Only the next day did Wang Chengran find out what Xia Zhiyi wanted him to do.
Wang Chengran said, "Oh... my God, Teacher Xia, how do you know how to do everything?"
Xia Zhiyi smiled. "This isn't hard either."
"But before that, we need to cut some bamboo."
Wang Chengran nodded. "I get it, I get it. If we're going to make something, we need materials first. But do we have any other tools here? Or things like nails?"
Xia Zhiyi pointed toward Seventh Uncle's house. "I went over to ask Seventh Uncle. He was the village carpenter when he was young, so he has hammers, axes, and all that. Nails too."
Of course, they weren't free. Xia Zhiyi had discussed it with Seventh Uncle, and although Seventh Uncle had offered to provide them for free, Xia Zhiyi had still traded some of the eventual finished products for these things.
Wang Chengran asked, "Then are we cutting bamboo today? After we finish our tasks?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "You don't need to go. I took the sheep-herding task today, so I'll cut some on my way past that bamboo grove. You just need to come help me carry it back after lunch."
Wang Chengran said, "Huh?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "Don't worry, there'll be enough."
Wang Chengran said, "That's not what I'm worried about. But... you herded cattle yesterday and you're herding sheep today, Teacher Xia. I thought you'd pick tasks that required a little more skill."
Xia Zhiyi blinked. "What tasks require more skill?"
Just then, Fu Yunyi came out, heard this, and repeated the question.
Wang Chengran said, "...I guess there really aren't any."
The tasks on the production team's list were all things the villagers normally did in their daily lives. They weren't particularly difficult, mostly just physical labor, though they might require a little technique, such as keeping livestock from running off.
But that didn't mean these tasks were easy. Take Wang Chengran and Xue Ranran harvesting corn yesterday, for example. If they didn't know a few tricks and just charged blindly into the field, they would be fine for a short while, but after a little longer, their hands would start aching.
Well, they might also itch all over.
The production team had arranged for villagers to give them guidance on these things too.
Fu Yunyi asked, "How about I harvest corn with you today? I just finished washing up and fed the chickens while I was at it. As for the pigs, Qin Yue said she'd feed them once she'd prepared their food."
Wang Chengran was surprised. "Brother Fu, you've finished your task already?"
Fu Yunyi said, "...Yeah."
Yesterday, he had been inexperienced, fumbling around even when feeding the chickens and wasting time for nothing.
His youngest uncle had happened to see it too. Although his youngest uncle hadn't said anything at the time, Fu Yunyi had felt that his youngest uncle was looking down on him-Making something so simple this complicated. Where's your brain?
So after dinner yesterday, before going to bed, he had found a crew member and asked detailed questions about every task on the list that looked like something he could do, striving not to embarrass himself on camera again.
As for the chicken feed... he had prepared it last night. When he got up this morning, all he had needed to do was add last night's leftover rice and mix it around.
At this point, Fu Yunyi had yet to realize that he had unconsciously started joining the rat race.
Wang Chengran couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up. "Oh, come on, I haven't even gotten started! No, I-I'm going to chop firewood!"
Xia Zhiyi said, "..."
Xia Zhiyi stopped him. "We have enough firewood. I chopped quite a bit when I had a moment after dinner yesterday. If you're going to the cornfield this morning, save your strength."
Wang Chengran said, "...Why are you all so hardworking? How did I not know about any of this yesterday?"
This made him look so stupid!
Xia Zhiyi said, "It was just a little thing. You were showering at the time."
Wang Chengran said, "...Wah, I feel like I'm not hardworking at all compared to you."
Qin Yue and Xue Ranran came out carrying two large basins of noodles. Hearing this, Xue Ranran said, "That means they notice what needs doing, and you don't."
Xia Zhiyi got up and fetched a few bowls from the kitchen. Talking and laughing, everyone sat around the square table and began eating.
Before everyone split up to do their tasks, Qin Yue checked with them about lunch. "Since we'll all be using up our strength, we can't just eat vegetables. So I was thinking we could buy a jin or two of pork from the production team at noon and make stir-fried pork with peppers."
Xue Ranran said, "Right, I was just discussing it with Sister Yueyue. We have work to do. Vegetables won't keep us full."
Wang Chengran said, "Sounds good! But the production team's shop is such a rip-off. Won't the meat be too expensive?"
Qin Yue said, "I checked yesterday. Vegetables that aren't available here cost more at the little shop, but things available locally are priced normally."
"Pork was twelve yuan a jin yesterday. I asked the auntie next door, and pork in the town down the mountain generally runs from seven or eight yuan to somewhere in the teens per jin. Prices fluctuate, so it's about the same."
Wang Chengran and Fu Yunyi didn't really know what things cost. Both were pampered young masters at home, so they didn't quite understand what they heard, but seeing Qin Yue's expression that said, "It really is cheap," they believed her.
Xia Zhiyi did know what things cost. For example, in the city where he and Xia Wanyi lived, pork had been twenty-eight yuan a jin before he came here. In comparison, this really was much cheaper.
But...
Xia Zhiyi said, "Third Uncle Wu's family is slaughtering a pig today. We could buy some from them and lend a hand. It should be a little cheaper."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Fu Yunyi asked, "Third Uncle Wu is... which one?"
He could be forgiven. He had only been here a few days, and apart from Seventh Uncle next door, he hadn't remembered anyone.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Take the little path on the left of our house toward the back. After you pass two houses, the two-story earthen house is Third Uncle Wu's home. There's an elderly lady in his family whose big birthday celebration is tomorrow. They're starting preparations today."
Everyone said, "..."
Wang Chengran said, "Teacher Xia, you... really know all the details."
Xia Zhiyi smiled and explained, "I stopped in for a visit when I was passing by. The elderly lady likes young people and kept me chatting for a while. I happened to find out."
Director Gong, who was overseeing everything behind the cameras, said, "..."
Director Gong took a breath and turned to ask the assistant beside him, "When did he go?"
There were five guests. Since the production team was presenting this as real life, they wouldn't deliberately keep all the guests together. Once the guests split up, Director Gong didn't have five pairs of eyes, so he sometimes missed unimportant things.
As far as he was concerned, Xia Zhiyi wandering around the village in his free time without anything special happening was one of those things.
The assistant, however, had been keeping an eye on Xia Zhiyi simply because he admired capable people. Hearing the question, he said quietly, "After dinner yesterday. Teacher Xia said he was going for a walk to help digest his food, then went out for a stroll."
Director Gong said, "...Forget it. Since they already know, issue the task early."
And so the five guests soon received a task Director Gong had issued on the spot-prepare a birthday gift for an elderly person celebrating their ninetieth birthday.
Everyone said, "..."
The birthday celebration was tomorrow, and he was only telling them to prepare gifts today. Director Gong, why didn't he just fly to the moon!