Chapter 6 Spreading Fertilizer

Lunch was provided by the production team; it was still a boxed lunch, but today's boxed lunch included a chicken leg.

Filming in the field was difficult due to limited conditions, so they could only eat while squatting by the ground.

"This is the first time in my life I've ever eaten a boxed lunch on the roadside."

Zhao Zhiyi's legs went numb from squatting, and not caring about the dirt, he plopped down on the ground, holding up his lunchbox and looking at the others.

Qiu Nan laughed twice, "Same."

They are celebrities and second-generation rich kids. Their previous lives were incredibly privileged. Eating while squatting on the ground was something they never even dreamed of.

“But it’s quite interesting,” Gu Qingke said with a smile.

He has a cool and aloof appearance, and is a celibate male god in the entertainment industry, but his smile gives people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

If it were the original owner, she would definitely be unable to take her eyes off him, but Su Tangtang wouldn't. Although Gu Qingke is indeed very handsome, he doesn't fit her aesthetic.

After finishing the meal, everyone got busy.

Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou went to the fields to spread fertilizer, while the other four couples went to town to shop.

"Huo Yizhou, let's put a few bags of fertilizer in the middle of the field and at one end of the field first. That way, we won't have to run back to refill them when we're done," Su Tangtang said as she unpacked the fertilizer bags.

Huo Yizhou: "Okay, I'll move first."

As he spoke, he picked up two bags of fertilizer and put them on his shoulder.

Su Tangtang was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but praise, "You're really strong."

Huo Yizhou didn't reply, but instead dragged the fertilizer forward.

After he left, Su Tangtang brought a bucket and a basin. She poured the fertilizer into them, and after she finished, she picked up the bucket, held it in her arms, and put it down after taking a few steps. She picked up the basin and started scattering fertilizer as she walked along the edge of the field.

Before long, she had finished spreading organic fertilizer in one pot, so she went back to get another pot and continued spreading it.

The photographer followed behind her to take pictures.

Several times in a row, Su Tangtang felt the basin in her arms getting heavier and heavier.

"I'm so tired," Su Tangtang muttered.

She turned her head to look back and realized that she had only sprinkled a little. She sighed deeply and turned back to see Huo Yizhou walking to her side. She looked at him and said, "This won't do. I don't think we can finish sprinkling today."

Huo Yizhou: "Do you think we can finish scattering it this afternoon?"

Su Tangtang nodded, "I thought it would be quick. I watched videos of farmers spreading fertilizer online before, and they were incredibly fast. One person could spread fertilizer on five or six acres of land a day."

Huo Yizhou chuckled, "They certainly can, but we can't. You overestimate us."

Su Tangtang chuckled and wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose with her sleeve.

Her skin was already fair and delicate, and the sunlight made it appear even more rosy.

Huo Yizhou glanced at her and said, "It's already quite good that you were able to sow three acres of land today. Besides, the longer you work, the less you can work."

Su Tangtang let out a cry, then watched him go to the edge of the field, pick up the bucket, and start sprinkling.

It was around 3 PM, the hottest time of the afternoon.

The two were terribly hot, but there was still a lot of work to be done, so they could only keep working.

When they finished working at five o'clock, the other four couples returned, followed closely by the truck carrying fertilizer.

Together they unloaded the fertilizer next to each family's field.

And so it went until sunset.

There was dew at night, so when they finished work and went back, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou covered the fertilizer with plastic sheeting.

After finishing, everyone gathered together and went back.

On the way back, everyone chatted as they walked.

Qu Xian looked at Huo Yizhou and asked, "How many acres of land did you fertilize?"

Huo Yizhou answered him, "Three mu of land."

Qiu Nan sighed, "If we're one step behind, we'll always be one step behind."

Zhao Zhiyi smiled and said, "It's alright."

Shen Yingying joked, "You're the only ones who are slow. We don't need to build an arched shed, we just need to put on plastic film. Putting on plastic film is both cheap and easy."

Zhou Yan felt a little uncomfortable listening to this, as if she was showing off. Her eyes darkened slightly for a moment, and she said with a smile, "That's right, Yingying's family and Lin Lang's family don't need to build arched sheds. It turns out we're the ones who are slow."

Shen Yingying moved closer to her and took her arm. "Sister Yan, don't worry, we'll help you."

Zhou Yan smiled gently, "With your words, we can rest assured."

It was already dark when they got back to their lodgings. The production team had prepared a large pot of rice for dinner for them.

Everyone was tired after a long day, so dinner was eaten quietly.

After dinner, the director asked everyone to report on their day's work and the amount they needed to complete the next day.

After the report, the director said, "To boost everyone's enthusiasm, the vegetables need to be planted before the 12th. Today is the 3rd, so there are 9 days left."

"By the way, the three families that plant cucumbers, tomatoes, and green beans take 9 days, while the two families that plant peppers and eggplants take 8 days."

"Director, is it really necessary to rush this?" Zhao Zhiyi stood up and looked at the director.

Director: "It's necessary. If we delay even one day, the harvest will be delayed by one day, so we can't afford to delay even one day."

Su Tangtang: "Director, what if we can't finish it?"

Han Yang looked at her and said, "Deduct her pay."

Su Tangtang: "..."

Su Tangtang received no payment for appearing on variety shows.

This is one of the reasons why Han Yang agreed to let her come.

Su Tangtang gave Han Yang a thumbs up, "Director, you're awesome."

The other actors were paid, and quite a lot of it. When they heard the director using this to threaten them, they were unhappy, but they didn't show it. Instead, they jokingly teased the director a few times.

Who doesn't love money? If they were really stingy, wouldn't all their hard work have been for nothing? They come to this variety show not only to become famous but also to make money.

Director: "The family that finishes spreading fertilizer tomorrow night will be rewarded with an electric scooter."

"Thank goodness, at least there's something good going on," Su Tangtang said.

Wu Xiaojia snorted and then shouted, "Director, this is not fair!"

The director raised an eyebrow at her. "How is it unfair?"

Wu Xiaojia: "Su Tangtang and the others have already spread fertilizer on three acres of land today."

Han Yang said directly, "You all started from the same point."

Wu Xiaojia immediately fell silent, her face turning somewhat unpleasant.

Before she could speak, she had completely forgotten that they had started together.

She was somewhat annoyed, annoyed by the words she had just blurted out without thinking.

Director: "By the way, only the top three get it."

Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up instantly.

In order to avoid having to borrow a car from others in the future, I have to work hard to win an electric scooter.

"By the way, we can hire local people to spread fertilizer, but the cost is 100 yuan per person per day, and each household can only hire three people."

Everyone: "..."

"Director, my family would like to borrow some money," Qiu Nan asked.

"I'm sorry, I only had one chance to borrow money this month, and it's already used up," the director replied expressionlessly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhiyi's eyes widened, and she immediately protested with her hands on her hips, "The production team is really ripping us off! You didn't mention at the beginning that there would be several opportunities to borrow money."

The director said, "You didn't ask either."

Everyone: "..."

Qiu Nan sighed helplessly, "Now our family really doesn't have a single penny left."

Gu Qingke chimed in, "Our family did too," and then he looked at the director, "Who borrowed it?"

Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Su Tangtang quietly moved next to Huo Yizhou and said in a low voice with pride, "Luckily, we got an advance of 60,000 yuan from the production team at noon."

As soon as Su Tangtang finished speaking, the director said, "Su Tangtang's group borrowed it."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned to Su Tangtang and her companion. Although some were secretly annoyed, what could they do when they were a step too slow? Now they could only watch helplessly as others had extra money in their hands.

Shen Yingying tugged at Gu Qingke and muttered softly, "The director is biased towards them."

Gu Qingke nudged her, signaling her to shut up.

“What will we do if we run out of money?” Wu Xiaojia asked the director.

"We must find our own way and not delay the planting progress," the director said.

As soon as the director finished speaking, everyone let out a wail.

After returning to their accommodation from the production crew, Su Tangtang pulled Huo Yizhou aside to discuss how the equipment for building the greenhouse cost 10,000 yuan, seeds and fertilizer cost 2,650 yuan, and flatbread cost 5 yuan, for a total of 12,655 yuan.

Huo Yizhou looked down at her ledger and couldn't help but smile, "You've calculated so meticulously."

Su Tangtang twirled the pen in her hand. "We need to write down every single thing so we know how much we spent, how much we owe, and how much we have left."

Huo Yizhou nodded, "Let's recruit three people tomorrow."

Su Tangtang nodded, "That's what I thought too. Let's finish it as soon as possible. The materials for building the arched shed will arrive tomorrow afternoon. The ground hasn't been watered yet."

...

The two chatted until late before washing up and going to bed.

The next morning, Su Tangtang got up at six o'clock. When they arrived at the program crew's accommodation, the other four couples had already arrived and were having breakfast together.

Su Tangtang saw them: "..."

Is it going to be rolled up?

After breakfast, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou went to the village to recruit people, while the others went to the fields. Once there, they stopped chatting and got to work.

They ran out of money, and even if they borrowed money from the production team, they couldn't use the money to hire people; they could only bury themselves in hard work.

The villagers would definitely be willing to work for 100 yuan a day, since they only pay 60 yuan a day to help with their vegetable garden.

That's 40 more than usual.

The three of them worked very efficiently and quickly. In one morning, they sowed five acres of land, while Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou sowed the remaining two acres.

I thought it wouldn't be over until mid-afternoon, but I didn't expect to finish seven acres in just one morning.

Su Tangtang happily paid their bill.

The three of them thought they would only be paid 50 yuan for working only for a morning, but to their surprise, they were each given 100 yuan.

Before they left, they said that we could hire them again in the future.

Su Tangtang smiled and agreed.

In the afternoon, the production team bought the tram back.

There were three vehicles: a three-wheeled trolley, a large trolley, and a small trolley. Su Tangtang and her group came in first and took the large three-wheeled trolley.

The other four couples were incredibly envious, and in just one morning, each of them had only sown two acres of land, leaving eight acres unsown.

Continue working hard in the afternoon.

After working for about an hour, Wu Xiaojia ran to Shen Yingying's field to find her and told her what was on her mind.

"How about it? My idea is pretty good, isn't it!"

Wu Xiaojia had a look of pride on her face.

Shen Yingying didn't speak, but Gu Qingke spoke first, "I think it's okay."

Shen Yingying frowned, glanced at Gu Qingke, and then said, "Okay, at least we can have electric bikes to ride."

“Okay, let’s do it this way,” Wu Xiaojia said. “Zhiyi and I have already sown more than two acres, why don’t we sow ours first?”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yingying was reluctant, saying, "We've already sown on three acres."

Wu Xiaojia understood what she meant, but she didn't argue with her. Instead, she nodded and said, "Then let's go to your house first."

She then went to call Zhao Zhiyi.

The four of them spread the fertilizer together, which made the process much faster.

Seeing that the two families were cooperating, Qu Xian and his group also went to Lin Lang and his group, and eventually they joined forces.

Su Tangtang smiled at them, then said to Huo Yizhou, "They're quite clever; at least they have two bikes to ride now."

Huo Yizhou agreed with her, saying, "Indeed, she's clever."

"Let's stop focusing on them and get our work done first."

Su Tangtang chuckled twice, "Okay."

The two were not very skilled at building arched canopies, so they paid extra to have the canopy built for them.

This not only makes it faster, but also allows the two of them to learn along the way.

Time flies when you're busy, and before you know it, the afternoon was over.

By evening, Su Tangtang and her team had built four arched sheds. As darkness fell, they packed up and went home.

When Su Tangtang and the others left, the fertilizer for their families had not yet been spread.

Huo Yizhou saw Su Tangtang looking at them and asked, "Want to go help?"

Su Tangtang laughed, "My back is about to break."

As she spoke, she boarded their new tram.

Huo Yizhou shook his head, then turned around and sat in the car with her.

Neither of them sat inside the tram car; instead, they squeezed onto the front seats, which were just big enough for two people, but they were very close together, their bodies touching.

For some reason, Su Tangtang felt a little nervous.

But he smelled quite nice. After working all afternoon, he didn't smell of sweat, but rather a faint, pleasant fragrance. I couldn't tell if it was perfume or detergent, but it smelled very good.

Su Tangtang grabbed the handlebars. "I'll drive. I've never driven a tricycle before."

Huo Yizhou hummed in agreement.

Su Tangtang drove very slowly, worried that she would lose control and the two of them would end up in a ditch, since this was her first time driving a tricycle.

Taking a slow and steady approach, the journey that would have taken five or six minutes by tram took her about ten minutes to reach her residence.

After having dinner and taking a shower at the accommodations provided for the program, the two went back to rest.

These four couples continued working until 9 p.m.

As they passed by Su Tangtang's field, they were filled with envy.

They started at the same time, but others were already faster than them; they were still spreading their fertilizer by 9 p.m.

"We helped them unload the fertilizer, but we didn't see them helping us at all," Wu Xiaojia said, dissatisfied.

“That’s right,” Shen Yingying chimed in.

Gu Qingke looked at them and said, "Everyone is tired after a long day, so it's reasonable for them not to help."

Zhao Zhiyi: "What a load of rubbish! They're such ungrateful bastards."

After a long day, my temper flared up.

Qu Xian quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Alright, everyone's just too tired."

Zhao Zhiyi said defiantly, "We won't help them next time either."

Wu Xiaojia knew his temper, so she stepped forward and took his hand, saying, "Don't be angry, don't be angry."

After being comforted by her partner, Zhao Zhiyi's anger subsided considerably.

The field is not far from where I live, only about fifteen or sixteen minutes' walk.

When they arrived, the show's crew was watching videos they had recorded two days earlier.

When they returned, someone brought them the food.

Upon seeing that it was a boxed lunch, Wu Xiaojia couldn't help but complain, "It's still a boxed lunch!"

After taking a bite of her lunchbox, Zhou Yan remarked, "It's still cold."

Others: "..."

We were already tired of eating boxed lunches, and this one was cold, so it really didn't taste good. But if we didn't eat it, we were starving. The group of us felt really bad eating it.