Chapter 21: Chapter 21: A Slacker’s Tricks

Zhu Zhuting hesitated, wasn’t she supposed to be in charge of the banquet, including managing the money?

“Brother Xiong, are you handling the finances?”

“Hahaha, you want to manage the money? I’m afraid it’s not ideal for you to handle both cooking and the finances,” said Xiong Guobing empathetically.

“Things are best not to trouble multiple bosses. No problem, I’ll take care of it.” Zhu Zhuting smiled and reached out.

Xiong Guobing’s face looked a bit grim.

He was the elder brother here, why was Zhu Zhuting so clueless?

“You also have to buy groceries and cook; can you manage all of that?”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuting knew he didn’t want to hand over the money, so she didn’t press further, “You’re right. When we go grocery shopping later, you can help me with the budget.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The group boarded a bus heading to the market.

The comment section was full of question marks.

[This feels weird.]

[Why is Xiong Guobing even more pretentious than Mu Ran?]

[Come on, the person is doing live streaming and business; surely their math is better than yours?]

…

The comments were still moderate at this point, since Xiong Guobing was nominally helping others.

But when they arrived at the market, Xiong Guobing thought Zhu Zhuting was buying too little pork, and directly asked the seller for more, “The university students specifically came to support the village and will later go to tougher rural areas; we should treat them well.”

Zhu Zhuting was shocked!!!

Didn’t she hear what the director said?

Of course, she knew it was for the university students, but she had already bought six pounds of pork belly.

One pound of pork belly costs thirty yuan.

That was already 180 yuan spent!

And yet he wants more?

There are still many things to buy.

After all, it’s a banquet, and there are so many people, at least ten dishes and a soup, right? Plus, this area is the Suburb of Hai City, surrounded by many tourist villages, so prices are relatively high.

She had it all budgeted out.

Braised pork 200.

Blanched shrimp 200.

Steamed bass 100.

Roast goose 200.

Radish beef brisket 150.

Salt-roasted chicken 150.

Dry pot lamb 200.

Garlic scallops 100.

Crunchy meat 100.

Old duck winter melon soup 150.

Fresh vegetables 30.

Fruit + drinks + snacks 300.

Remaining money should be used to buy side dishes and seasonings, and if there’s any left, consider other things.

But now, buying three more pounds of meat, her budget is exceeded.

Within the budget, you can only buy less, not spend more.

Zhu Zhuting was boiling with anger, why should he interfere when he’s not even cooking?

If it weren’t for the fact that they were on camera, she would walk away and let whoever wanted to deal with this kind of person handle it, she wasn’t about to cater to him!

“Brother Xiong, we might not have enough budget, maybe we shouldn’t buy it?”

“Haha, I’ve already asked the seller to cut it, it’s just a little more, we can’t treat them poorly.” Xiong Guobing took out money, about to pay, but Mu Ran seized it coldly.

Xiong Guobing was momentarily dumbfounded.

Then Mu Ran handed the money to Zhu Zhuting: “Does your menu have anything else related to pork? If it does, buy it here, and let the seller sell this piece of pork belly to someone else, otherwise you have to buy it.”

“Oh? Sure.” Zhu Zhuting immediately asked the seller for lean meat to make crispy meat.

The seller glanced at Mu Ran.

Agreed.

This young girl with a cold face looked terrifying.

Zhu Zhuting saw the butcher had a machine to turn the meat into strips and asked him for help.

The seller readily agreed.

Xiong Guobing was repeatedly embarrassed by Mu Ran, and he was getting angry, “Director Mu, what do you mean?”

“Are you blind, didn’t you see what I’m doing? Zhu Zhuting is the only one among us who truly knows how to cook, we should follow her lead, why are you fussing? Are you going to cook?” Mu Ran’s voice wasn’t loud, but her tone was sharp, with her long eyelashes covering her brown eyes, mixed with a fierceness between her brows, she stared so intensely it made one’s legs wobble.

Xiong Guobing instinctively took a step back.

Once he steadied himself, he realized they were at the market, surrounded by people and watched by many fans in the livestream, so he tried to be assertive: “I’m just trying to help Zhu Zhuting, why don’t you guys appreciate it?”

Mu Ran smirked and crossed her arms, her expression playful and nasty, “Unnecessary help that just messes things up!”

“What do you mean?” Xiong Guobing’s face grew more and more sour.

Zhu Zhuting saw things getting out of hand and quickly intervened, “No worries, no worries, let’s go buy things at the next shop, come on.”

She led the group away.

Holding the money tightly in her hand.

[Xiong Guobing has the typical elder personality, pretending to understand, when corrected, he argues back.]

[Speechless, Xiong Guobing was just trying to help Zhu Zhuting, yet the comments make it seem like he did something unforgivably wrong.]

[Pretending to help but actually messing things up, it’s so annoying. I envy Director Mu’s personality. And, I really have to say, Director Mu’s stern face is really handsome!]

[Zhu Zhuting is the biggest winner.]

[Hahaha, am I the only one who noticed Mao Ziyang and Lin Wen Yu? They’re just the perfect example of weak, pitiful, and helpless.]

…

After getting the money, Zhu Zhuting smoothly bought things and directed everyone in picking up items.

Mao Ziyang and Lin Wen Yu obediently helped.

Xiong Guobing sulked but helped, grumbling slyly while doing so, but thankfully Zhu Zhuting’s EQ was really high, she managed to laugh it off every time.

In her heart, she was constantly cursing him.

What nonsense.

Keep shouting, if you’re able, you should scram.

While suppressing her anger, Zhu Zhuting kept buying groceries, carrying quite a lot; she bought many items.

But she never asked Mu Ran to carry anything, because Mu Ran walked away with five yuan.

Many marketing accounts clipped this segment and shared it online, especially with Lin Wen Yu and Mao Ziyang carrying numerous bags, Mu Ran’s actions appeared quite outrageous.

In reality.

Mu Ran borrowed a trolley for five yuan and got two boxes.

Using the cameraman as collateral.

[Hahaha, poor cameraman!]

[Feeling for the cameraman a million times, have to say, Mu Ran is really skilled at handling things, she neither obediently works nor quietly backs down.]

[Director Mu is so cool!]

…

Mu Ran brought back the trolley, giving a big relief to Lin Wen Yu and Mao Ziyang, and Zhu Zhuting praised with a smile, “Director Mu is really smart.”

“Just a lazy trick,” Mu Ran said mocking as Xiong Guobing stubbornly refused to put his items in the trolley, “Planning for exhaustion this morning, so you don’t work in the afternoon?”

“What do you mean?”

“With the weight you’re carrying, your hands are sure to ache, then you’ll have a reason not to work this afternoon; if you’re planning to slack off just say so.” Mu Ran glanced at him dismissively.

Xiong Guobing was furious.

He threw his things into the trolley.

Mu Ran handed him the trolley to push, strolling around the market like a carefree gentleman.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep