The grouping results were out.
Qi Heng × Liu Yiyi – Fruit Tree Group.
Chi Lie × Aili – Crops Group.
Zhou Zhengwen × Xiao Nan, the top student – Sheep-Raising Group.
Relatively speaking, compared to the other two groups, the Fruit Tree Group had the easiest task.
The Crops Group was responsible for farming, toiling under the sun with their backs bent over the soil. Since the village was located in the mountains, the arable land was limited, forcing them to cultivate crops on the mountain slopes.
Crops on the slopes couldn’t be planted or harvested by machinery and had to rely entirely on manual labor.
This became the task for Chi Lie and Aili.
As the name suggested, the Sheep-Raising Group was in charge of raising sheep.
Nowadays, even pet cafés had sheep, bleating and looking adorable.
But in reality, the sheep pen was stinky!
Especially the droppings—they were simply unbearable.
Meanwhile, Qi Heng and Liu Yiyi only had to pick fruits. Compared to the harsh working conditions of the other two groups, this was like paradise on earth.
If there was no behind-the-scenes manipulation, Qin Wanyin wouldn’t believe it.
But it had nothing to do with her because, as the saying goes, the pot shouldn’t call the kettle black—her job was even easier, so much so that she wouldn’t even have to be exposed to the sun.
—Live-streaming sales!
The director slapped his forehead: How careless of him! How could he have forgotten about this?
“Then what are you going to sell?” The director couldn’t let her off so easily and deliberately asked, “The fruits from the orchard and the produce from the farmland belong to the Fruit Tree Group and the Crops Group, respectively. As for the livestock like pigs and sheep, they’re the property of the Sheep-Raising Group. You can’t sell any of those.”
Qin Wanyin: “Have you seen that picture on Taobao of a wrinkled farmer holding a large bamboo basket, selling agricultural products?”
Of course, the director had seen it.
It had become a template.
The bamboo basket could hold anything—tea leaves, fruits, medicinal herbs for foot soaking…
Even more absurdly, some were selling piglets, claiming they were pet pigs that wouldn’t grow big.
Don’t be fooled by the cute, pink little pigs—in less than half a year, they could balloon to three hundred pounds.
The average living space for workers in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen probably couldn’t even accommodate a pig, right?
The director asked, “So what are you going to photoshop into the basket?”
Qin Wanyin: “Nothing. I’m just testing you.”
The director was speechless.
“Then what exactly are you going to sell?”
Qin Wanyin smiled faintly. “Isn’t your thinking too narrow? It doesn’t necessarily have to be about selling things. If I just sit in the live-streaming room, do you believe people will send me money?”
The director frowned.
Wasn’t this just online begging, trying to exploit celebrity influence for easy gains without any effort?
But then he reconsidered.
Whether in TV dramas or variety shows, it was better to have controversial, attention-grabbing conflicts than a stable, morally upright narrative.
The audience might complain, but as they complained, the show would gain popularity.
In the end, while the audience would be fuming, the show would rake in huge profits.
The director smiled.
If Qin Wanyin wanted to reap without sowing, then she couldn’t blame the audience for criticizing her!
To highlight Qin Wanyin’s lack of effort, the director decided to showcase the harsh conditions faced by the other groups first.
He switched the camera to the Sheep-Raising Group.
At first, Zhou Zhengwen and Xiao Nan got along fairly well.
Zhou Zhengwen smiled and asked, “Xiao Nan, I heard you’re a graduate student. What’s your major?”
Xiao Nan: “Landscape architecture, with a focus on plants.”
“Then you probably don’t have to go out to prune plants in the field, right? You just need to research new varieties in the lab. That’s good—girls in the lab don’t have to face wind or rain. It’s so much easier.”
Xiao Nan: “…”
If it was so easy, then where did the dark circles under her eyes come from?
Zhou Zhengwen continued, “When I was traveling in New Zealand before, the local farmers raised sheep. I became good friends with them, so I have some experience. Don’t be nervous later, I’ll tell you—”
Zhou Zhengwen spoke at length, shifting from sheep farming to the global economy.
[Zhou Zhengwen knows quite a lot, and he’s pretty boyfriend material.]
[Is this what a fatherly boyfriend is like? Not bad~]
On the surface, Xiao Nan: Everything Teacher Zhou says is right.
In reality: Damn, I can’t stand people who show off.
She wasn’t a celebrity or a wealthy heiress, but a graduate student.
Her reason for joining the show was simple—to earn tuition.
As everyone knows, the Master of Landscape Architecture program was discontinued.
She became a rare, discontinued master’s student.
At the beginning of the year, her advisor abruptly announced that he would no longer provide experimental funding for students. Anyone who wanted to conduct experiments would have to buy their own reagents.
And it wasn’t just the reagents—submitting samples was also a huge expense.
The research students were furious but didn’t dare speak up.
After eating instant noodles for a week, Xiao Nan resolutely accepted the show’s invitation.
The fee for one episode was nine thousand.
It couldn’t compare to the celebrities’ daily earnings of 2.08 million, but for her, it was a fortune.
She had to work hard, aiming to earn enough for the eighteen thousand in experimental funding before getting eliminated.
They arrived at the sheep pen.
The first task was simple: clean the sheep pen.
Sheep, like cats, are cute and adorable, but their poop stinks terribly.
Xiao Nan threw herself into the task with great effort. While cleaning up the sheep droppings, she imagined the droppings as her advisor.
She was filled with motivation!
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhengwen stood outside the sheep pen, offering guidance from the sidelines.
He had never raised sheep, but that didn’t stop him from being a “sheep-raising expert.”
His mouth hadn’t stopped talking the entire way.
“You’re doing it wrong.”
“Be careful, don’t bump into the sheep.”
Xiao Nan was fed up.
How did she end up running into such a paternalistic man on a dating show??
[My mistake, someone who both talks and acts is a fatherly boyfriend, but someone who only talks without acting is just a paternalistic turn-off!]
[Poor studious beauty, if it were me, I’d shove all the droppings in my hand right into Zhou Zhengwen’s mouth!]
The scene switched.
The camera cut to Chi Lie and Aili.
The two were climbing a slope while harvesting.
They had to watch their footing while also being careful with the sharp sickles.
Chi Lie was a Racing Driver and often worked out, so his core was stable. With swift, precise movements, he harvested a large area in no time.
As for Aili…
Her stability was poor. If she focused on her footing, she couldn’t manage her hands.
She was also wearing a cumbersome sun hat that greatly obstructed her vision.
The audience watched in fear!
They were terrified she might slip, fail to cut the rice, and end up cutting off her fingers instead.
[Aili clearly hasn’t done farm work before. Who holds a sickle like that? This is scarier than watching a horror movie!]
[After watching these two couples, I’ve lost all worldly desires. Being single is just fine.]
[Director, switch the camera quickly!]
The ratings plummeted.
The director hastily switched the camera to the third couple.
The atmosphere between Qi Heng and Liu Yiyi was much more heartwarming.
The orchard was filled with orange trees, with golden oranges hanging from lush green branches, looking like a beautiful landscape painting.
The two chatted casually as they picked oranges.
The next moment, they both reached for the same orange.
Their fingertips touched, then quickly pulled back.
Liu Yiyi’s face instantly flushed red.
This scene was so sweet it made people want to roll around, capturing the subtle romance that only East Asians can truly understand.
“It’s love~
Oh no, our eyes can’t hide it~
My heart beats inexplicably for you~”
The background music slowly began to play, as if the air was filled with pink bubbles.
【This is the dating show I should be watching!】
【Qin Wanyin must be green with envy seeing this! I just checked her live stream, and all she was doing was acting crazy by herself!】
【She really has lost it, you wouldn’t believe what she’s doing!】