Yu Jiaojiao, annoyed by the system’s laughter, puffed up her cheeks. “If you’re so smart, you do it!”
The system fell silent.
Wen Qiang, unlike the insufferable system, looked at Yu Jiaojiao’s inexplicable pout and found her utterly adorable.
She comforted her like she was soothing a little kid. “It’s okay. Actually, a lot of people can’t tell these beans apart. They all look pretty similar.”
“It’s a good thing you thought of ‘seasonal prosperity.’ I was originally thinking of something with green leafy vegetables. If I’d gone with that, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell them apart either.”
“Is that so?” Yu Jiaojiao had only been annoyed by the system’s laughter, but Wen Qiang’s voice change—which seemed to step right into her heart, immediately soothed her.
“Really. For real. You have no idea how many different kinds of leafy greens there are,” Wen Qiang added, though in her heart she marveled at how easily Yu Jiaojiao could be appeased, just like a little doll.
After this little episode, Wen Qiang had a better sense of how to get along with Yu Jiaojiao.
She no longer suggested they split up. Instead, she led Yu Jiaojiao straight to the green bean wholesaler and used half of their startup funds to buy several hundred jin of them.
But then a new problem arose: they had found the wholesale supplier, but they had no way to transport the goods.
This time, even Wen Qiang was stumped.
Fortunately, the shop owner noticed the cameramen following them and asked if they were filming a show. When she received an affirmative answer, she realized it could be good advertising for her shop and voluntarily lent them an electric tricycle.
Wen Qiang was overjoyed and thanked the owner profusely.
With things going so smoothly, Yu Jiaojiao’s mood improved considerably. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing a small dimple on her cheek.
The shop owner glanced at her, sized up her height with a look, then threw out an unexpected remark: “This kid is really handsome. What grade are you in—middle school?”
Yu Jiaojiao’s smile vanished, replaced by a pout that didn’t go away until they left.
“Do I look like a minor? How come she didn’t ask you what grade you’re in?” Yu Jiaojiao fumed as she walked along, searching for the money tree supplier.
Wen Qiang pedaled the little tricycle beside her, soothing her with gentle words. After some effort, she finally managed to calm down Yu Jiaojiao, whose feathers had been ruffled by the height comment.
Before they set off, Wen Qiang had asked the shop owner for directions. After several twists and turns, the two of them finally found the money tree wholesale vendor in a corner of the large market.
From there, things got much easier. They bought bags, got change, and picked up the electronic scale provided by the production team. Following the show’s instructions, they headed to a designated location to set up their stall.
But when they arrived, they found that the other two groups had gotten there even earlier. “Early Birth of a Noble Son” and “Good Luck and Great Fortune” had similar goods, so they had been able to stock up at a single wholesale spot.
The production team, mischievously, had placed their stalls right next to each other.
“Hello~ Why did you two take so long?”
“We’ve already sold some of our stuff. Oh dear, you’ve bought so much—you’ll never sell it all.”
The other two groups deliberately tried to put pressure on them.
Yu Jiaojiao gave them a glance, her gaze pausing on their display tables, which held nothing but their goods. Her eyes darted around for a moment, and while Wen Qiang looked helpless, Yu Jiaojiao said something to her and suddenly walked off.
The cameraman quickly followed her, and the camera assistant asked, “Jiaojiao, where are you going?”
“To buy something.” Yu Jiaojiao remembered seeing many storefronts in the wholesale market with makeshift advertising signs out front.
She wandered around until she finally found a suitable substitute at a nearby shop.
More than ten minutes later, she returned, carrying a whiteboard. On it was a sticker of the God of Wealth and two lines of elegant calligraphy: “Green beans and money trees, sold together~ Wishing you seasonal prosperity~ May the God of Wealth always visit~”
She set the whiteboard upright in front of the tricycle, and it immediately caught the attention of everyone nearby.
With all the cameras filming in the area, a large crowd had already gathered. When the onlookers saw what Yu Jiaojiao had done and took a closer look at the whiteboard, they collectively let out a surprised “Oh.”
“So buying green beans and money trees together means ‘Seasonal Prosperity’~”
Who wouldn’t want seasonal prosperity?
Immediately, someone stepped forward. “Boss, give me a ‘Seasonal Prosperity’!”
Yu Jiaojiao nodded toward Wen Qiang.
For a moment, Wen Qiang was stunned. Then she quickly said, “Coming right up!”
The female lead was no slouch when it came to quick thinking. With Yu Jiaojiao’s lead, she immediately ran with it. She bundled the money tree potted plant, priced at 24 yuan, together with the green beans, also 24 yuan. “That’ll be 48 yuan. Wishing you seasonal prosperity~””
With the first sale made, the onlookers behind them grew restless.
A couple of young girls who had been following them from halfway started making a fuss, and before long, the crowd began gathering around Yu Jiaojiao and Wen Qiang’s stall.
“Boss, I want a ‘Seasonal Prosperity’~”
“Me too!”
“…”
Thanks to the crowd’s patronage, Yu Jiaojiao and Wen Qiang sold seventeen or eighteen “Seasonal Prosperity” bundles in no time, raking in eight or nine hundred yuan and instantly surpassing the other two stalls nearby.
Wang Jiajia and the others were completely dumbfounded.
Seeing how effective this method was, they naturally had to copy it. Each group sent someone out to buy a whiteboard—one wrote “Early Birth of a Noble Son,” another wrote “Good Luck and Great Fortune.” But the results were far less impressive than “Seasonal Prosperity.”
To attract more customers, the three groups launched into a full-blown, crazy promotional battle.
Having been in the entertainment industry for a while, the guests all knew a thing or two about putting on a show. They cracked jokes, played off each other, and whipped the surrounding crowd into a frenzy.
In all the commotion, no one noticed that the last guest, Gu Xiaozhi, was still nowhere to be seen.
It wasn’t until much later, after the three groups had already packed up their stalls, that Gu Xiaozhi finally appeared, struggling to push her cart of goods to the scene.
Because Gu Xiaozhi wore a sour look the entire time, she ended up selling absolutely nothing.
Finally, she returned to the restaurant at the designated time, only to find the other guests already there.
They had changed back into their usual clothes and were sitting together gracefully, chatting and sipping tea. The contrast made Gu Xiaozhi, who had toiled all morning and earned nothing, look utterly disheveled.
Gu Xiaozhi completely lost it. “How dare you not wait for me?!”
All seven of them turned to look at her.
Yu Jiaojiao, in particular, glanced at her, curled her lip, and looked away.
Seeing this, Gu Xiaozhi was absolutely livid. She lunged forward, wanting to tear into Yu Jiaojiao, but the production crew stopped her.
“Guest Gu Xiaozhi, please remain calm. Otherwise, to ensure the smooth progress of the show, we will have to escort you out!” the stagehand warned from the side.
Gu Xiaozhi, overwhelmed with rage, broke down into hysterical sobs. Anyone who didn’t know what had happened might have thought she’d been gravely wronged.
What she didn’t realize was that somewhere unseen, a much bigger storm was brewing for her.
The paparazzi team that had exposed Chen Yizun’s affair with Sun Yu had been riding high for the past two days. Their account had gained hundreds of thousands of new followers.
That very afternoon, following their bombshell report on Chen Yizun’s cheating, they finally posted a second Weibo.
The post had just a few words — New gossip, 8 PM.
The comments section immediately exploded.
[What, what? New gossip?]
[Rushing over for the gossip!]
[Is it about GXZ? Hurry up, hurry up!]
[Haha, I already know what this gossip is, but I can’t say it. Camping here for the tea.]
[Ahhh! What is it? Let me have a taste too!!]
[Where do you all find out so much gossip? Can’t you take me along?]
The hype around Chen Yizun’s scandal hadn’t died down yet, and this teaser Weibo quickly caught fire as well.