Tang Xue instinctively hugged it, but her arms suddenly felt heavy, and she almost couldn't hold on. Only after finally managing to hold on did she realize how heavy the watermelon really was.
She quickly placed the melon at her feet, afraid that she might drop it and hurt herself.
"Grandpa, we can't just take your melons without doing anything."
Although Lin Xiaoxiao was envious of the watermelon, she didn't want to get it for free without doing anything.
They had already taken a lot of peaches from others while they were on the mountain, so Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't possibly ask for a melon for free.
"What's the big deal? It's just a melon," the old man waved his hand. "It's nothing valuable."
"We should earn it through our labor!" Lin Xiaoxiao was determined not to take the melon for free.
Through chatting with the elderly, Lin Xiaoxiao learned that there were no tasks arranged by the production team, but even if they couldn't get ingredients, getting fruit would be good too.
"You silly child." The old man saw Lin Xiaoxiao's persistence and glanced at his yard. "I'm going to pick some watermelons to buy in town. Can you help me pick a few?"
Lin Xiaoxiao blinked. She knew the old man didn't really want them to do anything. She glanced at the yard and nodded. "My arm isn't very convenient, so let Xiaoxue help you."
"Okay." The old man nodded. He hadn't planned for them to do anything; he just wanted them to accept the watermelon he gave them without feeling guilty.
"By the way, about last time..."
"No rush, I'll come find you later," Lin Xiaoxiao quickly interrupted the other person.
"Okay." The old man didn't think much of it; since Lin Xiaoxiao didn't want to hear about it, he stopped talking about it.
Tang Xue glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao with some suspicion, naturally not forgetting that Lin Xiaoxiao had spoken to this old man alone last time.
Lin Xiaoxiao smiled at Tang Xue with a docile expression, clearly indicating that she didn't want to talk about it.
Tang Xue didn't insist, and sighed softly, "Take it easy on yourself." Looking at Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes darting around, Tang Xue knew that she definitely wouldn't sit here and watch.
Lin Xiaoxiao's arm is indeed not suitable for picking watermelons with them.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Lin Xiaoxiao patted Tang Xue's hand. She had just looked around and saw that there were a lot of weeds in the yard.
Since she didn't have the ability to do anything else for the time being, nor could she afford to buy the melon, she could only do what she could, and weeding was the task she had chosen for herself.
Tang Xue went to the melon field to pick melons with the old man, while Lin Xiaoxiao squatted in the yard and began to weed diligently.
【Our CEO Lin is truly a person of great principle. Even though the old man said it wasn't necessary, she still insisted on doing something to repay him.】
[Once they finish filming, I definitely want to go to this place to catch fish and eat watermelon. Slurp, that watermelon looks so sweet.]
Judging from how Mr. Lin ate just now, I can tell I'm getting impatient.
Lin Xiaoxiao, who was busy weeding, had no idea that because of them, the village's watermelon sales had actually increased.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-04-20 23:59:36 and 2022-04-22 23:19:46!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Xia Qianlan (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 117
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After Tang Xue finished picking watermelons for the old man, she saw Lin Xiaoxiao diligently weeding in the yard.
Without much hesitation, she went over to help weed.
Seeing the two girls weeding in the yard under the scorching sun, the old man felt a little guilty and tried to persuade them a couple more times. But in the end, when the two girls insisted on doing something, he acquiesced to their actions.
"It's just a watermelon, nothing valuable, yet you've done so much for me. I feel a little bad about it."
Seeing that the two had finished weeding, the old man invited them into the house, let them tidy up, poured water for them and the cameraman who was following behind them, and then invited them to eat watermelon.
There weren't many weeds in the yard, but it still took quite a while to actually do it. It had been more than an hour since Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao finished weeding.
Under the warm welcome of the elderly woman, the cameraman who was with them also drank water and ate a piece of watermelon. After resting for a while, Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao prepared to leave.
"Grandpa, we really don't need that many, this one is enough."
Looking at the watermelons laid out at her feet, Lin Xiaoxiao was truly at a loss for words, even though she and Tang Xue were strong women, and even though her arm wasn't injured.
Even if she and Tang Xue could each carry a watermelon in one hand, there are still two left.
As for the staff following behind them, they were carrying such heavy cameras, so it was impossible for them to help them carry them.
Most importantly, Lin Xiaoxiao felt that she didn't have that thick skin.
Even though she brought all the watermelons back, they still had watermelons to eat during the rest of the filming period.
But Lin Xiaoxiao really didn't have that kind of thick skin, and resolutely refused to take one more item. In the end, she had to use the excuse that there were too many things and they simply couldn't carry them all to refuse.
But to Lin Xiaoxiao's surprise, as soon as she said that, the old man stroked his beard and told them to wait a moment.
A short while later, Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao saw the old man pushing a small cart and walking towards them.
"You can borrow this." The old man patted the cart. "This will make things much more convenient."
Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
This elderly lady was incredibly generous; she picked out very generous amounts of watermelon for them and even provided them with tools to carry all the watermelons home.
If Lin Xiaoxiao had money right now, she would definitely take all those watermelons back without hesitation.
The problem is that she doesn't have any money right now, and even if she did, she couldn't use it during the filming of the show.
Tang Xue didn't say anything, glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao, and then placed the watermelon that the old man had picked for her at the beginning on the cart. As for the others, she didn't touch them.
Seeing that Tang Xue only took one watermelon, the old man was clearly dissatisfied and even prepared to put the rest of the watermelon on the cart himself, but was stopped by Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao in the end.
Because both sides had their own insistence, they eventually had to compromise, and Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao took an extra watermelon.
Seeing their insistence, the old man didn't let them take all the watermelons.
"The old folks are so kind and hospitable." Looking at the two big watermelons on the cart, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
However, it must be said that this little cart has indeed brought them great convenience, at least in terms of providing great help for their next task.
"What did you talk to the old man about?" Pushing the cart, Tang Xue looked at the road in front of her without turning to look at Lin Xiaoxiao.
She didn't deny the old man's enthusiasm and generosity, but in Tang Xue's opinion, the old man's enthusiasm was probably related to the thing that Lin Xiaoxiao had kept from her.
"Ah! Oh, it's nothing, I just asked the old lady to help me find out something." Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes were a little unfocused. She didn't want to tell Tang Xue before things were settled.
"oh."
Tang Xue knew immediately that Lin Xiaoxiao had no intention of telling her. Although she was somewhat disappointed, she did not insist.
[What exactly is President Lin secretly up to behind Miss Tang Xue's back? I'm so curious!]
[I'm also curious, why didn't Miss Tang Xue ask more questions? I guarantee that if Miss Tang Xue had asked a few more questions, President Lin would have answered them.]
Miss Tang Xue probably didn't want to put President Lin in a difficult position, since President Lin clearly had no intention of saying anything.
As the audience said, although Tang Xue really wanted to know what Lin Xiaoxiao was up to, she also didn't want to put Lin Xiaoxiao in a difficult position.
Seeing that Tang Xue didn't press further, Lin Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't keep quiet not because she didn't want to tell Tang Xue, but because she wanted to give Tang Xue a surprise after things were settled.
After leaving the old man's house, the two prepared to go to the next villager's house. Now that they had a small cart, they didn't have to worry about not being able to carry all their things back.
The subsequent tasks did not go very smoothly for Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao.
After comparing the two later, they realized that the production crew was truly ruthless, while the old man was genuinely kind to them.
Afterwards, just like at the old man's house, they asked if they could exchange their labor for food and fruit, but did not receive a positive answer.
When Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao first encountered this situation, they chose to give up because they had limited time and had already spent several hours with the old man.
They wanted to get enough food for the rest of the time, and after not receiving a definite answer, they guessed that there probably weren't any tasks assigned by the production team.
But when they received the same answer at the next villager's house, Tang Xue and Lin Xiaoxiao sensed the program team's strong malice.
[The production team is casting a wide net without offering any real return.]
[These answers are all exactly the same; there's no way to determine if you'll receive a reward after doing the work.]
Compared to him, that old man was practically an angel.
I guess the old man wasn't part of the show's production team.
[This is quite likely, after all, the art style is completely different.]
Yes, the style is completely different. After receiving this ambiguous answer, Lin Xiaoxiao wanted to give the production team a good scolding.
If you help the other party with their work, you might end up with nothing. But if you don't do it, you might miss the tasks assigned by the production team and end up with nothing at all.
Although they had already gotten two watermelons, so they weren't exactly leaving empty-handed, the problem now was that they needed to eat.
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at Tang Xue, then at the staff members beside them, rolled her eyes, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Cameraman, can you give me a little hint?"
The cameraman looked at Lin Xiaoxiao with a big smile, as if he couldn't understand anything.
Lin Xiaoxiao's smile froze, and she sighed softly, realizing that she was just daydreaming.
"Let's do it." Tang Xue patted Lin Xiaoxiao's head. From their conversation with the villagers, they couldn't find a single flaw in their story.
The production team was probably wary of them; the villagers' answers were always the same. When you asked them other questions, they would just smile and look at you without saying a word.
It's completely different from when they were with the elderly. Either the staff hadn't had time to go to the elderly's place yet, or the villagers they're meeting now don't have any tasks to complete.
But this is obviously impossible, because the villagers' scripts are all the same, and it is clear that it was arranged in advance.
"Okay." Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. What else could they do but do it? Unless they were very satisfied with their current gains, they would have to obediently walk into the trap set by the production team.
[The production team is really ruthless! This tactic is a bit too cruel. It's so disheartening if you do all the work and get nothing in return.]
I thought the show had turned over a new leaf this time, but it seems I was too naive.
[For the production team to change their ways, it would be like a rain of red flowers falling from the sky.]
I'm a little worried that they'll end up wasting their time.
The only consolation is that this mission doesn't seem too difficult!
[You call this easy? I won't even mention Miss Tang Xue, but what kind of person is our CEO Lin? She's probably never seen anything like this before!]