing Lu Zhiming’s solemn invitation, Ji Nanchan had a flash of inspiration. If she brought the “little useless one” along to deflate their arrogance, wouldn’t that be satisfying?
Ji Nanchan gave Lu Zhiming a sly smile. “Let’s set it for tomorrow then. I’ll bring my girlfriend along to introduce her to you guys.”
Lu Zhiming choked on her beer. “Cough, girlfriend?”
“You have one, why can’t I?” Ji Nanchan gloated. She knew this would shock her.
“When did you start dating? Why didn’t you tell me? Is that girl blind or just confused to like a stingy person like you?”
“Didn’t you wait until the rice was cooked before telling me? Psh, I’m great. My Qinqin likes me very much.” Ji Nanchan’s weird competitive streak was flaring up.
“Qinqin? You call her that intimately?”
“Of course. After all, you’re the one who poached my client,” Ji Nanchan said sarcastically. “Qinqin, Qinqin! What’s wrong with calling her Qinqin? Why don’t you call yours ‘Rang-rang’? Because it doesn’t sound as good as Qinqin!”
Unable to stand the childishness, Lu Zhiming waved her off. “Spare me your sour words.”
They turned their attention to the ring. There were four challengers, and the final winner would face last year’s champion.
Back at Home
Once all the ingredients were prepped and she looked at the cooking tutorials on her phone, Leng Bingqin held her head in distress. She squatted in the corner of the kitchen, not knowing what to do.
She had bought pork belly instead of ribs and chicken wings instead of drumsticks. The entire recipe she had saved was now useless.
On the stove, a giant slab of pork belly was boiling inside a clay pot. She had used the clay pot because she wanted to make a nourishing soup. It had been boiling all afternoon.
Suddenly, with a crack, the clay pot which had run dry split open. The pork had turned into a lump of black charcoal.
Leng Bingqin heard the noise and rushed to the stove. Beyond the shock was fear. She hurriedly turned off the fire, holding her head in desperation.
In short videos, cooking looked so easy. Why was the reality so completely different?