CH 56

Ch 56: Donning the Tae Kwon Do Uniform

That evening, the staff set up long tables on the square and prepared kitchen utensils and seasoning for the guests to freely cook.

The five groups of guests returned to the square with the vegetables and fruits they picked. It was up to them to decide who would cook, who would stir-fry, and who would assist. The only requirement from the program team was that everyone had to participate in this process, and no one could just stand by and do nothing.

At this point, they needed a leader to take charge of planning and arranging tasks for each person. Typically, the oldest member of a group might be selected as team leader.

Based on age, Qin Jingshan and Huang Han were the oldest at nineteen, but in terms of seniority, Wang Chen, who was called "uncle" by Xuezi, seemed the oldest. So everyone urged and pushed Wang Chen, who was a bit confused, to become the team leader.

"I'm in charge?" Wang Chen was bewildered. "But I don't know how to cook! Does anyone know how to cook?"

The little ones in the group could definitely not be counted on. Wang Chen looked at Qin Jingshan. Qin Jingshan helplessly shrugged, as she was also not good at cooking.

Suddenly, Wang Chen thought of something and excitedly pointed to Yin Chang. "You, you, you! Do you know how to cook?"

Yin Chang replied, "No..."

Wang Chen: "Really? I saw your interview, and you clearly said you could make small cakes!"

Yin Chang did not deny it: "I can make cakes."

Qin Jingshan was surprised to hear this and asked: "You can make cakes?"

Yin Chang explained, "Um, I've studied baking and pastry making..."

Wang Chen was puzzled: "Then why can't you cook? Isn't it similar?"

"Cooking and baking are two different things..." Yin Chang didn't know how to explain it to him. If he could cook, he wouldn't have had to order takeout with Shao Junling every day before Fiona had arrived at Haicheng. Furthermore, he only used the oven to make some cakes and pastries. But at the moment, they didn’t have access to any baking ingredients nor modern appliances like ovens.

Everyone looked at the pile of ingredients in despair. Were they going to eat cold raw vegetables tonight?

Yin Chang said, "I can boil things… like boiling eggs, boiling corn..."

At this point, Huang Han raised his hand weakly and said, "Um, I can make egg fried rice... I don't know if that counts as cooking."

Everyone looked at him eagerly, their eyes shining: "It counts!!!"

Huang Han, who knew how to make egg fried rice, was immediately revered as the only chef among them.

As it wasn't safe for the small children to handle knives, Yin Chang volunteered to chop the vegetables. Qin Jing Shan also bravely offered to wash the rice and cook it. As for the little ones, they were assigned by Wang Chen to fetch water, wash vegetables, and assist.

After the division of labor was completed, everyone immediately got to work. The entire group felt rather excited to try cooking for the first time by themselves.

Although Wang Chen didn't have a specified task, as the team leader, he was called back and forth by the little ones until he was exhausted. Moreover, following Xue Ziwen’s lead, everyone unconsciously started to call him "Uncle".

"Uncle! Where should I put the washed onions?"

"Uncle! I've beaten the eggs, what should I do next?"

"Uncle! There are bugs in the vegetables, ahhh..."

At first, Wang Chen felt quite pleased, but when Qin Jing Shan started to call him Uncle too, he cried out in despair, "Ah, my seniority isn't that high, please don't all call me Uncle!"

Everyone: "Hahaha..."

Before preparing the vegetables, Huang Han humbly said, "Don't blame me if it doesn't taste good. The last time I made fried rice was five years ago."

Several adults reassured him, including Yin Chang, who cheered him on while holding his knife, "You can do it!"

Huang Han: "C-Can you not stand next to me with a knife? It's making me nervous..."

Yin Chang: "Oh, sorry."

With a sizzling sound, the vegetables were added to the pan, and the aroma of the food wafted through the air.

A group of children gathered excitedly, exclaiming how delicious it smelled.

While chopping vegetables, Yin Chang also kept an eye on Shao Junling's movements.

She saw Shao Junling and Xue Ziwen squatting together, washing cucumbers and whispering something to each other. Being classmates and of similar age, it seemed like the two of them had plenty of common topics to chat about, and Yin Chang was relieved.

Unbeknownst to him, the staff monitoring the conversations through his earpiece looked nervous and called the director...

Everyone worked hard for over an hour, and in the end, they managed to cook up a table full of decent-looking dishes.

Although some of the dishes tasted off, everyone enjoyed the meal because they had made it themselves. Laughter and chatter of the children filled the square, and even You Luming, who had seemed the most pampered at the beginning, fit in.

After the meal, the day's filming was almost over.

The guests returned to their respective houses to rest, and Yin Chang took Shao Junling back to their straw hut.

After running in the morning and getting caught in the rain in the afternoon, both of them were covered in sweat and mud. Yin Chang remembered that Shao Junling went to bed without washing up last night, so he urged him to wash up first.

Although there was no shower here, there was a ladle in the water tank next door, which could be used for a simple rinse.

"You go first," Shao Junling said, looking hesitant.

Yin Chang gave Shao Junling a strange look. What difference did it make who went first or second? Why was he dragging this out?

Yin Chang instructed Shao Junling to pull out his clean clothes and went to shower. However, when he came out after washing up, he found that Shao Junling was nowhere to be seen.

Shao Junling's suitcase was open, and the clothes he wore today were lying on the side... Did that guy take off his clothes and run away? But where did he go?

Yin Chang walked out while drying his hair and wanted to ask the crew, but he saw that there were only two cameramen outside, and the crew's expression was a bit strange.

"Where's my brother?" Yin Chang felt nervous.

He suddenly realized something and hurried back to the room to take a look in the suitcase - Shao Junling's taekwondo uniform was missing!

...Damn it, why did Shao Junling go out in his martial arts uniform!?

Yin Chang threw down the towel and ran after him.

"Shao Junling! Shao Junling!" He shouted his name loudly.

It was now close to 7 pm, and night had fallen. The sky was dim.

Seeing how anxious Yin Chang was, the staff behind him couldn't help but tell him: "Your brother went to the entrance of the village. He and Xue Ziwen arranged to fight the twins..."

Yin Chang: "???"

When did this happen!? Why would they fight!? Weren't they getting along well!?

Yin Chang rushed to the village entrance as quick as possible and sure enough, he saw the four kids facing off in the sunset. Shao Junling wearing his white martial arts uniform!

The group of program cameramen was hiding behind the trees nearby, and the kids were completely unaware.

Shao Junling eased into his fighting stance, and the older twin also assumed a defensive posture...

Yin Chang took a sharp breath and flew towards Shao Junling at lightning speed. Just in time, he grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him up from behind!

At that time, all of Shao Junling's strength was on his right leg, ready to kick, but suddenly he was lifted up! He lost his balance in an instant.

He didn't know who had grabbed him. Shao Junling struggled in the air, vexed, "Let me go!"

But Yin Chang dared not let go. If he had been even a tad late, this kid would have caused trouble.

"What are you trying to do?" Yin Chang's cold voice sounded behind him, full of anger.

Shao Junling stiffened immediately. He struggled twice but dared not move.

Lang Chizhi and Guo Yiheng had been gleeful at first, seeing that Shao Junling was being controlled, but as soon as Yin Chang directed his glare at them, they abruptly stopped laughing.

His glare was very powerful. Facing adults like Yin Chang who could pick up Shao Junling like that, they couldn't help but feel intimidated, especially since he was currently so cold and full of murderous intent.

Yin Chang let Shao Junling down but still held him by the back of his collar.

"Today's shoot is over. What are you all doing here?" Yin Chang asked them coldly.

Lang Chizhi and Guo Yiheng took a step back instinctively, stammering, "N-nothing."

"If there's nothing, then go back and rest early." Although he spoke those words, the expression and tone of voice that Yin Chang used showed no trace of his usual gentleness. Instead, it dripped fierce danger.

The twin brothers looked at him with complicated expressions. They turned and left.

Yin Chang then turned to ask Xue Ziwen, "Does your uncle know that you came out by yourself?"

Xue Ziwen was scared stiff by Yin Chang, who had suddenly flown over, and only reacted when asked. He stumbled and ran away.

The upcoming farce was interrupted thanks to Yin Chang's timely intervention.

Suppressing his anger, Yin Chang took the dejected Shao Junling back to the thatched hut.

He had already tried to calm himself down on the way there, and tell himself not to get angry with Shao Junling, as there were still many staff members of the production team here...

However, as soon as he walked through the door, Yin Chang felt the fire in his heart surging. He took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions down. He wanted to first understand Shao Junling’s perspective.

"You tell me clearly what happened." Yin Chang wiped his face.

Shao Junling anxiously said, "They bullied me first!"

Yin Chang raised his eyebrows. "How did they bully you?"

Shao Junling replied, "They pushed Xue Ziwen and even knocked over his melon!"

Although he was anxious, Shao Junling spoke without stuttering or stumbling.

Yin Chang was taken aback. This afternoon, they did go to the melon fields with the guidance of local farmers. At that time, the program group also had them play a small game, letting them find a melon within ten minutes. Whichever group found the biggest melon could bring it back to eat.

It was the twin brothers who had found the biggest melon, but instead of keeping it to themselves, had brought the melon to the dining area and shared it with everyone.

Shao Junling had been with him the whole afternoon, and hadn’t shown any conflict with the twin brothers.

Yin Chang asked in confusion, "So, you're standing up for Xue Ziwen?"

"Of course!" Shao Junling replied.

Previously during the treasure chest incident, the twin brothers had already rubbed him the wrong way. So today, when Xue Ziwen complained to him, he was unable to bear it any longer.

Yin Chang frowned, "If Xue Ziwen was bullied, why didn't he go to his uncle?"

"He did, but his uncle ignored him," Shao Junling replied.

Yin Chang couldn't believe this little guy was so loyal...

This part of the story had surely been filmed by the production team, and when the program aired, he would understand the specifics. Knowing that it wasn't Shao Junling who had provoked the incident, Yin Chang felt relieved and his emotions stabilized.

"Okay, I won't blame you for this," Yin Chang calmed down and patiently advised him, "but next time you encounter something like this, you have to discuss it with me first. You can't be so impulsive... We are shooting a program – do you realize that your every action is being recorded?"

Yin Chang's words had an unexpected effect on Shao Junling. He suddenly jumped up from the ground, his face flushed, glaring at him.

"What... what’s the matter?" Yin Chang looked at him strangely, wondering why he was suddenly so angry.

Shao Junling clenched his fists, embarrassed. "Y-you..."

He started stuttering again...

"What about me?" Yin Chang asked.

Shao Junling struggled to find the right words but couldn't speak. He looked at Yin Chang, his eyes red, feeling like he was going to cry again.

Shao Junling changed into his taekwondo uniform.

[System]: Outfit change successful, combat power +100.

Once upon a time, he was a king of the battlefield.

But before the show even began, he was whisked away by his brother.

Shao Junling: "..." This is a disgrace! I already have a green-blue belt, how come I’m so weak!

Yin Chang admonished him: "Don't be so impulsive next time. Every move you make is being recorded."

Shao Junling (exploding with anger): "So you know that too! Yet you treat me like this! Making me lose face!"

Seeing Yin Chang appear, everyone's reaction was:

Lang Chizhi (admiringly): This big brother... he's so cool!

Guo Yiheng (admiringly): This, this is a truly strong person!

Xue Ziwen (terrified): I thought Shao Junling was the strongest, but I didn't expect his brother to be even stronger! Trembling in fear...