Chapter Thirty-Four: The Will to Win, Talent, and the Gifted

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On the set of "Farming, Superstar."

"Since it's clear that none of you can handle this renovation, I've called in a few workers to help," said Assistant Director Guo Biao as he looked around at everyone. "From here on out, they'll be helping us renovate the house."

The workers included a bricklayer, a painter, and a carpenter—enough to cover nearly all aspects of the renovation.

"That's great, we've finally got reinforcements," someone sighed in relief.

"I used to think painting was easy. I supervised the entire renovation of my own place, but doing it myself... it's just not the same."

"Laying tiles and painting walls—everything has to be level. It's way too hard."

...

Whether it was Duan Hai, Hong Fei, or Guan Peng, they all let out long breaths of relief.

According to the script, now that someone was handling the renovation, Lin Xing and the others only needed to buy some animals and check in with neighboring farmers to see what vegetables they were planting and figure out what they themselves should plant.

And then—how to build the greenhouses?

After all, there are different types, both small and large.

The production team's script planned for several episodes just from this process—especially since Yu Shang would be coming as a guest that afternoon, and more guest appearances were already being negotiated.

"Let's go visit the big livestock farm next door and learn a thing or two," Guan Peng said with a grin. "We'll leave the renovation to the masters here."

"Take Ding Yi with you. Xiao Hai and I will check out the greenhouses," Hong Fei replied, turning to Lin Xing. "Xing, are you coming with Guan or with me?"

Lin Xing smiled, "You guys go ahead. I'll stay here and have a word with the workers."

"Xing, you're not thinking of learning how to lay bricks, are you..." Ding Yi asked, suddenly realizing.

"No way, Xing, when else would we ever have the chance to do this?"

"Exactly, it's tough work, but it's a real skill."

...

Everyone seemed a bit puzzled.

Guan Peng just laughed, "Xing, are you getting competitive?"

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Indeed, in the past few episodes of "Farming, Superstar," Lin Xing had succeeded at everything he'd tried. Now that he'd failed at bricklaying, it was understandable that he'd want to improve.

"That's right, I can't help myself—I want to win," Lin Xing admitted openly, not bothering with any excuses. After all, they were filming a variety show, so he might as well go with the flow for the sake of entertainment.

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And so, Lin Xing stayed behind to learn bricklaying from the workers.

The master teaching Lin Xing was surnamed Wang, nearly sixty years old, and had spent his entire life as a bricklayer.

"I always wanted to take on an apprentice, but there just aren't any. Young people don't want to learn this trade—they think it's hard and dirty," Master Wang said truthfully.

You only had to look at the crew of workers to see his point: the youngest was already in his fifties.

Even though bricklaying pays well, few young people are willing to do it.

"This is the ratio of sand to cement..."

"Right, when leveling, you need to..."

"When laying bricks, you generally use a staggered pattern with concrete, building up slowly. This can't be a load-bearing wall, but it's fine for things like stoves."

"Or you can just use the three-one method for bricklaying..."

...

All morning long, Lin Xing was intent on learning from Master Wang. Since so few young people were willing to pick up this skill, the older man was genuinely dedicated to teaching.

Lin Xing was a quick study.

By lunchtime, he had already grasped the basics—at least he wouldn't be clueless next time he tried to build a wall.

"Xiao Lin, why don't you come work with me as a bricklayer? I think you really have a talent for this," Master Wang said as they prepared to eat.

Before Lin Xing could answer, the other workers burst out laughing. "Old Wang, are you out of your mind? Xiao Lin's a big celebrity—why would he do bricklaying with you? You've lost your head!"

"Yeah, Old Wang, even your own son won't do this work, and you want a celebrity to?"

"But Xiao Lin really is impressive. Xiao Lin, you can learn painting with me this afternoon—it's easier than bricklaying."

...

The workers joked and laughed together.

Lin Xing replied, "Alright, once I've finished learning with Master Wang, I'll give painting a try."

One of the other workers looked puzzled. "But Xiao Lin, why are you learning this stuff? Celebrities don't need these skills."

"Master Li, sometimes I do charity work. If I know a bit about renovation, maybe I can use it someday," Lin Xing joked. "But honestly, my industry is so competitive. If I pick up a skill or two, who knows—maybe I'll run into a role for a bricklayer or carpenter during an audition. That would give me an edge."

"Alright, that's a wrap for the morning," Guo Biao came over, directing the staff to take the workers for lunch and letting Lin Xing know that Yu Shang was about to arrive.

"Mr. Lin, Yu Shang is already at the market. He's here to bring us some supplies. Filming has already started over there..." Guo Biao explained, "He should be here in about fifteen minutes, so you’ll need to wait for him with the others."

Lin Xing nodded lightly. "Sure, no problem."

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Fifteen minutes later, Yu Shang arrived on an electric tricycle, staff following him to the set.

"This half a pig is really heavy—it's a full hundred pounds. Besides that, I bought you some vegetables, seasonings, and such..." Yu Shang announced as he got off the tricycle. "I know you haven't had lunch yet, so I brought boxed meals—ordered yesterday."

"Thank you, Mr. Yu, we've worked ourselves to exhaustion today."

"Thank you, Mr. Yu."

...

Everyone expressed their gratitude to Yu Shang. Since the dining room was still under renovation, they took their boxed lunches outside and ate in the courtyard.

"What should we do with this half-pig?" Yu Shang frowned. "Should I call the butcher and have him come cut it up for you?"

"No need to trouble the butcher, Mr. Yu, I can handle it," Lin Xing spoke up.

Yu Shang looked at him in disbelief. "You know how to butcher a pig?"

This was genuine surprise—he really didn't know.

"Yes, a little. My skills aren't great, but handling half a pig shouldn't be a problem," Lin Xing replied with a smile.

"Alright then, thank you, Mr. Lin," Yu Shang said, and with that, the segment wrapped.

"Okay, let's eat. I'm starving. Yu Shang, have you had lunch yet?" Guan Peng, who was close with Yu Shang, asked directly.

"I haven't either—let's eat together," Yu Shang replied cheerfully. He looked around at Duan Hai and the others. "No need to call me Mr. Yu, just Yu Shang or Shang-ge is fine."

By the end of the meal, Yu Shang had fully blended in with the group.

He truly was a comedian with remarkable emotional intelligence.

Or perhaps just a very clever person.

As they began shooting in the afternoon, Feng Gang came over. "Xing, we're going to tweak the script a bit. Here's what you'll do..."

Listening to Feng Gang, Lin Xing looked a bit surprised. "Director Feng, are you sure that's a good idea?"

...

...

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