Xu Zifan gave the shed a final check, tightened the vines a bit more, and said with a smile, "Alright, Brother Chen and Brother Yi have worked hard all afternoon. Lie down and rest for a while. I'll start a fire and cook, and we'll be able to eat soon."
Chen Zaimin helped him gather the firewood and said, "Let me help you. You're much more tired than us. Let's work together to speed things up."
Yi Xiao also came over, clearly embarrassed to go and rest. Xu Zifan waved his hand and pushed them over, looking relaxed and cheerful. "You guys should rest. I'm good at these things, so it's not that tiring. Besides, I like to cook. I'll let you try my cooking later. My cooking is really delicious. Food is my favorite thing, bar none."
The two were amused by him, so they sat down on the hay. Yi Xiao opened his sleeping bag and spread it on top, then picked up the mosquito spray.
Seeing this, Xu Zifan clapped his hands and said, "I was so busy that I forgot. I picked some herbs to repel mosquitoes. I just need to roast them into powder and sprinkle them around. Brother Yi, don't spray this. It smells strong and may not even work."
Yi Xiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded, remembering that he had always been quite reliable. "Just let me know if you need any help."
Xu Zifan responded and moved the firewood pile to an open space some distance away from the shed. The cameraman followed and started filming close-ups. Starting a fire is a major challenge for survival. Everyone had failed before. The director asked him to film how Xu Zifan started the fire and whether it was just as difficult.
To everyone's surprise, less than a minute after the cameraman arrived, Xu Zifan had already started a fire!
Xu Zifan tore off a leaf the size of a fan and slowly fanned it around the flames. The flames quickly grew stronger, making the firewood crackle and pop. The production team was astonished, never expecting that Xu Zifan would overcome such a major challenge so easily!
Xu Zifan immediately picked out a kind of herb he had collected and placed it near the fire to roast. Then he tied several fish to tree branches and roasted them at an angle around the fire.
Then they set up a rack in the middle, put the pot on it, and started slicing the large chunks of meat from the clams into pieces, arranging them in the pot to fry, and sprinkling on the seasonings they had brought.
The aroma soon filled the camp, and Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao, who were resting, came over and squatted by the fire, their stomachs growling.
Chen Zaimin laughed and said, "I haven't been this hungry in a long time. Your grill smells so good, what kind of seasoning is this?"
As Xu Zifan applied the seasoning to the fish, he said, "I made this myself. I like to eat it, so I used what I think is the best seasoning. I don't know if you guys will like it."
Chen Zaimin sniffed, "I think I can tell I like it just by smelling it."
Yi Xiao nodded, "Me too."
Song Yunjian finally nailed four more vines, but couldn't resist the aroma. He tugged at the six vines next to the big tree, and felt that they weren't too sturdy but wouldn't come off easily, so he ignored them and walked to the fire, saying, "It seems that the youngest brother's cooking is really good. There are very few young men as young as you who can cook. It's really rare."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "I like to eat, there's nothing I can do, only what I make myself is the most to my liking."
He flipped the fish over and continued grilling the clams. Seeing that it was getting dark, he asked, "Brother Song, do you know where they went to look for Ye Zi? It'll probably be dark in another ten minutes. They didn't bring a flashlight, so it's not safe for them to be out there."
Song Yunjian shook his head. "I don't know either. If I had known, I would have sent them with you to look for them. They would have been back by now."
Song Yunjian had figured it out while he was working. He was a little afraid that Xu Zifan's bad reputation would affect him, but being amicable on the show would be good for him. A host shouldn't have any personal biases, so he should be on good terms with everyone and act as a peacemaker.
So he came over again to mend the relationship. Anyway, they hadn't argued before; it was just a difference of opinion. Fortunately, they didn't reject him, which relieved him.
Ten minutes later, it got dark, and it got dark very quickly. Their camp was brightly lit by a campfire and large lights from the film crew at a high place for filming, but all they could see around were shadowy tree shadows and nothing else.
Xu Zifan deliberately asked, "Should we go find them? Director, can you contact their cameraman? Are they in danger? What's their situation?"
The director said, "I can't tell you that."
Xu Zifan lowered his head and continued grilling the shellfish. "Oh, so you mean they're okay? If they were in danger, you definitely wouldn't be able to sit still."
Chen Zaimin chuckled, "Youngest brother, I didn't realize you were so cunning, trying to trick the director into saying something."
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "I didn't dare to speak much before, but I relaxed a lot today running around on the island, so I didn't pay much attention. I hope I didn't offend the director."
Chen Zaimin glanced at the director and said, "What's the big deal about offending them over such a small matter? The production team is trying to create difficulties for us. If we're talking about offending them, I think it's you who's offended them by making things so good for us today. They just want to film us looking flustered and anxious."
Xu Zifan paused, looking up helplessly. "What should we do? Should we... tear down the studio and start over? I didn't know we should do this for the sake of the show."
Chen Zaimin, Song Yunjian, and Yi Xiao all burst into laughter. Chen Zaimin patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Youngest brother, you're too honest. Who cares about the show's effect? The production team didn't give us a script. They just wanted to film our most authentic selves. It's their business that they didn't expect you to be so good. It's too late for them to regret it now. Don't worry about it."
Xu Zifan glanced at the expressions of the group of staff members and saw that they all seemed somewhat bewildered.
Nai smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but I think this is good. We are indeed surviving on a deserted island, and we're not faking it. Being too disheveled is not a good look. The way we are now is more like experiencing life on an island, like traveling and exploring an island. It's more interesting to be relaxed."
Since things have already come to this, what can the director say? He can only let them be.
Around 8:30, Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu returned somewhat disheveled, carrying a pile of leaves. Both of them looked unwell. Song Yunjian was the first to stand up and ask with concern, "Why are you only coming back now? Did you run into some trouble?"
Xue Ninglu said breathlessly, "Don't even mention it. It was already dark when we finished with the leaves. We thought we should hurry back and saw a small path that should be a shortcut back to the camp. But when we got to one side, the path disappeared, and we got lost. So we went back and followed the original route. It was so dark that we couldn't see anything, so we could only walk back slowly. Luckily, we didn't go the wrong way."
Xu Zifan said in a low voice, "Consider it gaining experience. In the future, everyone should keep track of the time when they go out and never take unfamiliar roads."
Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu were quite impatient with his "lecture," so they gave a casual reply. Su Yanchen then took the leaves to set up the tent. Xue Ninglu asked, "What smells so good?"
Seeing the grilled fish by the fire, she disregarded the previous unpleasantness and ran over to stare anxiously at the fish, saying, "When can we eat? I'm starving! I walked so much and did so much work today, I'm so hungry."
Xu Zifan glanced at it and said, "We can eat now. Sister Xue, you and your senior brother can wash your hands and come eat. There are lights in the campsite. You can set up your tents later if you want. Actually, I suggest you stay in the shed with us."
Having gone through so much trouble to build the tent, and having previously said that the shed wasn't practical, they certainly wouldn't go back on their word. No one changed their mind; instead, they decided to eat first and then get back to work.
Xu Zifan poured all the previously roasted clam slices into the pot, turned them over with a wooden board, and after heating them up, poured them onto clean leaves, letting everyone use small twigs as chopsticks to eat. Then he poured clean water into the pot and started cooking the clam meat and wild vegetables, adding a lot of sour wild fruits.
"The soup won't be ready for a while, so let's eat the grilled fish and grilled shellfish first. We're short on time today, so this is all we can make. Please make do with what we have." Xu Zifan said as he distributed the grilled fish to them.
Several cameramen walked in to film close-ups of the food. The grilled fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with some seasonings on the surface. It looked just as good as the professional grilled fish in a grilled fish restaurant, and it smelled especially delicious, making them all feel hungry.
And there was a pile of grilled clams on the leaves. The tender white clams were grilled until each piece was golden brown and slightly oily, with a fragrant aroma. Several cameramen who were close by couldn't help but swallow their saliva, and then looked at each other with a somewhat subtle feeling.
Are they filming a survival movie on a desert island or a documentary about Chinese cuisine?
Xu Zifan and the others clinked glasses with their grilled fish, laughing and celebrating having food on their first night. While they were exchanging pleasantries, the taciturn Yi Xiao lowered his head and started eating. He took a bite of the grilled fish, paused for a moment, then ate much faster, even using one hand to pick up some grilled clams.
Song Yunjian was starving and started eating second. His reaction was the same as Yi Xiao's, except that while biting into the grilled fish, he didn't forget to give Xu Zifan a thumbs up and mumbled, "It's so delicious! Youngest brother, you could open a restaurant with this level of skill!"
Seeing this, everyone else stopped talking and started eating in silence. Once they took a bite, they couldn't stop. Even Su Yanchen, who had always looked down on Xu Zifan, had to admit that his cooking skills were good enough to open a restaurant.
Chen Zaimin also gave a thumbs up and laughed, "Youngest brother, you're amazing! Is there anything you can't do? Your cooking skills are incredible! I definitely have to come to your house for a meal sometime so my wife and kids can taste your delicious cooking. Please don't refuse me, it's so good!"
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "I'm glad everyone likes it. Brother Chen, just give me a call whenever you want some."
Chen Zaimin nodded in response. He was too busy being hungry and eating the delicious food to talk.
Compared to them, Xu Zifan ate very slowly and methodically. He sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the grilled fish in his fair hands and slowly biting into it. Every few bites, he would stir the soup in the pot, giving people a very leisurely feeling.
The director looked through the lens at the six people in separate frames, and Xu Zifan immediately stood out from those fierce and aggressive figures!
Watching him eat is a real treat, because he's genuinely enjoying the food. You can tell just by looking at the screen how much he loves eating and how much he cherishes his creations.
And watching him eat it made the grilled fish seem like some kind of heavenly delicacy; in fact, the aroma was indeed making their mouths water. But the food was just the right amount, and they couldn't have it. Suddenly, they felt so uncomfortable. They should have a rule allowing them to exchange things!