Chapter 10 The Ox Cart

Chapter 10: The Old Ox Cart

Precisely at noon, Wen Yuchen's bullet train arrived at the station near its destination.

Little Wen Mingzheng, who had been excitedly awake throughout the journey, had finally drifted off to sleep.

The station was a chaotic scene, teeming with a massive, jostling crowd.

The camera crew, prioritizing the safety of their equipment, had already disembarked.

Wen Yuchen carefully placed a small hat on his son's head and adjusted the child into a comfortable position. He waited until the bulk of the passengers had exited before carrying his son and pulling his suitcase out of the train.

The moment he stepped off, Da An, another young man from the camera crew, shouted, "Hey, hey, hey! My hat got knocked off! Don't step on it! It's white!"

Muttering to himself, Da An picked up his hat, dusted it off, and put it back on. Spotting Wen Yuchen, he rushed over, exclaiming, "Oh my, what a crowd! I swear they squeezed me skinny!"

He then took the suitcase from Wen Yuchen, adding, "Ah! He was so lively on the way, but he conked out the moment we got off."

Wen Yuchen agreed, "Indeed, he was out like a light as soon as we disembarked."

Da An and Wen Yuchen were roughly the same age. Compared to the younger Xiao Lu and the cameraman Brother Sun, who was a decade their senior, Wen Yuchen and Da An shared a more relaxed and comfortable rapport.

"Um, which of you can hold the baby?" Wen Yuchen asked. "I need to use the restroom."

"I'll hold him, I'll hold him!" Xiao Lu eagerly volunteered, settling onto a nearby bench.

Wen Yuchen gently placed Zheng Zheng on Xiao Lu's lap. The little one smacked his lips, tilted his head, but remained fast asleep.

Xiao Lu cradled Zheng Zheng's head with one hand, while the other playfully pinched his chubby cheeks or poked his soft, round belly.

[Let me touch him, let me touch him!]

[The baby's face is so round and adorable!]

[Who's jealous of those long, curled eyelashes? I am!]

[Tsk, Wen Hu is being lazy again, leaving his child for others to watch. So irresponsible.]

[Dude, are you serious? Where's he supposed to put the kid while he uses the bathroom? On a phone stand?]

[Even though Wen Yuchen has a bad reputation, seeing isn't always believing. Besides, this is a kids' show, can we please move on?]

[If you hate him so much, why are you still watching the livestream?]

Ten minutes later, Wen Yuchen returned, carrying four bottles of water and several large bread rolls.

He distributed the food, saying, "Here, make do with this. The other queues were incredibly long, and we've been traveling for a while. Just grab a quick bite."

Having grown quite familiar with the camera crew during the journey, Wen Yuchen and the crew were past formalities.

[Tsk, he's actually being considerate this time. He even bought food for the crew.]

[It's just an act! Wen Hu is trying to rebrand himself again.]

The production team's car was already waiting at the entrance. After finishing their bread, the group set off.

The car's trunk opened, and Da An attempted to lift Wen Yuchen's suitcase inside. "Hup!"

He strained with both hands, his face turning red, and it was only with Wen Yuchen's assistance that the suitcase was successfully loaded into the trunk.

Da An wiped his dry forehead, saying, "Bro, what's in here? Why is it so heavy?"

Wen Yuchen chuckled at his expression and replied, "Nothing much, just Zheng Zheng's toiletries and formula. It's not that heavy."

Hearing him say "not that heavy," Da An's eyes widened. He recalled that Wen Yuchen had effortlessly lifted it with one hand when they got off the train.

He also remembered the muscles Wen Yuchen had displayed that morning—clearly, they were genuinely well-developed.

Their first destination was a village in a province bordering the north and south, situated downstream of the Yangtze River.

However, this was no ordinary village. Here, every household was either cultivating rice or engaged in aquaculture.

According to the introduction, the village boasted approximately 2,000 mu of rice paddies, qualifying it as a small-scale rice-growing area.

Another 500 to 600 mu were dedicated to aquaculture, primarily raising crabs, crayfish, black carp, mandarin fish, softshell turtles, and other edible fish. A few households also bred ornamental fish like paradise fish and bettas.

After some time on the road, the scenery outside the window became increasingly breathtaking.

Suddenly, vast, boundless rice fields under a sky of blue and white clouds came into view, along with slowly turning windmills. Everything here seemed to whisper a story of life steadily improving.

Wen Yuchen gently bounced his little one, hoping Xiao Zhengzheng would also enjoy the picturesque scenery. However, the child merely let out a soft murmur, buried his head in Wen Yuchen's embrace, and continued sleeping.

Wen Yuchen let out a soft, amused laugh, deciding not to disturb the little one further. There would be plenty of opportunities to see such sights later.

Just as Wen Yuchen expected the car to continue through the beautiful landscape into the rice village, it suddenly turned.

"Are we driving right into someone's field?" Wen Yuchen couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Lu smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. The owner of these few mu of land hasn't finalized their plans yet. We're just borrowing it temporarily."

On the bare ground, a large tent had sprung up, and around it were parked seven or eight vehicles of various sizes—production team vans, off-road vehicles, ordinary electric cars, e-bikes, and bicycles.

None of these were particularly surprising, but what was that ox-drawn cart doing there?

Wen Yuchen exchanged glances with the grazing ox. The ox swallowed its mouthful of grass, then munched on another.

"Ah, welcome, Teacher Wen! Welcome! Our first group of guests has already arrived," a booming voice announced.

Wen Yuchen had done his homework and recognized the loud voice. He nodded and said, "Hello, Director Pan. Please guide me."

Initially, when the investors insisted on adding Wen Yuchen to the show, Pan Jing was very reluctant, feeling it would tarnish his reputation.

However, the investors offered an irresistible sum.

Furthermore, Wen Yuchen's initial notoriety had generated a surge of traffic for the show, and he hadn't caused any trouble since. Pan Jing gradually accepted the situation.

What truly won Pan Jing over, however, was the little one sound asleep in Wen Yuchen's arms. Well-behaved, tiny children were the most delightful to work with.

Pan Jing covertly peeked at the child, who was softly snoring, but seeing he was still asleep, he regretfully retreated.

It was evident the tent was a temporary setup. The interior was quite spartan, furnished only with a large round table and a few chairs.

While Pan Jing didn't harbor strong objections to him, that didn't necessarily apply to the rest of the staff.

It wasn't that the staff were prejudiced; it was simply that Wen Yuchen's past antics had made him infamous, and they were wary of provoking him.

Wen Yuchen sat down, holding Zheng Zheng, and no one dared to approach him.

His camera crew had already turned off their live stream; since all guests would eventually converge here, they would simply use the main broadcast.

Zheng Zheng was asleep, so there was no one to play with. The camera crew was busy, and no one was chatting, so he simply pulled out his phone to browse.

He hadn't looked at his phone for more than two seconds when Xiao Zhengzheng woke up, prompting Wen Yuchen to put his phone back in his pocket.

Xiao Zhengzheng had just woken up and was still groggy. The little one sat in his dad's arms, one small hand clutching two of his dad's fingers, refusing to let go. His big eyes stared blankly at one spot, blinking occasionally.

This made the staff in the room repeatedly glance at him—he was adorably dazed.

Once Xiao Zhengzheng was a bit more alert, Wen Yuchen changed his diaper and offered him some water.

The little one didn't want to get down from his dad's lap, and Wen Yuchen was happy to hold him. He leaned his head against his father's incredibly comfortable chest, his moist little mouth taking occasional sips of water.

"Hello, everyone!!!"