VHBF – Chapter 69 Movie King Daddy (Part 28)

Filming Site.

The four pairs of dads and their adorable kids moved into the courtyard house as soon as they arrived. By the second day, the rough edges of their lives had already been smoothed out.

They went out hungry in the morning looking for food, then humbled themselves and did whatever they could to earn some money at part-time jobs down the mountain.

After finally earning a little cash, they planned to buy some meat for lunch and cook it with the vegetables and eggs provided by the crew. They even thought to make a little extra so they’d have something to eat in the evening if there was nothing else. That’s when they ran into the actor and his daughter who had come to move in.

Without even exchanging pleasantries, they started complaining, calling this show a “shameless production” and the director a “scumbag,” saying they didn’t even get to eat, and then asked where the father and daughter had been all morning.

Xie Liu, thinking of how they had piggybacked on Zhu Ji’s meal last night, and remembering that they had earned fifty yuan today, figured they could deal with dinner later. So he said, “Teacher Zhu, want to join us for lunch?”

Fearing the unscrupulous director would rule that Zhu and his daughter had lost, he added that they could just contribute a couple of vegetables. “Xiao Yinyin is strong enough to help pick vegetables—she’s not eating for free.”

Zhu Ji paused for a moment, then smiled. “I’m just here to move some things.”

But Yinyin was much better at social interactions than her dad. She beamed and called out, “Uncle Xie, we’ve got enough to eat, we’re not hungry. Many uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas sent us vegetables and even meat. Today, Dad and I went to sell vegetables—we earned lots and lots of money!”

Even though Yinyin was young, she had a sense of pride. Naturally boastful, she liked showing off—her dad, her achievements. “We’ve got a big house now! A kind grandpa let us stay there. It’s so big, many Yinyins and dads could live there.”

Her eyes sparkled, her chubby little face glowing as she gestured with her little hands, pointing to the courtyard Xie Liu was staying in: “It’s even bigger than this house!”

Xie Liu was stunned. He looked at Zhu Ji, thinking the child must be exaggerating, and asked, “Really?”

Expecting Zhu Ji, ever humble, to smooth over the boast, he was surprised when Zhu Ji nodded. “Yinyin isn’t lying—we’re just about to move our things.”

Thinking about how Yinyin’s mom-fans had spoiled them with an abundance of food, Zhu Ji asked if Xie Liu and his son wanted to join them for lunch.

Even after stepping into the large villa, Xie Liu still couldn’t quite process it.

The unlucky actor, who had no house and was living in a tent, had already moved into a big house with his daughter after just one day?!

He dumbly followed into the kitchen. The spacious, bright kitchen was piled high with ingredients: fish, meat, vegetables, fresh and juicy fruit, and even snacks that sold for outrageous prices in supermarkets.

Xie Liu occasionally bought snacks for his son, and the ones on the table were the kind he had bought in imported supermarkets before—just a small box would cost over a hundred yuan.

Normally, he could buy them without blinking, but now, participating in this god-awful show, he only had 100 yuan in total cash on hand. After spending some, he didn’t even have a hundred left—how could he think about buying snacks?

He couldn’t even bring himself to buy a two-yuan lollipop from the corner store for his son.

Stunned, he asked, “Where did all this come from?”

Zhu Ji was busy sorting things, categorizing the “loot”: what to cook for lunch, what could be stored for the next day or the day after, and putting it neatly into the fridge.

Before he could answer, Yinyin started giving a lively little presentation.

Her eyebrows arched, cheeks rosy, she proudly said, “These were sent by Grandma Li, this by Aunt Zhao, and this little jar of treats by a beautiful, kind sister. The chicken was from Grandpa Whitebeard…”

She counted on her fingers, rattling off the names of many people. If she remembered the surname, she used it; if not, she just described them as pretty or nice—her words were sweet.

Xie Liu was utterly confused. Looking down, he saw his own son equally stunned, frozen. He thought: in front of the cameras, their expressions must look ridiculously silly.

He quickly cleared his throat, pinched his son’s cheeks to bring him back to his senses.

Even after coming back to reality, father and son could hardly believe it. “Is it really true? They really didn’t go rob a bank first, then go to the supermarket…?”

Zhu Ji gave Xie Liu a look that said “I can’t even describe how ridiculous you are” and went back to his work, ignoring him.

After finishing a rare lunch of abundant fish and meat, Xie Liu and his son finally accepted that the celebrity father-daughter duo, Zhu Yingdi and his daughter, had struck it lucky—they made big money and got a bunch of delicious food!

Not only that, they also lived in a spacious, luxurious villa. “Wow, how nice,” thought Xie Liu and his son. Outside there was a vegetable garden, the air was fresh, the view was high, the house had air conditioning, a fridge, and cold drinks—so wonderful.

Their own Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) sounded grand, but it was just a traditional house. Other than water and electricity, nothing else worked—not even a fan. At night, if you didn’t open the windows, it was unbearably hot; open them, and mosquitoes would come in, tormenting you all night. What choice did you have? Choose between being roasted by heat or eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Not knowing this might have been okay, but once they accepted it as fact, father and son completely lost it. After a single meal, they were almost in tears, eyes red, as the big and small man asked, “How are you guys this lucky?!”

Xie Liu was puzzled. Zhu Ji was notoriously unlucky—so how did he just happen to meet kind-hearted people willing to give them a place to stay? And he could sell vegetables to make money?

This little town’s greens weren’t even popular. Small trades here were the hardest to make a profit in. And yet, they could sell vegetables outside and meet fans who gave them food? That’s some next-level luck.

If he got a lucky break like that, he should just laugh secretly. If someone was giving him free food, why would he have to toil to earn his meals? If someone lent him a house—even without a villa, just with air conditioning—he could shoot a ten-day program comfortably!

A grown man with tears in his eyes looking at people like this was creepily touching.

Zhu Ji’s eyelid twitched slightly. He bent down to peel fruit for Yinyin, who was sitting on the wide wooden sofa, swinging her short legs. Seeing Uncle Xie and the little brother almost crying, she tilted her head and said, “Uncle Xie, An’an brother, don’t cry. Yinyin and Dad will treat you to a meal next time.”

Yinyin knew the others weren’t having it easy. The director didn’t give them money and even confiscated everything they had, so they had to earn their own spending money. Seeing Uncle Xie and the little brother, who hadn’t eaten properly, was enough to understand—they were so moved after a single meal they were nearly in tears.

Xie Liu and his son: “……”

The father and son returned to their shabby little courtyard full and energetic. On the way, they ran into Mo Qi and his son, Zhao Shunyan and his daughter, and Yang Li and his son—by chance, all four Siheyuan families met.

It was just after lunch, so they were free. They all sat in Xie Liu’s little courtyard. A large tree with dense branches provided shade, and beneath it was a stone table with a few stone stools. They sat there chatting in the breeze.

The camera crew followed dutifully, silent as invisible men, keeping the lens on them.

The celebrities had long ignored the cameras. Before joining this show, they never expected it to be this difficult. Their image had already deviated while making money elsewhere, so they gave up on maintaining appearances. After all, everyone was the same—images ruined, no one feared anyone!

Who was present anyway?

Xie Liu had just won a significant Best Actor award—a true rising star, a solid actor.

Mo Qi was a seasoned TV king, winning countless awards over the years. He wasn’t much in films, but in TV dramas, he was a big deal; many famous movies had his familiar face.

Yang Li needed no introduction—world champion, speaks through achievements, doesn’t care about image. Zhao Shunyan was even simpler, acting as a comic or clown, hardly worried about appearances.

So none of them had burdens, sitting however they liked, legs stretched carelessly to the ground.

Mo Qi complained that the show was stingy, only giving vegetables. “Are they trying to starve us?”

Zhao Shunyan nodded in agreement. He had it better though; he rose from humble beginnings. When he lacked acting opportunities, he worked part-time jobs. That morning, he did a gig performing magic for people, earning 160 yuan after two shows, and used it to buy dumplings for his daughter.

Better than eating the director’s plain vegetable-and-egg noodles.

Yang Li had it even tougher. Sent to a sports school as a child, then promoted to city, provincial, and national teams. He traveled for competitions, but besides running, he didn’t know other survival skills. His son was the same—could run, nothing else.

Father and son wandered repeatedly outside like lost children, unable to find ways to earn money. Their cash almost gone, Yang Li felt embarrassed, thinking among the dads present, he was the least capable.

Mo Qi comforted him: “It’s okay, there’s someone even worse off. Teacher Zhu doesn’t even have a place to stay. The director didn’t even give them a chance for vegetables and eggs—worse, we don’t even know how Zhu and his daughter survived these days.”

He sympathized, thinking maybe in the evening, they could crowdfund so the poor father-daughter duo could have a full meal.

Although the father and daughter bought good ingredients at Xie Liu’s house last night, Mo Qi subconsciously assumed they had spent all the 100 yuan given by the director. When Yinyin later spoke, he took it all as exaggeration—kids love to brag.

The cameraman following Xie Liu, returning from the villa with the father and son, wanted to laugh at these words but restrained himself due to professional ethics. The big stars were feeling pity—little did they know, Zhu Ji and his daughter were living better than anyone there.

Xie Liu twitched his mouth and eyelids, looking at the other struggling dads. Several times he tried to speak but stopped.

After everyone vented, he finally mumbled, “They’re living better than us… villas, good fish and meat, fresh fruit, imported snacks…”

The other dads looked at Xie Liu as if he were crazy, almost reaching out to tap his forehead. “Are you hallucinating? Or dreaming in broad daylight?”

Xie Liu snorted and kept his son from speaking. If they didn’t believe him, fine. He wanted to see their reactions when they found out Zhu Ji and his daughter were enjoying life.

He was a man of principle—if everyone else was struggling, it couldn’t be only him and his son acting foolish. If they were foolish, they’d all be foolish together, making fools of themselves on camera.

Cameraman: “……”