"Ouch—"

Shi Jing put the tree into the pit, straightened up and let out a long sigh: "This tree looks slender, but it's actually as heavy as an ox. You two little girls can't possibly lift it. Once the pit is dug, just ask me to help you move it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Li looked up, wiped her sweat, and thanked her with a smile, saying, "Thank you."

Shi Jing waved his hand dismissively: "You're welcome."

He then jumped over from the edge of the pit, stood in front of Zhu Jinzhao with his hands on his hips, and asked in a low voice, panting, "How do we negotiate?"

"Xiao Chen." Zhu Jinzhao beckoned to Chen Li, calling her over to his side before speaking in a controlled voice.

"The current situation is this: among our three groups, although Fang Lei's group has the best ranking, we actually have the highest score. When the program team announced the rules, they said that the abundance of our dinner would be determined by the score. Since that's the case, the ranking doesn't seem to matter that much."

"Right now, Su Ying and Ming Yue's group has fallen to the bottom in both ranking and score because of my disruption. So, for Fang Lei and his team, this group is no threat at all. Ming Yue and Su Ying have absolutely no chance of competing with Fang Lei's group for first place."

"Only we are Fang Lei's only true rivals."

"But because I offended Su Ying and Mingyue, we may now be facing a very dangerous situation."

"What's going on?" Chen Li asked.

Wishing everyone a prosperous and peaceful day: "Let's form an alliance."

"An alliance..." Shi Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, and almost instantly understood Zhu Jinzhao's meaning.

"Are you worried that Fang Lei will form an alliance with Su Ying and Zhu Mingyue, and then the two teams will join forces to target us?"

Zhu Jinzhao nodded: "That's right. If Fang Lei's group knows that Su Ying and Ming Yue have a conflict with us, then they are very likely to cooperate. As long as they drag us into this, Fang Lei will definitely win first place, and Su Ying and Ming Yue can also get revenge at the same time. They each get what they want, so they have a strong motivation to cooperate."

Shi Jing frowned, seriously considering what Zhu Jinzhao had said. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

"So, what are you planning to do now?"

"Ahem..." Zhu Jinzhao cleared his throat, lowering his voice even further than before, "My plan is as follows."

Chen Li and Shi Jing listened attentively.

Zhu Jinzhao: "First, Shi Jing, once you've planted this tree, go and wander around those two groups, trying to slow down their digging. If you have the chance, you can also try to sow discord between them, making them unwilling to cooperate with each other."

"Next is Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen's task is very simple. He just needs to focus on digging holes and planting trees. You are our temporary partner. No matter how much trouble these people cause, they won't cause trouble for you. Just dig hard, dig quickly, and carefully dig the holes and plant the trees."

Shi Jing: "And what about you?"

"Me?" Zhu Jinzhao raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I'll stay here and deal with those who try to cause trouble."

The viewers in the live stream were completely stunned by her.

Wow, Zhu Jinzhao's brain is really sharp! She came up with a solution in such a short time, and it even sounds pretty good!

[No, who were these people who kept calling her stupid? She's clearly incredibly clever.]

This plan is so meticulous, it left me completely stunned. Wishing you a prosperous day!

[Her cute and naive demeanor is just a charming illusion created by our country; in reality, she's very intelligent. Those netizens who always looked down on her are dumbfounded now...]

[Zhu Jinzhao's mind is truly remarkable. Listen to what she just said—clear and logical, fluent sentences, without a single pause or hesitation. It's absolutely amazing!]

The solution has been provided; all that's left is for them to implement it.

Under Master Yang's guidance, Shi Jing planted the first Osmanthus fragrans tree, and then went to the place where the saplings were kept to bring one tree each for Zhu Jinzhao and Chen Li.

After finishing these two tasks, he patted the mud off his gloves and leisurely walked towards the place where Fang Lei had dug the hole.

"Time for a fart!"

As soon as Shi Jing walked over, Ning Shi noticed him.

Ning Shi put down her hoe, stared at Shi Jing warily, and asked fiercely, "What are you doing here? You've already planted your own trees?"

Shi Jing, with his hands behind his back, replied nonchalantly, "No."

Ning Shi raised her hand and slapped him: "Why are you still wandering around here if you're not here?"

Shi Jing walked around the hole Ning Shi had just dug: "I was just too tired from planting trees, so I was taking a walk to relax... Hey? Lei Zi, where are you going?"

"Sigh..." Fang Lei shrugged weakly. "I'm hungry. I was thinking of going over to ask Su Ying and the others if they have anything to eat."

“Tsk,” Shi Jing clapped his hands, “Why are you asking them? I have them here.”

"You?" Fang Lei frowned, looking somewhat incredulous. "You have food there?"

Shi Jing reached into the pocket of his work clothes, pretending to rummage through something: "Of course I have some here, I just grabbed it when I left this morning. Come here, I'll give it to you."

"Really?" Fang Lei was skeptical, but he still obediently went over. "What did you bring? I'm on a diet, so I can't eat anything too greasy, like pork knuckle or hot pot. My manager won't let me eat those."

"..." Shi Jing was speechless. "Even if you can eat this, I can't carry it with me. I only have this one pocket. Do you think I can fit a hot pot in it for you?"

Hahaha, Lei Zi's mouth is full of nonsense.

[A pork knuckle might be okay to slip into your pocket, but how do you carry a hot pot? I think Lei Zi is really starving.]

[It wasn't explicitly stated that it would be zero calories. As long as Lei Zi eats fast enough, the manager's slippers won't be able to catch up with him.]

"What delicious food did you bring?" Fang Lei walked up to Shi Jing and eagerly peered at her.

Shi Jing exaggeratedly pulled his hand out of his pocket: "What I brought for you is..."

Fang Lei swallowed hard: "What did you bring?"

Shi Jing raised his hand in front of him, then slowly opened his five fingers—revealing an empty palm, and slapped it onto Fang Lei's nose.

"I brought you some fresh air, so hurry up and breathe it in while it's still warm!"

Fang Lei hurriedly dodged, and in a fit of anger, he trampled several blades of grass under his feet.

"...Time Mirror!"

Hahahaha!

Ning Shi and Li Weiwan watched the commotion from the sidelines, laughing heartily.

While laughing, Ning Shi suddenly reached out and grabbed Shi Jing's wrist.

"Where did you get this hair tie?" she asked, her expression stiff.

Shi Jing answered frankly, "This hair tie belongs to Jinzhao. Jinzhao left it with me, so I just put it on and left it for her so I can give it to her whenever she needs it."

"Today, today..." Although she had already guessed that this was the case, Ning Shi still felt a dull pain in her heart when she heard Shi Jing say it with her own ears.

Shi Jing noticed her reaction but made no comment, only repeating, "Yes, today."

Ning Shi forced a smile but didn't say anything.

Li Weiwan, standing to the side, remained silent. Ever since he heard that the hair tie belonged to Zhu Jinzhao, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his lowered eyes were filled with deep disappointment.