Chapter 71

All afternoon, the four guests stayed in their rooms, knocking and tinkering away. Crafting things by hand is the kind of activity that becomes surprisingly addictive. And the things Wei Sheng was making weren’t all that technically difficult—so long as your hands weren’t completely clumsy, you could pick it up just by watching for a bit.

As a result, after spending half a day at it, they managed to decorate two warm and cozy bedrooms. The walls were covered with wallpaper they’d scavenged, which helped keep the dust from falling off.

Of course, wallpaper stuck on like that wasn’t very secure and could easily peel off. So Wei Sheng used small nails to fix it in place. He had a clever eye—he nailed only along the patterned areas of the wallpaper, so at a glance, you couldn’t even see the nail marks!

They also laid a simple layer of cheap vinyl flooring, then placed the beds, bedside tables, and a tea area made of planks and cement bricks. The tea area was covered with floral fabric scraps they’d bought for a few yuan per meter.

Wei Sheng had even brought back a few tin cans, painted them with decorations like pinecones and little squirrels, then arranged some flowering vegetables from the community garden into two makeshift vases, which he placed on the tea table.

Shen Yi and Yang Junyao were increasingly charmed by the setup and started snapping selfies right then and there with the tea corner as their backdrop.

Neither of the two bedrooms had doors—but that wasn’t a big issue. Both Shen Yi and Wei Sheng could sew, so they pieced together some leftover fabric, attached it to water pipes for support, and hung up floral cloth curtains. Framed against the cement walls, they actually looked quite stylish.

Even Zhang Hanxing, the “cool guy” of the group, picked up a saw and hammer to make a dining table for the “dining room.” Although he didn’t measure the legs properly and one ended up slightly shorter, he quickly found a block of wood on the ground that was just the right height and nailed it underneath the short leg. When this clip aired in the pilot episode, Zhang Hanxing’s fans nearly died laughing.

After all, since his debut, he’d been playing the role of a rich, aloof young master. The Zhang family really was wealthy—his clothes, his lifestyle, even his multimillion-yuan luxury car all screamed “rich kid.”

Now, the aloof guy had set aside his luxury car keys and picked up tools to become a wannabe carpenter—and not even a very skilled one. Fans joked: “Bro, I love you, but if you came to my house to do woodworking, I wouldn’t pay you a cent for that craftsmanship!”

Even funnier, maybe because they were all led astray by Wei Sheng, the three of them suddenly had a burst of wild creativity—they hauled back a bunch of cement bricks from a construction site and built a sofa in the “living room”!

They found big chunks of foam, cut them into suitable sizes, wrapped them with fabric scraps to make backrests and cushions. Since they’d run out of large wood planks, they made a few three-legged mini coffee tables from leftover pieces. The edges were cut roughly the same size, so the tables could be joined into one large one or used individually by each person.

“This is so fun! When the show’s over, can I take this little coffee table home with me?” Yang Junyao looked gleefully at the table she had made with her own hands, liking it more and more.

Even though her home was furnished with a full set of imported Italian furniture worth millions, she still preferred the table she’d made herself!

Their first night in the unfinished building was, unsurprisingly, a rough one.

It was fine during the day, but once night fell, the whole community was pitch dark. Since construction had stopped halfway, many areas weren’t complete. Without installed doors and windows, cold drafts blew straight through the place—and the sound effects were unreal.

You didn’t even need to build a horror set—just roll the cameras and you’d have a ready-made scary movie.

And as if that wasn’t enough, since the top floor wasn’t fully constructed, loud bangs kept echoing from above during the night. From afar, it sounded eerily like someone walking down the stairs—step by step. It was seriously creepy.

At first, Shen Yi tried to keep up her “big sister” act. That lasted less than ten minutes before she and Yang Junyao, who shared a room, ended up huddled together.

When they set up the beds earlier, Wei Sheng had thought some people might not be used to sharing a bed with strangers, so he’d made four single beds. The bedrooms were laid out like a hotel room—two beds separated by a nightstand.

When they first lay down, Shen Yi and Yang Junyao felt a bit awkward and regretted not hanging a curtain between them.

But once it got dark, with the ghostly cries from outside and the creepy clanging from upstairs, they started shivering under their blankets. A short while later, they turned on a rechargeable lamp, poked their heads out of the blankets, exchanged a look—and the very next second:

“These single beds are too narrow. How about we push them together?”

“Yeah yeah! I was just thinking that!”

The two of them jumped up, moved the nightstand out of the way. Thankfully, the beds made from wood planks were very light. They pushed the beds together, spread the blankets over the whole surface, and burrowed back in. Feeling each other’s warmth, they weren’t real sisters—but at that moment, they might as well have been.

No one was going to tear these two apart!

Next door, the two guys didn’t end up sleeping together—not that they didn’t want to, but more that they were too embarrassed to bring it up.

Still, the noises outside were so terrifying that neither of them slept well. It felt like someone was walking just above their heads every time they closed their eyes. By morning, both Wei Sheng and Zhang Hanxing had bright, obvious dark circles under their eyes.

The cameraman even mischievously zoomed in for a close-up of their exhausted faces.

And as if that weren’t enough, the heartless production team stopped providing food. After the last free dinner last night, the guests officially had to fend for themselves starting this morning.

In other words, from now until next Wednesday when filming wrapped, they’d have to earn their own money to cover their food, clothing, shelter, and transport.

Just like the people who had moved into this unfinished building before them—starting from zero, flat broke.

This show wasn’t playing around.

Unlike other so-called “life experience” variety shows, where the guests pretended to be delivery drivers or hotel bellhops while staying in five-star hotels and being chauffeured in luxury vans…

From now on, Wei Sheng and the others really had to blend in with the other residents of the unfinished building.

No—some of them weren’t even doing as well as the existing residents.

At least the locals had jobs.

Xiang Hong, for example, held down three!

That said, the director wasn’t entirely heartless.

So early that morning, he had someone deliver them a task card. Their mission: visit the four households they were paired with and, through their perspectives, give the audience a glimpse into what a typical day in the life of an unfinished building resident looked like.

“What else could it look like? At this hour, I bet Xiang Hong and the other breakfast vendors are already out selling food,” Wei Sheng muttered. His expression wasn’t great—it wasn’t clear if he was sleep-deprived or just pissed off at the scummy director.

Aren’t we colleagues? Can’t you be a little more sincere?

The assistant director awkwardly rubbed his nose and explained in a low voice, “Don’t worry, it’s all scripted. The four families you’re visiting are still home getting breakfast ready. You’ll get a free meal out of it…”

Wei Sheng rolled his eyes internally.

Luckily, before they arrived, he’d thought ahead—knowing how lacking things would be in an unfinished building, he had suggested they each prepare a small gift, preferably something practical for everyday life, to give to families in need.

If they hadn’t prepared in advance, just showing up empty-handed to mooch a meal—how embarrassing would that be?

Don’t even ask why the guests can’t earn their food by helping out the homeowners. Come on! That kind of outdated variety show setup would get roasted by the entire internet!

“Wei Sheng, what are you bringing?” As everyone began rummaging through their luggage for gifts, Zhang Hanxing suddenly asked.

“Oh, my grandpa’s an avid fisherman and especially loves night fishing. I always see him bring solar-powered lights and outdoor solar charging panels. I figured since Mingzhu Garden is basically like the wilderness, electricity is a hassle, so I bought some solar-rechargeable flashlights and these roll-up solar charging panels that are easy to carry.”

Wei Sheng pulled out one set of his prepared gifts—a pack of three dual-powered (solar and rechargeable) flashlights, and a rollable solar panel.

“This is pretty cool. How long does it take to fully charge?” Zhang Hanxing asked curiously, flipping through the charging panel.

Families like theirs often invest in renewable energy, but rarely use it in daily life because they don’t need to. With their financial background, there’s absolutely no reason to save money on energy. Honestly, the time it takes to charge something could be better spent investing in a project—might even end up owning the solar panel factory.

“No need to time it,” Wei Sheng replied casually. “Just leave it out in the sun during the day, bring it back in at night, and it’s ready to go.” He handed one to Zhang Hanxing and asked what he had brought.

Zhang Hanxing looked a bit sheepish. “I didn’t know what to buy, so I just brought a stack of red envelopes…”

“Pfft—red envelopes are even better! Nothing’s more practical than cold, hard cash!” Wei Sheng almost hurt himself holding in laughter, imagining Zhang Hanxing handing out red envelopes to each household in the half-finished housing complex.

Help! If that scene made it on camera, it would definitely be a highlight of the whole show!

But unexpectedly, Shen Yi’s gifts were even more practical—she had her assistant buy dozens of gift cards from a major local supermarket.

“I only brought one suitcase, not much room, so I figured—why not just get gift cards? They weren’t expensive, 500 yuan each, and they’re easy to give out.”

She paused, then sighed slightly. “Before coming, I searched online and found some topics about the Mingzhu Garden complex. I saw a few homeowners posting short videos, saying they often ride the supermarket’s free shuttle bus to hunt for discounted meat, eggs, and dairy just to save money.”

“I also came across a couple with three kids. The husband delivers food for a living, working himself to the bone. After paying the mortgage and the kids’ tuition, there’s barely anything left for the family to live on. The wife posted a video saying their monthly expenses absolutely cannot exceed 800 yuan, or else they’ll go over budget.”

800 yuan. For a family of four. That’s only 200 yuan per person per month. It’s almost unimaginable how a mother has to stretch every cent just to keep the family fed.

The whole group fell silent, hearts heavy.

It’s bad enough spending your life savings on a house that ends up unfinished. On top of that, throw in an economic slump and job loss—especially for middle-aged folks who have elderly parents and young kids depending on them. The pressure must be overwhelming.

500 yuan might not even cover a meal for them, but for the homeowners living in that abandoned building, it could be their family’s food budget for half a month…

In that moment, they all finally understood the real meaning behind this variety show.

The four of them headed downstairs and went their separate ways to meet their assigned families.

When Wei Sheng knocked on the door, Wu Ping and Yuan Fang had already prepared breakfast.

There was no running water or electricity in Mingzhu Garden. For water, they had to walk to a public toilet outside the complex. Wu Ping had gone out that morning to fetch water and bought a few sesame balls along the way as a treat for Wei Sheng.

Normally, they couldn’t afford breakfast. They’d soak leftover rice from the night before in water, then add some homegrown greens, a bit of salt, and half a spoon of lard in the morning to make a hearty and economical veggie porridge.

Today, with a guest coming, Yuan Fang went all out. She cut up three sweet potatoes she had snatched from a supermarket deal and made a pot of sweet potato porridge. She also harvested some chives from their little garden and whipped up a plate of chive and egg pancakes.

Since there was no natural gas or induction cooker, and it was tough for the elderly couple to carry gas tanks upstairs, they built a traditional clay stove with red bricks by the window in their makeshift kitchen—complete with two stove eyes: a larger one for porridge and rice, a smaller one for stir-fries and soup.

Next to it were some old wooden boards and sun-dried branches they’d gathered for firewood.

Wei Sheng could hardly believe that people in the city still cooked with firewood!

Not even just the city—even many rural households had already switched to induction or gas stoves. Some villages near urban areas had even banned wood-burning due to pollution concerns…

Still, despite the hardships, the two retirees knew how to bring warmth into their lives. The stove was decorated with salvaged ceramic tiles, all spotless. Though the apartment was unfinished, they’d bought a simple dining table, covered it with a plain but elegant tablecloth, and even adopted a stray cat.

The cameraman nearby was adjusting his angle, hoping to catch a tearful moment of Wei Sheng’s empathy. But having grown up in an old neighborhood himself, would Wei Sheng really cry just because Wu Ping and Yuan Fang cooked with a clay stove in an unfinished apartment?

With steaming sweet potato porridge in hand and a bite of that delicious sesame ball in his mouth, Wei Sheng was practically crying from envy—

“Mr. Wu, Auntie Yuan, you two are living the good life, huh?”

“I heard that many rural areas have banned firewood cooking now. My grandma always talks about the days when they lived in the textile factory’s dorms. They couldn’t afford coal, so they built a little clay stove in the corridor with bricks. She says porridge or rice cooked over firewood tastes way better than anything from an electric cooker!”

“I just hope my grandma never sees this episode. If she finds out you can still build a clay stove in an abandoned complex, she might want to move in and be your neighbor.”

Wu Ping blinked, then burst into hearty laughter.

Yuan Fang chuckled too, pointing out toward their small garden on the balcony. “Then if your grandma hears we can grow our own veggies and don’t have to pay any property management fees, won’t she be even more jealous?”

Wei Sheng responded seriously, “Jealous? She might pack her bags and move in overnight!”

With just a few words, Wei Sheng, social butterfly that he was, had the homeowners beaming from ear to ear.

The cameraman standing by was completely stunned.

This—this wasn’t the kind of footage he expected at all!

Where was the sorrow?

Where was the emotional impact?

Where was his breakfast?

While everyone else was joyfully eating breakfast, had they forgotten he was standing there too?

His stomach growled pitifully. The cameraman gave Wei Sheng several resentful glances.

(End of chapter)