Chapter 38: World Two [8]

The hints for the supply points were given out randomly. The production team didn’t reveal what was inside the boxes, making it a total blind box experience.

With the coordinates and the photo, Shao Qing and Yu Hongjun spent twenty minutes before they successfully found the corresponding supply box.

The box’s hiding spot was indeed quite secretive. It was military green, and on top of that, it was covered in a lot of leaves. They could only pinpoint it when they were less than three meters away.

This showed that finding a supply box without a clue would probably take more time and energy than picking up ten kilos of trash.

Realizing that part of her fortune had returned, Shao Qing didn’t waste any time. She opened the box the moment she got it.

“Sister Hong, it’s a five-plus-one pack of instant noodles, a pack of sausages, and six bottles of soda.” After seeing the contents, Shao Qing was momentarily stunned, unsure if her luck was good or bad.

Although the items didn’t look very healthy, if she only considered getting enough to eat, even half of these supplies would be enough for her to live comfortably for a day.

[Your luck is pretty good. Li Liming was the first to get a supply box hint. The items he opened were a bottle of fruit juice and a bag of bread.]

[It wasn’t one of those big loaves of sliced bread, but a bag with only two palm-sized red bean buns. That kind of bread,] Jing Ke added.

Opening a supply box and getting enough food for one person for an entire day was considered very good luck.

After all, there were fifty supply boxes in total. If they were distributed evenly over six days, each person could get more than one box.

If every box contained a full day’s worth of food and water for one person, this show wouldn’t need to be called Wilderness Survival; it could just be renamed “Seaside Picnic.”

“Looks like our luck is pretty good. We can cook a pack of instant noodles tonight,” Yu Hongjun said with a smile.

As a regular guest, Yu Hongjun had a decent understanding of the production team and was sure this was a high-quality supply.

“Oh, and this box is great too. Let’s take it back with us,” Yu Hongjun added. “We can use it as a small storage box later.”

“Okay, I’ll put the stuff in my backpack and take the box too,” Shao Qing said, immediately packing the items into her bag.

Yu Hongjun wasn’t idle either. Under the pretext of sharing the supplies, she helped carry three bottles of soda.

The third and fourth guests to get hints to the supply boxes were Zheng Xingxing and Liu Chang, who had just returned from collecting trash. Their luck was average too. One opened a 5L bottle of mineral water, and the other got a 1kg bag of rice. Combined, they could make a day’s worth of congee.

Xu Yin, whose luck had taken a turn for the worse, was the last to get a supply hint. He originally wanted to show off and give the hint to Shao Qing as a favor, but after remembering he had no food reserves left, he had no choice but to open one himself.

When someone is down on their luck, even drinking water gets stuck in their teeth. Maybe it was because he was hit with backlash, but Xu Yin only opened a box containing one bottle of water and a seasoning bottle set.

What was this supposed to mean? Was he supposed to put some pepper salt and black pepper in his water and pretend it was some kind of super tonic?

Realizing that his hard-earned hint had turned into a pile of useless supplies, Xu Yin regretted his choice. If he had known, he should have given the hint away as a favor instead of using it himself!

“Teacher Xu, would you like to trade supplies? I’d like to exchange a pack of instant noodles for your seasoning bottle set.” Seeing Xu Yin return, carrying his things and looking dejected, Shao Qing’s eyes lit up instead.

Some things were useless to Xu Yin, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for others. Shao Qing and Yu Hongjun just happened to be lacking proper seasonings for making delicious grilled fish.

Hearing Shao Qing’s words, Xu Yin perked up a little. “So Teacher Shao just happens to need this. I was just feeling dejected about not opening anything useful to repay you, Teacher Shao.”

Xu Yin’s mind worked quickly. With a simple sentence, he spun his failed blind box—the seasoning set—into something that could pay off a favor.

Shao Qing naturally understood Xu Yin’s meaning, but she didn’t mind. Instead, she put on a look of being undeserving of such kindness.

“It’s just a small thing, not worth mentioning as repayment. Besides, Teacher Liu already gave me so many coconuts. If I kept asking you guys for things, I’d feel too indebted.” Shao Qing began her polite refusal, making it so Xu Yin couldn’t refuse her in turn.

“And besides, haven’t you eaten lunch yet, Teacher Xu? If we exchange supplies, you can save a little time preparing lunch.”

Shao Qing added, “I heard from Teacher Li that you spent a lot of energy collecting firewood in the morning. You need to replenish your carbs quickly.”

With the conversation at this point, if Xu Yin insisted on giving the seasoning set as a token of gratitude, it would look too pretentious.

Xu Yin, who knew very well what the audience was thinking, could only cover his face and sigh. He played into his down-and-out handsome guy persona, did some self-reflection, and finally completed the trade with Shao Qing.

—

[‘No way, Shao Qing seems so stingy. Trading five or six types of seasoning for just one pack of instant noodles? Shouldn’t it be at least two packs?’ ‘Doesn’t Shao Qing have two fish? Why didn’t she give one to Xu Yin?’]

[‘Please, didn’t the director say from the very beginning that this is an individual battle? In principle, anything the guests work for is theirs alone. There was never any obligation to share.’ ‘Exactly. Helping is a kindness, not an obligation. I suggest the fans of certain people not be too ridiculous. Too much is as bad as too little.’]

[The ratio of comments targeting you versus ones defending you is about 1 to 3. The majority of neutral onlookers clearly agree with the latter.]

“Is this change also because my fortune has returned?” Shao Qing asked absentmindedly, most of her attention drawn away by the sizzling grilled fish.

Sister Hong’s cooking skills were amazing. Even with such scarce seasonings, she managed to make such delicious grilled fish!

[Half is because your fortune is back, and the other half is because your performance today really can’t be faulted. Even now, there are still fishing enthusiasts asking for the address of your fishing spot, and your trending topic ranking is still very high.]

Shao Qing responded vaguely. After smelling the fragrant grilled fish, she was even less in the mood to chat with Jing Ke.

Shao Qing didn’t consider herself a glutton, but after eating two meals of noodles in a row, the appeal of meat had skyrocketed. So much so that she was standing next to Yu Hongjun, eagerly waiting for the grilled fish to be ready.

Realizing that in Shao Qing’s eyes, she wasn’t even as appetizing as grilled fish, Jing Ke fell silent for three minutes before complaining emotionally.

[My barbecue skills are also quite good, you know. Everyone who’s tried it says so.]

“Oh? You’ve barbecued for people before?” Shao Qing replied casually without thinking.

[Yes. Although I’ve forgotten who I barbecued for, I remember many techniques. Very reliable ones, even detailing the exact grilling time down to the second.]

Jing Ke’s tone became proud again. She couldn’t remember why she knew so much, but she just knew she did, and she was extremely confident about it.

“Is that so? You’re amazing then. I’ll have to try your cooking when I get the chance,” Shao Qing said perfunctorily. Seeing Yu Hongjun starting to check the doneness of the fish, she immediately handed over the seasoning bottle.

“Sister Hong, is the fish fully cooked yet? Can I try a bite? I feel like my stomach is about to start growling.” Shao Qing stared at Yu Hongjun eagerly, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Almost. Just need to add the final seasoning,” Yu Hongjun said with a smile, opening the first seasoning bottle and sprinkling a bit over the fish.

With her luck bursting at the seams, the fish Shao Qing had caught were all quite large, so the three carefully selected ones were also sizable.

Shao Qing and Yu Hongjun estimated their appetites and chose two relatively smaller ones, then selflessly donated the largest one so the other four guests could have a taste too.

Zheng Xingxing, who had been eating plain white rice, took a bite of the grilled fish and made an exaggerated expression, almost to the point of tears.

“Wuwuwu, Teacher Yu, Teacher Shao, I declare that from now on, you two are my surrogate parents! This is just too delicious!”

“Delicious! You two teachers are simply the best!” Liu Chang, who had also been shoveling plain white rice to fill his stomach, gave a thumbs up. The small jealousy that had just surfaced instantly vanished.

Anyone willing to share good food was a great person! It was only normal for great people to have good luck! There was no need for him to feel unbalanced.

Li Liming, who only had bread to eat, was also lucky to get a portion of the fish. He wasn’t good with fancy words, so he could only give a thumbs up in admiration and, as a bonus, offer two simple wooden canes he had made in his spare time.

The only one in an awkward position was Xu Yin. He didn’t want to accept Shao Qing’s goodwill again, but he also couldn’t act too eccentric and stand out.

So Xu Yin could only brace himself, grab a few bites of fish, and be forced to praise and thank Yu Hongjun and Shao Qing on camera.

It wasn’t until after Shao Qing had finished eating and was getting ready to rest in the tent that Jing Ke’s voice sounded again.

[Another part of your fortune has returned. You’ve gained the recognition of many fishing enthusiasts.]

“That’s great. How much of my fortune has come back now?” Shao Qing lay down on the sleeping bag, pulling her jacket over herself like a blanket.

[If we’re calculating by percentage, it’s currently back to eighteen percent.]

“Only eighteen?” Shao Qing’s tone was surprised. She had been so smooth-sailing today, and yet she hadn’t even gotten back a fifth of her fortune?

[Yes, only eighteen percent. The initial portion of fortune was easier to get back. This is the part Xu Yin stole but hasn’t fully utilized yet.]

[The rate of taking back fortune will slow down later on, but you don’t need to worry too much. Once your overall fortune outweighs Xu Yin’s, the remaining part will automatically return to its rightful owner.]

Shao Qing let out a soft “Mm,” closed her eyes, and prepared to nap for half an hour.

“I’ll sleep for half an hour. Wake me up when time’s up, please,” Shao Qing said.

[Ok. Would you like me to provide a sleep aid service?] Jing Ke asked proactively.

Shao Qing: “Yes, use that rain sound I listened to before. I like rainy days.”

The pattering sound of rain once again surfaced in Shao Qing’s mind, allowing her to fall asleep in an extremely short time, immersed in the carefree days of her childhood.