I’ve Gone Viral Because of a Money-Saving Variety Show

Chapter 52: Chapter 49 Chen Xixi! Look at my face! You have to compensate me for my medical expenses!! Chapter 52: Chapter 49 Chen Xixi! Look at my face! You have to compensate me for my medical expenses!! [Chen Xixi really is someone else. If it were me, there’s no way I could remain as composed and orderly as her…]
[Guess Chen Xixi is just going with the flow here…]
[Watching how adept Chen Xixi’s movements are, I always feel like she’s had some extraordinary experience.]
[Chen Xixi really did something I’ve always wanted to do but was too embarrassed to do!]
[I feel a bit uncomfortable about this, everyone seriously shouldn’t follow, but! If it’s a situation like Chen Xixi’s, I think we shouldn’t be shy, just go for it! Otherwise, you really won’t get any food!]
[No joke, next time I go to a banquet, I want to bring Chen Xixi with me, since I’m too shy to both eat and grab food, but with her, I’d feel the meal was totally worth it!]
Other than Chen Xixi, none of the guests had ever been through such a grand spectacle!
In less than three minutes, the dishes on the table were almost gone.
Zheng He thought he could rely on this meal to fill up for the day, so he needed to eat more, but unexpectedly… Did he just end up eating air?
Compared to Zheng He and the others, Jin Cheng was incredibly fortunate.
Sharing a table with Brother Xiao, not only did he not need to worry about having his food stolen, but warm-hearted Brother Xiao even helped him pick dishes, taking very good care of him.
A seven or eight-year-old boy stood in front of the table, stretching out his chubby little hands, and with some effort, picked up a piece of rib and placed it in Jin Cheng’s bowl, his youthful face filled with a ‘serious’ expression: “Is being a university student this tough? You look so skinny, eat more!”
Just now, a bored mom had idly asked Jin Cheng what he did, and he replied that he was in his third year of university.
In the past, Master Jin wouldn’t even glance at the food served in this kind of banquet environment.
He had to eat dishes made by star-rated private chefs.
But after enduring twelve days without a decent meal, even not having had good food, Master Jin no longer had any semblance of a young master.
Heaven knows how many meals it had been since he last smelled meat!
Seeing him bury his head and wolf down the food, Brother Xiao raised his chubby little hand and thoughtfully patted his back, “Eat slowly, my mom says if you get choked, you’ll have to go to the hospital for surgery!”
However, Jin Cheng ate as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Now, he had reached the point of disowning all kinship for the sake of eating, and no one could distract him from his meal!
After devouring five bowls of rice, Jin Cheng was finally close to full. Seeing that Brother Xiao was about to leave after finishing, he gulped down the meat in his mouth and turned to say, “Give me a few pieces of your candy.”
Those could be life-saving when there was no food later.
Seeing Jin Cheng devouring the meat, Brother Xiao felt really sorry for him, as if he had never eaten meat before.
Brother Xiao lowered his head, looked at the bag of wedding candies in his hand, and with a reluctant determination, said, “I’ll take one piece out, the rest is for you.”
“Thanks, brother.”
After giving the candies to Jin Cheng, Brother Xiao ran over to his mom, looked up at her and earnestly said, “Mom, I don’t want to be a university student.”
His mom frowned, “Why not?”
Brother Xiao furrowed his little brow, his expression grave, “Because university students can’t even get meat to eat, it’s so pitiful they have to fight kids for candy. It’s just too miserable!”
“…” The mom said, “Big brother was just teasing you.”
“No, he said next time there’s something tasty, I should remember to bring him some, and then he’d look after me in return, but I think he’s lying to me. He’s a university student and can’t even get a proper meal, how can he look after me?”
“…”
[The most tragic time a university student was scammed…]
[Hahaha, Jin Cheng’s entire meal depended on Brother Xiao’s care, whether it was picking meat for him or pouring drinks.]
[Brother Xiao: Sigh, university students these days are really giving me a hard time!]
“Brother Xiao: He’s covering for me? More like I’m the one covering for him!”
At a neighboring table, Zheng He looked around and finally decided to scavenge for food from another table, so he took his bowl to Jin Cheng’s table, followed by Wan Chen and Han Qianyi.
But by the time they got there, there wasn’t much food left on the table.
During rural banquets, apart from the two tables where people drink slowly, dishes at other tables are usually scavenged by grandmas with plastic bags in less than ten minutes.
A sixty-year-old grandma approached Jin Cheng’s table holding a plastic bag, picked up a half-plate of ribs, and cheerfully said, “No one’s eating these, right? I’ll take them to feed my dog.”
Zheng He, quick on his feet this time, grabbed it back before the grandma could bag it, and indignantly said, “If you’re feeding your dog, what am I supposed to eat?”
Caught off guard, the grandma gave an awkward smile: “I thought no one was eating it!”
The grandma left with a sycophantic smile.
Zheng He looked down at the half plate of ribs in his hand and had an epiphany.
He realized he could also take a plastic bag and pack some food to take home, eliminating his worry about whether he would starve or beg for food next meal.
The young act swiftly.
Hardly having eaten a few bites, Zheng He immediately put down his utensils and went to look for plastic bags.
But by the time he returned with his hands full of plastic bags, he was still a step slower than those well-prepared grandmothers.
Looking around, apart from the few tables still occupied by drinkers, all other tables were nearly empty.
A literal clean plate movement!
Eating less than half-full, Zheng He continuously comforted himself mentally, “It’s okay, I’ll have more experience next time.”
Since the people at the drinking table hadn’t finished yet, he definitely couldn’t pack food from there. Still hungry, he could only wander from table to table to see if there were any leftovers missed.
And indeed, there was a table with a few fried fish left on the plate, which he hurriedly packed into his plastic bag.
Suddenly, a voice of a grandma came, “Taking that home to feed the dog too?”
What a coincidence, isn’t this the same grandma he just rebutted?
Zheng He, as a young man of the new era, still needed some face, though he had picked up free eggs and begged for food before, there were other guests around him then, at least making him feel less unique.
But now, being alone, he felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his head and stammering, “Ah… uh…”
“Zheng He is not cutting it! He should take a leaf out of Chen Xixi’s book next time; she has a thicker skin!”
“Suddenly feeling sorry for Zheng He, what’s the deal? Does this show have a donation channel…”
“Of the guests, Chen Xixi is superb, a perfect fit for this show!”
…
When Granny Zhao, who shared a table with Chen Xixi, got home, her husband seeing her empty-handed asked, “Didn’t you go to a feast today? Why didn’t you bring back any dishes?”
Granny Zhao sighed and said helplessly, “Don’t even mention it, there was this young girl, too tough to compete with!”
“…” Is this what they mean by every generation getting stronger than the last?
Chen Xixi, who returned home loaded, started to slowly enjoy her haul.
“What if she can’t finish these dishes? She hasn’t even paid the electricity bill, can’t use the fridge, or heat the food on an induction cooker.”
“I don’t know, if she can’t finish and ends up throwing the leftovers away, that would be such a waste!”
Chen Xixi had barely finished half her meal when suddenly, a woman’s voice tinged with a sobbing tone and filled with grievance called out, “Chen Xixi! Look at my face! You owe me medical expenses!!”
Confused, Chen Xixi looked up and traced the voice, and the next second, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.