After Xia Zhiyi and Fu Yunyi washed the dishes together, Fu Yunyi went off to find a mission.
One person can chop wood. Although Wang Chengran chopping wood, it really doesn't require two people to do the job.
Therefore, if Fu Yunyi wanted to make up for some points, he could only find another task.
Just then, the two female guests hadn't returned yet, so Xia Zhiyi, as she had agreed with Director Gong beforehand, used the excuse of going to the restroom to avoid the camera and found a quiet place to chat with Director Gong.
Director Gong: "It's like this, Teacher Xia, we didn't know you had such amazing skills..."
Xia Zhiyi quickly replied, "No, no, these are just some basic skills, nothing more than a craft. There are many people who are much better than me."
He wasn't being modest; Xia Zhiyi did indeed know some carpentry skills, and he had studied them diligently when he was learning. But as he said, what he knew was essentially just basic skills.
To those unfamiliar with him, it might seem amazing and impressive, but to professionals, he's just a young man with solid fundamental skills.
A truly skilled carpenter is one who can make the things passed down from their ancestors shine.
Xia Zhiyi explained, "I can only do some things according to the basics, which is rather rigid and can't be considered a skill. It's just about applying formulas, memorizing them by rote and then using them."
Director Gong smiled and said, "You don't need to be so modest..."
Xia Zhiyi: "I wasn't being modest."
Director Gong: "..."
Director Gong coughed lightly and then said, "Alright, even if what you did wasn't amazing, it was still quite shocking for most Ordinary Person today. Your name is still trending on social media."
Xia Zhiyi surprised. "It's trending on Weibo?"
Director Gong: "Hmm."
Director Gong: "Actually, that's not what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to discuss with you is, besides that amazing mechanical stool, do you know how to make anything else? If you have anything else that's novel and amazing, we'd like to arrange a live auction."
Xia Zhiyi frowned. "Auction?"
Director Gong: "Hmm."
Xia Zhiyi: "These are really nothing..."
Xia Zhiyi didn't think these things were worth auctioning. First of all, he wasn't the only one who could make these things; at most, there were relatively few people who knew how, but they weren't unique.
Secondly, the wood he used wasn't anything special; it was just ordinary wood.
Director Gong seemed to glean something from his expression and explained, "It's like this, we had a small meeting earlier and felt that this is part of our country's traditional culture, and it's worth promoting, right?"
"Then, there's the village we live in now. As you can see, it's not wealthy. We've barely escaped poverty, but we still have a long way to go before we become truly prosperous."
"Our production team came here to film a program hoping to bring about some positive changes and economic benefits to the local people. Even if it's just temporary celebrity influence, it still creates an opportunity for the people here, doesn't it?"
"So, if this auction can be held, our idea is that no matter how much or how little is sold, the production team won't take a single penny. However, we'll award you points based on a certain percentage, and that money will be used for official investment here."
Director Gong added, "Of course, this is still an immature idea for now, and we need to discuss it with you, Teacher Xia. If you're willing, we can talk to the authorities. It would be even better if you could add more local characteristics to those handicrafts."
"If you're not willing, we won't talk to the authorities. We'll stick to your original plan and sell at the market. It's fine; getting closer to Ordinary Person's lives is one of the goals of our program."
Director Gong's meaning was simple: he did not intend to morally blackmail Xia Zhiyi.
Director Gong: "Of course, Teacher Xia doesn't need to answer immediately."
Xia Zhiyi hesitated for only a few seconds before agreeing immediately, "Okay."
He paused for a moment, looking at Director Gong with a somewhat subtle expression. "However, I have a question for you."
Director Gong asked curiously, "What's the problem?"
Xia Zhiyi was silent for a moment before saying, "In the activities you... designed for us, is there any live-streaming e-commerce involved?"
Director Gong: "..."
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
The two stared at each other silently for a moment.
Finally, Director Gong scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "Ah, well, is it because I just made that suggestion that you thought of this?"
Xia Zhiyi: "... No."
Well, to put it simply... he'd seen similar situations before.
However, to their surprise, the production team actually designed this segment for them.
Director Gong chuckled, "Well... well, although you guessed it, according to our original plan, it should have been arranged in the next few days, so..."
Could you please keep this a secret for now?
Xia Zhiyi sighed, "I won't tell anyone."
Director Gong smiled broadly, "That's good, that's good."
Xia Zhiyi returned to the cabin and saw Wang Chengran diligently chopping wood under the warm yellow light, his clothes soaked with sweat and clinging to his back.
He glanced at the pile of unchopped firewood that Wang Chengran had probably set aside himself, guessing that it was the amount he had assigned. He walked over and said, " Brother Chengran, it's getting late. Brother Fu should be done washing up soon. I'll take care of the rest. You go take a shower first."
Wang Chengran stopped what she was doing, turned to look at him, and asked, "Aren't you going?"
Xia Zhiyi: "I'll wait until you're finished washing."
Wang Chengran was indeed a bit tired. After all, the axe for chopping wood was quite heavy. Swinging it once or twice was easy, and even ten or eight times was manageable, but if the number of swings kept increasing, it wouldn't be an easy task.
But Wang Chengran a momentary lapse of judgment and accepted a five-star wood-chopping task for himself, so the number of tasks was the largest set by the production team.
There was no rule that Wang Chengran could be the only one to complete it, but it was stipulated that it had to be completed before midnight tonight, otherwise the result would be invalid.
Wang Chengran was a little embarrassed. "I didn't expect so many..."
Xia Zhiyi smiled, "It's okay, it's nothing to me."
Wang Chengran: "..."
Waaaaah, even though Xia Zhiyi well and spoke very gently, Wang Chengran still felt like he'd been shot in the chest.
However, given Wang Chengran's efficiency, it's quite possible that he might not even reach the target by midnight, resulting in wasted effort.
So, belatedly realizing his mistake, Wang Chengran thought for a few seconds and decisively handed the axe to Xia Zhiyi: "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Xia!"
Xia Zhiyi: "It's not hard work."
Then, while Wang Chengran taking a shower, he came back and found that Xia Zhiyi had already finished the task.
Wang Chengran:???
I knew you were fast, but I didn't know you were this fast!