As Xia Zhiyi and the others followed the dirt road to visit their neighbors, they also got a general idea of the households living nearby.
Their neighbors on the left were the village Party secretary's older male cousin and his family, along with his son and daughter-in-law, who had brought their children to the countryside for summer vacation. The seven of them lived in a two-story house that was clearly newly built, and they were very polite to the guests.
Apparently, everyone in the village called this older cousin Seventh Uncle. Because of his seniority in the family hierarchy, even his youngest grandson, who was only two this year, belonged to the uncle generation in the village.
To reach the neighbors on the right, Xia Zhiyi and the others had to follow a small path downhill, pass a pomelo tree, and go through a little gate.
This household's home was rather unusual. The wooden house stood right across a path the villagers used, with a high-ceilinged corridor in front of the two-story building and small gates at either end for people to pass through.
The house looked as though it was meant for a large family, but when the guests arrived, they only saw an elderly couple and their three-year-old granddaughter. The couple's sons and daughters worked elsewhere and were not there with them.
When she saw the guests coming, the old woman smiled so broadly that her gums showed, her eyes narrowing. She was just as welcoming and even wanted to cut up a watermelon for them, but everyone hurried to stop her.
Of these two households, the one living in the concrete house was clearly better off. There was a well behind the house with a pump installed beside it, making it easier to draw water, but there were no water pipes either.
As for the running water the guests mentioned...
Seventh Uncle said, "We don't need all that fuss here."
There wasn't any.
There simply wasn't.
They used to draw water from the well whenever they needed it. Now, even though Seventh Uncle was old and no longer had the strength he'd had when he was young, the pump made things convenient. He had lived in the village all his life and didn't find any of it troublesome.
It was worth mentioning that only after visiting Seventh Uncle did Xia Zhiyi and the others learn that, for the next half month, they would also have to come here to draw any water they needed.
Otherwise, they would have to walk about ten minutes to fetch water from the stream or river.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Then there's nothing we can do."
Xue Ranran said, "...That's really rustic."
Xia Zhiyi said, "We'll probably have to use that big pot in the kitchen to boil water. I saw a shed by the back door earlier. It's probably the woodshed. We'll have to check how much firewood is left in a bit."
If there wasn't enough firewood, they would have to figure out how to get some now.
[This feels so inconvenient. What year is it? Where did the production team even find this place?]
[It's not that surprising. My hometown only got a bit better these past two years. Before that, it was pretty much like where they're staying.]
[By rural standards, these conditions are actually pretty good. At least it's a red-brick house. My grandma used to live in a mud house.]
[The guests all seem so unused to it.]
[Zhou Kai has been out of it this whole time...]
[Aw, I feel bad for him.]
By now, the guests had all realized roughly what their standard of living would be for the next half month, and their expressions had changed somewhat.
Xia Zhiyi, however, was perfectly calm. "Isn't our show called Incredible Life? If the living conditions were ordinary, the production team probably wouldn't have given it that name."
Xue Ranran said, "...You have a really good point, Teacher Xia."
The group returned to their little living quarters and sat together in the main room. Xia Zhiyi went to check the woodshed out back, then returned and said, "There isn't much firewood in there. It should be enough for today, but starting tomorrow, we'll have to see where we can find some more."
He didn't really need to ask. Xia Zhiyi knew they would most likely have to go up the mountain behind them.
Wang Chengran was thirsty by then too. He looked around but couldn't find a thermos or anything like it, and he had finished the bottled water he'd brought on the way. Helplessly, he said, "If I'd known, I would've boiled some water before we went out."
Xia Zhiyi paused, then went back to his room and brought out his unopened bottle of water to hand to him.
Qin Yue was too tired to want to speak, but she was still trying hard to maintain her fresh, innocent white lotus image in front of the cameras. In a soft, gentle voice, she said, "We don't have to worry about dinner tonight for now, but we all need to bathe tonight. Luckily, it's hot, so the water doesn't need to be too warm. We can boil some and mix it with cold water. We probably won't need to boil too much."
Wang Chengran raised his hand. "I can take a cold shower."
Xia Zhiyi also said, "I can use cold water too."
Fu Yunyi said, "Mm, me too."
They were actually taking it for granted that the two female guests would use warm water, so they would have to boil at least some. They also needed to keep some boiled drinking water on hand. In this heat, having nothing to drink would be unbearable.
Xue Ranran and Qin Yue didn't need to state their positions, so everyone instinctively turned to Zhou Kai.
Zhou Kai came back to his senses to find everyone looking at him and startled. "Huh?"
Wang Chengran said, "Are you all right, Teacher Zhou? Are you feeling unwell?"
Qin Yue also asked with concern, "Zhou Kai, could you have heatstroke? You seemed a little unwell earlier. Should we ask them for some Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid or something?"
Zhou Kai paused, then raised a hand to his forehead, looking a little ill. He said quietly, "Sorry, I really am feeling a bit unwell..."
Fu Yunyi glanced at him.
Xia Zhiyi lowered his eyes.
There was no need for him to step forward and express concern now, because everyone knew that this was also his first time meeting Zhou Kai. They weren't close.
It was Fu Yunyi who spoke. "If you're feeling unwell, Zhou Kai, don't force yourself. Go lie down for a while. We'll call you when it's time."
Zhou Kai also wanted to be alone for a while to think carefully about what to do next. At that, he didn't refuse for long. After saying a few words, he got up and returned to his room.
Once he was gone, everyone exchanged looks. Wang Chengran lowered his voice. "Then how about we boil the water now, take turns bathing and changing, and head to the village chief's house when it's time?"
Xia Zhiyi worked out the timing. "That's fine with me."
After a pause, he added, "But where do we bathe?"
Everyone froze.
[Right, I don't think we saw a bathroom in this house?]
[I really wouldn't have thought of it if he hadn't mentioned it. This house... where's the toilet?]
[Qin Yue went to the toilet once earlier. It's not in this house. You have to go out the back door and walk a little way.]
[These conditions. I give up.]
[Is this a guest makeover boot camp or something?]
[Wait, are you just going to ignore Zhou Kai like that?]
[Zhou Kai went to rest because he's unwell. What else are they supposed to do? Have all the guests wait on him?]
Xia Zhiyi said, "I didn't see anywhere specifically for bathing in this house, but Seventh Uncle next door does have a bathroom."
Everyone fell silent. "..."
Fu Yunyi tried to hold back but couldn't. He looked at Director Gong, who was watching them from outside the door. "Come on, Director Gong. It's one thing to make us go to Seventh Uncle's for water, but you're not going to..."
Director Gong raised his megaphone. "The guests must resolve these issues themselves."
Fu Yunyi said, "..."
Fine. You play hardball.