I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 258 - 255: Black Truffle Sauce Showdown

Jiang Mingyue first returned to Magpie Street, where Lightning was diligently guarding the gate, without any new information.

That meant there was no progress on An Jian’s side.

Jiang Mingyue decisively entered her space. The rice had been over twelve hours, and it was already mature.

Jiang Mingyue raised her hand and manipulated her spiritual power, quickly harvesting the rice, which became white rice and was stored away. Then she soaked rice seeds in preparation for the next planting cycle.

After checking the stock of black truffles, Jiang Mingyue started making black truffle sauce again, as it was really delicious with meals. Watching her family enjoy it so much this morning, she thought she’d make another batch later.

This time, she set some aside for Yan Jinzhi; the fresh black truffles were gone.

After making the truffle sauce, she took out two jars, along with two cans of rose flower tea, as gifts for this evening’s visit.

Yan Jinzhi showed up once, and Jiang Mingyue packed a basket of good things for him.

Wuyun Mountain Base

Dr. Lu was staying up late more and more, yet his energy grew better. The dark circles under his eyes had never disappeared before, but now they were gone, and some daring subordinates even joked, "You’re glowing."

Shen Bo had been parachuted here some time ago. Although no one seemed to discriminate against him on the surface, he kept to himself, working quietly, like an island. Even though he had shown his talent in a certain field of military/industrial work in the past few days, and many people wanted to get closer to him, he remained as unyielding as a rock—still an island—except for Yan Jinzhi, who had brought him here, who could get close to him.

Yan Jinzhi brought good things, first counting them in the room: two cans of rose flower tea for his own drinking, and a can of supposed top tea from Uncle Mute, which he kept for himself. There were ten jars of black truffle sauce this time, and he made a decision.

At the practice field

"Come see the announcement."

"What’s it say? An impromptu basketball game, form your own team, and everyone on the winning team gets a jar of black truffle sauce as a reward."

As soon as this news broke, it spread like wildfire to every corner of the base. They wished they could skip work, but unfortunately, they couldn’t.

No wonder—at lunch today, they had savored the delicious black truffle sauce at the cafeteria window. It was free, but everyone could only take one spoonful. The spoon was only so big, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t make it two spoonfuls.

Just that one spoonful made them eat two extra bowls of rice at lunch, savoring it endlessly. After inquiring, they learned it was the private stash of their commander. What a rare treat! But it seemed like today’s lunch might have been the last supper.

But now... hope had returned, how could they not compete? Of course, wanting to compete doesn’t mean they can.

As it happens, Shen Bo was in a position to compete. After three consecutive days and nights, his team had just broken through a bottleneck, so the higher-ups gave them a one-day break... or rather, a one night break.

Even though the black truffle sauce looked nothing like wine or pine-smoked roast chicken, during lunch today, he inexplicably associated them as all being heavenly flavors. Although one was from Jiang Family’s Xiao Mingyue and the other from the young commander, rumor had it there was a close connection between them. He became increasingly convinced the items came from the same source, though whether it was more from the commander or more from Jiang Family’s Xiao Mingyue was unclear for the moment.

But that wasn’t important, not really, as long as it was delicious and he could eat it.

Just... basketball. He hadn’t played it, though there was a row of entertainment booklets in the base reading room, and he had memorized the rules. But there had been no practice.

But who cared? The black truffle sauce was calling him.

The real issue was... since coming to Wuyun Mountain, he hadn’t communicated with others privately—even his team members were no exception.

Yet, the lure of the black truffle sauce outweighed any reservations!

Thus, Huo Ming was flabbergasted, stammering as he stared at the two in front of him.

"Ahem... Dr. Shen, are you serious?"

"Yes!" With a decisive posture, he embodied a powerful stance, certainly showing resolve.

Huo Ming: "..." Even though his team indeed needed substitutes, this lineup didn’t give him confidence.

He also glanced at the energized Dr. Lu: The base’s most favored by the commander, daring to come and compete with us?

Thick-skinned Dr. Lu: The more, the merrier! You know it!

Yet inside, a little wounded: Nobody knew the price he paid—his future ten years’ wages were pledged to the commander, not that anyone understood.

Huo Ming deliberated for quite a while, finally consenting for the two middle-aged men to join. Who could tell what might happen on the court? Although their lineup had a standard five, with positions already fixed—center, shooting guard, point guard, power forward, small forward—and so far, nobody had been injured—yet... who knew what might happen, with black truffle sauce as the lure, who could guarantee the opponents would play fair?

Moreover, the opponents had substitutes, and quite a few, enough to form the standard twelve-player team.

"Alright then!"

With the sound of a whistle, both sides started vying intensely; as Huo Ming foresaw, the other team began playing foul, and with a "thud," their team suddenly sacrificed two players.

Huo Ming was secretly glad he accepted the two middle-aged men.

But once they got on the court, they faced cold indifference.

It turns out they were just there to make up the numbers.

No one passed the ball to them, yet the second team had great synergy!

Dr. Lu glanced at his own muscular arms, thinking he was no less than the young folks!

In contrast, Shen Bo remained incredibly calm.

No passes to me? That’s fine! As long as we win.

However, with this mindset, he managed to grab a loose ball, and teammate Qiao Mingtang urgently called for him to pass it to the point guard. Shen Bo calculated the distance, ran through several geometry equations, completing the entire process in 0.01 seconds, tipped the ball forward, and his defiant move almost sparked outrage among everyone... yet in the next moment.

"Three-pointer, adds three."

All members of the second team looked at each other: Thought he was a rookie, but turns out he’s a champion!

The second team swiftly reassigned player positions, with Shen Bo becoming the shooting guard and Dr. Lu the small forward.

From there, the dynamics completely changed. Shen Bo, previously ignored, turned into a hot property, with teammates eagerly passing the ball, and he never let them down. Yet the opposing team also quickly adjusted tactics to intercept Shen Bo’s receptions, forcing attention onto Dr. Lu.

Even though Dr. Lu had replaced the small forward earlier, everyone had primarily relied on the other four, but now...

This one was also a math wizard; why not give it a try?

This trial revealed another superstar emerging, and this one was also a superb runner. With the ball in his hands, the opposing team almost never succeeded in stealing it, plus his three-step layup always scored.

The second team and first team: Were these supposed middle-aged players just here to take the young folks’ jobs?

As the game ended, the second team timely received the black truffle sauce reward, almost infuriating the opponents to the point of envy. Xiao An even rushed to poach players in advance.

"Dr. Shen, Dr. Lu, let’s set up a match again sometime!"

The second team sneered: Never seen such shamelessness.

"Hehe, Xiao An, people need some dignity—they’re part of our team."

Xiao An similarly laughed: "Huo Ming, aren’t you the shameless one? First, you use them to fill numbers, then treat them coldly, and now you dare claim them as yours?"

The second team fell silent!

Meanwhile, having acquired the black truffle sauce, Shen Bo headed directly to the cafeteria to wait for dinner.

Kitchen staff: Arriving so early puts a lot of pressure on them!

But no matter what, after this black truffle sauce competition, Dr. Shen’s status elevated. Meetings always greeted with "Hello, Dr. Shen!", while he frequently faced "intrusive" attention from people across the base.

As for Jiang Mingyue, when the time seemed right, she landed at 55 Pear Blossom Lane. As soon as the front door opened, a youthful guard across the way excitedly jumped up.

"Pan! Pan! The target has appeared."

"Thwap!" A smack landed on his head. "What are you saying? Watch your words! That is the esteemed Mr. Jiang."