Xin Hong could change his surname to "Xin," which was quite admirable.
Xia Weiliang only found out later that this guy who wore Air Jordan with a swoosh was genuinely wealthy!
The phrase "second-generation rich" wasn't even enough to describe his extravagance, but she also learned that the money he squandered was left by his elder brother who had harmed his own sister.
It was truly a case of karma. That man, knowing his deeds were all clandestine, dared not marry or have children for fear of leaving any leverage. As a result, when he fell ill and could no longer get up, he discovered he had no successor. It was then he remembered his sister's son, who lived outside the village – Xin Hong's father.
He gave the family a sum of money and took the child away. After making all the arrangements, he passed away.
Xin Hong's father also died young. He said it was retribution because his mother's sins in Baqi Village were too great. Before she died, she told Xin Hong that he must atone for her.
Thus, Xin Hong became the "Xin Hong" of today.
"Sigh, Little Xin, we're all adults. Whether this talk of retribution and reincarnation is true or not, I don't know. I only know that as a person, you can't go against your own conscience, and that's enough!"
Xia Weiliang munched on sunflower seeds and said earnestly, "Listen to your sister's advice. Life spans decades and is nothing more than 'following your heart'! Just like what you're doing, it's great. Staying in such a beautiful place, passing down its stories generation after generation, think about how cool that is!"
Xin Hong turned to look at her and suddenly asked, "Then are you willing to be the one who listens to the stories?"
"No problem!"
Xia Weiliang agreed without a second thought, "I love listening to stories the most!"
Whether it was thrilling, suspenseful, or bizarre stories, she loved them all.
On the opposite side, Xiao Shuai's camera almost covered itself up in disbelief.
Tsk, how carefree she was! Flirting like this when the Film Emperor wasn't around? Wasn't she afraid of settling accounts later?
Didn't she know the Film Emperor's temperament or had she never suffered before?
Xin Hong gazed at her, and a smile finally appeared on his face, which was full of masculine charm.
"What did you say, you brat?!"
She was about to use her Nine Yin White Bone Claws again, and Mikoy quickly begged for mercy, "Alright, alright, I'm not kidding with you. This kid really likes you! Don't just talk about me, everyone can see it!"
Xia Weiliang sent him off with a "hmph."
"Does everyone else constantly talk about chasing you, liking you, and wanting to be with you like you do? Young Xin is a motivated and ambitious youth with ideals!"
Mikoy waved his hands frantically, "Okay, okay, I'm the one with no ambition, no ideals, and I'm not motivated. Is that good enough!"
Despite his words, he still kept Xia Weiliang within his manageable range, vowing not to let Xin Hong have any more thoughts about her.
After appreciating the beautiful scenery of Baqi Village, Xin Jinghe announced that he would host a banquet that evening.
When the production crew arrived, the first thing they saw were rows of inflatable dolls, each with a different expression, dressed in villagers' clothing, all lifelike.
The scene felt as if they had stumbled into a horror movie set.
Xin Jinghe said, "Everyone, please don't mind. Our village rarely gets this lively, so they also want to join in the fun."
The crew: "..."
In fact, explanations were unnecessary.
They had expected a simple meal, but they didn't realize that "hosting" meant truly "hosting"!
No one knew where all the expensive and abundant food had been sourced from. A long table seven or eight meters long was laden with delicacies!
Things like "Sprite from '82" and "Coke from '76" were not a challenge! Red wine that cost seven or eight thousand yuan a bottle was treated like mineral water here.
In comparison, what were those fake villagers behind them?
Let alone wanting to join the fun, they wouldn't have stopped them even if they wanted to sit at the table!
But after all, they were a national variety show crew; they couldn't lose their composure and demeanor. Everyone seemed to have conspired beforehand, sitting with their backs straight and their eyes fixed forward.
"Please, everyone, don't be polite," Xin Jinghe beckoned.
Xia Weiliang resisted the urge to reach out, turned to the person beside her, and asked, "Director Huang, is it really okay for us to be so decadent? And this budget won't fall on us, right? That won't do. Everyone knows our crew is poor!"
"Right!" Wai Shao's stomach had growled three times already, but he still held back and said, "We can skip the meal, but absolutely not spend money!"
Zhang Miaomiao, listening from the side, felt genuinely heartbroken!
This group of people, Wai Shao was the youngest, and look at how he had trained the child!
Situ and Mikoy also nodded in agreement. In short, no problem in this world couldn't be solved with money!!
Xi En chuckled. He was never a person with great appetites, so eating anything was the same to him.
Director Huang quickly explained, "The village chief is treating us today."
Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed, "Oh~"
So that's how it was.
Then what were they waiting for!
The rest of them all looked at their spiritual mentor again. They didn't know their usual habits, but as soon as they joined the program "Courage," the ingrained virtue of frugality would all emerge. Let alone eating so many expensive delicacies, they felt it was a waste even to add an extra oil packet when cooking instant noodles!
Suddenly having such good food, they were truly at a loss for what to do.
Director Huang, a man who didn't prioritize personal desires either inside or outside the show, always held a glass of plain water at company dinners, chatting with people at every table about planning, which annoyed the leaders immensely!
Even he was stumped today.
"Uh, Village Chief, this..."
Xin Jinghe smiled, "The delicacies were prepared by Xin Hong long ago. Not eating them would be a waste. Director Huang can make his own decision."
With that said, what further hesitation could there be?
After Director Huang had everyone toast the village chief with a glass of wine, everyone rolled up their sleeves and began to feast!
How long had it been since they had seen meat since they came out? Zhang Miaomiao's cooking was good, but the limited ingredients were a problem!
Xia Weiliang grabbed two large pork knuckles, bit into one herself, and stuffed the other into Xiao Shuai's mouth, "Eat first!"
Xiao Shuai was about to take a bite, but when he saw Master Qiao Ge's unwavering posture, he immediately felt shallow!
He decisively gave up the pork knuckle.