WS - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Although Song Shiyue had indeed made up her mind to win through effort, this kind of victory without a fight was a bit embarrassing.

However, when Song Shiyue hesitantly suggested they should still compete, everyone quickly talked her down.

Guan Yongyi even laughed outright and said, "No matter how hard we try, we couldn't possibly start a fire in two minutes."

The sincerity and enthusiasm with which they conceded left Song Shiyue unable to say something like "Not every time can you start a fire within two minutes." After all, it truly was possible.

On Beichen Planet, Wang Mancang, who was munching fried chicken while watching the livestream, nearly laughed himself into wrinkles on his chubby face at this exceptionally friendly scene. Unable to help himself, he recalled the time a few days ago when he'd been drenched like a drowned rat by the smoke alarm at Ciming.

Back then, Song Shiyue had still needed two or three minutes to get a fire going by rubbing sticks; now it seemed she had improved even more.

Wang Mancang had originally secured The Wilderness Journey for her from the company because Yao Mingzhu had dropped out at just the right time and the pay was good; he had racked his brains and called in favors to get it.

These past couple of days of watching, the hardship was definitely a bit tougher than her usual work. But Song Shiyue had clearly adapted well and displayed her vigorous vitality. The latter was what Wang Mancang cared about most right now.

Although when he had rushed to Ciming after receiving Yu Nianbing's message, Wang Mancang hadn't felt that Song Shiyue was still world-weary. In fact, you could say he couldn't tell at all that she had just been rescued from a suicide attempt. But who could say... psychological issues, if deeply hidden, might not always show on the surface.

If it weren't for the mountain of debt that Wang Mancang simply couldn't carry for her, and the opportunity of The Wilderness Journey truly being too good, he wouldn't have rushed to get her this job; he would definitely have looked for a psychologist to check on her thoroughly.

But having watched the livestream up to now, the heart that Wang Mancang had been holding in suspense, yet couldn't easily discuss with Song Shiyue, had eased a little.

The young woman on camera was brave and strong, full of perseverance, and even seemed to carry a touch of the miraculous. She got along well with the rest of the team, especially with Yu Nianbing—they looked like quite good friends now.

Wang Mancang couldn't help recalling over half a year ago, when he had to leave for a short time to manage another artist; during that period, Song Shiyue had confessed to Yu Nianbing. A promising new actress, before even becoming popular, had already drawn a heap of black marks...

When Wang Mancang returned, he naturally questioned her repeatedly, and Song Shiyue admitted she had only confessed in order to ride on trending topics, to become more popular and get more scripts. At the time, Wang Mancang, who had brought Song Shiyue into the industry, knew she had no real connection with Yu Nianbing; riding Yu Nianbing's trending topics wasn't something only one or two people did—it had practically become a trend—so he believed Song Shiyue's explanation.

But as he watched this livestream, he began to feel that perhaps there was more to it than he knew.

However, he couldn't ask her now.

But watching the two of them, who had started standing together at some unknown point in the stream, Wang Mancang thought to himself: actually, it was pretty nice.

Song Shiyue, who was hauling firewood on Wilderness Planet, had no idea that in just a few days, Wang Mancang, who had always treated her like a daughter, was already starting to ponder her lifelong matters.

There were only three groups total; with two conceding on their own, Song Shiyue and Yu Nianbing easily took first place—and the wooden cabin for the night.

Unexpectedly, this time Director Zhang said nothing, Captain Yang didn't jump out to object, and Wang Daming, who led everyone through this segment, was amiable as always, so there was no difficulty; the matter was settled.

Because everyone was so kind, Song Shiyue felt a bit embarrassed and volunteered to handle the preliminary dinner work, just waiting for them to finish their challenge before coming over to help with the rest.

This cow was obviously something the production team had provided so Captain Yang could teach everyone a lesson, and then they even wanted to take it back; if not for Dog, everyone would have missed out. Though there was a lot of beef, they probably wouldn't get such a big haul again.

They had walked through these woods all day without finding anything else edible. This bit of beef might well be their rations for the next ten-plus days.

Not to say the production team would let them starve, but with Captain Yang's earlier words, before giving them any food, they'd definitely have to eat at least one meal of bugs.

Bugs—those who've never eaten them naturally don't want to, and those who have wish they could go back to this morning and beat the hell out of the hopeful or careless self who let this happen.

So when Song Shiyue suggested first eating the parts of the cow that were hard to store, then drying the rest into jerky, everyone heartily agreed. They all joked that this cow was Dog's gift to Song Shiyue, and they were happy just to have something to eat; naturally, whatever Song Shiyue instructed, they would do.

Originally, when it came to flavor, Yu Nianbing's stews and grilled meat were definitely the best.

But when the ingredient was an entire cow's head, that was another matter.

The few dishes Yu Nianbing knew were all learned for script requirements; she had hired chefs from restaurants to teach her. Even the most rugged among them was grilled meat. A whole cow's head was really outside the scope of what she could handle.

The journey had been tough, and Song Shiyue had wanted Yu Nianbing to rest a bit. Since the bathroom was empty now, Song Shiyue used the excuse of freeing it up for others later to nudge her into taking a shower.

It had to be said, before entering Wilderness Planet—especially before signing the contract—the production team had showcased their humane side quite well. One example was the nightly bathroom at camp, along with the change of clothes they'd sent ahead to each night's camp.

The thought of a shower and clean clothes was very appealing to Yu Nianbing. Especially since Song Shiyue's reasoning made sense—six people using the bathroom one after another would take a lot of time. Since neither side needed her right now, Yu Nianbing went.

But what Yu Nianbing didn't expect was that as soon as she left, Song Shiyue was like a wild horse off its reins again; the next moment, she went to borrow a long knife from Director Zhang.

If the earlier segment of disassembling the cow from the thermal storage box had made StarNet viewers involuntarily call Song Shiyue a "Pao Ding," then this moment really made them whisper "slaughterer" under their breath...

A familiar knife, a familiar Song Shiyue, a familiar efficiency.

With one crunch, the cow's head fell to the ground.

Two swift strokes, and the horns came off.

A couple of easy tugs, and the lower jaw dropped; from it, a whole beef tongue was cut out.

With absolutely no wasted motion, the entire cow's head was transformed.

So nimble, no one would doubt she had been a butcher for years.

Yet Song Shiyue had a soft, fair, and delicate appearance; her slender, white, jade-like fingers pressing against the cow's mouth made people worry that those soft, jade-like little hands might get bitten by the cow, completely forgetting that the cow was already dead and had only been a grass-eating calf before dying.

But then, just as everyone's eyes had been captivated by beauty and worried about those little hands, in the next instant those hands directly ripped off the lower jaw; the bloody scene and the jarring contrast left people gaping, speechless.

StarNet viewers stared frozen, put down their chopsticks, closed their lunchboxes, and clutched their little blankets tight.

Who would have thought this was only the beginning.

When Song Shiyue turned the long knife sideways and began to saw through the crown of the cow's head with a grinding sound, viewers finally couldn't help but hug their blankets and kneel.

"Amitabha, this cow has at least died with its value fully realized, to be cherished like this—even the bones are being pried open and sucked clean..."

"I really want those friends over there trying to start a fire to come see what they're missing."

"Hahaha, and after watching, they'll save four portions of rations directly, right?"

"I have to praise my Sister Song for this—she chased Little Ice Block off to shower early, truly a kind soul!"

"This is the power of love~~"

"Friends up ahead, you can still eat candy in front of a cow's head dismantled like this? My respects, my respects..."

"What does this count for, we're used to it after all... candy beside a snake carcass, candy beside a cow carcass, candy beside a smashed cow head—I'm a Little Mooncake, sobbing with a heart both bitter and sweet."

"I just want to know, what did Sister Song go through before debuting? Could she really be a butcher's daughter? My heart suddenly aches."

"Same ache—why does Sister Song, who looks like she should be pampered, surrounded by silks and jewels, eating dainty pastries, turn out to be a butcher's daughter!"

"Wait... what did the butcher do, why does he suddenly have a daughter? Everyone, don't jump to conclusions."

"Anyway, even if she's not a butcher's daughter, she must have suffered a lot. Whether starting a fire, smashing snakes, chopping meat, or dismantling bones, she's so fluent; my heart aches."

"I hope Yu Nianbing will cherish our Sister Song well, she's had it too hard before."

"??? So our Little Ice Block looks tougher than Song Shiyue? If anyone should do the cherishing, it should be the other way around, right?"

"The Little Ice Bucket up ahead, has the joy of CP candy made you join the Little Mooncakes? Hahaha."

"Please... stop eating candy for a moment, the skullcap's been opened, and the tofu pudding I ate tonight is churning in my stomach, sobbing."

Just as Song Shiyue, pretending to exert normal effort, slowly sawed at the bone many times before finally opening the skullcap, Feng Qianqian walked over, handed her a bowl, and pointed to the wooden cabin farthest to the right. "That room has a pot and dishes, plus rice and flour for you tonight, and some seasonings—you can use all of it."

Song Shiyue took the bowl and scooped out the brain; she glanced at Feng Qianqian and asked, "Is all this for us to use? Can we take what we don't finish?"

"The production team has their own food. This is all for you. Whatever you don't finish, you can take with you. But the rice and flour are very little, just enough for one meal for you." After saying that, Feng Qianqian didn't linger and returned to Director Zhang's side.

Director Zhang, who was paying attention to the fire-starting competition, hadn't missed what was happening with Song Shiyue thanks to the camera central control system. Seeing Feng Qianqian return, he immediately looked up and asked, "You just told her about the rice and flour like that?"

Feng Qianqian feigned innocence and said with a startled look, "Wasn't it you, Director Zhang, who said to give them the rice and flour for tonight?"

Director Zhang: "..."

He had said that, but that was before they found the cow...

"Forget it," Director Zhang said, glancing at the screen where Song Shiyue was earnestly processing the cow's head. He sighed, "Looking at how frugal they are now, there's no way we can restrict them with ingredients for the time being. I just hope that in the segments to come, they'll cooperate nicely since they're well-fed."

With Captain Yang's earlier words about feeding them bugs if their energy intake wasn't enough, who would dare waste food by eating their fill?

These words spun around in Feng Qianqian's mouth, but in the end, she didn't say them to Director Zhang.

Director Zhang's current calm and friendliness was built on Captain Yang's repeated frustrations; it didn't reflect his inherent care or goodwill. Feng Qianqian reminded herself of this once again.

The good news Feng Qianqian brought lifted Song Shiyue's spirits even more, which was directly reflected in her increasingly swift movements.

Singe the head, scrape the hair, wash.

Singe the trotters, scrape the hair, wash.

The hide was peeled off, and the bones were removed one by one.

Then the head, trotters, and bones went into the pot for blanching; they were scooped out and washed again.

Song Shiyue's movements were deft and effortless, turning this butcher's work into something with a rhythmic beauty, as if she'd done it many times before.

By the time Yu Nianbing finished a quick shower and came out, Song Shiyue's beef broth was already simmering in the pot.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Song Shiyue shook the bloody water off her hands and stood up, pointing at the iron stand beneath the big iron pot. Like a child displaying a treasure, she grinned and said, "Teacher Yu, look—this is much more convenient than the stone stove we built at noon. We must remember to take it with us tomorrow."

Is that the point... How could that be the point...

Yu Nianbing, speechless, quickened her pace to the pot.

Through the transparent lid on the big iron pot, she could see the large bones and various oddly-shaped things inside.

"I threw the cow's head and the big bones in to boil, oh, and the trotter I promised Dog. But it might need to cook a while longer. Also, I've added scallions and ginger." Thinking Yu Nianbing's silence might be about the contents of the pot, Song Shiyue added, "The bones are hard to store, and they're too heavy. We'll eat some tonight, some tomorrow morning, and finish this pot. Then we can make jerky from the remaining meat and eat it for quite a few days."

Who would care whether you boiled all the bones?

So the cow's head—how did you get it into that state! Did you tear it apart with your bare hands?! And that bowl over there that looks like brain, and those things on the leaf that look like an entire beef tongue—how did you get them out...

Yu Nianbing could almost visualize the sequence of Song Shiyue tearing apart the cow's head bare-handed, prying open the skullcap with two fingers to scoop out the brain, and casually yanking out a whole beef tongue. A breath caught in her chest, neither up nor down; Yu Nianbing felt a bit dizzy.

And yet Song Shiyue, beside her, was still introducing the brain she was going to roast soon, and the beef tongue that was going to be sliced thin and grilled...

If Yu Nianbing, while dizzy, hadn't happened to see the long knife stuck among the pile of beef, she probably would have actually fainted from the images her mind was conjuring.

Seeing the knife, Yu Nianbing felt much better.

No matter what, with this long knife, whatever movements she made and whatever state the cow's head ended up in, there could at least be a reasonable explanation.

Only... Yu Nianbing cast a somewhat helpless glance at Song Shiyue, who was smiling broadly beside another fire, setting up a stone slab to cook the beef blood for Dog, and sighed softly.

She increasingly felt that with this person, if you didn't keep an eye on her, it just wouldn't do.

Over here, Song Shiyue had one fire for stewing soup, one fire for stir-frying the beef blood, and yet another fire set up to turn the beef slices into jerky.

On her own, she could have as many fires as she wanted, using them however she pleased.

The other four, sprawled on the ground by the lean-to shelter competing, had been at it for over half an hour and still hadn't seen a wisp of smoke.

Ning Chuyang, lying on the ground holding the stick steady for Mu Xingzhou, suddenly sniffed and her eyes lit up. "I think... I smell beef."

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