Chapter 215: A Warm Welcome

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: A Warm Welcome

When word got out that Nan Zhi was about to be discharged from the hospital, the entire production crew sprang into action!

"Has Boss Nan’s room been cleaned?"

"I already tidied it up yesterday!"

"Not good enough. Go clean it again right now."

"I’ll go pick some flowers to decorate! It’ll lift Boss Nan’s spirits! Maybe she’ll even recover faster!"

"What? Fu Chao’s cooking? Is he going to burn the house down? I’d better go check!"

"Should we start the livestream? The audience is demanding it!"

"If Boss Nan agrees, let’s go live!"

"..."

The small courtyard where Fu Chao was staying was a picture of festive, bustling activity.

As it was the most spacious and had the best environment of the four guest accommodations, everyone had agreed to use Fu Chao’s courtyard as the spot to welcome Nan Zhi back from the hospital.

There were people cleaning, decorating, cooking... and even a dedicated "atmosphere team"!

Standing in the midst of this lively scene, Chang Mu, by contrast, seemed a little out of place.

She took the initiative to approach a crew member, an amiable smile on her face, and asked:

"Is there anything I can help with?"

This question stumped the crew member!

After thinking for a long while, they finally stammered:

"How about... helping carry something?"

"Of course, I’d be happy to."

Chang Mu readily agreed.

The moment she turned around, she viciously cursed the crew member out in her head.

But she overheard a crew member say that Nan Zhi had agreed to the livestream, so people were already setting up camera equipment in the courtyard.

So she didn’t dare show any annoyance. Instead, she did her best to maintain her persona as a gentle and noble lady from a wealthy family, helping move tables, wipe benches, and sweep the floor...

Just then, the livestream cameras went live.

The massive influx of viewers was immediately greeted with the sight of the "diligent" Miss Chang!

[Huh? The young miss actually knows how to sweep a floor!]

[Our Mumu is so down-to-earth, not like a lot of other rich people!]

[I heard Mumu’s family isn’t just rich, but they have a deep heritage! This must be what a true high-society upbringing looks like!]

[Do you have to be so dramatic? Can’t you find anything else to praise?]

[Oh wow, the young miss actually opens her own mouth to eat! How amazing!]

...

Some people bought Chang Mu’s act, while others wanted no part of that kind of persona.

And some, who simply couldn’t stand it, filled the bullet comments with snarky remarks.

All the bickering, however, ended up focusing all the attention on Chang Mu.

Until someone stepped in to stop it:

[Stop fighting! I’m here to see Zhizhi!]

[Where’s my Yibao? He must be heartbroken that his mom is sick!]

[She was in the hospital for two days, Nan Zhi must be seriously ill. The production team is 80% responsible for this!]

[My heart aches for her. Nan Zhi must have been exhausted! She was cooking at the school the day before she got sick!]

[This trashy production team didn’t even post a single photo. I’ve been so worried I haven’t slept well for two days!]

[LMAO, everyone, hurry and check out the kitchen! Fu Chao’s about to burn the house down!]

...

Today’s livestream was different from usual. It wasn’t divided into individual streams for each person, but rather by filming location.

Only Chang Mu and a few crew members were in the courtyard.

Fu Chao and the others were all either crammed in the kitchen or inside the house, none of them on the same stream as Chang Mu.

So, after someone pointed this out, a massive swarm of viewers flooded into the other streams.

The viewers’ attention came and went in a flash.

Soon, no one was paying attention to Chang Mu anymore, and the viewer count for her stream plummeted.

Chang Mu, however, was completely unaware of this, diligently sweeping with a broom in her hands.

Throughout the process, she didn’t forget to flick her hair and adjust her position for the camera, making sure the audience could see her from her most beautiful angle...

Meanwhile, the kitchen was in utter chaos.

Fu Chao had accidentally knocked over the flour basin, making a complete mess of the countertop.

He hadn’t escaped unscathed either, having inadvertently dyed his hair a trendy "grandma gray."

Qi Pei’er clenched her fists, exasperated.

"I told you, let me do it! Do you have zero self-awareness about your own cooking skills?!"

Fu Chao retorted weakly:

"I just wanted to help..."

Qi Pei’er suppressed the urge to roast him further and began cleaning up in a huff.

Fu Chao awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Nearby, Qing Xi leaned close to Qi Zhang’s ear and, thinking he was whispering, jeered:

"My dear Fu Chao is just so clumsy!"

Everyone in the kitchen, who had heard him perfectly clearly: ...

Fu Chao pretended to turn on him.

"Oh, really! You little rascal, you dare gossip about me behind my back!"

Qing Xi ran off, laughing loudly.

Fu Chao didn’t chase him, resigning himself to cleaning up the mess he’d made.

Because of this incident, they lost a good portion of the flour they had painstakingly spent their money on.

Luckily, Fu Chao had deep pockets and had bought a lot, so they didn’t completely lose today’s most important menu item—

Dumplings.

Fu Chao had insisted on making these dumplings.

He had even confidently declared he would make them from scratch all by himself.

Perhaps it was an overconfidence born from the last time Nan Zhi had taught them how to wrap dumplings.

As for the result...

The chaotic countertop before them said it all.

Fu Chao had no idea the livestream had started and that many viewers were laughing at him or teasing him.

With his never-say-die perseverance, he took out more flour and started over, becoming so engrossed that he didn’t even notice people bustling in and out around him.

Finally, he managed to successfully knead the dough, roll out the wrappers, and make a huge plateful of dumplings!

Although half of the dumplings "died" during boiling and turned into a soup of meatballs and dough skins, the other half remained intact and were at least presentable.

But that was okay!

For Fu Chao, this was a huge step forward!

He set aside the large bowl of meatball and dough skin soup, planning to have it for dinner over the next two days.

Then, Fu Chao excitedly emerged from the kitchen carrying two large plates of dumplings.

"Look! I made these dump... lings... myself..."

A large round table, borrowed from the village chief, had been set up in the courtyard. It was big enough to seat more than ten people.

Now, this table was covered with a dazzling array of dishes—braised pork belly, chicken and mushroom soup, sweet and sour pork ribs, hot and sour shredded potatoes, steamed fish...

Fu Chao froze.

"Were these... bought?"

"Xie Yu made them!"

Qi Pei’er deliberately raised her voice.

Fu Chao looked down again at the two plates of lopsided dumplings in his hands, but he didn’t seem dejected.

"Perfect! It was missing a staple food!"

Fu Chao grinned and placed his two plates of dumplings in the prime spots on the left and right.

Qi Pei’er pouted but didn’t stop him.

Chang Mu walked over at that moment, a perfectly crafted look of surprise on her pretty face.

She said in an intimate, slightly teasing tone:

"Did you make these yourself, Fu Chao? The great Best Actor actually knows how to make dumplings?"

Chang Mu thought, ’Although Lu Shixu is my main target, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to also win over Fu Chao, Nan Zhi’s brother. It would be a great way to spite her.’