What further angered the guests was that before they had even arrived and alighted from the bus, their phones and wallets were once again confiscated by the production crew.
Even their remaining bus fare, earned from their previous efforts, was taken by the director, that exploitative rascal!
The six of them, five adults and one child, stood on the bridge at the entrance of the village, watching the bus slowly drive away, followed by the director's cars.
They stared blankly as the vehicles departed. Zhu Danni, known as the "National Sister," asked dazedly,
"They're just leaving like this?"
Jiang Bin, who was also left behind and was responsible for leading the group and assigning tasks, smiled and explained,
"Director Hu said they are going to the county town to buy some supplies and will pick us up again tomorrow."
Everyone understood, nodding in comprehension.
At this moment, a small head peeked out from behind Jian Xiuhuan.
"But I just heard Uncle Hu say that the shops in the small county town close early at night, and he wants to go into town for a good meal before it gets dark."
The others: "..."
— Hilarious, I’m the real sucker.
— What you think the director is: Diligent and hardworking; what the director actually is: Going into town for a good meal before it gets dark!
— The director didn't expect that a casual remark would be overheard by Sheng Bao and then revealed publicly, making for absolutely top-tier program content.
Jiang Bin and the cameramen were also left speechless, torn between laughter and tears.
Xiao Yufeng's eyes darted around. "Brother Jiang, where will we find a place to stay tonight? What about you guys?"
Jiang Bin suppressed a smile. "We are staff members of the program group, so our food and accommodation are provided by the program group."
Xiao Yufeng's face immediately fell.
He looked at the villagers returning home after a day of hard work in the fields and started to approach them.
However, although the villagers were polite to them, their attitude was distant.
Even if some cast curious glances at them, when they approached to ask questions, the villagers would give vague answers and then quickly flee.
Xiao Yufeng angrily hit a nearby tree.
"The program group must have told them something in advance to increase the difficulty of our task. Otherwise, no matter how wary they are of strangers, they wouldn't be avoiding us like the plague."
The others expressed their agreement.
Jian Xiuhuan also tentatively tried to strike up a conversation with an old man smoking a pipe at the village entrance, but after the old man skillfully diverted the topic, he finally unleashed his trump card.
"Go, Sheng Sheng little darling!"
Pulled out from behind by Jian Xiuhuan and with a finger pushing her from behind, Jian Sheng, who was being nudged forward, rolled her eyes dramatically.
Running up to them, Jian Sheng twitched her nose slightly and frowned.
However, her furrowed brow quickly smoothed out, and she beamed a bright smile, calling out, "Hello, Uncle!"
"Hey! Hey! Good! Good! Child, run slower, don't fall!"
Seeing the doll-like little girl running towards him, the old man quickly tapped the tobacco out of his pipe, opened his arms, and shielded the little girl to prevent her from falling.
A kind smile creased his weathered face, which had been exposed to the sun and wind for years.
However, as the little girl approached, the old man instinctively reached out to pick her up, but then hesitated just before touching her.
He glanced at the clean and pretty dressed little girl, then at his own hands, thin and cracked from years of work, and a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.
When the little girl stopped and steadied herself, he silently withdrew his hand.
But the little girl grabbed his hand before he could pull it back. As her tender skin touched his rough, cracked palm, the old man feared that the calluses on his hands would scratch her.
"Uncle, Uncle, we just arrived here today and don't know the way. Could you please tell me if there are any places to stay here?"
The old man's dejected expression instantly turned joyful. He immediately told them everything he could within the rules.
At the end, he didn't forget to affectionately pat the little girl's head and say,
"Child, how did you offend those people? They came to our village in the morning to give us money and promised to promote our village for free, all to make things difficult for you. These people are so wicked, they even bully little girls like you."
The others exchanged glances, and after a long while, someone finally blurted out, "The program group is truly ruthless!"
— The program group is amazing, they've gone to such lengths to increase the difficulty, sparing no effort or expense.
— Isn't it even funnier that after all their efforts to win over the entire village, Sheng Bao's appearance made the old man expose everything and turn against the program group?
— This is what you call losing the wife and damaging the soldiers.
— I never realized Xiuhuan was such a comedian! Is he using Sheng Bao as a summon?
— Honestly, this summon is really useful. How can I capture it?
— However, the program group's goal has been achieved. Although the old man said everything, he maintained his bottom line and didn't truly help them himself.
— But at least the old man pointed them in the right direction. Now they just need to follow the clues to find villagers who can assign them tasks.
— It feels like playing an online game and picking up quests everywhere.
Everyone kept complaining about the program group's madness, making them spend half a day earning money, then riding for hours, and then having to search for clues and complete tasks just to find a place to rest.
In this regard, the audience was delighted.
After discussion, the guests decided to take the most straightforward approach: knocking on every door to ask if they could accept tasks.
Once decided, the guests split up to work. However, before Jian Sheng could set off, Jiang Bin pulled her back.
The little girl blinked her sparkling big eyes and looked at him confusedly.
Jiang Bin smiled and explained, "Let the others do the tasks. Sheng Sheng, you're still young and can't handle this kind of hardship. You should rest for a while. The program group will arrange accommodation for you."
— At least the program group has some conscience. Sheng Sheng just returned, and it would indeed be tiring for her to run around.
— The director is finally acting like a human.
— It's probably because Xiuhuan's sudden threat to quit has left them with psychological trauma. What if something really happens to the little girl, and with Xiuhuan's sister-complex, he'd flip the program group upside down?
The little girl softly said, "Oh," and then quietly tugged on Jiang Bin's sleeve.
"Brother Jiang, did Uncle Hu change his decision at the last minute? You just said that the program group would arrange my accommodation, which means there was no arrangement before."
— Sheng Bao's logic is quite impressive, isn't it?
— It's reasonable and unassailable.
— I didn't think there was anything wrong when I heard it. Am I really worse than a child?
— Confidence for the person above, remove the question mark.
— Could Sheng Bao be overthinking? Or did Jiang Bin express himself poorly and didn't mean that?
Meanwhile, upon hearing the little girl's question, Jiang Bin's eyes widened in surprise, and he promptly threw Hu Guangxu under the bus.
"Sheng Sheng, you're so smart. But I can only tell you, Sheng Sheng, you mustn't tell anyone else, or Director Hu will be angry."
He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered to the little girl and the earpiece:
"Director Hu saw that the moment you appeared, you easily turned that old uncle. He's afraid you'll approach other villagers, and they might soften up and agree to everything, so he doesn't dare to let you go along anymore."
"In short, he panicked."
Live stream audience: "..."
Hu Guangxu: "..."