Ch 54: Helping Villagers With Tasks

Last night, Yin Chang slept early, so he naturally woke up as the sky brightened. He opened his eyes and saw that Shao Junling was still sleeping soundly next to him. Yin Chang got up first and went to wash up.

As he turned his head, he noticed that there were about ten ears of corn arranged neatly beside him. Where did they come from? Did someone come into their room in the middle of the night?

Yin Chang looked puzzled as he picked up an ear of corn and went outside. He happened to see the camera crew having breakfast in a makeshift tent. When the cameraman saw him, he immediately put down his food and started filming.

Yin Chang said "good morning" to them and held up the ear of corn, "Did you guys give us this?"

The two of them smiled strangely at him, and one of the crew members gestured with his finger on his mouth, shaking his head, meaning he couldn't say anything.

Yin Chang knew that they couldn't reveal anything about the show to the guests, so he didn't press them. However, he still wanted to confirm, "It's not some prop or something for today's task, is it?"

This time, the crew member answered him, "No, you can eat it."

"Eat it?" Yin Chang peeled the corn husk off and looked at it. How do you eat this raw?

Wait a minute... Yin Chang had a sudden realization. Could this be a test of their ability to survive by the production team?

Yin Chang smiled knowingly and asked the crew member in a low voice, "Where can we cook corn nearby?"

The crew member hesitated for a moment, "If I remember correctly, Huang Han next door has a gas stove and a pot."

"Thanks." Yin Chang thought he had figured out the secret of the production team, so he went back. He carried all the corn out and went next door quietly.

But when he got to the door, he hesitated a bit and asked the cameraman who was following him like an NPC, "It's so early... Huang Han is probably still sleeping?"

The cameraman didn't answer. Their role was equivalent to an NPC, responsible only for recording the actions of the guests, not for answering questions.

Yin Chang looked at the time and was about to come back later, but the door in front of him opened – Huang Han came out.

Seeing Yin Chang standing in front of their "home," Huang Han was also surprised, but he noticed the corn in Yin Chang's arms and exclaimed happily, "Are you here to share breakfast?"

"Uh, no," Yin Chang said awkwardly. "I found these in the morning, and I thought maybe the program group gave them to us. Don't you have any?"

Huang Han shook his head in confusion. "No."

Yin Chang was also puzzled and turned to look at the cameraman. Did only he and Shao Junling have these corns?

The cameraman, who had been strictly instructed to keep the secret, remained indifferent.

Huang Han smiled enviously, "Maybe it's compensation from the program group for letting you guys stay in that broken house."

...This explanation made sense, Yin Chang believed.

He explained his purpose to Huang Han, who, upon learning that he was there to borrow the kitchen, warmly let him in.

Yin Chang saw that Huang Han looked haggard and asked, "How was your rest last night?"

"Ugh, don't mention it," Huang Han sighed as he searched for a pot. "My little sister kept crying for our mom and didn't sleep until midnight. And this insane program group made us do a task after dinner. We only found a sandwich and a bag of compressed biscuits last night. To be honest, I woke up because of hunger."

No wonder Huang Han's eyes lit up when he saw the corn. Yin Chang smiled and said, "When the corn is cooked, I'll give you half."

Huang Han was happy to hear that but tried to be polite, "Um, that's..."

Yin Chang was generous and said, "No problem, my brother and I can't finish all this corn."

"Thank you so much!" Huang Han clasped his hands together and looked at the pot, as if he couldn't wait to eat.

Cooking corn required no extra steps, so the two chatted while waiting for it to boil.

"How about you guys? Did you sleep well?" Huang Han asked.

"We...were okay." Yin Chang had actually slept all night, and Shao Junling was still sleeping so probably was sleeping well.

"You guys are pretty resilient. Your house is so dilapidated, and the bed is just a pile of straw. I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. I'm picky about my bed." Huang Han said.

"When I was a kid, during vacation my dad took me to participate in a wilderness survival program specifically designed to train children's independence. The conditions were much harsher than this." Yin Chang's independence and maturity were not innate, but were trained bit by bit by his father, who took him to experience extreme sports and survival programs around the world during his rare breaks.

"Your dad..." Huang Han was about to chat with Yin Chang about his "dad," but suddenly realized that Yin Chang's father had passed away, and the topic fizzled to an end.

After an awkward silence, Yin Chang calmly said, "Just say what you want to say, it's okay."

Huang Han hesitated before speaking, "Actually, I was just going to say that your dad was really great..."

Yin Chang was taken aback and began to think about Huang Han's background.

Before coming here, he had done some research on each of the guests, just like he did for the previous "Idol Face-to-Face" show.

Huang Han's mother, Meng Qing, was a well-known scandalous figure in the early years of Hongcheng. There were many rumors about her online, and most of them were about her love life.

It was said that Huang Han was the illegitimate child of Meng Qing and another famous male movie star in Hongcheng before she became famous. However, from the time Huang Han was born until now, his father has never officially acknowledged him. Therefore, Huang Han grew up without a father. It was only many years later when Meng Qing met her current husband, You Junxi, also an actor, that Huang Han finally had a stepfather.

However, You Junxi was very young, only ten years older than Huang Han. Huang Han at that time had been younger than Huang Han's younger sister You Luming.

After Huang Han finished speaking, he quickly added, "Of course, Brother Jun has been really good to me too..."

The "Brother Jun" he referred to was his stepfather, You Junxi. The term of address may have sounded a bit confusing in terms of generation, but it actually reflected the harmony in Meng Qing's reconstituted family. Otherwise, the father and son would not have addressed each other as if they were brothers.

Yin Chang glanced at Huang Han, and Huang Han happened to be looking at him too. In that one glance, the two seemed to have shared many feelings.

Although they had only known each other for a day and had not even spoken ten sentences to each other, they both lacked a parent and were now each taking care of a much younger sibling... They felt a strong sense of kindred spirit.

During their conversation, Huang Han became much more open.

"My mom actually had a pretty tough time coming here," he volunteered, speaking about his family.

"Yeah..." Yin Chang could imagine the pressure a single mother faced raising a child out of wedlock, especially one who wasn't an ordinary woman.

Meng Qing lived in the cutthroat world of the Hongcheng entertainment industry, where entertainment reporters and onlookers could easily drown her with their criticisms and spit.

But she didn't stay down. Instead, she got back up and, with her own strength, established herself in the industry while raising her child alone.

Yin Chang had heard about a few of Meng Qing's critically acclaimed and commercially successful films.

"Just seeing her happy now is enough," Huang Han said, smiling faintly with a tone that conveyed an uncommon maturity for his age.

Yin Chang patted his shoulder to comfort him.

The water in the pot had been boiling for some time, and the aroma of corn wafted out, waking up the little girl who was sleeping in the bedroom.

"Brother!" You Luming got out of bed and didn't see her brother. She called out loudly, her voice trembling with tears.

"I'm here!" Huang Han immediately responded.

The little girl stumbled out and opened her arms to hug him as soon as she saw him.

Huang Han picked her up and faced Yin Chang, saying, "Greet brother Yin Chang."

"Brother Yin Chang." The little girl shyly glanced at Yin Chang and then quickly buried her face in Huang Han's neck.

Huang Han couldn't help but smile, "Are you shy because he's so handsome?"

"No," You Luming pouted.

Huang Han playfully flicked her nose, "Not yet? Don't lie to me."

"You're making things up," You Luming hugged his neck tightly and complained.

Yin Chang was amused by the affectionate interaction between the siblings.

Huang Han said, "Brother Yin Chang brought us corn, say thank you."

"Thank you, Brother Yin Chang," You Luming blushed and stole a glance at him.

Living up to her nickname, the little girl's eyes were like a doe, pitiful and adorable. Her face was delicate, and when she wasn't crying, she was like a little angel that everyone couldn't help but love.

Yin Chang boiled the corn and rinsed it with water. He left half for the siblings and took the other half back.

Shao Junling was still asleep...

Yin Chang picked up a corn and wanted to tease him by bringing it close to his nose. But as he neared, he saw Shao Junling's hands gripping the thin blanket looked dark... If you didn't know better, you would think he had gone digging in the dirt in the middle of the night.

Thinking of other people's fair and lovely little sisters, and then looking at his own little brother, who looked like a mud monkey, Yin Chang sighed helplessly.

He put down the corn and fetched a wet towel. He came back and grabbed Shao Junling's hand, scolding him as he wiped, "What's wrong with you...you didn't even wash your face and hands before sleeping?"

Shao Junling was awakened by Yin Chang's actions. He smelled the aroma of corn. He sniffed and sat up, his eyes shining as he looked up at Yin Chang.

But when he caught sight of the corn on the plate, he couldn't help but pause, looking left and right.

The room was completely visible, and there was nowhere to hide anything. Shao Junling looked around and got up to run out.

Yin Chang: "...where are you going?"

Shao Junling searched everywhere. He remembered that he brought ten ears of corn back last night, but now there were only five... Did he drop some on the way back?

As soon as he stepped out of the yard, Shao Junling saw Huang Han and You Luming from next door each holding an ear of corn and crouching at the door, gnawing on them.

Shao Junling: "..."

"What are you doing out here?" Yin Chang furrowed his brows and followed him out.

Shao Junling looked at Yin Chang, then at Huang Han and You Luming, with bewilderment.

Yin Chang handed him an ear of corn. "Freshly cooked, do you want to eat it?"

Shao Junling glared at him, looking a bit...angry?

Yin Chang couldn't figure out his thoughts and assumed he was being picky because breakfast only consisted of corn. He couldn't help but say, "It's good to have something to eat, don't be so picky."

Shao Junling: "..."

Camera crew & staff: "..."

Shao Junling lowered his head. He didn't say anything else. He just took the ear of corn silently, and gnawed on it.

Around 7 o'clock, the program group gathered everyone at yesterday's square.

They saw Qin Jingshan and Qin Xifeng who'd been delayed. The two sisters stood under the ancient tree, looking like two fairies from another world, incomparably beautiful. Older sister Qin Jingshan had a pale oval face, big eyes, perfectly sculpted nose, and was a stunning beauty. Younger sister Qin Xifeng was only eight years old and hadn't fully grown yet, but she had long black hair to her waist and also showed signs of becoming a beauty.

The two sisters were introduced to the staff and greeted everyone. Qin Jingshan expressed her apologies to the program group and everyone on the spot for being late. Seeing that they didn't have any airs of being spoiled, everyone had a good impression of them.

Then, the staff gave them breakfast: two buns, a tea egg, and a packet of soy milk each. Although the host had scared them yesterday, saying that all food had to be earned through tasks, they were a group of children after all. The program group wouldn't make things difficult for them with breakfast.

Yin Chang was surprised when he received the breakfast, wondering if the corn from yesterday wasn't breakfast. Thinking about how Huang Han and the others didn't have corn, he figured perhaps it was compensation from the program group specifically for him and Shao Junling, so he didn't mention it.

Of the eight people who had arrived the previous day, seven were boys, and the only non boy was You Luming who as a young child felt a bit gender-neutral. So the group dynamic had been either they were against the program group or competing with each other.

But now that Qin Jingshan and Qin Xifeng had arrived, the atmosphere was noticeably different. Everyone surrounded the two beautiful sisters, chatting with them while eating breakfast, especially the twin brothers. The 14-year-old boys were in the midst of puberty, and when they saw the beautiful elder sister, both of them were eager to impress her.

Wang Chen, who was already an adult, was clearly more competitive than the two of them and was more familiar with how to chat with goddess-level beauties.

Qin Xifeng, Xue Ziwen, and Shao Junling were all about the same age. Xue Ziwen racked his brain to find a topic to engage her, but unfortunately, Qin Xifeng was quite introverted and just clung to her sister's side. She occasionally smiled shyly and didn't talk much.

The cameraman and the staff were surprised to find that among the group, there were still those who stuck out.

This time it wasn't the pair, Yin Chang and Shao Junling, but just Shao Junling.

Since Yin Chang had already gotten to know Huang Han this morning because of sharing corn, he was now chatting with him casually and seemed to be more integrated. But Shao Junling next to him just silently nibbled on his steamed bun and drank soy milk, not looking at the other guests and only scanning the staff... which made everyone a little nervous.

One cameraman couldn't help but complain to the director, "Why does he keep staring at us?"

As soon as he said that, other staff members also started discussing -

"Well... that little guy just doesn't seem to fit in."

"He looks very different from an ordinary child."

"I heard he secretly went to the cornfield to dig up corn for his brother last night?"

The staff had already told the executive producer about this, and many members of the program group heard about it.

Someone asked curiously, "How did he know where the cornfield was?"

"That's not the point. Most kids his age wouldn't even think of going to the cornfield to find corn to eat," another replied.

"Who is this kid anyway?" someone asked.

The executive producer made a "shh" gesture and said, "Don't say anything, Yin Chang doesn't know about this yet."

Everyone nodded.

The executive producer looked with interest at Shao Junling in the distance. "Did you notice that when you were talking about him earlier, he knew? Whoever was speaking, he was looking at them... he's looking at me now."

The first cameraman to speak up asked in amazement, "Can he hear us?"

"He can't hear us, but he is observant," the executive producer said.

Several cameramans were scared and shrunk their heads.

The executive producer laughed, "Just keep shooting and pay attention to his movements... when the program airs, this kid will definitely be the talk of the town."

After breakfast, the host walked up to the group and announced the start of the new day's task.

The theme for this morning was "help villagers with their tasks." The host had a stack of task cards in hand, and the guests drew one at a time according to their pairs. They would then go to the designated villager's home based on the clues on the card and help them with a task. Upon completion, the guests would receive a food card and another task card.

The food card could be used to exchange for lunch, with each card exchanging for a dish or a bowl of rice.

This task could be repeated, and the more they did, the more food cards they could obtain, which meant that they could have a more sumptuous lunch.

However, the villagers' task cards were limited. That meant if they were too slow, for example if they spent two hours on one task, by the time they found the next villager, that person's task card might already be taken.

Therefore, this was a challenge that also tested their efficiency.

After the guests understood the rules, they began drawing task cards. As soon as they saw the words on the cards, they were dumbfounded because there were no explicit instructions to go to a certain address or find someone, nor were there any photos. There were only two or three words.

For example, the task card for the twin brothers had "Red House" and "Auntie Li" written on it, which meant they had to find the red house with Auntie Li before they could complete the task.

But this village had dozens of households. Who knew how many red houses there were? And who among them had an Auntie Li?

Upon learning of the program team's tricks, everyone groaned in despair. 

Everyone was complaining, but Shao Junling had already left the crowd and rushed towards the village like a whirlwind.

When Yin Chang saw him run, he also ran after him... closely followed by the poor cameramen from Shao Junling's group.

Everyone: "????"

Wang Chen: "How can they run so fast? Does he already know where to go?"

Guo Yiheng: "Could it be that they got a really simple task card!?"

Xue Ziwen urged anxiously, "Uncle! Let's go quickly!"

Lang Chizhi also reacted and realized that the speed of executing the task was related to what they would have for lunch, so he pulled his younger brother and ran, shouting, "Go Go Go!!!"

The task card for Yin Chang and Shao Junling had "Rake on the Wall" and "Uncle Liu" written on it.

When Yin Chang saw Shao Junling rushing out so quickly, he originally thought he was in a hurry to find the house with a rake on the wall, but after following him for a while, he was surprised to find that Shao Junling was not searching.

He ran ahead, turning every corner with extreme precision, as if he knew exactly where that house was, heading straight for it.

After running for three or four minutes, Shao Junling suddenly stopped in front of a wall.

Yin Chang looked up and saw a rake hanging on the wall.

Shao Junling pointed to the rake and said to him, "Here."

The cameramen who followed were also shocked...

Yin Chang asked him, "How did you know it was here?"

Shao Junling wiped his mouth and said, "I came here yesterday."

Yin Chang asked, "When did you come?"

Shao Junling replied, "To find the treasure chest."

Suddenly, Yin Chang remembered Shao Junling's amazing memory and was stunned for a moment before asking, "Do you remember the map of this village?"

Shao Junling nodded and said, "Yes, I walked around a few times and remembered it all."

Yin Chang: "..."

Production crew: "..." Suddenly they felt like they were players using cheats in a game!

The food that he had worked hard to gather was given away by his brother.

He couldn't even eat enough, but still had the leisure to go and share with others.

His brother really didn't understand how difficult life was. (Q︿Q)

Thinking about the responsibility of supporting his brother in the future, Shao Junling felt overwhelmed.