Cooking dinner for ten people was no easy feat.
As the only "chef", Qu Mingshan suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility. He usually only cooked a few home-style dishes for his wife and son, he had never cooked for so many people at once.
With so many cameras around, the others felt awkward letting Qu Mingshan busy himself in the kitchen while they just stood by. They all found something to do.
Even Ke Jingyang, who never cooked, went to help out, chopping an onion and washing some vegetables.
For a dinner for ten, just one pot of fish soup wouldn't be enough; it wouldn't even be enough for everyone to have a single bowl. Qu Mingshan thought of the village chief's big rooster.
But none of them knew how to slaughter a chicken, so they simply asked the villagers of Fengxi Village for help. The people of Fengxi Village were simple and honest. When they heard that these big stars from outside needed their help, they readily agreed without a second thought.
The production team came to record the second season of the variety show, and to facilitate better filming, they gave money to every household in the village. Especially the original residents of the five houses where the guests were staying, they received substantial compensation, enough for their family's expenses for several years. For any other damages, the production team would arrange for compensation at market value afterward, so the villagers were very welcoming of their arrival.
After the chicken was slaughtered, Qu Mingshan washed the de-feathered chicken with water, removed its internal organs, and placed it in a clay pot. He added salt, green onions, ginger, and garlic, then put in fresh mushrooms picked from the kitchen garden and let it simmer over low heat.
The kitchen was bustling with activity, and the aroma of various foods wafted far through the open windows and doors.
The production team's staff could only watch helplessly as these guests turned a perfectly good parent-child outdoor reality show into a cooking show.
"Director Yi Zhuo, what should we do? Should we just let them continue like this?" A staff member asked.
"...What do you mean, what to do? I think this kind of program effect is quite good. Haven't you noticed that their performances are very down-to-earth? I didn't expect these big stars to be so different when they got together; it completely exceeded my expectations." Yi Zhuo, on the other hand, felt quite satisfied and didn't think these guests had deviated from the original concept of the variety show.
After all, the concept was about celebrity parents with their adorable kids, giving audiences a close-up view of their everyday lives. Sure, stars struggling with rural living made for conflict, but that wasn’t enough to truly set their show apart from other variety programs.
Now, the overall style of this show was very good, with a subtle sense of everyday life, warmth mixed with laughter, giving people a feeling of peaceful times.
However...
Yi Zhuo stroked his chin and continued, "However, they did get a bit too carried away today. They even dared to covet the village chief's big rooster. If we let them continue like this tomorrow, who knows what else they'll set their sights on for ingredients. Tomorrow, we'll stick to the original plan and give them more tasks to keep them busy."
Regarding whether the big rooster could be slaughtered, Qu Mingshan had actually asked the production team staff to specifically inquire with the Fengxi Village chief himself. If they truly weren't allowed to eat it, they wouldn't insist on eating this particular rooster.
Ultimately, it was only after receiving his permission that they proceeded with the rooster.
Dinner tonight was very rich: crucian carp tofu soup, fresh mushroom chicken soup, stir-fried pork with pickled beans... Perhaps because everyone participated, everyone ate very happily.
Little Gu Suisui was fed several bowls of chicken soup. Originally, this big rooster was specifically slaughtered for her; Ke Jingyang ultimately kept his word that as long as the little girl didn't cry, he would slaughter this rooster that bullied her and stew it into soup for her to drink.
After eating and drinking their fill, Gu Suisui patted her soft little belly, let out a small burp, and felt completely satisfied.
After dinner, everyone gathered to watch TV for a while. It was getting late, and there were no other entertainment programs, so they simply went back to their respective homes to prepare for bed.
Unlike the wooden bed from last time, their bed this time felt soft and comfortable to the touch. After her bath, Gu Suisui happily rolled around on the bed, hugging her pillow.
"Daddy Ke, please tell me a story. My mom tells me a story every day at home." Gu Suisui said in a sweet, childish voice, looking expectantly at Ke Jingyang, who was lying on the other side of the bed in blue pajamas.
Ke Jingyang opened his eyes and said in a flat tone, "I don't know how to tell stories." He was so old; how could he still remember the contents of fairy tale books.
Gu Suisui let out a disappointed "Oh," then suddenly thought of something and said, "Daddy Ke, then can you sing me a song? My mom says you're a great singer, the kind with a beautiful voice that many, many people want to hear you sing on stage."
Ke Jingyang was subtly praised by her, and his mood was quite good. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he rolled over and sat up on the bed, singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for the little one.
His voice was deep and magnetic, and he sang a children's nursery rhyme in a unique way.
"Daddy Ke, you sang so well just now. Can you sing another one?" Little Marshmallow only had a few words to praise people, and although they were simple, they were usually heartfelt and showed no hint of flattery.
Ke Jingyang's lips curved slightly upward, probably because he found being praised by a three-and-a-half-year-old child quite enjoyable. So, he didn't refuse the child's request this time.
Gu Suisui was easy to coax and didn't care what song the person next to her sang. Anyway, it wasn't long before she fell asleep.
Ke Jingyang sang three children's songs in a row. When he finished, he wondered what he would do if the little one asked him to continue singing, but then he realized she had fallen asleep at some point.
Gu Suisui was born beautiful, with skin that was fair with a hint of red, without a single visible pore. Her cheeks were as tender as if they could be pinched, and she had two faint dimples.
Even Ke Jingyang, who particularly disliked taking care of children, had to admit that this little girl, when asleep, was indeed as cute as a little angel.
Although it was already summer, the temperature in Fengxi Village was not as hot as in the city. It still felt a bit cold at night, and while adults were fine, children still needed a thicker blanket to cover themselves when sleeping.
Ke Jingyang stared at the sleeping Gu Suisui for a while, sighed softly, and helped her pull the blanket over her.
After doing all this, he also found a spot on the bed, lay down, closed his eyes again, and fell into a deep sleep.
Outside, the stars twinkled. Everyone was deep in their dreams.
The next day.
The production team of Traveling with Babies worried that idle guests might cause more “surprises” in the village, so they assigned everyone new tasks.
The five adults were sent to the back mountain fields to plant vegetables, while the five little ones were given the job of picking vegetables from other people's vegetable shed.
The five "entrusted with important tasks" adorable children each wore a small straw hat given by the production team. They all looked extremely excited, completely unaware that this was supposed to be “work.”
On the task card given by the production team, there were five names of vegetables written. Their task today was to find the correct vegetable in the shed and put it in the basket.
Because this task card was meant for children, every character on it was specially marked with pinyin. They were all common vegetables on the market, and the characters were not difficult to recognize. At least, the oldest two of the five, Qu Xiyue and Chang Qingyan, knew all of them.
But Gu Suisui, who had only recently become a human child, treated this task entirely as playtime because she hadn't seen what any of the vegetables written on the card looked like.
After yesterday's events, the spoiled Huo Ling'er's favorability towards Gu Suisui, the only other girl in the team, suddenly reached its maximum. From the morning gathering, she had been clinging to her, constantly calling her "Suisui sister." Even little Lin Doudou was robbed of the chance to hold Suisui sister's right hand and could only reluctantly hold Suisui sister's left hand.
Little Marshmallow, the group's favorite, was thus held by two children, one on each hand. They just followed along, making up the numbers, leaving the remaining tasks to Brother Xiyue and Brother Qingyan.
As a result, out of a total of five vegetables, they only found two correctly: cucumbers and tomatoes. They didn't find any of the others correctly.
The situation of the five-person group planting vegetables on the other side was not much better. People like them, who usually lived under the spotlight, had never done such physical labor!
Especially Zhang Huijin, but she didn't demand special treatment due to her gender. Last time, when everyone went to make handmade dragon's beard candy, she spent most of her time resting on the side. If she did the same today, netizens would surely criticize her for being overly delicate.
Zhang Huijin, deeply aware of this, finally gritted her teeth and went down to the farmland with everyone.
By the time all the work was done, she was so tired that she didn't even want to say two extra words. Although the other four grown men had good stamina, they were also exhausted by the arranged farm work.
...
Su Yuqing had already asked her aunt to help her apply for leave from school, she was entering a new film crew the day after tomorrow.
This was a low-budget web drama where she played the male lead's daughter, a relatively likable and interesting character. The movie Tit for Tat hadn't finished filming yet. If nothing unexpected happened, according to the timeline in her previous life, it wouldn't be released until January next year. During this break, she needed to film a short, high-quality TV series as a transitional step.
Su Yuqing, who regularly followed entertainment news, was naturally aware of the news that the parent-child outdoor reality show Traveling with Babies would release an extra-long pilot episode at 5 PM this afternoon.
So...
Watch it, or not?
Su Yuqing struggled internally for a short while, but ultimately, she opened the video app on her phone.
She was right on time, the video had only been online for less than three minutes.