WS - Chapter 71
Chapter 71
One on the left, one on the right.
One chunk on the right, one chunk on the left.
Song Shiyue alternated hands, weighing the amount of bone she placed on each side each time, and quickly half-filled the vine bag on Dog's back.
There were still some roasted bones left on the large leaf on the ground, but Song Shiyue stopped first, patted Dog, and signaled it to walk around and see.
Whether it was because carrying the bones it would eat was truly a first in its dog life, or because Song Shiyue was now being friendly by petting its head and patting its rump... Dog felt that being urged to walk now made it feel a bit floaty. When it stepped out, not only did it move its front and back legs on the same side at the same time, but it also walked more crookedly than usual.
Dog had only taken a couple of steps, hadn't yet calmed its feelings about being treated so warmly, and was still getting used to the pack on its back, when Song Shiyue's next round of disdain arrived first.
"Ai, you really are just a little fatty..." Song Shiyue bent down somewhat helplessly, removed a piece of bone of similar weight from each side of the vine bag on Dog's back, then shook her head and said, "The two uncles roasted all those bones for you for nothing. You can't even carry half of them. What a waste. Alright, walk again and let's see."
Uncle Mu: ...
Uncle Guan: ...
Dog: ???
Admittedly, this dog was indeed smarter than the average dog, but with such a long speech from Song Shiyue, Dog couldn't immediately understand it.
But that sighing tone generally signified disappointment—this was something Dog could distinguish.
So... what did it do? She was disappointed?
Dog felt innocent and pitiful, suspecting that its earlier belief that it wouldn't be abandoned might have been premature. It couldn't help but resort to its usual cute tricks: circling around her legs, tilting its head, twitching its ears, and pawing at its feet.
But Song Shiyue was not Yu Nianbing; she never fell for such useless cuteness.
Still, seeing Dog now circling quickly and steadily, it seemed the weight of bones in the vine bag was about right.
"Alright, I said I'd give you the bones, and I have. You can eat as much as you can carry; the rest will just go to waste." With a relieved expression as if the matter was settled, Song Shiyue clapped her hands and slipped past Dog, who was still circling her.
"Teacher Song." Guan Yongyi couldn't help but speak up.
Song Shiyue turned around.
Guan Yongyi rubbed his hands, pointed at the remaining bones piled on the large leaf on the ground, and said, "Teacher Mu and I were just discussing it. Why don't we carry them for him?"
"Right, after all, the cow was found by him. It's only right that we contribute a bit of effort," Mu Xingzhou nodded in agreement with a smile.
Song Shiyue looked at the two of them, both looking sincere, shrugged and smiled, then said, "If you're willing, there's no problem. But we might have quite a lot of things to carry on the road soon, so you can just see how you're doing later and decide."
With that, Song Shiyue once again dodged the clingy Dog and hurried off to handle the next matter to prepare before departure.
Actually, Song Shiyue's words weren't very gentle. Reading between the lines, there was a hint that she thought Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi might not be up to the task.
If it had been someone else saying this, or if Song Shiyue had said it a few days ago, it would have definitely made people uncomfortable.
But now it was different. In the team, aside from Captain Yang, who wasn't convinced of Song Shiyue's strength? Even Zhao Da and Zhao Er, who hadn't interacted much with the guests, thought that the weight of the cow head plus half the body the day before was truly an impressive load.
Anyway, at this moment, Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi only heard concern in the same words, and for the time being they stopped their hands from packing up the bones to carry first.
Although Yu Nianbing was mired in self-reflection about not being overly concerned with Song Shiyue's affairs and not letting her emotions be led to the point of developing a petty temper, the commotion over on Dog's side was noticeable, and paying attention was only natural.
Having noticed, she couldn't help but think.
About Song Shiyue's strange insistence—seemingly very reasonable but completely illogical.
Whether The Wilderness Journey or any other reality show, it's really just a play on screen.
Showing a side that is a little bit of yourself but more performance, attracting more fans and traffic, and achieving a win-win with the program—that's the normal approach.
Of course, this approach had already started going off the normal track yesterday.
But it was just a dog. Animals in reality shows are there for the guests to show their compassion, and if they can interact, it adds a considerable bonus for attracting fans.
Song Shiyue didn't particularly care about using the show to attract fans or such goals; she was just here to earn money. Yu Nianbing had long known this, and even if someone didn't know, they could see it.
Yet even if Song Shiyue had no intention of using Dog to attract fans, her attitude toward Dog was indeed a bit peculiar.
Not like, not dislike, but more like an equal sort of strictness.
The transaction was equal; the boundaries she maintained with the other party were strict... even if the other party was just a dog.
It was really quite interesting, especially since Yu Nianbing didn't feel Song Shiyue was deliberately creating a gimmick.
A person who genuinely thinks and acts this way is either a fool or has an excessive degree of calm strength.
Yu Nianbing believed that the current Song Shiyue was not the former, but the Song Shiyue who attempted suicide a few days ago—that was uncertain.
How can games and dramas attract people? It's nothing more than constantly setting hooks.
One hook just released, another hooks you, over and over, making it impossible to stop.
As Yu Nianbing concentrated on pondering just how much change a failed suicide could bring to a person, she didn't even realize that Song Shiyue was already full of hooks. Even if she meant to step back, she probably couldn't retreat for a while.
Besides, she was currently in a fog, not even understanding her own heart—so how could she talk of intentionally retreating?
It was just that, amid her thoughts, unconsciously, she had let someone travel back and forth thousands of miles.
Dog's heart, Song Shiyue did not understand.
Even less so Yu Nianbing's.
At this moment, Song Shiyue's mental plan was packed full; she had just cleared one item and was moving on to the next—how could she see those hands or paws weakly stretching out in the heart?
The large stone slab used to dig the ground the night before, Song Shiyue had specifically leaned it behind the little wooden house, fearing that before she woke up, someone might mistakenly take it to use for food.
Now that breakfast was eaten and the bones were dealt with, it was naturally time for this stone slab.
As soon as Song Shiyue brought the stone slab out from behind the house, Yu Nianbing's doubtful little thoughts temporarily scattered, replaced by a bit of telepathic joy. She couldn't help but step forward and say, "Are we taking the soil?"
Hearing this, Song Shiyue's face also showed a surprised delight of shared insight: "Yes! You thought of it too? I think the smell is strong enough that the effect should last a few days."
"It's fine if the time is short; after all, there will be a new camp tonight. Just digging it up again each time is a bit more trouble." At this moment, Yu Nianbing found Song Shiyue's smile more pleasant, and she didn't dwell on that morning when Song Shiyue, smiling, insisted on stuffing the wrinkled cloth into her hand.
Song Shiyue, however, shook her head: "It's no trouble. You... ahem, Teacher Yu is right too. Every night there's a new one. What's stored in the soil might keep better than what we carry on us. Never mind, we'll just dig once each time and see."
Ah, I got excited and forgot to call her 'Teacher'—I need to correct that. Song Shiyue thought, then carefully glanced at Yu Nianbing, hoping she wouldn't make her call her 'Teacher' many times at night as punishment for the oversight.
Yu Nianbing never thought about what kind of impression learning the wristband rules in the middle of the night had left on Song Shiyue. At this moment, she was only thinking about the thing in the soil. When Song Shiyue found a spot and was about to start digging, she spoke again: "The clothes I sent over earlier had a pack of wet cloths, made of a flat, breathable towel material. Later, we can wrap the soil in them, tie them tight with split vine strips, and carry them on us. They'll be like sachets that shed some dust—that'll work."
What Song Shiyue had been worrying about was what to use to hold this medicinal soil.
Because the day before, everyone had agreed on the road not to throw away the sealed bags from the clothes in the boxes, but to bring them along to use as needed. After one night, there were indeed plenty of sealed bags. But if they used sealed bags, they'd have to poke holes, which certainly wouldn't be as convenient as using cloth.
"That's wonderful. First, we'll use a sealed bag to hold a big pack. When we're on the road, we'll hang the cloth on a branch stuck in the backpack to dry, and once it's dry, we'll divide it into separate packets." Song Shiyue looked like a crescent moon that had been missing a piece and was suddenly filled whole, smiling perfectly.
"No need to dry. I'll go take it out now. The fire isn't out yet, right? A few of us can hold it and dry it by the fire—it'll be dry in no time." Yu Nianbing was also amused by Song Shiyue's 'meticulous' plan, shaking her head with a smile.
As the two chatted back and forth, they cheerfully planned out the soil surrounding the camp down to the last detail.
Over on the production team's side, Director Zhang's expression was extremely grim.
Wang Daming, who had just been laughing at Dog together with Director Zhang, was now pressing his lips together, not daring to smile.
After carefully watching Director Zhang's expression for a moment, Wang Daming lowered his voice and suggested, "How about I have Zhao Da and Zhao Er stop them? Like we did last night?"
Director Zhang gave Wang Daming a sidelong glance: "What happened last night? Last night we were afraid Song Shiyue would dig up the protective circle and cause problems, so we sent Zhao Er. Now the night is already over."
"Then... then we go tell them that the medicinal powder underneath is poisonous and can't be carried on them?" Wang Daming squeezed out another idea.
This time, Director Zhang actually looked him in the eye, but his gaze held a certain inexplicable confusion. He stared until Wang Daming could barely hold on and was about to lower his head, then finally spoke: "Wang Daming, I see you're usually a pretty normal young fellow, but your thinking..."
Wang Daming was stunned by Director Zhang's slow, deliberate words.
But Director Zhang didn't continue on that topic. He just sighed and said, "Yesterday, for that scene where Captain Yang appeared, we didn't prepare these insect and snake repellents for them. But to be fair, we can't be blamed. The Mu Group said this area had been cleared, and even the circle of stuff buried around the camp was more for insect repellent than snake repellent. Who would have thought that the moment they got off the plane there would be a king cobra, making them... sigh, forget it, there's no point discussing it now."
By now, if Wang Daming still couldn't tell that Director Zhang wanted to go easy on the guests this once—and even felt a bit of regret—then he'd be a fool.
But clearly... just yesterday, Director Zhang had been discussing with Captain Yang about withholding an entire cow. How could he be so changeable?
Wang Daming couldn't quite gauge Director Zhang's true thoughts. Even with some guesses, he kept his mouth shut, saying no more, awaiting instructions.
"I remember that to prevent accidents, each camp has some backup medicinal powder. Go find it and give it to them." After Director Zhang finished, he opened his mouth as if to say something more to Wang Daming, but ultimately didn't. He waved his hand, telling him to just go.
Wang Daming nodded, stepped back two steps, hesitated, then spoke: "Before, Zhuang Jiachuan had to eat an insect just to get a bit of insect repellent... Now if we just give them this medicinal powder for free, won't it be called unfair?"
"In a place like this, they should have been given it in the first place. But..." Director Zhang looked at Wang Daming, swallowed the rest of his words, and waved his hand, saying, "Just go. Tell them it's a reward. A safety reward for discovering the little secret of the camp's safety. Go with a pleasantly encouraging expression."
Wang Daming felt that Director Zhang's attitude at this moment was somewhat unusual. He looked at Director Zhang's expression, but said no more, turned around, and went to find the backup medicinal powder where the tent sundries had been kept before.
As soon as Wang Daming left, Director Zhang didn't hurry to keep watching the floating screen; instead, he waved to Feng Qianqian, who was sitting under a tree not far away sewing a bag.
Feng Qianqian, who had been caught peeking and eavesdropping, stood up and walked over.
"What did you hear?" Director Zhang gave Feng Qianqian a peeved sidelong glance.
"..." Feng Qianqian, however, did not hesitate. "Everything."
Director Zhang was angered into a laugh: "Well then, tell me, should the medicinal powder be given to them or not?"
Feng Qianqian gave Director Zhang a somewhat odd look.
Why even ask? It's already given. Is this some ancestor's trial ground for finding a successor, asking such questions one by one?
Grumbling inwardly, Feng Qianqian nevertheless nodded politely.
"Right, it should be given." Director Zhang rubbed his face, and his voice suddenly dropped, as if talking to himself: "Whatever about having bodyguards, if there's a snake or something, they'd definitely just be scared before it's killed. Ha, yesterday, if not for Song Shiyue, Yu Nianbing would have turned into a ghost to haunt me..."
Hearing Director Zhang suddenly talk nonsense, Feng Qianqian couldn't help but interrupt: "Director Zhang, even without Song Shiyue, Doctor Ni still has serum. Teacher Yu would have been fine."
"She would have. You don't understand." Director Zhang waved his hand, his face saying 'what does a kid know,' but continued muttering to himself: "Yesterday nothing really happened, yet she turned into a ghost and scared me all night in my dreams. If she had really been bitten, how could she have left so easily... I completely forgot about the medicinal powder, luckily they dug it up... Really, if later..."
By now, Feng Qianqian finally understood where Director Zhang's sudden kindness of giving the medicinal powder came from.
Afraid of ghosts to the point of confusing dreams and reality—Director Zhang was truly one of a kind!
But, that was good too.
After all, a bit safer...
And this safety was official.
Feng Qianqian glanced toward the guests at the camp entrance, then stopped looking at the muttering Director Zhang and walked over to her own small bag.
She needed to find a chance to return the portion of medicinal powder she had secretly taken, otherwise she didn't know if what was left would be enough to go around.
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