Chapter 14

Chapter 14 There’s Something Worse Simone noticed her team members staring at her and jokingly said, “So you’re just going to let me carry you guys to victory?” Her team members replied, “Yep.”

Amused, Simone suggested, “Then I suggest we pay a visit to the families the village head told us about. We can set a schedule of when we’re showing up; then, we can go straight to them and exchange work for money or food.” Zac, who had decided not to move around anymore, agreed after hearing Simone’s plan, “Yeah, we should do that. We don’t want the other team to get ahead of us.”

They had valuable information, so they didn’t want the other team to steal their opportunities. Eric and Keira chimed in, “Sure.”

Under Simone’s leadership, the team met up with the families the village head had mentioned and set up a schedule to help them. After finishing their last visit, Keira stared at Simone with admiration. She affectionately asked, “How did you find these households so accurately, Simone?” She and the men followed Simone around, and Simone would knock on the doors of the households the village head had mentioned. Finding one or two houses accurately could be attributed to luck, but finding all five was pure skill. Eric and Zac looked at Simone curiously. “Tell us your secret.” Simone waved the paper in her hand and explained, “I made a map and asked the village head about some distinctive characteristics of the households.

For example, the number of fruit trees at Deuce’s house or the pile of rocks in front of Fivo’s place. By using these characteristics, I was able to locate the houses accurately.” Simone’s team members were stunned and then impressed. “That’s impressive, Simone.” They had never thought of using such a method. It was clear why Simone had been asking the village head about these houses’

characteristics. It was so she could find them accurately. Zac smiled. “They say only the prepared can seize the opportunities presented to them. I understand that now.” He turned to Simone. “Do you approach everything with such seriousness?” Being born into wealth and being the youngest in the family, Zac had always had others do everything for him. Simone smiled. “More or less. Since I’m doing it anyway, why not do my best?” Her mentor had taught her to rely on no one but herself, and she believed that learning was a lifelong process. Doing everything to the best of her ability was being responsible to herself and everyone else. Simone didn’t bring this up to show off how hardworking she was. Instead, she changed the subject, saying, “Starting tomorrow, we’ll have work to do for the whole week. Do you want to tour around the village or go back. and get some rest?” Eric and Keira expected Simone to take the opportunity to show off more, but she didn’t. This made them feel that she was genuine. Keira massaged her legs and suggested, “Why don’t we take a break? My legs are so sore that I’m losing feeling.” She had been practicing dancing a lot, but she had never felt so exhausted. 1/3 Understanding Keira’s situation, Simone said, “You were in the car for a long time, and you’ve been walking ever since you arrived. I can understand why you’re tired.”

The men agreed, “Yeah, let’s get some rest.” The team returned to the courtyard. Since they didn’t have any bedding, Keira took out her clothes and piled them up to lean on. She was too tired. Simone sat cross-legged on the bed, resting her eyes. The cameraman left, allowing the ladies to rest.

Meanwhile, the chatroom was buzzing with comments. ‘Simone is amazing. She found all the households so easily. ‘Because she made notes and a map. She’s serious about this. ‘I’m her fan now.

I admire people who take things seriously. ‘And she didn’t take any credit either. Anyone else would’ve started showing off. ‘Are you referring to the women in the other livestream?’ ‘I haven’t been following that one. Have they achieved anything yet?’ Since the teams were separated, the production teams set up two livestreams. If any guest moved alone, a livestream would be opened for that guest. Viewers could compare the two teams, and Zac’s fans were starting to complain. ‘I’ve been watching both livestreams. Those guys knocked on at least a few dozen doors, and only one household accepted their help because they were too embarrassed to refuse.’ Jojo cooked for that family and got their teams some eggs and greens. ‘Aaron and Leon praised her, and then she kept showing off how she learned to cook before coming to this show.’ ‘Yeah, it’s like she wants everyone to know she took her time to learn.’ ‘She kept showing off how hardworking she’s been. It’s the complete opposite of Simone.”

“The old lady she’s been helping almost couldn’t keep up her smile. ‘What does that mean?’ ‘Oh, I saw that. The lady isn’t wealthy, but she agreed to let Jojo cook after Jojo kept pleading. Jojo probably has no idea how regular households work. She whipped up three dishes and used up half the oil the lady had.’” ‘And she used up all the meatloaves the lady had. ‘All she did was put the food in the pan and season it. The lady’s grandkids had to do everything else. 213 ‘And she was visibly disgusted by the lady’s house, but she held it in for the camera.’ ‘God, and the viewers there kept saying she was sweet, kind, and hardworking. It’s embarrassing to watch.’ ‘Oh, there’s something even worse.’ “They got another family and tried changing the kid’s food. ‘And you know what happened?

The kid was fine, but then they made him cry. Jojo couldn’t even calm him down.’ ‘LMAO, she put on a good sister act and tried to calm the kid down, but when he asked for a hug, she moved away!’ ‘Good sister on the outside, kid-hating wench on the inside. Fake. ‘So, did they achieve anything?’ ‘Nope. The kid’s grandma came back from work and asked them to leave. Aggressively. Jojo kept apologizing after they came out and said she failed. Aaron and Leon had to cheer her up. ‘Aaron spoils his sister a lot.

He actually said the family was rude and ungrateful just to cheer her up. ‘Is he out of his mind? Why should they be thankful? Because they made the kid cry?’ ‘Because in his world, anyone who upsets his sister is wrong. I thought being overly attached to a sibling was bad enough, but being overly attached to a sister isn’t much better. I feel sorry for the girl who’s going to date Aaron.’ If Simone hadn’t been compared to Jodie, and if Zac’s fans hadn’t gone on a rant, the viewers might have had a better opinion of Jodie’s performance. However, at that point, the viewers and fans of other guests felt that Jodie was trying too hard. Zac and his teammates were in the courtyard, observing Simone skillfully crafting baskets out of reed straws.

Simone noticed the dried straws that were scattered around the courtyard. After receiving permission from the production team, she gathered some to create baskets, providing a convenient storage solution for their clothes and supplies. Her teammates watched with curiosity as they engaged in conversation. An exhausted Aaron and his equally fatigued team returned, only to find Zac and his teammates relaxing and observing Simone’s basket-making. They felt frustrated. How could they be so relaxed?