Xue Ning also sneezed a few times, looking listless.
Song Yunjian asked with concern, "Are you all suffering from colds? The first-aid kit is under the tree; you should take some medicine quickly."
Chen Zaimin looked at the two of them, then at Song Yunjian, and said, "You all got caught in the rain together, but only Yunjian is alright. It must be the herbal medicine that Laoyao brought last night that worked. Why don't you take the herbal medicine? You know how cold medicine works; it's not like you can get better after just one dose. The medicine is definitely not as effective as herbal medicine. We still have to stay here for several days, and it would be terrible if we got sick."
Su Yanchen shook his hand weakly, "Never mind, Brother Song looked so uncomfortable eating, I definitely can't swallow it. I'll just take my medicine."
"Me too." Xue Ninglu squatted down by the fire to warm herself, her face pale, and all the excitement she had when she first arrived was gone. Nothing here was new or interesting to her now, and she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Su Yanchen took the first-aid kit, and the two ate some fruit and drank some soup. They then took cold medicine and fever reducers with the soup, and silently ate while warming themselves by the fire. Although the soup was delicious, they were both in a terrible mood and didn't want to say anything.
After a while, Xu Zifan returned, bringing back wild vegetables, wild fruits, two birds, and eight wild eggs.
Chen Zaimin exclaimed in surprise, "Youngest brother, where did you get all this so early in the morning? What are you going to do with it?"
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "We make meatballs with bird meat and wild vegetables. These wild fruits are similar to tomatoes. We make a wild fruit and egg soup with two eggs, and roast the remaining six eggs so that each person can have one. It's nutritious and easy to digest."
Song Yunjian couldn't help but praise, "Youngest brother, you've thought of everything. With you here, we have nothing to fear. Today, I will definitely follow your orders and do whatever you ask."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Brother Song, please don't say that. The six of us discussed it together, and everyone is welcome to offer their opinions."
He distributed the soup to everyone and then boiled water to remove the bird feathers. Song Yunjian, whose body was already dried from the heat, felt he should show off and stepped forward, saying, "Is there anything I can help with? I feel energized after drinking the soup."
Xu Zifan pointed to the wild vegetables, "Brother Song, you can wash the wild vegetables and fruits clean and chop them up with your knife. I'll make them into meatballs later."
"Okay, no problem."
Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao also came over and asked, "What can we do?"
Xu Zifan said, "If Brother Chen and Brother Yi have the strength, they can cut some tree branches to make benches or build a small hut. You two are familiar with this, so it won't be difficult for you to do it."
The two nodded and went off with their wood-chopping knives. Su Yanchen looked up at Xu Zifan. This kid was no ordinary person. In just one day, he had won over three people he had just met. Now, he only had Xue Ninglu by his side. Even if Xue Ninglu didn't want to work, she would definitely follow Xu Zifan. In fact, he couldn't even survive on his own and could only rely on Xu Zifan.
This feels so suffocating!
After finishing his soup, Su Yanchen went to the director and said he was quitting the role. The director didn't indulge him, saying, "You can quit. We'll arrange for someone to take you home later. We'll invite other guests. Yesterday's filming was for the first episode, and it will definitely be broadcast as is. The reason for the change will also be made public. You can think it over yourself."
Su Yanchen's face darkened. "We've only been filming for one day. It wouldn't be difficult for you to reshoot after replacing the actors. I'll compensate you for the losses."
The director refused outright, saying, "This isn't about money. The schedules, moods, and efforts of the other five guests can't be solved with money. I've already explained the solution. Think it over carefully before you decide. This is a program I've painstakingly produced; it's my life's work, and I hope you can understand."
Seeing that he was unmoved by reason, Su Yanchen turned and left in anger. "Understand my foot! Before coming, he clearly promised to secretly take care of him and even said he'd give him food. But when he arrived, he just stood there watching him in the thunderstorm, ignoring him completely. What kind of lousy director is this?!"
Xu Zifan quickly scalded off the bird's feathers, chopped the bird meat, mixed it with chopped wild vegetables, and formed it into balls. He then added wild fruit and egg drop soup to a pot, dropped the balls in one by one, added some seasonings, and the aroma immediately filled the air!
Several workers gathered around to look, "Will we be able to eat it soon?"
Xu Zifan nodded, "Now we can eat them. The roasted eggs are cooked too. Everyone, put the eggs aside to cool down, be careful they're hot."
Xu Zifan thoughtfully reminded them to share the meatballs and soup with them, and each of them held a coconut shell to enjoy their delicious breakfast.
Chen Zaimin and the others looked so blissful, and the aroma was so enticing, that the cameraman couldn't resist taking a close-up shot to confirm that this was indeed "A Bite of China." He was utterly impressed by Xu Zifan. He had never seen such a delicious and visually appealing meal made under such simple conditions before!
Xu Zifan's culinary skills were honed over twenty years by learning from various top chefs in his previous life. He also possesses exceptional learning abilities; there are probably fewer than five chefs in the world today who can surpass his skills. Naturally, the food he creates tastes absolutely superb. The cameraman also worked diligently, truly capturing the allure of the food on set. Even the director, watching from inside the tent, felt hungry.
The director initially wanted them to barter for things with food, but then realized that would make the task too difficult, so he decided against it and let everyone continue filming while they drooled.
After eating and drinking their fill, the sun was high in the sky, and it was getting warmer. Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu caught a cold; they felt dizzy, had a slight fever, and runny noses.
Xu Zifan took out the dry grass that they had soaked from the hut and placed it near the fire to dry, saying, "After we lay out the dry grass again, you can stay in the hut."
"Lie down and get some sleep, have a good rest. We'll finish building the other half of the hut, and it'll be spacious tonight."
Both of them were sick and couldn't do anything today. Chen Zaimin thought for a moment and suggested, "Let's have a meeting. After all, we've only just met and aren't very familiar with each other yet. We'll be living together on the island for several days, so we need to get along as quickly as possible. I think we should do a summary of the day every night, talking about what we did well and what we didn't do well, and then plan what to do the next day. This way, we'll have clear goals and can improve our shortcomings. What do you think?"
Xu Zifan nodded in agreement, "I think this is a great idea. Since we're here, it would be best if we explored the island in the next few days. That way, we'll feel a great sense of accomplishment when we go back. Otherwise, coming here is no different from going to the countryside."
"I agree."
I agree.
Yi Xiao and Song Yunjian both agreed. Su Yanchen frowned, and Xue Ninglu coughed twice and said weakly, "I have no objection."
Only Su Yanchen was left, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Then Chen Zaimin began to recount the mistakes they made on the first day. They didn't return to the agreed location on time, stopped to explore and were delayed by something, were too optimistic and didn't think things through, almost got lost on unfamiliar paths, set up the tent carelessly and sloppily, weren't proactive in looking for things, and did a lot of repetitive and unnecessary things, wasting time.
At first, only Chen Zaimin was talking, but later Yi Xiao took the initiative to reflect, saying that he shouldn't have brought a sleeping bag and mosquito spray, wasting the opportunity to bring useful tools. Song Yunjian also said that he hadn't contributed anything, as the knife and first-aid kit he brought were not practical.
Su Yanchen's expression was very unpleasant because he had made all the mistakes they mentioned. Basically, it was him, Xue Ninglu, and Song Yunjian who made the mistakes. Xu Zifan, on the other hand, retrieved a large number of items and was good at everything, performing the best. Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao also built the hut very well, and they all made no mistakes.
Chen Zaimin also mentioned the herbal medicine, comparing Song Yunjian to them, and advised them to adapt to the harsh conditions on the island as soon as possible. He said that health was the most important thing, and that they could endure the taste, otherwise getting sick would be a big problem.
Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu could only rest in bed all day, which made them a nuisance to the small team. They felt that the broadcast would bring negative publicity. However, they felt unwell and there was nothing they could do. They had already taken medicine and thought they should wait for it to take effect so they wouldn't have to take the herbal medicine again. They still didn't change their minds and shamelessly rested.
They analyzed the repetitive nature of their tasks and concluded that the problem stemmed from the fact that no one trusted Xu Zifan on the first day and refused to follow his instructions. For example, they refused to discuss bringing tools, resulting in a useless backpack as Xu Zifan could weave straw baskets and rattan nets; the small knife, machete, and dagger they brought were redundant and not very useful; the watch they brought was useless because they were never punctual; and the sleeping bags and mosquito spray they brought were ineffective because Xu Zifan could identify medicinal herbs, and Su Yanchen and the others had already been bitten several times by mosquitoes before the rain, while the hut was unaffected after the insecticide powder was sprinkled on it.
When scouting ahead, the crabs that Su Yanchen and his group killed were inedible, the coconuts that Song Yunjian and his group had painstakingly picked were useless, the tents they insisted on setting up couldn't withstand the wind and rain, and the leaves and vines they found were gathered separately by both sides. Starting a fire took so long and wasted a lot of time.
If they listened to Xu Zifan, everything would become very organized, everyone would have their own goals, and everything could be done in a short time. So the final conclusion was that they must listen to Xu Zifan's arrangements in the future. He was an expert in this area, and they would definitely suffer if they didn't listen. They had already tasted the bitterness of that.
Xue Ninglu had initially intended to create a love triangle and capitalize on Xu Zifan's popularity for publicity, but she had no real grudge against him; at most, she was a little annoyed that he kept his distance from her. After the torrential rain, she had no such thoughts left. Apart from feeling reluctant to work, she completely agreed with Xu Zifan and was happy to follow his arrangements.
Only Su Yanchen disliked Xu Zifan. He couldn't accept that Xu Zifan had become the focus of the show, as if he had become Xu Zifan's stepping stone. But there was nothing he could do to change it. There were six people in total, and the other four were willing to listen to Xu Zifan's arrangements. He couldn't back out, so he could only pretend to agree.
Xu Zifan made arrangements for the day's tasks. After the meeting, they went their separate ways to continue filming. In just one day, Xu Zifan had already subtly become their leader.
Xu Zifan once again ventured out alone to explore unknown territory. He secretly asked Shao Hua to check his online status, discovering that the trending topic about him and Xiao Hua's alleged romantic pairing had subsided, but a new one had appeared, accusing him of being arrogant and unwilling to film "Survival on a Desert Island."
He checked the source and found that the company had bought the trending topic after they set off yesterday. In order to use his popularity on the trending topic to give "Survival on a Desert Island" free publicity, the topic of telling him to get out of the entertainment industry was trending again, and the trending topic had not disappeared for a whole day.
Xu Zifan sneered inwardly. "Man vs. Desert Island" probably wanted to use him, but they probably didn't expect that he could turn his life around with "Man vs. Desert Island".
This company is really shady. Seeing that he was about to fade into obscurity, they seized the opportunity to exploit him in every way possible. First, they made him and the young actress create hype to promote the young actress, and then they used his popularity to promote their new show. Afterwards, if he still had any value to them, they would continue to use him; if not, they would simply ignore him.
The contract he signed with the company was changed when he was already famous. It was changed to a ten-year contract with a high penalty for breach of contract, but the promised share of profits was also high.
But the company didn't get him any lucrative gigs, so he didn't earn much. Even if they gave him a larger share, how much could he possibly earn?
That contract was clearly changed by Tan Yi after he got together with the rich girl. Judging from his popularity at the time, it didn't seem like anything, and it even seemed like he was the one who benefited. But combined with Tan Yi's various actions of tricking him, that contract was completely designed to bind him and make it easier to suppress him.
After this show finishes filming, I'll switch jobs; I need to find a stronger one. It's been a long time since I've been in the entertainment industry, so it's quite fun to do it again.