Passing the note to Yu Feipeng, the old man pondered for a moment before saying, “This clue is just one word. Still can’t see much.”
The theme of this episode was poetry, so it had to revolve around poems. However, there were too many poems about wine with no other clues to corroborate, so the answer was temporarily elusive. They had to wait for the other two groups to obtain clues.
Turning to Yu Feipeng, Xu Qiao suggested, “Well, Teacher Yu, let’s take a stroll in the village, see if we can find anything else?”
So, the viewers watching the various guests’ livestreams repeatedly saw that Min Yang and Fan Menghua’s teams, in order to complete the villagers’ consecutive tasks, ran around tirelessly, looking disheveled and worn out.
In contrast, Xu Qiao’s team, consisting of an old man and a young man, leisurely strolled around the village.
「Fortunately, grandpa is with Xu Qiao’s team, sparing him from toiling too hard to complete the task, otherwise, with those old arms and legs…」
「Grandpa Yu: I don’t like hearing that.」
Upon first meeting Xu Qiao, Yu Feipeng felt a certain affinity. Seeing him help the elderly farmer fix the farm equipment, that liking only grew stronger.
The two walked along the village path, chatting idly.
The old man moved at a leisurely pace, and Xu Qiao, not in a hurry, slowed down to accompany him.
“Hey, Xu Qiao, take a look at that.” The old man suddenly showed a hint of excitement on his face, patting Xu Qiao’s arm.
The cameraman, thinking he had found a clue, quickly aimed the lens in that direction.
Xu Qiao saw clusters of blue-purple flowers blooming on unknown wild grass by the roadside, resembling orchids.
“What’s this?”
“This is called February Orchid,” the old man said, squatting down and skillfully picking leaves, “When we were young and short of food, we’d forage for this wild vegetable. Both the leaves and stems are edible, can be eaten cold or stir-fried, and taste good.”
The old man placed the picked orchid leaves on the ground and continued, “Nowadays, people are used to feasting on rich foods. Eating some wild vegetables like this is just as good. I’ll bring some back for my wife. She’ll be delighted.”
Hearing this, Xu Qiao thought it was a good idea and decided to bring some back for Li Feifei and Mo Chenghong to try. He squatted down to pick some as well.
The cameraman dutifully focused the lens on the old and young crouching on the ground picking wild vegetables.
「If Xu Qiao didn’t know how to fix farm equipment, I would’ve thought he was just putting on a show.”
「……」
「Want to interview the program team about their feelings.」
Watching the program director at the monitor, he expressed, “I never expected these two to team up and turn a well-crafted traditional-style variety show into a series of village escapades.”
When the two had picked enough, the cameraman brought two plastic bags for them.
Xu Qiao assisted the old man to stand up, and Yu Feipeng smiled, thanking him. However, his expression changed when he noticed something behind Xu Qiao.
In the distance, a plump white goose flapped its wings and stretched its neck, charging towards them with a Godzilla-like approach, heading straight for Yu Feipeng.
「Oh crap! The poultry king is back in the backyard!」
「From experience, if it doesn’t like you, it can fly over and hassle you forever.」
「Did these two offend someone’s territory by picking wild vegetables here?」
「Quick, pull Teacher Yu away. It’s too dangerous.」
The cameraman was a bit flustered. The camera shook as he pulled Yu Feipeng backward, fearing any mishap with the old man.
Little did they know, the big white goose seemed to have set its sights on the old man, charging straight towards them, honking loudly.
Just as everyone was on edge, Xu Qiao reached out and seized the half-human-sized goose by the neck, silencing its honks.
「Damn, heartless.」
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
「… What just happened? Did you all see it clearly?」
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「Jtbxfv ys ojaf…」
「Xbbrf: Qtb jw P? Qtfgf jw P?」
Ktf qjiw ofia kjgw, atf ofjatfgr bc atf ubbrf’r cfmx kfgf vfilmjaf, jcv abemtlcu la kjr delaf qifjrjca. We Hljb erfv tlr batfg tjcv ab ulnf la j mbeqif wbgf ragbxfr yfobgf rjalrojmabglis gfifjrlcu lar cfmx. Cr rbbc jr tf ifa ub, atf qfgrlrafca ubbrf mtjgufv abkjgvr atf biv wjc jujlc.
Xu Qiao reached out, once again lifting its neck, squinting as a warning. “Can’t you relax?”
The goose squeezed out two difficult honks from its throat.
Xu Qiao released it, and the goose hesitated, lingering in place, stretching its neck as if still intending to chase.
At that moment, a distant, elderly voice sounded, “Ruirui, come back.”
Hearing this voice, the goose gave up the chase, turned around, wobbling its wings, and ran towards the owner of the voice. It plunged into the person’s arms, honking miserably.
「This goose is angry to death.」
「Hahaha, this goose looks so wronged. It’s making me laugh like a fool.」
Xu Qiao looked up, and the newcomer was the elderly woman they had seen at the village entrance when they first arrived. If he guessed correctly, she should be their task target.
Yu Feipeng, still uneasy, recognized the person and whispered, “Should we go over and ask?”
Xu Qiao nodded, and the two approached the elderly woman. She hunched over, slowly walking in the direction with the big goose.
“Big Sister, is there anything we can help you with?” Yu Feipeng asked.
The elderly woman remained silent, walking into her yard, diligently playing her role as per the program’s requirements, accompanied by the big goose.
Later, Xu Qiao and Yu Feipeng watched as she took out a small hoe and started digging in a corner of her yard. After digging for a while, it wasn’t clear what she intended to plant.
After a while, the elderly woman sighed. “Can’t find it, my flower won’t come back, my Ruirui.”
This was probably the hint given by the program team.
A flower.
Xu Qiao glanced at the big white goose obediently standing by her side and asked, “Auntie, who is Ruirui?”
The elderly woman took a while before saying, “Ruirui is my son.”
“So, where is he now?”
The elderly woman remained silent, steadily digging the soil with her hoe.
Unable to elicit any more information, Yu Feipeng and Xu Qiao left the yard. Just as they stepped out, they encountered Fan Menghua and Ying Wenlin. Seeing the two of them panting and covered in sweat, Xu Qiao was a bit surprised. It seemed he and Teacher Yu were lucky to avoid troublesome tasks.
Fan Menghua’s eyes lit up at the sight of the two. “Hey, Teacher Yu, Xu Qiao, did you find any clues?”
She was just casually asking, thinking it probably wouldn’t be possible so soon, but unexpectedly, Xu Qiao nodded and said, “Found one.”
Fan Menghua paused, catching her breath, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and looked somewhat resentful. “They’re really taking advantage of us. We’ve been helping with fetching water and feeding the animals. Later, we still have to dry vegetables.”
With all four working together, the task progressed quickly. After assisting Fan Menghua and Ying Wenlin, they all obtained the second clue: “Journey.”
Now, both teams had clues, leaving only Min Yang and Hou Yingfan.
Min Yang had been on high alert since the start of the program, always presenting himself gracefully in front of the camera. However, this was his first time filming in the countryside, and the rural environment made him somewhat uncomfortable.
Feeding chickens, weeding, picking vegetables… he couldn’t handle any of it smoothly.
Hou Yingfan had a seniority complex. Min Yang’s patience with him had long evaporated. He couldn’t help but complain in his mind: “This is so different from the traditional-style variety show I imagined. I thought everyone would be chatting, brewing tea, and drinking wine.”
After stumbling through the task with Hou Yingfan, when Min Yang saw Xu Qiao and the others looking relaxed, complaints welled up inside him.
「Min Yang seems a bit unhappy.」
「Probably not used to doing so much work in a day.」
「He teamed up with Hou Yingfan, both of them aren’t good at labor, so it must have been challenging.」
The enthusiastic villagers provided a courtyard for the six. They all sat down, placing their respective clues on the table.
Xu Qiao noticed that Min Yang’s group had the clue: “Morning flowers, evening sunset.”
With three clues laid out, Ying Wenlin said, “I wonder if there are any clues left to be found.”
The program team finally spared them further difficulties, communicating through earpieces, “Congratulations on collecting all the clues. Please guess a poem from the known clues and find what the elderly woman is looking for.”
Then, a synthesized male voice came through the earpieces:
“Poetry is born from labor. In those distant times, people, in order to improve labor efficiency and forget the hardship of work, would produce rhythmic sounds along with their movements. This is the origin of poetry. Labor is most glorious. Thanks to the six guests for their labor today!”
Fan Menghua: “……”
「This is different from the ethereal and classical style I imagined for a traditional variety show.」
「But what they said isn’t wrong, hahaha, labor is most glorious.」
「By the way, did anyone guess what the answer is? All three clues are out now.」
“Couldn’t guess, let’s see what they say.”
With all the clues gathered, the six took a moment to focus, contemplating the three notes on the table.
Wine, journey, morning flowers and evening sunset.
In a variety show where ensuring screen time was crucial, naturally, one must speak up. Min Yang glanced at the other five and was the first to speak, “Wine, journey. Is it about putting words into action for people? Then what does this morning flowers and evening sunset signify?”
Xu Qiao repeated what he and Yu Feipeng encountered, conveying the words and actions of the elderly woman in the yard.
Min Yang casually took over from Xu Qiao, “It seems the old lady is looking for a certain flower. Let’s think about what flowers match these three characteristics.”
Ying Wenlin: “Morning flowers and evening sunset. If we’re talking about flowers, morning glories, sunflowers, lotus flowers — these are all flowers that bloom in the morning and close in the evening.”
Fan Menghua adjusted her hair and shared her opinion, “Our theme for this episode is poetry, and this flower must fulfill the imagery represented by these clues.”
After speaking, Fan Menghua smiled at Hou Yingfan. “Teacher Hou, as the vice president of the Capital Poetry Association, this should be your expertise. Any thoughts?”
Had I known, wouldn’t I have spoken up sooner?
Hou Yingfan, a hint of embarrassment on his face, found Fan Menghua’s question annoying. “I’ve thought of several flowers related to wine and journey — zhuyu, chrysanthemum, peach blossom. But they don’t seem to have much to do with this morning flowers and evening sunset.”
Seeing that Yu Feipeng and Xu Qiao remained silent, Ying Wenlin asked, “Teacher Yu, Xu Qiao, what do you both think?”
Wine, journey, morning flowers and evening sunset. Combined with the words of the elderly woman, the answer was actually quite clear.
Xu Qiao glanced at Yu Feipeng, and the old man nodded with a smile, obviously having thought of the answer.
Yu Feipeng pointed to the clue paper with the word “wine,” took out a steel pen from his pocket, and wrote a poetic line beneath it: “Dukang’s wine can dispel gloom.”
After writing, he handed the pen to Xu Qiao.
Xu Qiao continued to write: “Daylilies help forget worries.”
Daylily flowers have a brief blooming period, combined with the elderly woman’s action of digging soil in front of the hall, longing for her son. The flower they were looking for should be daylily.
Sharing Du Kang’s wine can wash away a thousand sorrows. Gazing at daylilies together can ease the mind and forget worries.
The small regular script on the paper moved effortlessly, with concise and substantial lines, exuding a rich flavor.
Seeing Xu Qiao’s handwriting, Min Yang’s eyebrows twitched.
「Xu Qiao guessed it’s daylily?」
「His handwriting looks quite nice.」
「Do you remember Xu Qiao’s promotional photo for Chatting About? The official account said he wrote it. At that time, I didn’t believe it.」
「My mom forced me to learn calligraphy since elementary school, but my regular script doesn’t look as good as his.」
“Daylily?” Fan Menghua was somewhat surprised. “Yellow flower vegetables?”
The yellow flower vegetables used in cooking, scientifically known as daylily.
Xu Qiao nodded. “In fact, the program team already gave us a hint. Teacher Fan, the vegetables we were drying are yellow flower vegetables. This village should be a yellow flower vegetable cultivation base. Look, almost every household is drying a considerable amount of yellow flower vegetables at their doorsteps.”
Yu Feipeng continued, “Vice President Hou should be familiar with the imagery of daylily. Let him explain it to everyone.”
Hou Yingfan’s expression wasn’t too pleasant. He didn’t expect that as the vice president of the Capital Poetry Association, he didn’t take the lead in providing the answer and was instead preempted by Xu Qiao.
“Daylily, also known as the ‘Forget Worries’ plant, symbolizes mothers. In the past, mothers would plant daylily to forget worries while yearning for their sons who traveled afar. This flower carries a distant yearning of mothers and a beautiful hope for forgetting worries. It’s a very unique symbol.”
Ying Wenlin: “So that old woman’s son is away, and she wanted us to find daylily to plant for him? Then, what is the poem the program team wants us to guess?”
Xu Qiao replied, “Daylily blooms—”
“Daylily blooms on the hall steps, the wandering son travels afar. The kind mother waits in front of the hall, not seeing the blooming of daylily flowers. Meng Jiao’s poem ‘Wandering Son’,” Min Yang interrupted him, swiftly reciting the poem. At the end, he smiled at Xu Qiao with a hint of satisfaction.
Xu Qiao glanced at him, showing no particular reaction.
「…Interrupting like that is so impolite.」
「Min Yang just didn’t hear Xu Qiao speak, how is that interrupting?」
「Can’t do the work properly, but good at stealing the spotlight by interrupting. I don’t really like Min Yang anyway.」
「Just jealous that Min Yang is more outstanding than you.」
Min Yang, unaware of the discontent expressed by some viewers, continued, “Before the son traveled afar, he planted a daylily in the yard. The mother, seeing the daylily, felt as if she was seeing her son.”
Fan Menghua looked around and sighed. “But where would this thing come from in this month?”
The weather hadn’t warmed up much yet, so theoretically, except for the yellow flowers that the villagers had dried, fresh daylily couldn’t be found.
Xu Qiao looked up and pointed to the plastic greenhouses not far away.
This village was a dedicated base for cultivating yellow flower vegetables. The cold weather wasn’t an issue.
Looking over, they could vaguely see a golden glow inside. When they got off the car earlier, they saw it but didn’t know what was being grown. Now, it seemed to be yellow flower vegetables.
Walking into the greenhouse, they found vast areas of bright orange-yellow daylilies. On the slender, tender green branches, the petals were delicate, resembling lilies. Looking around, a burst of fresh vitality greeted them.
「Wow, didn’t expect fresh daylilies to look this beautiful!」
「Not only can you eat it, but it’s also quite decorative.」
They transplanted a plant into a flowerpot and brought it to the old woman’s house. When the program team announced the completion of the task, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
However, it wasn’t time to rest yet. The last segment of this traditional-style program truly required the expertise of the four inheritors of National Style.
With the earlier tasks completed and the answer to the “Wandering Son” poem in hand, they entered a tense rehearsal period.
The program team set up the venue in a rural courtyard, burning incense and brewing tea. In the upcoming performance, Hou Yingfan would recite the “Wandering Son” poem, Yu Feipeng would brush calligraphy and paint, Ying Wenlin would play the sanxian to depict the son’s distant journey, and Fan Menghua would dance to express the mother’s emotions, all accompanied by the ambiance of the rural setting.
Xu Qiao and Min Yang would play the roles of the witnesses.
Oh, so that’s why the two newbies are “witnesses”! I was wondering about that
Thanks for the chapter!! Loving this one!!
Thank you for the update ☺️
Thanks for the chapter!
Yeah witnesses totally not a lie yep 🤣
Thank you for the food
Did not know you could eat Daylilies.
That is impressive! Goose are scary!
-Testimony from someone who get chased one time as a teenager.
Haha! I used to run at a park who always had geese and I would always end up having to spring past them because one would always come after me 😅🏃
Sprint*
That is really brave of you. Even now I still flinch whenever I saw 1. Good thing they are rare here.
Thank you for the chapter.
Thank you for the chapter!
Thank you for the update 🖤 💯
Can we sic the goose on Min Yang and Hou what’s his face?
Thanks for the chapter!