68: Ready to depart

After finishing their meal, everyone headed to Qu Lang's residence together.

"Steamed buns are fine, but stuffed buns won't work. We buy them from outside, and they're hard to store in this heat."

Qu Lang said with a headache. Gao Xiaofan was really good at stirring things up; now he even wanted to bypass the Program Production Crew for meals.

Gao Xiaofan took the opportunity to exchange for a few more bottles of Floral Water, giving one to each team. It wasn't expensive anyway, and he had bought a whole crate of it for his car back then.

These were all his clients, after all; he had to maintain good relations with them.

On the way back, Gao Xiaofan was talking animatedly, trying to persuade them.

"How about this: fifty per person, three meals a day. We'll provide the steamed buns too, and you can have as much fish soup as you want. It's more expensive than over there, but our food tastes better~"

Exploding Watermelon: "That's true, but it feels wrong that we're out working while you guys just stay home and collect money~"

Gao Xiaofan: "Nonsense. Do you know how long Reba and I have to walk to catch these fish? Doesn't the equipment cost money? Don't the seasonings cost money?"

Reba chimed in as well, "Exactly. Even if you gave the Cooking Auntie 100 yuan, she still wouldn't be able to make something this delicious."

Gao Xiaofan gave a haughty huff.

In the end, everyone nodded, agreeing on 50 per person, and all five of them paid.

There was really no other way. After smelling that aroma at noon, they couldn't even stomach their own food. Now that they'd actually tasted it, it would be a miracle if they could go back to the regular meals tomorrow~

Back in the room, Hua Hua played with the Floral Water. "Xiaofan really is a good person~"

Cheng Seventeen... Gao Xiaofan and Reba sat close together on stools, counting the money.

420 yuan~

"The steamed buns won't cost much tomorrow. I bet the Program Production Crew gets them directly from the Cooking Auntie~"

"Let's exchange for twenty tomorrow and stew another pot of fish head soup~"

The two of them whispered to each other.

Once they were done, Gao Xiaofan stood up, grabbed the kettle, filled it with water, and took it to Reba's room to boil so she could have hot water.

Then, he took a towel outside to give himself a quick wipe-down before returning to his room to lie down.

He kept calculating what else he needed to exchange for.

Some time ago, before the show started, he had followed the mountain spring and found the pool with Sturgeon. The path further up was difficult, so he hadn't explored further back then.

He had a tent now, so he could manage for a night if the journey was too far.

He'd need to bring the entrenching tool, exchange for a backpack, and bring his Taiwan Fishing rods as well. Just in case a system mission was triggered—it would be a waste to miss out because he didn't have his rods.

Thinking about the rods gathering dust in his car that he hadn't used once, Gao Xiaofan chuckled.

After fishing for another day tomorrow, he should be fully prepared and ready to set off the day after.

After mentally confirming that everything was in order, Gao Xiaofan quickly fell asleep.

As for the other guests, they were currently interacting frantically with the viewers in their livestream rooms.

Suggestions were constantly popping up in the bullet chats.

"Hua Hua, tomorrow you can wrap a layer of soft cloth around the back of the wooden club; that'll dampen the vibration."

"You need to hammer continuously and rhythmically. Use the force of the rebound to lift the club, then let it fall on its own."

"Han Han, that's not how you carry water with a pole. You need to have the same amount of water in both buckets. How can you carry them if they're different weights?~"

"Also, don't look at the two buckets. Look straight ahead, and your sense of balance will be much better~"

Meanwhile, Liu Yunning's livestream room was filled with mockery.

"Fish worth 1,888 per serving, and you wouldn't even eat it when it was sold to you for 40? You just had to spend 20 to eat a 10-yuan meal from outside... Impressive."

"Look at the other guests; they're all eating so heartily~"

"You can't be too stubborn~ Even though Han Han acts like a poser, at least he knows how to take advantage of a good deal~"

Buried under his covers, Liu Yunning watched the bullet chats in his livestream room, feeling like crying but having no tears.

Early the next morning, Gao Xiaofan and Reba got up. They prepared the largest Sturgeon left over from the night before, stewing the fish head for soup. Then, leaving Reba in the house, Gao Xiaofan took his rods and headed back to the pool alone.

The harvest that morning wasn't great—just three fish, all about the same size as before, around 40 centimeters.

Gao Xiaofan wasn't impatient. Every half hour, he threw in some homemade groundbait made of crushed earthworms and soil.

He didn't go back for lunch at noon. He wanted to catch more so he could take them back and wall off a section of the mountain spring with clumps of earth to keep the fish in. That way, even after he left, Reba would have supplies.

To his surprise, Reba brought him a packed meal before one in the afternoon, which delighted Gao Xiaofan.

"As soon as they finished eating, I hurried over to bring this to you," Reba said while munching on a steamed bun.

"You haven't eaten either?" Gao Xiaofan asked curiously as he wolfed down his food and saw Reba eating too.

"No. I was making grilled fish this morning. It was my first time, so I was in a frantic rush. By the time I finished, they had already arrived."

Before leaving, he had agreed with Reba that he would go fishing while she stayed home to grill fish, which would save more time.

"Is it good?" Reba asked expectantly.

Gao Xiaofan nodded vigorously. "Mhm, it's delicious. Better than mine~"

Amidst laughter, they finished lunch. Reba carried the fish Gao Xiaofan had caught back to the village; she needed the afternoon to prepare them for dinner.

Watching Reba's receding back, Gao Xiaofan pulled a cigarette from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and peered into the pool.

Not bad, the fish were coming faster and faster now~

Time passed quickly. After a busy day, the guests walked together toward Gao Xiaofan's house, while only Liu Yunning walked lonely toward the canteen.

By the time Gao Xiaofan returned with the fish, it was already dark, and the guests who had come for dinner had just left.

When Reba saw Gao Xiaofan return, she stood up in surprise.

"Xiaofan, you're back! If you hadn't returned soon, I was going to ask the Program Production Crew."

Gao Xiaofan chuckled and set the fish down.

Reba looked at the fish flopping on the ground with a shocked expression.

"So many? Seven???"

Gao Xiaofan picked up his Headlamp and entrenching tool and headed outside, saying smugly.

"Good luck. The fishing was great this evening."

Wearing his Headlamp and using the entrenching tool, Gao Xiaofan worked hard digging beside the mountain spring stream.

Qiu Gu held the camera, working overtime with a helpless expression.

Before long, a 30-centimeter-deep pond was dug. Drenched in sweat, Gao Xiaofan dug out the blocking earth, and soon the spring water rushed in, constantly flushing it out. Once the water cleared...

He slapped the excavated soil back into place with his shovel.

Then, he and Reba went back inside, grabbed the fish, and tossed them in.

After finishing his work, Gao Xiaofan dampened a towel to wipe down his body. Only then did he return to the room to eat.

"Here, I saved some fish soup especially for you. If I hadn't hidden it, Han Han would have drunk it all~"

Gao Xiaofan looked at Reba as she brought the fish soup over, feeling a warmth in his heart.