Chapter 41
At the same time, Ji Ruochu was placed on a bamboo chair by the staff. Her small backpack was put aside, and inside it was a pancake that had caused her to fall on her buttocks earlier.
At this moment, a staff member was feeding her a small spoonful of duck egg yolk, and the little one was eating it with great relish, savoring each bite.
What? You're wondering why she's not doing her task?
Come on, as the reigning champion of Best Actress, could she afford to stumble in front of everyone?
She sat on the ground and refused to get up, wearing a proud expression on her face. "Compensation!"
Helpless, the production team could only offer her compensation for mental distress, like the boiled egg in front of her, or having someone feed her.
In any case, by the time the other children arrived, panting and sweating, Ji Ruochu had already eaten her fill and let out a delicate burp.
"Little Ruoruomeng!" Fan Jin immediately widened his eyes and asked, "Are you also here to visit your grandmother who is seriously ill?"
Staff member on the side: ...Is it possible that I'm just here with a pancake?
"Yes!" The little girl tilted her head and said, "If you complete the task, you can get a reward by threading the needle!"
Fan Jin was overjoyed and turned to ask the staff member with graying hair, "Really, Granny with a serious illness?"
The staff member: ...Not true.
After some communication, the children eagerly ran toward the table where the needles and threads were placed, earnestly holding a needle in one hand and a thread in the other.
Yes, needles.
The production team was frightened by Ji Ruochu's effortless performance earlier, fearing that these children would complete the task too quickly. They hurriedly replaced the thick, long needles with ordinary-sized embroidery needles.
This made it difficult for the children who were holding colorful threads. They couldn't control their shaking hands, and their eyes were almost cross-eyed. They soon complained of sore eyes.
Seeing this, the directorial team finally relaxed. Indeed, this was the correct way to proceed. Ji Ruochu's previous efficiency was definitely just luck!
Now, here comes the problem. The difficulty seems to be too high. Should we add a small interactive activity to make it easier for the children?
Otherwise, they probably won't be able to complete the task by nightfall.
"Sister, let me help you!"
After finishing her afternoon snack, Ji Ruochu didn't rush to leave and start the next task. Instead, she kindly walked over to Mao Ziqing, who had a troubled expression on her face.
Well, she admitted that she felt a little guilty.
After all, the eye of the needle just now wasn't this small. She had completely torn the umbrellas of these children without getting wet.
"Really?!" Mao Ziqing's face lit up with joy, and she immediately handed the needle and thread to Ji Ruochu.
Just as Ji Ruochu was about to make up for her mistake, Fan Jin expressed his confusion, "Ruoruomeng, why is your needle so big?"
Oh, right.
The children turned their heads to look at the thick and ridiculously long needle on the table, and then at the embroidery needles in their hands.
"Maybe... it's because I was the first one here." Ji Ruochu pretended to ponder with a look of faux concern, then confidently declared, "It must be that."
It definitely wasn't because she completed the task too quickly, causing the production team to suddenly increase the difficulty!
"I see..." The children nodded, thinking it made sense.
"How are you going to help Qingqing? Your needle is not the same size as ours. Let me tell you, this is very difficult—"
"Alright~"
Before Fan Jin could finish his sentence, he noticed his younger sister, Mao Ziqing, handing the threaded needle to Ji Ruochu.
!!!
To say that everyone on the set was shocked would be an understatement. The director jumped up from his chair.
What's going on?
"Wow!"
A group of children exclaimed in surprise and immediately surrounded Ji Ruochu and the needle in her hand.
"You're amazing, little sister Ruoruomai!"
"Little sister Ruoruomai, how did you do it? Can you teach me?"
Seeing the puzzled expression on the little girl's face, she tilted her head and said, "Is it difficult? Like this, like this, and then like this, that's it!"
As she spoke, the little girl effortlessly threaded the needle, and while she was at it, she also threaded Geng Zhenzhen's needle.
"Wow!!!"
The children's exclamations grew louder, and their eyes looked at Ji Ruochu as if she were a legendary hero.
Not only the children, but even the staff present couldn't help but rub their eyes in disbelief.
[I'm really laughing. Who taught a four-year-old child to moisten the thread with their mouth before threading the needle?]
[It's definitely Ji Mochen, that unreliable person. Look at how skilled our little one is in everything.]
[Ji Mochen, teaching her everything has only caused trouble for you!]
[She really... even knows to position the eye of the needle towards the light when threading. Honestly, with this experienced posture, I thought she was about to start mending my torn pants.]
[Suggest checking, it doesn't look fake. This skill can't be explained without five years of experience as a female worker.]
[Name: Ji Ruochu,
Age: Four and a half,
Work experience: Five years.]
Before long, the program staff added another topic to their discussion pool: "Useless Dad and Multitalented Daughter."
"Thank you, little sister Ruoruomai," said the two girls happily after successfully completing the task, promising to share the ingredients they received with her.
"And me too, little sister Ruoruomai. I'll share with you!" the two little boys chimed in.
Ji Ruochu naturally had no reason to refuse. Finally, the program crew managed to capture a complete shot of the adorable kids threading the needle.
Only after the children left happily with their individual baskets, supported by the eldest child on each side, did the program crew start to believe that Ji Ruochu indeed possessed some peculiar skills.
And so, under the warm sunlight, the four children with their woven baskets protected their little sister in the middle, and the eldest child carried her basket on one side.
Each basket was filled with the fragrance of scallion pancakes and the unknown scent of flowers by the roadside. The children chatted and laughed as they approached the nearby house.
This heartwarming scene was captured by netizens, who went crazy with screenshots.
It was only when the children reached the doorstep of Auntie Li, who raised chickens, that the frenzy of netizens taking screenshots subsided.
"Auntie, can we exchange these pancakes for some eggs?" the children lined up their little baskets and asked the people inside.
"Sure, that's possible," the NPC dutifully followed the script, "but our family can't eat so many pancakes. In that case, I can only exchange two pancakes for six eggs, but you have to help me clean up the chicken droppings at the entrance."
The children looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw two small piles of chicken droppings in front of the gate.
"Eww..." As soon as the children saw it clearly, they immediately frowned and took a few steps back instinctively.
"How about we go? It looks so disgusting," whispered Geng Zhenzhen.
"Yeah, let's do other tasks," nodded Fan Jin in agreement.
"But the Village Chief Uncle said only two families can exchange things with big pancakes, and the other family only wants three pancakes," Mao Ziqing counted on his fingers and realized that they wouldn't have enough if they didn't do this task.
The little ones instantly turned pale like frost-bitten eggplants.
"I don't want to clean chicken droppings. It's dirty and stinky. I'll never eat eggs again!"
Knowing that hens lay eggs and also produce such smelly droppings, the five-and-a-half-year-old Lin Xindi couldn't take it anymore.
"Although chicken droppings are ugly, we also poop and it's stinky," Geng Zhenzhen said involuntarily.
"Yeah, one time I couldn't poop for several days, and my mom had to use a laxative on me! And then I pooped a whole lot of stinky poop," Fan Jin vividly described.
"Yuck!"
The other four little ones immediately distanced themselves.
[Poor children, what will they do when they grow up? This embarrassing history is so vivid.]
[I can only pray that this child won't enter the entertainment industry in the future, otherwise...]
[Help! I can already imagine the expression of adult Fan Jin when he sees this passage.]
Fortunately, the children hadn't forgotten about the task. After some useless communication, the first brave warrior was born.
"I'll do it. We have a little dog at home, and sometimes I help my mom clean up after it," Geng Zhenzhen thought for a moment and said.
As long as she thought of this chicken droppings as the dog's poop at home, she felt she could accept it.
"Then I can do it too," Fan Jin patted his chest, "If you ask me, this chicken droppings aren't as smelly as my poop!"
Ji Ruochu: ...That doesn't seem like something worth being proud of?