Chapter 54 Danger Potential Danger
Basic daily necessities are provided free of charge by the program team, such as pots, pans, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.
Although the troglodyte has a bathroom, it is not a toilet and guests need to go to a nearby public toilet. If they wanted to take a shower, the staff gave them a large basin for bathing. They could boil water and wash in the basin, or go to the bathroom in town, but that would cost money.
Lighting supplies include candles, kerosene lamps, flashlights, and solar lamps, with prices ranging from a few yuan to several hundred yuan. Water supplies are all the same price.
After hearing that these things have to be bought with money, the guests have already guessed that the next task of the program team is to let them go out and make money.
Ning Heng then announced the specific rules: "The mayor will take you to the town's agricultural base later. The agricultural products he introduces are all within your range of choice, but each group of guests can only choose one. In addition, we have rented six stalls for you in the town's farmers' market. You need to transport the agricultural products from the base to the stalls yourself."
"Finally, I will focus on the price issue that you are most concerned about. No matter what you take away from the agricultural base, you must pay the base at the cost price. As for the selling price, it is up to you to decide, but it cannot deviate too much from the market price."
To sum it up in one sentence, the program team only arranges the production and sales locations for the guests, and they don't care about the product acquisition, transportation, and sales links in between.
This time we took a minibus from the town.
The beginning of the road is still an asphalt road. You will pass by a market where you can see numerous shops and vendors setting up stalls. As you drive forward, the houses around you become gradually lower and sparser, until in the end, all you can see is this road, farmland, and the mountains in the distance.
The mountains in the north are different from the ones I saw in Longkouzhai last time. The mountains in Longkouzhai are filled with moist and lush greenery, accompanied by rivers and clouds. Even the wind smells of green leaves. The mountains here stand between the vast sky and earth, majestic, magnificent and steep.
Gao Luo initially lay by the window to look at the scenery outside, but later, unable to bear the sun, she retreated back into the car.
She said to Xia Shi next to her, "I may not be able to help you this time. You have to rely on you to make money."
Although the program team had assigned her tasks before, she had never helped.
Xia Shi smiled and said, "Of course I don't need your help, I can handle it."
Gao Luo ranked the items that required money according to her needs: "Showering is the first priority. I don't have a particularly serious mysophobia, but I must take a clean shower before going to bed at night; drinking water is the second priority. It's really too dry here. It's uncomfortable to die of thirst."
Xia Shi was waiting for her to continue speaking, but he didn't expect her to stop.
"No other needs?"
Gao Luo shook her head. "If I don't have any extra money, I can skip meals."
"Then you will starve to death."
"No, there is a pear tree in the yard."
"...That's quite thoughtful."
"Of course!"
[Our little A-Luo is really good at budgeting.] 】
[You know what, this pear tree is a perfect place to grow. It can both resist hunger and quench thirst. Moreover, the temperature difference here is big, and the fruits are very sweet! 】
[I have a premonition that these pear trees are going to be plucked out. 】
Sujin Town has the largest agricultural base in the city, with a total area of nearly 60,000 acres distributed in different locations.
The first place they went to was the aquaculture industrial park.
The guests thought they would see a large area of farmland, but what they found when they entered was a factory built of steel. If you don’t know, you would think he went to an electronics factory.
The deputy mayor accompanied us all the way. He explained: "In the past, we used the traditional pond farming method. Now that agricultural technology has advanced, we have begun to use a fully enclosed, temperature-controlled circulating water farming method, using instruments for real-time monitoring to ensure stable water quality. This scientific farming method can greatly improve the survival rate of fish fry."
The minibus stopped in front of a factory building and the deputy mayor took them inside for a tour.
There are many independent rectangular pools distributed in an orderly manner, and each pool is filled with fish.
A guest asked what species it was.
The deputy mayor introduced: "There are grass carp, mandarin fish, rainbow trout, golden trout... There are too many varieties. You can get a booklet later."
"Will there be price information in the brochure?" Chen Cong asked.
He is more concerned about this.
"No, you can ask the staff for details. But I can tell you that the most expensive one is this, mandarin fish. The wholesale price is 72.48 yuan per pound now. If you sell it in the market, you can probably add about 20% to 40%."
The deputy mayor had a general understanding of the content of this episode of the variety show, so he knew what the guests were most concerned about.
[Working within the system is different. You can know what others want to ask as soon as they open their mouths. 】
[Then I think nothing will be more expensive than this in the future. Among the aquatic products, mandarin fish is the most expensive, and the price of other fruits and vegetables should not exceed this. 】
Can I select the products sold this time repeatedly? If they could choose repeatedly, many guests would probably choose this, right? It’s easy to catch, doesn’t need to be exposed to the sun, and can be sold at a high price. 】
[There is a problem. The six groups of guests’ stalls seem to be connected together. They all sell the same things, so the competition pressure is quite high. 】
The guests also thought about the issues mentioned in the barrage.
Chen Cong immediately confirmed with Ning Heng: "Can the things we sell this time be repeated?"
Ning Heng said: "Okay, you can choose whatever you want." Give the guests the greatest freedom.
"The stalls, next to each other?"
“Not completely.”
Shen Cong was just happy for a second when he heard Ning Heng continue, "Three groups are connected together, and there are three groups on the opposite side."
Aren’t they still next to each other!
[If everyone sells the same product, there will definitely be a price war. But if you push the price down to the lowest, you won’t make any money, which goes against the original intention of choosing mandarin fish. 】
[It would be best for the six groups to discuss together, but no one wants to be taken advantage of. 】
[It’s difficult.] 】
The guest was lost in thought, and Ning Heng suddenly spoke up: "In fact, we have also rented a stall at the other end of the farmer's market. If any guest wants to use this independent stall, they will need to put in the most effort. As for the rules for judging, they will be decided by our mayor."
The deputy mayor assured them: "Don't worry, I will be fair and just."
"Then is fishing a relatively easy job?" Shen Cong asked.
The deputy mayor replied: "It is a bit easier than other jobs."
[That would definitely be easy. It's in a constant temperature room, there's no need to bask in the sun or go into the water. The fish are so densely packed in there, you can just scoop them up with a net. It's so easy. 】
[You have to pay more than others to get a good stall. It sounds fair. 】
"If I want the mandarin fish but also want to work harder, is there any way?" Shen Cong asked.
[This is like the sugarcane wanting to have sweetness at both ends. How greedy! 】
[How could such a good thing happen in the world? It's simply a fantasy.] 】
Just as the comments were mocking Shen Cong's wild ideas, the deputy mayor nodded and said, "Yes."
[Really?] ? 】
How to do it? Let me see it quickly. 】
"Get in the car first." The deputy mayor called them out and got in the car.
The car drove past a large factory building, passed the industrial park's breeding area, R&D area, water supply and water treatment center, etc. on the way, and finally the view suddenly became wide.
It turns out there is a paddy field behind the factory.
The deputy mayor introduced: "This is our fishing area and leisure and entertainment area. The traditional pond farming method is used here."
Any project in the town has been prepared for tourism development in advance, so there are entertainment activities prepared for tourists.
In addition to the fish pond, there is also a large pond planted with lotus roots, and green lotus and duckweed on the water surface. When the wind blows, the lotus fragrance mixed with a slight fishy smell comes to your face.
"Lotus roots are now on the market and can be dug up and sold, but it is a physical job and very hard. You can use a net bag to scoop up the fish in the pond, which is much harder than scooping up fish in the factory," said the deputy mayor.
[This is indeed tiring. You have to be exposed to the sun outdoors, bend over in the water all the time, and it also requires a lot of arm strength. The key is that the pond is so big that if you don’t have good skills, you may not catch a single fish even after fishing for half a day. 】
[Chunchun has no intention of suffering...]
[But this can indeed solve Chen Cong's problem of wanting the mandarin fish but also wanting to work hard. It depends on whether he is willing to do it. 】
[If it were me, I wouldn't do it. I'd rather choose an easier job, earn less money, and just get by. 】
[So, if everyone has different ideas, there will be fewer conflicts, right? Those who want to make more money must work harder than others, which is a good thing. 】
After listening to the deputy mayor's introduction of this slightly laborious salvage method, Shen Cong began to back down.
The group continued to head to the next base, and the next base they were taken to visit was the fruit and vegetable base.
The climate here is suitable for growing various fruits, such as watermelon, peaches, apricots, pears, and apples. The deputy mayor said that if they had come a month earlier, they could have caught the last wave of cherry season.
Zhang Tianen's eyes have been dazzled since he entered the park. When he came out, the park staff had prepared a basket of fresh fruits for each child.
There is nothing special about the vegetable area in the back. Potatoes, onions, cabbage, peppers, beans... are all common.
There was only one product that the deputy mayor explained in detail, and that was lily, because it is a representative local specialty, it is sweet and tastes like fruit. At the same time, as a vegetable, it is relatively expensive, with a wholesale price of 38.4 yuan per pound.
After hearing this, several guests began to wonder whether to sell mandarin fish or lilies.
After coming out of the fruit and vegetable planting base, the deputy mayor took them to visit the medicinal animal husbandry base.
Due to the unique climate and targeted national policies, this area has become a base for the development of Chinese herbal medicine, and the local production of licorice, codonopsis, angelica and other products is relatively high. However, given that this is not a conventional crop and the consumer group is too limited, no guests are considering it for the time being.
The second is animal husbandry. The sheep here eat saline-alkali plants, so their meat has no mutton smell, so mutton sells well and the demand is high. However, the program team stipulated that the guests had to slaughter the mutton themselves, which was too difficult, so no one considered it.
After visiting these bases, it was completely dark.
Tonight's dinner is paid for by the program crew and is at the largest restaurant in town.
Gao Luo had a good meal, took a shower in the town and went back. That night she owed the program crew twenty-five dollars.
Guests need to decide on the products to sell tonight and inform the program team when they set out tomorrow morning.
Back in the troglodyte courtyard, Gao Luo and Gao Shule's two groups sat in the yard to discuss together.
There is a moon at night, and the moonlight shines into the patio, making the yard bright without the need for lights.
Xia Shi spoke first: "I can go to the fish pond to catch mandarin fish."
This should be the product with the highest difficulty and the highest unit price at present. Other guests are unlikely to be chosen because it would be too time-consuming.
Gao Luo disagreed. She said, "I can't spend that much money. You don't have to work so hard in summer. Besides, I don't think mandarin fish is easy to sell."
Ze Yin blurted out: "Why?"
"First of all, people here don't eat fish very much, and secondly..."
Secondly, I couldn’t say it because I was interrupted by Zeyin. "How do you know people here don't eat fish?"
Gao Luo asked him back, "From noon to night, do people here basically eat noodles instead of rice?"
Ze Yin thought about the two meals and found that they were indeed all noodles, with no rice. "Um."
"This is because of the lack of water resources here. Rice doesn't grow here, but wheat. Since water resources are scarce, where do the fish come from? There is a saying that goes 'people in the southeast eat aquatic products, and people in the northwest eat land animals'. I wonder if you have heard of it."
[A Luo is right. The climate in the northwest is dry, there are fewer rivers and lakes, and people don't actually eat fish. It was in the 1980s, when the reform and opening up began, that some business people were quick-witted and introduced fish fry. Before that, many people had never seen fish. 】
[So, even if you spend a lot of effort to catch the mandarin fish, you may not be able to sell it? 】
[That’s right, our A-Luo is still smart!] 】
After listening to Gao Luo's explanation, Ze Yin frowned and clasped his hands together tightly.
"But...but..." He bit his lip and stammered, "I want to choose..."
Ze Yin sucked his lips and tried to say "yu" for a long time but couldn't say it. It was Gao Luo who helped him say it. "You want to choose fish?"
Ze Yin lowered his head and said "hmm".
Gao Luo asked: "Why?"
Ze Yin lowered his head even lower, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "I like to eat fish, and I have to eat it every other day."
Gao Luo stopped talking. She looked at Ze Yin and felt that there was something wrong with him at the moment.
Maybe he really likes eating fish, but he definitely won't die if he doesn't eat it for a few days. During the filming of previous programs, he rarely expressed his opinions actively. It was very unusual for him to be so opinionated today.
Gao Luo calmly shook her head at Gao Shule.
Gao Shule understood what was going on, but seeing that Ze Yin's head was almost hanging to the ground, she knew that he must be very embarrassed at the moment.
She took the initiative to help him find excuses: "Zhe Yin, you think that it is not cost-effective to use the money you earn to buy fish from others. It is better to catch them yourself and buy them at cost price, right?"
When Ze Yin heard this, he finally raised his head and said, "Well, I can help you. I have the strength and can do the work."
Gao Shule disagreed, "How can you let a child do the work?"
"I'm not a kid anymore. I'm seven years old. I can do a lot of things."
He looked at Gao Shule with pleading eyes, and Gao Shule felt embarrassed.
Gao Luo interrupted, "What can you do to help Lele? Help her get fish from the water?"
"Okay." Ze Yin said.
"No!" Gao Luo shook her head fiercely, "You can't go into the water!"
The water is so dangerous. If he falls into the pond, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"Then...then I won't go into the water. I'll stay on the shore and help you catch the fish with a bucket." Ze Yin said.
He said so, as if Gao Shule had to agree.
When faced with other people's very strong wishes, Gao Shule always finds it difficult to say no. She looked up for help from Gao Luo, who shrugged and said, "You decide."
Gao Luo wanted to force Gao Shule to be cruel once. Once she tried it the first time, it would be much easier to reject others later. Unexpectedly, Gao Shule is still so useless.
She actually agreed.
Gao Luo was speechless.
"I'm sleepy. I'm going back to my room to sleep." Gao Luo got up and went back to the cave.
Gao Shule knew that Gao Luo was angry, and she felt so guilty that she couldn't speak.
She looked at the cave, then at Xia Shi: "A Luo, she..."
"It's okay, I'll go talk to her." Xia Shi said.
Then Xia Shi also entered the cave.
On the first night, the production team gave each group of guests a candle, which was free for them to use.
The candle was lit and placed on the table. The faint candlelight could only illuminate an area the size of a palm, which was barely enough in this cave.
There are two kangs in the cave, one inside for sleeping, and another one at the door for eating, chatting and receiving guests.
Xia Shi tidied up the room and let Gao Luo sleep on the inner bed while he slept on the other side.
At this moment, there was a blurry and thin figure on the kang in the inner room, enveloped by the orange-red light of the candle.
Xia Shi walked over, sat on the kang, and said softly, "I'll follow Gao Shule tomorrow, don't worry, nothing will happen."
Gao Luo turned around and sat up with her hands on the kang. "Are you going to go fishing too? It must be so hard. Just because she couldn't bear to refuse others and made herself suffer, you have to suffer with her? And there are potential risks."
There was a camera set up in the house. Gao Luo did not lower the volume when talking to Xia Shi, and the sound could be heard in the live broadcast room.
What are the risks? Risk of not being able to sell? 】
[It doesn't sound like that. But if it can't be sold, Luo won't be so angry. 】
[I always feel that several people are weird tonight, the weirdest one is Ze Yin. I don’t understand why he had to choose Yu. He said he liked eating fish, but I didn't realize that. He clearly didn't show this hobby in previous episodes, so why did he start liking fish now? 】
[It may be the scarcity effect, which is a psychological state. Simply put, the less you have, the more you want it. 】
[But I don’t think Ze Yin is that ignorant, right? And you can eat the fish, you can just catch them in the factory, you can eat them anyway, there is no need to go fishing in the pond, it is so tiring. Fortunately, Gao Shule has a good temper and can agree to this. 】
[Gao Shule probably wanted to refuse, but was too embarrassed. Let’s not learn from her. We should refuse when we should. 】
[I won't learn from her. I have the nerve to refuse those who have the nerve to embarrass me, but I won't embarrass myself. 】
…
Gao Luo thought about it and said to Xia Shi, "Forget it, don't go. I'll take care of her. You go pick peppers tomorrow."
"chili?"
"Well, I see that people here prefer spicy food. Many dishes are added with chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili oil. Chili peppers should sell well." Gao Luo reminded him: "Tomorrow you should wear gloves, a mask, and glasses to take protective measures."
[Everyone else is paying attention to the unit price, but Luo is the only one paying attention to the local people's eating habits. How thoughtful! 】
[It also reminds us to take precautions during summer.] Even when angry, she can keep a clear head and not interfere with important things. She is worthy of being our A-Luo! 】
[After all, you are the one who puts bathing first, so you can’t take a bath without money. 】
*
Xia Shi got up at six in the morning and drove the electric tricycle prepared by the program team to the vegetable planting base. Arrive at seven o'clock and start working. I worked for four hours, picked ten sacks of peppers, and then drove the tricycle to the farmers' market.
[This guy really works hard, without saying a word...]
[All of a sudden, I brought the kids to the immersive farming channel in the rural areas. 】
[You know what, he's really skillful. It must be very comfortable to work with such a person. 】
What are other people selling? Let me see it quickly. Um? Why are they all lilies? Oh, and a melon. 】
Xia Shi was the first to arrive at the farmers' market. He chose the stall at the outermost edge. Other guests came over one after another. Except for Bian Yuan who chose melon, the other three chose lilies.
[I probably didn't discuss it. I thought others would choose mandarin fish, so I would have to settle for the second best, the second most expensive lily. I didn't expect everyone thought so. 】
[Fortunately, we can stagger the stalls, otherwise it would be really embarrassing. 】
Shen Siyan and Xue Chen's stalls were at the two ends of the same row, with Bian Yuan in between.
Across from them were Xia Shi and Chen Cong. The middle seat was empty, for Gao Shule. She hadn't come yet, or perhaps she had gone to another independent booth.
Xia Shi asked PD for help: "Can you help me make a phone call and ask about the situation over there?"
The PD took out his phone and told him after the call: "Teacher Gao probably won't be here."
"Something happened to Ze Yin?"
[Xia Shi’s question is very strange. Why do you think it was Ze Yin who had the accident? 】
[It’s not surprising, because something really happened to Ze Yin. 】
【ah? What's the matter? 】
[Fell into the water.] 】
【ah? ? 】
[Originally Gao Shule went into the water to catch fish, and asked Ze Yin to wait on the shore. When Ze Yin was using the bucket to catch the fish, he didn't stand firmly and his feet slipped and he fell into the pond. 】
Are the two of them far apart? 】
[Not far, less than an arm’s length away.] In my opinion, the operation of choosing the cause to catch the fish is simply unnecessary. He could just put the bucket on the ground and let Gao Shule come over to pour the fish. It was just one step away. 】
[I suddenly had a guess that the potential "danger" that Gao Luo mentioned last night might be Ze Yin... She must have guessed that something would happen to him, so she was so angry when she heard that Gao Shule did not reject him. Gao Shule and Xia Shi also understood what danger she was talking about, so this was Xia Shi's first reaction. 】
[You mean, Zeyin was intentional?] 】
[Yes, just like pretending to faint on the island.] 】
Why did he do this? Does he hate Gao Shule? 】
【don't know. 】
*
The moment Gao Luo saw Ze Yin jump into the pool, she felt absurdly relieved.
It feels like there's a sword hanging over your head all the time. You don't know when it will fall, and you're always worried. Now that it finally falls, you feel relieved.
Gao Shule was exhausted from working in the pool for a long time. The moment she saw Ze Yin jumping down, she rushed to catch him. However, her arms were sore and she couldn't use any strength. In addition, Ze Yin was pushing down intentionally, so she couldn't catch him and was dragged headfirst into the water.
Fortunately, Jin Qi and Duanduan reacted quickly and jumped into the water to rescue the person.
Since they have fallen into the water, they naturally have no time to sell things. The staff quickly sent the two people to the town, asked them to go to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes, and then sent them back to the troglodyte courtyard. The program crew also thoughtfully sent cold medicine.
Gao Shule didn't take the cold medicine. She bought a lemon and a bucket of water on credit from the program crew and made a few cups of lemonade for Zeyin.
Gao Luo looked at Gao Shule's busy figure and said, "Why don't you guys stay at home today and you stay here to take care of Ze Yin."
Gao Shule's heart was beating wildly from fear, and she still hadn't recovered from the shock. She nodded hurriedly, "I know. I'll stay today."
Hearing her say that she would not go out today, Ze Yin breathed a sigh of relief.
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