Qiao Huaiyao had just woken up and didn’t have much of an appetite. He ate relatively little.
Bai Jinyan finished eating and sat to the side, not rushing him.
After Qiao Huaiyao put down his chopsticks, Bai Jinyan finally asked, “Want another bowl?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head hurriedly and picked up a glass of water, saying, “I’m full.”
As he finished speaking, he received a new message on his phone from the director.
Director Zhao Jiamo: [Friendly reminder: There are ten minutes left until the designated assembly time. This task is directly related to making money. Guests who arrive late will have a percentage of their daily earnings deducted. Hope everyone follows the rules and appears on time.]
Qiao Huaiyao was sipping water and handed his phone to Bai Jinyan, saying, “Brother, let’s head over early.”
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan put his bowl and chopsticks into the dishwasher and stood up, “Let’s go.”
The greenhouse wasn’t far, located near where they had caught fish last time. During the fishing, Qiao Huaiyao had noticed the greenhouse in that area, but he hadn’t thought much about what was inside.
Director Zhao Jiamo was waiting at the greenhouse. “Come, come, the first ones here, the baskets.” He handed two woven baskets, “Use these to pick strawberries later.”
Qiao Huaiyao carried the basket and looked inside the greenhouse. Although it wasn’t strawberry season, the strawberries in the greenhouse were flourishing. The leaves couldn’t even cover the bright red strawberries underneath.
Ji Zhenqi and his family had woken up early and arrived second. Director Zhao Jiamo handed them a slightly smaller basket, but they had three people in their family. Comparatively, the amount of strawberries they could gather in the basket wasn’t much different.
Zhao Jiamo estimated the time was about right, then brushed off the dirt from his body and said, “Alright, is everyone here?”
However, upon a closer look, he realized that the number of people seemed a bit off.
Zhao Jiamo asked, “Where’s Nie Yihang?”
This was the guest who hadn’t arrived on time yesterday due to delays on the way.
Nie Yihang’s younger brother, Nie Xingfei, was apologetic, “Sorry, director, for being late.”
“It’s fine, you’re the last group. Here are the containers for strawberries,” Director Zhao Jiamo handed over the strawberry containers.
“Alright, now that everyone’s here,” Director Zhao Jiamo stood in front of the camera and said, “Today’s task is to pick strawberries within three hours. The strawberries you pick can be brought to me, and I’ll weigh them and pay you according to the market price per pound. Alternatively, you can keep the strawberries for yourselves and eat them if you like. You can also eat them while picking, as these strawberries haven’t been treated with pesticides.”
Director Zhao Jiamo picked a strawberry, took a bite to prove his point, and continued, “At the end, we’ll weigh the strawberries. The order will be based on weight, and there will be reward points.”
“If there are no other questions, you can start.”
Looking at the vast expanse of strawberries, Qiao Huaiyao said, “Brother, let’s go to the section over there.”
Since some guests had already picked nearby, it seemed crowded.
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan carried the basket and held Qiao Huaiyao’s arm, leading him through the gaps in the strawberry field.
Cameras were set up at various corners of the greenhouse. The audience in the livestream had been waiting for a while, and they finally saw someone appear on the screen.
The comments flooded in: [“Do you really need to walk so far to pick strawberries? Are you avoiding us?!”]
[“I’m here directly to say hi to my wife Qiao Qiao. Let me share our couple’s avatar.”]
[“This livestream has been unpredictable in terms of when it starts. I’ve been keeping it on, afraid to miss a single scene.”]
[“Don’t leave, we’re already so familiar. Is there anything I can’t see?”]
[“As expected of a young couple, picking strawberries together in the same place.”]
[“…”]
As Qiao Huaiyao put the basket down and started picking strawberries, he paid special attention to removing the stems along with the strawberries. If he plucked the strawberries without the stems, they wouldn’t keep well.
Bai Jinyan opened a bottle of mineral water, rinsed the strawberries quickly, and handed one to Qiao Huaiyao, saying, “Try it.”
As Qiao Huaiyao was in the middle of plucking a strawberry, he couldn’t free his hand. He brought the strawberry to his lips subconsciously and bit into it. Suddenly realizing, he raised his head abruptly.
Bai Jinyan asked, “Is it sweet?”
Qiao Huaiyao licked his lips and nodded, “Pretty sweet.”
The sweetest part of the strawberry was at the tip. Depending on the variety, these strawberries were purely sweet, with no hint of sourness.
Bai Jinyan finished the remaining half of his strawberry, finding the taste quite good.
Qiao Huaiyao cleared his throat, wanting to say something, but he didn’t know what.
He watched Bai Jinyan finish the rest of the strawberry, feeling a warm sensation spreading from his ears. He didn’t know how to act, his heart pounding, as Bai Jinyan finished the last bit of the remaining strawberry.
Noticing that Qiao Huaiyao was still in a daze, Bai Jinyan casually took the stem from his hand, took out a tissue, and wiped the water off his fingertips.
The moment the soft tissue touched his fingertips, Qiao Huaiyao’s body stiffened, and he instinctively curled his fingers. Unintentionally, he ended up holding onto the tissue.
Qiao Huaiyao’s gaze lowered, avoiding Bai Jinyan’s eyes. His face turned even redder as he stumbled over his words, “I, I can do it myself…”
Bai Jinyan chuckled softly, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
Hearing the laughter, warmth surged even more intensely in Qiao Huaiyao’s heart.