59: A highly motivated working man

Gao Xiaofan walked over: "Hua Hua, I'm actually a fan of yours. I love all your songs. Let's do our best together for the Program Production Crew this time."

Hua Hua smiled happily: "Hahaha, Xiaofan, you're a really good guy. Let's keep in touch."

Gao Xiaofan grinned, looking at Han Han next to him, who was pouting, covered in sweat and dirt, and panting heavily.

"Brother Han, give me an autograph tonight, will you? To be honest, you're really handsome."

The corners of Han Han's mouth curled up wildly: "Sure, I'll get one for you tonight."

After saying that, Gao Xiaofan gestured toward Liu Yunning with his chin and said casually.

"Look at Liu Yunning, he's working so hard. I was wondering, do you think the Program Production Crew will set up some kind of reward for first place?"

"Like, seeing who gets the most peanuts~"

Their eyes lit up. Han Han looked at Hua Hua: "Hua Hua, you've been on a lot of variety shows. Do you think it's possible?"

Hua Hua pondered for a moment and nodded: "It's very likely. Maybe the first-place winner gets a big feast, and the others don't get a chance to eat."

Gao Xiaofan curled his lips, complaining inwardly.

With Cooking Auntie's skills, if you want a big feast, you can keep dreaming.

After Hua Hua finished speaking, he and Han Han both looked at Gao Xiaofan.

"Xiaofan, look and see if our method is right. I noticed my peanuts often break off inside."

Gao Xiaofan laughed: "Come here, I'll teach you."

Then, sticking out his butt, he demonstrated the correct posture for pulling peanut stalks, explaining as he went.

The two of them understood and, getting all pumped up again, they stuck out their butts and got back to work.

In their livestream rooms.

"Not bad, not bad. Brother Wo Zi is actually a fan of Hua Hua. It seems he's an ally."

"..."

"Wooo, Han Han, you're too naive. But Brother Wo Zi has decent taste, knowing that Han Han is handsome~"

"I want Han Han's autograph too~"

Gao Xiaofan contentedly carried the peanut stalks in his hand, strolled back to his area, and tossed them to Reba.

Looking at Liu Yunning, who was still buried in hard work, Gao Xiaofan clicked his tongue and approached him.

"A-Ning~ why don't you take a break? It's such a hot day. You're not aiming for first place, are you?"

After saying that, Gao Xiaofan turned and left.

Liu Yunning's movements paused upon hearing this, but then he continued to work even harder.

His thoughts were simple: since he couldn't create a 'CP' with Reba and had lost 1.2 million, he had to find another way to get famous on this show.

And for this task, given the nature of variety shows, there might be some hidden reward. If he emerged as a dark horse and utterly crushed Gao Xiaofan, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Hua Hua and Han Han both looked exhausted, so they certainly posed no threat to him.

Thinking of this, Liu Yunning looked back at the two behind him with a smile, but then he went completely numb.

He saw Hua Hua and Han Han sticking out their butts, dripping with sweat, and looking excited. If a stranger saw this, they would definitely give a thumbs-up from afar.

Farmer uncles~

Liu Yunning's expression perked up. His butt, which had just sagged slightly, was stuck out straight again as he pulled earnestly.

In the livestream room, fans watched Liu Yunning sticking out his butt on camera with grief and indignation.

"Ning Ning~ don't work so hard~ it hurts my heart."

"Honestly, even the 996 work culture has to bow down to Ning Ning."

"Aaaaaah~ Brother Wo Zi, you really deserve to die~"

...Gao Xiaofan stood next to Reba, looking at the serious expressions of the three laborers, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Xiaofan, come rest here for a bit. I'll go pull for a while."

Gao Xiaofan waved his hand and continued into the field. It wasn't that he didn't want to slack off; he was just afraid the three laborers would notice something fishy.

Throughout the morning, Gao Xiaofan would provoke them from time to time, keeping their motivation high.

By noon, they finally couldn't take it anymore. They hadn't had a drop of water or a bite of food all morning while working.

Gao Xiaofan looked at the three of them chatting in the shade and shook his head helplessly.

He looked at the sun overhead; it was almost lunchtime. Gao Xiaofan glanced at the peanuts on the ground, estimating there were several hundred catties.

One team could do a catty in two minutes, which is 30 catties an hour. In over three hours, that's barely 100 catties.

"Who's going to borrow a cart to collect these?"

Gao Xiaofan's eyes darted around as he shouted.

As expected, the exhausted crowd ignored him. Gao Xiaofan gave a look and slowly walked toward the village himself.

If someone else went, wouldn't they discover the price difference?

When he arrived at Qu Lang's house, Qu Lang was already waiting there. Two staff members stood beside him, one holding bags and the other dragging an electronic scale.

Qu Lang looked at Gao Xiaofan helplessly, unable to stop sighing inwardly once again.

He's so damn good at pulling stunts.

"Brother Lang, how are all those peanuts being collected? Should we bring them here, or...?"

Qu Lang waved his hand and said: "They'll go with you. The payment will be settled on the spot then."

Gao Xiaofan was stunned for a moment, then nodded excitedly.

Gao Xiaofan quickly headed back with the two staff members.

When the others saw Gao Xiaofan return, they all stood up and looked at the staff members expectantly.

The staff didn't waste any words upon arrival and quickly began bagging the peanuts. Everyone helped out, with each bag holding about 35 catties.

Once bagged, they were weighed. Gao Xiaofan and Reba huddled together, carefully recording the data for each team.

Hua Hua's team: 110 catties.

Han Han's team: 120 catties.

Liu Yunning's team: 150 catties.

Gao Xiaofan had 120 catties, totaling 500 catties.

Gao Xiaofan quickly calculated the money in his head. Based on the task price, the total would be 250 yuan. But at 30 yuan per 100 catties, it would be 150 yuan.

Gao Xiaofan leaned into Reba's ear and spoke quickly.

"Hide 100 yuan."

After saying that, he strode toward the crowd and slapped Liu Yunning on the shoulder.

"Impressive! First place! Don't you have to treat us to a big feast?"

Hua Hua and Han Han also looked at Liu Yunning with envy. Whether there was a feast didn't matter; being first on the show was a great persona. Wouldn't the audience give a thumbs-up? Wouldn't they praise him heavily for not being afraid of hardship, exhaustion, or dirt?

Everyone was joking around.

Reba, meanwhile, darted in front of those two staff members, her back to the crowd, and began settling the payment.

Once the settlement was done, the two staff members turned and left. Someone would likely come to pick up the peanuts later.

As soon as the staff left, the crowd realized they hadn't been paid yet.

Reba stepped forward, holding up the 150 yuan in cash and laughing: "Come on, come on, time to split the money~"

Everyone gathered around with eyes shining. Damn it, what was all that hard work this morning for if not for this?

Only Liu Yunning was left bewildered in the wind~

Is there no reward for first place?