Chapter 57: Fried Rice Stall! King of the Night Market

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Fried Rice Stall! King of the Night Market

The production team’s drone overlooked the scene from above, capturing a view that was both shocking and moving—

The entire night market had become Nan Zhi’s domain.

Countless people had come just for her.

You could say that, without any need for a coronation, her fried rice stall was already the uncrowned king of this night market!

The other vendors would likely remember this day for many years to come!

The live comments exploded in astonishment:

[I’m suddenly regretting not going to Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall. I’m in Yanjing too.]

[There’s still time, there’s still time! She’s open until midnight!]

[I don’t think you’ll make it. The ingredients are about to run out.]

[Hahaha, Fu Chao is yelling, "Let’s just put purchase limits back on!" Looks like he’s so busy he’s about to have a meltdown!]

[I don’t get it. Have these people never eaten fried rice before? How good can it possibly be?]

[To the doubters, honestly, before I went to the fried rice stall, I thought the same thing as you. But now...]

[But now what? Why’d you stop typing?]

[Probably went to buy more fried rice.]

...

The internet was also buzzing with excitement because of Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall.

First, someone shared photos from the scene on Xiaohongshu with the caption:

[Checking in at Yanjing’s hottest fried rice stall! Bar none! It totally lives up to the hype!]

The post then went on at length describing just how delicious the fried rice was.

The post quickly went viral, and many users shared their own experiences in the comments:

[Beep! Reporting live from the scene! [Photo]]

[You guys have no idea! I just came with my classmates to see what the fuss was about, and now we’re stuck in the crowd and can’t get out!]

[Oh my god, even the police are here maintaining order! Nan Zhi is on another level!]

[The undisputed top-tier internet-famous stall in Yanjing tonight!]

[Xiaohongshu really is where you run into everyone! I’ve already seen more than a dozen posts from different spots in the crowd!]

[Why don’t we just have a fan meet-up? We’re stuck here anyway.]

...

Then, someone reposted it on X.

A trending topic quickly followed—

#NanZhiQueenOfTheNightMarket!#

Many confused people clicked on it, initially assuming it was just manufactured internet hype.

But there were just too many photos and videos from the scene, leaving them unable to find any flaws to nitpick!

[If these are all paid extras, wouldn’t that be way too expensive?]

[Honestly, before today, I was convinced that Nan Zhi selling fried rice was just a script for the show, but now...]

[Hehehe, this is insane. If "someone" loves selling fried rice so much, maybe she should just retire from showbiz.]

[Really? The fried rice stall’s customers would be ecstatic! We support her retirement!]

[Support her retirement +1!]

...

Beyond that, platforms like Douyin, Douban, and others were all discussing Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall.

The most direct impact of this widespread attention was that the viewer count for Nan Zhi’s livestream skyrocketed!

Just the other day, Nan Zhi’s livestream viewership had been firmly stuck in last place.

But now, it had jumped two spots without even pausing for breath, climbing back up to second place, just behind Fu Chao!

Some people even suspected that if Fu Chao hadn’t also been at the night market, Nan Zhi’s popularity might have completely crushed his!

Beyond the numbers, watching the frenzy both online and offline, people felt a sense of wonder, and their attitudes toward Nan Zhi began to change:

[What can the haters do besides throw a fit of impotent rage and badmouth fried rice they’ve never even tasted?]

[To be fair, whether you love her or hate her, she’s responsible for at least half of this show’s popularity.]

[It’s actually kind of sad to think she won’t be able to keep running her stall and selling fried rice.]

[Doesn’t she cook often in her daily life too?]

[Is that the same as running a stall? A stall has customers, money... it’s like a real-life food business management game!]

[Exactly. Seeing her build this from scratch is really inspiring!]

[Too bad it’s over just like that.]

...

Everyone was thinking—

’We probably won’t see Nan Zhi running her stall on the show anymore... right?’

---

The first phase of filming for *Cub Observation Diary* officially came to an end.

The little house in the shantytown.

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi were packing their bags.

Xu Li was there helping them.

Thanks to her, things were much easier for Nan Zhi.

After all, the previous night’s frenzy had drained every last ounce of Nan Zhi’s energy.

Now, she was sprawled out on the sofa like a salted fish, her mind blank and her gaze empty.

She looked like a beautiful but expressionless wooden doll.

"Mama, drink some water."

Nan Yi held up a thermos filled with hot water to Nan Zhi.

As he watched her drink, he didn’t forget to remind her:

"Be careful, it’s hot!"

Watching them, Xu Li felt both amazed and jealous.

She was amazed by how much Nan Yi had changed. He was like a completely different person from the gloomy little hedgehog she had met just a few days ago!

As for the jealousy...

’Urgent question! How do I skip marriage and painlessly acquire such a sweet little cub?’

Xu Li cleared her throat and teased deliberately:

"Yiyi, Auntie wants some water too."

Without a hint of hesitation, Nan Yi pointed behind him with his small hand.

"The hot water is over there. Auntie can get it herself."

With that, he decisively looked away.

Xu Li: ...

Nan Zhi almost burst out laughing.

Seeing that the luggage was almost packed, Xu Li told Nan Zhi to get ready to leave.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the window:

"Xiao Nan! Xiao Nan! Are you leaving?"

Nan Zhi roused herself and sat up from the sofa.

"Not yet, Granny Qian! Come on in."

Granny Qian pushed the door open and entered with a broad smile.

Behind her was Uncle Li.

However, out of courtesy, Uncle Li didn’t barge in but stood outside the door.

Seeing the joyful smiles on the old couple’s faces, Nan Zhi asked curiously:

"Did something good happen?"

"Of course! It’s great news! We’re planning to go back to our hometown!"

The cheerful Granny Qian’s smile was so wide that it seemed to smooth the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, making her look several years younger!

Nan Zhi was very surprised to hear this.

"But I thought you weren’t..."

Having lived in the shantytown for two full weeks, Nan Zhi had grown closest to her next-door neighbor, Granny Qian. She had received a lot of help from her and had also heard about her past.

So, Nan Zhi knew that the reason Granny Qian and Uncle Li had stubbornly remained in this dilapidated shantytown instead of returning to their hometown was not only to earn more money for their retirement but also to wait for the shantytown to be demolished and redeveloped.

Granny Qian waved her hand.

"Forget it. We’re done waiting. We’ve already waited for over ten years. If we keep waiting, we’ll be six feet under! It’s better to just sell the house early and go back to our hometown to enjoy life!"

In truth, the old couple hadn’t come to this conclusion so quickly on their own.

How could an obsession they’d held onto for over ten years just vanish without a trace?

The root cause was the three-diced buns Nan Zhi had made that day. They were so authentic and delicious that they stirred up the old couple’s homesickness, causing them to toss and turn every night, dreaming only of their hometown.

They were afraid they would die without ever going back.

At that thought, their obsession suddenly vanished.

"...Xiao Nan, we have you to thank for this!"

Nan Zhi’s heart was touched, a warm and tingling sensation spreading through her chest.

She had originally thought she would have time to come back to the shantytown to visit the old couple later.

Now, that plan was doomed to fail.

’After saying goodbye today, we probably won’t see each other again,’ she thought.

But Nan Zhi didn’t feel sad. Instead, she was genuinely happy for them.