Still, however much they thought Gong Cheng, the show's chief director, was a bastard, when it came to actually doing something, the guests had to hold their noses and accept the task.
This wasn't because they were intimidated by the director's authority, but because...
Xia Zhiyi said, "Now that we know the elderly gentleman has a milestone birthday coming up, it'd be terribly rude not to do anything."
That was exactly it.
Qin Yue said, "But there's so little time. Once we subtract the time we need for our tasks, we won't be able to prepare a decent gift."
She paused as she spoke, frowning slightly. "Besides, there's nothing at home we can give as a gift, so I'm afraid we'll still have to go down the mountain and look around town."
Xia Zhiyi sat with Wang Chengran. According to the original plan, he should already have headed out to do his task by now, but...
Fu Yunyi asked, "How much money do we have left?"
Qin Yue said, "Thirteen hundred."
She left out the small change.
Xue Ranran said, "When Sister Yueyue and I got up this morning, we were saying that if yesterday's spending was anything to go by, it seemed like we could manage half a month on our starting funds. But... sure enough, it wasn't as simple as I thought."
Qin Yue said, "It makes sense when you think about it. An ordinary family's annual expenses have to include gifts and social obligations too. You can't just count food, clothing, housing, and transportation."
Everyone exchanged glances, and Wang Chengran asked, "What do we do now, then? Go look around town first, then come back and do our tasks once that's settled?"
Xia Zhiyi asked, "Does the shop have anything suitable for a birthday gift?"
Qin Yue said, "I didn't see anything particularly suitable."
Xue Ranran added, "The only things suitable as gifts are the furniture and appliances, but those can only be bought with points. Even the cheapest chair costs thirty points, and we can't exactly give him a chair, can we?"
So they still had to look around town. The production team's little shop could only serve as a last resort.
After some discussion, they finally decided to head down the mountain and have a look around.
As for the task...
The birthday gift task issued by the production team would reward the guests according to how well they completed it, with a maximum reward of two thousand yuan and a minimum of two hundred, provided the elderly gentleman accepted the gift they prepared.
In other words, if things went smoothly, they had at least two hundred yuan to spend.
Xia Zhiyi sighed. He really had planned to make something, but now he could only put that plan off.
Qin Yue and Xue Ranran went back to their room, saying they needed to get a few things ready for the outing. The male guests didn't think they needed to prepare anything extra, so they waited by the door.
Earlier that morning, Fu Yunyi had learned some basics alongside Xia Zhiyi and Wang Chengran, and he felt they had grown quite a bit closer. Now he draped an arm over Xia Zhiyi's shoulders and said, "To save time, we'd better rent some transportation from the production team."
Xia Zhiyi said, "Yeah."
Watching them from the side, Wang Chengran blinked, moved closer, and asked, "Are we using the tricycle again?"
Xia Zhiyi and Fu Yunyi said in unison, "No."
The two exchanged a glance.
Wang Chengran was puzzled.
What would they use if not the tricycle?
Xia Zhiyi explained, "We don't know what we'll buy yet. If someone buys something big, the tricycle will be our only option for carrying it."
As for the tractor... it hadn't come to that.
Xia Zhiyi said, "So we can't rent just the tricycle. To be safe, let's ask them in a bit whether they're willing to ride bicycles."
Fu Yunyi said, "A motorcycle would work too."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "Do you have a license?"
Fu Yunyi said, "...Well, uh."
Xia Zhiyi said earnestly, "I don't."
Wang Chengran hurriedly said, "Brother Fu, I don't either."
Fu Yunyi said, "..."
Fu Yunyi turned a questioning look on the production team. "When you prepared the motorcycle, didn't you consider whether the guests had licenses?"
Well, he didn't have one either.
The viewers all burst out laughing at the sight.
[Hahahahaha, Teacher Xia with the one-hit kill]
[Yay, we're going down the mountain to browse the market! I'm curious what the town around here looks like too. We didn't get to see it at all last time]
[This birthday gift preparation is way too rushed]
[The production team probably only just found out too. Otherwise, they would've told the guests ahead of time]
[Oh, if Teacher Xia hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't even have realized they needed licenses. When I saw the transportation the production team had prepared, I just assumed it was fine as long as the guests knew how to drive]
Director Gong remained unshakable. "The production team only provides the props. Whether you can use them is your own business."
He even added an explanation. "But don't worry. If any guest wants to use the motorcycle or tractor, the production team will check whether they're qualified to drive it."
In other words, even if Xia Zhiyi hadn't thought of it, the production team would have reminded them when someone wanted to drive the motorcycle or tractor.
But there was a catch: the guests could only touch the vehicles after making a deal with the production team and having their points deducted, and Director Gong said he had planned to send someone to ask only then.
In other words, if the guests weren't aware of this, they would end up spending points for nothing. It would leave a lasting impression and help them remember traffic regulations, too.
Unfortunately, Xia Zhiyi had thought of it ahead of time, so the production team hadn't managed to trick the guests.
And so Director Gong quite honestly told them what he had been planning to do, sounding deeply regretful as he spoke.
Fu Yunyi said, "..."
Wang Chengran said, "..."
Xia Zhiyi smiled.
Only after a while did Fu Yunyi say, "Am I supposed to thank you, then?"
Director Gong said, "You're welcome."
[Hahahahaha]
[Director Gong is so honest. I love him]
[What even is this, admitting your failed scheme just to annoy the guests?! But Fu Yunyi's expression is so funny, hahahaha]
[Director Gong isn't hiding what a bastard he is at all, hahahaha]
As far as Director Gong was concerned, what was there to hide? This was the kind of director he was. The guests wouldn't dare hit him anyway, so what was there to fear?
When he first discovered that Xia Zhiyi, an amateur guest, seemed to have considerable fighting ability and was still so young, Director Gong had been a little worried about what he would do if Xia Zhiyi got hotheaded and hit him on impulse.
But in less than two days, Director Gong had formed a rough picture of Xia Zhiyi: young and a capable fighter, but unexpectedly steady. Apart from being beyond the production team's control, Xia Zhiyi was practically perfect for a kid who had only just reached adulthood.
Yes, the kind of kid other people had.
So Director Gong still liked Xia Zhiyi very much.
Qin Yue and Xue Ranran emerged just then, each carrying a bag. Seeing Fu Yunyi's expression, Qin Yue asked, "What's wrong?"
What had happened? Why did Fu Yunyi look as though he was about to go beat someone up?
Fu Yunyi said, "...Nothing."
Although Wang Chengran was a little bewildered too, he took it much better than Fu Yunyi did. He quickly accepted that he had nearly become part of Director Gong's entertainment material and cheerfully recounted what had just happened to the two female guests.
After hearing him out, Xue Ranran was speechless. "Director Gong, you really don't treat us like outsiders at all, huh?"
Director Gong waved a hand. "Of course not. We're all family!"
Xia Zhiyi said, "..."
Pfft.