Chapter 9: Not Taking a Single Needle or Thread from the Masses
Most of Shang Que's WeChat contacts are from work, such as celebrities, directors, screenwriters, and brand endorsements she's worked with. Adults refrain from interrupting each other, so she rarely gets approached for small talk.
But since accepting Ji Jingchuan's friend request, Shang Que can see his messages every day as soon as he opens his eyes.
[The First Genius in the Universe]: Get up! People who get up at this time are future stars and pillars of the country.
The First Genius in the Universe: Breakfast [Image]
[The First Genius in the Universe]: I am truly a genius
[The First Genius in the Universe]: Came out for lunch, but it's not even one tenth as good as mine, so it doesn't deserve to be in my photo album.
[The First Genius in the Universe]: Dinner [Picture]
[The First Genius in the Universe]: It's delicious and tasty [thumbs-up]. If you want to eat, just list three of this genius's advantages and you can bring your own bowl and chopsticks to eat for free.
[The First Genius in the Universe]: You can even ask someone to deliver it.
From morning to night, he must not miss three meals a day, and he must reply. Once he ignores him, Ji Jingchuan will bombard him with messages like "Shang Que Shang Que Shang Que", "What are you doing, what are you doing, what are you doing", and "Is there any signal, is there any signal?"
So Shang Que mastered a perfunctory way of chatting, such as:
The First Genius in the Universe: The First Meal After Getting Up [Picture]
【Shang Que】: Fried dumplings
[The First Genius in the Universe]: Show you my chef skills [Picture]
【Shang Que】：Prawn
[The First Genius in the Universe]: This genius is the ancient Greek god of fire [Picture]
【Shang Que】：Tomato stewed beef brisket
[The First Genius in the Universe]: I met them while walking. Sure enough, even small animals are attracted to my excellent temperament [Picture]
【Shang Que】: Wildcat
[The First Genius in the Universe]: ? Do you have AI image recognition?
【Shang Que】：Chinese character
In this harmonious chat, time quickly came to Friday and the second episode of "Friendship Boat" began recording.
The theme this time was outdoor camping, and the pick-up vehicle took them directly to the outside of a supermarket.
"The production team has prepared tents for everyone, but you'll need to purchase the rest of the camping equipment yourself. We'll give each group a starting fund to purchase the items on the list. The group with the most money left after purchasing everything will be able to stay in the most luxurious tent."
Lu Zhixu took the list from the director, and others gathered around to look at it.
"Moisture-proof mat, sleeping bag, camping lantern—" Ning Sheng said, "Eh!" "Does the arrow at the back mean that if I collect these three items, I can get a mattress?"
"Yes," the director explained, "There are nine items on the list, divided into three groups. As marked above, you will receive some extra rewards for purchasing each group."
After collecting the barbecue grill, charcoal and seasonings, you can get vegetable and meat skewers, and snacks, fruits and mosquito repellent can be exchanged for folding tables and chairs.
Everyone's eyes lit up.
【Suddenly it became interesting! 】
[How can anyone sit still with such a huge discount? I can't even resist the temptation of free drinks at a milk tea shop.]
[Where can I sign up for the event? Can you add me? ]
[Hahahaha, the point exchange is ingrained in my bones. The program team really understands marketing.]
Jiang Yizhe couldn't wait to ask, "Director, how much start-up capital do we have?"
"100."
"One hundred per person?" Lin Jinyi frowned. "Are you kidding? What can you buy with that much money?"
“It’s 100 yuan per group.”
"Huh?" Everyone else's faces were filled with surprise. Shang Que looked at the director and confirmed, "You're saying that we have to spend a hundred yuan to buy nine things, including a barbecue grill, a moisture-proof mat, and a sleeping bag. At the end, it all depends on who has the most money left, right? Director?"
【Hahahaha, I knew the production team had bad intentions.】
[Shang Que: Look straight at me.]
[The look in your eyes that wants to kill someone cannot be hidden.]
"Yes," the director added, facing several menacing gazes. "And you can't use your own money, and you can't accept money from passersby or fans, even by signing autographs, taking photos, or singing for money."
The director handed them an envelope containing their starting funds and announced, "The clock starts now! Everyone, hurry to the supermarket. We have one hour to buy all the necessary camping supplies."
Ning Sheng glanced at the list again and said with certainty, "It's impossible to buy all nine of these things for a hundred yuan. The barbecue grill alone will cost more than half of the money."
Lin Jinyi opened the envelope, and sure enough, there were only ten ten-yuan bills inside. She curled her lips, her eyes revealing impatience behind her sunglasses: "What should I do?"
"I quit." Ji Jingchuan turned and was about to leave. "Just go buy two ice creams over there and eat them. Why are you showing off?"
"Ji Jingchuan, come back." Shang Que called him, "Three, two——"
Before the count to one, Ji Jingchuan, who had just walked a few steps away, turned around and walked back reluctantly. Although he still had a sour face, his action was enough to shock netizens.
【??? When did he become so obedient?】
[Someone got Ji Jingchuan mad on a group show before, and he really meant it when he said he wouldn't do it. By the time the production team finally got in touch with him, he was already home and eating.]
【Everything has its own strength.】
If the director of the group variety show had known Shang Que was so talented, he should have invited her as a guest.
【Hahahaha, that's a boy band.】
"If one hundred yuan is not enough to buy nine things, what about three hundred?" Shang Que suddenly asked.
The others were stunned for a moment, and Lu Zhixu explained, "She meant that the three of us should work together to complete a list."
"Yes, as long as we buy all the items listed above, we can get all the rewards. And at the end, the extra money will be divided equally. Then each group with the most remaining money will be able to live in the big tent."
【!!! ！ ！】
[Shang Que, you are so smart! ]
The director even guided them to compete from the beginning, even though there was a win-win-win solution.
The others also reacted at this time.
"Yeah, one barbecue grill is enough. There's no need for every group to buy one," Jiang Yizhe said. "So the production team's real intention is to get us to work together, right?"
"It's a friendship boat after all." Lu Zhixu joked, then analyzed, "The barbecue grill and sleeping bag will be more expensive.
You have to go inside to find out the specific prices, but there is no quota for snacks, condiments, and fruits. "
Everyone looked at each other and understood: "A bag of spicy noodles is also a snack, a bag of salt is a seasoning, and as for fruit, just buy an apple."
"Buy grapes. One grape is cheap."
Shang Que, you're really not afraid of getting beaten. If you were to weigh a grape here, people would think you were deliberately trying to stir up trouble.
They didn't seem to notice anything was wrong and even started discussing which was cheaper, a grape or a plum.
[Grapes are light, but plums are cheaper per unit... That's it, I'm a little curious too.]
After finding the breakthrough point, everyone began to divide the work. Lu Zhixu and Ning Sheng went to check the prices of sleeping bags and buy seasonings and fruits. Lin Jinyi and Jiang Yize were to find the cheapest barbecue grill, as well as mosquito repellent and flashlights - anyway, they were anything that could emit light, and they could refer to flashlights as camping lights.
As for Shang Que and Ji Jingchuan, they were only responsible for buying snacks, barbecue charcoal and moisture-proof mats.
The supermarket was huge, so they headed to the nearest snack section. Shang Que was comparing prices along the shelves when she heard a rustling sound behind her. She turned around, perplexed, to see a shopping cart filled with snacks. Ji Jingchuan was holding a bag of potato chips, about to toss something in.
Shang Que stared at him: "What are you doing?"
"Buy snacks."
"I'm not blind," Shang Que frowned slightly, "I'm asking why you bought so much. I'm overspending and I don't have enough money."
"I don't have enough money to pay by face." Ji Jingchuan looked indifferent.
"Who taught you to use your face so easily?" Shang Que glared at him. "You can't take a single needle or thread from the people. Have you heard this? Put it back."
【Why is this live broadcast room becoming more and more popular the more you watch it? 】
[Ji Jingchuan, look at Shang Que, who has been abroad for over a decade and has this kind of awareness. Look at you now.]
[Hahahahaha Ji Jingchuan actually understands variety show routines quite well. He knows that the production team will help them clean up their mess. Previously, a fan gave money to the group variety show, and later he specifically asked his assistant to add him as a friend and transfer the money back.]
Just as Ji Jingchuan was about to speak, a little boy's voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"I won't! I'm going to buy it. I'm going to buy it."
They both looked in the direction of the sound and saw a boy of about four or five years old lying on the floor in front of the next row of shelves, his legs making circles like a compass with his head as the center.
[Oh my god, you have some street dancing skills.]
[Tie a rag around your child so the cleaning staff doesn't have to mop the area.]
[Ji Jingchuan, why don't you learn from him and roll on the ground to get Shang Que to agree to let you buy it.]
If he really did that, Shang Que would just run away in disgust.
[Besides, this place is too small to fully display my skills, right?]
Ji Jingchuan quickly glanced at the floor, then looked up and suddenly met Shang Que's gaze. His eyes flickered for a moment, and then he straightened his chest and said firmly, "No, I want to buy it."
The two of them confronted each other, and the next second, Shang Que suddenly turned around and silently took things from the shelves. Potato chips, jelly, spicy strips, whatever he saw, he picked up and threw it into the shopping cart, as if to see who could buy the most.
Seeing her get angry, Ji Jingchuan's momentum suddenly weakened, and he wilted like a bird with its tail feathers plucked.
"Don't take it. At worst, I won't buy it."
Shang Que ignored him and continued walking forward while picking up things.
Ji Jingchuan followed closely behind her pushing the shopping cart, putting back the things she threw in one by one.
Finally, Shang Que stopped and turned around with an expressionless face.
Ji Jingchuan immediately stood up straight and said, "I'm not buying it anymore. I'm putting it back now!"
Without waiting for Shang Que to speak, he dragged the shopping cart back and put the snacks he had taken earlier on the shelf one by one.
Finally, there was a bag of original potato chips left. He took it in his hand, pursed his lips and looked at Shang Que with a determined expression: "Just buy one bag."
"Shang Que, this is my last bottom line, don't be too—"
Shang Que turned and left, which was considered as his tacit agreement. Seeing this, Ji Jingchuan quickly took another bag of jelly from the shelf and hid it under the potato chips.
Just as he was about to chase Shang Que, a girl poked her head out from the nearby shelf and whispered, "Ji Jingchuan, here!"
She ran over and said excitedly, "I'm your fan. I was just watching the live broadcast. Are you short of money now? I have some."
Is this considered a sasaeng fan? He just barged in while we were still filming the show?
[No, no, it seems like it was arranged by the production team, because I just heard the same rhetoric from Lu Zhixu and Ning Sheng.]
[They were staff members pretending to be them. However, the other two groups came when the two of them were there, so why did they only show up after Shang Que left?]
[Because Shang Que is not easy to deceive, hahahahaha. ]
[Oh no, can Ji Jingchuan pass the test? ]
The staff member, acting as a fan, pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket and said, "Here you go! Keep up the good work on the variety show! We will always support you!"
She handed it over with an expectant look on her face, her tone sincere.
But the next second, Ji Jingchuan waved his hand without even looking at them and said, "No, I won't take a single needle or thread from the people."
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