CH 60

Ch 60: Hide and Seek

The next morning, it was the older siblings' turn to go into the town to sell their goods, while the little ones had other arrangements in the village.

Once they got in the car, Yin Chang saw Wang Chen and asked with concern, "Did you and Xue Ziwenwen make up yesterday?"

"What nonsense!" Wang Chen kicked the tree root under his feet in frustration and complained, "He was so proud of that one piece of trash he found and refused to say even one word to me last night!"

Maybe it was because he already felt his image was tarnished due to the argument last night, Wang Chen spoke more aggressively in front of the camera today, with a sense of throwing caution to the wind.

Huang Han patted Wang Chen's shoulder, "He’s just a kid, give him some slack."

Yin Chang recalled Shao Junling's complaints in the bathroom the previous night and couldn't help but vent as well, "Kids are sometimes hard to deal with. Yesterday, when I was chatting with my brother, guess what he said to me? He said that I was 'wasteful, well-meaning, and forgetful', so he had been tolerating me all along."

"What did you waste? And isn't being well-meaning a good thing? Forgetful... who can be expected to have a memory as good as Shao Junling's?"

That little shit had still had the audacity to cling so closely to him in bed. And there were so many cameras pointing at them too! Yin Chang had felt so aggravated that he had been tempted to kicked him off the bed!

Huang Han laughed out loud, "Haha, I have to say though, your brother seems pretty mature. You should be content."

"Mature?" Yin Chang snorted, "You haven't seen how childish he can be."

"How was he childish?" Huang Han asked.

Yin Chang told Huang Han about the incident when Shao Junling almost fought with the twin brothers on the night after the previous recording.

Although he spoke softly, Wang Chen, who was sitting in the front row, overheard. The thick-skinned Wang Chen was shocked, "Did that really happen? I had no idea!"

Qin Jingshan and Lang Chizhi hearing Wang Chen's sudden exclamation, were also curious, "What happened?"

Yin Chang figured this matter would be broadcasted anyway, so told them.

Lang Chizhi was also in the car and felt embarrassed when he heard this. Huang Han asked him, "Little Lang, if Shao Junling's brother didn't show up at the time, would you really have fought?"

In front of a group of elder brothers and elder sisters, Lang Chizhi did not dare to be arrogant. He touched his nose and honestly admitted, "Shao Junling challenged me first. If I didn't show up, wouldn't that make me a coward?"

The crowd: "......"

Huang Han barely suppressed his laughter, "It's not childish to challenge someone to a fight. It's just the youthful spirit."

"The fight isn't the main point." Yin Chang sighed and continued, "What I'm about to say concerns Shao Junling's pride. That night, he didn't succeed in fighting and was angry. When I went back, I let him fight me. He couldn't beat me and actually cried... He also said, 'A person can be destroyed, but not defeated'..."

"Your little brother is so funny!" Huang Han couldn't hold back his laughter and almost burst out, "But on the other hand, I think that crying is actually a way of acting spoiled. Just like my sister, she cries a lot, but when Shao Junling took her to do a task yesterday, she didn't cry... That little girl is really cunning. She knows that I have no way to deal with her when she cries, so she manipulates me in this way."

Huang Han looked at Yin Chang, "I think Shao Junling is the same. He cries in front of you because he trusts you. It's a way for him to seek a sense of existence, but I would surmise he would never shed a tear in front of others."

The two of them were whispering, but Qin Jingshan who was sitting next to them overheard anyways.

Qin Jingshan only heard the latter part, but it seemed to strike a chord with her. "Pretending to be pitiful and acting spoiled! My sister loves to use this trick too!"

So the conversation turned to "methods children use to get attention from adults" the entire way.

When they arrived at the small town, the staff led them to the market.

Huang Han glanced at the cameraman following closely behind and said warily, "Hey! Do you think those little guys will gather together to watch us like we did yesterday?"

Everyone looked at the camera, imagined devil horns growing out of the little ones' heads, and shivered.

"Ah... the pressure is so high!"

"Perform well! Perform well! Otherwise, we'll be in big trouble when we go back!"

Everyone found a spot to set up their stalls.

Since Shao Junling was teamed up with You Luming and Qin Xifeng yesterday, Yin Chang, Huang Han, and Qin Jingshan were squatting together. They took everything out of the broken basket and laid them all out on the ground.

"Wow, so many things! We can definitely make money today!" Huang Han said optimistically.

Lang Chizhi was nearby, and was already shouting, "Selling treasures, selling treasures! Big brothers, big sisters, uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas! Passersby! Don't miss out!"

"Who will shout for us?" Huang Han looked at Yin Chang on his left and then at Qin Jingshan on his right. Thinking that You Luming had contributed the least in yesterday's team task, he took the initiative. "I'll do it!"

He took a deep breath and was about to start shouting when someone had already surrounded them.

"Where did you guys come from?"

"Are you filming for TV?"

"The young man is so handsome, how old is he?"

The villagers spoke Mandarin with a local accent and gathered around, gossiping.

Actually, from the moment they entered the market, people had stopped and watched them. After all, Yin Chang and Qin Jingshan were eye-catching, not to mention there were several cameramen behind them. It was hard not to attract the attention of passersby.

Huang Han explained several times, "We're here to sell things," before the onlookers calmed down.

"Oh, buying things... are you selling these eggs?" asked an old lady.

"Sure! How many do you want?" Huang Han replied excitedly.

"I was just about to buy some eggs! Give me all of them," the old lady said.

After excitedly picking up the basket of eggs and handing it over, Huang Han suddenly realized that he didn't know how much the eggs should be sold for. He tugged Yin Chang, "Hey, how much should we sell these for?"

Yin Chang was also not sure, "Five yuan each?"

Qin Jingshan hastily said, "Is that a bit expensive? I bought a cake with an egg in the city before, and it was only five yuan."

The three of them huddled together and discussed, and finally Huang Han told the old lady, "Two yuan each. There are at least thirty here, so that's sixty yuan. We'll give you the basket too."

The old lady looked shocked, "Sixty? That's robbery!"

The onlookers nearby were also frightened by the price, muttering "scammers" and "so expensive," and scattered in an instant.

For the small town residents struggling with life, even a good-looking appearance couldn't support two yuan per egg.

Huang Han was completely crushed by the sudden coldness and defeat, lamenting, "Oh, so eggs are really cheap?"

Qin Jingshan asked, "Then how much can we sell all these things for?"

Yin Chang said, "Maybe at most fifty?"

A chilly wind blew, and the three of them instantly fell into a pessimistic mood.

Huang Han weakly shouted, "Fellow villagers... come and see... fresh eggs... persimmons... sweet potatoes... red dates..."

Yin Chang and Qin Jingshan: "... "Why does it sound so wrong?"

Huang Han couldn't be relied on. Qin Jingshan stood up and gathered his courage to shout, "Eggs are cheap! Persimmons are cheap! Everything is cheap!"

When people heard "cheap," more people gathered around to ask for prices. Qin Jingshan put on a smile and enthusiastically promoted, "Uncle, my younger siblings picked these eggs themselves, and we don't know what the appropriate price is. You can offer whatever you want to pay."

The uncle saw Qin Jingshan's smile and was happy, so he generously said, "The normal price for eggs here is fifty cents each, but I'll give you fifty-five cents each. Give me ten of the larger ones."

After the uncle left with the eggs, the three of them were both happy and sad. They were happy that they had finally made their first sale, but they were sad because ten eggs only sold for five yuan and fifty cents! The uncle had given them the extra fifty cents, as if he were giving them an extra five hundred yuan. It was really frustrating!

After experiencing the difficulties of life, the three of them continued to sell with renewed energy. Perhaps because they had already experienced success once, they quickly sold their goods. In just half an hour, all they had left was a roll of cloth.

Although their income was not much, they were proud of themselves for selling everything.

"I'm going to see how they're doing." Qin Jingshan stood up and walked a few steps to Lang Chizhi's stall, only to find that none of his items had sold.

Lang Chizhi was guarding his pens, paintings, and fans, and was almost in tears. They were treasures that Guo Yiheng had carefully selected, but no one was interested in them.

Although he felt sorry for him, Qin Jingshan realized that it was reasonable. The prices here were only at the level of fifty-five cents per egg, and most people only cared about their basic needs. Who had spare money to buy art?

Qin Jingshan then went to check on Wang Chen's stall in another direction, but he saw a large group of people surrounding it from afar.

As he approached, Qin Jingshan heard Wang Chen's singing in the middle of the crowd.

"What's up? Come in! ... Look at me? I'm the King! I'm the King! ..." He sang.

After the task was over, everyone headed back to the village corner. The little ones stood at the entrance to welcome them. Xue Ziwen hid in the back, and when he saw Wang Chen, his face turned red.

Wang Chen gave Xue Ziwen a glance before beckoning him closer with a crooked finger. Xue Ziwen puckered his lips and timidly called out "Uncle."

They guessed right. This group of kids had actually watched the livestream, or else Xue Ziwen would never act like this.

Wang Chen gave him a light slap on the back of his head and chuckled, "You idiot!"

Xue Ziwen laughed awkwardly, and the delicious food that Wang Chen brought back made him forget about his unhappiness. He quickly followed Wang Chen, who he had reconciled with completely.

During lunch, the staff called out Yin Chang separately and gave him a task book. They told him to open it after lunch and not let Shao Junling know.

"What could it be? So secretive..." Yin Chang wondered.

After lunch was a brief rest period. Yin Chang found a secluded corner and opened the task book. It said "Hide and Seek".

The task required him to quietly go to the location shown on the map and hide there. When Shao Junling realized he was missing, he would go out to search for him. Every group of guests did this task, and whoever found their siblings the fastest would be the winner.

"Heh, interesting," Yin Chang thought, looking at Shao Junling, sound asleep on the bed. Yin Chang left quietly without waking him up.

The location on the map seemed to be on a mountain, and the task book had several landmarks drawn on it. However, Yin Chang walked for a while before seeing the first one.

"Is it that far?" Yin Chang asked the staff following him. "Will he be able to find it?"

The staff revealed, "He will receive clues."

Only then did Yin Chang feel at ease. He walked quickly towards the destination, and after about forty minutes, he finally arrived at the designated location. It was a cave, with a recliner inside and a small table next to it with a teapot and teacups on it.

"You guys are pretty humane..." Yin Chang smiled and lay down on the recliner. He propped up his long legs, and waited for Shao Junling to find him while resting leisurely.

The cave was cool, and as Yin Chang lay there, he began to feel drowsy and unknowingly fell asleep.

When he woke up, Shao Junling was still nowhere to be seen.

Yin Chang took a sip of tea, glanced at the cameraman and staff yawning next to him, and walked outside the cave. He was halfway up the mountain and judging by the position of the sun, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.

Yin Chang frowned. Shao Junling was so smart and had a good sense of direction. According to reason, if there were any clues, he wouldn't be this late.

He returned to the cave and worriedly asked, "What if my brother doesn't come to find me?"

The staff replied, "...He will come."

Yin Chang could only patiently wait. After about half an hour, he finally heard a rush of footsteps outside.

Yin Chang rushed out and saw Shao Junling. He happily said, "Why did you come so late? I've been waiting for you for so long!"

Shao Junling wiped his sweat, "Hmm."

Whenever this happened, Yin Chang wanted to mock Shao Junling's indifference. He was nearly dead from impatience, but this guy was always so calm.

"How long did he take?" Yin Chang asked the staff as they were descending the mountain. "It's been almost three hours, hasn't it?"

"Around there." the staff member smiled mysteriously.

As they approached the village, Shao Junling suddenly stopped and took out a red ribbon the width of his palm from his pocket. He turned to Yin Chang, "Brother, you need to be blindfolded."

Shao Junling: Silly brother, you got fooled and didn't even realize it.

Translator’s Note:

Chapter sponsored by Yaara. Thank you for taking my kofi virginity! It was great 10/10