Zhou Kai's departure had little effect on the others, aside from the production team clawing back some more of their funds.
Filming had only just begun, and the guests hadn't developed any "deep bonds" yet. Having one more or one fewer person made little difference.
The viewers didn't have many thoughts about it either. After all, various factors had kept Zhou Kai's presence low from his arrival to his departure.
Even Qin Yue had gained some attention through her cooking. Zhou Kai, meanwhile, had shut himself away because of his hives and disappeared from the cameras before anyone had even started paying attention to him.
Aside from his fans, the other viewers had almost thought the show only had five guests. Who still remembered him?
Whatever else could be said about the filming afterward, the atmosphere was much better. Clearly, whatever everyone was like in private, they were all quite agreeable on the show.
"Teacher Xia, are you heading out?"
Xia Zhiyi had changed clothes and was about to leave when Wang Chengran called out to him.
He hummed in acknowledgment, then noticed the sickle in Wang Chengran's hand and asked, "What are you off to do?"
Wang Chengran said, "I saw an old lady cutting grass in the fields this morning. I asked her and heard it was for the pigs. I figured I had nothing to do sitting around the house this afternoon, so I'd cut some grass and bring it back to feed them."
"What about you?"
Xia Zhiyi was equally straightforward. "I didn't finish the cattle-herding task this morning. I asked the production team, and they said we could exchange fish for points over at the pond, so I'm going to give it a try."
Wang Chengran's eyes lit up. "You're going fishing?"
Xia Zhiyi smiled. "Yes. Why, want to come?"
Wang Chengran hesitated, then said decisively, "I'm coming too! I'll take a look. If it's not hard, I'll join you. If I can't manage it, I'll go cut grass instead."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "What about Sister Ranran?"
Wang Chengran said, "She and Sister Qin Yue said it's hot outside this afternoon, so they're staying home to rearrange the place."
Xia Zhiyi thought for a moment. "If we're going together, we should ask them too."
"Okay."
Wang Chengran went to ask.
The two women weren't particularly interested in fishing, though. They might have been more interested if the sun weren't so strong, but with the hot weather and no compulsory requirement from the production team, they would rather sort out the house they would be living in for half a month, inside and out.
Fu Yunyi, however, was rather tempted and went along to the pond to give it a try too.
Then...
"Teacher Xia, here's the price list for fishing rods and bait. Would you like to..."
Xia Zhiyi smiled. "No need. I brought my own."
The two men who were examining the fishing rods turned to look at him in unison.
Wang Chengran said, "Huh? Teacher Xia, you brought a fishing rod?"
Then, under everyone's gaze, Xia Zhiyi deftly made a fishing rod out of some nearby bamboo.
Wang Chengran said, "Wow!"
Fu Yunyi was a little curious. With Xia Zhiyi's permission, he picked up the rather crude-looking rod and examined it, then picked up one of the rods the production team had prepared. The difference was obvious when he compared them.
Fu Yunyi said, "This... is a little heavy."
Simply picking it up was fine, but if he had to keep holding it while fishing, that weight wouldn't work.
His arms would ache.
Xia Zhiyi smiled. "Yes, but this little bit of weight is nothing to me. If you two want to fish, you should use the production team's rods."
Bamboo that had been dried for a while would naturally be lighter, but Xia Zhiyi had used fresh bamboo. It still had moisture in it.
As for why he wasn't using the production team's rods...
Xia Zhiyi simply felt there was no need to waste that "money." It wasn't as if he couldn't make one himself.
The three of them then chose a spot and sat in a row. In the end, Wang Chengran and Fu Yunyi each rented a fishing rod first. The former's points were still in the negatives, so he had borrowed points from Fu Yunyi.
Fu Yunyi asked, "Can that rod of yours... catch any fish?"
Wang Chengran said, "Teacher Xia is so capable. Of course he can."
Then, just as the two finished speaking, Xia Zhiyi said, "Got one."
Right in front of everyone, Xia Zhiyi caught a grass carp weighing three jin in less than a minute.
Everyone: "..."
Wang Chengran said, "Wow!"
The production team: "..."
The production team had been waiting to enjoy the show, but Xia Zhiyi had scored a win right out of the gate. The fish had bitten just like that.
Wasn't this too strange?!
At that speed, it was as if the fish in the pond had been waiting specifically to bite his hook.
Even if the fish in the pond were semi-farmed, surely they couldn't be this stupid!
Since they had prepared this activity, naturally they had made the staff try it in advance! If catching fish were this easy, how could they possibly have given the guests this opening?!
And yet...
When Director Gong got the news, he already had a bad feeling. "This Xia Zhiyi... he isn't some master angler, is he?"
Being physically skilled had nothing to do with fishing!
The production team had already taken precautions to stop Xia Zhiyi from using his physical skills as a cheat. For instance, they stipulated that only fish caught with a rod, and only live fish, could be exchanged for points.
Otherwise, if Xia Zhiyi simply speared or scooped up fish, the production team would lose a fortune.
They had thought this would keep things under control, but...
Soon, however, Director Gong discovered that this wasn't the worst of it.
Rather... Fu Yunyi, who was clearly also fishing for the first time and hadn't even figured out all the things he needed to watch out for, was actually doing better than Xia Zhiyi.
Put it this way: if Xia Zhiyi caught a three-jin fish, Fu Yunyi would catch a four-jin fish before long.
It was like a showdown. Whatever Xia Zhiyi caught, Fu Yunyi would follow closely with a fish that was always just a little better than his.
It was very curious.
The result, however, was that Wang Chengran, an ordinary person sandwiched between them, looked especially pitiful-his teammates were reeling in plenty, while he hadn't caught a thing.
Wang Chengran: "..."
Fortunately, Wang Chengran was easygoing. He sat for a while, looking at Xia Zhiyi on his left and Fu Yunyi on his right in turn, happy whenever either of them caught something. After half an hour without the slightest movement from his own float, he gave up without any fuss.
Wang Chengran said, "Wow! Brother Fu! Teacher Xia! You're amazing!"
"Does this mean we'll be able to exchange these for loads of points later?"
Xia Zhiyi looked at Wang Chengran, thought for a moment, and asked, "How many points are you still short?"
Wang Chengran said, "I picked corn this morning and exchanged it for six points, so I only have a few points left to pay off."
Xia Zhiyi said, "How about this? After I exchange these for points, I'll give you ten to clear your debt. You won't need to pay those ten points back, but you'll have to help me work for the next two days."
Wang Chengran froze. "Huh? Teacher Xia, if you need help with anything, just ask. You don't have to..."
Xia Zhiyi said, "It's physical labor. I'd feel bad just asking you to help."
Although Wang Chengran seemed a little guileless, he had spent some time in the industry and understood a thing or two about social dealings. A little surprised by this, he nevertheless nodded. "All right, then."