Chapter 238 Belief
"Is the travel variety show really going to be turned into a reality show called 'Transformation'?" Xia Mian asked with a mournful face.
"You dog production team, you have no heart!" Yao Yao shouted.
Behind the monitor, Fatty Chao wore a smug expression. He'd been tricked by Xia Mian yesterday, but today he'd finally gotten his revenge, and he felt a sense of satisfaction.
“Forget it, we can’t beat them,” Liang Qiuhong looked up at the sun. “Let’s just keep going, or it’ll be even worse if we drag it out until noon.”
Everyone grumbled and complained, unwilling to go and collect the props. But as Liang Qiuhong said, it was still early, and the sun wasn't so strong yet. If they waited until noon when it was at its hottest, they wouldn't be able to stand it.
There was no other way, so Zhang Yuno was the first to go and get the props. With her taking the lead, the others also picked up their buckets, put on gloves and rain boots, and began to learn how to grow watermelons from the village chief.
These watermelon seedlings were prepared in advance. Following the village chief's guidance, the six guests dug holes, transplanted the seedlings, and watered them to help them establish themselves. Step by step, they tried planting a few seedlings and gradually figured out how to do it.
Zhang Yuno had done farm work before, so he was more skilled than others. While planting, he chatted with the village chief: "Uncle, what's the name of the watermelon variety you grow? I'll buy some to try when I go back to Beijing."
“It can’t be transported to the capital,” the village chief said. “We grow everything manually, so the yield is low and the cost is high. Even transporting it to a neighboring province is considered far!”
Zhang Yuno: "That's a premium melon. Will it fetch a good price?"
"To be honest, we haven't made any money in the past three years."
"Hmm?" Xia Mian asked curiously, "If the quality is good, the sales should be very high."
"Because of the low yield, our melons have never been well-known, and only local dealers come to buy them when they're ripe. In the last two years, the province has been pushing things like e-commerce, and prices in other counties have been dropping, causing dealers to follow suit. We can't just watch our melons rot in the fields; we have no choice but to sell them cheaply. If the melon fields aren't profitable, young people have to go out to work to support their families. With the young people gone, there's a lack of able-bodied labor, and the melon fields can't thrive anymore... and gradually..."
At this point, the village chief sighed.
Xia Mian looked around and, as the village chief had said, almost all those working in the fields now were elderly, and even the middle-aged looked like teenagers. The grandfathers and grandmothers had white hair, and their hunched backs were like mounds of earth eroded by the relentless passage of time, thin and rugged.
Xia Mian wanted to say, "I can promote it for you guys for free in the live stream; the effect won't be any worse than the provincial ones." But then he thought, "I haven't tried Nan Ye's melons before, so I don't know if they're really good. If they're just so-so, wouldn't I be letting my fans down?"
Fans' money is still money, and fans' work isn't easy either.
Let's wait until the next batch of melons is ripe, then come over and try them before deciding whether to recommend them.
Now, all he can do is take over the position of the able-bodied men in the village and plant more melon seedlings for the elderly.
Without hesitation, the speed of summer rice planting increased dramatically, as if a sudden, serious illness had struck.
The guests had no idea what was wrong with him, but Zhang Yuno understood and silently cooperated with Xia Mian. The two worked together and became much more efficient.
Two hours later, Zhang Yuno and Xia Mian had planted nine rows of trees, more than all the other guests combined.
Bending over for too long caused a sharp, tingling pain that shot straight to the top of her head. Xia Mian grimaced and pounded her back as she asked the director, "Is there lunch? I can't starve."
"What does 'not starving to death' mean?" The director didn't understand and asked the assistant director.
Assistant Director: "Young people nowadays are quite superstitious and don't want to say the word 'death,' so they've changed it to 'not living.' For example, 'laughing to death' and 'tired to death' actually mean laughing to death and being tired to death."
“Xiao Xia surfs 5G every day,” the director chuckled, then pulled a small card from his pocket. “Listen up, today’s task is coming. Before sunset, each guest needs to plant five rows of land. The two who finish the fastest will be rewarded with a big meal, and the slowest will be punished by planting five more rows tomorrow. If anyone in the team fails to finish, 100 yuan will be deducted from their survival fund.”
The news brought joy to some and sorrow to others.
Zhang Yuno exclaimed with delight, "Xia, we're almost done!"
Xia Mian reminded her, "Yu Nuo, be careful not to get manipulated. We signed a contract for a travel variety show, not a reality show like 'Transformation.' But we are indeed close to finishing."
Zhao Xiaohui and Yao Yao lamented that they were also working on it, but they spent more time creating variety show effects, and their progress was very slow.
Liang Qiuhong is even slower; her age is a factor.
But no one was as slow as Yu Xingtong. After looking around, Yu Xingtong said, "My skirt is inconvenient for work."
“Yes,” Xia Mian suggested to the production team, “Let Sister Tong go back and change her clothes. She’s too restricted like this and can’t move around freely.”
"No need, no need, I'll try my best to overcome it." Yu Xingtong quickly waved her hand. She was dressed up so beautifully, how could she change after only two hours? She was counting on this outfit to become famous.
Moreover, even if it's just for show, the other guests will help her, so she's not afraid of failing to complete the task.
"It would take too long to go back and forth. I can't waste time and slow down the progress." Yu Xingtong found a plausible excuse for herself.
Xia Mian guessed that she wouldn't change it and smiled.
Just then, the village chief came over and, seeing the four neatly planted rows, exclaimed in surprise, "You did all of this? Young man, you're in great shape; you're a natural at farming!"
"???"
Xia Mian thought he would praise her, but she didn't expect him to say something like that, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.
Zhang Yuno covered her mouth and lowered her head.
Xia Mian gave Zhang Yuno a warning look, then awkwardly turned to the village chief: "Well... it's mainly because you taught me so well, it's all the essence."
"It has nothing to do with me. You're so smart! You're handsome, healthy, and intelligent. It's just that you're too thin. Otherwise, I would have introduced you to my granddaughter. My granddaughter is amazing, she's a graduate student!"
"Hahahaha..." Zhang Yuno almost laughed herself silly, her chest aching from holding it in. Xia Mian, seeing her shoulders shaking wildly, angrily nudged her with her elbow.
“…Uncle, um…” Zhang Yuno tried hard to suppress his laughter and explained for Xia Mian, “He’s already married.”
"It's a pity I'm not fortunate enough to be your grandson-in-law. But if you think we've done a good job," Xia Mian pressed on, "could you get us some food? We didn't eat breakfast and are a little hungry. No need to buy anything special, anything is fine, we're not picky eaters."
The village chief was of course willing and immediately went home to prepare food.
While waiting for the food, Xia Mian and Zhang Yuno worked together to complete the last row of crops. After taking a few celebratory photos, Xia Mian, supporting her tired back, decided to take a break.
He sat down in the shade of a nearby tree, and took out his phone under the cover of the tree trunk, only to find that Zhou Pingchuan had sent him four WeChat messages that morning.
I greeted him with "Good morning" this morning, asked him if he had eaten breakfast, asked him if he had started recording this morning, and just now asked him what time he planned to have lunch.
They were all just dry greetings, but Xia Mian enjoyed them very much.
They are both striving to reach each other.
Xia Mian wiped the dust off her hands, intending to reply to the other party's message. Before she could send it, Zhou Pingchuan called first.
“I was just about to reply to you,” Xia Mian said. “I left early this morning and haven’t had a chance to message you yet.”
Zhou Pingchuan chuckled softly: "I thought you'd been kidnapped by the production team."
“She’s about to be kidnapped,” Xia Mian said smugly. “The village chief said he would introduce his granddaughter, who is studying for her master’s degree, to me. If you hadn’t shown up first, I would have already been snatched away.”
Zhou Pingchuan: "I was lucky."
Xia Mian: "Of course."
The two chuckled softly.
After laughing, Xia Mian looked at the old lady in the distance: "It's pretty tough for them here. There are few young people, and most of them are in their seventies or eighties. As long as they can move, they have to work in the fields. I just tried it out, and it was so tiring."
Zhou Pingchuan: "The production team wants you to farm?"
"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is the vicious cycle of the economy."
“The village’s economy has nothing to do with me; I only care about you. Besides, I believe you can handle this small problem.”
I know you are intelligent, and I have even more faith in your abilities.
This was the first time Zhou Pingchuan had so clearly affirmed him, and Xia Mian suddenly felt full of strength: "You're right, I can definitely do it!!"
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