Chapter Thirty-Five: Asking for Ingredients

"We... we need to find someone tall to help us pick loquats," Lin Qisan said cautiously.

Lin Qisan was clearly startled by the man's height; standing on the table, he still had to crane his neck to speak to him.

"Would I be able to help?" Chen Yang asked, smiling gently at Lin Qisan.

Lin Qisan nodded repeatedly.

Seeming to realize he might have intimidated the two children, Chen Yang smiled and said to Lin Qisan and Xiao Yao, "My name is... Chen Yang. What are your names?"

"I'm Lin Qisan, and he's Bayi," Lin Qisan said, a bit shyly.

"I'm Xiao Yao. Bayi is my nickname because I was born on August 1st." Xiao Yao recovered from his surprise and explained softly, then added, "Yang, can you help us pick loquats?"

"Of course, but I don't know where the loquats are. To be honest, I don't even know what a loquat looks like," Chen Yang said with a slight shrug.

"That's okay, we know where they are. We'll take you." With that, Xiao Yao hopped nimbly off the table.

"Careful!" Chen Yang was startled by Xiao Yao's movement. The table was nearly a meter high, and for a five or six-year-old to jump down like that was indeed alarming. Fortunately, Xiao Yao landed safely. Seeing Lin Qisan preparing to follow suit, Chen Yang quickly reached out and lifted him down.

"Let's go." Seeing Chen Yang put Lin Qisan on the ground, Xiao Yao took the lead.

Although the village alleys were narrow and winding, Xiao Yao had an incredible memory and successfully led Chen Yang to the wall behind which the loquat tree grew. Chen Yang easily helped them pick a large bunch of loquats, filling the two small bamboo baskets they were carrying.

"Thank you for your help, Yang," Xiao Yao said, looking at Chen Yang. "If you're free, I'd like to invite you to have dinner with us tonight. Can you come with us now to the village winery, Zui Xian Ju? Our dads are waiting for us there. I think they must be your fans and would be very happy to see you." After saying this, Xiao Yao turned to the director of his film crew, Chen Min, and asked, "Can I invite Chen Yang to have dinner with us?"

As a current international superstar, Chen Yang’s fame was on a completely different level from the referee of the mud soccer game, retired national team player Xu Dong. Since the production team had invited him, they certainly wouldn't let it end after just picking a few loquats. Xiao Yao was somewhat confident in this, or he wouldn't have asked so rashly. As expected, Chen Min nodded in surprise.

Chen Yang was clearly aware of the production team's follow-up arrangements. Seeing that Xiao Yao's invitation aligned with his schedule, he nodded with a smile. "Sure. Lead the way, and I'll walk you back to your fathers."

"This way!" Xiao Yao immediately transformed into a hospitable host, leading Chen Yang toward the winery.

Although the five fathers looked relaxed and comfortable drinking and chatting at the winery, they couldn't completely stop worrying about their children. Even while talking, a large part of their attention remained on the movement at the entrance.

When Xiao Yao stepped through the main gate, the fathers sitting around the square table spotted him immediately.

"Hey, Bayi is back so soon," Zhao Tao was the first to speak. Xiao Siqi stood up and walked over to meet them.

But after taking only two steps toward the door, Xiao Siqi froze in surprise when he saw Chen Yang following behind, holding Lin Qisan's hand. It wasn't just Xiao Siqi; the other four fathers sitting at the table also stood up in astonishment at the sight of Chen Yang.

Seeing the fathers' reactions, Xiao Yao turned back, took Chen Yang's other hand, and led him toward the table. "This is the expert who helped us pick loquats. I've invited him to join you for a drink."

"Yes, yes, Chen Yang! I'm a huge fan of yours," the fathers said, seemingly pulled back to reality by Xiao Yao's words. They crowded around Chen Yang, reaching out to shake his hand, looking exactly like fans meeting an idol.

"Hello," Chen Yang greeted the fathers with a smile, then sat down with the two children at the table filled with wine sets and snacks. Xiao Yao placed the basket he was carrying on the table and asked Xiao Siqi, "Are Shitou and the others back yet?"

"Ah? Oh, not yet," Xiao Siqi replied, finally recovering from the excitement of meeting his idol.

"My mission is complete. Can I go help Shitou's group?" Xiao Yao asked the director, Chen Min.

"You can, but we don't know exactly where they are. You'll have to find them yourself first," Chen Min said.

"Wherever they are, they can't have left the village. It'll be easy to find them," Xiao Yao laughed, then leaned over to Xiao Siqi and whispered, "Dad, I'm going to find Shitou and help them out. Oh, and besides your own, remember to get an autograph from Chen Yang for me too."

"San'er, I'm going to help Shitou and the others. Are you coming?" Xiao Yao asked Lin Qisan.

"I'm coming too." Upon hearing this, Lin Qisan immediately slipped away from Chen Yang's side and said to Xiao Yao. Unlike the fathers, Lin Qisan wasn't excited to be near Chen Yang; instead, he felt uncomfortable due to the man's intimidating height. Xiao Yao's suggestion was a relief, so he agreed without hesitation.

The fathers were naturally pleased to see the children helping each other. Seeing Xiao Yao and Lin Qisan head off to help the other group, they didn't object. After giving a few brief instructions, their attention returned to Chen Yang.

Xiao Yao took Lin Qisan out of the winery and headed in the general direction where Zhao Rui's group had gone, listening carefully for any activity in the village.

The village was relatively quiet in the afternoon. Xiao Yao led Lin Qisan toward the sounds he heard and soon found Zhao Rui and the others asking house by house for ingredients.

"Shitou! We're here to help!" Xiao Yao called out from a distance.

"How much have you collected?" Xiao Yao asked Zhao Rui as he approached.

"It's all here," Zhao Rui said, happy to have their help, and pointed to the three baskets.

"Let me see." Xiao Yao squatted down and rummaged through the baskets, finding about six or seven items. Standing up, he asked, "How many are left? Where are the photos?"

Zhao Rui handed over a few photos. "The ones we haven't found are all here."

Xiao Yao took them and saw there were six photos left, meaning six items remaining. He picked three and handed the other three to Zhao Rui. "Shitou, leave these three to me, and you take these three. Let's split up; it'll be faster."

The directors from the film crew didn't object. The original grouping had assigned different tasks, but there was no rule against splitting up while gathering ingredients. Since all five children were now looking for ingredients, the crew had no issue with them self-organizing.

"Brother Bayi, I want to go with you," Sun Tingting said.

"Duor, you should stick with Shitou. Remember what your dad said? Working with Shitou is better for your growth," Xiao Yao said with a smile, refusing her request. He turned to Zhou Zhihao and said, "Fatty, grab the basket, let's go."

"Oh," Zhou Zhihao didn't mind. He picked up his basket and followed Xiao Yao in another direction.

"Brother Bayi, why don't you have a basket?" Zhou Zhihao asked, looking at Xiao Yao who was empty-handed.

"My mission was to pick loquats. Since that's done, my basket is full of loquats," Xiao Yao replied. "If you get tired of carrying it, tell me, and I'll carry it for you."

"Who says I can't carry it? I'm strong!" Zhou Zhihao retorted immediately.

Xiao Yao smiled. The reason he didn't want to group with Sun Tingting was that he felt awkward letting a girl carry things while he was empty-handed.

Seeing an open door where someone was sitting, Xiao Yao said to Zhou Zhihao, "We'll go to that house. I'll ask for the ingredients, but you need to say 'please.' And when we get the items and leave, remember to say 'thank you,' got it?"

Seeing Zhou Zhihao nod, Xiao Yao walked to the door and said to a woman in her thirties, "Hello, Auntie. We're collecting ingredients for dinner. Do you have any rice? Could you give us some?"

Zhou Zhihao remembered Xiao Yao's instructions and immediately added, "Please."

The woman clearly knew the film crew was in the village to film. Seeing the camera crew behind the children, she smiled warmly and said, "We do! Wait here, I'll go get some for you. How much do you need?"

Xiao Yao said, "I'm not sure, but Auntie, there are eleven of us—six adults and five kids my age. Just give us whatever you think is enough for one meal."

"Oh, you remember the number quite clearly. I've got it, just wait a moment." She smiled and went into the house. Soon, she came back with a bag and handed it to Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao thanked her, put the rice bag into Zhou Zhihao's basket, and added, "Auntie, do you have any eggplants or potatoes? We need those too."

"No potatoes, but we do have eggplants," the woman said, pointing to a vegetable patch beside the house with a playful smile. "I happen to grow them. Why don't you go pick some yourself? Take as many as you need."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie!" Xiao Yao set the basket on the ground and pointed to the patch. "Haohao, go pick the eggplants. Not too many, just two or three will do."

"Oh, but what do eggplants look like?" Zhou Zhihao asked, looking confused.

"Like this." Xiao Yao shook his head speechlessly and showed him the photo of the eggplant from the ingredient list.

"Oh, like that. I got it." Zhou Zhihao nodded and went to the vegetable patch.

"Stop!" Xiao Yao saw Zhou Zhihao reaching for an eggplant only as long as his palm, clearly not yet ripe. He frowned and called out, "That one is too small, it hasn't grown yet! Pick one this long!" He gestured with his hands.

After Zhou Zhihao finally picked two eggplants about thirty centimeters long, Xiao Yao thanked the woman again, and they moved on to the next house to look for potatoes.

Watching Zhou Zhihao struggle to carry the basket, panting as he walked, Xiao Yao couldn't bear it and took the basket from him. "Let's take turns. We'll swap every so often. At the next house, you ask for the potatoes, just like I did, okay?"