As agreed beforehand.
They took the two mother-daughter pairs back to where they had set off.
In town.
At the busiest square.
Because the livestream had stayed on, plenty of the town's residents knew they were returning to the square. By the time their vehicle arrived, a sea of people had already gathered.
Someone in the crowd shouted-
"Are you running any more tours?"
"9.9 yuan, are we going? 9.9 yuan, are we going?"
Amid the bustle, people in the livestream chat kept asking questions too.
[Are you still going to the mountain behind Bridgehead Village today?]
[Can we still sign up for the exclusive 9.9-yuan VIP experience today?]
[How's Jiang Mingxi's hand?]
[How do we join the tour?]
On the way over, the three had already discussed it. Since they had gotten off to such a good start today, they might as well turn this livestream outing into a themed special.
Jiang Mingxi climbed onto the roof of the vehicle again in a few quick moves.
He raised his arm and shouted.
"The heavens stretch vast, the wilds stretch wide..."
Before he could finish, the crowd below started heckling. "Ham sausage, you've got none!"
Jiang Mingxi chuckled. "No ham sausage for me, but 9.9 yuan-are we going?"
The crowd yelled at the top of their lungs, "Yes!"
Then a jumble of questions followed. "How do we sign up? Where do we sign up?"
Jiang Mingxi raised his hands and pressed them down, and the clamor quieted a little.
He shouted to everyone as loudly as he could, "Today's outing theme is parent-child trips. Those of you watching the livestream have seen it too: me, Zhao Jiayuan, and Brother Chen Chong-we're all new to this and short on experience.
"So we can't take too many people at once.
"Judging by the time, we can still take two more batches out today.
"Three families per batch, charged per person."
The moment Jiang Mingxi finished, a grown man jumped up and asked, "If thirty-year-old me brings my fifty-year-old dad, does that count as a parent-child trip?"
Hahahahaha~
Everyone around burst out laughing.
Zhao Jiayuan jumped up. "How could that not count? Of course it does! Bro, come here, I'll sign you up. 9.9 yuan-are we going?"
The man's eyes lit up. "Yes, right now! Me and my dad, two people!"
After confirming the man and his dad, they signed up two more families.
One was a family of three: a dad, a mom, and a seven-year-old boy.
The other was a family of two: a dad and his twelve-year-old daughter.
All three families had their own cars, so they did not need to use the production team's vehicle.
The livestream was livelier than ever.
The outings went smoothly too.
By the time they finished with the last batch of tourists, it was completely dark.
"I'm so hungry my stomach's stuck to my spine. I could eat a whole cow!" Zhao Jiayuan draped his arm over Jiang Mingxi's shoulders, so exhausted he could barely stand straight. "I feel like I've never walked this much in my life!"
Jiang Mingxi pointed at a noodle shop ahead. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll walk even more tomorrow."
Zhao Jiayuan let out a howl, decided to ignore that remark, and plunged into the noodle shop. "This is my first meal today!"
[Those three really worked hard today. They climbed the mountain three times, and every time they gave their all to keeping everyone entertained, with their energy cranked all the way up.]
[And none of them had a single sip of water all day. This isn't just their first meal, it's their first drink of water too. I don't follow celebrities, but I honestly feel a bit bad for them.]
[Zhao Jiayuan sang until his voice went hoarse.]
[That little boy in the last group fell asleep on the way down. Jiang Mingxi carried him the whole way.]
[I love this show. The scenery on the mountain behind Bridgehead Village is genuinely beautiful. I've decided to go have a look tomorrow.]
[I'm going too!]
[What a coincidence, I'm planning to go have a look too. Maybe I'll even run into them!]
Prices in the little town were low.
A large bowl of hand-pulled noodles cost only five yuan.
"We took seventeen tourists out today, at 9.9 yuan each. We made..." Zhao Jiayuan could not wait to do the math as he ate his noodles. "168.3 yuan."
Chen Chong took a sip of noodle broth. "Minus fifteen yuan for the noodles."
"That leaves 153.3 yuan!" Zhao Jiayuan was as excited as a young fellow who had just built a house and was about to get married, his eyes as round as brass bells.
Anyone who did not know better would have thought that figure was in tens of thousands.
Chen Chong lowered his head to eat his noodles and smiled.
[Suddenly this feels so sad. They worked all day and made 51.1 yuan each?]
[You still have to subtract ten yuan per person for going up the mountain, so it's actually only 41.1 yuan. And they're still getting accused of digital begging.]
[Think about Jiang Mingle. He chopped just under half a sack of firewood and earned fifty yuan from that lady, and she even fed him three meals that day. I honestly wonder how his fans have the nerve to insult Jiang Mingxi.]
[Song Lan spent ten yuan to go up the mountain, picked mushrooms for half the morning, then hitched a ride with a local into town to sell them. That whole big bag of mushrooms only sold for twenty yuan.]
Once Zhao Jiayuan finished, Jiang Mingxi set down the bowl he had drained of broth and cruelly reminded him, "We still have to deduct the hundred-yuan fee for our guide. Without him leading the way, we wouldn't have found the route up the mountain."
Dabao had been with them the whole time.
But when they brought the last batch of guests back to town, it was already dark.
Dabao had to go home to cook for his younger sister, so he had not come into town with them.
Chen Chong nodded. "Right, subtract another hundred."
Zhao Jiayuan jumped straight up in the noodle shop. "So, after a whole day, the three of us made a total of... 53.3 yuan? The harder we work, the more it hurts?"
Quite a few customers in the noodle shop had come from the square.
At his words, the whole shop burst out laughing.
Hahahahahahaha!
[...]
[Seventeen yuan each, and they spent the whole day getting called shameless digital beggars cashing in on their celebrity status.]
[Damn it, it's so sad I want to laugh. Hahahahaha!]
[I mean, but... I really want to laugh too!]
As the three were talking, a member of the production crew quietly reminded them from beside them, "The livestream viewers are asking whether you're running tours tomorrow."
Chen Chong and Zhao Jiayuan turned to Jiang Mingxi in unison.
After all, Jiang Mingxi had come up with all of today's plans.
Jiang Mingxi declared firmly, "Yes. Tomorrow, we're doing a couples' special!"
Zhao Jiayuan added, "Right. Even if it hurts, we'll make it sweet!"
Chen Chong added, "Three single dogs, hurting amid other people's sweetness."
Jiang Mingxi concluded, "It's still different. I'm pursuing someone. You two are pure dogs."
[Hahahahaha!]
[He's not talking about pursuing Teacher Song, is he? Isn't he tired of this? Get lost, you clout-chasing bitch!]
[Uh... how do I put this? I actually... just... well... think it's kind of okay?]
[I'm a fan of Teacher Song, and honestly, I don't dislike Jiang Mingxi that much now.]
[Although Jiang Mingxi isn't that annoying anymore, I still feel like he isn't good enough for Teacher Song.]
"Your fans say Jiang Mingxi isn't good enough for you. What do you think?" Holding her phone, Bai Ge gleefully asked the artist she managed.