Chapter 11 The Ox Cart Is Indeed Mine

Chapter 11: The Ox Cart Is Indeed Mine

"Hello, everyone!!!" A sweet, high-pitched voice rang out, clear and bright. It was none other than Meng Feihang's little Xiao Shiliu.

Xiao Shiliu, sporting pink-framed sunglasses, greeted everyone individually.

Meng Feihang led her to their tent and they sat down.

Meng Feihang, a renowned film empress, had virtually no connection with an obscure celebrity like Wen Yuchen. However, since they were on the same show, a show of politeness was necessary. After a brief exchange, the conversation ended.

Observing the other guests along the way, Wen Yuchen realized that he was the least famous person on the entire show. He wasn't just a foil for Tang Zhixiao; he was a foil for everyone!

Little Wen sighed, a picture of worry.

"Ah~!!" Suddenly, Zheng Zheng in his arms let out an unhappy cry, jolting Wen Yuchen from his reverie.

It turned out that Xiao Shiliu, out of curiosity, had pinched the little ears on Zheng Zheng's head, and Zheng Zheng's small hat had already fallen to the ground.

Before Wen Yuchen could speak, Meng Feihang intervened, gently grasping Xiao Shiliu's mischievous hand. With an embarrassed expression, she said, "Xiao Shiliu, don't be rude. Apologize to your little brother."

Xiao Shiliu, however, excitedly chattered to her mother, "Mom, little brother is a kitty, so soft and fuzzy."

Meng Feihang almost wished she could cover her daughter's mouth. She quickly said, "I saw. Apologize to your brother. I'm so sorry, Wen Yuchen, my child is too playful."

Wen Yuchen checked Zheng Zheng's ears; it seemed to have been just a light pinch. As Zheng Zheng himself disliked being touched by strangers, and seeing Meng Feihang's face flush with embarrassment, he said, "It's fine, Xiao Shiliu just touched him a little."

Meng Feihang offered Wen Yuchen an awkward smile and nodded, "Really, I apologize."

With that, she tried to pull Xiao Shiliu away and hold her.

Unexpectedly, a pair of black, semi-circular, furry ears, smooth as satin, popped up on Xiao Shiliu's head. She leaned her head close to Zheng Zheng's face and said cheerfully, "Little brother, look, I have little ears too. You can touch them."

Little Zheng Zheng's eyes widened, and he instinctively shrank further into Wen Yuchen's arms. This strange sister was a bit scary.

Looking at the little black leopard ears before him, Wen Yuchen almost couldn't resist reaching out to touch them immediately, but reason prevailed. He said to Zheng Zheng, "Sweetie, this is Sister Xiao Shiliu. You should call her sister."

Zheng Zheng, ever obedient to his dad, sweetly and politely called out, "Sister Xiao Shiliu."

Xiao Shiliu loudly responded, "Yes!" and happily scampered back to snuggle into Meng Feihang's arms.

The two youngest had officially met.

After a short while, the other families began to arrive.

Tang Zhixiao, holding Xi Xi's hand, pushed aside the tent flap and entered. She greeted everyone with a cool indifference, pointedly omitting Wen Yuchen.

Wen Yuchen's past eccentric behavior made it difficult for her to warm to him, so she preferred to keep her distance.

Wen Yuchen didn't initiate a greeting either; he wasn't in the habit of greeting strangers. Besides, little Zheng Zheng had woken up, grabbed Wen Yuchen's two fingers, and tugged, wanting to go outside. This was usually Wen Yuchen's time to take his little one for a walk.

[Indeed, Wen Hu has no manners, far inferior to our Xiao Xiao.]

[It's hilarious how everyone was so warm to our Xiao Xiao, but the awkwardness was palpable when they greeted Wen Hu.]

[Serves Wen Hu right for being so obscure, no manners at all.]

[Tang Zhixiao didn't greet him either? Why are the comments so agitated?]

[Wen Hu's fan club is out again.]

[Xiao Xiao is a senior; Wen Hu simply lacks manners.]

[Personal attacks. Tang Zhixiao's fans are just like their idol.]

[Brother Jing's 'big treasure' is so mischievous, and the 'second treasure' is so calm and reserved. I really want to take them home.]

[I've already got a sack ready; I want those two little sweethearts!]

[I want Xi Xi; she looks like a genius baby.]

[Whispering, if no one likes Zheng Zheng, I'll take him!]

[Stop! Put down that little kitten; he's mine!]

[Pfft, he's mine!]

"Welcome everyone to our family-friendly program, 'Growing Up With You'. This program is sponsored by children's wear 'Comfort, starting from the heart, Aibel, giving children the most caring protection'; 'Every scoop of Aiwiyin formula milk contains essential nutrients for your baby's growth'; and 'Jichi R18: Spacious interior, making family trips comfortable and easy'." Pan Jing delivered his lengthy advertisement to the assembled group.

"Viewers at home, and all our distinguished guests here, hello! I am the director and host of this program, Pan Jing." Pan Jing greeted everyone cheerfully.

He led everyone outside and announced, "Everyone, do you see the vehicles in front of you?"

Everyone nodded, looking puzzled.

Pan Jing continued, "Let me introduce them: we have our comfortable and spacious SUV Jichi R18, the cute and mini mint green electric car, the elderly-friendly electric tricycle, the fast and traffic-jam-free electric scooter, and our environmentally-friendly ox cart."

"This is just our temporary base. There are road signs from our program team along the way. Later, we will play a mini-game. Based on your scores, you will choose your transportation to get to your accommodation for tonight. Also, the score you get will determine the quality of your accommodation."

Upon hearing about the mini-game, the children buzzed with excitement, while the adults looked somewhat concerned.

"Now, let me introduce our recording location—Yuanhe Village. A small village located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which has achieved moderate prosperity through rice cultivation and fishery." Pan Jing cleared his throat: "Most of the residents in Yuanhe Village are engaged in rice cultivation, with some involved in aquaculture and fishing."

"Here, the rice cultivation area spans 2,312 mu (about 380 acres). These thousands of mu of fields form a continuous, small-scale rice paddy. Additionally, there are 557 mu dedicated to aquaculture, which includes both edible fish and ornamental fish. Once again, a warm welcome to our grown-up and little friends to Yuanhe Village."

[Over two thousand mu, and that's considered a small-scale rice paddy!]

[Haha, the famous rice fields in Northeast China are about fifty to sixty thousand mu.]

[Wow! Compared to that, it really is a small-scale rice paddy.]

[Yuanhe Village is so beautiful; I must visit when I have the chance.]

[Our hometown has developed tourism; everyone is welcome to come.]

"Alright, now that we've learned about our recording location. Next, our mini-game is closely related to the local specialty industries."

Pan Jing continued to build suspense.

Little Xingxing couldn't wait: "Uncle Director, hurry up and tell us!"

Xiao Shiliu chimed in: "Yeah, I can't wait anymore."

Pan Jing: "Okay, okay. This Uncle Director here has ten interesting questions to ask the little ones later. Each correct answer earns one point; wrong answers don't deduct points. Parents, no helping allowed. Finally, the one with the highest score gets to choose their transportation first. Xingxing and Jinjin cannot answer at the same time."

Upon hearing these game rules, Wen Yuchen felt utterly defeated; he had already resigned himself to the ox cart.

Aside from Zheng Zheng, the youngest child was at least four and a half years old. What could his less-than-two-year-old little one, who could barely speak clearly, do? He'd be doing well if he didn't cause trouble.

Luckily, the director showed a glimmer of humanity.

Pan Jing: "Finally, considering we have one little one here who can't speak clearly yet and is two years younger than the smallest sister, we're kindly offering two sympathy points to this child. Congratulations to little Wen Mingzheng, who's one year and ten months old—your score is two points."

Xiao Zhengzheng didn't quite grasp all the words the director uncle was saying, but he heard his name. He grinned, showing his tiny teeth: "Zheng Zheng's here!"

Pan Jing crouched down and tapped the little one's nose: "Yes, for Zheng Zheng."

Wen Yuchen hadn't expected there to be two sympathy points. He said to Zheng Zheng: "Buddy, tell Director Uncle thank you."

The little one was still too young to understand what "thank you" meant. He glanced at his dad, then at the smiling uncle, and finally piped up: "Thank you, Director Uncle."

"Aww, you're welcome," Pan Jing said, then reached out for a hug, but Zheng Zheng squirmed away like a little eel.

Director Uncle was disappointed but kept it to himself.

Everyone chuckled, watching Zheng Zheng dodge the hug like a slippery fish.

Nobody had a problem with the two sympathy points—after all, comparing Zheng Zheng to the other children wouldn't be fair.

The staff had no objections, none of the guests did, but netizens were fired up.

[Seriously? Getting two points for doing nothing? That's so unfair to the other guests!]

[Exactly, what gives?]

[I'm so done with you people. Can you not pick on a two-year-old?]

[He can't even say 'Director Uncle' properly—what do you expect, a stand-up routine?]

[Even if you give him two extra points, given his age, he'll be lucky not to come in last.]

[Nobody else has a problem with it, just you. We can tell who your favorites are—don't bring shame on them.]

The quiz questions were all quite simple.

For example: {What staple food do we get from rice plants?}

The children shouted in unison: "Rice!"

Even Zheng Zheng's "white rice" (Bai mi mi) earned him a point.

Another example: {Can little fish and ducks be raised in rice paddies?}

The children gave all kinds of answers. In the end, Jinjin and Xiao Moli each scored a point.

Zheng Zheng, however, frowned: "Small fish, duckies—Zheng Zheng not see them!"

While the other children enthusiastically answered questions, Zheng Zheng, though a smart kid, struggled to keep up with such complex questions.

Not understanding the questions and unable to answer correctly, Zheng Zheng gradually lost interest.

Not far away, an old yellow ox let out a "Moo~~", catching the little one's attention. Excited, Zheng Zheng made a beeline for the ox.

Wen Yuchen had completely checked out and given up any hope for the game.

Seeing his son run off to look at the ox, he snagged a cucumber from the crew and took the little one to feed the ox.

[????]

[?????]

[Bro, you're still on live broadcast—how can you just dip out like that?]

[Cameraman! Cameraman!]

The cameraman, responding to the chat's demands, shifted the camera to focus on the father and son.

Wen Yuchen held Zheng Zheng, who held the cucumber, feeding it to the ox.

[So they're just feeding the ox now?]

[Getting a head start on bonding with their ride, huh?]

[Alright, alright, I give up. Everyone else is stressing over the quiz, while these two are chilling, feeding an ox.]

By the time the ox finished the cucumber, the game had ended.

First place: Tang Zhixiao and Tang Luoxi—Xi Xi got 9 right, 9 points.

Second place: Meng Feihang and Meng Jinyou—Xiao Shiliu got 8 right, 8 points.

Third place: Gu Jinghe, Gu Xinye, and Gu Xinzhou—Xingxing and Jinjin scored 6 together, 6 points.

Xingxing had upset his younger brother, which really ticked Jinjin off. When it was his turn for the last three questions, Jinjin clammed up and pouted.

Fourth place: Su Yuecheng and Jiang Yuxuan—Xiao Moli got 5 right, 5 points.

Xiao Moli hadn't quite grasped the rules at first.

Last place: Wen Yuchen and Wen Mingzheng—Xiao Zhengzheng got one right plus two sympathy points, 3 points.

Unsurprisingly, Tang Zhixiao chose the best car.

Each guest picked their vehicle based on their scores.

While the others were still selecting, Wen Yuchen had already asked the crew for a piece of cardboard to lay on the ox cart. He plopped an excited Zheng Zheng onto it.

Wen Yuchen himself had a look that clearly said, "I knew it—the ox cart is mine."