Chapter Twenty-Eight: Filming "Yearning for Life"

The staff of the production team all tried to hide their laughter behind pursed lips. Jiang Yun cursed under his breath, muttering, "A bunch of tricksters!"

He turned back along the path he had come, returning to the fork in the road, and this time chose the path to the left.

After walking for a while, he saw the Mushroom House come into view. Jiang Yun approached and knocked on the door.

Inside, Huang Kang was wearing an apron and washing vegetables. He dried his hands on the apron, saying, "I’ll get the door!"

When Huang Kang opened the door, his face lit up. "Jiang Yun, you’re finally here!"

"Hello, Mr. Huang," Jiang Yun greeted politely.

"Very good, very good!" Huang Kang replied cheerfully.

Jiang Yun entered the living room, where He Ling came over. "Jiang Yun, did you get lost?"

"I did, actually."

"I figured as much. Judging by the time, you should have arrived long ago," He Ling said.

"It’s just the three of us now. Let’s eat first," Huang Kang suggested as he joined them.

The three sat around the dining table, eating and chatting idly.

"Jiang Yun, I heard you’re in a lawsuit with Xuanwei Music. How did it go?" He Ling asked.

"I won," Jiang Yun replied succinctly.

Huang Kang sighed, "Honestly, we didn’t really recommend you go that route, but since you did, it’s alright."

Jiang Yun thought for a moment and explained, "At first, I wanted to just let things go. But they put my work online without my permission, all behind a VIP paywall, and I haven’t seen a single cent. I had no choice but to sue."

"That’s definitely Xuanwei Music’s fault," He Ling agreed.

Jiang Yun nodded.

After they finished eating, it was already one in the afternoon. He Ling and Huang Kang went out to pull up radishes, leaving Jiang Yun to watch the house.

The phone rang suddenly.

Since the others were out, Jiang Yun answered the call. "Hello? Who’s speaking?"

A girl’s voice came from the other end, "Is this the Mushroom House?"

"Yes, it is. How can I help you?" Jiang Yun replied.

The girl hesitated. Was this a new person? Shouldn’t they be asking what dishes she wanted?

"I just got off the plane," she said.

"Alright. Is there something you need?" Jiang Yun continued.

It really seemed like he was new. The girl introduced herself, "My name is Ouyang Na, I’m a guest on this episode. I’d like to order a salad steak. Please tell Mr. Huang for me."

Jiang Yun understood now—she was a guest for this episode.

"Alright, I’ll let him know," Jiang Yun said.

After they hung up, Jiang Yun found himself with nothing to do and feeling bored. He noticed a piano in the Mushroom House and his eyes brightened. Ever since he’d mastered the piano, he hadn’t had a chance to play. Now, with a piece in mind and the house empty, he decided to sit down and play.

Unbeknownst to Jiang Yun, there were cameras in all four corners of the room, capturing everything as he played gracefully.

The phone rang again. Jiang Yun stopped playing, stood up, and answered it.

"Hello?" He guessed it was another guest.

"Hello, is this the Mushroom House?" a woman’s voice asked.

"Yes."

"I’d like to order eggplant with squid, please. Thank you."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Jiang Yun muttered to himself, salad steak and eggplant with squid—what kind of bizarre dishes were these? If these were really on the menu tonight, he wouldn’t eat them even if threatened.

The phone rang once more. Jiang Yun picked up, "Hello?"

"Hello, is this the Mushroom House?" This time it was a man’s voice.

"Yes. What would you like to order?"

"I’d like to order sizzling salad!"

"Alright, I’ll pass it on."

After hanging up, Jiang Yun grumbled. Were these people in cahoots? Salad steak, eggplant with squid, and now sizzling salad—he’d never even heard of such a dish! These three guests were truly a peculiar lot.

At around four o’clock, He Ling and Huang Kang returned, each carrying a bamboo basket. The early autumn day had left them both drenched in sweat.

Setting down his basket, Huang Kang asked, "Jiang Yun, did anyone call?"

"Yes, three calls."

"What did they say?"

"One ordered salad steak, one wanted eggplant with squid, and one asked for sizzling salad!"

Huang Kang frowned.

He Ling couldn’t help laughing in exasperation when he heard the names of these dishes. "Well then, I’ll deal with them when they arrive."

Huang Kang turned to the director, "Director, we pulled up two hundred radishes. Is that enough to exchange for the ingredients?"

The director replied, "Two hundred is enough for tonight, but there are six of you. Are you sure you don’t want to pull more? Remember, you have to eat breakfast tomorrow too."

Huang Kang considered this. "Alright, I’ll start cooking now. Jiang Yun, He Ling, go pull some more radishes."

He Ling and Jiang Yun agreed, picked up their baskets, and set out again.

"Oh right, Jiang Yun, what would you like to order?" Huang Kang asked.

"I don’t mind, anything’s fine," Jiang Yun replied.

"Order mock crab," He Ling whispered, nudging Jiang Yun conspiratorially.

Jiang Yun realized the guests were making things difficult for Huang Kang on purpose—but it was all in good fun, just to liven up the show.

"Alright, Mr. Huang, I’ll have mock crab," Jiang Yun said.

Huang Kang put on a put-upon look. "That’s definitely He Ling’s idea!"

He Ling and Jiang Yun headed to the fields to pull radishes.

"Mr. He, are we the only regular guests?" Jiang Yun asked.

"Yes, just the three of us. Since it’s the first season, having the three of us is already quite good."

They chatted and laughed as they worked, and after an hour had pulled up more than a hundred radishes.

"Stop! That’s enough!" He Ling declared.

"But it’s only five o’clock," Jiang Yun pointed out.

"You don’t get it—once we’ve pulled enough to exchange for ingredients, that’s plenty! Tomorrow’s another day," He Ling said with a sly grin.

Jiang Yun was amused; it seemed He Ling intended to take it easy and let him do the same.

They strolled back to the Mushroom House at a leisurely pace.

"We’re back!" they called as they set down their baskets. Huang Kang was busy cooking.

"How many did you get?" he asked.

"Over a hundred!"

"Only a hundred?"

"A hundred’s plenty! Any more and I’ll be dropping dead from exhaustion!" He Ling feigned being utterly worn out.

Jiang Yun snickered on the side.

The doorbell rang.

"I’ll get it!" Jiang Yun went to the door and opened it.

A lovely young woman stood before him, dressed in a skirt, petite yet notably curvy in one particular area. Jiang Yun politely glanced her way and noticed two more people behind her. He couldn’t help but wonder—did the three of them really conspire together during the earlier ordering session?