Chapter 55
After breakfast, some were full from eating, some were full from anger, and some were full from laughter.
Regardless of whether the breakfast was satisfying or not, the tasks had to continue.
After yesterday afternoon’s “joint efforts” (mutual torment), this morning, the dads and babies were separated for their tasks again.
Their tasks all involved helping villagers in and around the village.
However, the dads would be completing their tasks individually.
The babies, on the other hand, would be divided into three groups and complete their tasks as teams.
The other dads quickly received their task cards and went to find their respective task locations. Only Wei Chengli, under the staff’s urging, kept looking back at the little ones gathered in a circle, worry etched on his face.
Sigh, he was so worried, how would they be divided into groups…
The little chubby dumpling definitely wanted to be in the same group as Yan Yan, but would Yan Yan want to be in the same group as Shen Zilin…
Among the remaining children, Wen Jiangyue was quite good, Wang Zhizhi was also acceptable, Wen Dongyu had been focused on his pig recently, he didn’t know if he still had the energy to manage the little chubby dumpling. It definitely couldn’t be Cheng Rongrong, the little chubby dumpling would explode.
Ah, speaking of, how could seven people be divided into three groups? It was truly a headache.
Wei Chengli kept looking back, almost walking backwards. But eventually, after a turn, the little ones disappeared from his sight, he could only continue worrying alone, lost in his thoughts.
He wasn’t the only one lost in thought.
Speaking of the babies, they were gathered in a circle, discussing how to form groups.
Wei Maomao pursed her lips, trying to appear nonchalant and calm, as if she didn’t care about the outcome of their discussion. But only she knew how sweaty her tightly clenched chubby paws had become.
This three-year-old body was truly…
It was just a task, what did it matter if they weren’t in the same group! Just because her body was small, did that mean she was still a child who needed to cling to others?
Wei Maomao mentally criticized herself, but her pep talk didn’t alleviate her anxiety at all.
“We have seven people, divided into three groups, it should be a combination of two, two, and three, right?” Shen Zilin said, counting on his fingers.
“It could also be one, one, five, one, two, four, or one, three, three.” Wen Jiangyue calculated carefully.
“… “ Shen Zilin coughed. “For this group task, we should try to distribute the members evenly, right?”
Wen Jiangyue smiled sheepishly. “Right. I accidentally treated it as a math problem.”
“Then two, two, three? How do you guys want to group up?” Shen Zilin looked around.
“Whatever.” Wang Zhizhi, meeting Shen Zilin’s gaze, shrugged. “Anything is fine.”
“Do I count as one or two, with the pig?” Wen Dongyu asked.
Shen Zilin paused, quickly averting his gaze from Wen Dongyu and looking at Wei Maomao next to him.
Wei Maomao’s gaze wandered away.
Shen Zilin: ??? Seriously? Cheng Tingyan dug Baby Coins for you until late last night, and you’re not even asking to be in the same group with her, you’ve changed, Maomao!
“Maomao, let’s be in the same group.” Wen Jiangyue, bypassing Wen Dongyu, approached Wei Maomao.
Wei Maomao, who was planning to wait and see who Yan Yan would choose, was stunned. So she was chosen just like that?
“Maomao and I are putting our Baby Coins together, we have to be in the same group.” Cheng Tingyan clutched the strap of her bag, her voice firm despite the slight tremor of nervousness she was trying to suppress. But she had spoken bravely, and seeing Wen Jiangyue’s suddenly confused expression, her heart softened. “How about, the three of us be in a group, is that okay?”
After she finished speaking, both Wen Jiangyue and Cheng Tingyan looked at Wei Maomao.
Just when she thought all hope was lost, a glimmer of light appeared!
Wei Maomao nodded quickly.
Wen Jiangyue breathed a small sigh of relief and happily stood next to them.
Cheng Tingyan also slowly relaxed her grip on the bag strap. She almost ended up in a different group from the little chubby bunny. It seemed that next time something like this happened, she had to speak up earlier. Opportunities had to be seized, she couldn’t always wait for the little chubby bunny to take the initiative.
Speaking of… Cheng Tingyan secretly glanced at Wen Jiangyue. She felt a bit regretful, those ten Baby Coins she had given to Wen Jiangyue as compensation for digging earlier, if only she hadn’t insisted on the little chubby bunny giving them, she should have given them herself. After the little chubby bunny gave them the coins, Wen Jiangyue’s attention towards her had increased significantly. She even patted the soft fur on her head, many, many times…
With the three-person group formed, the remaining two groups were quickly decided.
Because Wang Zhizhi strongly opposed having a sibling, Shen Zilin was forced to team up with Cheng Rongrong, while Wang Zhizhi and Wen Dongyu, along with the pig, formed another group.
After the groups were formed, the program team gave each group a different task card. The task card showed a map of the village, with markers indicating the locations of the villagers they needed to help.
With the cards in hand, the three groups were about to separate. The others were fine, but Shen Zilin looked at the three-person group with reluctance, regretting being a step slower than Wen Jiangyue.
As Shen Zilin had said, the program team’s “self-divide into three groups” meant trying to distribute the members evenly. The maps received by the three groups, the other two groups had two task locations each, while the one Wei Maomao was holding had three, indicating that the program team had already planned it based on the number of members. It would have been interesting if they had actually formed a one, one, five group earlier.
“Which one should we go to first?” Wei Maomao asked for the other two’s opinions.
“Start with the closest one?” Wen Jiangyue pointed at the location closest to the square on the map.
Cheng Tingyan nodded in agreement.
Cheng Tingyan didn’t care which task they started with, she just hoped these tasks would give them some Baby Coins. They had dug for two hours last night and only earned twenty Baby Coins before the staff stopped them, saying it was too late. They were still fifty-nine Baby Coins short of the watermelon…
Following the map, the three quickly found the first person who needed help. Before they even entered the courtyard, Wei Maomao smelled a foul odor, very similar to chicken manure.
As expected, upon entering, they saw that half the courtyard was enclosed, with a three-story chicken coop housing many chickens.
The person who needed help was an elderly woman sitting in a wheelchair.
“I fell while digging for earthworms a few days ago, now I can only sit in this.” The elderly woman sighed, patting the wheelchair under her, then pointed at the three-story chicken coop. “It’s inconvenient to feed the chickens on the top floor while sitting in this, I can only throw some rice and vegetables from down here, I don’t even know if the chickens up there have been eating well these past few days.”
Wei Maomao glanced at the elderly woman’s right leg in a cast, then at the three large basins of mixed rice and vegetables outside the chicken coop, she understood, this task involved going inside to feed the chickens…
Perhaps because it was a baby task, and they had to consider the children’s safety, the family chosen by the program team didn’t raise free-range chickens, they were all kept in the three-story coop, each compartment with designated feeding spots. In other words, they didn’t have to interact with the chickens directly, they just had to endure the smell in the courtyard and use a small stool if they couldn’t reach. The task difficulty was very low.
The three quickly carried the food basins inside. To be safe, they divided the work, the shortest, Wei Maomao, was assigned to feed the chickens on the bottom floor, while Cheng Tingyan and Wen Jiangyue would work together, one holding the stool, the other standing on it, to feed the chickens on the second and third floors.
No one complained about the smell, they cooperated efficiently, and the task progressed quickly.
Soon, the three came out, dragging the three empty basins, and received their reward from the elderly woman… two eggs each.
Wei Maomao, looking at the eggs in her hand, thought that they should have done this task last, eggs were really inconvenient to carry.
But she didn’t expect that, while looking at the same eggs, the other two were thinking about something else.
“Grandma, should we collect the eggs from the top floor for you?” Cheng Tingyan asked softly.
“Do you want us to help shovel the chicken manure on the top floor, Grandma?” Wen Jiangyue offered kindly.
Cheng Tingyan and Wen Jiangyue spoke almost simultaneously, then Cheng Tingyan looked at Wen Jiangyue in surprise. She had only thought of helping to collect the eggs, but she actually…
“Oh, right, we didn’t collect the eggs.” Wen Jiangyue smiled sheepishly. “I was only thinking about how smelly the accumulated chicken manure must be.”
Wei Maomao was amazed by the program team’s attention to detail. The bottom row of chicken coops she was responsible for feeding had no eggs and very little chicken manure… So the two floors above, which she hadn’t paid attention to, were like that? But even if she had seen it, she wouldn’t have asked like Yan Yan and Wen Jiangyue, would she? After all, in her mind, no matter how realistic the setting was, it was just the program team’s arrangement and a trick…
The innocence of children, Wei Maomao’s heart felt warm.
But Wen Jiangyue’s words didn’t just shock Cheng Tingyan, not even just Wei Maomao, but also… the elderly woman sitting in the wheelchair.
The elderly woman was so shocked that the wrinkles on her face trembled. She frantically reached for the earpiece in her left ear.
After a moment, the elderly woman calmed down and said kindly, “My dear little babies, please just help me collect the eggs, I’ll have someone else clean up the chicken manure.”
Her kind expression was contradicted by her stiff, robotic tone.
Wei Maomao could imagine how surprised the elderly woman must have been, momentarily unsure of how to respond, so she simply read the prompt from her earpiece.
It was also… Who would have thought that a little baby would volunteer to shovel chicken manure, it was hard on you, Grandma.
So the three went back inside, Wei Maomao carrying the basin, the other two continuing their teamwork, one holding the stool, the other standing on it, collecting all the eggs from the egg trays on the top floor.
This time, when they came out, the elderly woman took out three bags of Baby Coins.
Wei Maomao was certain that when they were collecting the eggs, besides the staff filming them, no one else had entered the courtyard. So the most likely scenario was that the elderly woman had these three bags of Baby Coins all along.
So… feeding the chickens was the basic task, the reward was two eggs each. Helping to collect the eggs was the hidden task, the reward was a bag of Baby Coins each?
Even tasks for little babies had hidden… The program team was truly something… Wei Maomao looked at the four new Baby Coins in her hand, sighing in admiration.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one who felt this way, the viewers in the live broadcast room were also surprised by the program team’s “thoughtfulness.”
“Impressive, I was just thinking, while watching Yan Yan feed the chickens, that the program team did a good job with the setting, the cleanliness of the top two floors was much worse than the bottom floor, especially the top floor, with both eggs and manure, and lots of vegetable scraps scattered in the cages. It turns out it wasn’t just a setting!”
“It was the program team’s design, when they went to collect the eggs, the elderly woman took out those three money bags directly from under her wheelchair, it means it was a pre-planned hidden task, to see if the babies could discover it.”
“Hahaha, thankfully, the program team still has some conscience, the hidden task was collecting eggs, not shoveling chicken manure, otherwise, the little babies would be too pitiful!”
“The babies are so cute, they must have genuinely thought the elderly woman was injured and couldn’t move, wanting to help her, that’s how they triggered this task. The dads doing tasks next door are also almost finished with their first task, speaking of, do their tasks also have hidden ones?”
“Ahhh, I love discovering hidden tasks in games. But shoveling chicken manure is a bit much, hahaha… Wen Jiangyue, her thoughts are truly unique, hahaha, earlier, during the grouping, when she listed one, one, five, I thought Shen Zilin almost choked, hahaha.”
“Hahaha, Yan Yan, she’s completely captivated by the unexpected four Baby Coins. When she was leaving, she even repeatedly confirmed with the elderly woman if she really didn’t need help shoveling the chicken manure. She was initially shocked by Wen Jiangyue’s suggestion, but now, to save money for the watermelon, she’s completely on board, huh!”
“I’m dying of laughter, quickly find the fixed camera in this courtyard and watch the live stream. As soon as the babies left, the elderly woman started taking off her cast, hahaha. It was fake! It’s a good thing Yueyue even asked if her leg hurt when they were leaving, hahaha!”
“Her leg doesn’t hurt, but her conscience probably does, hahaha!”
“Holy crap, Yan Yan is amazing… Hahaha, I’m dying, she’s going back to ask the elderly woman if she needs help digging for earthworms, Yan Yan, for the watermelon, she’s truly… Hahaha, she said she was afraid of bugs, but for the watermelon, she’s fearless!”
“Hahahahahaha… Help, I can imagine the elderly woman frantically trying to put the cast back on her leg after hearing the prompt in her earpiece, I’ve never seen such a funny NPC, hahaha!”
“I’m crying from laughter, I was just about to cheer for the elderly woman when I saw Yan Yan pushing open the courtyard gate in her live stream.”
“A watermelon-induced tragedy, hahaha!”
“Hahaha, so awkward, the elderly woman was halfway through putting on the cast when the three little ones walked in, hahaha, this might be the most embarrassing moment of her life!”
“The babies’ expressions all froze, hahaha, help, they’re so cute, little wooden dolls! Shatter, shatter, the children’s innocence, hahahahaha…”
…
The second task location on the three’s map was a vegetable garden behind a house.
The person who needed help was an elderly man hunched over.
“My back has been aching these past few days, I haven’t been able to properly water this vegetable garden for days.” The elderly man patted his back and sighed. “The weather is so hot, there’s not enough water in the field, the vegetables are going to die.”
Wei Maomao glanced at the three watering cans and two buckets of water by the elderly man’s feet, she understood, they had to water the garden.
“Is this grandpa’s back really hurting?” Wen Jiangyue whispered.
“After watering, he’ll probably give us vegetables, what should we do to get Baby Coins?” Cheng Tingyan whispered, joining the discussion.
Wei Maomao: … Okay, after witnessing the elderly woman with the half-removed cast, the innocent little babies’ world had been completely overturned.
“Let’s go to the field first, we’ll see what else we need to do while watering.” Wei Maomao sighed and suggested.
The vegetable garden wasn’t big, mainly planted with three types of vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce, with a small corner growing some scallions. It looked like it was just for their own consumption, with maybe a tiny bit extra to sell.
The three each took a watering can, filled it with water from the bucket, and started watering the garden. Soon, more than half of the garden was watered.
This time, Wei Maomao paid attention. Based on the logic of feeding chickens and collecting eggs, watering the garden should correspond to harvesting vegetables, right?
Peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce were all summer vegetables, it seemed that except for the lettuce, which was still a bit small, the peppers and tomatoes were almost ready to be harvested. Considering the little babies’ labor capabilities, they probably didn’t need to harvest everything. Wei Maomao thought the most likely scenario was to finish the two buckets of water, then fill them with the harvested vegetables. Mmm, she would see if the other two figured it out, if not, she would ask later.
Wei Maomao felt her efficiency was quite good, she had even figured out the hidden task while watering the garden.
But she didn’t expect that her thoughts and those of the little babies… could be so different.
After the last bit of water in the buckets was used up, the three of them tacitly didn’t rush back to the elderly man.
“What do you think the other task here will be?” Wen Jiangyue asked softly. “Helping Grandpa harvest the vegetables, or giving him a back massage even though it might not actually hurt?”
The first part sounded reasonable, but the second part, Wei Maomao looked at Wen Jiangyue helplessly, it seemed the elderly woman had truly traumatized her.
But Wei Maomao didn’t expect that the absurdity was far from over.
“I saw earthworms on the ground by the lettuce earlier.” Cheng Tingyan looked at the lettuce patch. “Do you think if we dig some earthworms here and take them to the grandma earlier, we can get more Baby Coins?”
Wei Maomao: … Earthworms, it was those earthworms that revealed the truth to them.
Did they forget the awkwardness of facing the elderly woman with the half-removed cast, how they quietly left…
“I think we can.” Wen Jiangyue agreed. “The grandma said at the beginning that she fell while digging for earthworms. Why was she digging for earthworms? She couldn’t have been eating them herself, right?”
Wei Maomao: … It was clear that she held a deep grudge against the elderly woman for deceiving them.
“It’s a pity we didn’t ask before we left.” Cheng Tingyan’s gaze remained fixed on the lettuce patch. “How about we dig some and try?”
“Mmm, we don’t need to dig a lot, after all, the chickens not eating earthworms was probably also a made-up story by the program team.” Wen Jiangyue said with an indifferent expression. “Let’s dig three. One for each floor of the chicken coop.”
“Eh… Let’s dig a few more.” Cheng Tingyan finally noticed Wen Jiangyue’s resentment and chuckled. “With only three, the Baby Coins we can exchange for might also be less.”
Wei Maomao: …
She, who had felt out of sync with the children’s innocence at the chicken coop, now couldn’t keep up with their ambitious schemes.
“Maomao, you don’t have to dig, it’ll get you dirty.” Cheng Tingyan reached out and patted the little chubby bunny’s soft head. “I’ll quickly dig some and come back.”
“Wait.” Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand, chuckling helplessly. “Shouldn’t we ask what else we need to do here first?”
Cheng Tingyan paused, right, she was so focused on getting more from the previous family.
Perhaps the difficulty of the hidden task lay only in discovering its existence, not in its complexity. After a few words, they confirmed with the elderly man that they could help him harvest tomatoes, and the tools for collecting the tomatoes were the two buckets Wei Maomao had noticed earlier.
Picking tomatoes took much longer than collecting eggs. Especially because the little babies didn’t have enough strength, they couldn’t carry the buckets after filling them halfway, they had to put them down and carry the tomatoes back in batches.
After filling the two buckets with tomatoes, they received the expected reward, two tomatoes each.
Wei Maomao, looking at the tomatoes in her hand, thought that this would probably be their lunch, scrambled eggs with tomatoes… She wondered if Wei Chengli could make it.
Before going to dig for earthworms, Cheng Tingyan tried to extract more benefits from this task location.
But whether it was asking if they could help harvest more vegetables, or transport the vegetables back to the house, or even Wen Jiangyue’s suggestion of giving the elderly man a back massage even though his back might not actually hurt, all were firmly rejected by the elderly man.
Thankfully, their request to dig for earthworms was granted, and he generously lent them branches from the firewood pile in the front yard and lettuce leaves from the field.
It seemed they could only go back and exploit the previous family.
Neither Cheng Tingyan nor Wei Maomao could convince the other not to dig, so in the end, the three of them, each holding a large lettuce leaf, went to dig for earthworms.
But they didn’t know that at the previous courtyard, an elderly woman was slumped in her wheelchair, refusing to cooperate.
Deceiving little children once had already pained her conscience, and now they had even discovered it… She almost had nowhere to hide her old face. The elderly woman regretted signing up to be an actor for this show. Hearing that those little ones were coming back, her face flushed red. She slammed the money the program team had given her on the table, slumped back in her wheelchair, and firmly refused to participate in the next act.
So when the three returned, each holding a lettuce leaf, the elderly woman in the wheelchair was gone, only two basins remained.
One basin had a wooden sign with a drawing of a worm, the other basin contained three money bags, and a staff member whispered that the elderly woman had gone out, but they could exchange worms for Baby Coins here.
Wei Maomao watched as Cheng Tingyan and Wen Jiangyue placed the earthworms in the basin and took the money.
Mmm… It felt like playing a game.
So, collecting eggs and catching earthworms, one of them wasn’t actually a hidden task, but something they had forced into existence, right?
Wei Maomao thought about it, but couldn’t distinguish which one was the real hidden task.
But Cheng Tingyan didn’t care about that, she counted the Baby Coins in the money bag, this time, they also received four each.
After completing the three hidden tasks, they had earned twenty-four Baby Coins, so much, so fast!
Now they were only thirty-five Baby Coins away from the watermelon!
Cheng Tingyan, feeling victory was within reach, couldn’t help but smile.
But she didn’t know that in the eyes of the viewers, who had witnessed the entire process of the elderly woman going from enthusiastically participating to completely giving up, she had transformed from an adorable little baby into a capable person who, for the sake of a watermelon, had eliminated an NPC.