I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 292

Chapter 292: The Colorful Dream Belongs to Nuo’er

 

The Dragon Boat Festival happened to fall on a Friday this year, followed by Saturday and Sunday, giving us a three-day holiday. Combined with my “public performance” at the comic expo earlier, the café experienced an unprecedented surge in traffic.

 

Starting from 8 a.m., people kept coming to the café, asking to see the “Little Dendro Archon” from the expo the day before. Some even bought train or plane tickets last night and flew to Shenzhen just to catch a glimpse of me at the café.

 

It feels like my performance this time has really gained traction. Previously, most of the café’s patrons were users from the Tongmeng Net, because they had given the café a lot of promotional exposure in their PVs and organized many events. Many people came with a curious mindset to try it out. But this time it’s different. It mainly spread across various QQ groups, where many users don’t even follow Tongmeng.

 

Most of them became interested in “Yin Nuo’er” after seeing my stage play and hearing my singing at the expo. After all, there were quite a few front-row audience members near the venue with professional-grade cameras, and the footage they captured was very clear. My face was clearly visible, leading some to wonder if a girl could really look this cute.

 

Some were curious if such a perfect voice could be real, and others couldn’t believe that such a perfect girl actually existed in the world. So, everyone coincidentally followed the clues provided by internet users to find me at the café.

 

The best way to verify whether I used beauty filters or if a girl like me could indeed be this cute with such an ethereal voice was to directly visit the other person’s city and observe face-to-face.

 

Coincidentally, the comic expo happened to coincide with the Dragon Boat Festival these past few days.

 

So, the vast majority of netizens suddenly had a holiday destination in mind: Shenzhen.

 

“It is said that your performance yesterday directly boosted tourism growth in Shenzhen,” Su Yunjin said, wearing a waiter’s uniform similar to KFC’s as he arrived at the café early in the morning, showing respect for my clothes.

 

“The train, tram, and plane tickets to Shenzhen last night increased by more than twenty percent.”

 

“It’s not that exaggerated,” I said, helping to wash rice at the large table near the kitchen door.

 

“It’s a holiday today, so it’s normal for more people to buy train tickets.”

 

Although there were many people today, Lan Jiajia and Fei Luo were on leave again. In theory, the café should be short-staffed, but Ouyang Xue asked me not to be a second-floor waitress for now. Instead, she had me help Chef Wang Jie and another chef in the kitchen make Dragon Boat Festival special snacks.

 

There was originally a large table for five people at the entrance of the first-floor kitchen. At this moment, I “temporarily requisitioned” this table mainly to wash rice, dye glutinous rice, and make some Dragon Boat Festival special snacks and trinkets.

 

Moreover, I would be filmed by the overhead camera throughout the process, and the footage would be broadcasted to the national audience through the Tongmeng Net live broadcast room.

 

I have to say that Ouyang Xue really has a strong sense of “following the trend” and is very good at marketing.

 

When the anime “Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina” aired, there was a scene about brewing wine, where it was said that in a village with two wineries, one openly declared that all their wine was stomped by beautiful girls, so everyone rushed to buy that “beauty-stomped” wine.

 

There’s no need to stomp on Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the Dragon Boat Festival, and I wouldn’t go to that extent anyway, but hand washing is still okay.

 

So as soon as I arrived at the café and changed into a maid outfit, Ouyang called me over here, specifically in charge of “making” various Dragon Boat Festival ingredients.

 

Apart from me, Xiao Mo will be in charge of the first floor, mainly Cat’s side, while Li Chen will be in charge of making milk tea, coffee, cakes, and other desserts on the second floor. Then, Ouyang Xue and Su Yunjin will act as temporary waitresses on the first and second floors.

 

Actually, when it gets really busy, most of the time, if customers see that the staff are too busy to serve, they’ll take the initiative to go to the counter to get their own orders, just like most bubble tea and snack shops nowadays.

 

Our help in serving food is just to add to the atmosphere. Most of the time, the maids in the café are mainly responsible for welcoming customers, taking orders, and answering questions.

 

“The Dragon Boat Festival isn’t a holiday for traveling.”

 

Seeing me busy brewing maple leaves, Su Yunjin looked somewhat sentimental.

 

“I’ve been clear-headed these days, and I reckon it’s the smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life to have you come work at the café.”

 

“Yes, yes, Manager Su’s decision-making is wise, with a sharp eye,” I said sarcastically, giving him a glare.

 

“Now, go work!”

 

“Huh… Clearly, I’m the manager, but why do you make it sound like I’m some kind of worker bee?” Su Yunjin pretended to be displeased.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Are you going or not? The guests will start pouring in soon, and I won’t handle any bad reviews from customers later.”

 

“Alright, alright, I’m going… ”

 

Seeing another person entering the hall, Su Yunjin hurriedly went to greet them. “Hello, may I help you with something?”

 

“Wow? Handsome guy?”

 

Seeing Su Yunjin, the two girls entering the door were somewhat surprised. “I heard there are cute girls here, but I didn’t expect your shop to have handsome guys too?”

 

“Haha, handsome… am I handsome? Thank you for the compliment, ladies. How many of you are there?”

 

“Two.”

 

“Okay, come this way.”

 

Seeing Su Yunjin being stared at by the two college girls with the look of a wolf eyeing its prey, I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

You’re having your moment too.

 

Su Yunjin’s appearance… the first time I met him, I had a feeling he was quite handsome. Even I, as an older guy, thought so. It’s normal for those girls who are in their adolescence and have normal sexual orientations to be attracted to him.

 

How to describe him… he gives off that vibe of a fair-skinned, handsome “ikemen” character you’d find in BL or wuxia novels.

 

Anyway, whenever I see him, I always associate him with those somewhat “effeminate” male characters you find in certain novels or TV shows.

 

Plus, he’s a rich second-generation, living a good life, exercising regularly, in good shape, with a clean face, and having a good way with women is normal.

 

But I didn’t expect him to show up today directly wearing a waiter’s uniform to help at the café.

 

I guess the commotion I caused at the anime expo yesterday was indeed quite significant.

 

?What is cute little Nuo’er doing??

?Can you turn the camera a bit? Can’t see Nuo’er’s face anymore?

?I really want to eat Nuo’er’s zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), but unfortunately, I have to work overtime tomorrow, sigh…?

?What are those colorful things? Dark cuisine??

?Are you stupid? Those are the local specialty of Shenzhen, colorful glutinous rice, made with pure natural fuel. If you don’t understand, don’t talk. My Nuo’er doesn’t make dark cuisine?

 

At this point, my phone was placed on the stand in front of me, and you could see the barrage of comments continuously floating on the live broadcast.

 

It seems like everyone is very interested in me and the pile of materials next to me.

 

“Shenzhen City has always had the custom of making colorful glutinous rice. Long, long ago, everyone strictly followed the tradition to make red, black, yellow, white, and purple glutinous rice. However, as people’s lives have become faster recently, although this tradition has been preserved, it’s not as strict anymore. Basically, there are glutinous rice of all colors.”

 

In order to dispel the concerns of the viewers in the live broadcast room, I pulled down the microphone on my headphones and said as I moved the pot of “maple leaf soup,” which had already been cooked nearly, onto the table: “For example, black glutinous rice. We usually use maple leaf juice to dye it, just like this.”

 

Taking out the soaked maple leaves, I poured the equally plump glutinous rice into the pot, and with both hands, I continuously stirred the large pot: “Like this, it needs to remain still for a long time, until the glutinous rice absorbs the black maple leaf juice and turns black. Then, it can be steamed in a pot. The black glutinous rice cooked this way will have a faint plant fragrance.”

 

“Don’t be fooled by the light color of the rice now. After this juice is cooked at high temperature, it will turn into a deep black color.”

 

“This black glutinous rice has certain effects of clearing the liver, brightening the eyes, and nourishing the spirit. Because maple leaves themselves have a certain analgesic effect, so friends who often have headaches or experience mental stress, anxiety, and tension can try black glutinous rice.”

 

“Similarly, this here is gardenia juice, used to make yellow glutinous rice. Gardenia glutinous rice has the effect of clearing heat and reducing fire, and it also has some auxiliary effects for internal bleeding, pharyngitis, and mild colds.”

 

As I busied myself next to the table, looking at one pot of glutinous rice and natural dyes after another, as well as the zongzi leaves, scenes of me helping the adults wash glutinous rice in the orphanage many years ago flashed through my mind.

 

Back then, during similar festivals, we were almost all “fully mobilized.”

 

The younger children were responsible for washing things, the older ones were cooking, and the even older ones were helping to wrap zongzi or set up tables and chairs.

 

So I can say that I’m almost effortlessly familiar with these customs and traditions.

 

But now… Are those children who used to eat glutinous rice and wrap zongzi with me still around?

 

“Nuo’er.”

 

In a trance, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

 

“The things over at Cat’s side are pretty much sorted out now, and there’s no one playing with the cat, so I came over to help you.”

 

It was Yin Xiamo.

 

The girl behind me took off the sleeves of her maid outfit and looked around at the large table in front of her.

 

“Is there anything I can help with?”

 

?It’s Xiao Mo!?

?Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo, I’m your dog!?

?I knew it. Although Nuo’er is very cute, Xiao Mo’s demeanor, her usual gaze, is really too noble. I can’t handle it.?

?I’m a girl, and I’m almost mesmerized by Xiao Mo. Her demeanor is really amazing.?

?Xiao Mo spoils Nuo’er so much. She sees Nuo’er cooking alone over here and comes over to help.?

 

Sure enough, after Xiao Mo appeared, the barrage in the live broadcast room instantly increased by dozens of messages, and the notifications of receiving reward gifts started to surge.

 

“Have you finished dealing with the cat hair?”

 

I turned around and glanced at Dingman, who was lazily lying on the robotic vacuum cleaner. I gestured to Xiao Mo towards the several large pots in front of us.

 

“You can take these to Chef Wang to cook.”

 

I’m not sure about other places, but during the Dragon Boat Festival in Shenzhen, there are generally three main activities. The first is dragon boat racing, which is organized by the Shenzhen government and usually takes place by the river near the “Shenzhen Cruiser” in the Nanqi District. The second is eating zongzi, children return home to have a reunion meal with their families. The third is worshiping ancestors.

 

If conditions permit, people go back to their hometowns to worship their ancestors. If not, they do it at home using colored glutinous rice for the offering. So today, our café has also made various colors of glutinous rice, which is convenient for those who are busy with work or for those who come from afar to experience the local customs of Shenzhen.

 

Black, red, yellow, white, and purple are the five official colors of glutinous rice. However, we also made green and blue glutinous rice. The former is dyed with spinach as a dye, giving it a vegetable flavor, while the latter is dyed with a flower called butterfly pea, giving it a certain floral fragrance.

 

Of course, I believe that most people, when buying glutinous rice, will take a little bit of each color, mixing various flavors together.

 

In addition to glutinous rice, to cater to customs from other places, the café also prepared a lot of mugwort, hung some at the door, and added mugwort juice to the beverages. Some special decorations for the Dragon Boat Festival were placed on the first floor, and a “Five Yellow” set meal was prepared.

 

The “Five Yellow” for the Dragon Boat Festival includes: eel, yellow croaker, cucumber, salted duck eggs, and realgar wine. The first few are simple to cook, following the usual methods for cooking fish. Cucumber can be made into a cold dish or served as a fruit. As for the duck eggs, there are salted duck eggs and boiled eggs. As for the realgar wine, it depends on the customer’s preference.

 

?Nuo’er’s hands are small and white. She actually made glutinous rice herself. I regret not buying a ticket?

?Is this for real? This is so hardworking. Is this the sight of a young girl making glutinous rice by hand??

?The Dragon Boat Festival lasts for three days. Their café is said to be holding a five-day event. You can still buy tickets now?

?It’s evident that Nuo’er is very skilled. Whether it’s washing rice or making zongzi, she must have a story behind her. A girl from a wealthy family wouldn’t learn these things in a short time?

 

While watching the barrage on my phone, I busily dyed the glutinous rice and then took the zongzi leaves, starting to wrap the zongzi at an extremely fast pace.

 

Joking aside, I’m really skilled at this! Although I’ve become a girl now and my hands are much smaller, the feeling from memory is still there. At most, I just might find it a bit awkward to grasp things, but anyway, there are only a few ways to wrap zongzi, so once you’re familiar with them, it’s all good.

 

?You can see the meat next to it?

?It’s actually not pure fatty meat zongzi. This is too conscientious. I don’t care, I also want to go to Shenzhen?

?Mung bean zongzi, sausage zongzi, bacon zongzi, and this… Is this chestnut? Looks so tempting. Zongzi wrapped by a pretty girl… Hehehe?

?I’m actually very interested in those colorful glutinous rice. What does this kind of rice taste like? Has anyone tried it? Is this really their custom over there??

 

“Yeah, Nuo’er grew up eating this kind of colorful glutinous rice when she was young.”

 

“We usually use it for ancestor worship here, but Nuo’er didn’t… um, so she could eat a lot when she was young…”

 

“Come on, blind box lucky draw. I intentionally put a big piece of meat in this zongzi. Let’s see which lucky customer gets it later.”

 

“……”

 

And so, chatting with the barrage in the live stream while wrapping zongzi, in the blink of an eye, more than an hour had passed, and the first-floor customers started to increase.

 

“It looks like the real battle is about to begin.”

 

I stretched lazily in my seat.

 

“Let’s do our best!”

 

“……”

 

……