Chapter 043 – Live Streaming the Mountain Tour
Da Linzi was pulling a cart loaded with lunch boxes and drinks, while Zhao Zhao and Gun Gun followed with nothing to do. Suddenly, Zhao Zhao remembered their dedicated live stream fans. How long had it been since their last broadcast? At least ten days.
She opened the Panda app, and a flood of messages popped up, causing her new phone to lag for a moment.
Messages ranged from reprimanding her for being lazy to private messages urging her to go live. Some even mentioned plans to visit the island and asked about the best homestays. The top comments also featured photos of prizes they had received.
Making sure Da Linzi wasn’t paying attention, she pulled out a folding stand from her space. "Da Linzi, we haven’t live-streamed in a while. Let’s do it."
"Sure, but what should we stream? We’re not going out to sea," Da Linzi replied.
"We’ll stream eating lunch boxes. Anything works; our fans aren’t picky."
City folks sure have a lot of free time.
Their account had good traffic, and they had recently signed a contract with the platform, increasing their commission by 20% and setting a minimum live-streaming duration requirement. As soon as they went live, viewers started trickling in.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Long time no see. Yes, we’ve returned."
Da Linzi waved at the camera while pulling the cart.
"That’s right, our Little Bear has become a mature streamer. We’re here to chat with you all today. Didn’t you say you missed Little Bear?"
【Yes, we missed Little Bear, but what’s the topic today? There’s no title.】
【Getting more and more perfunctory. Is this love fading?】
【Used to be our little sweetheart, now she’s just like a greedy landlady after getting famous.】
"What’s the topic? Watching Little Bear pull a cart. Have you ever seen that?" Zhao Zhao, the time-filling streamer, was very candid.
【Classy.】
【Never seen that before.】
【Only in cartoons.】
"I saw many fans saying they missed Little Bear, so I started the stream. Turns out you guys are like this~"
【Sister Bear is so gentle today, so charming.】
【Did you time-travel?】
【Are you really our druidic, strong beauty, Sister Bear?】
"Alright, today we’re just delivering lunch. We’ll do a lunchbox eating stream. Little Bear’s cart is full of lunch boxes and drinks. We’ve hired people to help plant trees, and now we’re delivering lunch."
【I eat lunch boxes every day; do I really need to watch you eat?】
【I have nothing better to do, watching Little Bear pull a cart is fine. Just look at that figure, a living mannequin.】
【Don’t say, after looking closely, Little Bear’s T-shirt is this year’s new EVI, costing over 4,000 yuan, paired with old Na Mei pants worth 50-60 yuan. Is this low-key or high-key, Bear~】
These fans have sharp eyes. The front of this T-shirt was plain white with a palm-sized patch of artwork on the lower right back, and they still recognized it? Zhao Zhao couldn’t.
She needed to manage the direction of the live stream; too many idle viewers could cause trouble. They might report them for promoting luxury consumption or having problematic values, which wasn’t unheard of.
As they reached the mountain base, Zhao Zhao fell back a few steps and whispered to the viewers, "My brother doesn’t know how much the clothes cost. My friend bought them when we docked in Shanghai. If he knew they were this expensive, he’d feel uncomfortable wearing them. Honestly, we don’t need to pursue luxury brands. Whether expensive or cheap, as long as they’re comfortable and look good, that’s what matters, right? Last time I bought him clothes from XX Sports, not bad, right? These pants were probably bought by his mom."
【True, no issue there.】
【By the way, XX Sports has good quality. Sister Bear, this sounds like product placement.】
【Sister Bear, don’t accuse us of being so stingy, we’re not that cheap, haha.】
【I believe it. Sister Bear always wears retro Hanfu, not high-end luxury brands.】
【As a fellow worker, I also feel restricted wearing clothes worth thousands or tens of thousands. Maybe you need to be as rich as Daddy Wang to wear them freely.】
【Sister Bear, I’m about to cry. You buy your brother XX Sports but give away 2,000 yuan yellowfin tuna.】
【I get it. What’s your friend’s contact info?】
These goofy fans are quite something.
They arrived with the food, and everyone gathered to rest. Da Linzi and his dad distributed the meals while Zhao Zhao handed out drinks.
Looking around, she noticed many of her crew members had come. With so many people, the work should be done in no more than two days.
Seeing her handing out drinks while holding a phone, Accountant Xiong asked, "Is this live streaming? What are you streaming? Don’t hand them out individually; just leave them here for anyone to take. We’re all friends."
"Third Uncle, why are you here? Isn’t this considered skipping work?" Zhao Zhao followed his advice and let everyone help themselves.
"Third Uncle had nothing to do today, came to bum a pack of cigarettes."
"Then help yourself, Third Uncle. The ones I bought are better than what you have. Stop smoking and eat. This is my second aunt’s cooking."
The old man looked around, making sure Xiong Haitao and Da Linzi were not nearby, and whispered, "You’re something else, even got your second aunt to help!"
Then he laughed heartily.
【This is village life, helping each other out, providing meals and cigarettes.】
【So lively.】
【Quite interesting, the old man is quite amusing.】
【Second Aunt must be a formidable person, I bet.】
【Why isn’t Sister Bear’s mom cooking? She hasn’t mentioned her.】
【Don’t pry into people’s privacy. Show us the food!】
Accountant Xiong placed the lunch boxes on a stone, and Zhao Zhao followed to film.
"Why are you following me?"
"...Fans want to watch you eat."
【Not me, I didn’t say that.】
【Why not? We just want to watch, haha.】
【We just want to watch!】
【Ew, your fans are so creepy, haha, I want to watch too!】
"Why are these people so idle? What’s there to see in an old man eating? No way, I’m embarrassed. Go find a young one to film." Accountant Xiong couldn’t understand.
"Fans want to see the dishes, not your face. I'll just film the food and leave."
【Just film the old man eating, don't leave.】
【We only want to see the embarrassed old man eating, not the unembarrassed ones.】
【This live stream is full of goofy viewers; save me! You're ruining my classy demeanor!】
【I've seen unboxing videos, but this is my first time watching a live lunchbox unboxing. Am I sinking?】
Accountant Xiong opened a large and a small lunchbox. The smaller one contained rice.
The larger one had three dishes: tomato beef brisket as the main dish, braised green beans with potatoes and pork belly, and salt and pepper hawk-claw shrimp.
The three dishes looked pretty good and were quite generous, with a large portion of beef and few tomatoes. She had instructed her second aunt to fill the boxes to ensure that a strong adult would be full, and those with average appetites might not finish it.
"Wow, these dishes are solid. You're pretty good, girl," Accountant Xiong commented.
"Right? Come again next time, Third Uncle!"
"Get going now, don't make me miss my meal."
【This is different from my lunchbox.】
【It looks really good. Why leave? Can you interview him on how it tastes? It might just look good. Well, I'm jealous. It's better than my company's slop.】
【I'm so mad; it's right at my lunch hour.】
【Everyone in the frame is eating happily; it should be good.】
"No need for an interview. I'm eating the same for lunch. It's quite good. My second aunt made it," Zhao Zhao said casually.
After checking around, she walked over to Da Linzi, who was with his good friend Da Qi, holding Gun Gun and watching others eat.
【Is my mother-in-law's cooking good?】
【Let me get this straight, she said her second aunt made the meal, so Little Bear's mom. They must be cousins.】
【Little Bear and Gun Gun are watching others eat; let's join them.】
"Da Qi, why are you here? I saw your dad over there. Didn't your second uncle call you?"
"My brother had something to do, so I came to help. I'm different from them; as long as there's food, I'm good, hehe."
She wondered why so many extra lunchboxes were ordered. Most of the boat crew had come, and those who couldn’t had sent substitutes.
"It’s okay. Play with Da Linzi in the afternoon. There are enough people here."
Da Linzi immediately replied, "No way. He’s getting fed, so he has to work. Work hard this afternoon!"
"Go away!" his good friend retorted.
【This touching, great friendship.】
【Definitely good friends, verified.】
【Da Qi is the other kid from the last stream, right? Turns out he’s quite handsome.】
【They both got beaten up last time, but they’re pretty handsome.】
【This is the great friendship forged through shared beatings!】
【No one noticed Gun Gun? It looks like it's grown bigger, its legs are thicker.】
【Taller too. Gun Gun's looks are like my dream dog.】
After wandering around, Zhao Zhao still had 50,000 viewers. Everyone seemed too idle.
She called Da Linzi and Da Qi to start the mountain tour.
"See this mountain? It’s mine. Now we’re following these two great kings to patrol the mountain. You two can educate the viewers about the mountain."
Da Linzi sang, "The great king calls me to patrol the mountain. I'll check it all around~"
Da Qi said, "Is that how it goes? It feels off."
Da Linzi replied, "Close enough! Gun Gun, you lead the way. This is your domain; keep an eye out!"
Zhao Zhao added, "Son, charge!"
The dog dashed out joyfully. She walked at the back, secretly burying two Earth Vein Cores at the mountain base.
The mountain was basically untouched, with no roads, just rugged rocks and grass, and very few trees. It was too barren, leaving the two kings with nothing to show. After climbing for a while, Gun Gun had already run out of sight.
"This mountain is really barren, just grass and a few trees. Oh, this is an oak tree. I heard this mountain only has oak and pine trees. Are acorns edible? I don’t know; I’ve never eaten them. Hey, you two up front, can you eat acorns?"
Da Qi said, "You can eat them. My grandma used to make acorn tofu, but it’s too much trouble now."
Da Linzi hadn’t tried it. "Is it good? Which is better, acorn or soybean tofu?"
Da Qi replied, "Soybean, of course. If acorn tofu was good, would there still be acorns on the mountain?"
Zhao Zhao laughed, "So true. If it were good, in our country of foodies, it wouldn't be left to rot. I remember acorns are bitter. We have lots of oak trees here."
【I've eaten it. I don’t know how it was made, but it tasted bland, just like the seasoning. It’s a bit like konjac.】
【The neighboring country eats it often; they can eat anything...】
【I've seen it but never tried it. I remember it's black.】
【Wouldn’t it be great if this mountain was full of chestnut trees? Chestnuts are delicious.】
Halfway up the mountain, Zhao Zhao secretly buried two more Earth Vein Cores. This way, the newly planted nine-section thorns wouldn't die and would grow quickly.
【Where’s Gun Gun? Don’t lose it.】
【Lose Gun Gun? New here, right?】
【Losing it isn’t possible, but Gun Gun is still young. What if it meets a strong enemy?】
She had already scanned the mountain. Apart from rabbits, there were few other animals. It was so barren it was heart-wrenching.
"The mountain is safe. It's too close to humans, not even many wild chickens. And wild chickens can’t be eaten; they’re protected by law. But I can raise some for eating. Authentic free-range chickens are good too. You see those distant mountains? The deep mountains there are full of wildlife."
Da Qi said, "There are wolves, roe deer, deer, and wild boar in the deep mountains."
Da Linzi added, "And foxes. We have quite a few foxes."
【Wow, go hunting! Group hunting trip, sign up now, 100 yuan per person, transfer to my account.】
【Wolves? What kind of wolves? Grey wolves?】
【Roe deer and deer are delicious!】