Lan Wuyi was giving his old friend Chen Mei a tour of the Mushroom House, showing her the group photos from the past three seasons. He also pointed out the various gifts sent by previous guests: everything from badminton rackets gifted by visiting athletes to oversized, questionably cute plush toys.
Having previewed several episodes of Lan Wuyi had thoughtfully prepared gifts for all four newcomers, but the timing wasn't right to bring them out yet.
Zhou Dakong and Tan Lu, who weren't technically fans but acted like they were, hovered around Chu Zhi. Zhou Dakong insisted on striking up awkward small talk—if Chu Zhi hadn't been naturally adept at social interaction, the conversation would've fallen apart quickly.
"Teacher Chen has a slower temperament, but Little Jiu... he's hard to read," Zhou Dakong remarked.
Kun Yun was the busiest of the bunch, keeping an eye on both Chu Zhi and Chen Mei. One had seniority, and the other had popularity, both needing careful attention. Kun Yun was also aware that Chu Zhi struggled with severe depression.
Just as Zhou Dakong finished fumbling through an awkward topic, he quickly jumped to another.
"My little sister really likes you. Her phone wallpaper is Brother Jiu."
Tan Lu's cheeks immediately flushed crimson. Her little secret had been exposed, and she stammered, flustered.
"The music you write is really independent," she said. "It has its own voice and style. My music teacher even uses your work as examples in class."
"Your music is independent too," Chu Zhi replied. "Sticking to your own creative path is very cool."
Tan Lu had meant "independent" as in "super amazing," but language quirks happen—everyone has their own habits. She knew her idol hadn't quite caught what she meant, but being complimented still made her light up inside.
"If there's ever a chance, we should collaborate," Chu Zhi added. In his previous two albums, there had been songs originally written as male-female duets, which he later revised into solos.
At that, Tan Lu's eyes lit up. Even if Chu Zhi was just being polite, it was enough to make her happy for a long time.
After finishing the indoor introductions, Chef Lan led everyone to the terrace and gave an overview of the Mushroom House surroundings.
To the south, the fields grew vegetables like eggplants and cucumbers. To the north, there were fruits—Hami melons, pineapples, and more. The land was fertile and self-sustaining.
The guests had now finished getting acquainted with the four regulars, and it was time to assign tasks.
Chef Lan began preparing the five dishes Chu Zhi had requested, with Kun Yun assisting.
Traditionally, guests were assigned the heavy labor. But since Chen Mei was an old friend and Chu Zhi was overwhelmingly popular, no one wanted to push too hard.
"Lu Lu, you and Dakong go plant the watermelon seedlings. As for Teacher Chu and Teacher Chen…" Lan Wuyi was about to say they were older when it suddenly hit him that Chu Zhi might actually be younger than the big lug.
He changed his wording. "Teacher Chen is older, and Teacher Chu isn't in the best health. Let the younger folks handle more of the work."
"My health is alright," Chu Zhi said proactively. "I'll go with Dakong and Xiao Mei."
"Then you two, help out Brother Jiu as much as you can," Kun Yun added.
The three of them grabbed the seedling planter and headed for the watermelon field. Naturally, a cameraman followed—no way the production team would waste a second of footage after paying a premium for Chu Zhi.
Zhou Dakong took the lead while Tan Lu, unable to stop sneaking glances at her idol, nearly tripped on the way.
"Watch your step, Xiao Mei," Zhou Dakong warned.
"Walk in the middle. I'll bring up the rear and keep an eye out," Chu Zhi said.
After about fifteen minutes, the three of them reached the field.
"In my experience on the show, we're going to have to plant the whole thing," said Zhou Dakong. "Last time I did this, it took me three days on my own."
"It'll go faster with the three of us," Chu Zhi replied. "Plus, we've got the seedling machine." He started working immediately—no stalling, no fuss.
Seeing her idol get to work, Tan Lu jumped in. Zhou Dakong, who had done this many times, moved more efficiently than either of them.
Zhou Dakong had become a three-season regular thanks to his dependable, hard-working nature. He handled most of the grunt work, and viewers saw him as down-to-earth and reliable.
Kun Yun had clearly told them to "help out Brother Jiu," which pretty much meant Zhou Dakong should carry the bulk of the load.
And Zhou Dakong thought the same thing anyway—Chu Zhi had slender arms and legs, not the kind of build for field labor.
After half an hour, Zhou Dakong straightened his back and noticed Xiao Mei had rested several times already, but Brother Jiu was still working without pause.
"Want to take a break and drink some water, Brother Jiu?" Zhou Dakong asked.
"I'm fine. I'll keep going," Chu Zhi said. He moved like clockwork, feeding seedlings into the machine, bending, planting, repeating, with mechanical precision.
The planter was a giant syringe-like device. Seedling goes in the tube, tip into the soil, and one press plants it. Easier than using a trowel, but the constant bending was still exhausting.
Cameraman Lao Zhan watched with growing disbelief. From 1:30 to past 5 in the afternoon, Chu Zhi worked almost nonstop. Zhou Dakong rested four times, Tan Lu eight. Chu Zhi? Only once.
"A labor robot..." Lao Zhan muttered to himself. Plenty of famous guests had come to the Mushroom House over three seasons, but he'd never seen anything like this.
Another thirty minutes passed.
"If you two are tired, take a break," Chu Zhi said. "I'll finish this row."
Zhou Dakong's back was aching, and Tan Lu had blisters on her palms. They wanted to tough it out, but they couldn't.
So they sat and watched as Chu Zhi finished one row and started another.
"Brother Jiu is unbelievable," Zhou Dakong muttered, wondering if Chu Zhi secretly worked on farms in his spare time.
Tan Lu wanted to offer him water, but her feet stayed rooted in hesitation.
For someone like Chu Zhi, who lacked physical training, the afternoon's workload should have been overwhelming. The Emperor Beast was using the excuse of illness to dull the ache in his back.
His hair was drenched in sweat, and his lips were turning slightly blue. He was exhausted. So why did he keep going? To win hearts, of course.
But this wasn't even his final move.
While the show had no strict script—being a slow-living variety show—it still had structure. For instance, when Chu Zhi first arrived and ordered dishes, he specifically chose specialties from the Yunnan province to help promote the region.
Two more hours passed.
"Camera crew, could you switch on a light? I want to finish these last two rows," Chu Zhi requested.
"?"
Cameraman Lao Zhan suddenly remembered a legend whispered among industry insiders: Never become Chu Zhi's dedicated cameraman. You'll question your entire existence.
"Hey man, you don't have to push this far. It's already dark. Why don't we head back?" Zhou Dakong quickly said.
Tan Lu nodded in agreement.
"It's alright, just two more rows," Chu Zhi said.
Zhou Dakong tried to help, but his back refused. His first attempt to stand failed. Tan Lu didn't even try.
Under the harsh light of the camera gear, Chu Zhi finished planting the last two rows. By then, Kun Yun had come looking for them—it was way past dinnertime.
On the way back to the Mushroom House, Zhou Dakong felt his legs shaking. He hadn't felt this sore since last season, when he had to plant a whole field solo.
Back at the house, the meal was ready: pineapple sticky rice, hand-grabbed rice, steamed pork head wrapped in leaves, lemongrass grilled fish, and five-spice roasted Dai-style carp.
When the others heard that the trio had finished planting the entire watermelon field, both Lan Wuyi and Kun Yun were stunned. They knew exactly how much work that involved.
"You didn't have to finish it today," Kun Yun said, concerned. "We could've done more tomorrow or the next day."
"Look at them," Lan Wuyi said, nodding at the way Tan Lu and Zhou Dakong's hands trembled as they held chopsticks.
"Brother Jiu did most of the work," Zhou Dakong immediately explained. "Xiao Mei and I both took several breaks."
Tan Lu added, "Brother Jiu planted half the field by himself."
Coming from Zhou Dakong, maybe it was exaggerated. But Tan Lu? She wasn't one to lie. Both Lan Wuyi and Kun Yun were shocked. None of them had expected Chu Zhi to be the main workhorse.
"Here, have some cheek meat from the fish," said Kun Yun, placing a tender bite onto Chu Zhi's plate. "It's the best part. You need to replenish your strength."
"We're supposed to be living the 'Life We Long For,' not 'Work Until You Drop,'" Lan Wuyi joked. "A-Jiu, we can take our time with the farming."
"I've watched the show before," Chu Zhi said with a faint smile. "It's always Xiao Mei and Dakong doing the hard labor. Especially Dakong. He looks exhausted. So today, I tried to do a bit more, to ease their burden."