Chapter 131: Grinding Tasks
Riding on the popularity of the still-in-theaters Imperial Secrets and Promise in Troubled Times, Reality Online had a much higher starting point than other variety shows. And the initially controversial 24/7 live stream format, with its real-time updates and unedited footage, quickly gained a large audience.
In less than two days, the viewership of Reality Online skyrocketed. Short videos, GIFs, and memes spread across the internet.
Those staying home for the National Day holiday found the perfect way to spend their time, and those traveling found the perfect distraction during traffic jams and long queues.
Unlike other shows that relied on pre-release hype and celebrity guest appearances, the pre-publicity for Reality Online had been low-key and factual. Most people, both inside and outside the industry, were taking a wait-and-see approach.
But even before the first day ended, the show’s potential for success was evident.
The skyrocketing sales of certain brands of bedding, toiletries, cleaning supplies, seasoning packets, and tool kits… were a clear indication.
And the next morning, thanks to Mi Hongdou’s cooking and Ji Junxin’s praise, the previously unpopular pickled cucumbers were almost sold out. The show’s commercial potential was undeniable.
Qiong Yu, the production company, was flooded with calls from advertisers.
Just as businesses were scrambling to get their products featured on the show, Staff Member #2’s revelation about the paid actors playing villagers sparked another wave of interest, and those with money and a desire for fame started making calls.
This was within Qiao Rubai’s expectations. However, the number of inquiries exceeded her predictions.
“Sorry, President Qiao is in a meeting, you can leave a message with me.” Yang Lianyi scribbled down a note, hung up the phone, and looked at Qiao Rubai, who was on the sofa, looking at her computer. “Why am I answering these calls for you?”
“We’ve been receiving too many calls about collaborations, my secretary is busy with the advertisers. You can switch with her if you want,” Qiao Rubai said, her gaze flitting between several computer screens.
“…” Yang Lianyi smoothed her hair, crossed her legs, and leaned forward. “But I’m here to poach you, not to be poached.” Her words, spoken with a subtle suggestive tone, were undeniably charming.
Qiao Rubai’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a neutral expression. “You don’t look like you’re here to poach, more like you’re here for… babysitting services.” She hugged Yang Miemie, who was sleeping in her lap. “She’s getting heavier and heavier, soon I won’t be able to hold her.”
“Whose fault is that? One minute you’re telling her to eat less, the next you’re sneaking her cake! And who spoiled her into needing to be held and rocked to sleep! I spent the entire night coaxing her, my arms are sore!” Yang Lianyi’s complaints were endless. The usually charming and seductive CEO was now just… a tired aunt.
Qiao Rubai gently patted the little girl, who was snuggled in a brown bear sleeping bag, squirming slightly in her sleep, and shushed Yang Lianyi. “Don’t wake her up.”
The sleeping “Miemie Bear” smacked her lips.
You two are really… something.
This child, such a handful before bed, but once she’s asleep, even thunder wouldn’t wake her! Yang Lianyi thought, exasperated, and then, as the phone rang, reluctantly answered, “Hello, I’m sorry, President Qiao is in a meeting…”
Yang Lianyi, absentmindedly answering calls, wondered how she had become Qiao Rubai’s temporary secretary… She had initially found Qiao Rubai endearing and had wanted to poach her for Mengguan, to add to her collection of “cute things.”
Although she knew that Qiao Rubai, as the head of Qiong Yu, wouldn’t agree, Qiao Rubai’s attitude, her generous offers of collaboration, her willingness to accommodate, had given Yang Lianyi a sliver of hope.
And Qiao Rubai never explicitly rejected her offers to join Mengguan, just gently changing the subject, which only fueled Yang Lianyi’s determination.
After several attempts, the poaching hadn’t progressed, but the partnership between Mengguan and Qiong Yu, thanks to Qiao Rubai, had become stronger. And… Qiao Rubai and Yang Miemie had also become closer. By the time Yang Lianyi realized it, Yang Miemie was constantly talking about Qiao Rubai, even throwing tantrums when she didn’t see her.
Although Yang Miemie wasn’t her biological child, and she wasn’t very good with children, Yang Lianyi still cared about her and didn’t want her, already from a broken family, to be constantly disappointed. And with Qiao Rubai’s welcoming attitude, they had gradually become friends, exchanging house keys, even occasionally staying over…
Yang Lianyi had thought it was just about satisfying Yang Miemie’s desire to see Qiao Rubai every few days.
But she had been too naive!
Taking notes while answering calls, she glanced at Qiao Rubai, holding Yang Miemie. I’m becoming more and more reliant on her for babysitting! I was the one who was supposed to poach her! Something’s not right…
It was… right.
Even if they couldn’t be together, being close was good.
Qiao Rubai touched Yang Miemie’s face. Good girl, you’re my secret weapon against your aunt!
But being together would be even better, right? She looked at the screen, where Mi Hongdou was feeding Ji Junxin fried pig skin, their interaction so sweet, they must be together by now, right?
Ignorance is bliss.
Qiao Rubai looked at Yang Lianyi, who was busy writing. This was the closest she could get, for now, until the truth about their past lives was revealed.
Not knowing was indeed a blessing.
Although the 24/7 live streaming format of “Reality Online” made Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin’s confession hurried and clumsy, limiting their opportunities for physical intimacy or even sweet nothings, at least there was the bathroom at night…
And precisely because of the show’s rules, their isolation from the outside world, shielded from online comments and external influences, their suppressed feelings intensified, their gazes, expressions, and interactions betraying their unspoken love, every glance, every touch, a spark of joy, a strange and wonderful experience.
While Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin were enjoying their fried pig skin, Jiang Lingling, on her task hunt, was fuming.
“There was no fifty-log limit yesterday, why the limit now!” Jiang Lingling, holding the axe, her foot on the chopping block, was clearly unhappy about the new rule.
Uncle Zhang, the NPC who needed firewood, seeing Jiang Lingling’s aggressive posture and remembering her two-hour wood-chopping frenzy the day before, took a few steps back. “Ahem… it’s a… reasonable adjustment, a reasonable adjustment.”
It was, indeed. Jiang Lingling had looked like she could chop wood forever, as long as there were logs and time. Her speed and endurance had surprised everyone, even Pan Xiang. If there were no limit, she wouldn’t need to do any other tasks, she could carry her team single-handedly with wood-chopping alone.
Two hours a day, almost a hundred coins easily earned, she would dominate the game.
When something threatened to break the game’s balance, they naturally had to… fix it.
Jiang Lingling understood this, but she still wanted to argue. Just fifty logs? Only five coins? She had planned to carry her team with wood-chopping!
“It’s okay, even fifty logs is a lot of work,” Bao Yueqiao said, trying to comfort her.
Jiang Lingling felt a little better.
Seeing that it worked, Bao Yueqiao continued, “And chopping down too many trees is bad for the environment.”
Jiang Lingling: “…”
Uncle Zhang mentally gave Bao Yueqiao a thumbs-up and retreated further, adding, “Yes, if there’s no limit, I’m afraid the mountain will be bald by the time we finish filming.” He quickly distanced himself from the increasingly annoyed Jiang Lingling.
Whether Jiang Lingling liked it or not, the rule was there.
Less than ten minutes later, Jiang Lingling, having earned five coins, and Bao Yueqiao, still stunned by her wood-chopping skills, left.
She had never seen a beautiful girl chop wood with such speed, precision, and efficiency, like a wood-chopping machine…
Not just Bao Yueqiao, Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao had also watched, mesmerized, for two hours the night before…
Leaving Uncle Zhang’s courtyard, after a few steps, Bao Yueqiao, still dazed, suddenly said, “Wait, there was also a laundry task there. You chopped wood, I can do the laundry now.”
“What laundry? Ji Junxin’s six radishes are enough to make a pot of soup, you want to add more?” Jiang Lingling stopped. “Lead the way, let’s go to that corn kernel place you and Mi Hongdou went to.”
That task was difficult, but… Bao Yueqiao glanced back at the courtyard, for Jiang Lingling, it probably wasn’t that difficult.
Indeed… it wasn’t.
Jiang Lingling, after hearing the old man’s explanation of the task, snorted.
The task was as Bao Yueqiao described, with one addition: “Each team can take fifty corn cobs per day.”
So, they had also limited the corn kernel task. She had hoped to take advantage before they realized, hmph!
The day before, it had taken Mi Hongdou and Bao Yueqiao an hour to finish ten cobs, completely exhausted afterward.
Today, after witnessing Jiang Lingling’s wood-chopping skills, Bao Yueqiao thought that together, they could probably finish fifty cobs in three hours, well, if they had the energy…
But just as she was about to start, Jiang Lingling stopped her.
“I’ll do it, you wait for me in the shade, it will be quick.” She took out a small stone from her pocket and showed it to the old man. “I came prepared, it’s just a pity you only have fifty.”
The old man, a paid actor, looked confused.
But he soon understood.
The stone was about the length of two knuckles, a finger wide, and one end seemed to have been sharpened.
The cameraman zoomed in on the stone.
The viewers on Jiang Lingling’s live stream recognized it. Wasn’t that the stone she had picked up in the courtyard while making fish soup? She had been rubbing it against the stove, so it wasn’t just… playing with it?
Of course not.
Jiang Lingling held the stone and, like cutting tofu, effortlessly sliced off a row of kernels.
Silence, both on and off screen.
The cameraman’s hand trembled slightly. Was that really a stone, not a blade? …
Just as they were expecting a demonstration of her corn-kernel-removing technique, she sliced off another row from the other side and stopped.
And then… in the next three seconds, the viewers witnessed a magic trick called “corn shucking.”
She twisted the cob with both hands, and all the kernels fell off, leaving a clean cob. What sorcery is this?!
How can Mi Hongdou and Bao Yueqiao, who struggled for ten minutes per cob, even compete!
Jiang Lingling, discarding the cob, looked up at Bao Yueqiao. “It takes about six or seven seconds per cob, faster than chopping wood, right?”
Bao Yueqiao, who had thought it would take them three hours, could only nod dumbly.
“Good, then we can move on to the next task soon. We’ll earn enough coins to buy you some meat,” Jiang Lingling said quickly, picking up the stone and starting on the next cob.
I feel… a strange sense of security? Bao Yueqiao thought, looking at Jiang Lingling’s effortless movements, a complicated expression on her face.
Although the quantity-based tasks were now limited, Jiang Lingling still worked quickly and efficiently.
Pan Xiang, watching the live stream, also looked at Jiang Lingling with a complicated expression. She’s so efficient, good thing I adjusted the tasks, and she’s not obsessed with them, or it would be a problem.
As the chief planner of Reality Online, after filming started, she had finally realized the difference between writing and producing a reality show, especially a live-streamed one.
The characters and worlds she created in her stories, although they seemed to develop a life of their own after a while, were still under her control. She could even use this sense of autonomy to make the characters more vivid and relatable.
And before Reality Online, she had carefully considered the participants’ autonomy, designing various scenarios for the games and tasks. But after filming started, she realized she should have considered more, like… Jiang Lingling, who she thought would just take advantage of the tasks, was actually… a bug!
She was glad she was on site, monitoring the live stream 24/7, so she could make adjustments in real time.
So far, the show’s development was still within her expectations. But she hadn’t expected that while she was focused on the show, her daily updates on Jinjiang would cause a problem.
More accurately, it was her new novel that was the problem.
Her new story was a xianxia novel. Unlike her previous clear-cut characters, this protagonist was more complex.
Someone who, to protect the person they loved, had killed many people.
And while she was busy with “Reality Online,” a particular plot point in her latest chapter sparked a heated debate in the comments section.
She recognized the IDs defending her. She also recognized the IDs attacking her…
For an author, the most disheartening thing was seeing your readers turn against you.
The comments were a battlefield. Pan Xiang, in Dengjia Village, wondered, did I really make a mistake?
Among the familiar IDs, she didn’t see the one who always got the first comment, who always left long, thoughtful reviews, who had gradually become a regular commenter, even a friend.
Perhaps, for an author, the most disheartening thing was a loyal reader suddenly disappearing.
That ID had left a comment mentioning a business trip and not being able to keep up with the updates, but with the heated debate in the comments, she hadn’t reappeared… she must have… silently abandoned the story.
Pan Xiang felt a pang of sadness.
And she didn’t know that the owner of that ID was currently exerting superhuman strength, removing the kernels from the last corn cob.
Still less than ten minutes, five coins earned.
After completing the two familiar tasks, Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao went to meet Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin, reporting their progress, pretending not to notice the aroma of fried meat or the seemingly delicious food in the small bowl.
I don’t even want to know what it is! I have to maintain my image on the live stream! Wipe that drool!
The four, reunited, under Jiang Lingling’s urging, left the fragrant courtyard and started exploring the village for new tasks.
A few hours later, they had found all the available tasks.
Besides the chicken-feeding, wood-chopping, laundry, and corn kernel tasks they had already done, there were six more.
One: solving a twenty-piece jigsaw puzzle within one minute for one coin, five attempts per team per day, one player per attempt.
Two: playing Gomoku, five attempts per day, one coin wager per game, winner gets two coins, loser loses one.
Three: sewing buttons, two garments for one coin, twenty garments available per team per day. This seemed like the most manageable task for normal people, simple and with a decent payout.
Four: carrying water, five buckets from a well 200 meters away for five coins, no partial credit, one attempt per team per day. This one wasn’t very friendly to those with average physical strength.
Five: feeding pigs, once a day, two coins, but you had to scoop the pig feed from a pot and pour it into the trough without spilling. The smell… once a day was enough.
After two rounds of exploring the village, they thought they had found all nine tasks, but then Jiang Lingling suggested checking the small river in front of the village for wild fish. They didn’t find any fish, but they did find the tenth task: catching crayfish, five crayfish for one coin, no tools provided.
Ji Junxin, after learning that the crayfish were only for coins, not for eating, was disappointed.
They concluded that, excluding Jiang Lingling, who was like a max-level player in a newbie village, even if they didn’t win the team challenge, by diligently completing daily tasks, they could still earn about twenty coins, enough for some fresh vegetables to supplement the free rice and pickled cucumbers.
This reassured Mi Hongdou, who could easily make a delicious meal with limited ingredients for Ji Junxin.
Having found all the tasks, the four split into two groups, each choosing the most suitable tasks.
Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao went straight for the water-carrying task.
And Mi Hongdou, seeing that it was almost evening, decided to collect the vegetables from the chicken-feeding task first.
She hadn’t expected to find the eleventh task at the old woman’s house…
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