Starlet Taotie Chapter 19 (Part 1)
Chapter 19.1 Confirmed Glutton
After Shi Jiajia ran away, Boss Fang carried Tang Tang back into the garden, his heart still pounding from the scare.
When Missus Fang heard the news, she dropped her tray and rushed outside, then held Tang Tang tightly as tears streamed down her face, overcome with a lingering fear that made her cling to the child.
Boss Fang kept thanking Jiang Tao over and over. "Xiao Jiang, thank you. If it weren't for you, Tang Tang might have..."
Even as a grown man, his voice couldn't help but crack right there. "Xiao Jiang, you saved Tang Tang, you saved our whole family!! I don't even know how to thank you enough!"
An intense wave of emotion burst from him.
But this emotion wasn't any of the ones Jiang Tao had tasted before.
It was light and faint, yet carried a warm, gentle quality. Nothing like the sharp, gut-punching sting of hatred or disgust that surged straight into her belly.
Something I haven't tasted yet!
Jiang Tao was both astonished and delighted.
Facing the endless thanks from Boss Fang and his wife, she shook her head seriously. "No need. Actually, I'm the one who should be saying thank you. You let me taste something I've never experienced before."
"Taste?"
Jiang Tao nodded earnestly, her smile clean and clear. "So... this is what gratitude is? I really like it."
Her gaze was sincere, nothing like empty politeness.
Shen Zhiyan frowned slightly.
Jiang Tao's reaction seemed like someone being thanked for the very first time.
And then there was the fact that whenever he ate with her, his eating disorder didn't bother him.
Both things made him feel a stirring interest in Jiang Tao.
…
After leaving the private kitchen, Jiang Tao took a taxi back on her own.
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhilan and Shen Zhiyan returned to the hotel for the afternoon casting session.
But once back at the hotel, Shen Zhiyan called out to Zhou Zhilan: "Give me Jiang Tao's information."
Zhou Zhilan blinked. "Why do you want her info?"
Even as he said that, he still had someone find Jiang Tao's resume and hand it over to Shen Zhiyan.
Shen Zhiyan took it and said, "Thanks. I'm heading off."
Zhou Zhilan: "???"
"You're just leaving like that? You're not staying for the rest of the auditions?"
Shen Zhiyan waved the resume in his hand. "Now that you’ve found the little fierce beast who snatched me back for a wedding night, what role do you still need me to play?"
Zhou Zhilan: "..."
With his keen director's instincts, he sensed that something was fishy about Shen Zhiyan! Without a doubt, something was fishy!
But Shen Zhiyan had already left with the resume.
…
When Shen Zhiyan got home, he flipped through Jiang Tao's resume.
The more he read, the tighter his frown became.
He dialed a number. "Look into something for me."
…
Even though the first episode of 'Our Village' became a huge hit, the online reviews were a mixed bag.
【As someone who’s watched through three seasons of this series, I'm extremely disappointed. The whole point of ‘Village’ was to watch celebrities live a slow, pastoral life and cook amazing food. Now it's all about catching chickens, herding sheep, and repairing roads. How is this any different from all those other reality shows out there? I’m done. Not watching anymore.】
【Is the production team intentionally promoting Jiang Tao? Buying ridiculous trending topics like ‘making a sheep kneel’??】
【I'm Xia Xia's fan. I don't understand why she gave up being in a girl group to come on this show and be a stepping stone for someone.】
【I looked it up, the director is Zou Ming. I can't believe Director Zou who made ‘Three Meals a Day’ would cave to corporate pressure and stoop to licking someone's boots like this.】
【The show is boring, but most of the guests are still working hard. It's just that certain something. one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel ,those who get it, get it.】
But aside from those, quite a few new viewers jumped in to argue back.
【I seriously doubt whether the critics have even watched the show. It's hilarious! My roommates and I nearly died laughing when Jiang Tao drew that circle for the sheep and made the roosters lay an egg. We were so loud, we woke up our neighbors!】
【To that person claiming to be Xia Xia's fan, did you not see Xia Xia post on Weibo specifically thanking Jiang Jiang? She said Jiang Jiang had saved her. And during her livestream, she emphasized several times that filming was really happy and everyone took good care of her. Saying stuff like this completely ignoring Xia Xia's own wishes, you must a fake fan…】
【So many of the negative comments feel like hating just for the sake of hating. It's only the first episode. Nobody knows how things will turn out later. Why are so many people acting like they've already watched the whole season and rushing to pour cold water on it?】
【I started watching because a friend recommended it. At first, I was worried with all the bad reviews that the production team might have pulled some shady stunts. But after watching the first episode, it's absolutely hilarious! Highly recommend! Already added to my weekly watch list.】
The two sides kept arguing back and forth, which only made the second episode of 'Our Village' even more popular.
At 8 PM, the second episode of 'Our Village' went live on time, and traffic on Sweet Orange Network instantly spiked to a small peak.
After the familiar opening credits, the six guests appeared on screen.
Director Zou's voice-over came through unhurriedly: "Today, you need to cook for yourselves. But getting to cook won't be so simple..."
【Separating ingredients, cookware, and seasonings, using points to exchange for clues, and the lowest-scoring team gets punished….one twist after another. I expected nothing less of this production team lolololol】
【with only one hundred points to start with, if they want to eat and avoid punishment, it looks like the guests will need brains as well as brawn.】
【I feel like we're about to see all kinds of scheming, bluffing, and teamwork. Can't wait!】
However—
Just as Director Zou announced that clue exchanges were open, Jiang Tao raised her hand without a second thought. “I want to exchange for one!”
The other guests, who were still discussing how to allocate their points, all turned to stare at her in shock.
Even her teammate Tang Yuxia had a look of total bewilderment.
Clearly, the two hadn't discussed this beforehand.
But Jiang Tao was firm in her decision, and in the end, Tang Yuxia had no choice but to go along with it.
【???】
【y would she exchange for a clue so fast? isn't she going to think it through first?】
【Jiang Tao is so selfish. She made the decision all by herself without discussing it with her teammate.】
But the viewers' dissatisfaction couldn't reach inside the show.
Jiang Tao quickly exchanged for the ingredient clue.
By then, the other two groups had more or less finished their discussions. They all decided not to exchange for clues just yet and instead take a walk around the village first.
The three groups set off one after another.
Yang Zhen and Sheng Xibai quietly tailed Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia.
Yang Zhen analyzed seriously, "Right now, the most important clue regarding the ingredients are with Jiang Tao's group. If we follow them, we can take the chance to negotiate and seize the upper hand!"
"The clue for ingredients costs the most points. Unless they give up completely and accept tonight's punishment, we can use our points to lowball them and get the ingredients."
"Or, based on the direction of their clue, we could find the ingredients ahead of them..."
【Yang Zhen is so smart. This must the right way to play the game!】
【Hahahaha, imagine if Jiang Tao does all that work and ends up handing the win to someone else on a silver platter!】
【I'm switching sides. I'm a fan now.】
The camera quickly cut to Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia's group.
Jiang Tao called for Tang Yuxia to stop and glanced around warily. “There are enemies nearby!”
She swept her gaze across the surroundings, spotted a forest not far away, then grabbed Tang Yuxia's hand and ran straight toward it.
She moved so fast the cameraman almost couldn't keep up.
Once inside the forest, Jiang Tao told the cameraman and the PD to climb a tree.
As she spoke, she took the camera equipment from the cameraman, let him climb up first, then handed it up to him.
The camera gear was very heavy, but in Jiang Tao's hands, it felt as light as a toy.
After the cameraman was up in the tree, she turned to the PD. The tall burly PD, standing 1.8 meters, was backing away step by step under her approach. "I... I don't know how to climb trees."
Jiang Tao coaxed patiently, "I can help you."
The man was still shaking his head, but Jiang Tao ran out of patience. She grabbed him by the collar with one hand and the belt of his pants with the other. "Up you go!"
The treetop swayed. When the PD reappeared in the frame again, he was hugging the tree trunk with a completely dumbfounded look on his face.
【OMG LMAO!!!】
【poor guy, but hahahahaha!!】
【Love this freakishly strong warrior woman. If you're not at the next Olympics, I'm not watching.】
Jiang Tao dusted off her hands, looking very pleased with herself.
Then, as if carrying a child, she scooped Tang Yuxia into her arms and climbed up another tree.
【She was so rough with that guy, but so gentle with Xia Xia. Oh my god, I’m shipping so hard!】
【Jiang jie is radiating major boyfriend energy right now ahhhh!!】
【compared to carrying someone like a child, a princess carry is nothing.】
And just moments after they climbed up, Yang Zhen and Sheng Xibai arrived.
The production team timely added suspenseful music.
They also marked Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia's location on screen; it wasn't far from where Yang Zhen and Sheng Xibai were.
As Yang Zhen and Sheng Xibai kept searching, getting closer and closer to Jiang Tao, the music grew more and more tense.
The viewers' hearts were nearly in their throats.
And Jiang Tao also seemed to realize that her method wasn't entirely safe. While keeping her eyes on Yang Zhen and the others, she scanned the tree around her. Then she spotted a hemp rope. Her eyes lit up, and she carefully pulled it over.
The camera kept cutting back and forth.
The tension grew stronger by the second.
It was then a gust of wind blew through.
The treetop swayed, and the hemp rope dropped a section downward, so close to falling right onto Yang Zhen's head. Fortunately, Jiang Tao was quick. She tugged it back up just in time.
The viewers' hearts were all the way up in their throats.
Sheng Xibai seemed frightened and suggested they turn back.
Yang Zhen had already walked directly beneath them. All he had to do was look up, and he would see Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia.
But at this critical moment, Yang Zhen actually crouched down.
And started analyzing with absolute confidence.
【............】
【.....errrr sorry I take back my earlier praise.】
【Oh come on, just look up already! This is killing me!】
【Stop analyzing the ground and analyze what's above your head!】
And right then, Jiang Tao held the hemp rope and slowly lowered it down while also mimicking a snake’s hissing sound.
The sunlight was mostly blocked by the trees, and Jiang Tao expertly shook the hemp rope, making it look just like a real snake.
Sheng Xibai was the first to notice something was off. Even though his voice trembled with fear, he bravely used a branch to lift the rope aside.
As for Yang Zhen, who had always prided himself on his courage, he ran off without looking back; he was scared out of his wits. He was so flustered that he even lost one of his shoes.
【LOLOLOL】
【Who would have thought Jiang Tao would scare off her opponents this way?】
【At the beginning of the show during introductions, Yang Zhen said he was brave. LOL, I'm dying.】
【He talked a big game during the analysis, but the moment something actually happened, he was completely useless. Isn't this what they call a self-absorbed loser?】
【You know what? I'm really curious what Yang Zhen's expression looked like when he found out it was just a rope.】
The production team knew exactly what the audience wanted.
Soon enough, they showed the clip of Yang Zhen and Sheng Xibai returning to the forest.
【LEL PITIFUL YANG】
【Yang Zhe must absolutely hate Jiang Tao】
【I never expected Sheng Xibai to be so brave. This di di* is handsome and has a good heart, I'm a fan!】
【One hemp rope was enough to see a person's true nature. Sigh, next time di di* should find a more reliable teammate…】
(TLN: 弟弟, aka ‘younger brother’; doesn’t have to be biological, can be used to refer to a male younger than oneself.)
【despite this all, doesn't anyone else think that the most reliable teammate is our Jiang jie?!】
【Don't praise her so early. Without cookware or seasonings, what good are ingredients alone?】
But the viewers hadn't expected that Jiang Tao had no intention of going back to exchange for clues to the cookware and seasonings. Instead, she decided to source everything locally.
The production team thoughtfully added subtitles listing the names of the herbs she was picking.
Next to them, a note appeared: confirmed edible wild spices by experts. Non-professionals are not advised to randomly pick and eat from the wild.
【Holy shit! She's this capable?】
【turns out nature is the biggest spice rack of them all】
【How does Jiang Tao recognize so many types of wild spices? This isn't exactly a skill most people need to have, right?】
After that, Jiang Tao also collected wild honey and even picked some pine mushrooms.
With a full harvest, she finally headed back.
【Jiang jie is GOATed!】
【Feels like the only thing missing now is the cookware.】
TL Note:
