“Is this thing you dug up a Tai Sui?”
Qin Jiang moved closer to take a careful look, feeling that something was off.
According to the Compendium of Materia Medica,
Rou Zhi looks like meat.
It attaches to large rocks, has a head and a tail, and is a living creature.
Red ones resemble coral, white ones resemble fat, black ones resemble shiny lacquer, green ones resemble kingfisher feathers, and yellow ones resemble purple gold. All are translucent and clear, like solid ice.
In plain terms, Tai Sui looks like a mushroom and is probably a fungus.
It has a head and a tail, is plump like meat, so it’s also called Rou Zhi Ling.
Just based on appearance, the thing in the basin did bear some resemblance.
Just as Qin Jiang was about to take a closer look, a female reporter rushed in with several cameramen.
“Quick, it’s right here.”
Seeing this new group of people suddenly charging in, Qin Jiang was taken aback.
“And you are?”
The female reporter quickly stepped forward to introduce herself.
“Hello, Doctor. We are reporters from Jinxi TV Station. I’m Ye Yun, and this is my press pass.”
Ye Yun handed her press pass to Qin Jiang for inspection.
Qin Jiang didn’t know how to tell if it was real or fake, but since they had such professional equipment, he figured it was probably genuine.
Just as Qin Jiang was thinking this, Ye Yun looked into the distance, her expression turning a bit strange.
“Junior Liu Yan, what are you doing here?”
Since Ye Yun had already spotted her, Liu Yan didn’t hide anymore. She walked over to greet her.
“Senior Ye Yun, I’m here recording a reality live-stream show.”
Ye Yun let out an “Oh.”
“Right, now that you mention it, I remember.”
“No wonder you didn’t come to the last alumni gathering; you were busy with a reality show.”
“Which entertainment company are you working for now?”
Liu Yan just smiled without answering.
She knew her senior Ye Yun’s personality very well and didn’t want to get into a conflict with her in front of so many people.
But Liu Yan’s silence came across as guilt to Ye Yun.
Ye Yun took out her press pass and hung it prominently on her chest, then said with a sarcastic tone:
“I really envy you, junior. You had such good grades back then, and now you’ve joined an entertainment company doing reality shows. You must be making a lot of money, right?”
“Not like me, stuck at a local TV station. People call it an ‘iron rice bowl,’ but the salary is barely enough to get by.”
Ye Yun’s remarks sparked strong disapproval among the live stream audience.
“Who is this woman? She’s so pretentious!”
“She’s just a small-time reporter from a local station. How dare she act so arrogantly?”
“Hey, the one above, a local TV reporter is already a pretty big deal. Do you even know how much power reporters can have?”
“I know something about that. There was a factory near my home that was almost exposed by a reporter for not meeting pollution standards. The owner paid the reporter a lot of money to hush it up.”
“Reporters are all like that these days. Just look at this woman’s attitude.”
Liu Yan had a gentle temperament, but Qin Jiang did not.
After all, he had shared meals with Liu Yan and her camera crew.
Where did this Ye Yun pop out from?
Daring to be so snide right in front of him.
In front of everyone, Qin Jiang took Liu Yan’s press pass from her pocket and helped her hang it on her chest.
“Director Liu, I have to ask, why aren’t you wearing your work ID during work hours?”
Liu Yan’s face flushed slightly, knowing Qin Jiang was standing up for her.
When Ye Yun saw the work ID hanging on Liu Yan’s chest, her face immediately darkened.
Central Television?
Her junior, Liu Yan, actually made it into Central Television?
Damn, so this is a Central Television live-stream reality show!
Seeing Liu Yan’s colleague pointing the camera right at her face, Ye Yun suddenly grew nervous.
She had initially thought Liu Yan was working for some small entertainment company, so a live stream wouldn’t matter much, as few people would see it.
But a Central Television live stream was different. Would she get cyberbullied for her earlier sarcastic comments?
A bit awkwardly, Ye Yun said, “Junior, I was just joking with you earlier. Please don’t take it seriously.”
“I knew back in our student days that you would go far. Look at you, already in Central Television. That’s truly impressive.”
Liu Yan nodded.
“Senior, please focus on your work. Don’t mind me.”
Reminded by Liu Yan, Ye Yun remembered why she had come here in the first place.
Ye Yun said to Qin Jiang, “How should I address you?”
“Qin Jiang.”
“Mr. Qin, we are reporters from Jinxi TV Station. We heard that a Tai Sui was dug up in He Yang Village, so we’d like to conduct a full tracking report and interview. Is that alright here?”
“No problem.”
Ye Yun had already shown Qin Jiang her press pass; what else could he say?
He couldn’t very well kick the reporters out.
Qin Jiang had initially thought Ye Yun would be like Gao Yang, focusing mainly on filming and talking less.
But as soon as Qin Jiang said “no problem,” Ye Yun took out her microphone, signaled to the cameraman that she was ready, and launched directly into her presentation.
“Hello, viewers of Jinxi Express News. Right now, we are at the Qin Family Clinic located in the west of the city.”
“Behind me, you can see many villagers gathered here. They called us earlier to report that while digging a well in their village, they unearthed a fleshy, mushroom-like object.”
“Even elderly gentlemen in the village over eighty years old told us they have never seen anything like this in their entire lives.”
“So, let’s go take a look together. What exactly is this thing?”
As she spoke, Ye Yun walked towards the villagers.
The cameraman, understanding his role, zoomed in for a close-up shot of the Tai Sui in the basin.
Qin Jiang stood to the side, feeling somewhat speechless.
Although Ye Yun’s delivery and actions seemed very professional,
for some reason, Qin Jiang felt that everything about this reporter—her speech, her actions—was too formulaic, too official, and not natural at all.
Ye Yun, holding her microphone, randomly interviewed a villager.
“Sir, could you please tell us what exactly happened here?”
Seeing the camera pointed at him, the man looked uncomfortable.
“Nothing much to tell.”
The man tried to leave, but Ye Yun grabbed his arm.
“Sir, just say a few words. Lots of viewers are watching you on TV right now.”
Hearing that many people were watching him, the man became even more embarrassed.
“Nothing much, really. I just asked some friends to help me retrieve the pump, and we accidentally fished this thing up instead.”
“It came from dozens of meters deep. When we pulled it up, it was all fleshy. Who knows what it is, but it has a nose and eyes.”
Hearing the man say it had ‘a nose and eyes,’ Qin Jiang suddenly understood something.
Qin Jiang wanted to stop Ye Yun from continuing the interview, but she had already squatted down by the water basin.
