Chapter 26
After packing and sending off the scallion pancakes for her interstellar viewers, Xia Anran grabbed one for herself and ran to the dining table to eat it with the side dishes Master Guo had just stir-fried. As she ate, she watched the silent standoff between the master and his apprentice in the living room.
Master Guo wasn’t familiar with Director Huang either. He secretly sidled up to Xia Anran and asked, “Who’s this young man? Why does the atmosphere feel so tense?”
“The director’s own apprentice,” Xia Anran said, taking a bite of her pancake and whispering to Master Guo. “I heard they had a falling out a while ago. They’re in the middle of a cold war.”
“Whoa, really?”
Gossip truly was a passion shared by all of humanity. Master Guo sat down next to Xia Anran, ready to watch the drama unfold.
The other members of the production team all pretended to be busy but were actually eavesdropping, the entire room engaged in a flurry of heavy, meaningful glances.
Director Huang coughed. Ji Minghui gave a helpless smile and was the first to speak. “Teacher, the weather is starting to get cooler. Please take care of your health.”
“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” Director Huang said, his beard bristling. “Director Ji is so successful now. A box office hit, I hear.”
Xia Anran: “…”
Who would dare brag about a box office hit in front of you? Director Huang was a master of passive-aggression.
Ji Minghui didn’t take the bait, clearly well-versed in his teacher’s temper. “Teacher, please don’t be angry. I apologize. I was too hasty before. I never meant to go against you.”
Wow, an apology! Xia Anran shoveled a mouthful of vegetables, thoroughly enjoying the show.
Director Huang snorted and said nothing. Sister Wang, watching from the side, couldn’t take it anymore. Catching Ji Minghui’s plea for help, she quickly came over to mediate.
“Director Huang, why are you holding a grudge against Little Ji? You know this kid has never had a bad bone in his body,” she said, bringing over a plate of sliced pancakes and side dishes with a smile. “Alright, let’s eat first. It’s not a big deal.”
Director Huang crossed his arms, the little old man clearly still fuming.
Ji Minghui and Sister Wang exchanged a helpless glance.
“Teacher, I turned down that film from ‘Brilliance.’ After thinking about it, you were right. There are some things a filmmaker can’t abandon.”
“You turned it down?” Director Huang was a little surprised. “The breach of contract fee for that one was quite high.”
Ji Minghui: “It was indeed. I’m completely broke now. Teacher, if you have any projects, you have to bring me along.”
Knowing that Ji Minghui had turned down the film he had strongly disapproved of, Director Huang’s anger subsided significantly. He snorted and said, “Now you know to come to me? Too late. Our project is already underway.”
Of course, Ji Minghui knew the director had recently taken on a new project. In the film industry, any little rumor about Director Huang would spread through the entire circle like wildfire. Everyone already knew that he had recently accepted a national-level project to film a tribute documentary for the founding of the nation. Someone had even leaked that the first stop was Yanshan Village.
Ji Minghui had been looking for an opportunity to apologize to his teacher. When he heard the director was coming to his grandmother’s village, he had packed his things and rushed over, thankfully just in time. As for the director’s claim that the team was full, Ji Minghui didn’t pay it much mind. He assumed his teacher was still angry. On a film set, the director’s word was law. And filming a documentary wasn’t some top-secret project; adding one more person was no big deal.
But this time, it seemed things really were a bit different.
Director Huang pointed to Xia Anran, who was happily eating her pancake on the side. “I’m not the one in charge this time. If you want to join, you have to ask Anran. I don’t have the final say.”
Xia Anran, suddenly cued: …
Right, I guess I really am the one in charge.
Ji Minghui also looked at the girl from Yanshan Village with a puzzled expression. He had thought the crew was just temporarily staying at her house. What kind of background did this person have to be able to outrank his teacher and be the head of the crew?
Xia Anran, having inexplicably become the center of attention, nearly choked. Master Guo quickly poured her a glass of water. After catching her breath, she pulled Director Huang aside.
“Director, why did you bring me into this? I don’t have the final say either.”
This really was a top-secret national project. Although she was the overall person in charge, she clearly couldn’t make decisions about personnel changes. That had to be approved by the top leaders in the capital.
Director Huang coughed, a little unnaturally. “This student of mine… his temper is a bit poor, but he does have some ability. He’s young and has good ideas. What do you think, should we report it to the higher-ups?”
“He’s worked on many national projects with me before. His character is absolutely not a problem.”
Xia Anran let out a knowing “Oh” and said teasingly, “So you did want to help out your own apprentice after all, Director~”
“Don’t talk nonsense! I did not! I just think this kid has some ability…”
Director Huang was determined to be stubborn to the end.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll call the leadership later and mention it,” Xia Anran said with a helpless smile, telling him to go back and eat something.
She sat down on the recliner under the grape trellis. Figuring Minister Qiao couldn’t make the decision, she decided to call the top leader directly.
The phone rang twice and was answered.
“Little Xia, is something the matter?”
Xia Anran instinctively sat up straight and then briefly explained the situation with Ji Minghui.
The top leader thought for a moment and finally approved the request for Ji Minghui to join midway through. “I trust Old Huang. I’ve heard him mention this apprentice of his before. Just explain the importance of Project Liuhe to him clearly. There can be no mistakes.”
Xia Anran readily agreed. The top leader then asked a few more questions about their recent livestream progress, and only then did she remember she had almost forgotten the main point.
She told the top leader about the hundred-pound limit on the product link in the stream. “I tried, and the maximum limit is one hundred pounds, so that’s all I set.”
“But,” she said honestly, “I’m not sure if the actual delivery will be as strict.” Since the packages required her to manually confirm if they were correct, she wondered if she could exploit a system bug and stuff a little extra in, even if the link said one hundred pounds. The black delivery box for that had already arrived, but they hadn’t decided what to put in it yet, so she hadn’t touched it.
“I understand. This is the first time we are sending something to the other side in the name of the state, so we can’t be careless. How about this, I’ll discuss it with those old fellows later and let you know.”
Xia Anran: “Okay, Chief!”
It was great not to have to worry about it herself.
Before hanging up, the top leader also mentioned the black boxes from the viewers’ lottery at the Academy of Sciences. The leaders felt it wasn’t right to delay the prizes for too long, and besides, there would be plenty of opportunities to study these boxes in the future. So, even though the professors hadn’t figured out the principles behind them yet, they had painfully returned them. Fortunately, unlike the livestream, transferring items didn’t require Xia Anran’s personal involvement. The peaches had already been packed and sent to the interstellar era.
…
The United Star System strictly followed the consulate’s order this time, fully respecting the opinions of the winning citizens and not enforcing confiscation. In the end, they collected a total of 45 peaches and 3 portions of scallion pancakes. In truth, another important reason was that the United Star System’s government had now officially established a line of communication with Xia Anran. The supply of materials from Earth would be much simpler in the future, so there was no need to forcibly confiscate lottery winnings from the public.
The citizens of the Interstellar Empire, however, were not so lucky. The moment they received their packages, they were confiscated by the police waiting by their side, and they were forced to sign a “voluntary donation form.”
The citizens: I was truly forced to volunteer…
Director Li was, as usual, the first to rush to the United Star System’s supreme police headquarters. Looking at the peaches and scallion pancakes, perfectly preserved in isolation containers, he muttered, “Good, good. Our citizens still have a strong sense of collective spirit!” He had come prepared to not be able to collect a single one.
Ye Yuxing had come with Director Li. The moment he entered, he put on a special pair of microscopic glasses and began to observe the items through the containers. “Spherical hard object, surface covered with short villi, and ancient microorganisms are active. The overall color is pinkish-white, similar to what was shown in the stream.” Ye Yuxing pushed up his glasses and frowned at an unknown object stuck to the surface of a peach. “What is this?”
“Authentic Honey Peach – Hua Nation, Lake Mountain.”
Ye Yuxing read it out, word for word. There was also a Q-version drawing of a small person holding a peach. “Is this some kind of code?”
Director Li: “I think it’s probably its slogan, introducing the place of origin.” In other words, an advertisement.
Ye Yuxing: “…”
The honey peaches were taken away by the Academy of Sciences. As for the scallion pancakes, because Xia Anran had specifically instructed during the stream that they should be eaten hot and not stored for long, they were immediately sent to the consulate. After all, no one knew exactly how long they would last.
When the scallion pancakes arrived at the consulate, they were still steaming. A dedicated escort team took them out of the isolation container and placed them on the table. “When they arrived, we measured the temperature of the scallion pancakes at 53 degrees Celsius. We adjusted the isolation container’s temperature and preserved them according to top-grade food specifications.”
The moment the pancakes were taken out, their strong fragrance filled the entire conference room. Xia Anran had also thoughtfully included a box of the chili and meat sauce that Master Guo had made himself.
Hearing that the scallion pancakes had been confiscated, all the consuls and the most prominent leaders and generals of the United Star System had rushed over.
General Hong Yu sat at the very front, already itching to get his hands on them. But with so many people watching, he couldn’t find an opportunity. So, he stealthily reached for the small, transparent box. The moment he opened it, he was nearly choked by the spicy aroma.
“Cough… cough, cough! What is this stuff?!”
Director Li immediately slammed the lid shut, allowing General Hong Yu to catch his breath.
“That’s chili and meat sauce. It’s for spreading on the pancake,” Ye Yuxing said flatly from behind him, his face expressionless. Xia Anran had thoughtfully included a note with instructions in the package, but these people had been so focused on the scallion pancakes that they hadn’t even noticed it.
The Consul General coughed twice, temporarily bringing some order to the somewhat chaotic scene. “Has Major General Qin Feng arrived yet?” Any materials from Earth were always divided between the Academy of Sciences and the 115th Squadron.
“Training is almost over. Major General Qin Feng is on his way,” someone immediately replied.
“Best if he doesn’t come. Then it’s all ours,” Director Li muttered under his breath.
The conference room door opened, and a clear, cheerful voice came through.
“Director Li, that’s not very nice. I heard that!”