Starlet Taotie Chapter 20 (Part 2)
Chapter 20.2 Undercover
By this time, at the filming location, all the guests had finished washing up, done their makeup, and were ready to start recording.
The original six guests had now become five. Although the official Weibo account claimed that Le Hui had withdrawn due to health reasons, everyone there knew the real story.
Yang Zhen felt a lingering fear in his heart.
That night, he had also used a dummy account to curse out Jiang Tao. But luckily, he hadn't made the same mistake as Le Hui and gotten exposed.
With 'Our Village' now a massive hit, he found that despite the initial backlash, his pitiful experiences in the second episode, where he was repeatedly humbled, actually earned him some sympathy from netizens.
He'd even received quite a few new opportunities, giving his career a surprising second wind.
Yang Zhen was thrilled.
And with Le Hui's fate as a cautionary tale, Yang Zhen started wondering whether he should try to patch things up with Jiang Tao.
But he couldn't swallow his pride.
He hesitated back and forth and before he knew it, the recording had already begun.
Director Zou first announced the show's viewership with a beaming smile.
Currently, the first episode of 'Our Village' had surpassed fifty million views. As a web-only variety show on a single platform, that number was enough to dominate the market.
And more importantly, 'Our Village' had originally been a show on the verge of cancellation. Its current success had exceeded everyone's expectations.
Quite a few people couldn't help but glance at Jiang Tao.
When it came to this achievement, she was the biggest contributor.
But Jiang Tao was completely oblivious. "If the viewership is that high, does that mean the food will get better?"
Director Zou: "..."
He pretended not to hear. "Alright, let's announce this episode's mission… As you all know, Qingxi Town is a nationally designated impoverished township. Lifting itself out of poverty requires brainstorming from everyone."
A bad feeling crept into every guest's heart.
Sure enough…
"After three episodes, you should be fairly familiar with Qingxi Town by now. So this time, your mission is to find the friendliest locals in the town and use your talents or powers of persuasion to win them over, so that they'll let you stay in their homes."
"During this period, you'll eat and live with the locals. The production team will not be providing any meals."
"Furthermore, over these two days, you must take concrete actions to genuinely help the locals escape poverty! If your actions end up making them poorer, points will be deducted!"
Jiang Tao: "???"
She had a reasonable suspicion that the production team was deliberately getting back at her. And now she had proof.
Director Zou cleared his throat lightly. "To increase everyone's motivation, the winning guest this time will enjoy an unprecedented, heaven-and-earth-piercing, ultimate, luxurious, extremely delicious feast prepared by the production team!"
The guests: "..."
That's only increasing Jiang Tao's motivation, isn't it?!
"Not only that, the winner will also become Qingxi Town's Poverty Alleviation Ambassador, receive a special medal, and star in Qingxi Town's poverty alleviation promotional video."
The guests: "!!!"
Sure, it might be just a title, but the significance of this reward was something else entirely.
Suddenly, every guest became serious.
Director Zou: "In addition, we'll be releasing random missions and dispatching special envoys. These envoys will hold special tokens, and inside those tokens are point cards of different values. They just might help you turn the tables at the last moment!"
After Director Zou finished announcing all the rules, he called out, "Okay, now go!"
Yang Zhen dashed out ahead of everyone else.
At this moment, he had completely forgotten about getting on Jiang Tao's good side. His mind was filled with only one thought: he absolutely had to win the title of Poverty Alleviation Ambassador!
Dong Xianhong and Sheng Xibai, having gone through hardships together in the last episode, adopted a laid-back, go-with-the-flow attitude. They planned to help each other out, so after a quick discussion, they set off together.
Tang Yuxia asked Jiang Tao, "Jiang Jiang, which family are you going to?"
Jiang Tao thought carefully. In all of Qingxi Town, the person she probably knew best was the restaurant proprietress.
But when the two of them reached the restaurant—
Who knew that the moment the proprietress saw her, her face drastically changed. With a swoosh, she pulled down the rolling shutter door.
Jiang Tao: "..."
Her face was full of confusion.
She hadn't even said anything yet!
Tang Yuxia covered her face. "Uh... Jiang Jiang, maybe we should try another place?"
But nearly every shop on this street had been a victim of the point card incident last time. They all remembered Jiang Tao vividly, so one by one, they rejected her.
In the end, Jiang Tao had no choice but to let Tang Yuxia go on ahead.
Jiang Tao walked down the street, clutching her growling stomach.
Utterly alone, looking dazed and at a loss.
Zhang Ce felt pretty bad inside.
He had been Jiang Tao's PD for three episodes now. Even though her wild stunts constantly gave him heart palpitations, Jiang Tao genuinely had a good personality.
Besides, no matter how you looked at it, she was still just a young woman in her twenties.
Getting rejected by this many people…that had to be a huge blow to her pride, right?
Just as Zhang Ce was thinking about how to comfort her,
Jiang Tao asked, "If I can't stay at someone's house, it's fine for me to just support myself, right?"
Zhang Ce: "?"
Jiang Tao pulled out a small booklet. "After I got back this time, I specifically looked up the Wildlife Protection Law. This one, this one, and this one—none of these are protected animals, so I should be able to eat them, right?"
Zhang Ce: "???"
Can’t you just spare those poor animals?!!
Just as Jiang Tao and Zhang Ce were haggling back and forth, the restaurant proprietress peeked out from the side door.
In fact, she had felt a twinge of regret the moment she pulled down the shutter.
Thinking it over, Jiang Tao hadn't really done anything terribly wrong.
So what if she ate a little more? The production team had compensated her for it afterward.
Looking at Jiang Tao's fair, pitiful little face, the proprietress finally couldn't withstand the guilt gnawing at her conscience. She pulled the rolling shutter back up. "Um... you can stay at my place."
Jiang Tao and Zhang Ce both froze.
The proprietress tried to put on a stern face. "But I have one condition. You can only eat one bowl per meal. No more than that!"
Jiang Tao: "!!!"
The proprietress: "If you agree, you can come in."
Jiang Tao rubbed her stomach.
One bowl it was. It was still better than having nothing to eat at all.
The proprietress brought out the prepared meal and set it on the table near the entrance.
To save electricity, when there were no customers, the restaurant didn't turn on the lights, though the area by the entrance remained a bit brighter.
Jiang Tao held the bowl.
In the past, she would have gobbled it all down in a flash.
But today was different. She only had this one bowl. Once it was gone, there was no more.
The proprietress looked at her expression and felt like a villain squeezing the last drop out of a poor peasant.
Still, she hardened her heart.
Business was getting harder and harder these days. On top of that, a new burger shop had opened up on the other side of town not long ago, stealing away a lot of customers.
So much so that even at mealtime today, there wasn't a single customer in the restaurant.
She let out a sigh.
Just thinking about it made her lose her appetite for food altogether.
It was then she noticed Jiang Tao eating with relish.
Jiang Tao was completely absorbed, savoring every bite. Each mouthful she chewed slowly, then swallowed with immense care and appreciation.
It was as if what sat before her wasn't simple, ordinary home cooking, but some kind of delicacy.
Even the proprietress, who had no appetite at all, couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Is the food I made today really that good?
She took a bite herself. The taste hadn't changed at all.
But watching Jiang Tao eat with such obvious enjoyment, her own appetite slowly began to return.
Just then, a figure poked his head in. "A’Juan, what are you eating so deliciously over here? Looks tasty!"
The proprietress blinked in surprise. "Ole Ma, what are you doing here?"
Ole Ma scratched his head. "Brought my relative to town to take care of some business. Well, it's lunchtime now, so I figured I'd bring him here for a nice meal."
"A’Juan, you've improved your cooking skills lately, huh? Just look at how this little girl is eating—she's making me hungry."
The proprietress gave an awkward smile. "I..I guess. Have a seat. I'll go cook."
Ole Ma and his relative weren't the only ones; almost every person passing by the restaurant, upon seeing the way Jiang Tao ate, couldn't help but stop in their tracks. And before they knew it, they were walking right in.
The once-desolate restaurant suddenly became lively.
No one really understood why. The food was just ordinary, plain and simple. But every single bite Jiang Tao took made it look so incredibly delicious.
Even people who weren't hungry before got hungry just watching her.
Vessa happened to be wandering around this area.
Qingxi Town was tiny to begin with. There really wasn't much to see.
Vessa's livestream viewership was dropping.
Just as he was starting to get anxious, he spotted a restaurant bustling with people.
His food vlogger instincts immediately kicked in!
He said excitedly, "Guys! Based on my years of experience, in a small town like this, if a place is still this packed, the food has got to be absolutely delicious!"
The camera turned toward the restaurant.
"Look at this! Unpretentious rolling shutter door, faded wooden tables, red plastic chairs... all the hallmarks of a hidden gem restaurant!"
"In towns like this, businesses rely almost entirely on the local community. The ones that survive have guaranteed good taste. And if a place is as busy as this one? It's got to be top-tier amazing!"
【Wait, isn't that Jiang Tao?】
【She's eating so happily...】
【Damn it! Why must you do this to us at noon!!】
【Go, Silly-sa ge, go! My mouth is already watering!】
【Ahhhh, watching her eat is driving me crazy! I want some too!】
Vessa walked in with absolute confidence.
But when he saw the food, he froze for a moment.
"The aroma... uh, the seasoning is a bit heavy. And the color... uh, this piece of potato looks a little burnt….what is happening?"
He was already feeling uneasy, but he comforted himself and his viewers. "It's fine. Appearance doesn't determine taste. Maybe it's actually delicious!"
He took a bite and almost started questioning his entire life.
Isn’t this just ordinary home cooking?!
He looked over at Jiang Tao again.
She was eating the exact same food, yet the pure joy of savoring a delicacy radiated from every corner of her expression. It was absolutely genuine and could not be faked!
His viewers had been waiting forever and were about to lose their minds.
【Silly-sa ge, just tell us! How good is it really?!】
【Must be so delicious that Silly-sa ge can't even find the words to describe it!】
【Stop talking. My drool has already soaked the cat in my lap...】
【Sorry, Silly-sa ge. I don't want to watch you this time. Please, please turn the camera back to Jiang Tao. I need her mukbang to get through my meal!】
Vessa: "..."
