Chapter 27 Giving Up First Place for Squeaky Shoes

Chapter 27: Forfeiting First Place for Squeaky Shoes

The heavy rain from yesterday afternoon had already ceased by midnight.

Around six in the morning, sunlight pierced through the curtain gaps, illuminating Zheng Zheng's delicate, pale face.

It wasn't long before the sun's rays stirred Zheng Zheng awake.

He grumbled softly, then rolled over and clambered onto Wen Yuchen's stomach, settling there. His tiny hands began to gently knead Wen Yuchen's face.

Wen Yuchen, roused by the fumbling, felt the weight on him. He turned, embraced Zheng Zheng, and playfully pinched the soft, plump flesh on his body.

Zheng Zheng, feeling ticklish, squirmed incessantly in Wen Yuchen's arms, like a little insect.

A few minutes later, father and son, both sporting identical messy bedheads, emerged from beneath the covers.

After Zheng Zheng was dressed, he lowered his head, gazing intently at the shoes on his feet, remaining motionless for a considerable time.

Wen Yuchen lightly patted his bottom and inquired, "What are you doing? Is there something on your shoes?"

Zheng Zheng looked up, his large eyes sparkling: "Daddy, go to the fair, buy squeaky shoes."

"Hey, your memory's quite sharp, isn't it?" Wen Yuchen chuckled, playfully ruffling his hair.

After breakfast, the production team arrived with the task card.

As is widely known, Yuanhe Village employs an integrated rice-fish farming system. Alongside cultivating rice, they raise fish fry in the paddies. This symbiosis between rice fields and fish not only enhances the ecological environment of the paddies but also fosters aquaculture and promotes biodiversity.

Today's task was for the guests and their children to release small fish fry into the freshly planted rice fields.

Upon seeing Xiao Lu approach with the task card, Zheng Zheng, who had been leisurely feeding grass to the goose, suddenly became anxious. He abruptly tossed the grass at the goose's face, then rushed to Wen Yuchen, earnestly reminding him: "Daddy, squeaky shoes, oh."

"I know, I know," Wen Yuchen assured him.

Wen Yuchen took the task card, then headed directly to the village committee, where everyone was to assemble, with Zheng Zheng in tow.

Pan Jing was seated, seemingly assigning tasks to the staff.

Wen Yuchen spotted him and went straight to the point: "What's the schedule for this morning's task?"

Pan Jing immediately straightened up and replied, "What's the hurry? I'll explain everything once the other guests arrive."

Soon after, all the guests had gathered.

Pan Jing announced, "Our task today is to find some companions for the little rice seedlings we planted yesterday. Would the children like to follow Uncle Director to find friends for the rice babies?"

At the mention of finding friends, the children's excitement immediately surged—all except for Zheng Zheng, who remained preoccupied with thoughts of his squeaky shoes.

Pan Jing then patiently and thoroughly outlined the morning's activity procedure for the children.

The production team had procured a batch of fish fry from the village's aquaculture farmers. These fry were being kept at the homes of the farmers and other villagers. The children, accompanied by their parents, needed to search for clues within the village to locate the households where the fish fry were housed. Only by fulfilling the requirements or answering questions posed by the fish fry caretakers could they obtain the fry.

By the end of the morning, whoever managed to collect the most fish fry would be determined by their own efforts.

Points would still be awarded from highest to lowest: more fish fry meant higher points, fewer meant lower points.

While seemingly straightforward, the task would realistically consume the entire morning. By then, the market would likely have dispersed.

Wen Yuchen crouched down and asked Zheng Zheng, "Do you want to go find friends for the rice babies, or go to the market to buy squeaky shoes?

If we go to the market, we'll have to forfeit this task, and we won't be able to get first place. The rice babies we planted yesterday won't have any friends.

We could also do the task, but by the time we finish, the market will be over, and we won't be able to buy squeaky shoes. However, we can buy them after we go home."

Wen Yuchen repeated this explanation to Zheng Zheng several times, breaking it down, before Zheng Zheng fully grasped what his father was saying.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Zheng responded without hesitation, firmly declaring: "Zheng Zheng wants squeaky shoes. Zheng Zheng doesn't want fishies."

Wen Yuchen raised an eyebrow, surprised. He chuckled softly and said, "Alright, then we'll go buy squeaky shoes."

"Director, we forfeit," Wen Yuchen informed Pan Jing.

This left Pan Jing utterly bewildered; he hadn't anticipated a forfeiture: "No, why, why?"

Wen Yuchen initially didn't want to elaborate, but then reconsidered, thinking that acting aloof and silent again might invite further criticism.

He simply stated, "This task requires a lot of activity, and Zheng Zheng is still too young; it's not suitable. Besides, Zheng Zheng doesn't want to do this task."

Pan Jing nodded blankly, processing the information, then bent down to ask Zheng Zheng: "Zheng Zheng, don't you want to find friends for the rice babies you planted yesterday?"

Zheng Zheng remained resistant to Pan Jing. He burrowed into Wen Yuchen's arms and, in a childish voice, murmured, "Lots of seedlings, they're already friends. No need to find more."

Zheng Zheng's words were a bit jumbled. As this was Pan Jing's first time interacting with such a young child on the variety show, he didn't immediately grasp Zheng Zheng's meaning.

Pan Jing's confused gaze turned to Wen Yuchen.

Wen Yuchen clarified, "He means there are so many rice plants that each one is a friend to the others; there's no need to find new friends."

"Oh, oh," Pan Jing responded.

Pan Jing had nothing more to say and ultimately approved Wen Yuchen's request to forfeit.

Finally, he reiterated clearly: "Because you've forfeited, the points for the last group will not be awarded to you."

Wen Yuchen waved his hand dismissively: "It's fine, we don't need them."

Regarding Wen Yuchen's forfeiture, the live comments were diverse.

"Ah, why forfeit?"

"Didn't he already explain? Why keep asking?"

"Why is he making such a fuss? Other kids can do it, is his child too precious?"

"The physical activity needs for children of different ages vary. The other kids are a bit older, love to run and jump, and have higher activity demands. This level of activity isn't much for them. But Zheng Zheng is different; he's still too young. Although he also loves to run and jump, his physical capabilities can't keep up. This task's activity level is still intense for Zheng Zheng."

"True. Little kids get tired easily. That's why in kindergarten, the outdoor activity time for nursery and small classes is different from that for middle and large classes. Nursery and small class kids are younger, so their outdoor time is shorter."

"Did you forget the afternoon before yesterday? The other kids were running around with their parents all afternoon, but Zheng Zheng only wandered around for about half an hour before needing Chen Zi to carry him."

"Zheng Zheng: It's not that I don't want to walk, it's that my little body can't handle it."

"To be fair, Zheng Zheng's answer was so decisive."

"Yeah, at such a young age, he knows exactly what he wants without any hesitation."

"He can't even speak clearly, but he knows what he wants."

"Really, what a clever kid. With so many seedlings for company, who needs more companions?"

"Zheng Zheng's response was beyond my expectations, completely immune to temptation."

"No, no, no, our Zheng Zheng only yields to his dad's temptations, that's all."

Wen Yuchen had only opted out of this activity, not the entire show, so the production team continued to follow him.

After receiving approval for the withdrawal, Wen Yuchen took Zheng Zheng to Aunt Liu's house.

Aunt Liu was heading to the big market today, and Wen Yuchen had made arrangements with her yesterday, asking her to give him and his son a ride.

Wen Yuchen didn't know the way, and even if he did, traveling by ox cart would take an eternity.

When Pan Jing saw Wen Yuchen sitting in the three-wheeled motorcycle cart on the monitor, he calmly pondered for a moment.

Then, he remarked to a nearby staff member, "I feel like I've been outmaneuvered. Perhaps Zheng Zheng not keeping up wasn't the real reason—wanting to go to the big market was their actual goal, wasn't it?"

The staff member wore an "I told you so" expression and replied, "See, I said having too much freedom on the show isn’t a good thing. You’re always focused on tasks, while other parenting shows at least confiscate snacks from the children and take the guests' phones. All you care about are tasks."

"Go on, get out of here," Pan Jing retorted, swatting the person away as if shooing a fly, clearly touched on a sensitive point.

This staff member was a long-time employee of Pan Jing's, having been with him since the early days of his venture, which explained their more relaxed demeanor.

This was Pan Jing’s first foray into producing a variety show, and he had jumped straight into the challenging parenting show genre, meaning he had absolutely no prior experience.

When the show began filming, he and his crew were essentially fumbling in the dark, taking whatever came their way.