Are you trying to force me to become a star?

Chapter 47 The Story of the Cornfield

Inside the Mushroom House, the three regular guests were chatting with four guests from the "Three Lives, Three Worlds" crew in the pavilion.

Yu Zheng said to Huang Lei, "The last time I saw you, Teacher Huang, was at the Wuzhen Theatre Festival. You've gotten fatter."

He Jiong laughed and said, "That's right. Teacher Huang cooks delicious food for us every day in this beautiful place. Even Peng Peng and I have gained weight. He himself must have gained a lot of weight too."

Yang Mi continued, "Then we've come to the right place today. Teacher Yu has lost quite a bit of weight, so she should eat more these next few days."

Huang Lei nodded: "He has indeed lost weight. When Yu Zheng came today, I didn't even recognize him. He's lost so much weight. When I first saw him, I thought some celebrity had arrived."

"You ordered that stewed pork with vegetables today, right? I'll prepare it nicely for you, add some potatoes and green beans. Mmm, smells amazing!"

Yu Zheng smiled and nodded: "Okay, I love green beans, so I'll add a lot."

Huang Lei looked at the others and said, "You young people should be more diligent when you go out to pick vegetables, and pick more green beans."

Peng Yuchang then stood up, ready to get started, because he loved the food Teacher Huang cooked.

Yang Mi looked around and said, "There are quite a few guests today, so Teacher Huang will have to work hard."

He Jiong immediately said, "We haven't all arrived yet. There's another guest today, who should be on their way."

Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard door. It was pushed open, and Xu Jinyan walked in with a suitcase and a smile on her face.

Xu Jinyan looked at the people sitting in the pavilion and immediately went over to greet them. Under the camera's lens, everyone seemed like old friends, speaking warmly and naturally: "Hello, teachers, I am Xu Jinyan."

Teacher He was the most accommodating, even coming out to greet Jinyan: "Welcome to the Mushroom House, Jinyan."

Xu Jinyan stepped forward and hugged the man she was meeting for the first time, smiling as she said, "Hello, Teacher He."

After meeting everyone, he was surprised to find that Mao Xiaotong had also come to promote the event, in addition to Yang Mi and Yu Zheng.

Upon seeing her, I naturally greeted her, "Xiaotong, long time no see."

Mao Xiaotong was also surprised. The two met for the first time on the day of the premiere of "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia", and some minor accidents occurred.

She smiled and said, "I didn't expect to run into you today. It's been a long time indeed."

Then Xu Jinyan greeted Dilraba, who happily replied, "Hello, Xu Jinyan. I love your songs!"

Xu Jinyan believed her. "Thank you."

Yu Zheng then laughed and said, "Let alone Dilraba, right now, when we producers want to compose music for a film or television series, the first person we think of is Jin Yan. He's in high demand among us."

Yang Mi then added, "Luckily, we acted early, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get Jin Yan to compose the theme song for our drama."

He Jiong, of course, wouldn't be absent at this moment, exclaiming in amazement, "I know that too! Most of Jin Yan's songs are theme songs for movies and TV shows, and they're really good. Especially her recent song 'Big Fish,' oh my god! That final chanting is absolutely beautiful!"

Hearing these familiar words, Xu Jinyan felt a sense of warmth; it was just like the tune. She quickly replied, "Teacher He, you flatter me. The reason why 'Big Fish' is so good is mainly due to Tian Xiwei's efforts."

Hearing him say that, He Jiong began to admire the young man. He was so humble and liked to mentor other artists, which was similar to him.

Huang Lei also laughed and said, "The dishes we ordered today are quite interesting. Jin Yan ordered a hot and sour shredded potato dish, and he ordered a purely vegetarian one. Even Yang Mi's 'mock crab' dish has eggs in it."

Mao Xiaotong asked curiously, "You ordered a vegetarian dish? Don't you like meat?"

Xu Jinyan: "I also eat meat, but I've been getting tired of it lately. Besides, it's hard to cook good home-style dishes. Teacher Huang, you have to cook more of these, I have a big appetite."

Huang Lei nodded and said, "No problem. I can tell that Jin Yan has cooked before; he knows this. The more home-style the dish, the more it tests the chef's skill. Jin Yan is trying to test me today."

Xu Jinyan quickly replied, "No, no, I promise Teacher Huang, there won't be a single shredded potato left on this plate today."

He was relieved to hear that today's dishes were all meat and vegetables; this plate of shredded potatoes would definitely be a hit.

After that, the group set off to the field to pick corn, preparing to exchange their labor for today's ingredients.

Upon arriving at the fields, Reba asked, "How much corn do we need to pick?"

Teacher He replied, "Today we need to pick a thousand ears of corn."

"A thousand?" The guests were all somewhat incredulous. Was it really necessary to break off that many?

There are only eight of them in total, and not all of them are used for picking corn. Some people have to go back early to cook, some go to pick some vegetables, and some are the boss who can slack off.

Teacher Huang said, "Otherwise, apart from the potatoes that Jin Yan requested, which we have ourselves, we have to exchange corn for everything else, such as braised pork hock, pig's trotters, pork belly, and eggs. The production team is so greedy."

Upon hearing that there was also braised pork knuckle and pig's trotters, Xu Jinyan knew that today's meal was special. He smiled and looked over, asking, "You ordered braised pork knuckle and pig's trotters?"

Dilraba said somewhat shyly, "I ordered the braised pork knuckle; I can eat a lot of meat."

Xu Jinyan understood and said, "Oh, really? But you don't look fat at all."

Dilraba enjoyed the straight man's joke and said with her eyes crinkling with laughter, "I don't know why, but sometimes when I binge eat, I actually lose weight."

Xu Jinyan listened attentively, then nodded: "Really? I'll try it next time."

Mao Xiaotong, who was listening nearby, suddenly laughed. When she saw the two of them looking over, she immediately said, "I also love to eat meat. If I had known you ordered braised pork knuckle, I wouldn't have ordered pig's trotters."

So everyone started picking corn, under the sun, wearing hats, and putting the kernels into their baskets one by one. At first, a few people were enthusiastic and full of energy, but after an hour, they started to dawdle. Anyway, they would have to eat a meal, so they would just have to eat a little something.

"Teacher He, after you break it, you can step on it and it will be easier to handle."

"Wouldn't it be too much work to step on it?"

This conversation seemed to trigger memories in Xu Jinyan's mind. He quickly moved closer to listen to the lesson. Reba and Mao Xiaotong followed him when they saw him doing this. Yang Mi and Yu Zheng had already started to slack off, and since they were free anyway, they came over as well.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Teacher Huang was finally ready to fulfill his duties as a teacher.

"When we burned the stubble that winter... After burning the soil, there was potash fertilizer. It should be what? It's for diversified planting. What does it contain? The most important thing is nitrogen... When water is used to flush it out, there's too much nitrogen in the water, which means too much oxygen... The fish die. This is what's called the legendary soil erosion."

The ladies nodded thoughtfully. So that's what soil erosion is all about. They'd learned something new.

Xu Jinyan frowned, his memory palace allowing him to remember every word he said without a single mistake.

Unfortunately, his comprehension skills are not quite there, just like he could never understand why spaghetti needs to be mixed with No. 42 concrete.

He Jiong sighed wearily and dismissed them, saying, "Go back and cook."

As soon as Huang Lei left, Yu Zheng also went back to "help out".

Yang Mi chose to stay with the younger people. She said, "Jinyan, let's sing a song. We feel so tired. Let's use music to relieve our fatigue."

Xu Jinyan: Damn it, are you tired but I'm not?

Teacher He, knowing how tiring it is to work hard, said, "Forget it, there aren't any musical instruments or anything. Let's wait until tonight, when everyone's here, okay?"

Dilraba then chimed in, saying, "I want to listen to 'Big Fish' tonight. 'Big Fish' is really amazing."

Xu Jinyan's smile froze for a moment. Was "Big Fish" something he could sing? He glanced at the system and saw no negative emotions from Dilraba, proving that it wasn't intentionally making things difficult for Fatty Tiger.

How should I put it when I say her suggestion: singing skills are like a completely different world to those in different fields.

He smiled somewhat helplessly and said, "I really can't sing 'Big Fish'; only the original singer can do it."

Dilraba was a little embarrassed, realizing she hadn't praised the right person. She quickly tried to make amends, saying, "But the melody you wrote is beautiful, and Tian Xiwei's singing is also beautiful."

Teacher He arrived late but said, "It's true. When I first heard it, I was completely blown away, especially the last part of the chanting. I even shed tears."

Xu Jinyan laughed and said, "Next time you can invite Tian Xiwei over. While you're working, just have her stand next to you and keep making 'ah~ ah' noises."

"Hahaha, then the work will definitely not be tiring."