Li Xunwen suddenly stood up, his face full of disbelief as he asked Gu Zhaoping, “You did this on purpose?”
Gu Zhaoping glanced at him and calmly looked away, replying, “No.”
Li Xunwen’s expression turned even darker.
“No?”
How could this not be on purpose?
If this wasn’t deliberate, then what was?
This was clearly a trap set up just to lure them in!
Gu Zhaoping’s tone was light and airy:
“I just happened to want to bid on the truffle, but you outbid me and took it. Then I wanted to bid on the oil. It’s very simple. I lose money every time I do business — how could I be smart enough to scheme against you?”
Her tone even sounded a little regretful, modestly belittling herself with a gentle voice, a polite smile on her lips, and without even looking at them.
But to the Li siblings, it felt like they had just been slapped in the face dozens of times.
Who was it that said just now that Gu Zhaoping lost money in every business deal?
That she was a walking jinx, and if she dared to raise the bid, they’d follow?
They had just been confidently betting on their own team to win and on Gu Zhaoping’s team to lose!
But the bidding wasn’t even over, and their capital was nearly gone.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhaoping’s team still had 50,000 yuan left!
Li Xunxi’s face went through several changes before she finally turned to the director and said, “Director, is it okay for them to monopolize the oil like this? Every team needs oil. If they monopolize it, how are we supposed to run our restaurants? This game is unplayable!”
The production team wiped their sweat but still cleared their throat and said, “Um, sorry, Teacher Li. These are the rules of the game. This actually counts as a hidden strategy. Having someone monopolize ingredients is what makes it more exciting!”
Exciting?
The three of us are about to be “excited” to death by this show!
And what follows in the operation phase is going to be even more exciting!
Now, wouldn’t they have to find a way to trade for oil before they could even open their restaurant?
Were they supposed to go beg Gu Zhaoping?
Group 3 was also stunned by the situation.
Their team leader slapped his forehead in frustration:
“Ah! We forgot about that — oil is what we need the most!”
At that moment, Chu Yanze quickly reacted.
He pushed off from the table, squeezed through the narrow space between two tables, ran up, and brought back all the large containers of oil, placing them neatly on their table.
His movements were so quick and natural, he didn’t even wait for Gu Zhaoping’s instructions — he already knew what to do.
After bringing the oil back, he sat down gracefully, draped an arm casually over the containers like a proud guardian, and gave a not-quite-provocative-but-actually-very-provocative glance toward the neighboring team, with a subtle air of pride.
This was something Sister Zhaoping had won for their team — he had to guard it well.
The atmosphere was tense, like a powder keg ready to blow.
Ruan Nian saw that Li Xunxi looked like she was about to start another argument and was terrified she’d once again be provoked into doing something reckless, so she quickly grabbed her hand.
Watching Chu Yanze’s smug expression earlier had suddenly sparked an idea in Ruan Nian.
She whispered to Li Xunxi, “Sister Xunxi, don’t worry, we’ll have a chance to trade for the oil later.
The show wouldn’t allow them to completely monopolize it. If they did, our restaurant wouldn’t even be able to open, and the game would break.
The production team might arrange a task later, and if we win, we can trade some ingredients from them.”
She glanced again at Chu Yanze, gaining a bit of confidence.
“I’m pretty familiar with Chu Yanze. If we need to trade ingredients later, I can go talk to him — it shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s focus on the next step and not fall into their trap again.”
Li Xunxi glared fiercely at them but eventually turned back around, face cold, sitting down stiffly — just short of rolling her eyes.
Ruan Nian was a bundle of nerves.
Did Li Xunxi not understand how recording a variety show works?
Didn’t she know everything was being filmed?
If they cut the footage and aired it, she’d get tons of hate from viewers!
The biggest no-no in variety shows is not being able to handle losing — and that’s exactly the type of person audiences dislike the most.
Since they already lost, they should just endure it for now.
There would still be chances later to showcase a comeback — and that might actually win fans over.
On the contrary, Gu Zhaoping’s team had come in too strong at the start.
Since they won so much during the bidding phase, expectations for them would be sky-high.
If they made any missteps later, they might fall short of those expectations — and that could hurt them more.
But for Li Xunxi, sitting there now, her emotions were turbulent.
“Don’t fall into their trap again” — those words stung. It made her feel stupid, like she would always fall into Gu Zhaoping’s schemes.
But thinking back to just the last few rounds where she lost so much, Li Xunxi felt a heavy pressure in her chest.
She didn’t understand.
Wasn’t Gu Zhaoping supposed to be clueless about business?
Then what was all that she just did?
Thinking about the image Gu Zhaoping had shown since filming started and how it didn’t match what she had assumed, Li Xunxi began to panic.
Her thoughts were a mess.
But it’s hard to go against your first impressions.
Re-evaluating someone you dislike requires a lot of self-awareness and humility.
Admitting that someone you dislike is actually competent feels like admitting that your own judgment and abilities are lacking.
Most people don’t enjoy slapping themselves in the face like that.
That’s why letting go of grudges is considered a virtue — because it’s hard. Li Xunxi knew she couldn’t do it.
People naturally tend to belittle those they dislike.
If someone is stupid and incapable, then it makes sense to dislike them.
But if that person is actually outstanding, then your dislike feels tainted with jealousy — unjustified.
As she watched Gu Zhaoping calmly raise her paddle again and again in the auction, neither their team nor the third team dared to compete anymore.
Li Xunxi’s expression grew darker.
Earlier, during the initial food bidding round, her team and the third team had competed several times in quick succession to secure ingredients, resulting in rising prices and a mixed outcome.
Even though Group 3 had the most funds left — a solid 80,000 yuan, still over 60,000 after deducting kitchenware — they had been conservative and focused on low-cost operations.
So against her own struggling team, it had still been fairly even.
But now it was different.
After the bidding war between their two groups, the Li siblings’ team was nearly broke.
What little they had left was their emergency reserve.
Group 3 didn’t have much left either. If they tried to go up against Gu Zhaoping’s team, they’d have no chance.
Gu Zhaoping’s team waited until the very end to start choosing ingredients.
By then, they could buy nearly everything left at the original price — with no competition.
Li Xunxi could only watch it happen, her teeth clenched tighter and tighter.
She didn’t understand why Gu Zhaoping had dared to wait so long before selecting ingredients.
She understood part of the logic: each group could only process a limited amount of ingredients.
If the other two groups fought early, raising prices, it would leave many useful items for Gu Zhaoping’s group in the end.
But how could they be sure the remaining items would be exactly what they needed?
Wasn’t there a chance the others might snatch them up first?
Then suddenly, inspiration struck.
Gu Zhaoping and Liang Zhiwei were conferring as they finally finished purchasing their needed ingredients.
Liang Zhiwei did a quick inventory, leaned in to whisper what they were still missing.
Gu Zhaoping then looked up, glanced calmly across at the two other teams.
With a peaceful smile and a calm, unhurried demeanor, she said with complete confidence:
“These are the ingredients our team still needs.
You have one minute to trade them for our oil.”
The expressions of the two groups opposite changed instantly!
Wait, you’re saying we exchange now?
No way—what, only one minute?
Li Xunwen and his sister’s group also turned pale.
Right!
They have oil—so they can trade with whoever they want!
And Gu Zhaoping holds essential items.
If anyone wants to keep their restaurant running, they must trade with her—and at the prices she sets!
Shameless!
This is absolutely shameless!
With this move, doesn’t that mean they’re getting all their ingredients at the lowest possible prices?
Even the ones they trade from others might be cheaper than the production team’s official pricing!
She’s totally shameless!!!
Gu Zhaoping only gave them one minute.
The other two groups still had some ingredients they could swap or had in excess, and now they were competing against each other!
Whoever traded first would get more oil!
No way!
Did Gu Zhaoping come up with all of this in just a few moments?
There were barely a few minutes from when the director gave the task to when the bidding started—how could Gu Zhaoping possibly have planned all this?!
“Start the trade,” she said.
Gu Zhaoping spoke so suddenly that they didn’t even have time to think it through.
Some still wanted to negotiate or discuss within their group what to offer, but Gu Zhaoping was too firm.
After she spoke, she calmly clasped her hands and sat behind the table, expression cool.
She even lowered her head and began timing—just waiting for people to come to her.Group 3 was shocked and exchanged a quick glance.
They started to panic a bit, but they had no ill will toward Gu Zhaoping.