Chapter 58
Jin Youliang received a new message. He didn’t even finish his lunchbox, quickly asking where Shi Dingshan was, then rushing to the room filled with monitoring screens.
Pushing open the door, he saw both Shi Dingshan and Zeng Huanian inside. One was leisurely sipping tea and scrolling through his phone, the other was leaning back on a recliner, staring at the monitoring screens. Jin Youliang, slightly out of breath from running, was taken aback by the relaxed atmosphere in the room. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the door frame, the pain in his palm reminding him to control his emotions.
Jin Youliang steadied his voice and said, “Director Shi, the people from Silver Leaf Village said they are willing to let us film there without additional fees. But they hope we can add some product placement ads in the live streams. They want to have a video conference with us to discuss the specific content of the ads and the profit-sharing model.”
Shi Dingshan shook his head. “No need to discuss, we’re not going there anymore.”
Jin Youliang looked at Shi Dingshan, who was engrossed in his phone, and urged, “Although their initial asking price was a bit high, it was ultimately because we suddenly changed the filming format. If we had filmed in the village with the pre-recorded format, we could have edited out any problems in post-production. But with live streaming… they do have to bear some risks. Them using ads instead of additional fees is beneficial to both us and them. Didn’t we initially choose Silver Leaf Village as the second location for this season because of their unique local snacks?”
Jin Youliang tried to persuade him patiently.
But Shi Dingshan waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it, we did change the format, but didn’t we offer compensation in the supplementary agreement? They demanded triple the original price, and if we frequently filmed the villagers, they wanted even more money, I wouldn’t dare to cooperate with such a greedy village.”
“But Silver Leaf Village, with every household making local snacks, and those snacks becoming popular products nationwide, it’s truly unique. And the click-through rate for the ads in our live streams is very good, if we can promote their products for them as they suggested, we wouldn’t have to pay them extra and we would even get a share of the profits… It’s a win-win situation for Silver Leaf Village, our program team, the guests, and the audience. And we’re leaving this village tomorrow, we’ve already finalized the filming content for Silver Leaf Village, if we don’t go there for the second location, where else can we go with only a day left? We also need time for set design, everything is already prepared in Silver Leaf Village, we just need to bring the people and equipment there.” Jin Youliang continued his attempts to persuade him.
“Yes, Silver Leaf Village is unique, we initially designed a lot of content for the second location around the making and selling of local snacks.” Shi Dingshan put down his phone and looked at Jin Youliang. “But they’re just snacks, if we want to do this kind of content, why can’t this village become a village where every household makes local snacks? Why should we abandon this village, which is so cooperative, doesn’t require any extra fees, and has even gained some fame for its anti-scam efforts, and cooperate with that greedy place, who knows if they’ll try to exploit us during the live broadcast?”
Jin Youliang frowned slightly as he listened to the first part of Shi Dingshan’s words, but was stunned by the last few sentences. “Director Shi, you mean… We’re still filming the second location in this village? You want to turn this place into another Silver Leaf Village where every household makes local snacks?”
“Mmm, it’s much easier to keep the second location here. Changing locations for a live broadcast is troublesome, the fixed cameras in the village are already set up, everything is ready, the clearing, the decorations, the cooperation.” Shi Dingshan looked down at his phone. “But we don’t have to make it exactly like Silver Leaf Village.”
“But filming two consecutive locations in the same place, the guests will get tired of it, and so will the audience. In the previous two seasons of our show, we went to different locations each time, letting the dads and babies experience different local customs, it was a parent-child travel show…” Jin Youliang was speechless. Ever since they started filming, adding two more groups to the show, setting up a convenience store specifically for Baby Coins and Daddy Coins, and constantly changing the tasks, Shi Dingshan had been acting on a whim, coming up with new ideas every day. Those minor things were fine, but how could he even decide to keep the second location in the same village so easily!
“Xiao Zeng, you explain it to him.” Shi Dingshan, scrolling through his phone, kicked Zeng Huanian’s stool with his foot.
Zeng Huanian, who had been pretending to be engrossed in the monitoring screens, had no choice but to turn and face the disgruntled Jin Youliang.
“Well, our show is a parenting show, it doesn’t necessarily have to involve traveling.” Zeng Huanian explained. “Just before you arrived, Director Shi finished a three-way call with the TV station and the village committee. The TV station said Director Shi can decide for himself. The village said, if we film the second location here, they’ll give us a 20% discount on the fees for the first location, and they’ll fully cooperate with any new ideas we have.”
Jin Youliang didn’t hold back his sharp words with Zeng Huanian. “It’s not about the money now, it’s about our show’s reputation. After these few rounds of tasks, the scenery and tasks we can film in this village are almost exhausted. After a few days, the audience will lose interest, if we continue filming the second location here, both the viewership and the quality of the show will decline!”
“For that, we have to trust Director Shi. After all, when Director Shi wanted to add more people to the show and change it to a live broadcast format, many people were skeptical. But now, our third season, both in terms of viewership and online popularity, has already surpassed the second season.” Zeng Huanian pushed up his glasses. “And the advertising department I’m in charge of, we’ve been getting more and more businesses wanting to advertise these past two days, the click-through rate for the ads in the live streams is also skyrocketing, it shows that the market has confidence in our show. We should also have more confidence in Director Shi.”
“It sounds like you’ve already discussed it.” Jin Youliang couldn’t help but scoff. “Only I didn’t know, still worrying about Silver Leaf Village, right?”
“… “ Zeng Huanian held up his phone. “I already posted the news in the group chat that the second location will be in this village before you came, didn’t you check the work group?”
Jin Youliang, who had rushed over after receiving the message from Silver Leaf Village: “… “
The three-way call was done, the message was sent in the work group, what else was there to say? They were both assistant directors, but only Zeng Huanian was Shi Dingshan’s confidant. Jin Youliang, fuming inside, had to suppress his anger, pretending to be relaxed and supportive of Shi Dingshan’s decision. He exchanged a few meaningless words with Zeng Huanian, then excused himself, saying he had other work to do, and left discreetly.
Of course, it was discreet only in Jin Youliang’s mind.
As soon as he left, Shi Dingshan, who had been scrolling through his phone, looked up. “Xiao Zeng, what do you think?”
“… “ Zeng Huanian paused, swallowing the words that almost slipped out. He turned to look at the monitoring screens and said casually, “Director Jin is very hardworking.”
“Come on.” Shi Dingshan laughed in exasperation, kicking Zeng Huanian’s stool again. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice he’s taking money from them.”
Zeng Huanian cautiously glanced at the door and lowered his voice. “Director Shi, you have no proof.”
“What proof do we need? He was the one who scouted the locations for the first few stages. Then I replaced the first one, he was unhappy for days. For the second location, Silver Leaf Village, he kept going over my head, trying to negotiate with the TV station, wanting to get that triple price, as if I didn’t know.” Shi Dingshan chuckled. “But he’s still competent, making variety shows, you can’t be too rigid.”
Zeng Huanian knew that Shi Dingshan’s last sentence was directed at him. He didn’t respond to it, instead, he asked, “So we’re staying here for the second location, how are we going to film it? The tasks we designed for Silver Leaf Village can’t be used anymore, right? Do we need to come up with new ones? Sigh, if only we hadn’t done the relay race, and hadn’t made the morning’s ‘Helping Villagers’ a series… We could have spread them out and used them for a few more days.”
“What’s wrong, weren’t you just saying you have confidence in me, you lost it so quickly?” Shi Dingshan chuckled.
Zeng Huanian: “… “
Honestly, Zeng Huanian had spoken confidently to Jin Youliang, saying he trusted Shi Dingshan, but those were just words for Jin Youliang’s ears, he was actually quite nervous himself. Shi Dingshan hadn’t discussed it with anyone, suddenly making that three-way call, startling him. Before Jin Youliang barged in, Zeng Huanian’s eyes were fixed on the monitoring screens, but he wasn’t really seeing anything, his mind was preoccupied with how to ask Shi Dingshan about what was next.
Shi Dingshan was just teasing the honest man. Seeing Zeng Huanian’s flustered expression, he chuckled and said, “You said it yourself, this is a parenting show, not a travel show. Look at where the current buzz for our show is, as long as we delve deeper into that, we won’t be wrong.”
Where the buzz was… It was probably all focused on parent-child conflicts now…
Zeng Huanian sighed, if this buzz continued to escalate, it might not be a good thing. But he had already said what he needed to say, he was just an assistant director, if Shi Dingshan didn’t listen, it was useless for him to say more.
Shi Dingshan heard Zeng Huanian’s sigh, but he just touched his phone, remaining silent.
On the phone screen was a screenshot of a comment.
[Everyone can talk about principles, those who understand Wen Xiang are thinking about their own relationship with their children. Those who understand Dongdong are thinking about their own relationship with their parents. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, that’s why there are so many more unhappy families than happy ones.]
Interesting, the wisdom of the masses was truly boundless.
This noon, Wen Qiming was still persistently trying to make Wen Jiangyue memorize the poem “In the Bamboo Grove,” Wang Qingchuan had just experienced his nth failure in trying to train his son to like his sister, Cheng Feiying finally had some alone time to enjoy his tea, Wen Xiang was still staring at the bag of raw chicken legs in a daze, Shen Jianghe was counting his Daddy Coins, planning to exchange them for a drink, Wei Chengli took out a basin and made a bowl of milk for the pig using the milk powder Wen Dongyu brought…
And while they were either struggling with their decisions, relaxing comfortably, or working hard, Shi Dingshan had already decided to give them something big for the second location.
Wei Chengli noticed the change in the weather while making milk for the pig.
The weather in summer could change very quickly. Just as Wei Chengli brought the three babies, along with the pig and its milk basin, inside, heavy rain poured down from the sky.
“Good thing, good thing, if I hadn’t reacted quickly, you would have been drinking milk mixed with rainwater.” Wei Chengli placed the basin back under the pig’s snout, patted its head, then looked at the little chubby dumpling.
“… “ Wei Maomao regretted giving him five stars last night and making a heart shape at him during lunch, how come his desire for praise was growing so rapidly?
“Baby, isn’t that right?” Wei Chengli, not receiving a loving compliment, called her out directly.
“Yes, Daddy, you’re awesome!” Wei Maomao forced a smile, turning to look at the rain outside.
“I wonder how long it will rain for.” Cheng Tingyan stood by the door, touching the new handkerchief in her bag. The rain was truly a nuisance, she couldn’t wash and dry the new handkerchief, and she had planned to go dig for Baby Coins while Maomao took her nap. Maomao’s dad had completed three hidden tasks, each giving him three Daddy Coins, and he had exchanged them all for Baby Coins and given them to Maomao. In other words, they were only eight Baby Coins away from the watermelon… She really wanted to go digging.
Wei Maomao looked up at the sky and said softly, “I guess it won’t be long.”
At least, in the show from her previous life, the rain stopped quickly, it didn’t even affect the afternoon tasks.
Cheng Tingyan looked up at the sky hopefully.
Speaking of, Shen Zilin should have already gone digging at noon… She wondered how many he had dug up, she hoped there were eight Baby Coins left for her in the field, just eight!
Just as Cheng Tingyan thought, Shen Zilin rushed to the money-digging front line as soon as he finished lunch.
Because Cheng Tingyan insisted on keeping the Baby Coin digging a secret from Maomao, Shen Zilin could only agree to meet her in the field if they had the chance.
Shen Zilin had already dug up six Baby Coins at noon, and Cheng Tingyan still hadn’t come, he thought he would be digging alone.
But before he could even dig up the seventh one, someone arrived.
It was… Cheng Rongrong.
He didn’t know why, but even though they had agreed that anyone who had time could come and dig, and Shen Zilin had been quite happy to have a companion when Cheng Tingyan came yesterday, now that Cheng Rongrong was here, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of vigilance…
He had to repeatedly remind himself that the Baby Coins in the field belonged to no one, they weren’t his and Cheng Tingyan’s property, to barely maintain a friendly facade.
Cheng Rongrong, who had come specifically to get closer to Shen Zilin, didn’t notice his slight aversion. She took the shovel from the staff with a cheerful smile, entered the field, and stood next to Shen Zilin.
“Brother Shen, let’s dig together.” Cheng Rongrong smiled sweetly. “You’re working so hard to repay the pig money to the program team, right? I’m just digging for fun, I’ll give you whatever I dig up.”
Another free lunch! Shen Zilin’s vigilance reached its peak.
But before he could say anything, Cheng Rongrong hadn’t even taken a swing with the shovel when the weather suddenly changed.
Soon, they were both pulled away by the staff and sheltered under an umbrella.
The rain was heavy, both the staff and Cheng Rongrong urged Shen Zilin to go back, but he wouldn’t budge.
Was he kidding? With such heavy rain, the hard soil would be soaked and softened, wasn’t this the best time for digging!
Shen Zilin not only refused to leave, but even started asking the staff for a raincoat.
Cheng Rongrong couldn’t understand his persistence. They were just Baby Coins, even if they didn’t repay the pig money in the end, could the program team really go to the Shen family to collect the debt? Was it worth working so hard? And what was wrong with the staff! How did they manage to find a children’s raincoat so quickly? And two of them! Did she even say she needed one!
Shen Zilin, ignoring Cheng Rongrong’s thoughts, happily put on the raincoat. He just felt a bit disappointed that Cheng Tingyan couldn’t come during such a good time for digging.
Cheng Tingyan, unaware that she was being missed by her digging partner, was standing by the door with the little chubby bunny, watching the rain, the sound of the pig slurping milk coming from behind them.
Suddenly, Cheng Tingyan thought of something, she abruptly turned to look at Wen Dongyu, who was squatting next to the pig.
Because her movement was a bit sudden, Wei Maomao also looked over. “What’s wrong?”
“… “ Cheng Tingyan felt it was a bit difficult to bring up, but she was truly worried. She hesitated, then finally asked, “Wen Dongyu, your roof…”
“What about the roof?” Wen Dongyu, petting the pig, looked up at the roof.
Wei Maomao understood Cheng Tingyan’s question and added, “Is the roof of your house fixed?”
“No, the hole is right above my bed, I can see the stars every night.” Wen Dongyu said happily. “It’s quite nice, do you want to come and see at night?”
Wei Maomao: “… “ You can see stars anywhere, why do you have to look through a hole in the roof?
“No, your roof hasn’t been fixed yet, what about the rain?” Wei Chengli also realized what they were asking.
Wait, hold on… Didn’t Cheng Feiying say he would help fix it the day before yesterday? Why didn’t he go? And the program team didn’t fix it either? Wei Chengli felt a headache coming on…
“Right, then my bed… will get wet?” Wen Dongyu was dumbfounded.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I saw in the photo of your house that you have two beds. There’s another bed further inside, it shouldn’t get wet, you can sleep with your dad tonight.” Wei Chengli comforted him. “When the rain stops, we’ll ask the program team to take a look, that hole still needs to be fixed.”
Then Wei Chengli watched as Wen Dongyu, under his well-intentioned comfort, gradually wilted.
“That, Dongdong, don’t lie on the floor…” Wei Chengli walked over and pulled Wen Dongyu, who was becoming increasingly dejected, to his feet. He had become so dejected that he was almost lying next to the pig.
“I don’t want to sleep with Dad.” Wen Dongyu instantly clung to Wei Chengli’s arm. “Uncle Wei, my bed is wet, can I sleep with you?”
“No, no, no, no…” Wei Chengli instinctively shook his head rapidly. “We have Maomao, you have to sleep with your dad!”
“You also have two beds in your room, I can sleep with you, Maomao can sleep with the pig… Or you can sleep with Maomao, I can sleep with the pig… Or I can sleep with Maomao, you can sleep with the pig?” Wen Dongyu tried to imitate Wen Jiangyue from this morning, listing all the possibilities at once.
“… “ Wei Chengli had a headache, none of the suggestions were appealing. And what was up with that last suggestion, if he wasn’t only five years old, he would get a beating!
“Wen Dongyu, what’s wrong with you and your dad? Why are you guys not getting along? It’s been two days, right? Why haven’t you made up yet? There are no overnight feuds between fathers and sons, tell me, what happened?” Although Wei Chengli really didn’t want to get involved in other people’s family matters, if he didn’t, it would become his own family matter…
Wen Dongyu didn’t want to talk about it. He felt it was embarrassing.
Especially since Maomao’s dad was so good to Maomao, and to him and Yan Yan, talking about his own family issues was truly embarrassing.
It was as if… he wasn’t worthy of being loved unconditionally.
It was as if… he was bad, unworthy…
Wen Dongyu was still young, he didn’t understand that this feeling was called inferiority, but it didn’t stop him from dodging this question several times with silence, laughter, changing the subject, and running away.
But…
Wen Dongyu looked at the serious Wei Maomao, then at the stern Wei Chengli.
This time, he couldn’t escape.
If he told them, he still had a chance to be taken care of. If he didn’t, they might get angry.
A child’s instinctive reaction to danger made Wen Dongyu make his choice.
Five minutes later.
“How… No, your dad probably didn’t mean it that way. There’s no such thing as children borrowing money from their parents for food and expenses.” Wei Chengli’s head was buzzing, he vehemently denied it, but looking at Wen Dongyu’s fragile and helpless expression, he knew in his heart that regardless of whether Wen Xiang meant it or not, Wen Dongyu firmly believed he did.
“That’s why you would ask my dad if it costs money when you eat here.” Wei Maomao understood. She had initially guessed that Wen Xiang might have said something like “We spend money on your food and expenses, but you’re not even willing to let us use a little bit of your toys,” which hurt Wen Dongyu’s feelings. It seemed she had underestimated the situation.
But… In the show from her previous life, Wen Dongyu and his dad were the silly duo, she hadn’t seen such a conflict between them. Was it edited out in post-production in her previous life, or… was this something caused by her butterfly effect in this life?
Wei Maomao felt a chill down her spine, speaking of which, didn’t it all start on the first day, when Wen Dongyu imitated her and declared his personal property…
“No, no, no, I don’t want money, your dad wouldn’t ask for money either. You’re so young now, how can you earn money?” Wei Chengli had a headache. He turned to the little chubby dumpling. “Maomao, it’s impossible, right? Dongdong’s dad couldn’t have meant that.”
“Hard to say.” Wei Maomao, still feeling the chill, wasn’t going to lie to a child and take the blame.
“… “ Wei Chengli looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Yan Yan…”
“Borrow, why not borrow?” Cheng Tingyan looked around, confused, her gaze finally settling on Wen Dongyu. “You’re only five, how can you survive without borrowing? Isn’t your dad willing to lend you money? You just borrow, and after you repay it, it’ll be fine. It’s okay that you don’t earn money now, you’ll grow up, and you can slowly repay it when you’re older. As for the interest… The interest rate for commercial loans over five years is 4.8% this year, the interest rate for private loans is 14.6%, I don’t know which one your dad will use to calculate your debt.”
Wei Chengli: ???
Wei Maomao: ???
Wen Dongyu: ???
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