As a late-night canteen chef with over six million fans online, Zhu Zichen had a typically portly physique. Bringing his son to this variety show this time had practically exhausted him.
This father-son pair consisted of one big fatty and one little fatty.
They were also the only other family group that had chosen the right-hand path—the literary contest route of selecting dishes.
“Son! You go first.
Daddy can’t go on.”
Zhu Zichen, protecting his beer belly, tossed their luggage to the ground, then leaned against a pillar outside the pavilion and sat right down.
He panted heavily, huffing and puffing.
Five-year-old Zhu Shiliang was a little reading expert in his class and usually loved reading books!
The old gentleman similarly asked him to choose a menu to order from among simple, medium, and difficult options.
Zhu Shiliang looked back at his father, who was already slumped there, and shook his head somewhat helplessly.
He knew his own father well. Zhu Zichen could handle some physical labor, but when it came to mental tasks, he could only rely on himself.
“I choose the simple questions.”
The old gentleman stroked his beard and then began posing questions to Zhu Shiliang. As the audience expected, the simple questions were still very difficult—the kind they couldn’t answer even from outside the screen.
Little Zhu Shiliang’s brows remained tightly furrowed the whole time. After getting through five questions, he was ultimately declared ineligible to continue answering.
Then the little guy silently shed tears, feeling wronged.
Seeing his son upset, Zhu Zichen quickly stood up.
“It’s okay, anyway, Daddy isn’t too hungry. Skipping one meal is just skipping one meal!
Teacher, did you mix up the question sheets?
Are these considered simple questions?”
It was no wonder Zhu Shiliang couldn’t answer them. Although not highly educated, Zhu Zichen hadn’t even heard of the questions the old gentleman had just asked. How could his kid possibly answer them?
The old gentleman also sighed inwardly. This was a normal child! If they were all as monstrously talented as that little girl from earlier, he’d want to go apprentice under her.
“The questions just now were indeed all within the simple category. Mr. Zhu, don’t forget what our show is called?”
Zhu Zichen had nothing more to say.
“Little friend, considering this is the first episode of the show, we have a special benefit we can offer you.
You can choose one dish. We will match it with knowledge points of corresponding difficulty for you to learn. If you learn and memorize them, you can then go to the canteen aunties later to take an assessment.
If you pass the assessment, the uncles and aunties in the canteen will give you that dish.
If you don’t accept the assessment, you and your dad won’t have any food to eat at noon today!”
Zhu Zichen was in a dilemma. He didn’t want his son to be discouraged, nor did he want him to go hungry.
Zhu Shiliang said firmly,
“Grandpa, please teach me the knowledge!”
The old gentleman nodded with satisfaction.
“Good child. Coming to Xiangshan to participate in the show is precisely to let you learn more knowledge.
Come, follow Master to go learn some knowledge.”
···
As for the other five family groups, they unanimously chose the left-hand path, which looked easier to walk.
This path required obtaining dishes through martial contests.
Among the children from the other five families, the oldest was eight years old, and the youngest, like Di Youyou, was three and a half years old.
They seemed a bit of a mixed bag.
Originally, Li Taiyang thought he would have to fight with other children to compete for dishes. His father is the most famous fitness blogger in the country, and Li Fei has been influenced since childhood, possessing plenty of strength.
But he felt somewhat embarrassed about using force against children younger than himself.
The rules for the little black room were much simpler.
The checkpoint hostess asked Li Fei to enter the room alone while paying attention to certain cards inside depicting dish patterns.
Finding those pictures and bringing them out would allow him to exchange for dishes at the tourist center cafeteria later.
If he passed through the little black room but didn’t find any cards,
this family would have no lunch to eat.
Moreover, if a child got scared and retreated back out the same way after entering the little black room, not only would they have no food, but they would also implicate their parents in washing the dishes for the families who had meals at noon.
As for the parents, they were not allowed to help their children complete the task. They would all be led by staff to the cafeteria first, waiting for the children to return from their ‘hunt.’
After hearing the rules, Li Fei directly gave his son a push on the back of the head.
“Go! Dad is waiting for you to feed me.”
Li Taiyang went alone toward the little black room, led by the program crew’s older brothers and sisters.
Li Fei followed the staff up the mountain from the side.
“Sun’s Dad, are you worried about Taiyang’s performance?”
The camera followed along, filming.
As a young, robust, strength-type father, Li Fei’s approach to raising Li Taiyang was also very sunny and positive.
“I’m actually not very worried about him because, as far as I know, our Taiyang seems to be the oldest child among this episode’s guests. He’s already eight years old this year, and I’ve also taken him around the world to experience some extreme outdoor survival challenges.
So, I think the first checkpoint, the little black room, shouldn’t be too difficult for him. I’m just not sure how easy the cards will be to find?”
Right after finishing the interview, Li Fei arrived at the cafeteria, where one group of guests was already waiting for their food—none other than Di Youyou and Li Jingmo’s group.
“Oh? There’s actually a little treasure who completed the task even earlier?”
Li Jingmo told Di Youyou to greet the elder.
Di Youyou extended her little paw and waved it in Li Fei’s direction to show friendliness.
As the second guest to enter, Li Fei was seated at the second table set up side by side.
In front of them was a screen; they should be able to see the other children’s performances later.
Li Fei praised Di Youyou for being very cute, and Li Jingmo also expressed his thanks modestly.
Sure enough, what was playing now was the footage of his son, Li Taiyang, tackling the checkpoint alone.
Afterward, several more parents gradually came in from behind. Everyone sat in their respective family seats, waiting to watch the children’s performances.
Li Fei had been full of confidence earlier, but after just three minutes of watching, he began to feel restless.
Because the production team’s description of the little black room was far too understated.
This was a horror house that could rank among the top ten in the country for scare factor!
Never mind Li Taiyang; even if Li Fei, this strength-type fitness male lead, were to personally walk through this so-called ‘little black room,’ he’d probably come back crying.
Li Jingmo also breathed a sigh of relief; he had always kept a respectful distance from props that created a horror atmosphere.
Fortunately, the little sister made a good choice and didn’t take the left path. If the little one had to venture into the underworld alone, Li Jingmo would have been worried to death.
Di Youyou herself didn’t have much of a reaction. Looking at the scenes on the screen, she had already spotted the locations of several cards.
It was quite clear that Li Taiyang was genuinely scared.