Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Chu Nanxing saw that Ji Yu had no reaction, so she lightly raised her eyebrow, shrugged, and playfully changed her words:

“I remember you’re older than me—”

“So what if I call you Sister Ji Yu?”

Ji Yu slowly responded with an “Oh,” pretending she hadn’t noticed the strange way she was addressed. She then continued to listen to Jiang Lianque’s arrangements with the others. At this point, two scenic spots had been marked off, but the admission prices for the other ancient town attractions were fifty yuan per person or more, which would require at least four hundred and fifty yuan…

The funds were completely insufficient.

Furthermore, Rong Bai had returned to report that the cheapest mode of transportation to Lincheng, the bus, also cost forty-five yuan per ticket. No matter how they calculated, it was clear they needed to find a way to earn some money, or they would be left with nothing but air and have to endure a night out in the open, relying on the program’s meager few hundred yuan.

Ling Lan blinked, moved to Ji Yu’s other side, and whispered, “Is this what they call budget travel?”

Ji Yu nodded: “It is.”

Chang Xue asked Jiang Lianque, “Sister Que! Is our only option now to plant the money in a pot and see if we can grow some more RMB by tomorrow?”

Jiang Lianque, the ‘Master of Life Skills’ with a perfect score of ten, looked at the talented girl group members around her, suddenly broke into a bright smile, pointed to a landmark on the map, and calmly told them:

“I just asked the locals. There’s a very unique restaurant here with exceptionally good food. Do you want to have lunch there?”

Chang Xue was the first to respond: “Yes!”

Many voices followed suit, all eagerly looking at Jiang Lianque, who then snapped her fingers and announced calmly: “Good! Then let’s busk!”

The remaining eight people: “???”

However, they had chosen their leader, and they had to follow her plan even if it meant crying. Based on her earlier observation of the most crowded areas in the ancient town, Jiang Lianque scheduled the sightseeing for the afternoon. Then, based on the cost of lunch, dinner, and accommodation, she decided that everyone needed to earn a maximum of one thousand yuan in the remaining three hours of the morning to live comfortably, or at least five hundred yuan to ensure they could afford three meals, complete the program’s tasks, and still have a few dozen yuan left for emergencies.

However, it was currently not the tourist season, so there weren’t many people. There were also no small parks convenient for the elderly to relax. Jiang Lianque studied the map for a while and only found a market where there were slightly more people.

But it was impossible for all nine people to go busking.

Earning five hundred yuan from tips in a single morning… was almost impossible without program fans showing up. Especially since the program producers had mercilessly chosen a province with poor economic development for this location. During the non-tourist season, only the elderly and some left-behind children remained. Although the scenery was indeed beautiful, there was insufficient publicity, making it difficult.

Ji Yu suggested: “How about we split into three groups? One group tries busking at the market, one group looks for temporary jobs to help with, and the last group… remains a flexible ‘mobile’ group?”

Jiang Lianque nodded, agreeing to her suggestion. She took stock of the members’ special skills, placing Chu Nanxing, Rong Bai, and Chang Xue—who came from well-off families, were talented, but lacked practical life skills—in the busking group, telling them to improvise. Then, relying on her memory from buying local specialties, she circled a few restaurants, eateries, and a temporary exhibition, and assigned three other girls to ask if they were hiring temporary workers.

Finally, Ji Yu, Jiang Lianque, and Ling Lan formed the mobile group, ready to spontaneously look for money-making opportunities.

Jiang Lianque had an excellent memory. She knew which was the biggest famous local attraction. Coincidentally, she had obtained a tour guide certificate out of boredom while studying, and now planned to use it to earn some guiding money. While she was at it, she would also… waive her personal entrance fee and then negotiate the price of a group tour with a travel agency later.

Ling Lan talked with her for a moment and found out there was a small art studio nearby. She had some foundation in traditional Chinese painting from when she studied Peking Opera as a child. She planned to pick up her skills and see if she could work as an assistant for a morning’s hard-earned money.

As for Ji Yu.

While Jiang Lianque was looking at the map, she had already set her sights on a small street vendor selling hulusi (gourd flutes) on the street. Now that the groups were dissolved, she headed straight for the shop.

Watching them discuss three money-making plans in five minutes, the following camera crew was speechless: “…”

The director slapped his thigh: “I told you we shouldn’t let so many people be on the show. Partnering with Dream Chase was a loss! Why are the current girl group members so aware of life’s hardships?”

The assistant nodded and nodded again.

Before long, they watched the footage transmitted from various cameras. Although Chu Nanxing and Rong Bai were somewhat restrained in the bustling market, both the temporary worker group and the mobile money-making group quickly dropped their idol facades and became emotionless money-making machines.

During this time, except for Ling Lan, whose drawing skills made the boss hesitate, Jiang Lianque had already monopolized the tour guide position for the three elderly tourist groups at the scenic spot entrance, thanks to her extremely low price of twenty yuan per team for commentary and her stunning looks, securing a package deal of sixty yuan.

Ji Yu, meanwhile, very smoothly negotiated a deal with the hulusi vendor.

She would wear the shop’s special ethnic performance attire and perform songs outside the store. At the same time, for anyone who bought a hulusi during her working hours, she would offer a free lesson on reading the sheet music and basic playing techniques, allowing them to self-learn some simple tunes.

During this period, she would receive a small commission for every hulusi sold.

Soon, the familiar melody of “Peacock Dance under the Moonlight” drifted out onto the street, attracting passersby to stop and watch. Simultaneously, the shop owner, smiling broadly, thought up a promotional activity behind the counter. Before long, with the clever owner’s cooperation, a few local children stayed, learned some basic finger techniques for free from Ji Yu, then asked the price, and ran back to their parents.

The melody echoed on the street again.

At the same moment.

Jiang Lianque, with her tour guide certificate, held a standard small megaphone and led three teams into the scenic spot, introducing the history of the attraction as they walked.

Chu Nanxing, Rong Bai, and Chang Xue found a good open space in the market, using a hat to collect tips. They borrowed a phone from the crew to broadcast the song “Go!” When the intense melody played, the attention of the market crowds was drawn over, watching them from near and far.

Ling Lan was working in the studio, acting as an emotionless tracing machine, meticulously outlining a fine-line painting of a peony. She couldn’t even spare a moment to wipe her sweat, afraid a slight tremor of her hand would ruin the entire painting.

Some members were hired as temporary staff, washing dishes in the kitchen, their eyes showing despair at the sight of countless plates; others helped as promotional models, changing over ten outfits in an hour, completely drenched in sweat…

In the hulusi shop, Ji Yu finally sold the first eighty-yuan hulusi, even including a small autograph for the buyer.

She earned a commission of five yuan.

Everyone felt the malice of life and the program crew rushing toward them.

Si Tian parted ways with Meng Rendong at the breakfast shop. Knowing that Meng Rendong had to return to the company to handle some matters, she took over the task of looking after Ji Yu, strolling toward the program’s recording area, wearing a white baseball cap, acting as a roadside tourist.

She heard the hulusi music and wandered in that direction, admiring Ji Yu’s multi-talented performance from across the street. She then walked casually toward the shop, ignoring the flicker of surprise in Ji Yu’s eyes as she entered.

Feigning the role of a passerby, Si Tian picked out a very delicate hulusi, priced at over five hundred yuan. She looked at Ji Yu and the camera following her, and asked aloud:

“Does buying a hulusi come with a signature from the young lady?”

Ji Yu pursed her lips, smiled, and said yes.

Si Tian initially planned to buy only one, but quickly remembered that if she only had this signed version, Meng Rendong might try to steal it from her. So she bought two, even choosing a more expensive one, nearly a thousand yuan, for Meng Rendong. After Ji Yu signed them, she thanked her cheerfully and left.

Ji Yu watched the boss grin as he scanned the code and took the money. Seeing Si Tian buy two, she suddenly said, “This purchase comes with an extra service—you can learn the playing techniques and how to read the music from me.”

Si Tian was overjoyed. Her face, which resembled Meng Rendong by seven parts, held no coldness but was like pulsating morning light. She asked, “Really?”

Ji Yu nodded, but her heart skipped a beat.

The System let out a small, quiet “Heh” in her mind.

It seemed to have seen through her little plan.

Ji Yu’s ears flushed slightly. Fortunately, she was wearing a complex ethnic costume. The silver coronet on her head had her dark hair coiled up, and the dangling bell-like silver threads obscured her ear tips, preventing even someone nearby from noticing her subtle change.

Si Tian immediately thought of a way to promote the relationship between Meng Rendong and Ji Yu. Clutching the two exquisite instrument cases, she left, leaving Ji Yu watching her back, momentarily distracted, thinking:

Will Meng Rendong… come to me to learn?

After daydreaming for a while, she received the two-hundred-yuan commission from the boss—since a hulusi over three hundred yuan wasn’t sold even once in three months in this location, the boss now clearly saw her as a good omen and generously paid her the commission in front of the camera.

In the next half hour, Ji Yu sold four or five more tens-of-yuan hulusi intermittently. She finally took off the costume with her 220 yuan earnings and left, wiping the sweat from her head.

She remembered seeing several large, modern-style restaurants on Jiang Lianque’s map. She wondered if she could find one with a performance area, or check if there were any quiet bars nearby where she could sing in the evening.

The camera following her hurriedly caught up.

The System, in Ji Yu’s mind, asked in confusion: “Yuyu, why aren’t you continuing to earn money there?”

It felt that Ji Yu’s previous money-making spot was quite good, and the boss was also generous.

Ji Yu hummed, and said: “If the thing I plan to give you is something others also have, wouldn’t it seem less precious?”

The System mumbled in reply: “I guess so?”

Ji Yu then smiled and said: “Mhm, so if I’m going to give a gift, it must be unique.”

She was planning to seriously court Meng Rendong, so she intended to start with this “hulusi lesson.” Every subsequent gift Ji Yu gave would have a unique meaning.

Just as Meng Rendong was irreplaceable to her.

The person is the most special one.

Naturally, she should receive the most special gift.

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