When they returned to the hotel, the director was anxiously waiting in the lobby on the first floor. The moment he saw Ji Xiu and the others come back, his face darkened.
Yet he could not lose his temper.
The director had not gone out today. He stayed in the hotel to coordinate everything. When he saw the footage sent back by the cameramen about the Ji family, he was nearly shocked senseless and had been thinking nonstop about how to deal with it.
This was only the second day since the program started filming, and Ji Xiu had already quietly stirred up trouble twice.
The first time, he used the hotel’s internet to access the web and make money through virtual currency. If the director had not stopped him in time, it was questionable whether the show could have continued filming at all.
The second time, he took his whole family to Solan Avenue and successfully applied as temporary actors. Among them, Ji Linlang, being a professional actress, even landed a supporting role with lines. The family of three only made a one-day guest appearance and earned five thousand euros.
At the start, the program only gave each family six thousand in funds, which converted into local currency was just seven hundred euros.
Even the luxurious accommodation and Michelin restaurant reward obtained by the first-place family at today’s check-in only amounted to one thousand euros in total.
Ji Xiu earned five thousand euros in one go. How were the other guests who worked hard checking in and completing tasks supposed to survive?
This kind of behavior that disrupted the game rules was something the program team resolutely opposed.
“Mr. Ji, there are some things the program team would like to discuss with you,” the director waved at Ji Xiu.
Generally speaking, the program team addressed civilian guests as X’s dad or X’s mom, like Yuan Shi’s mom, or Linlang’s younger brother. Only Ji Xiu, although he was Ji Linlang’s father, had a face that was far too young and handsome. Facing his appearance, the staff truly could not bring themselves to call him Ji Dad, so they all called him Mr. Ji.
Mr. Ji was very easygoing. He stopped and asked leisurely, “What is it?”
The director suddenly could not get his words out.
Ji Xiu was approachable, his posture relaxed and composed, looking easy to talk to. That was why the director dared to knock on his door last night to stop his methods.
But now, Ji Xiu was neither angry nor upset. He merely looked over calmly. There was a faint darkness in his gaze that made the director’s heart tremble, leaving him afraid to continue.
“It is about today’s matter. The remuneration you received from participating in the film is too much and does not fit the core concept of the program,” the director forced himself to say what he wanted.
“Director,” Ji Xiu interrupted calmly, “you do not think our family would really poor-travel across Europe, do you?”
The director choked.
Of course he knew that with the Ji family’s status, they could never truly poor-travel. Just in Iron Tower Country alone, the Ji family’s companies had several branch offices. Even though the program team had taken away their phones and wallets, if the Ji family really wanted money, they could simply show their faces and instantly smash the program team with cash.
The truly rich ones were the television station. They were just ordinary salaried workers producing a show, at most mid-level staff with decent pay.
What did they have to fight the Ji family with?
Still, they could not let the illusion of poor travel be torn apart so quickly. Even maintaining it for a week would have been fine.
The director sighed inwardly, feeling exhausted. Looking at Ji Xiu’s calm expression, he knew there was no persuading the Ji family. He wisely gave up.
The reason he could secure his current position at the fiercely competitive Xiangjiang Television Station and be in charge of a hit variety show was not only his outstanding ability and keen sense of the reality show market, but also his high emotional intelligence. He knew that no matter what, he could not restrict Ji Xiu. Since that was the case, he might as well stop trying.
So when evening came, the check-in points were settled.
The Yuan Shi family and another family tied for first place with four points. The reward was split in two. One chose luxurious accommodation, and the other chose a Michelin dinner.
Although the other guests did not do as well, they still had three points or two points. Seeing this, they sighed inwardly that they should have worked harder.
Only the Ji family had one point.
Several families cast different looks at them. Some were surprised that the Ji family’s score was so low. Some families with similarly low scores showed sympathetic understanding. Others looked on with a hint of schadenfreude.
So what if they were the Ji family? On the program, were they not starting from the same point as everyone else?
They could all imagine how much the public’s filter over the Ji family would weaken once the episode aired to this point.
It was at this moment that Ji Xiu stood up and returned to their room with Yuan Shi and the others to pack their belongings.
They were all on the same floor. Naturally, the other families heard the commotion from the Ji family and opened their doors to ask what was going on.
“We booked the hotel next door and are moving over there,” Ji Xian was helping pack. Seeing that Ji Xiu was busy, he rushed to answer, his eyes full of excitement.
“What?” Everyone showed shocked expressions. “Where did you get the money?”
Ji Linlang dragged her packed suitcase out, smiling with a self-satisfied look in her brows and eyes. “When Dad took us to check in at Solan Avenue today, we made a guest appearance along the way.”
Everyone was stunned.
There was such a good thing?
Seeing that they did not believe it, Ji Linlang pointed at the camera in the hallway. “You can wait until the program airs and see for yourselves.”
At this moment, Ji Xian did not forget to add, “The remuneration was five thousand euros. We plan to stay in the hotel next door until we leave this place.”
Everyone widened their eyes, revealing shocked and envious looks.
Five thousand euros. Did that still count as poor travel in Iron Tower Country? An ordinary family traveling in Europe would only spend about that much. It did not count as poor travel at all.
Not to mention them. Even the two families who obtained today’s check-in rewards shed tears of envy when they heard how generous the Ji family was, booking four days at a hotel.
Ji Xiu finally finished packing and came out. Passing by everyone, he smiled lightly. “See you tomorrow morning.”
Their expressions varied, their thoughts churning.
If the Ji family could earn such a huge income through a guest appearance, why could they not?
…
The next day, the program arranged a mountain climbing activity.
The mountain was a famous one, crowded with tourists. Logically, it should have been a must-visit location for local travel.
Ji Xiu had found it strange yesterday that it was not listed among the check-in points. So this was the reason.
The director handed out maps of the mountain and explained the rules. Based on altitude, the guests would earn check-in points for every certain height they climbed. At the same time, like yesterday, the first place would receive corresponding rewards.
But once the meeting dispersed, only the Yuan Shi family rushed straight to the foot of the mountain to carry out the task.
As for the other guests, the Ji family needed to reshoot scenes from yesterday that were not finished and planned to go to the mountain to sightsee in the afternoon.
The other four families saw how generous the Ji family had been and also wanted to look for opportunities on Solan Avenue. They directly gave up the arduous mountain climb and followed Ji Xiu’s route instead.
The program team fell silent.
Seeing this scene, the director was nearly furious. How could this be? In the past, there had also been similar free activity times, but were not guests always striving to complete tasks to obtain check-in rewards? Why was it that once Ji Xiu appeared, these guests who were previously quite manageable all became useless, disobedient one after another?
The director had nowhere to vent his anger. He could only bring the program team along to Solan Avenue, watching coldly, intending to see these guests get frustrated.
Iron Tower Country films pursued perfection. How could auditions be that easy? Moreover, they were Asian faces with gentle features. To foreigners with high noses and deep-set eyes, their features were not distinctive at all.
Foreigners were face-blind toward them. Sitting them in a row, they could not tell them apart. Why would they invite them to film?
Most importantly, they went confidently but forgot that none of them spoke the local language of Iron Tower Country, and their English was broken at best.
Of course, on the show, that accented English was a comedic point. The low cultural level of entertainment industry artists was a widely acknowledged fact. People rarely mocked them for it. Instead, when they encountered someone above the average line, they would frantically praise and hype them up.
But to actually use that English to audition, he did not know where they got the courage.
The Ji family could find an audition opportunity because both luck and ability were indispensable.
The director had watched yesterday’s footage and knew that all three members of the Ji family spoke the Iron Tower Country language. This was an ability cultivated since childhood as members of the Ji family. Setting aside their outstanding background, their personal conditions were already excellent.
Even the idle Second Master Ji had graduated from a prestigious university.
After following them for a day, it turned out as expected.
The four families wandered around Solan Avenue all day and found no opportunities. Instead, they spent a quarter of their remaining funds on lunch.
As everyone knew, no matter which country it was, restaurants around tourist attractions were always outrageously expensive.
In contrast, after the Ji family hurried to finish filming their guest appearance scenes and settled the remaining payment with the crew, another three thousand euros was credited to their account. They then went early to the foot of the mountain, and the family leisurely began climbing.
Since they came to travel, it was impossible to be busy making money every day.
Do not forget, they were the Ji family’s second branch, a family born to lie back and enjoy life.
Money was the prerequisite for enjoyment. Although their current funds were still not enough for reckless extravagance, they were already sufficient to let them enjoy themselves a little.
So what were they waiting for? Time to have fun.
Because they had never lacked money, the three members of the Ji family did not know what frugality was. They took a taxi to the foot of the mountain, ate a lavish meal, bought the best climbing equipment, and only then began to climb.
This brought another pleasant surprise.
Compared to the two elderly members of the Yuan Shi family, the three of them, though born wealthy, were not weak due to frequent exercise. In the end, they actually surpassed the Yuan Shi family, obtained the highest check-in score, and won today’s dinner reward.
“Pretty good. We can treat it as a free meal.”
After all, Michelin restaurants required reservations in advance. They did not have assistants with them and could not cut in line. Having food to eat was already quite nice.
By the time the others came to their senses and rushed to the foot of the mountain, it was already dark, completely too late to catch up to the Ji family’s progress.
The three members of the Ji family were just leisurely riding the cable car down, completely unrestrained and not conserving funds at all. When they ran into the others, they even waved cheerfully.
Everyone was left speechless.