The route the man had given them for walking the geese was to make a circuit around the village, then let the flock swim in the river for a while.
With Xu Wang there to keep them in line, the geese were exceptionally obedient. Even the goslings followed meekly beside the adults.
Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan strolled leisurely behind the flock.
And so a strange sight appeared in the village: the big geese that even the village adults gave a wide berth were actually leading their flock down the road very obediently today. The gaggle of big geese waddling along was even a little cute.
Herding the geese, Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan passed the site of Qin Huai and Gu Yunlan's task.
Qin Huai was sweeping the courtyard with a broom, while Gu Yunlan cleared weeds from the corner of the wall.
Both looked at Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan with envy.
"Their task pays pretty well, doesn't it?" Gu Yunlan straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"2,300." Qin Huai raised his right hand to adjust his glasses. The first time he had looked at the list, he had more or less memorized the pay for some of the jobs.
"That much? How much does ours pay again?" Gu Yunlan looked astonished.
"500." Qin Huai calmly gave him the number.
"Honey, aren't we earning a little too little? Should we switch to a medium-difficulty job after we finish this one?" Beaming, Gu Yunlan sidled up to Qin Huai.
[Hahaha, Film Emperor Gu is like a clingy golden retriever.]
[Film Emperor Gu (green with envy): why do they get to earn more than four times what we do?]
[Thanks for all your hard work, sister-in-law (strained smile).]
[Qin Huai: without me, this family would lose even the shirts off their backs sooner or later (sigh).]
[Hahaha...]
[I don't know why, but I feel like I've underestimated Xu Wang.]
[That's no illusion, commenter above. Let's count Xu’s Wife's achievements. One: he figured out the production team's rules really quickly. Two: both of the village's two big bullies are afraid of him. Three: he quickly took control when faced with Zhong Ran's passive-aggressive remarks. Four: he opened a soda bottle cap one-handed with a bottle of mineral water...]
[Holy crap! Looking at it like that, wifey's been playing dumb to outsmart everyone!!!]
Sure enough, Qin Huai pushed the big head off his shoulder with one hand. "You think I can't see something that obvious?"
"We're taking a strategic approach." Sunlight reflected off the lenses of Qin Huai's glasses.
"Strategic?" Gu Yunlan's eyes widened.
"We need to maximize our returns." Qin Huai nodded.
"My dear wife, what do you mean by that?"
"I took a look. Three-star jobs pay well, but they're also high-risk. It's easy to end up taking a loss. Two-star jobs pay a middling amount, but they take a very long time. Take helping the villagers buy supplies, for example. I asked the assistant director, and the production team won't provide any vehicles. That means walking there and hauling everything back. Half the day would be gone on the round trip."
"For picking peaches, you have to fill five whole baskets. That's not so easy either. I estimate that would take half a day too. Only the one-star tasks we've chosen, though they don't pay much, have the advantage of not taking long. We can finish all the one-star tasks in half a day. Small amounts add up. Then we'll choose two-star tasks in the afternoon. By my calculations, we should have a firm hold on second place." Watching Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan walk away, Qin Huai revealed a shrewd smile.
[Oh my god!!!]
[Is this still a marriage variety show? Are you sure it's not a workplace variety show?]
[That's a brilliant move, sister-in-law. They'll clear all the one-star tasks in half a day, so even if the other groups want to choose one-star tasks later, there won't be any left.]
[I did a quick calculation. All the one-star jobs pay 3,000 combined.]
[I thought this segment would only take physical strength. I didn't expect it to take brains too!]
Meanwhile, Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan herded the geese to the orchard.
Large red nectarines hung from the branches of the peach trees in the orchard.
Only when Xu Wang came closer did he realize that not only Zhong Ran and Leng Yifan had taken the peach-picking task, but Yun Xi as well.
Since Yun Xi was the tour guide, he could join any group without changing the amount of pay.
Yun Xi had originally wanted to choose Xu Wang's group again, but before he could speak, he felt an icy gaze on him.
Yun Xi shuddered all over and, with a very strong instinct for self-preservation, switched to another group. Sure enough, the gaze vanished the second he made his choice.
Where Yun Xi couldn't see, Pei Yanchuan's brows relaxed.
When Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan herded the geese beneath the trees, Zhong Ran and Leng Yifan both took a step back.
It was Yun Xi's first time seeing big geese in real life. Curious, he went up to stroke the Goose King's head.
The Goose King eyed the hand reaching toward him with a fierce look.
"Honk!" Take this!
Yun Xi's sixth sense was incredibly sharp, and he quickly withdrew his hand.
"This goose is so fierce!" Looking at the big goose stretching his neck out before him, Yun Xi patted his chest with relief.
Xu Wang glanced at Zhong Ran nearby. The expression on his face was very complicated and conflicted, but in the end, he chose to stay where he was.
Xu Wang raised an eyebrow. That was all it took?
Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan didn't stay there long. They herded the geese to the river and soon completed their task.
Seeing his lively, energetic flock, the man stamped their card in satisfaction.
Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan went to take a few more job cards.
The day soon passed, and that evening it was time for the production team to settle their pay.
Exhausted from the day's work, Xia Yu slumped into Hou Yunqi's arms.
Hou Yunqi placed two stamped job cards on the table!
The assistant director readily paid the two of them 3,000 yuan.
Leng Yifan and Zhong Ran had paid too much attention to making good television, so their work efficiency had been very low. They had only one stamped job card.
After calculating their pay and deducting the 100 yuan Zhong Ran owed the production team, the assistant director paid them 1,200 yuan.
Through his own efforts alone, Yun Xi had also earned the hefty sum of 2,000 yuan.
Next came Film Emperor Gu's group.
Qin Huai pulled a pile of cards from his pocket.
The assistant director was a little dumbfounded by the stack of job cards before him, but when he saw that almost all of them were one-star tasks, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
The calculator on the table clacked away. Looking at the final total, the assistant director's eyes widened slightly.
It actually came to 4,500 yuan.
The assistant director took a deep breath.
Finally, it was Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan's turn.
Holding Xu Wang's hand, Pei Yanchuan walked up to the table.
Seeing the mere three job cards before him, the assistant director was just about to smile, but the next second, he saw the amounts on them. They added up to 6,900 yuan!
The assistant director took the last of the money out of the envelope in his hand. After counting it, he looked into the envelope again in disbelief. It was completely empty. Not a single coin remained.
Director! Help! The production team is going 'bankrupt'!
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