Thanks to Zhou Kai's reminder, the guests soon noticed the problem.
But... they didn't have enough points.
The little shop even stocked gas stoves, and it did have mosquito nets, but each net cost ten points.
If they paid cash, it was sixty yuan each. Compared with the money they had on hand, that really was a little expensive.
Xue Ranran and Wang Chengran both had negative points, so being allowed to spend cash was already pretty good, but with so little money, spending half of it on a mosquito net was still a bit much.
So after calling Qin Yue over, the six of them discussed it and pooled their money to buy a box of the cheapest mosquito coils, just to get through the first night.
Yes, each of them spent one yuan fifty.
Holding the change the production team had given her, Xue Ranran remarked, "Come to think of it, should we each look after our own money, or choose someone to manage it all?"
They would be eating together from now on. Points were one thing, but this money... if they kept it separately, buying groceries would be hard to work out.
They might as well pool it.
After Xue Ranran brought it up, they discussed it briefly and finally chose Qin Yue to manage the money.
And yes, she would have to keep accounts too.
Qin Yue accepted the job with a smile and said half-jokingly, "Now I can count this as doing my part for everyone. I was just worrying about what I could do next, since we're living together and I don't even know how to tend a fire."
Fu Yunyi said casually, "Not at all. Qin Yue, you're really good at chopping firewood."
Zhou Kai, who had no idea what had happened in the meantime, said, "Qin Yue chopped firewood?"
Wait, there were five other guests besides him, three of them men. How had Qin Yue already taken the spotlight while he had only been lying down for a little while?
It went without saying that with a lineup like theirs, having Qin Yue, who looked the most delicate, do something as clearly physical as chopping firewood would draw viewers' attention through the contrast alone!
Zhou Kai thought, No, I can't rest.
Even though what had happened earlier still left him feeling unsettled, he couldn't hide away at a time like this. If everyone else stole all the camera time, wouldn't he have come for nothing?
So the guests handed their cash to Qin Yue and took another careful look around the little shop. After discovering that their current assets really didn't allow them to spend money or points freely, everyone soon found something to do.
Wang Chengran stayed true to his original purpose and went to tend the fire and boil water.
Qin Yue spent two yuan at the little shop on a small notebook specifically for keeping accounts, then went to organize the cash and sort out everyone's current points while she was at it. They couldn't keep asking Director Gong every time without having any idea themselves, could they?
Seeing that Qin Yue had something to do, Fu Yunyi asked her a couple of quick questions about the knack for chopping wood. After getting "go by feel" as an answer, he decided it wasn't reliable and went out back to figure it out himself again.
This time, Zhou Kai went with Fu Yunyi, saying he had more or less recovered and wanted to do some work with him.
Before going to fetch water, Xia Zhiyi glanced at Zhou Kai, who was deliberately sticking close to Fu Yunyi. With a smile on his face, he thought, He already wants to use Fu Yunyi as a stepping stone, yet he still dares to get close to him now. Really...
Good luck to him.
Fu Yunyi was the male lead.
Right now, his luck was on the rise, and his overall advantages were already greater than those of Zhou Kai, who belonged to the villain camp. Zhou Kai even wanted to harm Fu Yunyi. It would have been fine if he kept his distance at a time like this, but going out of his way to get close...
Wasn't he just asking for trouble?
Xue Ranran planned to go with Xia Zhiyi to check out the bathroom at Seventh Uncle's house next door. As she followed Xia Zhiyi, she asked, "Teacher Xia, have you been somewhere like this before? I feel like you've been calm the whole time, as if you aren't surprised by the conditions here at all."
Xia Zhiyi said, "Hm? Well... you could say that. I was sent up a mountain to practice martial arts as a child because I was frail, and there were times when I slept out in the mountains. Besides, the accommodations the production team prepared for us aren't that bad, so that might be why I seem relatively calm to you."
Xue Ranran said, "Wow! Were you sent to some hidden sect to learn martial arts?"
That sounded so cool!
Xia Zhiyi said, "No, I was only sent to a Taoist temple. It wasn't deep in some remote mountain forest, either. Plenty of tourists usually came up the mountain to offer incense."
Xue Ranran said, "That's still amazing. Did you learn your skills at the temple?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "Not quite. I learned some fundamentals at the temple."
Within those few exchanges, the two reached the clearing in front of Seventh Uncle's house. Seventh Uncle was sweeping with a broom, and when Xue Ranran saw him, she went over of her own accord to help.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Seventh Uncle, we're here to fetch water."
Caught off guard, Seventh Uncle had his broom taken by Xue Ranran and failed to get it back. He smiled helplessly at Xia Zhiyi. "You need water? Go ahead, go ahead."
Then, seeing Xia Zhiyi carrying two buckets by himself and noticing his slender build, he asked with some concern, "Why did you come alone, lad? And with two buckets? Can you carry them?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "It's fine."
Seventh Uncle still wasn't reassured, but seeing how confident Xia Zhiyi looked, he didn't say anything to discourage him. He simply followed behind Xia Zhiyi, apparently intending to help in a moment.
Then Seventh Uncle watched Xia Zhiyi fill two buckets to the brim.
Seventh Uncle said, "Hey, lad, that's too much. You..."
Just as he was about to say that Xia Zhiyi wouldn't be able to carry them like that, the old man watched Xia Zhiyi lift both buckets effortlessly without so much as batting an eye.
If the handles hadn't been pulled out of shape, Seventh Uncle would have wondered whether he was seeing things.
Xia Zhiyi even smiled at Seventh Uncle. "I'll carry these back first, then. Don't worry about me, Seventh Uncle. Getting more at once saves me going back and forth."
Seventh Uncle said, "Oh... oh..."
And just like that, Xia Zhiyi went back with light steps.
Seventh Uncle stood dazed for quite a while before walking in a fog over to Xue Ranran, who was sweeping with her head down. He couldn't help staring at her for a good while. Only after confirming that she was sweeping in a perfectly ordinary, even somewhat clumsy manner did he ask, "Are all you guests filming this show pretty capable?"
Xue Ranran said, "Huh?"
The water vat in the little house was large, and Xia Zhiyi made two more trips afterward. During that time, Seventh Uncle refused to believe it and went forward to try lifting a bucket himself. After discovering that even he, an old man who had farmed for years, struggled a little to lift it, the look he gave Xia Zhiyi immediately grew rather peculiar.
On the last trip, Seventh Uncle followed Xia Zhiyi all the way back to the little house. After watching him make the whole journey with ease, without even a change in his breathing, Seventh Uncle patted Xia Zhiyi on the shoulder. "Lad, you're a good one! You're this!"
As he spoke, he gave Xia Zhiyi a thumbs-up.
Before Xia Zhiyi could say anything, Seventh Uncle took a production-team logo out of his trouser pocket, fiddled with peeling it for ages in front of his eyes, then stuck it onto Xia Zhiyi as he watched in confusion.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Seventh Uncle, what... is this?"
Director Gong, standing nearby, couldn't hold back and rushed over. "Hey! Sir! Sir! It's only the first day! It's too soon for that!"
Seventh Uncle declared loudly, "Good lad! I've got faith in you!"