"Don't be afraid, you have Grandpa here."
"Grandpa Lin, this whole area belongs to your family."
"That's right." Speaking of the crops, Grandpa Lin's eyes were filled with pride. "All this corn was planted by me. The price of corn was good last year, so I planted more this year. Once it's sold, I can buy extracurricular books for the kids."
"What grade is Grandpa Lin's grandson in?"
"He's going to junior high. I told him, my child is very good at studying."
Grandpa Lin and Fang Miaomiao chatted casually.
[Looks like Fang Miaomiao has quite the status. Others are learning to pick corn from Grandma Lin, but she's shamelessly chatting with Grandpa Lin. What a heartless person.]
[I just saw her wander off from the group earlier, doing who knows what. People like her are always on popular variety shows.]
[It wouldn't be normal if Fang Miaomiao wasn't lazy. Two dramas, and both were exposed for using extensive doubles. It's an insult to other actors.]
[Exactly, exactly. And the worst part is, after it was revealed, she still refused to admit it.]
"Miaomiao, why are you still sitting here?" Wang Qing, parched, saw Fang Miaomiao chatting happily and, with a glint in her eye, leaned in and said, "Our task today is quite demanding. How about we finish up first and then chat with Grandpa Lin?"
The two interrupted looked at Wang Qing with surprise.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?" Wang Qing blinked and looked at the camera. "Did we misunderstand the task?"
The camera shook, indicating she hadn't misunderstood.
"Qingqing, perhaps Miaomiao is just tired from work, so she's taking a break," Shen Jianni, who had been watching impatiently, said, shaking her slightly sore hand. She looked at Fang Miaomiao with understanding. "Right, Miaomiao?"
"Jianni, you're just so kind," Wang Qing's sense of justice could no longer be suppressed. "It's one thing that you didn't succeed in snatching your fishing task before, but now you're shamelessly acting like this in front of everyone."
"What's going on with you two?" Cui Mantong was also drawn over by the voices.
"Sister Mantong, I just can't stand seeing someone sitting around chatting and doing nothing," Wang Qing said dismissively, averting her gaze from Fang Miaomiao. "Look at this large area, how long will it take for just a few of us to finish?"
Cui Mantong's brow furrowed slightly. "So what's your point? Or do you have a suggestion?"
"Let's form pairs, with each pair taking half an acre of land." Wang Qing voiced her thoughts.
"This, perhaps it's not ideal," Shen Jianni said hesitantly, glancing at Cui Mantong. "Sister Mantong."
"Fang Miaomiao is lazy, even lazier than Panpan."
"Panpan, you shouldn't talk like that." Shen Jianni covered Chen Panpan's mouth and offered an apologetic bow around. "Sorry, Panpan is still young and doesn't know how to speak properly."
"Hmph, Panpan is right." Chen Jiabao pouted at Fang Miaomiao defiantly. "Auntie Fang is so lazy. We're all working, and she's just playing. Mom, I don't want to be paired with a lazy person."
"She's not a lazy person."
"Nonsense, she is." Chen Jiabao looked defiantly at Wen Yan'an, who had spoken up.
"I can help her," Wen Yan'an said, unwavering, seemingly oblivious to the scratch on his face from a corn leaf. "I can do her share of the work."
[What is this CEO talk? Ahhhh, Mom, I've been captivated by a five-year-old child.]
[Help, little An'an looks disheveled, but he's really handsome and manly. What did Fang Miaomiao do in her past life to have such a good stepson in this life?]
[Look how pathetic Wen Yan'an looks. How can Fang Miaomiao bear to sit there chatting and not move? I'm truly amazed. Can some powerful figure get this woman off the screen? I really don't want to see her anymore, she's an insult to my eyes.]
[I also think we should form groups. If this continues, all the work will be done by the other three families. It's not fair to them at all.]
"Grouping?" Fang Miaomiao finally looked up with interest. "Are you sure?"
"Definitely not. Even if we do, I want to be in a group with Miaomiao."
"Let's split. I'm not willing to help a lazy person."
Cui Mantong and Wang Qing said in unison.
"And you?"
"This..." Shen Jianni's face, flushed red by the sun, showed her indecision. "I, I don't know."
"Jianni, don't be afraid," Wang Qing said, mistaking Shen Jianni's hesitation for fear of Fang Miaomiao's intimidation. "I'm here, no one can bully you."
"Mom, can we form groups? I'm so hot."
"Exactly, exactly. If we form groups, we'll finish sooner and can go back early," Chen Jiabao said, his earlier bravado fading.
"Alright then." Shen Jianni gently bit her lower lip and said cautiously to Fang Miaomiao, "Miaomiao, Mantong, don't worry. We'll come help you once we're done. Don't worry."
"Then you guys choose," Cui Mantong thought to herself, smirking. If it weren't for the cameras, and if Miaomiao hadn't pulled her back, she would have definitely given these two a piece of her mind.
The two of them had picked less corn than she had on her own. How dare they bully her Miaomiao! It was outrageous.
"Oh, how could we possibly impose," Wang Qing said with a smile. "Don't worry, once our task is done, we'll come and help you too. You can rest assured."
With that, Wang Qing picked up her bamboo basket and walked towards the area where Cui Mantong had been picking corn.
Fang Miaomiao's eyelids lowered, concealing the coldness in her eyes.
"Miaomiao, don't be afraid. I'll go pick corn. If you feel unwell, just rest here."
An unintentional remark caused a huge stir in the livestream.
Suddenly, a large number of trolls and haters flooded Fang Miaomiao's livestream, causing it to lag and go black.
"Director, Fang Miaomiao's livestream is having problems."
"Director, Fang Miaomiao is trending for being lazy."
"Director, Fang Miaomiao..."
"Director."
"Stop!" Chen Tianming removed his earphones and lay back weakly in his chair, waving to his assistant.
"Director."
"I need my heart medication."
Seeing his pale face, the assistant quickly brought him hot water and medicine.
After taking it, Chen Tianming's complexion improved considerably. "What's the situation online now?"
His show couldn't be this manipulative. What were Wang Qing and Shen Jianni doing? Hadn't he clearly stated that the task today was for all four to work as a team?
It's one thing for Shen Jianni to be brainless, but Wang Qing, an old hand in the industry, wouldn't know better, would she?
"There are a lot of haters entering the stream, as if they want to definitively prove Fang Miaomiao is lazy."
Anyone with eyes could see that someone was orchestrating this.
Chen Tianming took a deep breath. If this had happened yesterday, he might have "followed public opinion" and terminated Fang Miaomiao's contract.
But now, he couldn't. The higher-ups had explicitly stated they needed these particular individuals, meaning his production team had to protect Fang Miaomiao.
He had only temporarily taken over this variety show, and so many things were happening. Once this show was over, he would never produce another variety show again.