[ABO] The Despised One Becomes an Internet Sensation After Marriage - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

After spending the morning learning these entry-level basics, the production team announced the main mission for the group.

“Congratulations everyone! You’ve arrived just in time for the Autumn Catch Festival (Gǎnqiū Jié), which begins in five days.”

The Autumn Catch Festival is typically held on the day of the Beginning of Autumn (Lìqiū) and usually lasts for five days. This time, the local government is collaborating with a certain “Fruit Station” (Mango TV/Hunan TV) to promote traditional customs. The seven of them would need to participate in the festival activities by drawing lots.

“The activities you can participate in include Lusheng performance, singing Miao songs, dragon dancing, martial arts demonstrations, and hosting.”

Ye Ming was interested in all of them, his eyes lighting up. “Can I participate in every activity?”

The director’s team laughed: “Teacher Ye Ming, that’s a great idea… but no. Mainly because we’re worried you won’t be able to manage the workload.”

Ye Ming wilted.

Lu Ze comforted him: “It’s okay, wifey. After you finish your performance, it’ll still be in time to join the other activities…”

Xu Zhimian drew the Miao song performance. He leaned over to look at the slip in Ye Ming’s hand. As the camera zoomed in, it read: Host.

A host who has to introduce every act and control the stage for the entire duration.

Xu Zhimian: “…” Ye Ming: “…”

Zhou Yan, on the other hand, laughed without restraint: “…So, Sister-in-law, your luck is actually pretty ‘good’.”

With a “wah,” Ye Ming wilted even further. “…Does anyone want to trade with me!”

Lu Ze silently looked at his own slip for the Dragon and Lion Dance. If Ye Ming were to do the dragon dance, considering his slight frame, he probably wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Xu Zhimian shook his slip: “Ming-ge, mine is singing Miao songs. Want to trade?”

“Thanks, Mianmian.” Ye Ming sighed, his eyes scanning the others regretfully: “But it would be even better if it were a martial arts performance!”

【Haha, Ye Ming is basically saying: ‘I’ve hinted this much, if the others still don’t get it, they don’t understand social cues.’】 【Quick, if he wants it, give it to him! Ming-ge practically has ‘Give me the martial arts slip’ written on his face.】 【Tsk, we’re all men here, do you think I don’t understand your little schemes?】

Zhou Yan glanced at the slip in Ji Yan’s hand and shrugged helplessly: “Neither of us drew that one either.”

Fu Shiyan drew the Lusheng performance, so the only one left was…

Jiang Xiaocheng, who had been silent on the side, suddenly cried out in pleasant surprise: “What a coincidence! Ming-ge, mine is a martial arts performance. I dislike that activity the most. Can I trade with you?”

“…” Ye Ming stopped complaining. He had just dissed Jiang Xiaocheng this morning; who knew what kind of “medicine” Jiang Xiaocheng was selling in his “gourd” (what his hidden motive was) by offering this?

But you don’t turn down a freebie. Ye Ming gave a surprised smile: “Really? Thank you then.”

…

The production team had rented a nice Miao-style courtyard near the market as their residence. Rooms were assigned based on points. However, in the afternoon, the team suddenly informed them that starting today—aside from rehearsals—they would have to prepare their own breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Ji Yan had opened the fridge at noon. He said, “I checked the fridge earlier, and there are no groceries inside, so we…”

The production team gave a cunning smile: “You must be self-reliant in everything. Cough, just a reminder: you cannot use WeChat Pay.”

Ye Ming, Lu Ze, Zhou Yan, and the others who were planning to exploit the rules: “…”

Xu Zhimian coughed twice: “Excuse me, does starving to death during the show count as accidental death?”

【Hahahaha, starving to death… thinking about it, probably not. Insurance won’t pay out.】 【If a celebrity starves to death, how many millions does the production team have to pay? Will the insurance company cover it?】 【Probably a few million, and the insurance would cover maybe a million or so.】 【No, Mianmian just said it casually, and you guys are actually discussing it? You don’t really think Mianmian will starve, do you?】 【Uh… I feel like with ‘Niezi’ (the brat/Zhimian), it’s possible. I heard he once did a runway show and only ate one slice of cucumber in three days to maintain his physique.】 【Ah… another day of worrying about Niezi starving to death.】

The live chat comments gradually drifted off-topic.

“Does anyone have cash?”

Once those words were out, everyone looked at each other. “No.”

Between the seven of them, they couldn’t scrape together a single cent.

“The production team didn’t even give us any starting capital, this is too much!” Ye Ming complained about the crew right in front of the camera.

Zhou Yan’s eyes darted around, and an idea popped up: “…I think we can obtain food by exchanging things with others.”

Fu Shiyan got straight to the point: “What do we have that we can trade?”

The atmosphere suddenly went silent.

Everyone was stumped. They had only been in this house for two days. Aside from some furniture, they seemingly had nothing of their own to trade.

Jiang Xiaocheng curled his lip and complained: “What the hell, so there’s absolutely no way? …The production team found such a remote Miao village. If we were somewhere else, we could at least sell our autographed photos.”

If they were in any slightly bustling city, given their fame, they would be sold out instantly.

The word “sell” instantly clicked for Xu Zhimian. The seven of them each had their strengths; why not rely on their talents to earn some money?

He said: “I have a good idea. We can each use our own skills to busk on the streets.”

A word to the wise is enough. That’s right—as one of the famous local tourist attractions, the Miao village’s tourist count wouldn’t be small, especially during the peak summer season.

Everyone got to work immediately, and the others started forming their own plans.

Xu Zhimian specifically found a piece of old newspaper. Fu Shiyan picked up a calligraphy brush and wrote on the paper: “Folk Song Performance, 10 Yuan per song.”

Folk songs—during the time Xu Zhimian was a resident singer in the “Jiangnan Nightlife,” he sang folk songs every day. It was his old trade.

Zhou Yan borrowed a camera from the production team and adjusted the focus on the newspaper. The words on the paper suddenly became sharp. With a click, he took a photo. He handed the photo to Xu Zhimian to see, raising an eyebrow in surprise: “Mianmian, your President Fu’s brush calligraphy… has he practiced?”

Xu Zhimian shifted his gaze to the viewfinder. Zhou Yan truly lived up to his reputation in the fashion world; the scenery and composition complemented each other perfectly. The photo was zoomed in on a corner of the old newspaper, showing black ink on white paper written in neat yet powerful Xingkai (running-regular script).

The collision of the old newspaper and the heavy calligraphy ink created a unique, tranquil beauty.

Fu Shiyan’s brushstrokes transitioned from heavy to light; the intent was graceful, and the momentum was vigorous and free. Between the characters, the forms were broken but the spirit was connected, creating a magnificent aura.

One could faintly see a bit of his own character in the writing.

This wasn’t just “having practiced”; it was clearly the result of long-term writing.

With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open. Hearing the sound, Xu Zhimian looked up. Fu Shiyan was very tall and had to lower his head when walking in. He was wearing silver-rimmed glasses; his deep features were backlit, becoming soft and blurred.

Seeing the two of them standing so close together, his brow furrowed slightly. He walked between them, casually widening the distance between them, and asked: “What are you looking at?”

The follow-up cameraman entered behind him.

Xu Zhimian moved closer to him and said, “Yan-ge asked if you’ve practiced brush calligraphy.”

“Mm.” Fu Shiyan’s voice was very calm. “When I was a child, my grandfather practiced for fun and took me along to train, but my skills are unrefined.”

Xu Zhimian looked down at those characters, feeling astonished. This… this is called unrefined?

The seven of them split into three groups and went to different locations.

Xu Zhimian found an old organ outside a temple. He pressed the middle C key; it was a bit out of tune, but it didn’t matter.

He waved at Fu Shiyan: “Sir, let’s set up our stall here!”

“…” Fu Shiyan looked at the people going in and out of the temple nearby. After a long silence, he curled his finger and rapped Xu Zhimian’s forehead, his tone helpless: “This is a sacred Buddhist site; we must not disturb it.”

“…” Xu Zhimian covered his forehead. If you have something to say, just say it; why hit his head?

“Oh, alright then. Let’s find another place.”

Just as he turned to leave, Fu Shiyan pulled him back. “No need. We just need to move the organ further away.”

Fu Shiyan’s “moving it further away” meant moving it under an ancient tree, which was also one of the scenic spots.

Xu Zhimian borrowed a wooden stool from the auntie at the nearby tavern. He handed a megaphone to Fu Shiyan and said earnestly: “Sir, your task is very simple. Hold the megaphone and the sign to attract tourists!”

“…” Fu Shiyan had a bad feeling about this. He noncommittally took the large megaphone.

As soon as he pressed the button, the megaphone let out a loud sound. Inside was the recorded voice of a middle-aged man with a heavy local accent: “Mín yáo, mín yáo (Folk songs, folk songs), shí kuài yī cì (Ten bucks a time). Mǎi bù dào chī kuī (You won’t get ripped off), mǎi bù dào shàng dàng (You won’t be fooled). Dōu lái kàn kàn (Everyone come take a look)!”

Note: The text uses intentional misspellings like “Mén yáo” and “Mǎ bù dào” to represent a thick regional accent.

“…” Fu Shiyan’s mouth twitched.

Coincidentally, the live stream for their group had just started, and the screen was full of question marks.

【??? Which market have I stumbled into?】 【?? What’s going on? This is a very sloppy exit.】

The middle-aged male voice was loud and resonant, echoing through the streets and alleys.

Xu Zhimian winked at Fu Shiyan: “I specifically asked the Village Elder to record it! How is it? Isn’t it super down-to-earth? Hehe.”

Fu Shiyan: “…”

【Hehe? You’re still ‘hehe’-ing? Your President Fu’s face is about to turn as black as the bottom of a pot.】 【Pfft, hahaha, so funny. Suddenly President Fu feels so relatable.】 【Am I the only one who noticed the handwriting on the newspaper Fu-zong is holding is beautiful?】 【No, why couldn’t Mianmian record it himself? That megaphone shouting is such a mood killer.】 【This scenic spot looks so familiar. Holy crap, my ‘Little Zhenzi’ is at that temple today offering incense!】

Between the non-standard accent and Fu Shiyan’s ethereal aura, they soon attracted the attention of many tourists.

Before coming, Fu Shiyan had found masks for them both. Their features were hidden, but seeing Fu Shiyan’s great height and the booming megaphone, several passersby stopped to whisper.

Xu Zhimian stood up beside Fu Shiyan and gave a slight smile to the group: “Excuse me, would you like to request a song?”

Those people spoke a few sentences in the Miao language. Xu Zhimian didn’t understand. Fu Shiyan explained to him: “They are discussing whether to take us away.”

“(⊙o⊙) Huh?” Xu Zhimian was stunned. He turned his head to look at Fu Shiyan. Seeing that Fu Shiyan didn’t look like he was joking, he swallowed and said: “You understand? Wait, take us where?”

Fu Shiyan frowned. Just then, someone stepped forward to communicate with them in broken Mandarin. Fu Shiyan replied in Miao language with an unchanged expression.

The two talked back and forth for a bit. Then, Fu Shiyan translated for Xu Zhimian: “They have no ill intentions; they just want to ask us for some help with something.”

Xu Zhimian: “What kind of help? Are we going now?”

Fu Shiyan shook his head: “No need. After we’ve earned our money.”