Chapter 81: So Full of Ideas

The hands-on vegetable digging session lasted for about twenty minutes.

By then, it was already 11:30.

Everyone had managed to dig up vegetables they liked.

After calling out to the group, Lu Qingqiang led everyone toward the canteen for lunch.

As for the vegetables they had harvested, they were all packed in plastic bags kindly provided by the orphanage and carried along.

Streamer Qiqi had dug up about half a bag.

Most of the others had either half a bag or a full one.

Lu Fangyuan was the most impressive, with a bag in each hand.

Carrying two bags of vegetables, she looked quiet on the outside, but inside she was as delighted as if it were New Year’s Day, following behind Lu Qingqiang toward the canteen.

“Director Lu, the vegetables grown here at your orphanage look incredibly fresh,” she said gently under the alias Deng Yu.

“So I might’ve gotten a little carried away and dug up too much. You don’t mind, do you?”

If Lu Qingqiang couldn’t hear Lu Fangyuan’s inner thoughts, she might have thought this woman was a bit too sweet to be true.

“Of course not. It’s just some vegetables, not worth much.”

“If you like them, Ms. Deng, I can have someone dig up another bag for you later,” Lu Qingqiang said with a polite smile.

“Really? But wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, Direc— I mean, Sister Lu?”

“Not at all. For someone as kind-hearted as you, willing to contribute to our orphanage, we’re more than grateful.”

“There’s no way we’d find it troublesome.”

“Well then, thank you in advance, Director Lu.”

【Hehe, she remembered me! She knows my last name is Deng!】

【She’s going to give me another bag of veggies later!】

【This is amazing! When I get home, I’m definitely eating the one she personally gave me first!】

Hearing this, Lu Qingqiang thought to herself…

Well, after a while, you just get used to it.

Meanwhile, streamer Qiqi took the opportunity to sidle up next to Yuan Yuan and strike up a conversation.

“Hi there, Teacher Yuan! I’m Qiqi, a news streamer who covers daily life content.”

“I’m here at the orphanage today to do a story. With Director Lu’s permission, I’ve been livestreaming the whole time.”

“Some viewers in the chat wanted me to ask you: when will your livestreams start again?”

“Hi! Things have been pretty busy at the orphanage lately, and I’m not really that good at livestreaming, so I’ve paused for now.”

“But I’ve been learning how to edit videos during this time.”

“I’ve filmed a ton of footage, and over the next few days, I’ll be editing and posting it on our orphanage’s official Weibo and Douyin accounts.”

“If anyone’s curious, feel free to check it out then,” Yuan Yuan said with a smile.

She had a naturally round face, and when she smiled, her little canine tooth showed, making her look especially warm and charming.

Combined with her soft and pleasant voice, it was hard not to like her.

“Teacher Yuan, someone in the chat is asking what you’ve all been busy with lately?” Qiqi glanced at her screen and asked.

“We went up the mountain to plant trees under the director’s lead!”

“Oh, right! The mountain behind the orphanage has been leased by our director.”

“We planted lots of fruit trees up there and raised a bunch of animals—chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cows, sheep—you name it!”

“These past few days, we’ve been working on planting greenhouse vegetables and fruits in the backyard.”

“Wow, are you planning to be completely self-sufficient?” Qiqi exclaimed.

“That’s right!”

“A viewer guessed that you’re planning to grow strawberries and watermelons in the greenhouse. Is that true?” Qiqi continued reading from the chat.

“Bingo! That friend is spot on!”

“Then… with all these fruit trees and animals, what will you do if you can’t finish all the food?”

“The director said that once the fruit ripens and the animals grow up, we’ll eat what we can first.”

“If we can’t finish it, we’ll sell the rest.”

“The money we make will go toward the orphanage’s operating costs.”

“Wow, I’ve got to say, your director is incredibly wise and full of ideas!”

As they chatted, they arrived at the canteen.

Yuan Yuan said, “Qiqi, I’m going to help serve lunch, so I’ll head over first.”

“Sure, sure, go ahead, Teacher Yuan.”

With that, Qiqi followed behind her, holding up her phone on a stabilizer.

Of course, she wasn’t trying to cut in line.

She just wanted to get a better angle to film Teacher Yuan and the food being served in the canteen today.

There weren’t too many people lining up anyway. Worst case, she’d just be the last to eat.

It wasn’t even noon yet, and honestly, she wasn’t that hungry.

Wait a second…

What did she just see?

Oh wow, the food in this canteen was way, way, way too lavish!

Why did it feel like the dishes here could rival a five-star hotel buffet?

The large serving area was filled with a wide variety of dishes.

Staples included golden egg fried rice, fragrant white rice, steaming hot flatbread, soup dumplings, small bowls of sour noodle soup, big steamed buns, noodles with meat sauce, and shumai.

The hot dishes section had sweet and sour pork, shredded pork with garlic sauce, stir-fried pork with green peppers, pork with garlic shoots, stir-fried baby bok choy, salt and pepper mushrooms, shrimp and corn, fried yellow croaker, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, hand-torn cabbage, braised eggplant, garlic baby cabbage, and pineapple sweet-and-sour pork.

Cold dishes included shredded tofu skin, cucumber salad, marinated green beans, spicy lotus root slices, bean sprouts with wheat gluten, celery with peanuts, cold noodles, and pork jelly.

Fruits included dragon fruit, oranges, pineapple, grapes, jujubes, and bananas.

For soup, there was tofu soup and hot and sour tripe soup.

There were also boiled corn, sweet potatoes, purple yams, baby pumpkins, and broccoli.

Not only was there a huge variety, but everything looked absolutely delicious.

Qiqi, who had just claimed she wasn’t hungry, immediately jogged to the back of the line.

Not hungry? That was a few minutes ago.

Now, she was starving.

Really starving.

The kind of starving where you could eat a horse.

These dishes were freshly made by the chefs.

Not pre-packaged food.

Not questionable takeout.

Not just plain porridge and pickles.

So many dishes!

So many hot, mouthwatering dishes!

This was a feast!

Oh Nai: 【Ahhh, I’m starving, starving, starving!】

Shisi: 【Oh my god, this canteen… is this even real? Streamer, drop your location, I’m coming over right now!】

Qingcui Yuhua: 【One moment, Qiqi says she’s not hungry. The next, she’s running to the back of the line.】

Qiqi’s Gorgeous Wife: 【If only I were there, I’d carry my Qiqi straight to the front of the line!】

Oh Nai: 【Sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour pork—who else gets it? That’s my absolute favorite!】

Oh Nai: 【Qiqi, you have to try the sweet and sour pork later and tell me how it tastes, okay?】

Big Pig Hooves: 【Girl, even if Qiqi describes it perfectly, you still won’t get to eat it.】

Oh Nai: 【Wuwu, I’ll just pretend the shredded potatoes in front of me are sweet and sour pork.】

Qihe: 【Ahhh, back to the familiar food-streaming vibe. I’m torn!】

— Translator’s Notes —

– Weibo and Douyin: Weibo is a popular Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter. Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, a short video sharing app.