Chapter 47: People Who Understand Fruit
After welcoming Liang Gong as this “great start,” the subsequent assessments fell into the expected stalemate. Forget about drinking three cups; over thirty people in a row couldn’t even identify the first cup.
Classmate A: “What is this? I’ve never tasted it before.”
Xiang Chuan: Directly failed.
Classmate B: “A bit sour, is it vinegar?”
Xiang Chuan: You at least know some taste, but failed.
Classmate C: “Xiang Chuan, you’re not using your father’s newly developed liquid food to make things difficult for us, are you?”
Xiang Chuan: My dad is still asking me for the recipe, failed.
Classmate D: “I’m not drinking it. Who knows if you’ve put any weird stuff in it? Give me the ingredient list.”
Xiang Chuan: If I let you see the ingredients, wouldn’t that give away everything? Failed.
Ouyang Yating’s little best friend: “Xiang Chuan, this tastes really good. Can I come to the club room next time to try more?”
Xiang Chuan: “……I’ll think about it.” Suspecting this person is just here to freeload food and drinks, failed.
Class President Lu Daiqing: “Xiang Chuan, the teacher just contacted me and said to take the cake you just sent to him to try. Do you have any more here?”
Xiang Chuan: “…………I’ll have Little Star No. 2 bring it to you. Do you need a food box?” This person is totally here to freeload food and drinks, failed.
Watching Xiang Chuan’s gaze shift from initial full expectation to a forced smile, and finally to her current dead-eyed stare, Liang Gong, who was helping nearby by changing straws and adding beverages, could only watch anxiously.
“Sigh…………”
As the fortieth person dejectedly left the light wall, Xiang Chuan let out the biggest sigh in these ten days. She looked at Liang Gong with a depressed expression, making him feel a bit creeped out.
Sure enough, modern people knowing nothing about ordinary fruits and vegetables is the norm; someone like Liang Gong who can precisely identify tastes is the exception.
After taking a big gulp of fruit milk from her own water bottle, Xiang Chuan adjusted her mindset.
—Don’t have too many expectations for modern people! Identifying one kind is a victory! Identifying two kinds is a victory!
Silently repeating this in her mind, Xiang Chuan opened the terminal’s communication and gave a new order to the starfish servant: “Little Star No. 2, let the next classmate in.”
Soon, a figure appeared in the light wall, but the person seemed to be dawdling a bit.
“……Nancy, I already said I’m still considering it, wow!”
The person stumbled and nearly fell, luckily steadied by the starfish servant nearby.
“Are you okay, Ouyang Yating classmate?” Liang Gong asked with concern.
That’s right, the one pushed in from outside the wall to participate in the audit was Ouyang Yating.
She saw Liang Gong and Xiang Chuan standing blankly behind the table, felt a bit awkward, dry-coughed twice, straightened her slightly messy deep brown hair, and sat down on the chair.
Xiang Chuan mechanically repeated the assessment process, curiously looking at this girl sitting to her left who rarely talked to her. After Ouyang Yating heard the rules, she frowned at the cup. The sealed cup naturally revealed nothing. Just as Xiang Chuan thought this seemingly serious classmate from the next seat would complain that the assessment form lacked safety, Ouyang Yating suddenly bit the straw and took a sip, stunning Xiang Chuan.
After her tongue tasted the sweet liquid, Ouyang Yating couldn’t help but widen her eyes, instinctively swallowing it. The sweet and rich aroma was captivating. And this sweetness was a familiar taste to her.
“……Apple and…… Sorry, I can’t identify the remaining taste.”
Ouyang Yating frowned unwillingly, and when she looked up, she saw not the expected silly comforting smile from Xiang Chuan, but the surprised wide-eyed expressions of her and Liang Gong beside her.
Xiang Chuan reacted first, handing over the second cup in less than 0.2 seconds.
“…………Second question.”
Like someone who stood up too quickly after sitting too long and got dizzy, Xiang Chuan’s mind went blank for a long time before she said this.
No way around it; after watching forty straight zero-score players, suddenly one who could reach the passing line appeared—how could she not be thrilled.
“Orange.”
For the second cup, the worldview-shattering feeling from the first cup had faded, and Ouyang Yating’s judgment was much quicker.
“Third question.”
Xiang Chuan handed over the third cup.
“Peach, with pulp.”
All correct.
Xiang Chuan and Liang Gong exchanged a glance, both seeing the delight in each other’s eyes.
“Congratulations, Ouyang Yating classmate. Welcome to join our Ancient Food Club!”
By the end of the congratulatory words, Xiang Chuan’s tone couldn’t help but rise, and she extended her right hand.
But the other didn’t extend her hand, showing no surprise or joy on her face, but rather some confusion.
“Ouyang Yating classmate?”
This reaction left her a bit puzzled too.
“……Was that cake just now also made with fruit?”
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Yating asked a question unrelated to the assessment.
“Hm? That one? It’s fruit cake, the filling inside…… Ah, since you know fruit tastes, you can tell, right?”
“Is that Yue Xiang’s new product?”
“No no, this is our family’s dim sum…… It’s food I made myself.”
Xiang Chuan grinned silly-heh-hehly.
Hearing this, Ouyang Yating suddenly looked up, startling both of them.
“You made this?”
“Y-Yes……”
“Will our club be making these things from now on too?”
“Yeah, besides making them ourselves, what other ancient food can we research right now?”
Ouyang Yating looked at the three cups on the table, recalled the rich sweet texture from just now, then looked at Xiang Chuan and Liang Gong watching her expectantly, and hesitantly but straightforwardly extended her hand.
“……Please take care of me, Leader.”
Ouyang Yating rarely smiled, showing a friendliness different from her usual aloofness, stunning both of them.
After getting the second member, although the remaining twenty people didn’t pass the audit, it didn’t hinder Xiang Chuan’s fully brightened mood.
When the crowd dispersed, it was about time for school to end. Xiang Chuan directed the starfish servant to clean the club activity room, while new member Ouyang Yating and Liang Gong helped rearrange the table and chairs.
“I’ve never seen this style of table and chairs before.”
Ouyang Yating curiously touched the non-hovering style chair.
“This one? I referenced ancient styles and asked the university engineering department to make it for me.” Xiang Chuan patted the chair back. “Not used to sitting on it?”
“No, the material is similar to regular chairs; sitting on it isn’t uncomfortable.” Ouyang Yating shifted the chair, the friction with the floor making a harsh sound, but it felt novel to her. She looked up at Xiang Chuan and asked: “Leader, do you know a lot about ancient things?”
“Hm? Not really; the information turbulence I contacted recorded it this way.”
Xiang Chuan suppressed her guilt and repeated the line she’d said countless times.
“Eh, Leader, you’re actually an information turbulence contactee?”
Liang Gong said in surprise.
“Yeah, contacted it about last week……” Xiang Chuan didn’t want to dwell on the topic and quickly shifted it: “By the way, can you guys not call me Leader? It feels weird.”
“But we are the Ancient Food Club,” Liang Gong and Ouyang Yating looked at each other. “If not Leader, what then?”
“Call…… call me Club President!” Xiang Chuan had a flash of inspiration. “And Ancient Food Club is too long; let’s change the name.”
“Change the name?”
The two were puzzled again.
“Call it…… call it……” Xiang Chuan thought for a bit, then recalled A Bite of China that she’d rewatched the night before transmigrating, and had a spark: “Tasting a hundred flavors with the tongue, let’s call it A Bite of China Club!”
And so, the A Bite of China Club, famous at Demeter University Affiliated High School, was officially established under the premise that its founder didn’t want to be called Leader.
The small team was finally formed, but there was still a long way to go before they could eat pineapple buns (thanks to the reward from ‘Not Making Top Three Without Renaming’~!)
