Their destination for this trip was in the south, reportedly a very barren place.
Unfamiliar with the local weather, they found it thoroughly fascinating to witness rain, sunshine, and a rainbow all at once.
Just like that, a whole group of children pressed their faces against the windows to look outside.
The adults, meanwhile, pulled out their phones and turned on video mode to capture the scene along with their own kids.
Because the rain was too heavy, they could not get off the plane right away and had to stay put inside the cabin.
After waiting for about half an hour, the rain eased up, and they finally disembarked with their families in tow.
The production team had maintained good security, so there were no fans waiting to greet them at the airport, which came as a relief.
Traveling with children, the last thing they needed was to encounter fans asking for autographs and photos, which would only make them more exhausted.
When you are out and about, self-reliance is key.
The production team was only responsible for watching the children; the guests had to fetch their own luggage.
Shen Zhiyu crouched down to instruct her son, "Zhouzhou, Mommy is going to get the suitcases. You stay here with the older brothers, sisters, and younger siblings and wait for Mommy to come back."
Zhouzhou reached out and wrapped his arms around Shen Zhiyu's neck. "Mommy, Zhouzhou will go with you. Zhouzhou will help you push the suitcase."
It was heartwarming, and it made her happy.
Yet, with all the moving back and forth, the child was delicate, and she couldn't bear to let him suffer.
"Be a good boy, Zhouzhou. Mommy will be right back. It won't take long."
After much coaxing, she finally persuaded Zhouzhou to stay with the other children while she went to retrieve the luggage.
Shen Zhiyu instructed Xiao Bai, "Keep an eye on Zhouzhou."
There were quite a few staff members around, and children could be two-faced—one way in front of their parents, and another in front of strangers—so she needed to make it quick.
Based on what she knew from her past life, the guests for this season—aside from Li Yuechuan's three-year-old daughter, who constantly wailed—were all very easy to manage.
Unlike previous seasons, where several of the guests' children loved to throw tantrums, and even the only relatively quiet one would eventually get swept up and join the rowdy group.
When Shen Zhiyu dragged her luggage back and saw the children sitting obediently within the safe perimeter set up by the staff, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
Zhouzhou had kept his eyes fixed on the direction where his mother had left. Spotting her returning with the suitcase, he let out a crisp cry, "Mommy!"
Then he scampered over to her on his little legs, shouting, "Mommy, I'll help you!"
The other children also ran toward their respective fathers and mothers, clamoring to help.
With the luggage retrieved, everyone boarded the tour bus once more.
The tour bus was the final leg of the journey, heading straight to the shooting location.
After much tossing and turning, everyone arrived at the shooting destination—Yucheng—just before dark.
As soon as they stepped off the bus, everyone assumed they would finally get to rest.
Instead, the director's team announced that they couldn't rest yet because the houses hadn't been assigned.
"So? What's next?"
"Naturally, we draw lots for the houses first." Braving the murderous glares shooting from the guests, the director forced himself to press on.
After a whole day of rushing around and dealing with fussing children, every single guest just wanted to wash up, lie down, and get a good rest.
Yet the houses weren't pre-assigned by the production team; they had to be drawn by lot?
Li Yuechuan was the most eager to lie down. The whole way here, his youngest daughter insisted on being carried by him and nobody else.
His eldest son kept trying to vie for attention from time to time, making the kids far harder to handle than anticipated.
Right now, he just wanted to find their dwelling, put the children down, and lie down to rest.
"Fine. Let's draw." Everyone had run out of patience.
The director hurriedly had the staff bring over the lots.
First in line was Liang Weixia.
Instead of drawing himself, he gently patted his daughter on the shoulder and let her do it.
Following closely were Xu Anxin, Gu Shiyu, Li Yuechuan, and finally, Shen Zhiyu and her son.
Zhouzhou had been very well-behaved the entire way and hadn't thrown a single tantrum, which made things much easier for Shen Zhiyu.
Looking at the lot she had drawn, the character "Bamboo" was written on it.
Gu Shiyu and her son had drawn "Plum Blossom."
Li Yuechuan's son had drawn "Orchid."
Liang Weixia's daughter had drawn "Chrysanthemum."
Xu Anxin's son had drawn "Chess."
Once the guests received their house characteristics, the director didn't make them search blindly in an unfamiliar place, having staff members lead them there instead.
It was so late, and after a full day of traveling, everyone's nerves were stretched taut and could easily snap.
Having staff members lead the way made finding their lodgings much easier.
Even so, when Shen Zhiyu led Zhouzhou inside and saw the interior decoration of the house, she couldn't help but feel shocked.
In other variety shows, houses came fully decorated, and at the very least, beds were already made.
Yet the room before them merely kept out the wind and rain, with the investors' goods piled up inside.
And the one thing they needed most—the bed—was completely unmade.
Shen Zhiyu looked at the staff member from the production team and asked, "Are the other guests' accommodations like this as well?"
The staff member shook their head and explained, "It's based on rankings."
"The top three are the best. Their beds are already made."
"How are the rankings determined?" Shen Zhiyu pinched the paper lot in her hand, which bore the character for "Bamboo."
If ranked by the character itself, their group would be third.
"Ranked by the number of strokes in the character," the staff member said, looking somewhat awkward. "Your 'Bamboo' ranks second to last by stroke count."
Shen Zhiyu: "..."
Fine. She'd make the bed herself.
She could handle it.
Once his curiosity was satisfied, Zhouzhou retreated to Shen Zhiyu's side and asked, "Mommy, are we sleeping here tonight?"
While wandering around in curiosity earlier, he had overheard the conversation between his mother and the uncle.
"Mhm." Shen Zhiyu carried one suitcase inside, and as she turned back to get the other, a staff member had already carried it in for her.
"Thank you. You've worked hard." Shen Zhiyu expressed her gratitude. After seeing the staff off, she began to walk around the room.
The interior was rudimentary, but all the essential modern amenities were present.
Little master, there is still more to this chapter; please click the next page to continue reading, the rest is even more exciting!
This brought a measure of relief to Shen Zhiyu.
She opened her suitcase and fished out a blanket.
Having checked the local weather before coming, knowing that the temperature difference between day and night was large, she had brought not only a large blanket but also long-sleeved pajamas.
The pajama fabric was warm in winter and cool in summer, perfect for the local nights.
After making the bed, Shen Zhiyu dug out Zhouzhou's pajamas. "Zhouzhou, Mommy will help you take a bath."
Even though there had been air conditioning in the car all along, he had still worked up a good sweat.
He still needed a wash before he could get a proper rest.
Zhouzhou wanted to do it himself, just like at home.
Shen Zhiyu had already stepped into the bathroom. "Things outside are different from what we have at home. Mommy will teach you how to use them first."
"After that, you can bathe by yourself. Because Zhouzhou is already a little man."
"Okay." Zhouzhou happily followed behind his mother, bouncing like a little meatball.
While Zhouzhou was bathing, a staff member delivered their dinner.
She carried the meal back into the room just as Zhouzhou came out wearing his pajamas.
"Zhouzhou, come eat." Judging by the aroma, it smelled quite appetizing.
After a whole day of traveling, the initial novelty had worn off, and Zhouzhou was now both tired and hungry. Hearing that there was food, he happily came over.
Shen Zhiyu opened the container to find chicken and glass noodles—chicken stewed with vermicelli?
Regardless of what it was, the mother and son ate with great satisfaction.
"Mommy, this is delicious. Let's eat it again next time." Zhouzhou lay there after finishing his meal while Shen Zhiyu prepared his milk formula.
When mixing the milk, she asked Xiao Bai for the pill she was supposed to take that morning and dropped it into the baby bottle along with the formula.
Handing him the bottle, she said, "Tomorrow we'll ask the uncle from the staff where they bought this, and we'll go eat it again."