Chapter 101: Under-the-Table Manipulation (Requesting Votes)

Ring ring—
Ring ring—
A shrill telephone rang through the Mushroom House, rousing the three teachers from their deep slumber.

Xie Shun turned over, unwilling to get up, and went back to sleep.

Jiang You pulled the blanket over her ears, as if that could chase away the annoying ringtone.

Finally, Teacher He sighed in resignation, her hair tousled, and climbed out of bed.

“Cut this part out, cut that part out.”

She walked over to a landline phone the production team had somehow found.

“Hello! Hi?”

…

Meanwhile, not far from the Mushroom House on a mountain road, a white car was slowly making its way along.

In the back seat sat two stunning women, laughing so hard they were nearly doubled over.

He Xier, legs crossed, covered her mouth, struggling not to burst out laughing, her expression both painful and endearing.

Jiang Qi, clearing her throat, used a deeper voice to speak into the phone:

“Hello, hello.”

“Is this Mushroom Village?”

He Xier quickly whispered a correction: “You said it wrong, it’s Mushroom House, not Mushroom Village.”

Realizing her mistake, Jiang Qi exaggeratedly corrected herself: “I said it wrong, I said it wrong, is this Mushroom House?”

Due to nerves, Jiang Qi kept repeating herself.

The call was on speakerphone, and all three in the car, including the driver, could hear clearly.

“Wait a moment, I’ll call our chef… Teacher Xie, Teacher Xie, could you come here for a moment...”

He Xier and Jiang Qi immediately panicked and pushed the phone away.

“Teacher Xie, Teacher He is so mean! He’s making Teacher Xie answer the phone,” Jiang Qi clutched her flat chest, visibly shaken.

“What do we do?” He Xier worried. Xie Shun was their company’s renowned composer.

The young singers could only tremble in front of such a figure.

He Xier was conflicted. “Teacher Li… Gabei told us to order whatever we want to eat, no holding back. Could it be that Teacher Xie will be the one cooking our orders?”

She had meant to say “Classmate Li He,” but seeing the camera, she corrected herself.

Xie Shun’s passion for cooking was well known in the industry; many top singers took pride in being able to taste his dishes.

You might be able to talk to the composer or lyricist, but I get to eat the meals the composer makes himself—that’s a different kind of relationship.

It’s a symbol of status.

If you can eat a meal cooked by Xie Shun, you might also get to sing songs he wrote next time.

“If Teacher He answers the phone, I could act a little,” Jiang Qi tried to back out. “But if Teacher Xie answers, forget ordering freely—I won’t even be able to speak properly.”

It felt unfair.

Young singers were naturally nervous around the composer; just getting to eat his cooking was already a joy, who would dare to order?

He Xier was troubled. “But… Gabei said we have to make things difficult for Teacher He and the others. He said if we don’t, once we get to Mushroom House, he’ll give us a hard time.”

Both He Xier and Jiang Qi almost cried—they couldn’t offend either side.

Before coming, they were excited; this was the first variety show hosted by Shengshi and the first one planned by Gabei. Being the premiere guests proved how highly Gabei thought of them.

Then they learned there were three regular guests: Jiang You, Teacher He, and Xie Shun.

They grew even more excited—appearing on the show with Xie Shun meant if they managed their relationships well, maybe they could ask him for a song on their next album.

Soon after, they received a call from Li He telling them to order whatever they liked, without restraint.

Li He even kindly recommended two dishes: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.

Curious, He Xier looked up these dishes and found they were extremely difficult to prepare.

At that moment, Xie Shun’s voice came from the other end of the phone: “Hello, this is Mushroom House, I’m Xie Shun.”

The two grew even more nervous.

He Xier’s long legs trembled. “What do we do? What do we do?”

Jiang Qi was about to grit her teeth and take the call but caught the driver barely suppressing laughter. She leaned forward and handed the phone to him.

“Brother Driver, this heavy responsibility is yours. We want to order Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.”

The driver, caught off guard while sneaking a smile, answered.

Why drag me into this?

This isn’t my job; there’ll be extra charges!

He Xier’s pure, sweet voice rang out: “Brother Driver, we’re counting on you.”

The driver sighed resignedly: “Hello, I’d like to order Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.”

Meanwhile, upon hearing the dishes, Xie Shun was stunned.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?

Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth?

Two of the most difficult dishes in Chinese cuisine.

Xie Shun doubted his ears: “Are you sure it’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth?”

He must be joking—just one is hard enough; two at once?

Teacher He asked curiously: “There was a woman’s voice just now; why did it suddenly change to a man’s? How many of you are there? Why order two dishes—can you finish them?”

The driver’s voice came through the phone: “There are two of us, so of course we order two dishes. We’ll definitely finish them.”

Xie Shun said nothing further and hung up. “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth—they want to wear us out.”

Both dishes require a great deal of time and skill.

Teacher He worried: “My concern now is the ingredients; we don’t have them here. Buying them from the production team won’t be cheap.”

One braised chicken costs 600 ‘corns’, so Buddha Jumps Over the Wall must be at least 1,000 ‘corns’.

They still owed the production team quite a bit of ‘corns’—they were in debt.

Jiang You covered his head. “Whenever I hear the word ‘corn,’ I get a headache. It’s torture.”

This wasn’t the idyllic life they dreamed of; it was more like an escape.

As Xie Shun, Teacher He, and Jiang You pondered how to prepare the dishes with minimal cost, Li He received word that Jiang Qi had completed the task.

Li He was delighted: “Today they will make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.”

The production team had already coordinated with Jiang Qi and He Xier yesterday, and the necessary ingredients had been prepared.

Wu Guang felt a bit uneasy. “Isn’t this too harsh? Just Buddha Jumps Over the Wall alone keeps Teacher Xie busy for half a day. Adding Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth on top means they’ll be too busy to eat when it gets dark.”

Though the director’s team was a bit far from Mushroom House, Wu Guang imagined hearing Xie Shun cursing.

Too mean.

Not only did the guests get to order dishes, but Gabei also personally called to specify these two.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was delicious but very high in calories. He Xier and Jiang Qi were girls, and Wu Guang felt Gabei was deliberately making things difficult for the guests.

But Gabei claimed it was for the show’s effect.

Wu Guang sighed, what could he say?

“It’s fine,” Li He was unconcerned. “As long as we eat on time.”

Wu Guang inwardly admired him; guests could eat whenever, but as long as he ate on time.

Wu Guang gave his partner a thumbs-up. He really was fearless, completely unbothered by the potential backlash if this got out.

If it were him, would he go crazy? Wu Guang thought for a moment—not crazy, but definitely mentally overwhelmed.

Fortunately, he was the executive director.

His job was just to watch.

Honestly, it even looked enjoyable.

——

P.S. Posting now, will revise later—please point out any mistakes.

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