Since this family reality show used anonymous casting, the seven families had no prior contact with each other.
It wasn’t until the last two families, rushing to make it on time, ended up arriving together.
Among them was none other than Gu Sihan, who three years ago had personally abandoned Di Youyou in the Shencheng wilderness. Gu Sihan was holding a little girl in his arms.
The other family consisted of university professor Zhao Qin and her four-year-old daughter, Ma Lili.
The difference between the two families was that Gu Mingzhu was in poor health, so Gu Sihan personally carried her up the mountain.
Ma Lili had come with her mother to participate in the show. Her mother had to carry their luggage and simply couldn’t carry Ma Lili as well, so Ma Lili, who climbed the mountain herself, received a Brocade Pouch.
Although Gu Mingzhu was frail, she possessed a sharp mind.
Her parents and brother at home doted on her immensely. Seeing that the other child had received a beautiful Brocade Pouch, Gu Mingzhu immediately felt displeased.
“Brother, why don’t I have one of those?”
Gu Sihan followed the direction of Gu Mingzhu’s pointing finger and saw Ma Lili holding a Brocade Pouch.
Gu Sihan immediately frowned.
“Director, where is my sister’s Brocade Pouch?”
Huang Yiping remained composed as ever, seemingly unafraid that the children’s fussing might disrupt the filming schedule.
“Oh, it’s like this!
Since little Gu Mingzhu was carried up the mountain by a parent, she doesn’t get a Brocade Pouch.”
Gu Sihan tried to plead his case, but he clearly didn’t understand Huang Yiping’s character.
Their back-and-forth negotiation, even suggesting buying it with money, was mercilessly rejected by Huang Yiping.
Gu Sihan had climbed such a long mountain trail early in the morning, only to be subjected to the director’s attitude upon arrival.
If it weren’t for his sister saying she wanted to be a little star, and Gu Sihan hearing from a friend in the capital that the director’s uncle was recently preparing a family reality show…
Gu Sihan had rushed over from Haishi, investing a considerable sum to secure a spot for one family.
And now the director was pretending to be all about rules and impartiality?
Gu Sihan couldn’t be bothered to argue with Huang Yiping and instead tried to approach Ma Lili, the little girl, with money.
“Little one, my sister wants the Brocade Pouch in your hand. Can I buy it from you?”
Ma Lili looked helplessly at her mother.
Ms. Zhao Qin found it difficult to refuse outright—what kind of situation was this? It was pure moral coercion.
With cameras potentially rolling, if she refused, Zhao Qin feared viewers might criticize her. But if she didn’t refuse, this reward was earned by her daughter herself; why should it be given to the losing side?
Fortunately, Huang Yiping timely came to the rescue of the mother and daughter.
“Mr. Gu, Brocade Pouches cannot be privately sold or gifted to other families. Doing so would violate the original intention of our program.
This is a large-scale educational variety show. Your words and actions are being recorded by cameras throughout. Please do not disrupt the rules among the children.”
Clearly, Gu Mingzhu heard this too.
To avoid being caught on camera throwing a tantrum, Gu Mingzhu continued burying her head in Gu Sihan’s shoulder, pretending to be asleep.
At this moment, no one would blame a child. Everyone with eyes could see Gu Sihan being the aggressive one.
“Alright, you two!
Your two families are the last guests to arrive. Please hurry up the mountain and proceed to complete the following tasks!”
Hearing that they were already behind, both little girls grew anxious.
Ma Lili even proactively helped her mother carry a shoulder bag.
Because Gu Sihan had long legs, no matter how hard the mother and daughter tried to keep up, they couldn’t run as fast as Gu Sihan carrying Gu Mingzhu.
When they reached the fork in the road, Gu Mingzhu didn’t hesitate and pointed to the right path, telling her brother to choose that one.
When it was Ma Lili’s turn, the mother and daughter also chose the right path.
In fact, the program crew had intentionally left the left path in its original state, untouched by trimming or cleaning for a long time.
The right path, however, had clearly been cleaned in advance and looked a bit more inviting.
At this point, all seven groups of guests had officially begun filming the first episode.
Those who chose the left path would obviously face an intellectual challenge. In fact, only Di Youyou and another group—a five-year-old chubby boy named Zhu Shiliang—had chosen the “civil contest.”
The “martial contest” scene inside the eerie little black house on the right would witness fierce competition among the five groups of guests.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Di Youyou and Li Jingmo saw a rather quaint little pavilion.
Although the stone path leading into the pavilion was covered with fallen leaves, making it look somewhat desolate and eerie.
But Di Youyou wasn’t scared at all, after all, her soul was almost an adult.
Inside the pavilion sat a white-bearded old man.
“Young friend, I have been waiting here for you for quite some time!”
Li Jingmo and Di Youyou entered the pavilion, with Li Jingmo at least acting somewhat like an adult.
“Sir, sorry to have kept you waiting. What do we need to do next?”
The old man smiled as he looked at Di Youyou.
“Young friend, you and your brother have traveled a long way; you must be hungry by now, right?”
Di Youyou nodded.
“Grandpa, do you have anything for us to eat here?”
The old man shook his head.
“I have menus here. Whatever dishes you win from me will be prepared in advance for you at the dining area in the back.”
“I see!”
Di Youyou thought it was a piece of cake.
The old man glanced at her and then brought out a small whiteboard with the rules written on it.
Afraid that the children might not understand, the staff had also specially printed pictures of the three dishes from each of the three difficulty levels.
“I have three menu options here: simple, medium, and difficult.
Only if you answer my questions correctly can you win the dishes from the menu. That will be your lunch for today!”
Li Jingmo was a bit worried about what would happen if Di Youyou couldn’t answer.
“Um, sir.
Is it the adult or the child who answers the questions? Can we remind each other?”
The old man stroked his white beard and nodded with a smile.
“Of course!”
Seeing how agreeable the old man was, Li Jingmo suspected a trick.
“What if we can’t answer?”
“Then you won’t have lunch today!”
The old man added casually.
“And you can’t eat the dry rations you brought yourselves either!”
Li Jingmo sighed, determined to do his best later so Di Youyou wouldn’t go hungry.
“Little sister, you choose!
I think the three dishes in the simple menu look pretty good too.”
They were steamed buns, cornbread, and pickled vegetables.
Di Youyou: “…”
Brother, could you aim a little higher?
Di Youyou genuinely doubted whether the food provided by the program crew would be enough to fill them up.
“Grandpa, can we choose from all three menus?”
The NPC clearly hadn’t anticipated that Di Youyou would have such ambitions, but did the little one think their show’s dishes were so easy to win?
“Naturally, it’s possible.
However, if you little friends answer five questions incorrectly in a row, you will lose the qualification to compete for the dishes.
I suggest you start by choosing a simpler dish first!”