VHBF – Chapter 64 Movie King Daddy (Part 23)

After settling into their “house” and arranging their belongings, Yinyin tugged on her father’s hand, ready to go out and find food. As she waddled along with her two short little legs, she reassured him:

“Daddy, don’t worry. No need to fear an empty stomach—Yinyin is the best at finding food!”

Zhu Ji laughed, praised his little one for being so good, and then promptly carried her off to a small farmhouse restaurant outside the villa, where the two enjoyed a hearty meal.

The staff in the background, watching the father and daughter eat so happily, felt their own stomachs growling. Zhu Ji and his daughter ordered two dishes—one meat, one vegetable—plus a soup and two bowls of rice. The total came to 96 yuan. The program had given them 100 yuan, so they had 4 left.

On their way back, they passed by a small convenience shop. When Yinyin couldn’t tear her gaze away from the lollipops on the counter, Zhu Ji simply used the last 4 yuan to buy her two lollipops.

In the end, the 100 yuan was spent cleanly and completely—not a single cent left!

Meanwhile, other father-and-son pairs clutched their 100 yuan like it was a treasure, reluctant to spend it. They moved into their courtyard house, tidied it up a little, and waited for the food delivery from the production team. Once it arrived, they immediately tossed it into the pot to fill their stomachs.

But the program only provided vegetarian ingredients. Forget about fish or meat. For lunch, they got a handful of baby bok choy, two eggs, a bowl of white rice, and a few pieces of flatbread. Oil, salt, and basic seasonings were already there, but that was it.

If they wanted to eat better, the director had made it clear—they’d have to do it themselves. The program would only guarantee food and lodging enough to keep them from starving.

A few guests clumsily whipped up some noodles with vegetables and eggs. Slurping down the watery soup that tasted like plain boiled water, they were on the verge of tears, thinking to themselves:

Surely someone else has it worse than us. Like Film Emperor Zhu and his daughter. They don’t even have a place to stay, let alone food. How tragic, truly tragic!

Thinking that way made them feel a little better.

But then they felt the director was being far too heartless. It was one thing to let Zhu Ji, a grown man, fend for himself, but his daughter was only three years old—at such a tender age, when she needed the most nutrition.

Besides, she had helped boost the show’s success in the last season. The majority of the viewers were watching because of her. Everyone could see that clearly.

And yet, the director was acting so recklessly—rather than taking good care of them, he was making things hard for them. No food, no lodging!

What kind of director was this? Tsk, utterly devoid of compassion!

Meanwhile, Mo Yang, only four years old, didn’t understand much. But with his little tyrant-like temperament, he especially adored that pretty and adorable little sister, who seemed capable of anything.

Now, as he and his father blandly chewed their noodles, he twisted his chubby body and asked, “Daddy, does Yinyin not have a place to stay?”

Mo Qi nodded, answering, “Your Uncle Zhu has been having bad luck lately. Drew a blank lot, nothing he could do about it.”

Sighing, Mo Qi recalled the online frenzy after the first episode aired. That little girl, cherished by fans everywhere—then he added, “Your Uncle Zhu is handsome and capable, but I guess his bad luck now is because he used up all his fortune by having such a wonderful daughter like Yinyin.”

But Mo Yang didn’t care about luck or misfortune. His mind was full of only one thing—that his little sister had no place to stay.

“Daddy, let’s have her live with us!”

Mo Qi looked at his son in surprise. The courtyard might be called a siheyuan, but in reality, it hadn’t been lived in for years, and it was thick with dust and cobwebs.

The father and son had managed to clean out just one room to use. Besides, the production team only provided a single quilt. If they brought the little sister in, where would he sleep? Where would her father sleep?

Mo Qi voiced these questions to his son—if Yinyin stayed, then where would her father and he sleep?

Without hesitation, his son replied, little fat hand still clutching chopsticks as he said matter-of-factly:

“Of course Daddy will go out and stay with Uncle Zhu.”

Mo Qi was even more surprised now, staring wide-eyed at his son.

Mo Yang stared right back, equally incredulous:

“What, does Daddy want to make little sister sleep outside instead? She’s only three! I’m four! We’re both children. Daddy and Uncle Zhu are adults. You’re supposed to respect the old and love the young. Even our kindergarten teacher says adults should let kids have their way. So how can Daddy…”

He trailed off, but the look on his face spoke volumes.

Mo Qi’s throat tightened. He was utterly speechless.

“……”

Though his son’s words stung and shook him to his core, as a father, Mo Qi ultimately agreed. After all, how could a three-year-old little girl be left to sleep outside? The weather forecast didn’t look good either—if it rained tonight, what if she caught a cold?

He wasn’t as reckless as the director. He didn’t want to end up being cursed out and trending online once the episode aired!

After finishing their meal, father and daughter washed the dishes and went out to look for little Yinyin. Who would have thought that after circling around for half a day, they couldn’t find her? Instead, they ran into a few other families.

When a few of the dads met, they quickly realized that they were all looking for Movie King Zhu Ji and his daughter too. But no one had found them. The little pink candy tent belonging to Movie King Zhu was still standing there, but the people were nowhere to be seen. When they asked the staff, they didn’t get an answer either.

“The director said, once the program starts filming, we can’t talk. We’re just supposed to treat ourselves as props.”

“…”

After thinking for a moment, one of the crew members following them gave a little reminder:  “The director said the survival challenge has already begun. He told me to advise you all not to waste time. Before dark, go earn money or buy groceries. Otherwise, you’ll be hungry tonight…”

After saying that, the staff member shut his mouth, leaving it at that.

The dads: “…”

Meanwhile, the father and daughter everyone was looking for, Zhu Ji and his little dumpling, were full and satisfied after their meal—only then did they remember to go make money.

Yinyin originally wanted to go back to her old job of collecting bottles, but when she thought about how her dad had just spent 100 yuan on one meal, she felt embarrassed. Bottle-collecting definitely wouldn’t cover her dad’s spending.

The little dumpling was too young—whatever she was thinking in her heart would show plainly on her face. Zhu Ji’s heart softened. Hugging her in his arms, he rubbed his cheek against her chubby soft face and said: “Don’t worry. Daddy will go fix computers and earn money.”

The cameraman following them: ???

Although this vacation villa was in the suburbs, it was still close to the capital and bustling like a small town. It had everything you could find in a township.

On the streets, there were several shops selling mobile phones and fixing computers. Carrying his daughter, Zhu Ji went from shop to shop, asking if they needed a temp worker to repair computers. Whether software or hardware, he could fix it. Payment by job—100 yuan per task.

Repairing computers these days wasn’t really any easier than other jobs. Most people only knew a little—able to fix minor issues but helpless with major ones. Such repairs usually cost just a few dozen yuan to around a hundred, with extra charged for parts.

But if someone knew more, they were considered real talent. They could work at big companies specializing in after-sales repairs, or even open their own shop and take on big jobs, easily earning thousands.

Street shops, though, were the former type—handling only minor repairs. The shop owner was usually just a hobbyist who knew a bit of everything but wasn’t really specialized. For small problems, he would fix them and charge a hundred or so as labor.

So when Zhu Ji immediately quoted 100 yuan per job, the shop owner looked at him like he was a fool. This man looked decent, but was he stupid? The owner knew how to fix computers himself—why would he hire an outsider to snatch his business? And at 100 yuan per job?!

He waved his hand impatiently. “Don’t need anyone, don’t need anyone. If you’ve got nothing to do, don’t stand around here. The shop’s small, you’re blocking the space.”

But Zhu Ji wasn’t just throwing out a random price. At his level, even back when he was in college, if someone asked him for help, it cost several thousand at least. For slightly trickier problems like viruses, it was impossible to get his help for less than ten thousand.

Still, he didn’t get angry. After all his years in the entertainment industry, everyone said he had a good temper and manners. But in truth, it wasn’t that—he just didn’t think it was worth wasting time arguing.

So he carried his little dumpling and left. If this shop didn’t work out, there would be others. Fixing two computers would be enough to cover tomorrow’s expenses. He was even thinking that maybe tomorrow he could set up a stall himself to fix computers, earn more money, and get a hotel room so his little one could stay somewhere more comfortable.

He wasn’t angry about being looked down on—but his little dumpling was! Her cheeks puffed up, her round eyes glaring at the shop owner.

“Uncle, my daddy is really amazing. You… you…”

But after all that, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. The shop owner finally noticed the child in the man’s arms, and the cameraman following behind them.

Raising his brows with interest, he asked: “Are you filming a show? Could you show my shop name on camera? If you do, I’ll hire you to fix computers.”

The crew immediately shook their heads. No cheating allowed.

Just then, a young man rushed in with a computer in his arms. “Boss, hurry and take a look, my computer’s broken again! You just fixed it yesterday, and it’s been less than twelve hours before it broke down again!”

The shop owner had no time for Zhu Ji anymore. He examined the machine—completely black screen, unresponsive no matter what he tried. After fiddling for a while, he had no solution and finally said: “Why don’t you leave it here and come back in a couple of days? Your computer has a pretty serious issue.”

The young man was furious. “Yesterday you said it wasn’t serious, said you fixed it, and I paid you 200 yuan! Now you’re telling me it’s serious? Do you even know what you’re doing? Can you fix it or not?”

“I’m telling you, I’ve got a very important thesis and other data stored on that computer. If it’s lost, even if you replace the computer, it won’t be enough compensation!”

Originally, his computer could still boot up—it was just laggy and inconvenient, which was why he came for repairs. But now, after being “fixed,” it had turned into a dead machine. Thinking it was fine, he hadn’t even made a backup! Now he couldn’t even turn it on—where would he find his data again?

The two quarreled, and the shop owner, clearly guilty, said the second repair would be free and told him to wait.

But the young man, hot-tempered, refused. “I must be cursed to have come here! I’ll find someone capable instead. If my data isn’t recovered, I’ll smash your lousy shop!”

It was a small store, but a big crowd gathered to watch. Zhu Ji, carrying his daughter, couldn’t get out and was forced to stand and watch.

But little dumpling’s eyes lit up. Waiting until the young man’s anger cooled a little, she piped up in her childish voice: “Big brother, my daddy can fix it. My daddy’s amazing. Let him fix it, it’ll definitely work!”

She tried her best to sell her all-capable, handsome father, squirming in his arms. Her chubby little hands clasped together like an adult, bowing slightly, her bright eyes staring at the computer.

At home, she watched her father tinkering with computers every day, so she had absolute confidence in him. “Big brother, Yinyin isn’t lying. Daddy’s really good at this!”

The young man looked over. The father-daughter pair had delicate, similar features—the man gazing fondly at his daughter, while the chubby little girl babbled on, praising her dad. They didn’t look like people who were short of money. Was this some kind of joke?

After a long pause, Zhu Ji didn’t let his daughter down. He stretched out his hand and said calmly: “I’ll give it a try. If I can’t fix it, I won’t charge anything.”

Just one sentence—and looking at the man’s steady and reliable demeanor—the young man suddenly felt a strange sense of trust. After all, his computer was already useless; it couldn’t get worse. Since it was free, why not give it a try?

Zhu Ji accepted the computer and began working on it right there.

Because of the commotion, even more people gathered around. In such a small-town-like place, the elderly loved to watch excitement. The shop owner didn’t chase them away either—he also wanted to see if this young dad could really fix it.

Tsk. He didn’t know about the man’s skills, but raising a daughter like this was impressive enough. The shop owner glanced at the little dumpling’s delicate and adorable chubby face, then thought about his newlywed wife, who was pregnant.

Hmm… Forget about having a boy. A daughter was better. Just imagine—taking her out in the future, hearing her call him “Daddy” in that sweet milky voice, bragging about him being the best to everyone she met. What a joy!