Just as He Yan and the others were looking utterly confused, the door opened.
He Yan immediately recognized the person opening the door, it was Zheng Henian, a popular comedic actor in recent years and one of the regular cast members of Leisurely Life.
“Come on in! Was the climb up tiring?”
“Exhausting!” the three replied in unison.
“It won’t be tiring after you do it a few more times.”
The three of them: ???
[Haha, they thought Zheng Henian was going to comfort them? No way, how naïve!]
[Haha, Zheng Henian is overjoyed, someone’s finally here to harvest the vegetables in the field.]
He Yan was stunned for a moment but quickly regained her composure. She had watched Leisurely Life before and knew that Teacher Zheng Henian was great at creating entertainment moments for the show. Still, seeing him pick up on cues in person left her momentarily taken aback.
The group took their luggage to their respective rooms.
He Yan and Lin Jiajia shared a room, while Chu Mu had a room to himself.
He Yan quickly tidied up her luggage, pulled out a few bottles of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce from her suitcase, and trotted downstairs.
“Teacher Zheng, I brought some Lao Gan Ma. I saw on the show that you’ve been craving it for a long time.”
“Oh my gosh, Yan Yan is truly a little angel! I’m so touched, Teacher has missed Lao Gan Ma like crazy!” Zheng Henian took the bottles from He Yan’s hands and gave one a kiss.
[Haha, He Yan really gets Leisurely Life. They’ve been talking about Lao Gan Ma for eight episodes straight.]
[What is He Yan doing? Trying to suck up to a senior? Isn’t that a bit too calculating?]
[You people can criticize anything. Teacher Zheng just called her a little angel, can’t that shut you up?]
The two other regular cast members nearby heard the mention of Lao Gan Man and came over.
He Yan looked closely and recognized them as Zuo Nianying, a rising young actress, and Wen Sheng, a seasoned actor.
“Wow! We can actually managed to manifest this. Thank, Yan Yan!” Zuo Nianying said to He Yan with a smile.
“I’m going to cook with Lao Gan Ma tonight! It’ll definitely save my cooking.” Wen Sheng declared confidently, puffing out his chest.
“Give it a rest. Don’t ruin our Lao Gan Ma.” Zheng Henian said bluntly.
“By the way, Yan Yan, do you know how to cook?”
“A little.” He Yan said, gesturing with her hand.
“Just tell me, is it edible?”
“…Yes.”
“Then that’s good enough!”
He Yan: …Your standards are really low.
[Haha, He Yan is shocked by Zheng Henian. She’s never seen such a low standard before.]
[Honestly, from what I’ve seen so far, He Yan seems pretty easygoing. Why did people always say she had bad relationships with so many others?]
[Yeah, I heard she likes to suck up to popular people and bully those less popular than her. Is that true or not?]
[Can you guys stop talking about irrelevant things in the barrage of a variety show? Don’t you know the rules?]
After familiarizing themselves with the cabin, He Yan and the others were given a task: pulling up radishes.
The show arranged a small radish field where guests could exchange pulled radishes for money and ingredients.
He Yan, Chu Mu, Lin Jiajia, and senior Zheng Henian put on their small backpacks and set off for the radish field.
“We’ll grab two more cabbages later. That’ll last us several days,” Zheng Henian said excitedly, walking at the front.
“Teacher Zheng, are we really so broke that we have to make two cabbages last several days?” Chu Mu chimed in with a laugh.
“Absolutely! So, you all better work hard today. Whether we get to eat meat depends on you!” Zheng Henian said cheerfully.
Lin Jiajia frowned slightly as she adjusted her backpack.
He Yan, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid of hard work. She had mentally prepared herself before coming, and besides, she found it quite fun.
The group soon arrived at the radish field, which was covered with long radish leaves.
At Zheng Henian’s signal, they put on their gloves and started pulling radishes.
“Yan Yan, how about a competition to see who pulls faster?”
“Brother Mu, you can’t beat me at this. Pulling radishes is about skill, not brute force!” He Yan raised an eyebrow. She had already tried pulling a couple and found the right technique.
“What’s the penalty for losing?” Chu Mu asked with a smile.
“The loser… has to live-stream a dance while holding two big radishes!” He Yan said with a sly grin. She had already seen Chu Mu’s pace, and he wasn’t faster than her.
Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. “Deal!”
[Haha, these two are hilarious. They have to compete over pulling radishes.]
[Look at He Yan raising her eyebrow. Does she really think she can win? Haha.]
[Is He Yan stupid? Can a girl’s strength compare to a guy’s?]
[What are you yelling about, commenter? It’s for the show, alright? If they don’t compete, what’s there to watch? But honestly, I think He Yan is going to lose badly, haha.]
[I bet ten packs of spicy sticks that Chu Mu wins!]
[I’ll add ten more packs!]
He Yan and Chu Mu stood at the heads of two rows of radishes. At Zheng Henian’s signal, they began pulling rapidly.
He Yan, knowing the technique, pulled several radishes effortlessly without using much strength. On the other side, Chu Mu, relying on brute force, surprisingly wasn’t as fast as her.
Chu Mu watched as He Yan steadily moved ahead of him, his face full of disbelief.
[Hahaha, Ah Mu looks shocked!]
[Haha, Chu Mu’s inner thoughts: Am I an idiot? A young girl is better than me.]
[He Yan is amazing! It looks like she’s barely exerting any effort. Meanwhile, Chu Mu… haha, let me go laugh for a bit!]
[Ah Mu, Mom’s not defending you this time. You really do look silly, haha.]
Chu Mu grew a bit anxious as he watched He Yan pull farther ahead. He stood up, took a deep breath, and started pulling radishes with wild, frantic strength, throwing all concern for his idol image out the window.
[Haha, bro, do you still care about your idol image?]
[Bro is just a mindless radish-pulling machine today]
[Baby has gone crazy. Be careful, don’t use so much force. Watch out for injuries!]
He Yan looked incredulously at Chu Mu, who was pulling radishes like a madman. Has he lost his mind? Was he willing to throw away his idol image just to win?
But in his frenzy, Chu Mu’s speed increased significantly, and the gap between them grew smaller and smaller.
He Yan got serious too, speeding up her own pace.
For a moment, netizens actually felt a sense of competition.
[Damn! Why is this suddenly so intense?]
[Why am I suddenly so nervous? Aaaah, I can’t wait to see the result!]
[Oh my god, watching radish pulling feels like watching the Olympics!]
The two pulled radishes frantically and quickly reached the ends of their respective rows. A tense atmosphere spread among everyone watching. Netizens stared fixedly at the live stream, afraid of missing the final moment.
Thud—
He Yan tossed the last radish to the ground. Just a few seconds later, Chu Mu also pulled out his final radish.
They looked at the pile of radishes behind them, glanced at each other, and burst out laughing.
“Why were we trying so hard?” Chu Mu said, amused.
“Who knows,” He Yan shrugged, spreading her hands.
[Haha, you two goofballs!]
[Only you two would play such a childish game! Other than exhausting yourselves, what’s the point?]
[Aaah, so does that mean brother has to dance while holding big radishes? I can’t wait!]
[Haha, commenter above, you’re a fake fan. Go away, haha.]
Because the two had pulled radishes so frantically, Zheng Henian, who had originally planned to pull only four baskets, was thrilled by the huge pile. He excitedly rushed off to the village to borrow a cart.
[Did anyone notice Lin Jiajia only pulled two or three? She’s been slacking off, right?]
[I noticed. And I just saw a look of disgust on her face.]
[Emm… I don’t even know what to say.]
The cart was borrowed. They loaded up the radishes and headed back.
“Are your arms okay? You went way too hard. Don’t blame me if you can’t lift your arms tomorrow!” He Yan said to Chu Mu.
“It’s fine, nothing that dramatic. But you’re really impressive. You pulled so fast. What’s the technique?” Chu Mu asked curiously.
“Yan Yan, isn’t it a bit unfair that you have a technique but won’t share it with Brother Mu, keeping it all to yourself?” Lin Jiajia suddenly chimed in, squeezing between them.
He Yan: “?”
“Not at all. We were competing. And honestly, I have way more strength than Yan Yan, so if anything, that’s even more unfair. It was just for fun,” Chu Mu quickly interjected.
[Does Lin Jiajia have a problem? Have you ever seen anyone reveal their secrets to their opponent before a competition?]
[This Lin Jiajia is such a fake “green tea.” The way she keeps saying “Brother Mu” makes me sick.]
[She only pulled two radishes herself, and she has the nerve to criticize others? Look at how many He Yan pulled before you speak.]
The four quickly returned to the cabin, counted the radishes, and traded them with the production team for supplies.
“Total comes to 500 yuan plus one piece of pork ribs,” the production team confirmed after tallying.
“Director, look at our Yan Yan and Mu Mu—they’re exhausted. You’re only giving us 500?” Zheng Henian pulled Chu Mu and He Yan over and started bargaining with the director.
“Quick, Yan Yan, do something cute.”
He Yan immediately got the cue and blinked her big eyes at the director. “Director, look how tired Brother Mu is. Can you bear to see him not even afford a piece of beef?”
Chu Mu: “?”
But he quickly caught He Yan’s look and instantly became dramatically weak, almost leaning entirely on Zheng Henian as he silently stared at the production team in protest.
The director looked helplessly at the two actors. Considering they really had worked hard today and had also provided some great footage, he finally nodded. “Alright, then add another 100 yuan and one piece of beef.”
“Yay!” Chu Mu immediately jumped up and high-fived He Yan.
[Haha, these two are so dramatic.]
[Their chemistry is so good—I want to ship them!]
[Aaah, sister above me, same here!]
[Back off, don’t touch my brother!]
[Back off, don’t touch my Yan Yan!]
The group went upstairs to take a shower and change into clean clothes before gradually making their way back downstairs.
“Brother Mu, are you ready for the radish dance?” He Yan raised an eyebrow at Chu Mu.
She actually liked Chu Mu quite a bit. He was two years older than her, didn’t put on airs, had an outgoing personality, and was pretty funny.
Before Chu Mu could respond, Lin Jiajia cut in: “Brother Mu is so tired already, and you still want him to dance while holding two dirty radishes?”
He Yan looked at her with a hint of amusement. “We made a bet.”
“If you hadn’t brought it up, who would even remember? Only your petty mind would dwell on such small things!” Lin Jiajia shot He Yan a slight glare.
“Jiajia, don’t talk nonsense. A bet is a bet. Besides, I was the one who proposed the competition, so of course I have to do it,” Chu Mu quickly stepped in to mediate.
“She just wants to make you look foolish!” Lin Jiajia finally couldn’t hold back. She had forgotten the live broadcast was still rolling and just blurted it out.
She couldn’t stand seeing Chu Mu constantly interacting with He Yan while barely paying attention to her!
“Jiajia! Don’t talk nonsense!” Chu Mu frowned slightly, his expression turning serious.
“Look foolish? Is that so? Then Brother Mu, would you mind if I looked foolish together with you?” He Yan raised an eyebrow.
Chu Mu: “Huh?”
“I’ll dance with you.” He Yan gave Lin Jiajia a cold glance.
**