Chapter Forty-Two: Selling Things

Following the massive popularity and high ratings of the first two episodes at the initial filming location, the time had come for the third shoot.

This time, the production crew was moving away from the water towns of Jiangnan and heading to the vast northern grasslands.

For Xiao Yao, in both his past and present lives, he had never set foot on a vast grassland. He held a deep longing to visit one, so recording the show on the grasslands this time could be considered the fulfillment of a personal wish.

According to the schedule, the group would take a flight to Hailar City early in the first morning and then transfer by car to the grassland. However, before departing for the grassland, everyone needed to complete a task in downtown Hailar.

After the five families disembarked from the airplane, the production crew drove them directly to a comprehensive agricultural and trade market in Hailar and announced the task. Before setting off for the grassland, each of the five families had to choose a stall or shop in the market and help the vendor or shopkeeper sell goods. The time limit was an hour and a half, from 7:30 to 9:00. Within this hour and a half, their performance had to earn the approval of the vendor or shopkeeper. If successful, the shopkeepers would gift them items from their stalls or shops for free, which would serve as their lunch or lunch ingredients on the grassland that day.

There were a total of five stalls or shops to choose from: two stalls inside the vegetable market selling vegetables and pork, and three shops on the outer perimeter of the market selling fruits, braised cooked foods, and pastries. The fathers were free to choose.

Considering that Xiao Siqi didn't know how to cook, the father-and-son duo naturally chose the pastry shop.

Having chosen their respective categories of goods to help sell, the five families split up and headed toward their respective stalls or shops. When Xiao Siqi and Xiao Yao, guided by the production crew, found the designated pastry shop, it was already past seven o'clock. There were already people in line inside the shop buying pastries, and it took Xiao Siqi, Xiao Yao, and the camera crew quite a bit of effort to squeeze inside.

Seeing the arrival of the camera crew, the well-prepared shopkeeper couple immediately stopped what they were doing and shouted to the customers waiting in line, "Please wait a moment everyone. We are going to pause for a bit. In a moment, we'll have a shift change and this pair of father and son will do the selling. Let me teach them first."

The group carrying cameras had attracted attention long ago. Hearing the boss say this, the customers coming to buy things knew right away that a television station was recording a show. Far from being dissatisfied, they began chattering excitedly and discussing the crew.

"Is this the TV station here to film a show? Which station is this, and why are they filming here?"

"Look, there are even kids. Could this be *Where Are We Going, Dad?*"

"It definitely is! Look, those two big and small figures going behind the counter, it's definitely *Where Are We Going, Dad?* Look, they've taken off their hats and sunglasses. Oh, it's Xiao Siqi and Bayi!"

"That freakishly smart kid! I've seen him buy things; today we can see how he sells things. Let's see if he's really that amazing."

Xiao Siqi and Xiao Yao squeezed behind the counter, took off their hats and sunglasses, changed into clean work aprons at the request of the shopkeeper couple, and put on sleeve protectors.

"You guys should both know how to sell things, right? Since we're running a shop, there's no need to shout out to attract customers. The main thing is to remember the price of each pastry clearly, calculate the accounts accurately, and make sure not to mix up what people are buying. Another thing is that you need to be fast. Right now it's the morning rush hour, and there are a lot of people coming by to buy pastries for breakfast, so don't delay everyone's time." The shopkeeper gave a brief explanation, then began pointing at the various flour-based foods in the shop and introducing their prices.

There really were quite a few items sold in the shop: steamed buns, twisted rolls, stuffed buns, fried dough sticks, twisted dough twists, flatbreads, meat pies, and practically every kind of pastry available in Hailar was sold here—counting them up, there were more than a dozen varieties.

The shopkeeper recited the unit prices for everything. Even though he repeated the dozen or so prices, Xiao Siqi grew so dizzy that he still couldn't remember them. Smiling, Xiao Siqi negotiated with the shopkeeper, "Boss, I can't possibly memorize all these prices in such a short time. Do you think you could find something to write them down on so I can check it whenever I need to, just to avoid messing up the prices? I've noticed that many shops like yours write all the prices on a large piece of paper and stick it on the wall."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "I've been running this business for over a dozen years, and I've never pasted up a thing like that. Besides, most of the people coming here for breakfast are regular customers who live nearby. They know the prices, so I don't need to post them. If you don't remember, you can ask me anytime. I'll just be standing right here watching and won't go anywhere." Whether this was truly the case or the shopkeeper was intentionally increasing the difficulty for them, he flatly refused to agree.

"Ah? That's so troublesome. Selling things means I'll have to keep turning to ask you for prices all the time, which wastes so much time. Didn't you just say you require us to be fast?" Xiao Siqi said with a bitter expression.

"It's fine, Dad. You just take charge of packing the items, and I'll handle calculating the bills and collecting the money. I've memorized the price of every single item the uncle just mentioned, and I calculate bills very quickly. There's no problem," Xiao Yao said, pulling on Xiao Siqi's sleeve.

Xiao Yao had also overheard the discussion among the customers waiting to buy things. It seemed that his experiences of buying things in the first two episodes had left a deep impression on people, and there were some skeptical voices online suggesting it had all been arranged by the production crew. He wondered if the crew had arranged this segment precisely to give him another chance to show his skills. Regardless of whether the production crew had planned this intentionally, Xiao Yao intended to use this opportunity to clear his name.

"So I'm doing the physical labor while you use your brain? Fine, you'd better calculate the accounts accurately and not mess up," Xiao Siqi agreed readily, adding a final instruction.

"No problem, don't worry," Xiao Yao nodded and said, "Then let's get started."

Hearing the father and son say they were ready and that they could begin, the customers waiting nearby immediately swarmed forward.

"Don't rush, everyone. Please line up and take it one by one. Come to my side first to have your items packed, and then go to my son to pay," Xiao Siqi said, waving his hands to maintain order as the crowd surged forward.

Perhaps because a celebrity carried more weight, or perhaps because there was a camera filming and they were afraid of losing face on television by showing a lack of basic manners, the crowd actually formed a neat, orderly queue all on their own and stepped forward to make their purchases in an orderly fashion.

"I want five stuffed buns, three steamed buns, and three meat pies," said the first person to step up—a middle-aged woman in her forties, who appeared to be buying breakfast for her whole family.

Xiao Siqi nimbly took out several plastic bags and began packing the items one by one using a wooden clip. He swiftly packed the requested items into two plastic bags and handed them over with a smile, saying, "Here you go, please hold onto your items and go over there to my son to pay."

The middle-aged woman carried the plastic bags over to Xiao Yao. Looking at the serious expression on this little child, she found it quite amusing. She pulled a fifty-yuan bill out of her pocket, handed it to Xiao Yao, and smiled, saying, "Do you remember the prices? I have three different items here, so take your time calculating. There's no rush."

"Stuffed buns are seventy cents, steamed buns are forty cents, and meat pies are one yuan. That's a total of seven yuan and seventy cents, and your change is forty-two yuan and thirty cents. Please take it," Xiao Yao said without raising his head as he accepted the money and began searching through the cash box. By the time he finished speaking, he had already taken out the correct change and handed it over.

"Oh my, you calculate pretty fast! You're quite something, little kid. Wait a second, let me calculate it myself," the middle-aged woman muttered as she mentally calculated on her fingers. Then, with a smile, she gave a thumbs-up and said, "That's right, it really is seven yuan and seventy cents! You're amazing, little kid!"

Xiao Yao gave an indifferent smile and said to the middle-aged woman, "Thank you, auntie, goodbye. Next, please. Uh—"

Turning his head, he discovered that both Xiao Siqi and the second customer in line had stopped and were staring at him. Caught in Xiao Yao's gaze, Xiao Siqi reacted first and asked the young woman standing in front of him, "What would you like?"

"Oh, I just want two stuffed buns." The young woman seemed to have been helping Xiao Yao calculate the bill just a moment ago. Prompted by Xiao Siqi, she answered instinctively. After a brief second thought, she added, "Oh, no, I also want three twisted rolls, four fried dough sticks, three meat pies, and two glutinous rice balls."

"Nani?" Xiao Siqi looked suspiciously at the slender, white-collar-attired woman standing before him. "You want this much? Can you finish eating all of it?"

The young woman blushed slightly and said with somewhat flagging confidence, "It's for my whole family."

Looking at her outfit, she was clearly a white-collar worker heading off to work. Claiming she was buying breakfast for her whole family back home was something nobody present could possibly believe. Still, the customer was God, and Xiao Siqi didn't call her out; he simply packed the items for her.

Carrying her bags, the young woman walked over to Xiao Yao with a beaming smile and said, "Come on, Bayi, help sister calculate how much this is."

"Damn it!" Xiao Siqi and Xiao Yao cursed internally at the exact same time, both realizing the woman's true intent. It was clearly a test or an attempt to make things difficult for Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao couldn't be bothered to rattle off the unit prices one by one. He quickly calculated the sum in his head and directly announced the total: "A total of eight yuan and ninety cents, thank you."

"Really? Wait while I calculate it myself, sister," the woman said, actually pulling out her phone and tapping away at the screen.

Xiao Yao let out a speechless sigh and said, "Could you please pay first, sister, and then step aside to calculate so you aren't blocking the people behind you? If you find that I calculated it wrong, I'll make it up to you, okay?"

"Mm-mm," the young woman nodded repeatedly, handed a ten-yuan bill to Xiao Yao, took her change, and genuinely stepped aside.

Halfway through her calculation, the woman suddenly asked, "Hey Bayi, how much is a glutinous rice ball again?"

"Fifty cents, same as the fried dough sticks," Xiao Yao replied.

"Oh," the woman went back to tapping on her phone.

Xiao Siqi didn't daze out this time and asked the third customer, "What would you like?"

The third customer was a young man who clearly recognized Xiao Siqi and his son. Holding his phone, he smiled and said, "I'm not in a hurry, let her finish calculating first." With that, he raised his phone toward Xiao Siqi and said, "Xiao Siqi, can we take a photo together? I'm your fan. Your song *The Most Beautiful* is my absolute favorite."

Xiao Siqi instantly broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

"It really is eight yuan and ninety cents! Bayi, you're amazing!" the young woman cried out happily. In a burst of excitement, she leaned over and planted a kiss right on Xiao Yao's cheek.

"Sister, I'm still a minor," Xiao Yao said, rolling his eyes helplessly. Then his expression shifted, and he said seriously, "Strictly speaking, kissing my cheek without my consent could actually be considered harassment."

"Huh?" The young woman was dumbfounded.

"However," Xiao Yao changed his tune, a smile returning to his face, "considering how much you're supporting our business, I won't hold it against you."