Category: Back to Three Years Old: Crushing Scumbags on a Parenting Reality Show

Chapter 83p1

Sweet and sour pork ribs, five-spice vegetarian chicken, stir-fried shrimp with scallions and ginger, fried meatballs…

Cheng Tingyan looked down at the dishes in her small bowl, her hand holding the chopsticks felt heavy, she couldn’t lift them.

Unease, discomfort, the urge to escape, her spirit started to drift away from her body, cold…

The surrounding noise faded, no one noticed the gradual freezing of this small, quiet corner.

“Yan Yan, here you go.”

A soft, childish voice pierced through the barrier of silence, a warm, chubby paw gently touched her cold, numb arm.

Cheng Tingyan loosened her grip on the chopsticks, they landed on the chopstick rest with a soft click.

The bubble that had enveloped her, trying to escape with her closed-off soul, burst, the surrounding sounds and smells returned, Cheng Tingyan let out a slow breath.

“Are you done using it? Just keep it, you might need it later? You bought a whole pack for me, I still have many left.” Cheng Tingyan said softly, looking at the blue hair tie dangling from the chubby white finger.

“I’m done, I don’t need it anymore. Let’s put them together, I can use them when I braid your hair.” Wei Maomao placed the hair tie in Cheng Tingyan’s hand, but her finger, touching Cheng Tingyan’s palm, didn’t immediately leave, instead, she squeezed it gently. “Yan Yan, you’re eating, why are your hands so cold?”

As she spoke, Wei Maomao looked at the dishes on the table.

Earlier at the market, after the babies’ earnings were ranked and they dispersed to buy lunch, Cheng Rongrong came to ask Cheng Tingyan, since they were both buying food to eat with Cheng Feiying, should they shop together and split the cost, or should they buy separately and eat together later?

Was that even a question… Wei Maomao felt that even shopping together with like-minded, close friends could be troublesome, let alone with Cheng Rongrong. A child who was already troublesome, and now holding an even more troublesome hundred yuan.

If they bought too much or too expensive things, it would be linked to that hundred yuan, and if they bought cheap things, Cheng Feiying might even complain about spending so little after earning over two hundred yuan…

Cheng Tingyan had over two hundred yuan, could she not even handle one lunch? Why bother getting involved with Cheng Rongrong?

In the end, Cheng Tingyan chose the latter option.

And Cheng Rongrong even acted embarrassed, saying a bunch of things like she also felt it was better to buy separately, after all, she didn’t earn as much as Cheng Tingyan, buying together would drag her down…

It made Wei Maomao so angry. Seriously, whether they chose A or B, Cheng Rongrong always had something to say, how could she be so good at manipulating words at such a young age, it made her feel like she had lived in vain all those years in her previous life.

Anger aside, Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan had a good time shopping together at the market. When they were anonymous online friends in her previous life, they had even talked about going shopping together after meeting. She never expected that they didn’t get to go shopping in her previous life, and in this life, they were starting with a village market.

The over two hundred yuan Cheng Tingyan had was definitely more than enough for buying food, Su Li, who was with them, also said that they could save the money or buy other things, they didn’t have to spend it all.

That was true, but the implication of Cheng Rongrong’s words before they separated was that by buying separately, she didn’t want to burden Cheng Tingyan, who had more money, and make her spend uncomfortably. The one with more money should spend more, this logic was… illogical, but very common.

Wei Maomao didn’t bother correcting Cheng Rongrong’s thinking. It was just over two hundred yuan, they could spend it all, it was just two hundred yuan.

They wouldn’t waste food, so they would go for higher quality.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried shrimp with scallions and ginger, fried meatballs, some sliced braised beef, half a beggar’s chicken, some cold dishes, and some vegetables to stir-fry and make soup, perfect.

If they bought too little, Cheng Feiying might complain, but if they bought this much, even if he said it was too expensive, they could still use the excuse of filial piety.

Wei Maomao was just trying to avoid making mistakes, not seeking praise, and Cheng Tingyan just let her do whatever she wanted. Now, the dishes on the Cheng family’s half of the table were all arranged by Wei Maomao.

Earlier, when the dads were brought over, Wei Maomao stayed with Cheng Tingyan for a bit longer, confirming that although Cheng Feiying’s mood wasn’t very good for some reason, he didn’t seem to have any particular objections to the food on the table, then she left. Just now, when Wei Maomao came to get the hair tie, she didn’t examine the dishes carefully. But now, taking a closer look, Wei Maomao noticed something was wrong.

On Cheng Tingyan’s side of the table, there were only a few pieces of sweet and sour pork ribs left, the fried meatballs were missing a layer, only two slices of braised beef remained, half of the beggar’s chicken was gone, the stir-fried shrimp was completely finished, and even the vegetables seemed to have been eaten quite a bit.

But on Cheng Rongrong’s side of the table…

Wei Maomao looked at the salt-baked duck, five-spice chicken leg, roasted dried tofu, and the almost full plates of vegetables on Cheng Rongrong’s side, which were almost untouched compared to when they were first served… Then she looked at the pile of rib bones and shrimp shells next to Cheng Feiying’s plates…

This?

Could it be that Cheng Rongrong didn’t know what Cheng Feiying liked to eat?

Perhaps because Wei Maomao’s gaze on the table was too intense, Cheng Tingyan lowered her voice slightly and asked, “Maomao, do you want some?”

“I…” Before Wei Maomao could say she was already full, Cheng Feiying interrupted her.

“Maomao, come and have some with us, we have plenty of food today.” Cheng Feiying said loudly.

Just as Wei Maomao was wondering if he was being polite or showing off, Cheng Feiying put a piece of beggar’s chicken in Cheng Tingyan’s bowl and said, “Come on, Maomao, try this beggar’s chicken, it’s very tender, easy for children to chew.”

Wei Maomao: ???

“These meatballs are also good, Maomao, want some?” Cheng Feiying said, putting a spoonful of meatballs in Cheng Tingyan’s bowl.

Wei Maomao: “… “

Maybe her eyesight was failing, how come she felt Cheng Feiying’s enthusiasm seemed so genuine and sincere…

Speaking of which, Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan’s bowl, which was already half full, then remembered that when she arrived, Cheng Tingyan seemed to be sitting properly, not eating.

“Yan Yan, did your dad… give you food earlier?” Wei Maomao leaned closer to Cheng Tingyan and whispered in her ear.

Cheng Tingyan nodded slightly.

Wei Maomao was speechless, she seemed to have found the reason why Yan Yan’s hands were so cold earlier.

It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be that Cheng Feiying had discovered Cheng Tingyan’s cleanliness obsession and was deliberately giving her food to make her uncomfortable, right? From mushrooms to cleanliness, was he trying to annoy her?

But…

Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Feiying, he was constantly stuffing food into his mouth, and it was all from Cheng Tingyan’s side of the table… With such gusto, he didn’t seem to have the time to deliberately give Yan Yan food to make her uncomfortable.

She couldn’t figure it out for now, but she still had to do what she had to do.

Wei Maomao, who was initially just a bit exhausted from her dramatic performance and subconsciously wanted to stay by Cheng Tingyan’s side for a while to recharge, now decided to pull over a stool and sit next to her.

And so Cheng Tingyan watched as the chubby white paws reached over and took her small bowl away.

Wei Maomao buried her head in the bowl, picked up the top meatball with her mouth, and started eating.

Su Li, nudged by Liu Ming, promptly brought over a spoon for Wei Maomao.

“Mao…” Cheng Tingyan was stunned, because of the warm, chubby hand that secretly held hers under the table, her words stopped at the first syllable.

The discomfort, the urge to distance herself, the inability to accept closeness, touch, especially sharing food and drinks, Cheng Tingyan had never told anyone about these feelings. She wondered if she was sick, it was clearly discomfort in her heart, why was her body reacting so strongly… Sometimes, she even forced herself to try and accept it. But the greater the backlash, the greater her frustration.

Cheng Tingyan looked at the little chubby bunny next to her, munching on the meatballs, she didn’t understand… She had never told her anything, but why… did she suddenly feel like she might have been discovered?

The viewers in the live broadcast room also didn’t understand, but what they didn’t understand was how the one who had just tugged at their heartstrings and made them cry could, within minutes, make their stomachs growl and their mouths water.

“Hehehe, this pack of tissues was truly worth it, my tears haven’t even dried yet, and now I need them to wipe my drool. CEO Mao, forget about starting a company, just go into acting, the entertainment industry needs you!”

“CEO Mao is munching on those meatballs so happily, hahaha, do you still remember the half-eaten chicken leg and your old father waiting for you by the Daming Lake?”

“The chicken leg can wait, the old father can wait, but the poor Yan Yan with her cleanliness obsession can’t wait. Didn’t you see Yan Yan’s live stream? Cheng Feiying must have taken the wrong medicine today, he usually ignores Yan Yan completely, but today, his eyes are only on Yan Yan, he even gave her food several times. Yan Yan, picking up her chopsticks, putting them down, picking them up, putting them down, she was struggling for a long time before Maomao came.”

“Yan Yan’s cleanliness obsession, it truly depends on the person. She even moved away the french fries Cheng Rongrong touched with her bare hands yesterday. Today, for the food Cheng Feiying gave her, she seemed to be struggling and trying her best, but she truly couldn’t eat it. But when she was drinking mush with Maomao, she seemed fine.”

“It’s normal, cleanliness obsessions are a bit strange. It’s not about being clean, it’s about what they perceive as clean. Like some people with cleanliness obsessions, their homes might not be spotless, but you have to dust yourself off and disinfect yourself before entering. Because in their minds, no matter how dirty their homes are, they’re still clean, and no matter how clean the outside world is, it’s still dirty. It’s all about perception.”

“Understood, so drinking a bowl of fishy mush with CEO Mao is happiness, but eating food touched by Cheng Rongrong and Cheng Feiying is uncomfortable and unhappy.”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, the person above, it’s ‘perception,’ not ‘happiness.’ Well, it’s basically the same.”

“Our CEO Mao is truly considerate, she took the whole bowl without hesitation. Tiny chubby, the great firefighter, putting out one fire after another, this lunch, with fires everywhere, wouldn’t be the same without CEO Mao!”

“Hahaha, it’s not like there are fires everywhere. At least CEO Shen’s family is quite normal, the father and son are chatting happily about CEO Mao’s tanghulu stall at the market. I think this is one of their most engaging conversations these past few days. Maybe it’s the businessman genes… Talking about business energizes them both. The Wen family is also okay, ever since Wen Xiang suddenly became mute for some reason, their family has been much more harmonious!”

“Sobbing softly, help… Putting aside Wen Xiang’s parenting skills, I’m a fan of his singing, he can’t just become mute!”

“Speaking of, is Cheng Feiying acting a bit strange today? No, he was quite normal this morning, but after sitting down for lunch, something feels off. Am I imagining things? Why do I feel like he’s ignoring Cheng Rongrong when she talks to him, but suddenly being nice to Yan Yan, not only did he praise her several times, he even gave her food.”

“The person above isn’t imagining things! Cheng Feiying is definitely acting strange. Based on his behavior in the past few days, for a situation like today, where both daughters prepared half a table of food each, even if he initially said he would praise both of them, he would definitely favor Cheng Rongrong in the end. But today, not only did he not favor Cheng Rongrong, he even ignored her. Have you noticed, he hasn’t even touched the food Cheng Rongrong bought. Not a single bite! He’s only eating from Yan Yan’s side!”

“I knew it! I was watching CEO Mao’s live stream, I was too focused on Yueyue, and when I came back, I noticed how quickly the food on Yan Yan’s side was disappearing. It turns out Cheng Feiying has been eating only from her side! Why? Is this side more delicious? Did Cheng Rongrong buy something Cheng Feiying doesn’t like today?”

“I don’t think so, not to mention anything else, the chicken leg, doesn’t Cheng Feiying usually devour it? Today, he hasn’t even touched it. Forget about the food, you can tell from how he doesn’t even bother talking to Cheng Rongrong, it’s definitely not the food itself.”

“Then what is it? The hundred yuan? No, I saw that after they sat down, Cheng Rongrong only mentioned that her vegetables were sold out first, before she even mentioned the hundred yuan, Cheng Feiying’s attitude was already off. Didn’t their father-daughter interaction seem fine before the babies went to the market this morning? Could it be that Cheng Feiying stared at the fish tank for too long and became stupid? Or did he find the activity Cheng Rongrong arranged for him unsatisfactory and got angry? Then why didn’t he just say it…”

“You guys don’t understand, some older men with a bit of status are like this. They don’t directly express their dissatisfaction, they show it through their actions, making you figure it out yourself. Like Cheng Feiying now, praising one and criticizing the other!”

“??? Playing favorites in front of a three-and-a-half-year-old and a six-year-old, making the children guess his unhappiness? Seriously… How much water must have gotten into his brain for him to do this, the water in the fish tank this morning wasn’t enough!”

Chapter 82

Biting was impossible, after all, beneath Wei Maomao’s three-year-old appearance was a “mature” core.

Well… maybe not that mature…

After all, if she was truly mature, she should be focused on her goal and not be distracted by trivial matters.

Wen Qiming was already forty-five years old, this kind of middle-aged man was very stubborn, difficult to control, and hard to change.

Wen Jiangyue wasn’t Yan Yan either, she had her own family and future that she didn’t understand…

There were many reasons to pretend she didn’t hear, even without a reason, she could maintain a proper distance and politeness as an adult.

But…

The reason she couldn’t help but listen was simple.

Wei Maomao couldn’t help but think about… earlier at the market, Wen Jiangyue, holding the flowers, her face beaming with joy as if she had found a treasure.

And it was indeed a treasure.

“There’s a stall selling flowers at the market, the flowers are all so beautiful!”

“My dad loves flowers the most!”

“This is the first time I earned money myself, I can buy flowers for Dad!”

“Do you think they’re pretty? Will my dad like them?”

…

Wei Maomao silently looked at the chicken legs, pork ribs, potatoes, peanuts, and vegetables that Wei Chengli kept putting in her bowl…

How did she answer Wen Jiangyue back then?

“They’re beautiful!”

“The flowers are beautiful, Sister Wen, you’re so kind, your dad will love them!”

…

Ah, why did she answer like that?

It was truly… too presumptuous of her…

Right, this wasn’t a trivial matter, it wasn’t someone else’s life she shouldn’t interfere in, she just wanted to… correct her previous blunder.

“Daddy.” Wei Maomao looked at Wei Chengli, she had made up her mind, the frustration in her heart had an outlet.

“No, don’t call me ‘Daddy’.” Wei Chengli patted his chest warily. “I, I’m a pitiful and innocent little baby today.”

“Daddy, I bought something for you today.” Wei Maomao’s voice became louder, her chubby paw firmly pressing on Wei Chengli’s arm.

“No, you didn’t buy anything, and you didn’t give me anything.” Wei Chengli, having been trained by the little chubby dumpling’s unpredictable behavior these past few days, quickly shook his head and replied vigilantly.

“… “ Wei Maomao reached out with her other chubby paw, touching the skewer of candied cucumber on the table. “I bought…”

“No, baby, this wasn’t bought by you, you said the grandpa at the tanghulu stall gave it to you, have you forgotten?” Wei Chengli grabbed the little chubby paw holding the candied cucumber.

Wei Maomao: “… “

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten. That socially anxious grandpa was quite adorable. They had agreed to rent the stall, and when she gave him the over one hundred yuan, he was too embarrassed to accept it, saying that he had learned the new method of making candied cucumbers, the stall rental was worth it. In the end, it was the program team who persuaded him for a while before he finally accepted the money. Well, Wei Maomao actually thought he gave up because his social anxiety acted up again when faced with the cameras.

But when they were about to get on the car, the socially anxious grandpa chased after them and gave each baby two skewers of candied tomatoes and cucumbers, saying they hadn’t had a chance to eat them after selling for so long, so they should take them and try.

Now, Wei Maomao regretted telling this story to Wei Chengli too early.

“Daddy, you have to cooperate with me.” Wei Maomao glanced at the table, there was nothing else on the table besides the food they bought, the candied cucumber skewer was the only suitable prop.

“Baby, I’ll cooperate. But this truly wasn’t bought by you, it was a gift from the grandpa, have you forgotten?” Wei Chengli tried to distract Wei Maomao. “How about you take two bites, you’ll remember after taking two bites.”

Wei Maomao: “… “

Good job!

Wei Chengli watched as the little chubby dumpling puffed up her cheeks, rolled off the stool, and ran off.

Ah…

Wei Chengli clenched his right hand, which hadn’t been fast enough to catch the little chubby dumpling, sigh, this…

Ahhh! The babies worked so hard selling vegetables to support the family, can’t you guys eat properly! If you don’t eat, we still have to eat!!!

Wei Chengli let out a long sigh.

Thankfully, although the little chubby dumpling ran off in anger, she didn’t disappear completely.

Wei Chengli watched from afar as Wei Maomao went to the Cheng family’s table for a bit, then turned around and came back.

“Baby…” Wei Chengli welcomed the returning dumpling with the most sincere and friendly smile.

Wei Maomao ignored his act, she avoided Wei Chengli’s attempt to pick her up and put her back on the stool, she climbed up herself, huffing and puffing.

“Daddy, I bought this for you!” Wei Maomao said loudly, opening her palm towards Wei Chengli.

The loud voice, clearly audible to the two tables next to them, made Wei Chengli’s head buzz. It seemed… he couldn’t dodge this anymore.

Wei Chengli glanced at the light blue flower hair tie in the little chubby paw, then slowly turned his head, looking at the Wen family’s table.

As expected, the father and daughter there were also drawn by the little chubby dumpling’s deliberately amplified voice, they were both looking at them.

Wei Chengli knew it was time for him to make a choice.

Brother Wen, they were both adults, they could understand each other, they could laugh it off and forget about it after a brief explanation, right?

After all… On the other side of the scale was the adorable and stubborn three-year-old baby.

“Baby, thank you! This… Mmm… This is so pretty! Daddy loves it! Our baby is truly…” Wei Chengli made his choice, he wouldn’t hesitate any longer, he showered her with praise.

But before he could reach out and take the hair tie, the little chubby dumpling closed her paw, hiding the hair tie, interrupting his action and his words.

“Daddy, that’s not how you’re supposed to say it.” Wei Maomao clenched her fist, first glanced at Wei Chengli, then slowly turned to Wen Qiming’s table, her gaze lingering on Wen Qiming’s slightly furrowed brow for two seconds.

Not supposed to say it like that?

Oh, it was… not supposed to be said like that…

Wei Chengli followed the little chubby dumpling’s gaze, the confusion in his heart turning into… embarrassment.

He finally understood what the little dumpling meant.

But!

“Baby, do we really have to do this? Daddy praising you is enough, right?” Wei Chengli leaned closer to the little chubby dumpling and whispered.

The response he received was a chubby foot, kicking off her sandal and stepping on his leg.

White, chubby, warm, forceful, and determined.

Wei Chengli understood.

Wen Qiming also understood.

He had been interrupted by the sudden loud voice from the next table, he initially thought they were arguing or something. But after looking and listening for a bit, he felt… something wasn’t quite right.

And the subsequent conversation between Wei Chengli and Wei Maomao, along with their frequent glances, made Wen Qiming guess what was going on.

But it couldn’t be, right?

What did it have to do with them?

Was it necessary to put on a show for him, pretending to be happy even when receiving a hair tie?

Wen Qiming guessed it, but he also guessed it wrong.

Because in the next second, the curtain was pulled open again, the real performance had just begun.

“Daddy, I bought this for you!” Wei Maomao raised the hair tie and shouted.

Wei Chengli: “… “ Please, why was it the same as the previous sentence, couldn’t she at least change a few words? Was she being this deliberately obvious?

A brief silence, the soft, chubby foot on Wei Chengli’s leg seemed to be applying more pressure.

“Ha… Thank you, Maomao. But the hair ties Daddy likes are pink, don’t you remember all of Daddy’s hair ties are pink?” Wei Chengli tried to recall Wen Qiming’s words and rephrase them.

Wen Qiming: ?

Wei Maomao: ???

This… Wei Maomao did want Wei Chengli to imitate Wen Qiming’s meaning, but it didn’t have to be this realistic, right?

“I… remember.” Now it was Wei Maomao’s turn to continue the act, her scalp tingling. “But you also liked it when other people gave you blue hair ties. There weren’t any pink ones at the market, Dad, don’t you like this blue one?”

After finishing her sentence, even though she was in a three-year-old’s body, Wei Maomao still felt a bit embarrassed.

“Dad likes it, of course, how could Dad dislike a gift from Maomao? But, you didn’t earn much money this morning, right? There’s a saying, ‘Spend money wisely.’ This kind of blue hair tie, it… Mmm… It…” Wei Chengli stammered, then decided to give up on describing its flaws. “Anyway, it’s not something we urgently need, shouldn’t we prioritize buying enough food for lunch? You used this money to buy a blue…”

Wen Qiming: …

Wei Maomao rubbed the goosebumps on her chubby arms, feeling that this was enough.

“Daddy! What are you talking about!” Wei Maomao clutched her chest, looking hurt, then dramatically fell (fake fall) off the stool.

The little chubby dumpling suddenly became a drama queen, falling off the stool. Wei Chengli was startled, his hand wasn’t fast enough to catch her.

“Mao…” Wei Chengli stood up anxiously.

Then he saw the little chubby dumpling, sitting on the ground, pounding her chest and kicking her legs.

“Ah! Daddy! I’m so sad, Daddy! I’m always happy with whatever you buy for me! You like all the hair ties other people give you! I bought you a hair tie, and you… you said I shouldn’t have bought it! I, a three-year-old baby, picked so many vegetables, sold tanghulu for so long, I’m all sweaty, my hands and feet are sore and tired, just to buy you a hair tie! I’m so sad!”

Wei Chengli watched, stunned, as the little chubby dumpling kicked her legs, thrashed around, pounded her chest, and slapped the ground…

This, this was like those scammers pretending to be injured in TV dramas, where did she learn this…

“Daddy, my heart, it hurts so much! I, the baby, I’m so sad! I’ll never buy you gifts again! I don’t want to be sad anymore! I don’t want to love you anymore! I don’t love you anymore!” Wei Maomao, getting into her act, even squeezed out a few tears, she almost threw the hair tie in her hand at Wei Chengli.

Of course, she didn’t throw it, it was just a borrowed prop.

The small, white, chubby dumpling, like an elderly scammer, thrashed around on the ground, even saying lines from old romance dramas…

Honestly, it was hilarious!

Initially, although Wei Chengli was shocked and stiff, he was amused, he just watched the little dumpling’s performance, even forgetting about Wen Qiming next to him.

But as he watched… something felt wrong.

He knew the little chubby dumpling was probably imitating and piecing together old drama scenes she had seen somewhere. But when she looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, “I don’t want to be sad anymore! I don’t want to love you anymore! I don’t love you anymore!”, Wei Chengli’s heart skipped a beat, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“… “ Wei Chengli instinctively wanted to pick up the little chubby dumpling and end this out-of-control performance, but at this moment, his body couldn’t keep up with his mind, he couldn’t even speak, he was frozen.

He wasn’t the only one who was frozen.

In the monitoring room, Shi Dingshan stood up and patted Qin Sichao’s shoulder. “Director Qin, please don’t lean on our monitoring screens, okay? When did you develop this habit, practically throwing your whole body onto the screen, touching it… There’s a whole wall of screens, don’t knock any of them down.”

“Weren’t you just not watching the screen! Did you see the little fatty cry?” Qin Sichao, looking at Wei Maomao, who had already gotten up and was dusting herself off on the screen, reluctantly took a step back from the wall of screens.

“I was making tea, little fatty, you mean Maomao? She’s adorable when she cries, it’s better these past two days, when she first arrived, tears would stream down her face with just a blink, such a crybaby.” Shi Dingshan chuckled as he blew on his tea. “If Cheng Tingyan was there, you would also see Yan Yan taking out her handkerchief and frantically wiping her tears, hahaha.”

“No, it wasn’t like that.” Qin Sichao was still stunned by that moment earlier, but this was a kind of shock that Shi Dingshan had to see with his own eyes to understand, it was useless for him to describe it. “You find the replay and watch it later, then we’ll talk.”

Shi Dingshan: ???

He couldn’t find the replay right now, but he could check the comments to see what was going on.

But as Shi Dingshan took out his phone, opened Wei Maomao’s live stream, and looked at the comments, he was met with a screen full of “sob, sob, sob” and “wuwuwu,” he couldn’t understand it at all.

“Crying, crying, crying! Oh my god! How can she be so good at crying! I was laughing at Director Wei talking about blue hair ties and pink hair ties, then I was suddenly hit by CEO Mao’s flying tears… It was clearly an act, but why am I so sad! Aaaaaaaah!”

“When CEO Mao fake-fell off the stool, I laughed my head off, then my head was washed away by tears, never to be found again! Aaaaaaaah, my head!”

“I truly, CEO Mao is the voice of the people! Who was it who saved two months’ worth of allowance at fifteen years old to buy a bouquet of flowers for their mom on Mother’s Day, only to be told it was a waste of money and forced to return it, I won’t say! Anyway, I never bought flowers for my mom again. I’m thirty-six now, my mom asked why I didn’t celebrate Mother’s Day for her, all the other moms in her square dancing group received Mother’s Day gifts from their children. Hehehe! Why do you think! It can’t be because I can’t read a calendar, right!”

“When Wen Qiming was lecturing Yueyue earlier, my fists clenched, truly! When Yueyue saw the flowers being sold at the market, she was so happy, truly… Her eyes lit up, so happy, so, so happy, I’m going to cry now. Why can’t Wen Qiming cherish our best Yueyue, do you not want to receive gifts from your daughter anymore, tell me!”

“With all due respect, when parents buy something for their children, they even expect gratitude. When others give something to their children, they make their children say thank you on the spot. And maybe years later, they’ll even say to their children, ‘I bought you xxx, xxx before, that uncle, that aunt, they gave you xxxx before…’ But when children buy something for their parents, truly… Especially younger children, when they buy gifts for their parents, they truly don’t expect any thanks, they don’t expect them to remember, what they want is probably just a smile from their parents at that moment, when they receive the gift.”

“Right… Truly, they just want to make their parents happy. Just a smile… Is it that difficult? An adult, even if it’s an act, just give them a smile! Even if you can’t force a smile, don’t frown and say things like ‘waste of money’ or ‘return it,’ okay? The child bought it with their own saved money, earned money, not with your stolen money! What they deducted was something they could have had, but they turned it into something they wanted to give you!”

“That’s… not necessarily true. What if the child bought something the parents don’t really need? Or if the price is much higher than the value? Then it’s truly a waste of money…”

“??? Okay, the situation mentioned above does exist. But most people, especially children, can’t afford to buy expensive gifts, right? Most people, the first time they give their parents a gift, it’s with their saved allowance or lucky money. The gift might not be very practical or mature. But! Is the gift itself truly that important? Will the family go bankrupt because of the extra money spent on a gift? Is every single thing parents buy for their children practical and necessary? Will the children criticize their parents for how they spend money? To put it bluntly… It’s all about control, about the dominance stemming from the unequal power dynamic.”

“Hugging the thirty-six-year-old friend, you did nothing wrong! Even if it’s your mother who left an unhealed wound on you, the next surprise can only wait until the stage of providing for her in her old age.”

“I, who witnessed this today, hope I can always remember this day. And when I have children, I won’t forget this day either. Accept love wholeheartedly to receive more love, don’t hurt them, if you hurt them, you’ll have nothing left.”

“Wen Qiming, shaking you violently, did you hear that? Cherish Yueyue’s love, otherwise, you’ll have nothing left! Nothing!”

“I hope Wen Qiming is worthy of CEO Mao’s dramatic performance, rolling around and getting covered in dust. Anyway, I didn’t have CEO Mao as my mouthpiece when I was a child… I feel like I still have love for my parents, but I don’t know when it started, responsibility has overshadowed love. Love, although it can hurt, but at least, the love between parents and children, it shouldn’t hurt…”

“Thank you, CEO Mao, for crying for the fifteen-year-old me…”

“Damn it, the tears I didn’t shed, the words I couldn’t say, they suddenly have a mouthpiece on this parenting variety show… Life is truly unpredictable, who would have thought!!!”

“The best bunny in the world! CEO Mao truly… I’m crying, and she just got up, dusted herself off, and acted like nothing happened. Truly, it’s just me, laughing and crying like a lunatic.”

“As expected of CEO Mao, she’s a master of controlling her emotions. Have you seen Yueyue’s live stream? Yueyue was also startled at first, then her eyes reddened.”

“Director Wei is also struggling, it was clearly a joint performance, but in the end, he seemed to be scared by CEO Mao, hahaha. And that ‘Daddy likes pink hair ties,’ Director Wei truly, for CEO Mao, he’ll take on any role, hahaha.”

…

Some people, for their children, would take on any role, say anything.

Some people…

Wen Qiming initially thought that Wei Maomao was going to use “My dad said…” to interfere in their family matters, just like she always did with the Cheng family.

Who knew…

The rolling little chubby, the dust in the air, the heart-wrenching cries, the stomping and pounding…

He was stunned.

The performance at the next table was exaggerated, it had even gone overboard.

But…

From which sentence did the amusement, helplessness, and slight annoyance turn into a piercing pain…

The mischievous, dramatic little fatty had already gotten up from the ground, dusted herself off, climbed back onto the stool, and was even munching on a chicken leg… But those childish cries of pain, like a curse, lingered in Wen Qiming’s ears.

It was an act, it was fake, it was just a performance for him, even imitating him and slapping him in the face…

Wen Qiming told himself this, but…

His daughter, at some point, had lowered her head, her chopsticks picking at the rice grains in her bowl, one by one by one…

Before Wen Jiangyue lowered her head, Wen Qiming had seen her secretly reddened eyes.

“Daddy! I’m so sad, Daddy!”

“Daddy, my heart, it hurts so much!”

“I, the baby, I’m so sad!”

“I’ll never buy you gifts again! I don’t want to be sad anymore! I don’t want to love you anymore! I don’t love you anymore!”

Like a curse, the voices still lingered in his ears, uncontrollably… transforming from Wei Maomao’s childish voice to Wen Jiangyue’s soft voice. The tone was different, but the same… heart-wrenching pain.

Was it…

That much disappointment and sadness…

He…

Wen Qiming looked at the bouquet on the table, his eyes stinging.

“Yueyue…” Wen Qiming reached out and gently patted his daughter’s head. “Daddy was wrong. Daddy loves the gift Yueyue bought for me. After we finish eating, we’ll go back and put it in a vase, okay? We’ll take good care of it with water, the flowers can stay beautiful for several days.”

Based on Wen Qiming’s usual personality and habits, even if a mistake happened, it definitely wouldn’t be his fault alone. Even if he apologized, he wouldn’t do it in front of so many people, especially not immediately after being slapped in the face so dramatically.

But… He didn’t know why, but he felt he couldn’t wait, if he didn’t apologize immediately, he felt he couldn’t even get through this moment.

Wen Jiangyue, hearing his words, looked up. Her still red eyes weren’t filled with joy, but with suspicion.

“Give Daddy a chance, let Daddy cherish the gift my… Mmm, my baby bought for me, okay?” Wen Qiming hadn’t used such childish words to coax his daughter since she grew a bit older, so it sounded a bit awkward now.

But seeing his daughter’s stern expression soften slightly, Wen Qiming felt that it didn’t matter if he wasn’t used to coaxing children, he could still try his best to do well.

At the next table, Wei Chengli, holding a chicken leg in his chopsticks, the skin untouched, had been eavesdropping on the conversation at the next table, he nudged the little chubby dumpling next to him and whispered excitedly, “They made up~~~”

“Oh.” Wei Maomao, exhausted after her performance, put down the half-eaten chicken leg and was about to get off the table.

“Where are you going again?” Wei Chengli, alert, grabbed the chubby dumpling.

“To return the hair tie to Yan Yan.” Wei Maomao said, shaking the blue hair tie in her hand.

“Didn’t you buy it for me?” Wei Chengli didn’t let go.

“What do you need a hair tie for…” Wei Maomao pushed the bowl of candied cucumbers towards Wei Chengli. “You should eat this.”

The little chubby dumpling ran off.

Wei Chengli angrily picked up a candied cucumber and took a bite.

Hmph!

Chapter 81p2

“So I said I wanted to eat beef, mutton, and duck, and you only bought me beef, mutton, and duck? Don’t you know how to be flexible? Why didn’t you also get me some vegetables and soup? How can I eat this dry food? She said she only wanted to eat vegetables, why didn’t you only buy her vegetables?” Wang Qingchuan still felt that Wang Zhizhi was using the banner of fairness to be unfair.

Wang Zhizhi sighed, just as he was about to explain, a familiar voice suddenly came from above.

“Teacher Wang, the accounting is a bit complicated, Parent Zhizhi is still young and might not remember clearly, let me explain it to you.” Li Mu hid the lunchbox he had just received behind his back, pushed up his glasses, and started reciting, “The money Parent Zhizhi earned this morning, after adjusting for the number of people, is 158 yuan. For Beibei’s lunch, half a beggar’s chicken is 18 yuan, a bowl of crispy fried fish is 16 yuan, and one steamed bun is 1 yuan. The loofah and egg soup, stir-fried winter melon with dried shrimp, and stir-fried celery with dried tofu were all made with ingredients bought from the market, they cost 2.5 yuan, 2 yuan, and 4 yuan respectively. They also used 0.5 yuan worth of garlic for the stir-fried dishes, a total of 44 yuan. Your roast duck is 18 yuan, braised beef 25 yuan, boiled mutton 20 yuan, and three steamed buns 3 yuan, a total of 66 yuan. 158 yuan, evenly divided and rounded up, each of the three can spend 53 yuan, yours exceeded by 13 yuan, and this 13 yuan was taken from Parent Zhizhi’s share.”

Wang Qingchuan: “… “ He didn’t remember anything, but he did hear the last part about exceeding… Okay, his dry and bland meal, it actually exceeded the budget?

“Beibei has 9 yuan left, and I gave Dad 13 yuan, I’ll also give Beibei 13 yuan. This is… Mmm… 22 yuan.” Wang Zhizhi, seeing that Li Mu had explained clearly, took out a small roll of money from his pocket and handed it to Wang Qingbei. “Beibei, keep this as your allowance.”

Jiang Heye was also a bit dizzy from the barrage of numbers in Li Mu’s speech, but it didn’t stop her from readily accepting Wang Zhizhi’s arrangement.

“Thank you, Zhizhi.” Jiang Heye took the money and smiled brightly at Wang Zhizhi. “Zhizhi is the best!”

Wang Zhizhi blushed, taking a plastic bag from under the table. “I… I bought you some gifts. A jump rope for Dad, and hair ties and a handkerchief for Beibei. There weren’t any nice clothes at the market, and I ran out of money. Next time, next time…”

His wishes were beautiful, but his promise was heavy. Wang Zhizhi, unsure of what tasks and situations they would encounter next, hesitated.

“The hair ties cost 3 yuan, the handkerchief 5 yuan, a total of 8 yuan for both, and the jump rope is 8 yuan. After deducting all expenses, Parent Zhizhi’s remaining salary for today is 1 yuan.” Li Mu, like an emotionless calculator, reported the prices to Wang Qingchuan.

“Okay, okay, we know you’re the fairest.” Wang Qingchuan, holding the jump rope, after hearing Li Mu’s explanation, couldn’t accuse Wang Zhizhi of being biased anymore.

At most, it was just that the child was still too young, not considerate enough, that’s why his food was so dry and bland.

“Thank you, Zhizhi…” Jiang Heye gently touched the not-so-exquisitely made handkerchief and the large bag of colorful rubber bands. Ah, why was this little baby so good, she was about to cry.

Right…

“Zhizhi, you used your money to buy gifts, so you’re only eating vegetables? Let’s share these two, okay? It’s me treating you after you fairly divided the food, is that okay?” Jiang Heye truly couldn’t bear to eat chicken and fish while watching Wang Zhizhi eat only vegetables, but she wouldn’t oppose his principles because of it.

“No.” Wang Zhizhi shook his head firmly.

“Give me some vegetables, I’ll give you some meat, let’s trade.” Wang Qingchuan, after carefully examining the food in front of Wang Zhizhi, realized that he had only glanced at it casually earlier, the vegetables in front of Wang Zhizhi were the same as the ones in front of that whoever, but he didn’t have any chicken or fish.

It made sense, he had to subsidize his own portion, give that whoever the same amount of money fairly, and buy gifts, he could only afford to eat vegetables…

Wang Qingchuan felt his suggestion was very good, this way, his food wouldn’t be so dry and bland, and Wang Zhizhi could also eat some meat. But Wang Zhizhi, rubbing his aching head, refused again.

His reason for refusing was very valid, yet a bit speechless.

“How do we trade meat and vegetables, how much do we trade, I can’t calculate it. You really want to eat vegetables, I’ll share some with you.” Wang Zhizhi said, standing up and started putting vegetables on Wang Qingchuan’s… oh no, to be precise, both Wang Qingchuan and Wang Qingbei’s plates.

Two slices of winter melon here, two slices there, three pieces of celery here, three pieces there…

Here…

“No, no, no… Stop it, eat it yourself!” Wang Qingchuan was both angry and speechless, he even had to endure the shocked and accusing gaze from that whoever next to him. Even if Wang Zhizhi gave him more, he couldn’t eat anymore.

“Okay.” Wang Zhizhi obediently stopped, pointed at the plate at the edge of the table, and said, “The grandpa at the market gave us candied tomatoes, I brought back two skewers for you, you can each have one after finishing your meal.”

Wang Qingchuan: “… “ Was there any hope for this child’s suddenly malfunctioning brain to recover?

Jiang Heye: “… “ Why was this baby so adorable!!!

Li Mu, having finished reporting the accounts, retreated and squatted with the other staff members who were enjoying their lunch.

Wu Qiao nudged Li Mu with his elbow. “Why did you butt in? This kind of unnecessary screen time will deduct from your salary.”

“Let them deduct it.” Li Mu opened his lunchbox and gave the chicken leg to Wu Qiao. “You worked hard catching that guy today, eat more.”

“Hehe.” Wu Qiao picked up the chicken leg and took a big bite, he hadn’t done much, just had his face pushed against the car window a few times.

“Do you have a pen and paper?” Li Mu asked after taking a bite of his food, patting his pockets.

“Yes.” Wu Qiao swiftly took out a pen and a small notebook from his bag. “What for? You’re going to write something while eating?”

“Mmm… Zhizhi wants to learn simple math, I’m thinking about how to teach him in an easy way.” Li Mu said, scribbling on the paper while eating.

“… “ Wu Qiao was shocked. “We’re here to take care of the children, we don’t have to go this far, right? It’s just a few days of filming, do we also have to be their tutors?”

It wasn’t absolutely necessary, but… Li Mu thought about the child at the market, diligently trying to divide the money, his face flushed red from anxiety because he couldn’t calculate. Perhaps, when Zhizhi went back, he would also need it. Before he learned it in school, what would Zhizhi do if he needed it…

Thinking of this, Li Mu wrote even faster.

And as the saying goes, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Like Wang Qingchuan and Jiang Heye, who were unrelated, Wen Qiming and Wen Jiangyue, who were related… were also experiencing different emotions.

Wen Qiming, before sitting down at his table, had walked around with the other dads, checking out their food. When he returned to his own table, he felt… a slight sense of disappointment?

The other families had plates and bowls, a variety of meat and vegetable dishes, how come theirs was… Mmm…

Wen Qiming looked at the pickled mustard green and egg soup, stir-fried potato with green pepper, braised eggplant, cold bean sprouts, and two skewers of stringy candied cucumbers on the table. There were many dishes, but only a plate of five-spice pig liver could be considered meat?

This meal, based on the prices in the village, excluding the pig liver, should have cost around six or seven yuan? This plate of pig liver, at most, would be a dozen yuan? So around twenty yuan in total.

Looking at the other families’ tables, theirs definitely cost more than twenty yuan.

The program team hadn’t told the dads about the babies’ sales this morning, but based on Wen Qiming’s observation, Wen Jiangyue probably didn’t do very well.

“Yueyue, did you… not sell much of your vegetables this morning?” Wen Qiming asked tactfully.

“I did quite well, I was tied for third place with Maomao, Wen Dongyu, and Shen Zilin!” Wen Jiangyue replied confidently.

Wen Qiming recalled the food on the Wei, Wen, and Shen families’ tables… There seemed to be chicken legs or duck legs, fish, chopped chicken, lotus root cakes, fried meatballs… Although he couldn’t remember clearly, the difference was quite significant.

“You were tied for third, that’s very impressive. But…” Wen Qiming pointed at the table. “For this meal, you didn’t spend all the money you earned from selling vegetables on food, right?”

“Dad, you’re so smart!” Wen Jiangyue smiled. “I was going to show you after we finish eating. I also bought you flowers, you like flowers, right?”

As she spoke, Wen Jiangyue bent down and took out from under the table…

A bouquet of wrapped flowers.

“Ha… Ha… Thank you, Yueyue.” Wen Qiming, both amused and touched, took the flowers, then couldn’t help but add, “But the flowers Dad likes are the kind planted in pots. Don’t you remember, the flowers in our courtyard are all planted?”

“I remember, but you also like it when other uncles, aunties, brothers, and sisters bring this kind of flower to our house.” Wen Jiangyue bit her lip gently. “There weren’t any flowers in pots at the market, Dad, don’t you like these flowers?”

“Dad likes them, how could Dad dislike flowers given by Yueyue?” Wen Qiming affirmed his daughter first, then chuckled. “But, you probably didn’t earn much money this morning, right? There’s a saying, ‘Spend money wisely.’ This kind of wrapped flowers, they’re expensive, and we can’t even keep them alive, it’s not something we need to spend money on urgently, right? Next time, shouldn’t we prioritize the necessities? For example, the money you earned from selling vegetables, wasn’t it meant for buying lunch? You used it to buy flowers, isn’t that…”

Wen Qiming’s pre-meal lecture, neither too loud nor too soft, was clearly audible to Wei Chengli, who was sitting at the table next to them.

Each family was eating their own food, but the tables were close together, it was normal to hear some sounds.

But the problem was!

Wei Chengli, alarmed, reached out and pressed down on the little chubby dumpling’s chubby paw, whispering, “Baby, calm down.”

Wei Maomao looked up at Wei Chengli. “I am calm.”

Wei Chengli looked at the long chicken bone sticking out of the little chubby dumpling’s mouth, which she hadn’t even spat out while talking, heh… Calm… Was she kidding?

“Okay, okay, you’re calm. Come on, finish eating this, spit out the bone, and we’ll have another chicken leg, eat, eat, eat… Chicken legs are delicious, they’ll make you grow taller.” Wei Chengli, with a stiff smile, pulled out the clean-gnawed chicken bone from the little chubby dumpling’s mouth and gave her another big chicken leg.

Actually, Wei Chengli wanted to stuff the chicken leg directly into the little chubby dumpling’s mouth, but he didn’t dare.

The little chubby dumpling’s teeth-grinding sound as she gnawed on the chicken bone hadn’t stopped since Wen Qiming started his lecture.

Honestly… Wen Qiming was truly discouraging, shouldn’t he just accept the gift his daughter gave him… But each family had their own parenting style, Wei Chengli couldn’t say much.

The problem now was…

He was scared!

His chubby baby was so angry that she was grinding her teeth, wouldn’t she pounce on someone and bite them…

Chapter 81p1

Wang Guihua was strolling through the village after lunch when she bumped into Zhao Lanhua, who was returning with bags of groceries. Zhao Lanhua called out to her from afar, asking for help carrying the bags.

Wang Guihua, with a swing of her arm, took the two heaviest bags. When they reached Zhao Lanhua’s house and put the bags down, she realized it was a large bag of tomatoes and a large bag of cucumbers.

“That baby, the chubby, short one…” Wang Guihua gestured with her hand, making a large circle, then pointed at her knee. “Didn’t she say she was taking you to the market? Did you go to the market or to stock up on goods? What are you going to do with so many tomatoes and cucumbers? If you’ve finished the ones from your field, come and pick some from mine, why are you buying so many, they’ll go bad before you can finish them.”

“I didn’t buy these vegetables, the program team gave them to me. Chubby, short, you mean Maomao?” Zhao Lanhua, both amused and exasperated, patted Wang Guihua’s arm. “Why are you gesturing like that, she’s not as chubby and short as you’re making her out to be, she would be a ball if she was!”

“Oh, so protective now? Who was the one who didn’t want to take on odd jobs from the program team, saying the little babies were troublesome?” Wang Guihua chuckled, craning her neck to look at the few small bags on the table. “What, you struck it rich today, buying so much food?”

There were several small plastic bags on the table, even without opening them, they could see the transparent plastic containers inside, all filled with food.

“I went to a fake market arranged by the program team with Maomao and the others, helped the little babies make sugar syrup and candied tomatoes, these are gifts from them.” Zhao Lanhua said, taking out the food. “Roasted chicken leg from Maomao, sweet and sour spare ribs from Yan Yan, five-spice pig liver from Yueyue, fried fish from Dongdong, and lotus root cakes from Linlin. I don’t have to cook lunch today, stay and have some with me.”

“Ah, I regret it so much, I just finished eating, I had potato rice with egg sauce for lunch, why didn’t you tell me you could get so much food!” Wang Guihua touched her stomach, then said resolutely, “But it’s okay, I can still eat, I’ll have some with you.”

“How could I tell you earlier? I didn’t know.” Zhao Lanhua continued taking out the food, laughing. “Initially, it was that little Liu girl from the program team who persuaded me to go with them, so Maomao wouldn’t be suspicious, I was also a bit worried, so I went to check it out. Who knew I would end up making sugar syrup there, I haven’t done it for years, but my hands were still steady. The little babies were so polite, I just played around with making sugar syrup for a while, and they gave me so much, they even helped me sell all the pillowcases I brought, I felt so embarrassed.”

“You don’t look embarrassed at all, the wrinkles on your face are blooming from smiling, you must be thrilled.” Wang Guihua chuckled, helping to arrange the food on the table.

Zhao Lanhua was truly quite embarrassed. The little babies went to the market to sell vegetables for their task, but Maomao’s own vegetables hadn’t even sold much, yet her pillowcases were almost all sold by that little chubby baby. Later, the other babies also came over, Maomao went to work inside, and the last few pillowcases were sold by Yueyue, who was watching the vegetable stalls outside, truly… She should be the one paying them.

Initially, Zhao Lanhua had watched the tanghulu business boom for a while, but then no one came to buy anymore, and the program staff started gathering the babies to talk. Seeing so many vegetables left in their baskets, she felt bad for the little ones, coming to do business and not being able to sell much. So she thought, she could buy some from them. But the program staff refused to sell to her, not only did they refuse, they even forced two large bags on her, saying that they couldn’t finish them and they would go bad tomorrow, they were all picked by the little babies under the scorching sun, what a waste if they went bad. Hearing that, she felt bad for not taking them.

But after taking the vegetables, it wasn’t over yet. The program team said she came in Maomao’s car, so she might as well wait and go back with them.

It was a hot summer day, so Zhao Lanhua waited.

Not long after, the babies returned, and so did the gifts…

Each little baby had a plastic bag, led by the one who always had a serious expression and dressed like a mini adult, Shen Zilin.

What did he say again… Oh, he said, “Grandma Zhao, thank you for helping us make tanghulu, we wouldn’t have been able to sell any of our vegetables without you. Maomao said you refused to accept our one yuan per skewer commission like the tanghulu grandpa, and you even pinched her face when she tried to give you money. We won’t give you money, we’ll share our food with you, please don’t pinch our faces, okay?”

How should she put it, Zhao Lanhua was truly charmed by the adorable children, she really wanted to pinch Shen Zilin’s serious, chubby little face!

Ah, the little babies, they were so cute~~~

Just as Zhao Lanhua, unable to control herself, was lost in the adorable memory of the little babies surrounding her, holding up their plastic bags and stuffing food into her hands, Wang Guihua suddenly exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Lanhua turned to look at her.

“The little babies already gave you so much, and you even bought a roast duck? Why does this roast duck look so strange… Is this half a duck, or half of half a duck? Why is the leg cut in half?” Wang Guihua, holding the roast duck box, was confused. “Is this the sauce-braised roast duck from the market we usually go to? It smells similar, don’t they always sell at least a quarter duck? Did you eat some on the way back? You gnawed it quite cleanly.”

“What are you talking about? Can you gnaw a roast duck as cleanly as if it was cut with a knife?” Zhao Lanhua laughed in exasperation. “It’s obviously cut, are you making fun of me? It’s because they only sell half or whole ducks, this is half a duck I bought with that little boy called Wang Zhizhi, and we each took half.”

“Oh… But why isn’t this half duck cut horizontally, it’s cut vertically? This way, the leg is only half, it’s truly strange.” Wang Guihua couldn’t help but examine the strange roast duck, which she couldn’t tell if it was whole or fragmented. “Why didn’t you just ask him to cut it all up for you?”

Zhao Lanhua also wanted to know why…

Perhaps… Wang Zhizhi had already confused them all by then.

It was while they were waiting for the babies to return and ride back to the village together, Zhao Lanhua was standing near the sauce-braised roast duck stall. The roast duck here wasn’t the kind that was sliced and wrapped, it was cut into pieces and served with sauce poured over it. Zhao Lanhua quite liked it, but she rarely bought it because it was expensive. Today, after making sugar syrup for a while, it was getting late, Zhao Lanhua, smelling the delicious aroma of roast duck, hesitated for a while, then decided to indulge herself a little.

Then, she saw Wang Zhizhi at the roast duck stall, asking the owner for a quarter duck.

Zhao Lanhua recognized the owner as soon as she got closer, he was the one who always sold roast duck at the market, they only sold whole or half ducks. This question of whether they could buy a quarter duck… The frugal Zhao Lanhua had asked it in her younger days. The answer, of course, was no, the owner felt it was too much of a loss to take the remaining quarter duck home and eat it himself.

The owner didn’t like customers who bought a quarter duck, but Zhao Lanhua loved them.

For her, a quarter duck with some rice was enough for a satisfying meal.

Zhao Lanhua and Wang Zhizhi hit it off, and the roast duck vendor, although speechless, still sold it to them.

It’s just that Wang Zhizhi, this child, for some reason, requested the duck to be cut vertically…

Of course, it didn’t matter to Zhao Lanhua, she was eating it herself, but after it was cut, seeing the two portions, each with half a wing and half a leg, it was… quite strange.

Perhaps the owner also found the cut bizarre, he didn’t even ask if they wanted it cut further, he just packed it up for them…

Zhao Lanhua herself was a bit dizzy looking at the narrow duck body with half a wing and half a leg on each portion, so she just paid and took it.

She had already bought it, what else could she say? She didn’t expect those adorable little ones to bring her food, otherwise, she wouldn’t have bought the roast duck.

“I just forgot to ask him to cut it further, it’s just the two of us eating anyway, we don’t need it to be perfect, I’ll just tear it apart after washing my hands, and we can eat directly.” Zhao Lanhua shook her head, trying to get rid of the image of the two strange duck pieces side by side in her mind.

But while some people were carefree, others were… less accepting.

The babies, returning with their vegetables, first went to the small square, the courtyard with many stoves where the dads cooked together on the first day. After the babies instructed their helpers on how to process and cook the vegetables, the program team asked the dads in the Wei family’s courtyard to end their activities and come to the small square for lunch.

The babies had each earned at least a few dozen yuan this morning, and the program team didn’t make things difficult for them when they were buying food, their human calculators even offered some constructive advice. Plus, the babies discussed with each other when they met at the market, so in the end, the tables were all quite well-prepared and plentiful.

The dads, after being brought over, didn’t immediately sit down at their tables, they first walked around and checked out the other families’ food.

Putting aside the taste, at first glance, they all had meat, vegetables, and staple food, it all looked quite good. It seemed the little babies were doing quite well as parents.

Oh, of course, Wang Qingchuan’s thoughts were slightly different.

After walking around with the other dads, Wang Qingchuan returned to his table, where Wang Zhizhi and the woman were already seated. He glanced at the piles of plates and bowls in front of Wang Zhizhi and the woman, then at the single plate in front of the seat that was presumably reserved for him, and fell silent.

A few pieces of braised beef, a few pieces of boiled mutton, three large steamed buns, all dry and bland, and that oddly shaped thing, was that roast duck? They didn’t even cut it up? Why was the shape so strange, it looked like something picked up from the trash…

And why did the other families have dishes served family-style, one dish per plate, meant to be shared? Their family seemed to be having individual meals? And the portions were strangely divided, the food in front of those two was normal stir-fried dishes, with sauce and soup, it looked delicious, but he only had a few pieces of meat with three large steamed buns, it was torture just looking at it!

“Parent Wang Zhizhi, what’s the deal with our meal today? Are we just eating our own portions, not sharing?” Wang Qingchuan, seeing that Wang Zhizhi and Wang Qingbei were about to start eating, couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes.” Wang Zhizhi turned to look at Wang Qingchuan. “Three steamed buns, isn’t that enough for you? Brother Li Mu said three steamed buns plus this much meat should be enough for an adult male.”

“It’s not about whether it’s enough or not! You guys are eating steamed chicken, fried fish, stir-fried winter melon, stir-fried celery, and even some… loofah and egg soup.” Wang Qingchuan pointed at the bowls and plates in front of Wang Qingbei, then pushed his own plate. “What’s all this, dry and bland, you have soup and stir-fried dishes, and you arranged this for me? Where’s your fairness from this morning, when you meticulously cut the egg pancake and measured the soy milk? She played for the whole morning, I lay on a bed board for the whole morning, and you’re making me eat this?”

Jiang Heye looked at the seemingly angry Wang Qingchuan in shock, she didn’t understand, what was he angry about? Weren’t these the things he specifically requested this morning? Mmm… Except for the roast duck looking a bit ugly, what was wrong with the rest?

“Brother…” Jiang Heye frowned.

“It’s called beggar’s chicken, not steamed chicken. And that fish is called crispy fried fish.” Wang Zhizhi said, pushing the two plates that were originally closer to him towards Wang Qingbei, then looked at Wang Qingchuan and said righteously, “I’m being fair. You said you wanted to eat braised beef, boiled mutton, and roast duck this morning, I bought them all for you. Beibei said she wanted to eat vegetables, I bought them for her too.”

Wang Qingchuan was stunned, he remembered the angry words he had casually said this morning.

It… was truly the food he had requested. But he had just said it casually, didn’t he understand those were just angry words?

No, wait…

Chapter 80

After dealing with Cheng Feiying, Shi Dingshan took Qin Sichao for a walk around the village, following routes where no fixed cameras were installed, before returning to the monitoring room.

As he opened the door, he was met with Zeng Huanian’s slightly resentful gaze.

“Ah.” Shi Dingshan was taken aback, he instinctively took out his phone, turned on the screen, and smiled. “Ah, Xiao Zeng, sorry, I didn’t see my phone again. How’s it going? Did our arranged customers go and buy everything? Are the babies buying lunch now?”

Zeng Huanian glanced at Qin Sichao, who had followed Shi Dingshan in, pursed his lips, and swallowed the words he wanted to say, urging Shi Dingshan to take control of the situation, stop disappearing, and stop being so carefree.

“Wei Maomao’s candied tomatoes are selling quite well, Shen Zilin even started selling candied cucumbers, now their stall’s business… is so good that there’s a long line.” Zeng Huanian said, pointing at the monitoring screen with a smile. “Oh, right, because business is so good, they even rented new equipment and hired new staff at the market. If we wait a bit longer, they might even register a company…”

Shi Dingshan: ???

On the monitoring screen, a small business district centered around the tanghulu stall was very prominent.

The outermost circle, on the left and right, were the babies’ vegetable stalls, Wen Jiangyue on the left, Wen Dongyu, Wang Zhizhi, and Cheng Rongrong on the right, quietly waiting for the still absent customers. There was a wide path leading to the candied tomato stall in the middle, where two long lines were currently forming.

Following the lines, the three small basins Shi Dingshan had seen before he left had been replaced with several large basins. Wei Maomao’s chubby paws were now washing the vegetables, and Cheng Tingyan… was sitting next to her, peeling cucumbers with a peeler…

The peeled cucumbers were rinsed in a small basin, then… a grandma in a headscarf picked them up, placed them on a cutting board, and with a few swift cuts, a cucumber was turned into cucumber chunks.

The cucumber chunks were skewered by Shen Zilin and handed to Grandma Zhao, who was making sugar syrup.

Shi Dingshan rubbed his eyes, when he left, wasn’t the sugar syrup being made in a small pot? Now they were using such a large one? Where did it come from?

Clank, clank, clank, the finished candied tomatoes were placed on a board to cool.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, Grandma Zhao spun the candied cucumbers, creating glistening sugar threads.

Shi Dingshan: “… “

Okay, he had only left for a short while to deal with the Cheng family’s matter, and this small workshop had already started mass production with an efficient assembly line…

“I did the math, they should have each earned a few dozen yuan from this stall. If the people still in line have similar spending habits as the previous customers, they should each have over eighty yuan after selling to these people, about the same as our initial estimated income.” Zeng Huanian said, then looked at Shi Dingshan and asked, “So should we still send the people we arranged to buy their vegetables?”

Shi Dingshan, looking at the babies who were engrossed in their business, shook his head with a wry smile. “Forget it, they’re doing better than our arrangements, we won’t interfere. Tell the staff on-site to control the situation, just let the people in line finish buying, don’t let anyone else join the line. Over eighty yuan is about enough for lunch, earning more won’t be good for the later stages.”

Zeng Huanian, finally receiving instructions from the director, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened his phone.

The staff at the market, after receiving the message, dispersed around the candied tomato stall, outside the camera’s range, persuading people who wanted to join the line to leave.

The line, which had been growing longer, started to shorten. Shen Zilin, who had been paying attention to the customer situation, noticed this and hurriedly went out to investigate.

But Shen Zilin was a bit late, the people who should have been persuaded had already left, and the news that the program team wasn’t allowing people to join the line anymore had spread among the extras at the market.

Doting on their children was one thing, but the money in their pockets was real, the others who hadn’t bought anything wouldn’t violate the agreement for this. They either persuaded their children to leave or found acquaintances with extra candied tomatoes and got one for their children.

By the time Shen Zilin noticed the problem and came out to check, everything seemed normal.

Seeing the line getting shorter and shorter, with no new customers arriving, Shen Zilin returned to the working group, dejected.

He looked left and right, then timidly squatted next to Wei Maomao, who was washing tomatoes. “Maomao, no one’s coming to buy anymore…”

Shen Zilin’s words were vague, but Wei Maomao understood immediately.

She had already noticed when the staff around them started whispering and moving around, she hadn’t missed their actions of persuading customers to leave.

Extras, how could they disobey the program team?

Even they, diligently working and earning money, weren’t they also being controlled?

Since Cheng Tingyan’s share had already been earned, Wei Maomao was quite indifferent now, let them control it, it wasn’t real life, it was just a variety show.

But for the little CEO, who had just started his business and earned his first bit of money, it must have been a blow.

Wei Maomao tilted her head and thought for a moment, then comforted him, “This market, there are few people, few buyers. Next time, we’ll go to a bigger market, with lots of people, lots of buyers. Our products are good, people like them, we can go to more markets and sell to more people.”

They were able to sell so much this time mainly because most of the extras hired by the program team had children with them, and it seemed they were confined to this market, they couldn’t persuade their children to leave, they couldn’t drag them home, they couldn’t even run away, which resulted in so many customers for them.

But the product itself wasn’t bad, after all, many people selling tanghulu in her previous life had become internet famous.

Of course, there was no need to explain this to Shen Zilin, what the dejected little CEO needed now was just some affirmation and comfort.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Shen Zilin, he stood up again!

He started skewering the next cucumber!

The viewers in the live broadcast room were truly… impressed…

“Hahaha, Little CEO Shen truly, he devoured the pie CEO Mao painted for him without hesitation.”

“Of course, the pie CEO Mao painted was big and fragrant, it made Little CEO Shen’s eyes light up, when he stood up again, his back was even straighter!”

“What should we do, I’m both scared and excited, after the show ends, will there be a Shen’s Tanghulu chain store, hahaha! CEO Shen probably never imagined that Shen Zilin’s dream would start here.”

“Little CEO Shen is truly amazing, this stringy tanghulu is very popular here! But it’s made with hawthorns, Little CEO Shen thought of using cucumbers, solving the problem of not having tomatoes to earn money together, truly amazing!”

“Now that the babies are all earning money, I don’t know why, but I feel both happy and… hungry… Why am I not there, I also want to join the line, I want to eat the candied cucumbers washed by Maomao, peeled by Yan Yan, skewered by Little CEO Shen, and spun by Grandma Zhao! Sweet, crispy, and juicy, it sounds so delicious!”

“Hahaha, speaking of, Yan Yan truly… It was her who suggested using boiled water to rinse the tomatoes and peeling the cucumbers. This tanghulu is truly, hygienic and delicious.”

“This might be the most hygienic tanghulu stall I’ve ever seen, this stall wouldn’t be the same without Yan Yan, hahaha. And that grandma in the headscarf, hahaha, she told Maomao she had spent twenty yuan and wouldn’t come back after buying the candied tomatoes, but she was dragged back by her grandson to buy candied cucumbers. And after buying them, she even recommended herself for a part-time job, I’m truly impressed!”

“Cutting the cucumbers still needs the grandma in the headscarf, otherwise, Yan Yan is too young to use a knife, and Grandma Zhao is too busy with the sugar syrup. Only two candied cucumbers as payment, what a capable and affordable grandma!”

“Sob, sob, sob… It’s just that there are too few people in this market, they probably won’t be able to sell much more, the market will be saturated. Strongly suggesting the program team let the babies go on a tanghulu selling tour! If only they could sell in every city for two days, my wallet is ready!”

“Hahaha, the person above, that’s enough, a few-year-old babies, starting a 007 street vendor life?”

…

Of course, that was impossible.

Under the program team’s control, the line in front of the tanghulu stall only shortened, it didn’t grow any longer. Soon, the line disappeared.

After waiting for a while, no more customers appeared.

Wei Maomao knew that the program team didn’t want them to earn any more money.

But…

What was going on?

Wei Maomao glanced around, their baskets, they were barely lighter.

They had sold some, but they still had so much left? Could it be that the program team didn’t have any other arrangements today, they really just wanted to give them this much?

Actually, if it weren’t for Wei Maomao’s brilliant idea and Shen Zilin’s enthusiastic participation, the program team would have arranged for people to buy a portion of their vegetables. Although it was just a portion, it definitely wouldn’t have been as much as they had left now.

But now, the amount of money they earned had already reached the program team’s target, there was no need for any haggling or bidding wars.

With no more customers at the tanghulu stall, the program team came over and announced that it was getting late, the babies should go and buy lunch before the market closed, they would stop selling vegetables for today.

Currently, except for Cheng Rongrong and Wang Zhizhi, the other babies still had over half of their vegetables left. When the program team made the announcement, everyone was quite unhappy.

After all, they had worked hard to pick them this morning! Who wouldn’t want to sell more…

But their disappointment was short-lived!

Before the babies could even pout, Liu Ming was pushed forward by Wei Maomao, it was time to divide the money!

Liu Ming, who was originally only responsible for weighing and selling vegetables for Wei Maomao, stood forward, holding a notebook filled with numbers and a bag full of change.

She could only say, it was all thanks to her capable boss, she smiled.

According to Liu Ming’s calculations, they had sold a total of ninety-two tomatoes and forty-two skewers of cucumbers, at five yuan per skewer. Because they rented the grandpa’s stall, they had to give him one yuan per skewer as a stall fee, which amounted to 134 yuan.

Out of the ninety-two tomatoes sold, the first forty-four belonged to Cheng Tingyan. For the remaining forty-eight, two belonged to Wen Dongyu, and Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan each contributed eighteen, Wen Jiangyue contributed ten.

For the forty-two skewers of cucumbers sold, Wen Jiangyue contributed eight, Wen Dongyu sixteen, and Shen Zilin eighteen.

So, besides the first forty-four tomatoes, each baby could get eighteen multiplied by four, which was seventy-two yuan.

Liu Ming followed Wei Maomao’s instructions, except for the forty-four tomatoes sold before Wei Maomao went to find the other babies, the rest were considered to be sold in rotation by the other babies. Liu Ming could only say, thankfully, the numbers were all divisible, there were no decimals.

“So, before the babies go and buy lunch, let’s calculate and rank the amount of money each baby earned from selling vegetables.” Without the host, Liu Ming was forced to take on the temporary role, she continued, “First place, with a total of 248 yuan earned, is Cheng Tingyan!”

“It’s not me!” Cheng Tingyan took a step forward, a bit flustered.

Liu Ming had just said a lot, with so many numbers, Cheng Tingyan was a bit dizzy, but she understood the last sentence, “Each baby can get eighteen multiplied by four, which is seventy-two yuan.” She thought everyone got seventy-two yuan, how come the next sentence was that she had earned 248 yuan…

“It’s you, after deducting the stall fee for the grandpa, the first forty-four tomatoes earned 176 yuan, plus the seventy-two yuan each baby got after the other babies’ vegetables were brought over and sold together, it’s 248.” Liu Ming explained, looking at her notebook seriously.

“No.” Cheng Tingyan quickly calculated in her mind, but she couldn’t figure it out.

“Yes.” Wei Maomao confirmed from the side. “It’s you, 248, first place.”

“No!” Cheng Tingyan shook her head firmly, refuting. “Did Sister Mingming say the first forty-four tomatoes were when it was just me and Maomao? Then how come it’s my forty-four tomatoes, shouldn’t it be ours? Forty-four, we split… How much is it for two people… Twenty-two? How much is twenty-two…”

The six-year-old Yan Yan was frantically doing math in her head.

Liu Ming… seemed to see smoke coming out of Yan Yan’s head, she looked at Wei Maomao helplessly.

“Yes, the forty-four tomatoes sold before everyone came were yours. I took them all from your basket.” Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand with her chubby paw and said sincerely, “I just wanted to see Yan Yan get first place, Yan Yan is the best! Yan Yan, can you get first place for me?”

Liu Ming: ??? Was this her reasoning? Did she think Yan Yan would believe her?

Cheng Tingyan was stunned, she said weakly, “But…”

“Yan Yan~~” Wei Maomao shook Cheng Tingyan’s hand with her chubby paw. “Please~~”

Liu Ming, looking at Cheng Tingyan, who had clearly stopped calculating: “… “

Okay, so even this kind of flimsy reasoning worked? As long as they were happy…

“Then second place, it’s our Wang Zhizhi, with one hundred and five yuan and thirty cents!” Liu Ming, unable to bear watching the master manipulator, Wei Maomao, and the easily persuaded Cheng Tingyan, continued announcing, looking at her notebook.

Cheng Rongrong’s heart sank, why, didn’t she have one hundred and seventy-three yuan and sixty cents? It was fine if she couldn’t get first place, but why wasn’t she even second? Could it be that the hundred yuan wasn’t recognized by the program team? Why… She had earned it too. Didn’t tips count as personal income?

After announcing second place, Liu Ming paused as usual and looked at Wang Zhizhi with a smile. She saw that his face was flushed, but he didn’t seem happy at all. But Cheng Rongrong…

The dissatisfaction on Cheng Rongrong’s face was evident, Liu Ming saw it clearly.

Liu Ming thought for a moment, then decided to explain something she had initially planned to say last. “Because we’re ranking based on the money the babies earned from selling vegetables. The hundred yuan gifted to Cheng Rongrong by the customer can’t be included, only the seventy-three yuan and sixty cents she earned from selling vegetables counts, so she’s in third place today. Of course, although the hundred yuan isn’t included in the ranking, Cheng Rongrong can use it however she likes.”

Cheng Rongrong: “… “ If she had known they would calculate it this way, she would have just raised the prices and included it all in the vegetable prices!

“For the other babies, the amount is the same, seventy-two yuan each, tied for… Eh…” Liu Ming, seeing the last line in her notebook, blushed and quickly corrected herself. “Sorry, sorry, I forgot that Cheng Tingyan and Cheng Rongrong’s earnings should be combined and then divided by two… So together, it should be… one hundred and sixty yuan and eighty cents! Okay, although Cheng Tingyan’s earnings have been slightly reduced, she’s still in first place today, and Cheng Rongrong has also been pulled up to first place. Wang Zhizhi is in second place, and the other babies are tied for third!”

Liu Ming quickly finished her mental calculation and secretly wiped the sweat from her brow. Being pulled onto the stage unprepared was truly tough, she almost messed it up.

Messed it up?

Not really.

Anyway, Wei Maomao, seeing Cheng Rongrong pursing her lips, clearly angry, felt that Liu Ming was amazing.

“It’s okay, Sister Rongrong, don’t be sad, you’re not third, you’re first now.” Wei Maomao walked to Cheng Rongrong, she hadn’t forgotten the things Cheng Rongrong said to Cheng Tingyan after receiving the money earlier. She smiled and added, “You have 248 yuan and 73.6 yuan now.”

It’s 173.6 yuan! Cheng Rongrong screamed inwardly.

But… she didn’t know why, at this moment… she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

While Cheng Rongrong couldn’t speak up, the viewers in the live broadcast room were screaming.

“CEO Mao truly just wanted Yan Yan to get first place! CEO Mao truly! Aaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaaaah, although Cheng Rongrong is also first now, Yan Yan is the real first place!”

“CEO Mao, quickly earn money, aaaaaaaah! These past two days, thinking about Yan Yan only having thirty-something yuan, and then thinking about Cheng Rongrong’s millions, my heart aches!”

“CEO Mao, hahaha, did CEO Mao deliberately not mention the hundred yuan earlier? I’m dying of laughter, she directly said 248 yuan and 73.6 yuan!”

“Our CEO Mao, our three-year-old CEO Mao, diligently selling tomatoes, just to let Yan Yan stand tall in front of Cheng Rongrong! Ah, god, I also want a friend like this! A three-year-old one is even better!”

“Why isn’t Cheng Rongrong mentioning the hundred yuan anymore? Finally realized that money wasn’t earned legitimately? Thankfully, Yan Yan earned money, otherwise, having to pool their money with Cheng Rongrong, how frustrating.”

“They all have so much money now, they don’t need to pool their money anymore, they can buy separately, they can still eat together for lunch. Speaking of which… Having a child (Cheng Feiying) at home is truly a burden. It seems Yan Yan and Cheng Rongrong don’t get along, they’re like a couple who have to buy groceries and go home to have dinner with their child…”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, just divorce already, I still want to see Yan Yan eating at CEO Mao’s house! Eating, then taking out a handkerchief to wipe CEO Mao’s mouth, wiping again and again, hahaha, CEO Mao’s chubby double chin!”

…

Just like the viewers said, whether they earned money or not, whether they got along or not, when it was time, they still had to… bring the food back and eat together.

The babies’ vegetable stalls were temporarily packed up, the vegetables would be taken back to the village with them and purchased by the program team for zero yuan, becoming the staff’s lunch or dinner.

And what the babies had to do now was to browse the market and buy ingredients for lunch.

Soon, the babies, clutching their money, set off with their human calculators. Only Wang Zhizhi, still holding onto his “calculator,” remained in place.

“Your earnings, during the ranking, were calculated as 105.3 yuan. When shopping, considering that your family has an extra member, it’s multiplied by two-thirds, which is 157.95 yuan, rounding up, it’s 158 yuan.” Li Mu, squatting next to Wang Zhizhi, explained as detailed as possible.

Wang Zhizhi nodded and pointed at the money in Li Mu’s hand. “Divide it into three piles.”

“Evenly? You mean, each pile the same amount?” Li Mu confirmed.

Wang Zhizhi nodded again.

Li Mu counted the money, even went to exchange for change, then returned, holding three stacks of money, and said to Wang Zhizhi, “Then each pile, rounding up, is fifty-three yuan, is that okay?”

“Hold one pile in your left hand, that’s my dad’s. Hold one pile in your right hand, that’s Beibei’s.” Wang Zhizhi said, taking one stack from Li Mu’s hand, then continued, “I’ll take one pile, that’s mine.”

Wang Zhizhi, from an anti-second-child specialist to a fairness advocate, all it took was one morning.

But soon, a new problem arose.

“Roast duck, half a duck… thirty-six yuan?”

“Boiled mutton, just a few slices, forty yuan?”

“Beef, such a small piece, fifty yuan?”

After walking around, Wang Zhizhi found all the things Wang Qingchuan had requested, but when he asked about the prices, he was dumbfounded.

“Zhizhi, beef and mutton are quite expensive. How about just buying some roast duck?” Li Mu, who had been following him, suggested kindly, seeing Wang Zhizhi empty-handed and a bit lost.

Wang Zhizhi shook his head. “No, my dad wants to eat them all.”

“Eh… How about combining the three piles of money to buy them? You’re all eating together anyway, right? After buying the meat, you just need to buy some vegetables, vegetables are cheap, you won’t need all fifty-something yuan.” Li Mu said softly, glancing at the other groups, who were already carrying several bags.

Wang Zhizhi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head even more firmly.

Li Mu: “… “ He had a bad feeling about this.

Chapter 79p2

What are they talking about… They’re studying ancient poetry now, someone was talking bad about you earlier! The viewers in the live broadcast room wished they could jump into the screen, pick up the silly little chubby bunny, and tell her everything in her ear.

“I’m so angry, why is Cheng Rongrong always like this, did our CEO Mao and Yan Yan owe her money in their previous lives… It was clearly stated that the babies would pick and sell the vegetables themselves, and the money they earned would be used for a competition, why does she have to bring all the babies to sell candied tomatoes!”

“Cheng Rongrong truly… How can she be so good at guilt-tripping at such a young age?”

“Why didn’t CEO Mao come a minute earlier! Now she can only hear them studying, she didn’t hear any of the backstabbing, short-legged bunny!”

“Thankfully, it’s our Yueyue, if it was another naive child, they would probably be crying after being manipulated by Cheng Rongrong, immediately breaking up with Yan Yan and Maomao. It seems reading is truly useful!”

“Every time Yueyue starts quoting from books, I want to laugh, how can she be so amazing, I don’t even know most of those things. Let’s cheer for our amazing Yueyue!”

“Dongdong too… It seems he really needs to hear these encouraging words. My poor Dongdong…”

“Um… Raising my hand timidly… Rongrong wasn’t exactly… guilt-tripping, right? After her vegetables were bought out, she also suggested that the person buy Wang Zhizhi’s, and she even asked if he wanted more… She was being kind, so she hopes others would also be kind?”

“That’s true, but why force it on others? If she wants others to be kind too, why didn’t she go and talk to Yan Yan and Maomao directly, instead of whispering behind their backs?”

“Just because you’re kind, it doesn’t mean you can demand everyone else to be kind too. What if a philanthropist donated all their wealth, then came to persuade you to donate all yours too, would you donate? Morality is for restraining yourself, not for controlling others!”

“How is CEO Mao not being kind? The person who… said Cheng Rongrong also hopes others would be kind, didn’t you watch CEO Mao and Yan Yan’s live stream earlier? Before CEO Mao came to Yueyue, she had already discussed with Yan Yan that if the other babies couldn’t sell their vegetables, they would help them sell together. CEO Mao is here now to tell Yueyue and Dongdong about this.”

“I’m the one who raised my hand timidly earlier, I saw it. But didn’t Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan sell for a while before remembering their friends? It’s just… average… kindness…”

“??? What’s wrong with you? Are you a fan of Cheng Rongrong or something? If you think Cheng Rongrong is good, then go back to her live stream, why are you criticizing CEO Mao and Yan Yan here? Did your Cheng Rongrong sell Wang Zhizhi’s vegetables before selling her own? Helping isn’t an obligation, they’re even competing, isn’t it already kind enough to help? How much kinder do you want them to be? Should they give their house to their relatives to live in?”

“Don’t bother with that timid person, he’s definitely a fan of Cheng Rongrong, he didn’t watch CEO Mao and Yan Yan’s live stream. If he did, he would know that CEO Mao was selling Yan Yan’s tomatoes earlier, now they’re selling together, taking turns, CEO Mao’s tomatoes are only just starting to sell.”

“??? Ah? I also watched the live broadcast, how come I didn’t know they were selling Yan Yan’s? Weren’t their tomatoes all together?”

“No, their baskets were separate. At first, Yan Yan went to get water for washing the tomatoes, the first batch of tomatoes was chosen by CEO Mao, she took them all from Yan Yan’s basket. Later, CEO Mao also took tomatoes from Yan Yan’s basket, I saw it clearly on the live broadcast. Hahaha, speaking of which, it’s hilarious, didn’t CEO Mao take a candied tomato and eat it in front of the stall? She even gave one back to Yan Yan from her own basket later.”

“Hahaha, yes, they were all selling Yan Yan’s, I also saw it. Although CEO Mao didn’t tell Yan Yan, she was taking tomatoes from her basket. CEO Mao is so smart, I don’t think she took them by mistake.”

“I can testify, she definitely didn’t take them by mistake. CEO Mao even secretly glanced at Yan Yan when she was taking the tomatoes, hahaha, like a little thief! I even counted… They sold to six customers at first, then when the line started forming, Yan Yan asked CEO Mao if they should help the other babies sell later. At that time, they had sold eighteen tomatoes, CEO Mao disagreed, saying they should sell a bit more. After selling the forty-fourth tomato, CEO Mao stood up and said she would go and help the other babies sell. In other words, before helping herself and the other babies sell vegetables, helping Yan Yan sell a certain amount of tomatoes was CEO Mao’s initial goal.”

“The person above is mostly right, but I have to clarify, CEO Mao’s initial goal wasn’t to help Yan Yan sell a certain amount of tomatoes. It was probably after selling the twentieth candied tomato, CEO Mao left the stall, grabbed Liu Ming from the staff, and asked her how many candied tomatoes they needed to sell to reach 173 yuan.”

“????????????? Oh my god! Really! I went to the bathroom at that time, and asked my husband to help me count the candied tomatoes they sold, he only counted the number, he didn’t tell me CEO Mao even went to ask Liu Ming to do the math! I almost gave incomplete testimony! Men! Truly unreliable!”

“Holy crap, when I saw that, I thought CEO Mao was comparing the 173 yuan to Cheng Rongrong’s earnings, I even thought she was a bit competitive. Now, after hearing Cheng Rongrong’s whispers to Yueyue and Dongdong, I repent… Thankfully, Yan Yan has CEO Mao, otherwise, who knows what kind of nonsense she would have heard.”

“What else could she have said, bragging about earning money to support the family.”

“CEO Mao truly… She hasn’t sold a single one of her own tomatoes! My eyes, they’re so big, yet I’m blind! I didn’t even notice that CEO Mao had been taking tomatoes from Yan Yan’s basket!”

“Hahaha, so how big are your eyes? Let’s see~~~”

…

Wei Maomao, unaware of the commotion in the live broadcast room, was squatting on the ground, helping Wen Jiangyue pack the unsold vegetables back into her basket.

Since they couldn’t sell them anywhere else, they might as well all go to the tanghulu stall.

Cheng Rongrong glanced at Wen Jiangyue, who was happily packing up, then at Wen Dongyu, who was also excitedly packing his things, she didn’t understand!

What was going on?

Didn’t they say it’s better to rely on themselves than to rely on others?

How come they stopped reciting poems and ran off to help as soon as someone came and asked?

Could they change their minds so quickly?

Cheng Rongrong was already annoyed that her plan of Cheng Tingyan not earning any money, leaving the family dependent on her, had been disrupted. And now she had to watch them help the other babies, creating heartwarming moments… It was truly…

Truly infuriating!

But Cheng Rongrong couldn’t find any reason to keep Wen Jiangyue and Wen Dongyu there, it was driving her crazy.

Who was suffering, who would know? Anyway, Wen Dongyu didn’t know.

“Ah, I should have picked more tomatoes, I can only sell two…” Wen Dongyu said regretfully, touching his only two tomatoes, but quickly added, “But I’m still better than Shen Zilin, he doesn’t have a single tomato, only cucumbers.”

“Let’s call him over, there are more people there, maybe someone will buy your cucumbers and loofah.” Wei Maomao said, helping Wen Jiangyue pack the last tomato.

Shen Zilin had seen the commotion at the five-stall row from afar, he could roughly guess why Wei Maomao had gone to find them. But he didn’t expect that they would even come and invite him…

He was… Shen Zilin looked at the sea of green in front of him, he was the idiot with only cucumbers!

An idiot was already miserable enough, there was no need to be a lonely idiot, in the end, Shen Zilin packed up and followed them.

He could only say, thankfully he followed them!

Soon, a circle of stalls formed around the tanghulu stall.

The babies weren’t idle either, since no one was buying their vegetables, they started helping, some washing tomatoes, some handing out skewers.

Although he didn’t have any tomatoes, Shen Zilin also rolled up his sleeves, ready to help. But before he could even start, his gaze was drawn to Grandma Zhao, who was making candied tomatoes.

Mmm… It seemed, it seemed… How was it done again… Ah, right!

Shen Zilin frowned, trying to recall, then his eyes lit up, he looked at the green vegetables he had laid out.

“Maomao.” Shen Zilin chose Wei Maomao, who was organizing the tomatoes for the babies, over Cheng Tingyan, who was busy washing tomatoes.

Wei Maomao looked up.

“Maomao, do you think we can sell candied cucumbers?” Shen Zilin asked excitedly.

Wei Maomao: “… “

Although she had heard of bizarre things like candied spicy strips and candied ginger in her previous life, but here… Selling candied cucumbers would be too difficult, right?

“We can… try?” Wei Maomao didn’t want to discourage Shen Zilin, who had no tomatoes, she glanced at the pile of cucumbers. “One is too long, we can cut it into three? Let’s try making three candied cucumbers with one?”

If worst came to worst, they could just have Shen Zilin hold a piece and sit in front of the stall, munching on it and promoting it.

Maybe…

If it really didn’t work, she could trade some of her tomatoes with Shen Zilin, they were all babies, they couldn’t let Shen Zilin be the only one who didn’t make any sales.

“The candied cucumbers I’m talking about aren’t like the candied tomatoes.” Shen Zilin, seeing that Wei Maomao didn’t object, became even more excited. He bent down, picked up a cucumber, and spun it between his hands like he was making a bamboo dragonfly. “I saw it in a documentary, after coating the tanghulu with sugar syrup, if you spin it like this very quickly, it’ll have lots of sugar threads like cotton candy, it looks very pretty! It goes well with cucumbers! Can you imagine it? Cucumbers coated with thin cotton candy threads!”

Oh… Wei Maomao understood.

It was the internet-famous stringy tanghulu! Thin, translucent sugar threads, visually stunning, more appealing than the taste itself!

Why didn’t she think of making this…

Ah, this was the business acumen of the six-year-old mini CEO.

“Maomao, do you think it’ll sell?” Shen Zilin, truly impressed by Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan’s idea of selling candied tomatoes, needed some affirmation from the clever Wei Maomao.

“Yes! Definitely!” Wei Maomao nodded vigorously, giving him a lot of affirmation.

Children loved novelty, whether it tasted good or not was another matter, stringy tanghulu definitely looked good!

As long as one person bought it, it would spread through word of mouth, they could definitely ride this wave of novelty!

And… it actually worked…

The tanghulu stall, because of the internet-famous stringy candied cucumbers, experienced a new wave of sales!

Due to the restrictions of the program team’s agreement, even the extras who had already bought candied tomatoes couldn’t leave before the market closed.

The grandma in the headscarf had already taken her grandson, who was munching on a candied tomato, and three candied tomatoes to hide in a corner. To prevent the sugar coating from melting, she even chose a shady spot.

But… What did she see!

It was a pity… She was holding three candied tomatoes, she didn’t have any spare hands to cover her grandson’s eyes.

In the end, the grandma was forced to join the line for the cucumbers coated with sugar threads.

Zeng Huanian, watching the screens in the monitoring room, couldn’t help but chuckle wryly, so when would “her sales slow down,” as Director Shi had said?

They were selling like hotcakes, did their shills still need to go over…

And where was Director Shi! Why wasn’t he checking his phone again!

Chapter 79p1

In the village, Cheng Feiying was ashamed and angry, his face flushed red, he couldn’t bear to face Shi Dingshan again. Eventually, he had to take a detour to another public restroom, splashing cold water on his face several times.

As the heat on his face subsided, his previously overheated brain also calmed down a bit. Only then did Cheng Feiying realize that he should have gone straight back home instead of going from one restroom to another… It must have looked stupid on the live broadcast…

Actually, it did look stupid, but not many people were watching his live stream anyway.

Among the rows of live broadcast screens for the third season of “Where’s Baby Going,” the most popular ones were undoubtedly the ones showing the candied tomato stall at the market.

The business of candied tomatoes was booming, thanks to the efforts of the old lady and the two little girls.

The initial process was still Wei Maomao tricking, oh, persuading a family to buy, then the other two would make and sell while they waited, and when they left, they would be persuaded to buy some pillowcases.

But after a few families bought, the later customers didn’t even need much persuasion from Wei Maomao, they directly lined up in front of the stall.

At first, Wei Maomao thought that the program team’s conscience had finally been found, and the shills were finally working.

But soon, she heard the children in the line talking.

“I want the same size as Wangwang’s! Wangwang has three, I want four!”

“I don’t care! I want one bigger than the one Mao Dan has!”

“Qiqi said it’s so sour and sweet, Grandpa, you should have one too!”

…

After listening for a while, Wei Maomao understood.

Instead of hoping that the program team would find their long-lost conscience, it was better to rely on word-of-mouth advertising among children.

It made sense, the extras for this market wouldn’t be hired from too far away. If they were all from nearby, they would know each other.

And children, they had a strong herd mentality.

She was just a strange little baby sitting here, her salesmanship was average, she had to rely on her acting skills, her mouth was sore from all the slurping, and she could only accurately capture one family at a time.

But these children, if they saw their friends eating something unfamiliar, wouldn’t they want to try it?

Mmm, she loved this kind of organic promotion!

Children’s money was truly easy to earn, both in her previous life and this life, she was grateful for it.

With a line forming, Wei Maomao stopped her sales pitch, went to the back, stuck the half-eaten candied tomato in her hand aside, rolled up her sleeves, and started helping to wash tomatoes.

It was all money, all money~~~

Although she had decided to be a carefree person in this life, the feeling of earning money was truly great.

As more and more children in the market were holding the bright red candied tomatoes, the line in front of the stall grew longer and longer.

Meanwhile, Cheng Rongrong was starting to feel restless.

Earlier, when Cheng Tingyan, Wei Maomao, and the old lady moved all the things from the three stalls away, Cheng Rongrong had gone to check it out. Looking at the pile of things on the stall and the last two candied hawthorns, she immediately understood what they were trying to do.

Dream on, they couldn’t even sell a single tomato at 2.5 yuan per kilogram, and now they wanted to sell candied tomatoes for 5 yuan each? Did they even consider where they were? This was the countryside, did the countryside have that kind of purchasing power? Especially these old folks, they looked so stingy, they had been browsing for a long time, but they didn’t buy anything, they were clearly just bored at home and came out for a stroll.

After hearing Wei Maomao tell the first curious customer the price of the candied tomato and seeing the customer leave in shock, Cheng Rongrong felt that there was no need to continue watching. This was a classic case of a brainwave business idea that would end up bankrupt. She might as well go play with Wang Zhizhi instead of wasting time watching these people mess around.

Yes, play with Wang Zhizhi.

Even though Cheng Rongrong still hated Wang Zhizhi, for Jiang Heye’s sake, she now had to be “good friends” with him. Thankfully, that kind brother who bought her vegetables was truly a good person, not only did he buy everything and give her a reward, he even listened to her and bought all of Wang Zhizhi’s vegetables, making her Wang Zhizhi’s benefactor. Although Wang Zhizhi wasn’t very enthusiastic towards her yet, he wasn’t as hostile as before, not retorting or ignoring her.

Cheng Rongrong understood, Wang Zhizhi, the anti-second-child expert, hated little girls. But it didn’t matter, he couldn’t possibly hate her now, right? After they went back, when she talked to Jiang Heye, he wouldn’t dare to stop her, right?

Her vegetables were sold out, Cheng Tingyan’s vegetables couldn’t be sold. Seventy-something yuan was enough for a good lunch for the three of them. Plus the hundred yuan reward, she could even buy gifts to take back.

Thinking about this, Cheng Rongrong felt that the brother who bought all the vegetables was truly a good person!

The gift for Jiang Heye was the most important, but she couldn’t be too obvious about it, would it be more natural to buy one for Cheng Feiying and then a welcome gift for Jiang Heye, or would it be more reasonable to buy something for each dad and then include Jiang Heye?

Cheng Rongrong returned to Wang Zhizhi, who was helping Wen Jiangyue and Wen Dongyu sell vegetables, and started to ponder her sweet dilemma.

But this sweetness didn’t last long.

The candied tomatoes, big and red, were very eye-catching.

When the first little boy, holding a candied tomato in each hand, walked past Cheng Rongrong, a small piece of her happiness disappeared.

Then…

One, another, and another.

Cheng Rongrong’s happiness disappeared bit by bit…

When she saw an old lady in a headscarf, holding two candied tomatoes, with the little boy following behind her also holding one in each hand, Cheng Rongrong’s happiness was almost completely gone.

Were they crazy?

Five yuan for one tomato, buying four?

Did they have a gold mine at home?

But that wasn’t all…

As more and more children were holding the red candied tomatoes, the childish chatter about this strange tanghulu filled the market.

Where did you buy it… Are there any more… How much is it… How many did you buy… I want one too… Grandma… Grandpa…

The children’s noisy voices surrounded her, Cheng Rongrong abruptly stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Jiangyue, sitting next to Cheng Rongrong, was startled by her sudden movement, she almost fell off the small stool.

“Those children are holding tomatoes, it seems they bought them from my sister and Maomao.” Cheng Rongrong forced a curious expression.

“Maybe.” When the three stalls next to them moved away earlier, everyone had gone to check it out, Wen Jiangyue had also gone to take a look.

“They sold a lot.” Cheng Rongrong ignored the “maybe” in Wen Jiangyue’s words and glanced at her stall. “Sister Wen, you also have a lot of tomatoes, you can’t sell them either, they… how come they… didn’t include you…”

Cheng Rongrong’s voice gradually lowered, as if she was trying to be helpful but also afraid of saying something wrong.

And that wasn’t all, Cheng Rongrong then subtly glanced at Wen Dongyu, who also hadn’t made any sales.

Make a scene, make a scene! Ruin their little business!

But Wen Dongyu looked at her, puzzled. “Why are you looking at me?”

Of course, she was looking at him, the idiot who used to call her “Boss” but was now being ignored. Cheng Rongrong’s lips moved, but before she could start instigating, she heard Wen Jiangyue, who had been silent for a moment, speak.

“Cheng Rongrong… Do you… dislike Yan Yan and Maomao?” Wen Jiangyue’s voice wasn’t loud either, it seemed to carry a similar… hesitation as Cheng Rongrong’s earlier words.

Cheng Rongrong was startled, her eyes widened, but she immediately retorted, “Sister Wen, how could you say that! I like Older sister and Maomao. I just… I just thought that you’re also very close to them usually, but they didn’t include you when selling the tomatoes…”

Wen Jiangyue shook her head. “It’s better to blame yourself than to blame others, it’s better to rely on yourself than to rely on others.”

“It’s normal for you to feel resentful, Sister Wen, don’t blame yourself.” Cheng Rongrong said.

Wen Jiangyue paused, then cleared her throat. “I’m not resentful, the meaning of the saying is in the second part, ‘it’s better to rely on yourself than to rely on others.’ It means don’t place your hopes on others, work hard yourself.”

Cheng Rongrong: “… “

“Sister Wen, you’re so amazing, I don’t even understand.” Wen Dongyu chimed in. “Sister Wen, one more~~~”

Cheng Rongrong: ??? He didn’t even understand, and he wanted more?

“Sister Wen, you’re right, we have to work hard ourselves. I just… I just feel a bit…” Cheng Rongrong racked her brains.

Wen Jiangyue interrupted her. “‘One who doesn’t give or receive favors is self-sufficient.’ You don’t need handouts or gifts, you can satisfy your own needs.”

Cheng Rongrong: … Although she had directly explained it this time, she didn’t want to hear any of this!

“Sister Wen is amazing!” Wen Dongyu clapped. “We can sell them ourselves, we can do it!”

Wen Jiangyue nodded at Wen Dongyu with satisfaction, then looked at Cheng Rongrong.

“You can do it, Sister Wen.” Cheng Rongrong gave up on trying to understand the confusing sentences.

Wen Jiangyue wasn’t very satisfied, but in the end, she swallowed the words she wanted to say, advising Cheng Rongrong not to make assumptions about others.

Forget it, Cheng Rongrong was only three and a half years old, she hadn’t even started school yet, when she started reading, she probably wouldn’t say such things anymore.

“Sister Wen, I didn’t understand the two sentences you said earlier, can you say them again, teach me?” Wen Dongyu moved his small stool next to Wen Jiangyue and sat down, looking at her expectantly.

He didn’t know why, but although he didn’t understand, after hearing Wen Jiangyue’s explanation, he felt it was amazing, it sounded exactly like what he wanted!

Cheng Rongrong could only… watch as these two idiots, who hadn’t earned a single penny, sat together and started studying ancient poetry seriously. One dared to teach, the other dared to learn, were they planning to drink the northwest wind for lunch?

Just as Cheng Rongrong was feeling frustrated by the strange learning atmosphere she couldn’t blend into, the most annoying voice… appeared!

“What are you guys talking about?” Wei Maomao, with a curious expression, stood in front of their stall.

Chapter 78

“Director Shi, why aren’t you replying to my messages? You’re not answering your phone either…” Zeng Huanian rushed into the monitoring room, flustered.

“Xiao Zeng, what’s the matter?” Shi Dingshan turned his head and glanced at his phone. “Oh, I accidentally muted it.”

“I want to ask, now that Cheng Rongrong and Wang Zhizhi’s vegetables have been bought out by someone from outside, shouldn’t we move up our arrangements? The other babies can’t keep their stalls open forever, right?” Zeng Huanian asked quickly.

“Who said their stalls haven’t opened? I think they’re doing quite well.” Qin Sichao turned to look at Zeng Huanian, his eyes still filled with amusement from watching the live broadcast.

“Director Qin, you’re also here, hello…” Zeng Huanian straightened up, his demeanor becoming more restrained.

Jin Youliang, still standing in the corner, rolled his eyes. This Zeng Huanian was truly single-minded, he rushed in and started talking without even noticing the big director sitting there. What a waste of an opportunity to interact with an internationally renowned director up close.

“We can move it up a bit, but not too much. Let Maomao sell for a while longer, keep an eye on her, when her sales slow down, we can send our arranged customers over.” Shi Dingshan glanced at Wei Maomao’s live stream, the small, chubby dumpling was sitting in front of her stall, munching on a candied tomato, her face covered in juice, while occasionally patting the pillowcase stall next to her and shouting a few slogans.

He was speechless… Even if he didn’t have OCD, Shi Dingshan really wanted to grab a pillowcase and wipe the juice off her face!

Wiping was impossible, even if Cheng Tingyan came, Wei Maomao wouldn’t let her wipe it.

“Tanghulu, delicious tanghulu! Every child loves tanghulu!”

Wei Maomao, seeing people with children walking towards her, started shouting at the top of her lungs.

Her soft, childish hawking voice was incredibly loud!

The extras arranged by the program team to wander around couldn’t move on after reaching Wei Maomao’s stall.

A grandma in a headscarf pulled the little boy she was holding, but he wouldn’t budge… She used more force, managing to move him a tiny step…

“Little brother, do you want to buy tanghulu? It’s delicious!” Wei Maomao said, picking up a candied tomato and taking a big bite.

The thin sugar coating cracked crisply, and the tomato inside burst with juice.

Wei Maomao munched on the candied tomato, the rock sugar crunching in her mouth. After finishing, she even slurped up the overflowing tomato juice.

“Grandma!” The little boy hugged the grandma’s leg, looking up at her with longing in his eyes.

“Aiyo…” The grandma glanced at the tomato on the skewer. “What kind of tanghulu is this? What’s so good about tomatoes? Aren’t they usually made with hawthorns?”

“Tomatoes are delicious, they’re sweet, freshly picked this morning.” Wei Maomao showed the boy the tomato with several bites taken out of it.

“Grandma! I want to eat it!” The little boy shook the grandma’s leg.

“Aiyo… How much is it?” The grandma, feeling dizzy from being shaken, looked at Wei Maomao.

“Five yuan.” Wei Maomao held out her open paw.

“Five yuan? You might as well rob me! Your tomatoes are 2.5 yuan per kilogram, and one kilogram has three or four, you’re selling one for five yuan?” The grandma was shocked, her grip on the little boy’s hand tightened due to the outrageous price. She not only tore the child off her leg, but also successfully dragged him away. “What tanghulu, it’s just tomatoes with sugar, Grandma will make you sugar-coated tomatoes at home, it’s the same sweet and sour taste, five yuan is enough to make a whole bowl, you can eat it for a whole day.”

A whole day?

The little boy, who had been dragged away, hesitated.

At this moment, a familiar yet strange slurping sound came from behind him.

The little boy turned around and looked.

He saw the chubby little girl biting into the red tomato, sucking out a mouthful of juice.

Looking at the little girl’s happy expression, the little boy swallowed, reaching out to grab his grandma’s pants again.

He didn’t know what “a whole day” meant, he wanted to eat it now!

As the saying goes, grandparents dote on their grandchildren.

Faced with a child’s plea, sometimes the older generation was even less resistant than parents.

The grandma was eventually dragged back by the little boy, she looked at Wei Maomao with a helpless expression. “Five yuan is too expensive, how about this, I’ll buy two kilograms of tomatoes for five yuan, and you make one like this for me.”

“Five kilograms.” Wei Maomao still held out her paw.

The grandma: “… “

Although they also grew some tomatoes in their own field, compared to spending five yuan on one tomato, it was definitely more cost-effective to buy five kilograms for twelve yuan and fifty cents…

But!

The agreement she signed stated that she could only buy up to two kilograms of vegetables from these babies at the market, and only after thirty minutes of them entering the market.

It said she could buy two kilograms, it didn’t say she had to buy two kilograms. Originally, the grandma hadn’t planned on buying any. They grew all these vegetables at home, although not much, it was enough for their family. She was here to earn some pocket money, and… she heard this program was quite popular, she brought her grandson out to see the world, maybe they could even appear on TV.

Her earlier offer of two kilograms was already pushing the limits of the agreement.

But five kilograms… was too much. If she was held accountable by the program team for this, the trouble she would get into for five yuan would be too great.

This program team was quite strict, not only did they have rules for buying vegetables from the babies, they also had restrictions on what they could buy from the other stalls. The stalls they could freely shop at had empty wooden signs next to them as a secret code, it was all noted in the agreement.

“Forget it, forget it, I’ll just buy one.” The grandma touched the hundred yuan in her pocket, she would just consider it earning ninety-five yuan for coming here today, that was enough.

“Okay! Freshly made, it’s delicious!” Wei Maomao said happily, gesturing with her paw for them to come closer, then said to the little boy, “Little brother, your grandma is so good to you! You have to buy her tanghulu when you grow up!”

The little boy nodded vigorously. “My grandma is the best!”

The grandma: “… “ Alright, five yuan didn’t seem that expensive anymore.

Behind Wei Maomao, Cheng Tingyan, having received the signal, took a tomato from the basket, washed it carefully in a basin, inserted a skewer, then rinsed it in two other basins. She looked up at the grandma and grandson with a faint smile. “The other two basins have boiled water, it’s hygienic.”

The grandma: “… “ This was making her feel a bit embarrassed about spending five yuan.

“Sister, is this your grandson? He’s quite handsome, strong and sturdy.” Zhao Lanhua took the washed tomato with the skewer from Cheng Tingyan and put it into the pot of heated sugar syrup. “Come on, eat the tanghulu your grandma bought for you, grow tall and strong!”

“Hahaha, that’s how children are these days, they just grow tall.” The grandma said, but the smile on her face wouldn’t fade.

A few minutes later, the transaction was complete.

The grandma, holding her grandson’s hand, walked past the little chubby girl who was still sitting there.

“Grandma, our tomatoes are good, right! Eat well, come again next time!” Wei Maomao greeted them enthusiastically.

The grandma, holding a candied tomato in each hand, turned back helplessly. “I’m not coming back! I already spent twenty yuan in one visit!”

The grandma was speechless.

She had initially thought the little chubby girl in front of the stall was quite good at talking and attracting customers, but she didn’t expect the older lady and the little girl inside the stall to be even better.

The older lady, while making tanghulu, chatted with her about family matters, about the hardships of being a mother and a grandmother, about how women should treat themselves better even when they’re old. And so, she ended up not wanting the sugar-coated tomatoes and bought a candied tomato to treat herself…

The little one was even more impressive, although she wasn’t very enthusiastic, she washed and rinsed the tomato very carefully, then smiled sweetly at her and said, “Grandma, it’s all clean, don’t worry,” it made her heart melt. As expected, she had never had a daughter, and her son didn’t have a granddaughter, seeing such a well-behaved little girl made her heart ache.

Then the little girl softly asked, “Our tomatoes are very delicious, do you want to take some home for your family?”

And so…

The grandma glanced at the two candied tomatoes in her hands, then at the two in her grandson’s hands. She didn’t really regret it, but… she had to get out of there.

“Grandma, don’t go yet, take a look at our pillowcases, they’re handmade by the grandma making tanghulu. The best quality cotton, they cost six yuan to make, we’re selling them for eight yuan, only earning two yuan for the labor! Two yuan, not even enough for half a tanghulu!” Wei Maomao started her next round of promotion.

Two yuan?

Half a tanghulu…

A cotton pillowcase…

The grandma, who had taken two steps away, slid back.

As the saying goes, easy come, easy go.

Anyway… The grandma, who had arrived with a hundred yuan pocket money from the program team, only had forty-eight left when she left.

She didn’t dare to browse anymore, she had to get out of there. The grandma decided to find a corner to hide with her grandson until the designated time was up.

If every baby was like the ones at this stall, she would be broke if she continued shopping.

The grandma, with her grandson, fled. Wei Maomao thought, let them run, it was just a one-time deal anyway, otherwise, she wouldn’t have used half a candied tomato to boost the value of the pillowcases.

This skinny group ran off, the next one was even chubbier.

One child, consuming four candied tomatoes, twenty yuan profit, Wei Maomao was quite satisfied.

Oh, right, it wasn’t twenty, it was sixteen.

They had agreed earlier that for every candied tomato sold, they would give the grandpa, whose stall and sugar they were using, one yuan.

Thinking of this, Wei Maomao held out her chubby paw, spread her five fingers, then folded her thumb, making a “four” sign and waving it at the grandpa sitting across from the stall, out of the camera’s range.

The socially anxious grandpa, being called out, forced a smile at Wei Maomao, then looked around nervously and retreated further into his corner.

Wei Maomao retracted her hand, she wouldn’t tease the grandpa anymore.

Social anxiety was truly tough. If the grandpa wasn’t socially anxious, he could have bought three tomatoes from them for 2.5 yuan each, then sold them for 15 yuan, instead of just receiving one yuan per tomato as a stall fee.

But speaking of which, when they first found this stall, the grandpa refused to make the candied tomatoes for them, after asking a few questions, he looked like he wanted to pack up and leave. If Cheng Tingyan hadn’t directly asked if they could rent his stall, he would have probably run off.

In fact, after Cheng Tingyan asked, the grandpa didn’t even want to discuss the rent, he stood up and was about to give them the stall.

Although he was probably hired by the program team, he left without hesitation.

Not using the grandpa and just using the stall was actually better. No middleman taking a cut, they could earn more from each candied tomato. It’s just… the difficult part about tanghulu was getting the sugar syrup right, it determined whether the coating would be crispy or sticky.

The six-year-old Yan Yan probably didn’t understand the intricacies, she probably thought they could do it after seeing the grandpa coat the last hawthorn with sugar.

And they actually could.

Although it was a one-time deal, Wei Maomao wasn’t a black-hearted merchant.

Wei Maomao had made similar sugar-coated fruits in her previous life, as decorations for pastries. The size of the fruit might be different from tomatoes, but the skill of making sugar syrup should be transferable. But the problem was, how could she, a three-year-old, know how to make sugar syrup?

Just as Wei Maomao was hesitating whether to try a few times first, then pretend to be naturally gifted and luckily make perfect sugar syrup, Grandma Zhao, worried that they had been wandering for too long, arrived.

It turned out that Grandma Zhao, who could embroider such cute patterns, also had skillful hands for making sugar syrup.

According to her… when she was younger, she even sold sugar paintings at the market.

Two days ago, Cheng Tingyan exposed the scammer on the other end of Grandma Zhao’s phone call. Today, Grandma Zhao was helping Cheng Tingyan earn money without being dragged down by Cheng Rongrong.

This… could be considered karma, right?

Anyway, now it was Wei Maomao’s job to lure, oh no, persuade people to buy, the other two were making the product and trying to sell more, then Wei Maomao would sell another round of pillowcases, the three of them worked together quite well.

And for some reason, the target customer group of grandparents with grandchildren in this market was truly huge.

After finishing teasing the grandpa, Wei Maomao spotted her next target.

“Tanghulu, delicious tanghulu! Every child loves tanghulu!”

Wei Maomao straightened her clothes, rubbed some fresh tomato juice on the corner of her mouth, and shouted at the grandma holding her granddaughter’s hand.

In the monitoring room, Qin Sichao, seeing Wei Maomao’s sly little move, choked on his tea, making strange coughing and spluttering sounds.

“Just let it out, I’ve spat it out a couple of times, it’ll choke you if you try to hold it back.” Shi Dingshan, also watching the little chubby selling tomatoes, chuckled.

“Hahaha, what’s wrong with this Wei Maomao? How can she be so…” Qin Sichao wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Dramatic, right?” Shi Dingshan, who had been surprised multiple times, accurately summarized.

Qin Sichao nodded. “Yes, she’s very dramatic. But it’s quite effective, she has already tricked several people in such a short time.”

“She has tricked four families and sold twelve candied tomatoes.” Shi Dingshan, who had been silently counting, chuckled. “What, you’re interested in Maomao now?”

“I am a bit interested, but unfortunately, I don’t have a use for this cute, chubby image in my next film.” Qin Sichao said, looking at another monitor. “But this trip wasn’t in vain, she’s even better than I thought.”

Shi Dingshan followed Qin Sichao’s gaze, on the screen, Cheng Tingyan was squatting, carefully washing tomatoes.

“You’ve decided on her?” Shi Dingshan asked curiously.

“I’ll observe a bit more. She’s good, but her family seems quite troublesome.” Qin Sichao said, frowning slightly. But soon, his frown eased. “But if her family was perfect, she probably wouldn’t be like this. If I do decide on her, dealing with her troublesome family wouldn’t be a big issue.”

Shi Dingshan didn’t have time to fully understand Qin Sichao’s thoughts.

He glanced at his phone and stood up. “You can watch here by yourself, I’ll go deal with that matter from earlier.”

“The matter with Cheng Rongrong’s mom hiring someone to buy out the vegetables?” Qin Sichao also stood up and asked curiously, “Can I go with you?”

Shi Dingshan: “… “

He really wanted to show the entire village this internationally renowned director’s gossipy side.

In the Wei family’s courtyard, the dads were all diligently participating in their activities.

The three at the wooden table had already moved to the projector, Shen Jianghe, who had said he wouldn’t play with the dance mat, was now being instructed by Wen Xiang on how to position his feet correctly. It had to be said, Shen Zilin was right, wearing socks properly was truly important for this activity.

Wen Qiming was enjoying his book, the recliner was also quite comfortable, and Wei Chengli, occasionally bringing over iced water and fruits, was even better.

And Wang Qingchuan on the bed board… He was indeed frustrated and angry at first, but the blackout cloth the program team hung above the courtyard was of excellent quality, and the morning breeze in the courtyard was quite refreshing… As he enjoyed the coolness, the person on the bed board gradually fell silent.

Cheng Feiying was initially doing okay.

The fish tank the program team brought for him was quite interesting, besides the goldfish, there were also water plants and miniature buildings. After observing for a while, he even discovered some tiny, transparent shrimp and snails clinging to the walls of the tank.

Although he did get bored after watching for a while, after the trio turned on the projector, he could still watch some other things with his good eyesight.

But good eyesight had its advantages and… disadvantages.

Of course, Cheng Feiying didn’t know yet that the sign he saw in the distance, held up by the program team outside the camera’s range, which said [Teacher Cheng, please come to the public restroom outside], was a disadvantage.

Holding up a sign indicating that a dad needed to use the restroom was a secret code agreed upon by the program team and the dads, used when it wasn’t the designated time to turn off the microphones and cameras at night, but the program team had something urgent to discuss with the dad privately.

As far as Cheng Feiying knew, he hadn’t seen the program team hold up the sign for any other dad these past few days.

Honestly, Cheng Feiying felt a bit apprehensive when he went outside.

Then he quickly realized that his apprehension was justified, he should have been even more apprehensive.

“Director Shi.” Cheng Feiying removed his microphone and entered the restroom, only to see Shi Dingshan waiting for him in the empty restroom.

Instantly, many thoughts raced through Cheng Feiying’s mind, the most crucial one being that he had been behaving well in the courtyard, so if there was a problem, it must be…

The image of Shi Dingshan, always standing at a distance, cold and silent, hadn’t fully formed in Cheng Feiying’s mind when he saw him bring his hand, which was originally behind his back, to the front.

In Shi Dingshan’s hand was a small, coded suitcase.

This suitcase looked familiar to Cheng Feiying, it was the one the program team used to store his valuables and phone before they entered the village.

What was it for?

Cheng Feiying looked at the suitcase, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

“Teacher Cheng, call your wife. Although she cares about her daughter, having someone interfere with our filming directly is making things very difficult for us.” Shi Dingshan said slowly.

Cheng Feiying: “… “

Shi Dingshan didn’t hide anything about what happened at the market this morning and the subsequent investigation. After briefly explaining everything to Cheng Feiying, Shi Dingshan emphasized that, in principle, the dads shouldn’t have any contact with the outside world during the live broadcast, but to prevent such incidents from happening again, they were making an exception for him. He hoped Cheng Feiying could keep his phone call within two minutes, a quick call to resolve the issue.

Originally, Cheng Feiying wanted to defend Bai Lei, but Shi Dingshan even showed him a short video of the staff confronting the strange customer. In the first half of the video, before the man’s face was shown, the voice repeatedly calling “Sister Lei” could still be explained away. But later, when his face was shown, that man, Cheng Feiying had actually met him at Bai Lei’s parents’ house. With all this… what else was there for Cheng Feiying to misunderstand?

Of course, he couldn’t defend her, but he could still try to make excuses.

However, before Cheng Feiying could even start his performance, Shi Dingshan said to him ominously, “Technically, your family violated the rules. This time, we won’t make it public. From now on, you have to handle it yourselves, if it happens again, the program team won’t cover for you.”

What else could Cheng Feiying say? With Shi Dingshan being so “polite” and making his stance so clear, he could only swallow his anger and open the coded suitcase.

Two minutes, two minutes it was.

Shi Dingshan watched as Cheng Feiying made the call, counting the time.

As he listened, he was a bit shocked.

He could only say… Okay, it seemed the phone call didn’t involve any information leaks from the outside world as he had worried… This man, he didn’t stop talking, his words were packed tightly together, he was purely outputting, there was no way any information could be inputted.

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Feiying put his phone back in the coded suitcase, locked it, and when he returned it to Shi Dingshan, he apologized profusely and reflected deeply on his actions today.

After Cheng Feiying left, Shi Dingshan smacked his lips and turned around. “Come out.”

From the last stall, Qin Sichao pushed open the door and came out, smiling, holding his phone.

“You even filmed it?” Shi Dingshan was shocked. “Was that necessary? What kind of hobby is this?”

“It’s not a hobby, it’s gathering evidence for you. In case there are any disputes in the future, this kind of thing might not be useful legally, but it’s enough for self-protection in terms of public opinion.” Qin Sichao swiped on his phone. “I sent it to you, no need to thank me.”

Shi Dingshan: “So that’s why you asked me to change it from sending a text message to making a phone call?”

“Otherwise?” Qin Sichao asked innocently. “Is it because his voice is pleasant?”

Shi Dingshan: “… “

Chapter 77p2

Such a precious opportunity to be by the side of an internationally renowned director!

And he was using it to showcase how he got scolded…

Jin Youliang was scrolling through the agreement records on his phone so furiously that sparks almost flew out.

And at this moment, the person Jin Youliang was desperately searching for had already loaded all the vegetables into his trunk, tossed the baskets aside, and got into his car.

“Sister Lei, did you see it? I bought everything! What, oh, oh, you’re eating, you didn’t watch? Hahaha, it’s okay, you eat. I’m just telling you, I bought Rongrong’s vegetables, I gave her the money and the note.” The young man leaned back in his driver’s seat, chuckling triumphantly. “They’re truly incompetent, the village is like a fortress, I couldn’t get in, but coming out is like a sieve, I just found a local and sneaked into the market through a small path. You can trust me with this!”

Bai Lei put down her fork, continued talking on the phone, and opened the live broadcast on her screen.

But the comments in Cheng Rongrong’s live stream weren’t what she had expected.

“You said you gave her the money and the note?” Bai Lei, frowning, repeated what the man had just said.

“Yes, I gave her everything. Sister Lei, don’t worry, I slipped the note into Rongrong’s pocket secretly, with my skills, it’s impossible for them to have captured it, you can watch the live broadcast, oh, I mean, you can watch the replay online.” The man said confidently.

Bai Lei looked at the comments on the screen, but she didn’t have the energy to focus on the note, she went straight to the point. “I’m asking, did you give her the money for the vegetables, and the hundred yuan reward for being cute and capable? Did she accept it?”

“I gave it to her, seventy-three yuan and sixty cents for the vegetables, one hundred yuan reward, a total of one hundred and seventy-three yuan and sixty cents, I gave her everything, and Rongrong accepted it all. Oh, right, there was a little boy next to Rongrong, seems to be her good friend? Rongrong said she hoped I could buy his too, so I bought his too. And Rongrong asked if I wanted more vegetables, but I was afraid it would look bad to buy too much at once, so I said no. If you think I should buy more, Sister Lei, I can go back.” The man explained.

Bai Lei didn’t listen to the rest of what the man said, her gaze was fixed on the comments in the live broadcast.

[Cheng Rongrong’s basket of vegetables only sold for seventy-three yuan, the hundred yuan tip was even more than her vegetables, how could she accept it?]

Right… Rongrong, why did she accept it?

“Hello? Sister Lei? Are you still there, Sister Lei?”

The man’s chattering voice pulled Bai Lei back to reality.

“Alright, you…” Just as Bai Lei started speaking, she heard banging sounds from the other end of the line.

Then it was the man talking to someone.

“Who are you? What are you doing? No… What are you doing here? Hey…”

The call was disconnected.

Bai Lei frowned and called back, but after a long time, no one answered.

What bad luck! Nothing good ever happens!

Bai Lei angrily threw her phone on the table, making a loud bang.

Right, why was there never any good news?

Outside the market, Wu Qiao was also troubled by this question.

As an ordinary staff member, why couldn’t he be with the adorable babies, why did he have to be out here, like a thief, eavesdropping by someone’s car?

Oh… And filming secretly.

Wu Qiao glanced at Li Mu, who was holding his phone, truly dedicated.

Li Mu was Wang Zhizhi’s cameraman, it was one thing for him to sacrifice himself for the truth, but he, Wu Qiao, was just a random staff member!

It was all Su Li’s fault, she was supposed to be following Cheng Rongrong, but she suddenly came and begged him to switch.

Otherwise, he would be the one standing behind Yan Yan, weighing and collecting money, while guarding CEO Mao!

Sigh…

Just as Wu Qiao was sighing while listening, Li Mu suddenly stood up and started knocking on the car door?

Wu Qiao: ???

In the next second, the bewildered Wu Qiao was pulled up by Li Mu and pushed in front of the strange customer’s car.

Not long after, Shi Dingshan, the fuming pufferfish, received a message from Zeng Huanian, he chuckled twice and transformed back into his usual self.

“What? Got your confirmation?” Qin Sichao, who had been watching the monitors with great interest, turned his head and asked.

“Mmm, Bai Lei, oh, Cheng Rongrong’s mom, hired someone.” Shi Dingshan put down his phone. “To boost her child’s image. She’s not afraid of raising the sedan chair too high and causing it to topple over.”

Jin Youliang, standing in the corner, looked up in surprise, but quickly lowered his head again.

“You found out so quickly?” Qin Sichao was also a bit surprised. “The person she hired is incompetent.”

“It was Wu Qiao… The staff member who was weighing the vegetables behind Cheng Rongrong when she was selling them, do you remember him?” Shi Dingshan explained. “He’s the one who went to ask.”

“Oh, oh, the one I said it was a pity he wasn’t a sumo wrestler, right?” Qin Sichao suddenly understood. “Indeed, he does look quite intimidating.”

“He just looks fierce, the young man is actually quite honest and kind. But he came in handy today.” Shi Dingshan played with his phone. “The person she hired is truly incompetent, he couldn’t handle the intimidation.”

Whether the strange customer could handle the intimidation or not, Wu Qiao didn’t know, he only knew that he was scared.

Wu Qiao watched as the strange customer went from acting arrogant and playing dumb to becoming silent, then finally confessing.

Li Mu, usually small and inconspicuous among the staff, was like a judge possessed, his voice stern and powerful, his words logical and emotional, truly impressive!

He just didn’t understand why, while talking, Li Mu kept pulling him along, occasionally pushing him against the car… It was like he was the gavel in the judge’s hand, he was a bit scared.

After Li Mu reported the situation to Director Zeng and sent the video, on their way back, Wu Qiao couldn’t help but ask timidly if Li Mu had studied law before…

But it wasn’t law, it wasn’t psychology, it wasn’t even Chinese language and literature.

It was.

“Special animal husbandry.” Li Mu said calmly.

Wu Qiao: “… “

It was… incomprehensible, and yet… it also seemed… reasonable.

Thanks to a certain professional, some secrets were no longer secrets.

But it was a pity that the revelation happened behind the scenes, it couldn’t be shown to the public.

Wei Maomao knew that in the current situation, even if she questioned Cheng Rongrong about accepting the extra hundred yuan, she could easily justify it as… doing it for her family.

In other words, she was earning money, wasn’t it for the other family members who couldn’t earn money? She could even play the victim, saying she sacrificed everything for her family.

Cheng Rongrong’s foot was already raised, ready to step on Cheng Tingyan, Wei Maomao knew that if she didn’t want Cheng Tingyan to be trampled on, she had to… earn money, even more money.

But where would the money come from?

This morning, the program team only gave them half an hour to harvest vegetables, Wei Maomao had been picking tomatoes for the entire half hour.

Among the three vegetables, although the tomatoes were easier to pick because they grew lower, they still had to be checked for ripeness, she had to pick and choose. Plus, Wei Maomao was small and couldn’t carry much at once, she had to transport them every now and then, which also took time.

Anyway, after half an hour, when it was time for weighing, Wei Maomao had only picked a little over sixty-two kilograms.

Based on the program team’s pricing, tomatoes were 2.5 yuan per kilogram, which meant… even if she was lucky and sold everything, she would only earn a little over one hundred and fifty yuan.

Cheng Tingyan followed Wei Maomao and also picked only tomatoes, she harvested a bit more, almost eighty kilograms, which could sell for around 200 yuan.

If Cheng Tingyan sold all her tomatoes at the set price, she could surpass Cheng Rongrong’s earnings and wouldn’t have to take the blame for that hundred yuan she shouldn’t have accepted.

Of course, that was only if they could sell them.

Putting aside the questionable customer, Wei Maomao truly didn’t understand what the program team was doing now.

Did they want to film them successfully selling the vegetables and buying lunch?

Or did they want to film them failing to sell the vegetables, trapped in a predicament with nothing?

The cameras were in the hands of others, but Wei Maomao didn’t want to be controlled by them.

At least…

She didn’t want them to control Cheng Tingyan’s fate.

Who would be the customers willing to spend money…

Wei Maomao sat silently, observing the people strolling between the stalls.

They didn’t even seem interested in buying anything from the other stalls, like NPCs in a video game, with no interaction, no dialogue boxes when approached, just walking from one end of the street to the other, non-stop…

Oh, not all of them.

Wei Maomao’s wandering gaze focused on something in a child’s hand.

Ah, this could be considered consumption, right? Spending money, right?

Speaking of which…

Wei Maomao stood up and looked around.

Weren’t there a bit too many elderly people and children in this market?

Extras.

At this time, the extras who were free were mostly from these two age groups.

Then…

As Wei Maomao thought, she left her stall and started walking along the rows of stalls.

“Maomao?”

Cheng Tingyan followed her.

Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand, perfect, they could look together.

Although she was worried about the tomatoes they couldn’t sell, Cheng Tingyan wouldn’t refuse the little chubby bunny’s request.

Wei Maomao didn’t browse for long, she just quickly scanned the market with Cheng Tingyan, then stopped in front of a stall.

“Maomao, do you want to eat this?” Cheng Tingyan reached into her bag.

Wei Maomao turned her head and immediately saw the golden coin in Cheng Tingyan’s hand.

“No, no, no…” Wei Maomao stretched out her chubby paw, pushing Cheng Tingyan’s hand back into her bag. She then turned to the stall and said softly, “Yan Yan, look at this grandpa, he’s almost sold out.”

The stall owner: “… “

“Grandpa, are you having good business?” Wei Maomao asked sweetly.

“Pretty good…” The stall owner glanced at the camera and forced a smile.

“Grandpa, your hawthorns are almost sold out, there are still so many people here, do you want to sell more?” Wei Maomao said kindly. “We have fresh tomatoes, we can sell them to you, you can continue selling candied tomatoes, okay?”

The stall owner glanced at the camera again, his legs trembling slightly. “No, no, there aren’t many people left, I’m not selling anymore after these are gone.”

“You can sell one if someone wants one. We can move our stall here, after you finish selling your hawthorns, if someone wants to buy a candied tomato, you can buy one tomato from us. Our tomatoes are very cheap, 2.5 yuan per kilogram, and one kilogram has three!” Wei Maomao tried to promote their tomatoes.

“No… No, thanks…” The stall owner glanced at the camera again, his legs trembling even more.

A socially anxious grandpa… Wei Maomao’s heart sank, she sighed inwardly.

Chapter 77p1

Cheng Rongrong’s display of the pink banknote surprised not only Wei Maomao.

Wen Jiangyue, who was initially envious, looked at the money in Cheng Rongrong’s hand, then down at her own basket, her face filled with confusion. “Cheng Rongrong, how much did you sell your vegetables for?”

“Seventy-three yuan and sixty cents.” Cheng Rongrong answered, glancing at Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan’s baskets. “I picked tomatoes, cucumbers, and loofah, maybe it’s easier to sell with all three together.”

Wen Jiangyue looked at Wang Zhizhi. “What about you, Zhizhi?”

“One hundred and five yuan and thirty cents.” Wang Zhizhi, his face slightly flushed, reported the amount the staff member who helped him weigh and collect the money had told him. “I also picked all three.”

“Then it must be easier to sell with all three.” Wen Dongyu chimed in from the side, his face full of excitement. “I also picked all three!” To be precise, it was over ninety percent cucumbers, three loofah, and two tomatoes.

It wasn’t that Wen Dongyu particularly loved cucumbers, it’s just that the loofah were a bit high, a bit difficult to reach, and the tomatoes were too troublesome, he accidentally squashed one while picking the third one, getting juice all over his hands and face, so he gave up.

But regardless of the quantity, he still had three types!

Wen Jiangyue felt something wasn’t quite right, but one, two, three people all talked about the benefits of having all three vegetables, she was starting to waver.

“Maomao, Yan Yan, should I trade my cucumbers and loofah for some of your tomatoes? That way you’ll also have all three.” Wen Jiangyue turned to Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan.

Wen Jiangyue had also gone to the tomato field initially, but after transporting them once, she went to the cucumber and loofah fields a few times. In the end, she had a fairly even distribution of the three vegetables.

Wei Maomao appreciated Wen Jiangyue’s kindness, but with the situation like this, was it really about the types of vegetables they were selling?

Wei Maomao declined politely, and Cheng Tingyan followed suit.

Wen Jiangyue refocused her attention on her own stall, then suddenly realized that she hadn’t been trying to figure out which vegetables were easier to sell… She had been led astray by them.

What she wanted to know was… Cheng Rongrong’s vegetables only sold for seventy-three yuan, how could she accept a hundred yuan from that person…

Wait… Did she accept a hundred yuan from that person? Or was it one hundred and seventy-three yuan?

Just as Wen Jiangyue looked up abruptly, wanting to confirm, she saw Cheng Rongrong squatting in front of Cheng Tingyan’s stall.

“Older sister, how many of your tomatoes have you sold?” Cheng Rongrong picked up a tomato from Cheng Tingyan’s basket and examined it.

“… “ Cheng Tingyan said indifferently, “I haven’t sold any yet.”

“It’s okay, Older sister, I’ll help you sell them.” Cheng Rongrong stood up, holding the tomato.

“No need.” Cheng Tingyan refused quickly, her words almost overlapping with Cheng Rongrong’s.

“Older sister, I know you don’t like being with me. But we’re family, today, we have to work together to earn money, to take care of Dad.” Cheng Rongrong pouted, looking aggrieved, but quickly cheered herself up and said with a strong smile, “It’s okay, Older sister, you sell them slowly, don’t worry. We already have one hundred and seventy-three yuan, it’s enough for our lunch.”

Wen Jiangyue lowered her head, oh, it wasn’t a hundred yuan, it was one hundred and seventy yuan. That’s selling one basket of vegetables and receiving two baskets worth of money… Wasn’t that… wrong…

Wei Maomao: ???

She was truly speechless!

What was this logic? So this hundred yuan, this strange reward, the money that didn’t belong to her and she didn’t accept in her previous life, she took it this time for Yan Yan?

What if Yan Yan couldn’t sell these tomatoes?

A younger sister who had to accept money that didn’t belong to her to take care of her father, who had become a child, and her sister, who couldn’t earn money? Was this the new persona the Cheng family was trying to create this time?

Hurting the enemy one thousand and themselves five hundred, what a bizarre strategy!

Wei Maomao couldn’t help but look directly at the camera, wanting to see where the program team’s conscience had gone.

In the live broadcast, the chubby little bunny glared at the camera, making the viewers’ hearts tremble.

“Sob, sob, sob, CEO Mao, it’s not that I don’t want to buy your tomatoes, if only the program team had an online store, I would definitely buy ten kilograms.”

“Program team! Give us a link! I’ll buy twenty kilograms, ten for CEO Mao, ten for Yan Yan, don’t be angry, CEO Mao~~~”

“Wait, guys, calm down, CEO Mao probably isn’t angry at us…”

“It’s obvious that CEO Mao is angry at the program team. Grandma Zhao just said that most of the people at the market are villagers, and many of them grow these vegetables at home, so there won’t be many buyers. And then someone came and bought out Cheng Rongrong and Wang Zhizhi’s vegetables, over seventy kilograms in total? Isn’t this a joke…”

“Wait, CEO Mao is only three years old, right? How could she figure out that this was the program team’s doing so quickly? If it weren’t for the comments, I still wouldn’t have realized…”

“It’s a joke, they’re not only playing with the babies, they’re also playing with us. Actually, I think, even though Grandma Zhao said that, it’s still possible for someone to buy a large amount of vegetables, maybe they’re hosting a banquet, or they’re a restaurant owner stocking up, or they’re taking these local vegetables to visit relatives in the city. But! Buying everything and giving an extra hundred yuan as a reward, that’s truly impossible, right? If they’re not wealthy, giving over a hundred yuan would hurt, and if they are wealthy, you gave one to Cheng Rongrong, Wang Zhizhi was right there, you already gave one hundred, why not give another one?”

“Right, I can accept them buying all the vegetables, but this giving a hundred yuan to Cheng Rongrong alone, I’m truly ??? But what’s even more ??? is that Cheng Rongrong actually accepted it…”

“Cheng Rongrong is only three and a half years old, a three-and-a-half-year-old child wouldn’t understand so much. The customer said it was a reward, she probably really thought it was a reward, like lucky money, it’s normal for her to accept it. If it was given to Wei Maomao, she might have accepted it too.”

“Tui! Our CEO Mao would never accept that hundred yuan!”

“To be fair, it was said to be a reward, a three-and-a-half-year-old child might not be able to differentiate, it’s normal for her to accept it. But the person who gave the money… isn’t that a bit abnormal? If it was arranged by the program team, is this a test of humanity for a three-and-a-half-year-old? Isn’t it a bit too early, not very friendly to the little baby!”

“Raising my hand timidly… Could the person who gave the money be a fan of Cheng Rongrong’s live stream? I thought about it, if I was there, I might also buy out CEO Mao’s tomatoes, ah… I might also give her a red envelope, so she could buy lots of delicious food for lunch! CEO Mao is so cute, sob, sob, sob~~~”

“Oh… no… Imagining myself there, I also want to give CEO Mao a red envelope. Ah, I also want to give one to Yan Yan, to Yueyue, to Zhizhi and Dongdong! Mmm, maybe not Little CEO Shen, he should be the one giving me a red envelope.”

“Hahaha! What’s wrong with you guys! Thinking about it this way, that customer doesn’t seem so suspicious anymore, it feels like if we were there, we would be even more suspicious. I also want, I also want to hug CEO Mao, heh, heh, heh, old aunt loves chubby babies!”

“[CEO Mao: Thankfully, you’re not here, old aunt!] I’m dying of laughter, looking at it this way, that customer was actually a rational fan.”

“Let me whisper, with the situation like this, it should be okay for me to say it now… I hope the program team won’t track my IP and sue me, okay? After all, I’m clarifying things for them, speaking up for them. For the sake of the babies’ safety and the live broadcast’s effect, the market is fake, the vendors are fake, the people strolling around are fake. The program team borrowed the location of a regular market, hired villagers from the surrounding villages, and gave them goods to pretend to sell. Because it’s a weekday today, most of the people free in the villages are grandparents, that’s why you see many grandparents with young children walking around… Because they have to take care of the children at home, they couldn’t leave them behind when coming to be extras, so they brought them along. To be an extra at the market, they have to sign a confidentiality agreement, which states what they can and can’t do. The roles of passersby and customers are all pre-arranged, not everyone can buy the babies’ vegetables. Things like the previous customer buying everything and giving Cheng Rongrong a red envelope shouldn’t have happened. If it wasn’t arranged by the program team, then that person has violated the agreement.”

“??? Maomao went to find Grandma Zhao to go to the market together this morning, and Grandma Zhao actually said it wasn’t market day today!”

“Grandma Zhao went off-screen for a bit, and when she came back, she didn’t mention whether it was real or fake, just said she would go with Maomao, she must have been persuaded by the program team.”

“Understood! Although it’s a market, it’s a large-scale RPG created for the babies…”

“But… So was that person arranged by the program team, or was he a fan of Cheng Rongrong, or some other strange person!”

…

Right, who was that person!

Shi Dingshan, sitting in the monitoring room, was fuming.

Jin Youliang, standing next to him, was frantically scrolling through his phone, not daring to breathe.

He was the one responsible for setting up the market… Everything was clearly explained, the people signed agreements, there were even staff members outside cordoning off the area, how did that idiot get in?

He would find out who that idiot who signed the agreement was, he would sue him!

Jin Youliang felt extremely unlucky.

Usually, it was fine to be scolded by Shi Dingshan for minor mistakes.

But why today!

Why in front of Qin Sichao!

An internationally renowned director!