Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

(Sorry for the wait, this chapter is a future side story and has nothing to do with the main plot. It's just a sweet treat.)

Shen Mingchao never expected that this group of people would start an epic battle on the Dragon Boat Festival.

Sweet rice dumplings vs. savory rice dumplings.

At first, someone complained that savory rice dumplings were like a culinary disaster, and then a debate was about to break out.

Northern debaters primarily used aluminum triangles, arguing that sweet rice dumplings are the classic.

The southern debaters, mainly Qi Qiu, Kan Jian, and Wang Meng, held the view that savory rice dumplings are the authentic way to eat them.

Su Wan: "I don't care, even if the Heavenly King himself is here, the zongzi (rice dumplings) have to be sweet!"

Qi Qiu was the first to disagree: "What is a sweet rice dumpling? Rice dumplings should be savory, with salted egg yolk filling and meat filling. Don't tell me you've never had them before!"

"So what if I've eaten it?" Yang Hao snorted coldly. "As a Beijinger, I only believe that zongzi are sweet, and I won't accept any arguments against that." Besides, his grandmother has always made him sweet zongzi since he was a child.

"Beijingers are so great, huh?" Kan Jian said with a smug look. "Your red bean paste and jujube fillings are so cloying, you get tired of them after a few bites. Aside from the older generation, who among the young people these days likes them?"

That's true, but with a casual wave of his hand, the vest swept across a group of people, especially including a group of centenarians. It's unclear whether it was intentional.

Zhang Qianjun slammed the dish of sugar on the table: "Hey—just talk, don't try to mislead us."

Li Cu crossed his arms and said coldly, "Anyway, you salty rice dumplings are just rebels against the Heavenly Gang."

"You see, the people have discerning eyes; the savory rice dumplings are far ahead in terms of support."

Wang Meng held up his phone to show everyone that the vote ratio for sweet versus savory rice dumplings was an astonishing 1:5. Looking up at the group name, the entire aluminum triangle was speechless.

Su Wan: "No, bro, you started a poll in your Shangcheng District secondhand trading group in Hangzhou, of course more people will choose salty. That's not convincing at all."

Qi Qiu: "Sweet things just don't taste good, stop being so stubborn, okay?"

.........

Everyone started arguing and chiming in.

Shen Mingchao, holding the cat, resumed his spectator mode, and sighed, "There are northern and southern schools of tomb raiding, but I didn't expect you two would even have to fight over sweet and savory rice dumplings."

"That's them." A plate of sunflower seeds was placed on the table next to him, and Xie Yuchen sat down. "I had a feeling you would need this."

That's absolutely necessary.

Shen Mingchao's eyes lit up after taking a bite: "Caramel flavor?"

Xie Yuchen smiled and nodded.

"Come on, let's eat together." Shen Mingchao called out to everyone, and the next second a plate of sliced ​​watermelon appeared in front of her, each slice perfectly square and still steaming.

"And this too."

Shen Mingchao looked up and met Zhang Haixia's gaze. The two had spent a lot of time together and had come to know some new and interesting words, such as "eating melon".

She popped a watermelon slice into her mouth and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to argue with them?"

Xie Yuchen shook his head: "I'm so-so about zongzi, sweet or savory is fine."

Just then, a large black rat darted out and rudely snatched the watermelon that Shen Mingchao had just stuck in his hand, swallowing it whole.

"Mmm, sweet and crisp, this melon is really good."

Shen Mingchao: "..."

I was too late; I missed tripping him. What a pity.

Having gotten the better deal, Hei Xiazi leaned on the table, used a toothpick to pick up another slice of watermelon, and handed it to Shen Mingchao: "Just kidding, here, take one back."

Shen Mingchao didn't reach out to take it, and said indifferently, "Take another one. You just used this toothpick."

It carried a hint of disdain.

A few snickers rose and fell from the surrounding area.

"..." Black Bear's smile froze, and a wicked idea popped into his head in an instant. He shamelessly leaned closer and whispered, "No way, Mingchao, we've already kissed. Isn't it a bit late for you to complain about me now?"

The volume is indeed not very loud.

But there were hardly any people present who didn't have sharp ears.

Please, is this something I should say in public?

Shen Mingchao was speechless. He glanced at Hei Xiazi and pushed his hand away.

No need, this big black rat is really prickly to eat.

"Ha." Wang Can seized the opportunity to kick someone when they're down. "I think some people have absolutely no self-awareness. If I were disliked like that, I would have buried myself in a corner long ago. How could I have the face to show my face in public?"

Hei Xiazi wasn't angry at Wang Can's ridicule. He pointed in a direction and said, "You talk too much. Instead of paying attention to me, you should pay more attention to your ostrich brother."

Following the direction Black Bear was pointing, they discovered that there really was someone crouching in the corner.

With his back to them, he covered his ears with his hands.

Wang Can rolled his eyes, walked over and kicked Liu Sang in the butt: "Get up! Don't embarrass me here!"

"That's what I wanted!" Liu Sang was visibly agitated, his face ashen, and he couldn't help but complain, "Damn it, so noisy! So noisy! So noisy! Even my headphones can't drown out their voices, it's giving me a headache! I just want to grab a handful of glutinous rice and stuff it into their mouths!"

The White Snake clapped her hands: "A very grand ambition, a very good suggestion. If you can really succeed, I'll respect you as a man. The problem is, you don't seem to be up to the task."

Luo Que, who was eating a lollipop nearby, also chimed in with a sarcastic remark: "If you don't like the noise, go outside. You have your own legs, nobody's stopping you."

Liu Sang was confronted, but unusually, he did not refute her.

The environment is indeed noisy, but—

He glanced at Wang Can, then at Shen Mingchao, tossed out a "Leave me alone" and turned back to squat in the corner.

This is the first Dragon Boat Festival since we reunited. He's already here, so there's no way we're going to ask him to leave now!

"What an ostrich."

"I can hear you, you damned snake!"

The white snake clicked its tongue. Having someone with super hearing in the house is such a nuisance; they can hear everything you mutter.

"Alright, we're all just a bunch of animals, fighting like dogs, what's there to argue about?"

Hodor sat on the sofa, wiping his glasses with a cloth, not looking at anyone, but cursing at many people.

"Wu Xie, I'm not trying to cause trouble, but your subordinate is calling you a dog."

"You old geezer, I think you're the one who started this trouble!"

Yin Nanfeng watched Zhang Rishan play his cards and couldn't catch her breath. She watched helplessly as Huo Xiuxiu took the cards away and even pushed them over with a smile.

"Sorry everyone, I won."

Sitting in the northwest corner, Zhang Haike held a card in his hand, his face full of speechlessness: "Some people haven't even figured out how to play their cards, yet they come in and give away points, and they still have the nerve to make fun of others?"

Zhang Rishan: ...If he said he just typed it by mistake, wouldn't he be even more embarrassed?

"Come on, pay up, pay up." Huo Xiuxiu didn't care about anything else; she had won anyway.

On the other side, Zhang Haiyan, holding two identical gift boxes, squatted down in front of Zhang Qilan and said in a cheeky tone, "Clan leader, here's one sweet rice dumpling and one savory rice dumpling. Would you like to choose one?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xie, who was reclining on the chair, pointed to the left without any politeness: "I want that one."

Zhang Haiyan rolled her eyes: "What's it to you? I'm not giving it to you!"

Zhang Qilan, who had been staring blankly in one direction, snapped out of his reverie upon hearing the sound. Looking at the gift box in front of him, he shook his head: "I'm not hungry."

"You can choose even if you're not hungry."

The fat man walked over at this moment: "You chose correctly. What reward do you have? How about a golden rice dumpling? Besides, our brother has seen it all, what kind of rice dumpling hasn't he seen?"

He patted Zhang Qilan on the shoulder with a smug look on his face. When he saw Shen Mingchao looking over, he, the golden wingman, stepped in at the right time: "Hey, Mingchao, let me tell you, our little brother is awesome. Back in the Seven Star Lu Palace, there were a bunch of big zombies there, blood zombies, blue-eyed fox zombies, and they all fell to our little brother's hands."

Shen Mingchao: "Yeah, I know."

How could she forget the plot of the first part? It's just a pity she didn't get to see it live. But bringing up these things now, isn't it a bit inappropriate?

The fat man's sly eyes then fell on Wu Xie on the recliner, and he sighed, "Back in the day, we were so innocent and naive, with delicate skin and a tendency to jump around easily. It was so much fun. Unlike now, we've become old hands, and our skin is all dry and withered."

"Fatty!" Wu Xie paused in his hand holding the palm-leaf fan, let out a low growl, and casually threw the fan out as a hidden weapon.

The fan wasn't strong enough, and it crashed halfway through, failing to even touch the fat man's clothes.

This is very embarrassing.

Black Bear picked up the fan and mocked, "Eldest disciple, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but your skills aren't up to par. You need to practice. How about this, since it's a holiday, I'll give you a 20% discount, and I'll also come up with a training plan for you?"

"Screw you!!"

Wu Xie had nothing else at hand, so he looked down, spotted his target, and casually tossed his slippers away.

Black Bear turned his head to the side, and Meimei dodged: "Look, if you don't want to practice, then don't practice. Even a cornered dog won't jump over the wall."

Wu Xie was furious, but he was helpless against these people and could only grit his teeth and sulk.

After that, Hei Xiazi pressed his face against his and said, "Tearing the air won't do any good; this won't kill you."

"Pfft—" Shen Mingchao couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. The next second, she received a resentful look from Wu Xiaogou. She coughed and suppressed her laughter.

Meanwhile, the debate over whether to eat sweet or salty food reached a fever pitch, with everyone arguing heatedly and almost coming to blows.

To be honest, Shen Mingchao was quite looking forward to seeing them tear each other apart. It would be quite a spectacle.

But when it comes to her, things aren't so pleasant.

Su Wan: "In the Ming Dynasty, do you think zongzi should be sweet?"

After she said that, the group stopped arguing and all turned their attention to her.

And just like that, he inexplicably became a judge.

Shen Mingchao pointed to himself: "Ask me?"

"I……"

Her eyes darted around, and she was about to give a serious answer, but suddenly a mischievous idea popped into her head: "Stop arguing, or we'll eat savory rice dumplings with sugar and sweet rice dumplings with soy sauce."

The entire room fell silent at that moment.

As the only designated chef present, the fat man thought for a moment, his expression turning ferocious: "Goodness, this is the real culinary disaster."

"Are you serious?" Xie Yuchen asked her, and she waved her hands frantically: "Just kidding, just kidding."

"Okay, seriously, I prefer iced rice dumplings."

Zhang Qianjun looked puzzled: "What's that? Frozen zongzi? Can that even taste good?"

"No, no, no, it's a snow skin rice dumpling. The outer skin is transparent, and there are many fillings inside, such as durian cheese filling, matcha chocolate filling, mango pomelo sago filling, chocolate filling... Compared to traditional rice dumplings, snow skin rice dumplings are more like desserts."

"I know that," Li Chu replied. "I should have said you liked this earlier. By the way, Mom's getting off the plane soon, and I'm going to pick her up at the airport in a bit. How about I buy you some on the way? What kind of filling do you want?"

Shen Mingchao shook her head. The brand she liked hadn't opened yet, otherwise she would have gone to buy it long ago.

It evokes a poignant sense of loss, as if I were born before you.

Fate is truly playing tricks on this gluttonous pig.

Just as he thought this, a gust of wind suddenly came from behind Shen Mingchao, followed by an extremely familiar voice.

"Every morning!"

Following the direction of the wind, she suddenly turned around and saw three warm, smiling faces.

She smiled and eagerly got up to greet him.

Look—

Her family brought her favorite rice dumplings to visit her.

She is the happiest little girl in the world!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wishing everyone a safe and prosperous Dragon Boat Festival!