The show began, and Da Fei's fans were all eagerly anticipating it.
The opening credits rolled, and a long shot from a drone caught everyone's eye.
The beauty of Xishuangbanna was fully displayed.
"Wow, this place is so beautiful, I really want to go!"
"South of the Clouds, it's really something, is Da Fei recording the show here this time? I'm so envious!"
"I'm from Yunnan, welcome to come and play here!"
"This is our village, I took a picture with Da Fei a few days ago when he came to record the show!"
"..."
After a very beautiful shot ended, the camera switched to Liangyin Media.
Da Fei was sitting in the office, and the director's team handed him a cue card.
Then, the screen paused, and a few photos of Da Fei were displayed.
"Da Fei, the recognized musical genius of the Chinese music scene, guest lecturer at Magic City University of Politics and Law, host, magician, sketch actor, director, writer..."
Da Fei's introduction seemed to be all over the place, as if spanning several fields. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him an all-around artist.
"Haha, Da Fei's strength doesn't allow him to be low-key anymore."
"Otherwise, this program could just introduce Da Fei's titles; one episode simply isn't enough."
"It's an honor for you all that Da Fei is coming on your show. I hope the program doesn't make things difficult for him and knows what's good for it."
"Who would dare make things difficult for Da Fei? Even with Sister Deng giving them courage, they wouldn't dare."
"After all, he's the warrior who locked up a wolf, a master on par with Wu Song."
"..."
Sun Xuan's voice came through.
"Are you ready with your companion for this time on our show?"
Lin Chudong said, "Look over there."
The camera panned, and in another office of Liangyin Media, a beautiful woman was playing a game.
The sound of the game's music and sound effects filled the air. It was being played through external speakers, so Lin Chudong's singing of "No More Hesitation" also drifted out.
"Huan Jie!"
Cheng Huanhuan turned her head, and the camera froze on her.
"Well-known CCTV female host, comedian, and president of the 'Dance Dance Revolution' ten-thousand-member guild. Representative works: 'Hourly Worker' and 'Hand in Hand'."
As soon as Huan Jie appeared, the barrage of comments immediately increased.
"Good heavens, they didn't introduce her previous shows, did they? Her representative works are just two sketches."
"Exactly, she's no joke, the Fei Girl. Who even knows about her previous shows? It was 'Hourly Worker' that completely made Huan Jie famous."
"Okay, I can accept comedian, but what's this 'Dance Dance Revolution' ten-thousand-member guild president? Is that even a title?"
"You didn't even look at who's sponsoring this show. Huan Jie's introduction is perfectly reasonable."
"Da Fei is really generous. He used to be an artist, and now he's the money daddy!"
"Looking forward to Huan Jie's amazing performance!"
"..."
After the two sat down, Lin Chudong picked up a cue card and began to read.
"China's urbanization is developing rapidly. Over the past decade, the urban population has grown by an average of 20.96 million people each year. However, besides the speed of development, cities also come with pressure, restlessness, and anxiety…"
"People in the workplace yearn for a life away from the hustle and bustle, away from the crowded flow of people. They hope to breathe the fresh air of nature."
"And you, are you willing to try this kind of life?"
The two of them both nodded, "We're willing, of course we are."
Cheng Huanhuan raised her hand, "Can I bring my laptop to play games when I go to the countryside?"
"Haha, Huan Jie is really a gaming enthusiast, still thinking about playing games when participating in the show."
"That's right, she has a guild of tens of thousands of people, Huan Jie can't leave."
"So this show is like this, I'm here to watch Da Fei, I thought it was boring at first, but suddenly I became interested."
"I haven't experienced real rural life either, I don't know if it's fun."
"Has anyone watched Seaside Life next door?"
"I saw Zhang Yiran and Li Zhilin drinking red wine on a yacht. It felt a bit distant from us…"
"Oh, is that so? Then I won't watch. Who wants to watch them show off?"
"…"
The camera shifted, and Lin Chudong and Cheng Huanhuan were seen carrying suitcases and walking into a small courtyard.
"Is this our Mushroom House?"
Cheng Huanhuan's face was full of surprise. "Wow, it's so beautiful!"
It was a beautiful little courtyard, surrounded by a sea of flowers. Anyone would love this scene!
The two entered the courtyard. A small dog was lying on the ground, basking in the sun. There were also a few chickens. There was a gazebo and a pot in the courtyard. The atmosphere was simply fantastic.
The house was divided into two large rooms, one for men and one for women. The environment was very clean.
Then, a figure walked in.
It was Tian Yingxiong!
"Old Lin!"
As soon as Tian Yingxiong appeared, Lin Chudong immediately stepped forward and said to the camera.
"There's no need for you guys in post-production to introduce Old Tian. I'll help introduce him."
"Tian Yingxiong, the easiest-to-make-money singer in all of China, who can split the performance fee with Yan Hua just by saying 'oh yeah', the king of soft rice!"
Tian Yingxiong immediately rolled his eyes, "Go die!"
The two of them bickered as soon as they met, which immediately made the staff in the yard laugh.
"Haha, Da Fei's description is spot on. Tian Yingxiong just goes 'O Ye'. Does he even get half of Yan Hua's performance fee?"
"A man who lives off his partner. Tian Yingxiong is the king of freeloaders, confirmed."
"There's nothing we can do, they're a couple. Jealousy won't help."
"Da Fei and Tian Yingxiong know each other, right? They're joking around like that?"
"Yeah, they were classmates."
"No wonder."
"..."
After Tian Yingxiong officially moved in, the three of them sat in the middle pavilion.
Sun Xuan's voice came through.
"Yunnan is the land of fruits. There are many kinds of fruits around, like bananas, coconuts, pineapples, and so on. All the food you get here will be exchanged for fruit. We've already taken the food from your luggage before you came."
"Also, at the end of the one-month shoot, you need to give the owner of the house five hundred bananas as rent."
The three of them were stunned, all speechless. Lin Chudong pointed at the director's team and said.
"Say that again. Is it five hundred individual bananas, or five hundred bunches of bananas?"
Sun Xuan said, "Listen carefully, it's five hundred bunches of bananas!"
The three of them looked at each other. Lin Chudong said, "I, a weak scholar, definitely can't do it. Old Tian, it's up to you."
"You're weak? I saw you beat up that wolf. This matter still needs you to handle it."
"I still have to cook for you guys. How about it, Huan Jie, you go ahead?"
"Yeah, I agree. Huan Jie is a strong woman; she can handle some work."
Cheng Huanhuan: "I think you two are just looking for a beating!"
The three of them didn't do anything, but just chatting and bickering together was already hilarious, and the show's effect was quite good.
And the show's setting is also pretty good. Everyone was very curious looking at the fruits in the fields, especially when they saw the pineapples.
They always thought pineapples grew on trees!
Ring, ring, ring, the phone rang.
Tian Yingxiong quickly ran to answer the phone, and the camera switched to the interior.
The show invites new guests every episode, and the identity of the mystery guest for this episode is not revealed in advance.
"Hello, this is Mushroom House."
"Where's Da Fei?" The person on the other end of the phone used a voice changer, making it impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman, let alone who it was.
Tian Yingxiong said, "Da Fei went to work. Are you the guest coming today?"
"Yes, I'm the guest. Tell Da Fei that I want to eat Nine-Turn Intestines."
Tian Yingxiong was taken aback, "Okay, I'll make a note..."
The online viewers in the bullet comments immediately became restless.
"It's definitely Lin Qiqi. Only my wife could order such a tricky dish like Nine-Turn Intestines."
"Definitely. They made Nine-Turn Intestines on Super Challenge before, but Lin Qiqi didn't get to eat it. I bet she's still holding a grudge, right?"
"Da Fei wasn't popular back then. Looking back now, it was a classic scene."
"Yeah, Da Fei actually beat a top-tier chef. It's ridiculous."
"Should we add a chef tag to Da Fei's profile?"
"Don't. Da Fei's resume is already full."
"..."
Tian Yingxiong ran out and mentioned this. Lin Chudong immediately asked the director's team.
"Director Sun, how many bananas for a pound of intestines?"
Sun Xuan: Twenty!
Lin Chudong raised an eyebrow at Tian Yingxiong, "Go on, then."
Tian Yingxiong looked speechless, "Why do I have to go? Why don't you go?"
"I still have to build the stove, and besides, you're so connected to the soil, you should go to the fields."
Tian Yingxiong was stunned, "Why am I connected to the soil?"
Lin Chudong laughed, "Don't you know that netizens say your songs are earthy? Aren't you connected to the soil?"
Tian Yingxiong looked innocent, "What does the earthiness of the songs have to do with me? How many lyrics do I even write? Besides, you wrote the song, so you're even more connected to the soil!"
"Hahaha, Tian Yingxiong looks so innocent."
"It's true that it's a bit country, but it's really addictive."
"Da Fei wrote the lyrics and music, Yan Hua is the lead singer, and Tian Yingxiong only has a few lines. Yet everyone says he's country, haha!"
"This show is so interesting, it's really down-to-earth, they're really working."
"Da Fei getting covered in ash while building the stove isn't fake. This show is quite relaxing, much better than the yachts next door."
"I'll go next door to take a look, and I'll come back when my wife arrives."
"I'm not going, don't want to miss any iconic scenes."
Liang Yin held a phone in each hand.
On one, she was watching the bullet comments for Yearning for Rural Life, and on the other, she was watching the bullet comments for Seaside Life.
Jia Lu asked, "How's it going over there?"
Liang Yin said, "It's basically a bloodbath. The bullet comments are already fighting."
"I'll read some to you."
"Is this show just to flaunt wealth to ordinary people? Yachts, beaches... are they bullying us for not being able to travel?"
"I'm speechless watching a bunch of celebrities showing off. I'm eating instant noodles after work, and they're eating seafood sashimi!"
"Yeah, the more I watch, the more stressed I get. I feel like they're used to it. The more I watch, the more uncomfortable I am. I'm leaving. I'm going to watch Da Fei cook."
"Da Fei is starting a fire? I'll go take a look too, where is it?"
"Beijing TV Station is much more interesting than this."
Liang Yin said, "I watched a few minutes of this show. Actually, the filming is pretty good, it looks like a big production, and the game design is also okay, but the tone is too high."
"The opening scene is eating Wagyu Beef on a yacht, then going out to fish, coming back to eat fresh seafood sashimi, and then camping in a tent on a deserted beach." "These things are completely out of reach for ordinary people. Not to mention anything else, just finding a deserted beach to play on is a luxury. Only these stars can rent out a beach."
"The more they try to make it seem like they have special privileges, the less people will want to watch."
Lin Chudong smiled, "It's a pity we can't see the ratings."
"What are the ratings?"
"Sister Zhang, I just called to ask. It's not very optimistic. It hasn't broken 2 yet, it's a little over 1."
Zhang Yiran frowned. The time slot on Mango TV used to be for I Am a Singer.
That show had ratings over 3, breaking all records.
Yet, at the same time slot, her show only had a rating of just over 1. This was terrible, wasn't it? "How could this happen?"
"It's probably because of Yearning for Rural Life. Their ratings seem to have broken 2."
Zhang Yiran's expression was a bit grim.
How could Da Fei's lousy show be so good that it could break 2 on Beijing TV Station?
Beijing TV Station and Mango TV weren't even on the same level in terms of variety show achievements.
Da Fei could turn the tide like this? It was too bizarre! At this moment, Shen Jianbin also called to ask about the ratings.
Zhang Yiran said unhappily, "The ratings aren't great. Don't worry about it. We'll let you know when we have the results."
Then, she hung up the phone.
Shen Jianbin was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he didn't dare to lose his temper.
He hung up the phone, his face full of rage.
"That Zhang Yiran is such a show-off. She was all smiles when we were discussing the collaboration, but she's so impatient when I ask her a few questions. I invested in this show. Shouldn't I know the data?"
Sun Jie was a little worried, "Brother Bin, we didn't expect to run into Da Fei this time. If the show's ratings are terrible, we'll have to pay a lot of money, right?"
Shen Jianbin was also annoyed, "I didn't know we'd run into Da Fei when we first started preparing. Later, when Da Fei started promoting their show, I told Zhang Yiran to avoid them. Da Fei is really popular right now."
"Those Zhang sisters don't listen to anyone, they both think they're so great, damn it."
Shen Jianbin wasn't planning to compete with Da Fei anymore; he didn't have the resources.
Da Fei had CCTV backing, and he had money; the shows he produced wouldn't be too bad.
But Zhang Yiran wouldn't listen, she'd suffered several losses and still thought Da Fei was nothing, really thick-headed.
Sun Jie said, "Brother Bin, should we pull out our investment now?"
Shen Jianbin said, "It's not that easy. It's easy to give money, but hard to get it back. If we make money, that's fine, but if we lose money, we'll lose everything."
Shen Jianbin sighed, also looking worried.
He thought he'd latched onto a good opportunity by working with Zhang Yiran, but in the end, she only used him as cannon fodder.
"I hope the ratings aren't too low."
They had a contract with the sponsors that included a bet. If the advertising conversion rate didn't meet the requirements, they would have to pay.
Shen Jianbin sat in his office, lit a cigarette, and suddenly his right eyelid twitched violently.
In the program, Lin Qiqi finally appeared, pulling her suitcase.
Seeing Lin Qiqi, Cheng Huanhuan and Da Fei immediately went up to greet her.
Lin Qiqi was still as sweet and lovely as ever, playing herself.
But when she saw Tian Yingxiong, she immediately glared and said.
"Give me my money back!"
Tian Yingxiong was bewildered, "What money are you talking about?"
"There was a link last time, said it was for donations to you. I donated thirty thousand, but it turned out to be a scam. You owe me!"
Tian Yingxiong's mouth twitched. "Sister Lin, you need to go to the police for this, not me. What do you do when you get scammed?"
Lin Chudong said, "I'd like to remind everyone, download the Anti-Fraud APP on your phone. If you get scammed, report it to the police immediately. The longer you wait, the less likely the police can recover your money."
"Old Tian, to make up for Qiqi, go get thirty bananas."
Tian Yingxiong: …Lin, you are so biased towards your wife.
"My wife is so cute, ahhhhh! Tian Yingxiong, prepare to die!"
"Haha, what did Tian Yingxiong do wrong? It's Lin Qiqi who was too naive and got tricked."
"Da Fei is the ancestor of all perverts. Tian Yingxiong, have you just met him?"
"No choice, one Qiqi, one Huanhuan, you wouldn't want either of them to do the work. Only old Tian can go."
Beijing TV Station.
Director Huang sat in front of the computer, watching his little assistant operate the computer. He quickly put on his reading glasses.
"What's the number?"
"Director Huang, it's 2.7!"
Huang Tianran's eyes widened instantly.
"How much?"
"2.7! And it's still climbing. It could break 3 in the first episode!"
The moment Lin Qiqi appeared, the ratings soared.
Lin Qiqi brings her own traffic, no worse than Li Zhilin. Plus, Da Fei's opening was quite brilliant, causing the ratings to explode.
Even Sun Xuan was shocked by these ratings.
He and Da Fei had estimated they'd break 2, and reaching 2.5 would have been exceeding expectations.
But this time, it was almost 3.
That only proved one thing: the audience that Li Zhilin and the others had initially attracted found it uninteresting and switched over to watch Yearning for Rural Life.
Li Zhilin, Zhang Yiran, and Wu Bo's popularity had indirectly benefited Da Fei and the others!
Zhang Qinxue was stunned. She had worked at Beijing TV Station her entire life and had never seen a variety show with such high ratings.
This was absolutely a ratings miracle for Beijing TV Station.
"Sun Xuan is indeed as good as his reputation."
Huang Tianran nodded. "Or perhaps it's Da Fei who lives up to the hype. Now our station has a great program!"
The program's copyright had already been signed to Beijing TV Station. If this theme became popular, they could film it endlessly, even turning it into a series.
A golden signboard!
After a busy day, Lin Chudong cooked four dishes, including Lin Qiqi's beloved Nine-Turn Intestines.
Tian Yingxiong asked, "Old Lin, how many bananas do we owe today?"
"We owe forty bunches. We'll get more tomorrow when the new guests arrive."
"Right, hahaha."
They bought some dishes from the director's team, all of which were home-cooked meals, making them look very comfortable.
Unlike the show Seaside Life, which had Michelin-restaurant-level plating, delicate tableware, and cutlery, and even had people serving them while eating on the beach.
This side was more down-to-earth, from building the stove to cooking, they did everything themselves.
Lin Qiqi ate heartily, enjoying the Nine-Turn Intestines she had been longing for. Seeing a top idol eating intestines was quite visually impactful.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came.
"Qiqi, eat less!"
Lin Qiqi turned around, immediately pouting.
"Sister Song is nagging me again!"
Lin Qiqi's battles of wits with Sister Song on the show weren't a one-time thing; a gluttonous idol meeting a motherly manager was something everyone enjoyed watching.
Lin Chudong called out, "Sister Song, want some Nine-Turn Intestines?"
The camera focused on Song Jing, who quickly shook her head, "I don't eat that stuff."
That stuff, Nine-Turn Intestines, those who loved it, loved it to death, and those who didn't, hated it to death.
Lin Chudong used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of Nine-Turn Intestines and said.
"Old Tian, let Sister Song taste this delicacy."
"Alright!"
Tian Yingxiong immediately understood and rushed towards Song Jing.
Lin Qiqi immediately followed. Before Song Jing could even run, she was caught. Lin Chudong held out the chopsticks to her.
Lin Qiqi was not at all polite, and pried open Sister Song's mouth to feed her.
"Haha, Sister Song, you have this day too!"
Lin Qiqi was so happy, the satisfaction of successful revenge was simply too exhilarating.
"This show is really something, pranking the agent is okay?"
This weather, and with so many dishes, it's a bit unbearable without some alcohol.
Sun Xuan said, "A maximum of one case of beer, and one bottle of white liquor."
Lin Chudong looked at Tian Yingxiong and said, "Then you sing. You only have a few lines, it's more cost-effective if you sing."
Tian Yingxiong: …
Sun Xuan said, "Da Fei, you sing. I'll give you two cases of beer and one bottle of white liquor."
"Alright, let's get the alcohol first, and I'll sing after drinking."
The guests and the director's team haggling was also a major highlight of the show. Sun Xuan brought over the beer and white liquor.
All four of them poured themselves a drink.
Lin Chudong was drinking Baijiu, while the other three were having beer.
Seeing Lin Chudong downing a glass in one gulp, finishing a whole bottle of Baijiu in four gulps, Cheng Huanhuan immediately said.
"Da Fei, are you sure you're okay drinking so much?"
Lin Qiqi also said, "Exactly, Da Fei, you're not allowed to drink anymore in the future."
Lin Chudong was taken aback, "What if I'm thirsty and I can't drink?"
Lin Qiqi put her hands on her hips, "Drink water when you're thirsty!"
Lin Chudong: "Does water have fifty-two degrees?"
Everyone: ...
"The Wine God truly lives up to his name. Da Fei drinking baijiu like water, can you believe it?"
"Have you seen that video? Da Fei downed two bottles of Men Dao Lv?"
"I saw it too. Don't know who posted it. Li Zhilin was there too. Anyone know the inside scoop?"
"I do! I even have a video of Li Zhilin puking. Anyone want to see it?"
"Wow, that's intense!"
"..."
Beijing TV Station.
The assistant shouted excitedly.
"Director Huang, it's over 3! Really over 3! The only program on our station to break 3!"
Huang Tianran clapped his hands excitedly, "Great! I'll report this to the headquarters immediately!"
-----------------------
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