"We can only endure it, what else can we do? If we can get through today, things will be better. Tomorrow we can exchange the money with the production team for more than a thousand yuan, and then things will be much easier."
"Over a thousand! Wow, if we had this much popularity every day, we wouldn't have to suffer."
At this point, Da Zhou shoved his phone camera right up to Ling Yi's face.
"I really have to thank this little pig."
Ling Yi snorted twice, raised his eyelids, and was too lazy to pay attention to this woman. He had almost become a roast suckling pig today, and he was still feeling lingering fear.
"Hey, did you guys see that? This guy rolled his eyes at me! Are you disgusted with me?"
Ling Yi didn't want to look at her, so he tilted his head to the left.
Da Zhou turned the phone around, pointing it at Ling Yi's face again, and asked with a dissatisfied look, "Why do you look down on me?"
"You need to understand your current situation. You're just a stray pig hitching a ride. If we hadn't taken you in, you'd be homeless on the streets."
Ling Yi scoffed disdainfully, "Did you take them in? It was Xiao Qiuqiu who took them in, okay?"
You refused so readily back then; Ling Yi remembers that little Ling Yi of yours.
Ling Yi's cold snort was so human-like that everyone, including Da Zhou, Xiao Qiuqiu, and the viewers in the live stream, instantly understood its meaning.
"Are you fucking a monster?"
Ling Yi raised his head slightly, then turned it to the right.
But then Da Zhou shoved the phone at Ling Yi's head again, getting really into it. He pointed his pretty finger at Ling Yi's head and said, "Do you believe I'll send you to a restaurant right now and turn you into One Dish?"
Ling Yi snuggled closer to the Xiao Qiuqiu, looking terrified.
Xiao Qiuqiu quickly comforted him, "Little Piggy, don't be afraid, Da Zhou is just joking with you!"
"Hmph, at least he's a source of food. Let's keep him alive for now. If we ever run out of food, we can just roast him."
Ling Yi knew that Da Zhou was just trying to stir up trouble, so he cooperated by pretending to be trembling and burying his head deep into the headlights.
With that one gesture, the live stream chat exploded with comments.
[ Da Zhou, I support you! Roast him! I feel like Xiao Qiuqiu isn't clean anymore.]
[It's recommended to prepare the seasonings before grilling, and add plenty of scallions, ginger, and garlic!]
[Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, Hua Jiao peppercorns, star anise—all seasonings are essential. Make sure to coat evenly, seal with plastic wrap, and let it marinate before baking.]
[Bake until golden brown on both sides, crispy and juicy.]
Wow, you guys really know your food.
[Hehe, this angle is great, Da Zhou knows how to generate traffic.]
I really want to be this little pig! Is it too late to reincarnate?
[Hey, am I the only one who noticed that this little pig seems to understand human speech?]
[Yeah, that's ridiculous. Aren't animals forbidden from becoming spirits now?]
[Pshaw, what's the big deal? Pigs are intelligent animals, you know!]
[Could he be the reincarnation of Bajie?]
[Is this the same pig that escaped from the Peasant School by picking the lock?]
[It's definitely the same pig; the place where the little pig hitched a ride is less than two kilometers away from Xinxin Farm Stay.]
[Also, did you notice? There's a small patch of black cesium on the back of this pig's neck. You can see the difference by comparing them.]
[So, this piglet already has an owner?]
Strictly speaking, it does have an owner, but I don't recommend that Da Zhou and the others return the little piggy. It would be best if the production team bought it.
[Yes, I know Xinxin Farm Stay. They're famous for their roast suckling pig. If they return the piglet, you can imagine what will happen.]
[No one's actually thinking of eating this little pig right now, right?]
Why wouldn't I want to? No matter how smart you are, you're still just a pig. If the Peasant School restaurant does some packaging, do you believe this roast suckling pig could sell for an astronomical price?
[Why not just keep raising them? This little pig is so smart, it could easily make a fortune just by doing live streams and selling products, right?]
[Upstairs, you really know how to sell products!]
[Besides, Xinxin is a streamer with hundreds of thousands of followers.]
[Does that mean that Da Zhou and Xiao Qiuqiu will soon lose their little piggy?]
[It didn't belong to Da Zhou and the others in the first place. If their owner comes to take it back, they can only return it, okay?]
I just want to know, does this clever little pig taste different from a regular pig?
[Look, with people like the one upstairs, the little pig's fate is really hard to predict.]
[What the hell do you mean, upstairs? This thing will be One Dish sooner or later, are you guys really treating it like a treasure?]
[Do you even have a surname? You want to eat such a clever little pig?]
[Yeah, you're Pistols, right? I've got your ID. Just wait and see if I take you down.]
The chat in the live stream immediately erupted into argument, and the flow of the conversation went off track.
Da Zhou was constantly monitoring the comments section; she knew she couldn't let this trend get out of hand, or it would cause a lot of trouble.
He quickly asked, "What's this Xinxin Farm Stay' you're talking about?"
Someone immediately replied in the live chat, explaining the whole story.
"Did you escape from the Peasant School?" Da Zhou asked Ling Yi.
Ling Yi nodded, then revealed a look of fear at the opportune moment.
"What Peasant School? What escape?" Xiao Qiuqiu didn't know what was going on because he hadn't read the comments.
"Check the trending topics on your phone."
A dozen minutes later, Da Zhou and Xiao Qiuqiu watched the video of Ling Yi escaping from the pigsty with incredulous expressions.
"What if they come and take the pig back?" Xiao Qiuqiu asked with a worried look.
Da Zhou sighed. How could she know what to do? If it really was a stray pig, that would be one thing, but it already had an owner.
"I don't care, the little piggy is mine now, and I won't let it be taken back. If I can't, I'll just buy it back."
Xiao Qiuqiu stroked Ling Yi's head, feeling a pang of heartache, and said, "Little Pig went through so much hardship to escape death. If we send him back, wouldn't that be..."
Just then, a connection request came from the live stream room.
The applicant is a live streamer named Xinxin.
"Look, the pig's owner has requested to join the live stream." Da Zhou showed the live stream to Xiao Qiuqiu and sighed.
Da Zhou naturally didn't want to return the pig; this pig was now a viral sensation with massive online traffic.
Look at the current popularity of the live stream, it's almost 20 million viewers.
It's safe to say that as long as Xiaozhu (a popular streamer) is around, and they keep up with the right amount of activity, they'll never lack viewers.
And judging from Xiao Qiuqiu's expression, if Little Pig is taken back, he'll probably be heartbroken.
Da Zhou quickly made up his mind and then directly clicked to accept the live call.
The live stream screen split in two instantly, revealing a striking-looking girl with a ponytail wearing a white tracksuit.
" Da Zhou, Xiao Qiuqiu, this is Xinxin. I'm sorry to bother you. I contacted the production team first and asked to do a live stream with you."
Is that so polite?
"We really like this little pig," Da Zhou stated bluntly.
"Hello Xinxin, we really like this little pig. Can you let us have it?" Xiao Qiuqiu was even more direct.
"I requested to join the live stream to explain this matter to you and the netizens. It's fate that Show Lo was able to successfully escape his fate and hitch a ride with you all."
"Some people have already started stirring up trouble online. If there's no conclusion, this matter might be exploited by malicious individuals, which wouldn't be good for any of us."
What's going on? Da Zhou and Xiao Qiuqiu, who had just seen the trending topics, naturally knew.
Those who criticize Xinxin say Xinxin has no surname, while those who criticize Da Zhou and Xiao Qiuqiu say they are using their status as top streamers to forcibly seize other people's property.
Moreover, those who started this trend are all online content creators and content providers who exploit others.
To ride this wave of attention, they'll say anything and everything.
They have no morals, no bottom line, no sense of good and evil; all they care about is traffic.
No matter how absurd their claims are, there will always be some fools who get led astray and start making a ruckus.
To be honest, at least these streamers and content creators are trying to make money, but these fools who have been led astray are just plain brainless.
They blindly follow others' lead, only to end up with nothing, and then, once things turn around, they're pushed out to take the blame.
Da Zhou and Xiao Qiuqiu could sense that Xinxin had come with a problem-solving attitude and clearly did not want this situation to escalate.
To be honest, it might not be a good thing if Xinxin actually takes the pig back.
This Xinxin is just an independent streamer; she's not a member of a guild and doesn't have any management team.
With Xiaozhu's current popularity, plus her status as a self-made streamer, she will definitely attract the attention of investors.
Xinxin is not short of money; her family's Peasant School is famous far and wide and is extremely profitable.
Live streaming is just something she uses to Passing Time.
"What suggestions do you have?" Da Zhou asked proactively.
"Since the little pig has managed to escape its own fate and is destined to be with you, then it will follow you from now on."
Xinxin knew very well what would have happened if the little pig hadn't escaped.
She is a very kind girl.
Da Zhou shook his head and said, "If you really do that, you'll still be easily manipulated."
"Ah, why?"
Why? Da Zhou couldn't explain too much in the live stream.
Xinxin's thinking is too simplistic. Just because she doesn't want Little Pig doesn't mean no one will stir up trouble; in fact, she might even be stirred up by others to create an even bigger stir.
For example, some people insisted that Da Zhou and Xinxin must have made a deal in private, and that this live stream was just Yunyun performance for the audience.
"You should contact the production team directly about this. Just sign a contract with them. If anyone dares to talk nonsense about this again, the production team can sue them to death."
At this point, Da Zhou leaned right up to the camera, his face practically glued to the screen.
"Director Da Hong, you know what to do now, right? I'm warning you, don't bully my Xinxin, or I, Da Zhou, will lead the online harassment against you."
"Don't worry, Director Da Hong may be a bit of a shady character when it comes to making shows, but he's a decent person and won't let you suffer."
For these top livestreamers, viewership equals money.
Da Zhou glanced at Ling Yi nestled in Xiao Qiuqiu's arms and couldn't help but feel speechless.
Damn it, she and Xiao Qiuqiu, two top streamers, are not as good as a little pig, and they even need the little pig to help them generate traffic.
That's absolutely outrageous.
Now that Ling Yi's identity issue has been resolved, Da Zhou and the others can legitimately take him with them from now on.
" Da Zhou, how about we give the little piggy a name?" Xiao Qiuqiu suddenly said.
"As for the name, let's call Bajie," Da Zhou said without hesitation.
Ling Yi immediately raised his head, shook his head, and said with a look of rejection, "You are the one who is Bajie. Your whole family is Bajie."