Chapter 48
The matter of cutting a buzz cut was considered settled, but clearly, now that they had already entered the forest, there were no conditions for doing it.
After He Erwang made the decision, he was actually rather looking forward to it.
He childishly ran over to Gu Shengsheng to show off. “Boss is going to personally cut my hair.”
“When bro changes to a new hairstyle, I’ll blind all your eyes with how handsome I am.”
Gu Shengsheng: “…Oh.”
Forget it. There was no need to compare over something like getting a buzz cut.
He Erwang then ran over to Qin Ye to ask for experience. “Ye-ge, do you have any photos of when you had a buzz cut?”
Qin Ye shook his head and replied very calmly, “I don’t like taking photos, so I don’t have any.”
“Oh, all right.” He Erwang replied disappointedly. “I like taking photos. After we get out, I’ll take a few more, print them out, and mail one to each of you!”
Huh?
Shen Jinfeng did not know whether to laugh or cry. As expected of a happy child who had grown up with everything going smoothly. He could think of all sorts of strange operations.
Gu Shengsheng was so speechless. “Why would I collect your photos?”
He Erwang confidently raised his chin. “And you still want to become an actor and a star in the future. If you become super famous, how valuable would one signed photo be?”
“I’m this handsome and this rich. Maybe in the future, you’ll see me in financial magazines, and when I become the nation’s husband, my signed photos will be even more valuable.”
The others: “…”
Bullet comments: […Really confident, huh.]
[Suddenly don’t know where to start roasting him.]
[Pfft, little purple-hair, just save it! If you go into business, you’ll get scammed until even your underwear is gone. Just play around in the entertainment industry, okay? We’re not afraid of second-generation rich kids spending money, we’re afraid of them starting businesses!]
[Still the nation’s husband hahahaha. Does he have some misunderstanding about himself? The former/current real nation’s husbands are right there beside him. Dog head.]
[Good grief, my Wang-ge really dares to dream. Even we fans don’t dare boast like this.]
[Cough, cough. Actually, little purple-hair isn’t wrong. His signed photos are already very valuable now. Wang-ge, if they don’t want them, give them to me!]
[Cough, cough. Little purple-hair, why is everyone laughing at you? It’s precisely because you’re the funniest hahahaha.]
The production team was also amused.
Sun Xinping laughed until his stomach hurt. “We really invited the right person.”
They had invited He Erwang originally because he was a top idol, and also because his usual public persona was very distinct. In the entertainment industry, he roasted people until the sky went dark and the earth dimmed.
Clearly, they had brought him in with the intention of creating conflict.
But unexpectedly, He Erwang’s true nature turned out to be an easy-to-fool, pure-hearted rich second generation.
He talked a lot and laughed foolishly. There was less conflict, but the memes had not decreased at all.
With him around, the atmosphere seemed very cheerful. When all the guests gathered together, the effect of one plus one was far greater than two.
Sigh, he truly had a discerning eye.
Sun Xinping thought.
At this moment, his phone suddenly rang.
It was actually Shen Qianxi.
Fuck. Idiot young master.
He was probably calling again to question why Shen Jinfeng was still standing out so much on the show, or to help him—or force him—to come up with some rotten ideas.
Sun Xinping hesitated for two seconds, then set his phone to silent.
Never mind that Shen Jinfeng was now the biggest attraction of the show. His true nature had been proven “pure and kind,” and all sorts of ridiculously powerful skills had made even him afraid.
Someone like this was really trash?
Besides, he had taken a wealthy young master like He Erwang as his underling and had even captured Qin Ye’s heart…
More importantly, because of the abilities he had revealed, he had received recognition from many official national institutions, who had come openly and secretly to ask about him.
Sun Xinping no longer dared let the imbalance in his own heart stir up waves again.
In a place like the entertainment industry, this arena of fame and fortune, and having climbed into the upper circles—
Sun Xinping was very good at judging the situation.
Persimmons should only be squeezed when they were soft.
Before, Shen Jinfeng had been the soft one.
Now, Shen Qianxi and the Shen family behind him could not yet be considered soft persimmons, but Sun Xinping’s heart kept feeling uneasy. A strong intuition screamed at him to cut ties with these people as quickly as possible.
He would just deal with them perfunctorily later.
He looked back at the screen.
Shen Jinfeng and the others were advancing into the depths of the forest.
Before setting off, they had made a fuss about wanting to go see the large pit containing the ancestor’s tomb.
But after listening to Mo Fan’s explanation—
For ordinary people, it would just look like a perfectly ordinary stretch of forest. There were also swamps, making it very dangerous. They asked Shen Jinfeng whether he could dig deeper into the tomb, but they were rejected.
That did indeed seem rather boring.
“Then should we walk in a different direction today?” Mo Fan suggested.
Gu Shengsheng also agreed. “Digging up the ancestor’s tomb is immoral and illegal, so let’s go in another direction. Maybe we’ll encounter other treasures?”
“Didn’t Boss say he found magnetite? If we follow the other direction Boss mentioned, maybe we can find more magnetite. Maybe we can even find a gold mine!”
After saying a few sentences, he became visibly excited as he imagined his own idea. “And gold mines must be more eye-catching than magnetite. If magnetite were placed in front of me, I probably wouldn’t recognize it, but if golden ore appeared, I’d definitely notice it!”
Shen Jinfeng had used the magnetite he brought back yesterday to make an electric lamp.
If they had more, could he make even more things?
As for a gold mine—
The bullet comments no longer had the strength to roast him.
[Good grief, each and every one of your dreams is flying out the skylight. You’re actually dreaming of digging up a gold mine?]
[Gu Shengsheng, you really dare to imagine things! Looking for magnetite is one thing. After all, it really did appear. But looking for a gold mine—is that preparation for your future “bankruptcy”? Dog head.]
[Sigh, don’t make conclusions so early. What if there really is one? After all, this season of “Being Human” really keeps stepping into dogshit luck everywhere!]
[No, am I the only one focusing on the magnetite? I’m really panicking. Production team, why don’t you do something? Hide your magnetite and don’t let Big Boss Shen find it again!]
[Sister above, your idea is truly constructive! But guess whether the production team can find which chunks are magnetite in that huge database? Hahaha, I bet technical bro is about to cry.]
Goat, who had been staring closely at the screen the whole time: “…”
Stop talking. He was going to shatter.
Gu Shengsheng did not know that his wild fantasy was being mocked by the entire internet. Facing his teammates’ scrutinizing gazes, he actually hesitated a little and stammered, “Digging up tombs is illegal. If we find a gold mine, of course we’d have to hand it over to the country too, but it should be fine if I secretly pinch off a little bit, right?”
He was very timid. He stretched out his hand and gestured with the size of a palm. “Just this much, hehe. I won’t be discovered, right?”
Shen Jinfeng suddenly had the feeling that he had brought a group of naughty children outside. Wait, no. Had Gu Shengsheng learned bad things from being around Qi Xiu and He Erwang for too long?
He had looked like such an obedient little kid before.
He rejected Gu Shengsheng’s suggestion without hesitation. “Of course you would.”
“That is also illegal.”
Gu Shengsheng was still obedient. After being rejected, he gave up.
“Oh, all right.”
Shen Jinfeng felt somewhat relieved and explained to him.
“Judging from the terrain here, there shouldn’t be any gold mines. As the saying goes, when the mountain has a platform and the sand carries five blacks, gold mines are generally attached to the edges of flat land and hidden in silicified belts or quartz. They are unlikely to appear in a forest.”
“As for what you said about gold mines being very eye-catching.” Shen Jinfeng paused. Seeing Gu Shengsheng’s curious expression, he paused again before continuing, “Although gold ore is usually golden in appearance, it can also be silver. It can even be black.”
“Huh?” Gu Shengsheng was dumbfounded.
That could happen?
Silver was one thing.
A black gold mine? Then what difference was there between that and magnetite?
Even if it were placed in front of him, he would not recognize it!
[Learned something. This is the first time I’ve heard that gold ore can actually be black.]
[I went to Baidu it. It’s actually true! It seems that impurities inside gold ore can cause its appearance to be other colors.]
Gu Shengsheng thoroughly gave up.
He Erwang, who was standing beside him, rolled his eyes around and was just about to say something.
Gu Shengsheng glanced at him and spoke before he could. “Don’t you dare say that you have plenty of money and can give me gold bars.”
!
[No, I’m now discovering that Gu Shengsheng is getting more and more daring with his imagination!]
[Amazing. But this actually does sound a little like something little purple-hair would say. Not. What’s wrong with me? Why would I think that ahhhh!]
Mm, that was right.
He Erwang scratched his purple hair and said in surprise, “How did you know?”
Gu Shengsheng weakly withdrew his gaze. “Guess.”
“No need. I have money myself. I’ll hoard gold bars myself.”
Mo Fan cut in from the side. “Fuck, hearing you all talk like this, I suddenly had an epiphany!”
“What?”
Shen Jinfeng also looked over curiously.
Mo Fan slapped his own forehead, both annoyed and delighted. “I bought gold bars before!”
“In the early years, when I was making money, I liked buying gold bars. I bought one every year. There should be quite a few now. After I get out, I can lie flat for a while longer.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.” He smiled embarrassedly. “After all, I don’t understand investment. My elders said buying gold bars was definitely not wrong. Gold is hard currency.”
Qin Ye nodded from the side. “Gold prices skyrocketed from last year to this year. If you sell them, you can make quite a bit.”
Shen Jinfeng also agreed with this view.
In the eyes of people who knew the field, money-making opportunities bloomed everywhere.
But in the eyes of at least eighty percent of people who did not know the field, most money-making investments were traps.
Buying gold, in the long term, at least would not lose money. If one chose the right time to sell, one could even earn a little.
Qi Xiu said faintly from the side, “I can see it clearly now. The only person here who’s truly poor is me.”
[Hahahahaha, Xiao Qi, you really do have self-awareness.]
[No, actually Gu Shengsheng is as poor as you. Don’t look at him showing off on the show now. Once he gets out, he’ll cry.]
[Learned something. I’ll buy gold bars too when I have money in the future.]
[Director team: We miscalculated. We actually let the guest remember that he still has gold bars. The persona of being forced by life is about to collapse!]
Production team: “…”
Enough. Stop talking.
Anyway, compared to the others, Mo Fan’s persona collapsing a little like this was nothing.
Looking at Qi Xiu’s resentful expression, Shen Jinfeng comforted him aloud. “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never bully a poor youth. Qi Xiu, you’ll have money in the future.”
Qi Xiu glanced at him, endured and endured, but still could not help saying, “Boss, did you know this phrase has been revised now?”
Shen Jinfeng: “Hm?”
Qi Xiu said, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never bully a poor youth, never bully a poor middle-aged man, never bully a poor old man.”
Qin Ye: “Pfft.”
He could not help laughing too.
He comforted him along with the others. “Once you graduate from Jing University, as long as your GPA is in the top ten percent of your major while you’re in school, I’ll arrange work for you. I won’t say you’ll be extremely rich and noble, but you’ll have a house, you’ll have a car, and you’ll have savings too.”
Qi Xiu’s eyes lit up.
“Wow, Ye-ge, you’re opening a back door for me.”
Qin Ye held back his laughter and nodded.
He Erwang could not hold himself back again. “Why go through so much effort? Just become my underling directly, and you’ll eat well and drink well for life.”
Eh, having Gu Shengsheng call him brother was not enough.
He wanted to take another underling!
Qi Xiu turned to look at him and said word by word, “You. Shut. Up.”
In real life, seeing this scene, He Erwang’s parents could not help holding their foreheads and sighing.
They had clearly never noticed before that their son had this habit of flaunting wealth.
Xiao Qi, we’re sorry.
After all, our little purple-hair only had his Ren and Du meridians opened by one of your divinations.
This group of people really were living treasures.
Although Shen Jinfeng had denied the possibility of finding a gold mine in the forest, Gu Shengsheng’s suggestion was not entirely without reason.
“Let’s change directions today and walk in the direction the typhoon came from last time.”
The few scattered pieces of magnetite discovered in the forest yesterday must have had a larger source. Since they were walking aimlessly anyway, they might as well follow that direction and take a look.
Perhaps there would be new discoveries.
But even Shen Jinfeng had not expected that—
The typhoon had not only blown over magnetite. The wild boar that had stumbled all the way to the seaside last time and then crashed headfirst into the wooden cabin had also come from the direction of the typhoon.
Perhaps it was because these past few days had gone too smoothly.
Moreover, in the close area of the seaside forest, there had been no traces of large animals living there at all.
Therefore, the group kept going deeper without worry.
They had set off early today. Everyone exercised every day. Although they themselves did not feel it, their physical strength had actually improved a lot.
They were all young and strong men. Their strides were large, and with longing to explore the distance, they walked farther today than ever before.
However, most of them had very little presence.
Because whenever Shen Jinfeng saw some green plant—uh, there were other colors too—he would pick some.
But whenever Qi Xiu and He Erwang excitedly wanted to start picking too, Shen Jinfeng would immediately call a stop. “Wait. Don’t touch that.”
“W-What’s wrong? Did I pick poisonous wild grass again?” Qi Xiu was greatly alarmed.
“W-What’s wrong? Isn’t the thing in my hand the same one Boss just picked?” He Erwang looked lost.
“W-What’s wrong?” Gu Shengsheng, who was at the side and had just stretched out his hand, violently pulled it back.
“W-What’s wrong? There isn’t a swamp, right?” Mo Fan still had lingering fear.
For an instant, Shen Jinfeng felt a throbbing pain in his head.
How had this team gathered such a pile of explorers?
These little kids, who had no experience at all and could not even copy homework correctly, how had they dared sign up for an expedition team?
The original owner really had a big heart.
He forced a smile and said, “It’s fine. You don’t need to do anything. Just walk around, look around, and play.”
But the moment his voice fell, the others all revealed frustrated expressions.
“Boss, am I really useless?” the few of them asked in unison.
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
Uh, actually, even if they knew, there was no need to say it out loud.
He sighed. But it was human nature. Most people would never be stranded on a deserted island in their entire lives. These teammates also would not have imagined that they would end up wandering on such a truly deserted island. He could not demand too much.
Only, once there was comparison, the contrast became obvious.
He looked to the side, at the last person who had not spoken: Qin Ye.
Qin Ye was organized, clear-minded, and quick to react, keeping up with his rhythm.
This was what a good student looked like.
The others also noticed Qin Ye.
Qi Xiu reminded him aloud, “Ye-ge, don’t pick randomly. Some wild grasses are poisonous.”
However, before Qin Ye could speak—
Shen Jinfeng spoke first. “Don’t mind him.”
He Erwang could not bear it. “Huh? Boss, you can’t treat Ye-ge differently like this. Ye-ge is a good person.”
A huge question mark appeared above Shen Jinfeng’s head. “Huh?”
“I mean, what he picked is correct. There’s no problem.”
“As for what you picked… Forget it. Don’t pick anything.”
The others were as if struck by a thunderbolt on a clear day.
They looked in disbelief at Qin Ye’s smooth movements and Shen Jinfeng’s affirming expression.
Hm? How was there someone here who had secretly evolved behind their backs?
[Hahahahaha, deeply shocked, right? Mm, that’s right. We were like this yesterday too!]
[He Erwang actually thought Big Boss Shen disliked Ye-god. I laughed so hard I sprayed.]
[You bunch of eyesore brats, you still haven’t eaten any dog food! Because of your existence, you’ve already affected my Ye-ge and Big Boss’s alone time! Otherwise, you’d be blinded with sweetness even more.]
Shen Jinfeng waved at the group. “Come, someone come help me carry this basket. It’s almost full.”
The others’ eyes lit up.
He Erwang was the first to seize the opportunity.
After learning that Qin Ye actually had a talent in “medicine,” the group felt sad for a while, then let it go.
In any case, pulling “wild grass” did not look that fun.
[Help, they really look like a group of children. I don’t know if you guys have had the experience of going into the mountains. Anyway, when I was little and followed my mom into the mountains, I loved pulling random wild grass. But when she gave me a fixed task to pull something specific, I got annoyed and tired of it after a while.]
[Exactly. I suspect that when they weren’t allowed to help, they actually breathed a sigh of relief. Who likes pulling grass when going into a forest? I don’t even give trees without fruit a proper look.]
Sure enough, after a short while, Gu Shengsheng’s attention was the first to be diverted.
“Eh, white doves!” He pointed in surprise at a dove perched on a tree.
The others also looked over at the sound.
Qi Xiu began counting on his fingers. “There are three doves on this tree!”
“That tree over there has some too.”
He Erwang’s eyes shone. “Dove soup is delicious!”
Mo Fan’s vision went black. “Doves symbolize peace and beauty. Why is your mind only thinking about eating them?”
Shen Jinfeng stood under the tree and looked up, squinting slightly under the sunlight. “Do you want to catch a few to play with?”
He Erwang said in delight, “Boss, you want to eat them too, right?”
Shen Jinfeng shook his head. “Haven’t you seen carrier pigeons delivering letters on television?”
Qin Ye’s eyes widened slightly. “You mean we can use carrier pigeons to ask the outside world for help?”
“But ordinary pigeons probably don’t have that ability, right?”
“Whoa! Boss, you really dare to imagine things!” Qi Xiu cried in surprise. “He Erwang only dared to think of catching them to eat, but you actually thought of making pigeons help us deliver messages!”
Gu Shengsheng nodded frantically. “I vote in favor! Sending letters by carrier pigeon is too cool! I believe that as long as Boss is here, the pigeons can do it!”
[??? Shengsheng, why don’t you listen to what you’re saying? Is your boss capable of directly influencing a pigeon’s abilities?]
[LMAO, Big Boss Shen’s thought process really is powerful. I didn’t even think of this.]
[Although carrier pigeons delivering letters are a must-have in costume dramas, I really haven’t heard of it in modern times! Can this really be done?]
[Hahaha, whether it can be done or not, I don’t know. But I bet the production team is sitting up in shock while nearly dead from illness. Better pray Big Boss Shen doesn’t pull another wild move hahaha.]
Sun Xinping did indeed sit up in fright.
No way. The phones were gone, and now pigeons could be used?
He was so frightened that he hurriedly searched Baidu.
#Can modern pigeons deliver letters?#
#Can untrained white doves deliver letters?#
#How difficult is sending letters by carrier pigeon?#
Fortunately, most netizens said that they felt ancient carrier pigeons delivering letters was nonsense.
The training was extremely difficult, and the training cycle had to be very long.
Sure enough, Shen Jinfeng also said this.
On the screen, the indifferent-looking young man lazily crossed his arms and explained:
“Carrier pigeons delivering messages can be achieved, because pigeons naturally have a homing instinct. So if they are trained, it is possible to make pigeons fly far away and then return to their nest. Delivering messages then becomes feasible.”
“We only need to send the written distress message out through a white dove. The white dove can then bring rescuers back to find us. Or to be precise, it needs to fly back to its own home.”
He said lightly, “I’ve read a little about methods for training carrier pigeons in books before. We can try.”
[Eh-heh, why does it suddenly sound somewhat reliable when Big Boss says it?]
[No way, right? Big Boss even knows how to train pigeons? This really is far beyond the syllabus!]
[My heavens, Big Boss, please once again accept my knees!]
Of course Shen Jinfeng knew how to train pigeons.
After all, in ancient worlds, people really did send messages by carrier pigeon.
One could not underestimate the wisdom of the ancients, or rather, underestimate the ability of ancient pigeons.
After all, pigeons flew faster than horses ran.
He had done quite a few quick-transmigration missions in ancient worlds too. If he could not even train carrier pigeons, wouldn’t that be a failure?
“However, training pigeons takes a long cycle and a great deal of effort. First, we would have to choose talented ones from among many pigeons.”
Shen Jinfeng felt somewhat tired. “We should be able to get out soon anyway. Most likely, we won’t need such a labor-intensive method.”
In front of the screen, Sun Xinping suddenly felt his butt tighten.
Big Boss, do you want to look at what you’re saying?
You’re clearly on a deserted island with no internet, no signal, no electricity, and no people. How exactly do you come up with so many ways to leave all day long?
He was very suspicious. When Shen Jinfeng said the cycle was long, how long did he mean?
One had to know that for the third season of What Kind of Person Are You, his original plan had been to livestream for two months!
Before the broadcast began, he had even discussed with the technical team what to do if the guests were too useless and could not survive inside.
Then they would have to think of ways to secretly help the guests.
In the end… he had never expected this.
It had only been one week! How had the situation become like this?
Shen Jinfeng and Qin Ye had judged that, at most, someone should come rescue them in another week. What if no one went to rescue them?
Yesterday, he had been worried that Shen Jinfeng would use the power of technology… Although before the show began, even if someone beat him to death, he would never have imagined that anyone could hand-make an electric lamp.
Today, he was again fearing the wisdom of the ancients… Although before the show began, even if someone beat him to death, he would never have imagined that someone would know how to train carrier pigeons?
However, for carrier pigeons, it was normal if they flew and simply did not return, right?
Sun Xinping leaned back, eyes vacant.
Fortunately, Shen Jinfeng disliked the effort and did not want to do it.
But although Shen Jinfeng gave up—
His words had made the others itch with curiosity.
“Training pigeons and sending letters by carrier pigeon? That’s too cool! Boss, let’s try it, let’s try it! Let me broaden my horizons!” Gu Shengsheng’s face was full of excitement.
He Erwang refused to fall behind. “I want to learn, I want to learn!”
Qi Xiu rubbed his palms together. “This tree and that tree, adding them together, there are more than ten pigeons. Let’s do it!”
Mo Fan agreed. “This is much more reliable than He Erwang’s suggestion. We’re giving the pigeons more life skills, for their own good.”
Qin Ye also nodded. “We can find some fun.”
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
Fine. He knew it.
Why did he have a feeling he had expected this long ago?
“All right, then let’s bring some pigeons back.”
