Qiao Zhen looked at Grandma Shunying with longing eyes, "Grandma, do you know how to cook rice in a big pot?"
Grandma Shunying smiled so much her eyes narrowed into slits. "I can! When I was young, we used those big pots at home, and the rice I cooked in those big pots tasted so good!"
"That's great!" Qiao Zhen counted on her fingers. "Grandma Shunying can stay in the yard to cook lunch, and then we can go chop firewood for half an hour around ten o'clock. In the afternoon, Grandma Shunying will boil water, and then we'll go chop firewood again. We can never have too much firewood, we're just afraid we won't have enough."
"There are six water bottles in total, which should be enough to boil about five kettles of water. Also, Dina will stay here to keep Grandma Shunying company and take care of each other."
"Fan and I still have to do laundry later. The production team is really heartless. They didn't even provide a washing machine. We'll have to fetch water starting tomorrow."
Finally, she concluded, "Do you regret it?"
Dina asked in broken syllables, "Regret what?"
"I regret coming here." Qiao Zhen took off her high heels and put on Fan Zhao's leather shoes, like a child wearing an adult's shoes. She complained, "There's no washing machine, no gas, and they won't turn on the air conditioning during the day. We have to cook our own lunch. And most importantly—" she suddenly raised her voice, "There's no internet here!"
Fei Shangming looked at Qiao Zhen shyly, "Even when I'm online, I spend most of my time following your news, but now that you're in person, whether I'm online or not doesn't matter that much. You don't know, before, I would wait outside the venue all night to buy tickets to attend your fan meeting. Having the opportunity to be with you like this feels like a dream. Besides, you're even more beautiful in person than on TV."
Dina also covered her face and peeked at Fan Zhao through her fingers, "Me too, it feels like a dream. My God, I still feel lightheaded."
Ji Li retorted, not to be outdone, "We're from the same orphanage. You once told me that even if the whole world tries to stop you, as long as you don't give up, no one can truly stop you." Her eyes reddened. "If it weren't for you, where would I be now?"
Grandma Shunying looked at them with affection, "No one likes another person for no reason. You are the reason we keep going."
Qiao Zhen covered her face, her eyes slightly red, and said, "Yes, there are still so many people who like me."
Something seemed to be dissipating in her heart; it was the original owner's obsession.
Du Feng squatted down to comfort her, "You're such a grown-up, why do you still cry like that?"
Not to be outdone, Fan Zhao placed a tissue in front of Qiao Zhen, saying, "Wipe yourself, we don't need your little bit of water to wash the clothes."
In an instant, the atmosphere was ruined.
Qiao Zhen looked up at Fan Zhao, sniffed, and accused him in a muffled voice, "We finally got to have a little emotional moment, why did you have to ruin the atmosphere like that?"
Fan Zhao frowned.
Qiao Zhen handed over the tissues, saying, "Wipe your tears, save your energy for work."
Du Feng took Rong Yang back.
Qiao Zhen and Fan Zhao went to do the laundry. "Give me the big clothes, and you and Fei Shangming go fetch water."
Fan Zhao handed all the clothes to Qiao Zhen, leaving only a pair of washed underwear in the basin. He hung the underwear in a sunny spot in the room, and then took Fei Shangming to fetch water.
Qiao Zhen squatted in the yard, washing clothes, and complained to the camera, "There isn't even a well here! The production team is definitely doing this on purpose, always causing trouble." She looked up at the cameraman and asked, "Where do they get their water from? It's not river water, is it?"
The cameraman shook his head, carrying his camera.
"That's alright." After saying that, Qiao Zhen focused on washing the clothes. When she finished hanging the clothes to dry at the back of the yard and was about to go help fetch water, Fan Zhao carried Fei Shangming, whose face was a little pale, back.
"What's wrong with him?"
Fan Zhao carried the person into the house, saying, "He has heatstroke."
Qiao Zhen and Ji Li entered the kitchen in perfect unison, one pouring water and the other finding salt. Then Ji Li handed the salt water to Fei Shangming, while Qiao Zhen scooped some water and wrung out a wet towel.
Fan Zhao frowned. "Too weak."
Qiao Zhen nudged Fan Zhao's arm. "It's okay for kids to be a little delicate. Besides, it's already terribly hot these days, and they even have hats to shield them from the sun during military training."
Despite the incident involving Fei Shangming, the progress did not slow down. Ji Li took care of Fei Shangming, so Qiao Zhen and Fan Zhao went to fetch water. On the way, they met Zhao Beifang and Li Yan, who were also fetching water, as well as a few strangers. They exchanged brief greetings and then went about their own business.
That evening, after taking a bath, Qiao Zhen lay down on the soft couch like a dead dog. There were no sofas in the courtyard, only a few soft couches. "I want to watch TV!"
"No."
"I want to play on my phone!"
"No."
"I want an ice pop!"
"No."
"Waaaaah, there's nothing there."
Everyone was helpless.
The production crew sent in another staff member. "Hi, we meet again. Next up is our truth or dare segment. The production team will provide a few questions, and we hope everyone can answer them honestly, okay?"
Qiao Zhen lowered her eyelids and said with feigned bravado, "Sure! But can this truth or dare segment get me trending on social media?"
The staff member was both amused and exasperated. "Let's see how sincere you are. Here's the first question: why did you agree to participate in this program?"
Qiao Zhen declined, saying, "Actor Fan, please."
Fan Zhao sat upright on the soft couch, "Because Qiao Zhen is coming."
Qiao Zhen shuddered and instantly sobered up. "Actor Fan, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. If you say that, I'll get scolded. I can't afford to be scolded and trend on social media. I finally managed to get a little fairer skin."
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