The next day, Ye Jingxing, having run out of money from the previous night, could only watch enviously as everyone else placed their orders, even though they all opted for steamed buns.
"Fourth Uncle, why don't we order duck? Nuannuan wants to eat something else," Nuannuan, holding a cookie, looked at him with clear, questioning eyes.
Ye Jingxing felt a bit embarrassed. Because he couldn't bring himself to refuse Nuannuan last night, he could only let her eat cookies this morning.
"Nuannuan, I'm sorry. We don't have any money right now. I'll earn some money later, and then I'll let Nuannuan eat meat, okay?" Ye Jingxing said apologetically.
"Fourth Uncle, why are you out of money again! Fourth Uncle, you're an adult!" Nuannuan looked very confused, her gaze even carrying a hint of condemnation.
Ye Jingxing touched his nose, also feeling quite useless.
Nuannuan reached out and tugged at the small kettle hanging on her, asking Ye Jingxing to unscrew it for her.
Ye Jingxing opened it to find it filled with milk powder.
"Nuannuan, you want to drink milk! Fourth Uncle will go prepare it for you." He was about to get up to boil water.
"No! Fourth Uncle, pour it out~" Nuannuan waved her little hands, directing him.
Ye Jingxing didn't know what Nuannuan wanted to do, but he didn't object and did as she asked.
He picked up an empty bowl and poured it out with a rustle. Halfway through, a red corner emerged, which Ye Jingxing found somewhat familiar.
"This..."
Ye Jingxing reached in and pulled out the banknotes, his face full of surprise. The others at the table also looked shocked.
"Hey~ Fourth Uncle, what would you do without Nuannuan? Nuannuan will support Fourth Uncle then!" Nuannuan said, hands clasped behind her back, shaking her head and sighing with a mature air.
Ye Jingxing stood there stunned. He had seen the kettle yesterday but hadn't paid it much attention.
This morning, he had wanted to put some drink in it for Nuannuan, found it full, and since Nuannuan didn't let him open it, he hadn't bothered.
At this moment, he felt as if he was being kept.
"Why does she still have money? Who searched her yesterday? Didn't they see such a large kettle?" the director slammed the table behind the monitor.
"Director, I glanced at it yesterday, and it was just milk powder. Who knew there would be money inside?" The young lady who had searched Nuannuan yesterday also felt wronged.
"Nuannuan, you're too amazing!" Fang Zhongwen exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Dad, learn from others. Don't just hide things in shoe insoles," Fang Lei nudged his father with his hand.
"Shut up! Go eat your steamed bun," Fang Zhongwen shot his son a glare.
"Director, I want to order!" Ye Jingxing stood up excitedly, holding the money, and shouted.
"No, you can't order with your own money." The director decided they couldn't find any loopholes.
"Hey? Director, how can you add rules like this on the fly? Our money was left after going through your rigorous checks. Why can't we spend it?" Ye Jingxing retorted.
"You guys will ruin the game if you do this. Do you want to lie around comfortably for another episode?" the director said with great exasperation.
"Then how about this, today's tasks haven't started yet. Can we just use our own money for this morning's meal?" Ye Jingxing only wanted Nuannuan to eat well.
"Yes! But you cannot use your own money to order for the rest of this episode." The director thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Bring over the breakfast order!" Ye Jingxing waved his hand grandly, exuding the air of a nouveau riche.
"There's only that one order. It's a small business, and the variety is limited!" The director was in a foul mood at the moment and spoke curtly.
"Oh my god! Nuannuan is a bug in this show!"
"She hid money again. Although I had some suspicion before that Nuannuan might still have money, I was stunned when she actually took it out."
"Ye Zong is really good at hiding private money."
"Upstairs, do you think he needs to hide private money?"
"I can already feel the director's inner exhaustion."
"As expected, Ye Jingxing is being supported by Nuannuan."
"Congratulations to Emperor Ye for being awarded the title of 'Sugar Baby King'."
Instantly, "Sugar Baby King Ye Jingxing" trended on hot search. Uninformed passersby expressed disbelief. After clicking in, they all burst into laughter and left, then flooded back into the live stream.
"Jingxing, why don't you order that pancake? I'm so curious," Zhuo Fan leaned over, looking eager.
"Okay." Ye Jingxing also felt curious about the 20-yuan pancake, hoping it wasn't a scam.
"Luxurious version of scallion pancake, with double bacon, egg, and added meat skewers and sausages. The 'rich and handsome' of scallion pancakes." As the lid was lifted, the director's introduction followed.
Next door, Fang Lei was already crying with envy.
"Dad, I suddenly don't want to eat steamed buns anymore," Fang Lei pouted, looking at the big white steamed bun in his hand.
"Oh, then give it to me! I don't mind that you've eaten from it," Fang Zhongwen said, reaching out to take it. Of course, Fang Lei wouldn't let him and jumped off his chair, clutching the steamed bun and running away.
"Nuannuan, eat quickly." Ye Jingxing happily pushed the pancake to Nuannuan and even got her a knife and fork to cut it into smaller pieces.
"Director, I want four more pancakes. Let's all share them," Ye Jingxing said to everyone at the table.
"Jingxing, you really are family!" Zhuo Fan's eyes were filled with tears at this moment.
"Then we won't be polite," Fang Zhongwen clapped his hands.
"Thank you, Emperor Ye," Chen Yi also showed a joyful expression.
"Alright, but I'll take away any remaining money you have." The director feared they might cause trouble again with the money.
"Okay, here you go." It couldn't be used later anyway.
"Nuannuan, we need to give the money to Uncle Director for safekeeping first." Ye Jingxing felt that since the money came from Nuannuan, he had to explain it to her.
"Why, ah?" Nuannuan tilted her head, confused.
"Because we're going to play games later. For these two days, we can only use game money to buy things from Uncle Director. We can't use our own money. When we go back, the money will be returned to us, okay?"
"Okay~" Nuannuan nodded obediently.
The director finally breathed a sigh of relief, genuinely fearing that Nuannuan might start crying.
"I will announce the tasks you can choose from: There is a pig farm in the village. Cleaning pigpens will earn 30 yuan per pen. About ten kilometers from here, there is a fruit base that needs help picking fruit at 5 yuan per basket. After picking, you also need to help transport it. There is also a large poultry farm in the village that hopes someone can help drive ducks and geese. This task will directly give you 50 yuan for one drive, but if you miss a single one, you will be deducted 5 yuan. Finally, there is an agricultural product processing plant in our town. Recently, their products have been accumulating a bit, and they hope someone can help sell them at the town market, earning a 2 yuan commission for each item sold."
"And our little ones also need to participate, otherwise the work will be invalid."
Everyone listened silently to the director's announcement of tasks while eating, pondering their options.
" I think I do a lot of housework, so cleaning pigpens might be something I can try," Fang Zhongwen spoke first.
"We should be able to do more than one task, right? Driving ducks and geese pays 50 yuan for one go. After finishing, we can still do other things," Zhuo Fan mused, stroking his chin.
"I think this task might not be as simple as it sounds, even though it currently seems to offer the most money. But I was once pecked by a goose when I was little, and it really hurt," Fang Zhongwen spread his hands.
"And it's the only task with deductions. I guess those poultry won't be that obedient."
Ye Jingxing had some ideas but wasn't sure. If he spent the entire morning driving ducks and geese, the income would also be limited.