The meal finally ended with Huo Xiaozheng facing reality.
Seeing an opportunity for footage, the camera crew immediately urged Huo Guining to go mooch food from another household.
Huo Guining haughtily declared that she would uphold her father's dignity, so she wouldn't go!
The father and daughter sat in the courtyard, their expressions numb as they smelled the aroma of meat wafting over from next door.
"Dad, I'm sleepy," Huo Guining said after a moment, using the excuse of a nap to leave the courtyard.
The room faced the sun, but it was still bright even after Huo Xiaozheng drew the curtains.
He dug out a large eye mask from his suitcase and put it on Huo Guining. "Sleep well, have a good nap."
Though the nap was just an excuse, Huo Guining quickly fell asleep to the sound of Huo Xiaozheng typing on his keyboard.
An hour later, the production team came to call them, reminding the father and daughter that it was time to gather.
They went through the same routine as the early morning. By the time they reached the meeting point, Huo Guining was still nestled in Huo Xiaozheng's arms, half-asleep.
Yinuo, hiding in her father's arms, giggled: "Big sister is shy, she's not fully awake yet."
Hearing this, Huo Guining drowsily patted Huo Xiaozheng, signaling him to put her down.
Huo Xiaozheng held her shoulders, letting her lean against his leg.
He then took out a wet wipe and cleaned her face. "Does this help you feel more awake?"
Huo Guining nodded.
The others arrived one after another.
The host announced the afternoon's itinerary: the cute kids would go on a treasure hunt in a nearby ancient village.
The more treasures they found, the more rewards they could exchange them for.
"What kind of rewards?" asked Haohao, the son of singer Yue Shuhua.
Haohao was chubby and adorably cute, with a babyish voice.
The host asked in return, "What kind of reward would Haohao like?"
Haohao replied, "I want ice cream and candy."
The host said mysteriously, "Well, Haohao will have to work hard to find treasures. Who knows, you might be able to exchange them for ice cream and candy."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other children immediately started clamoring.
"Alright, now please take your task cards and follow the map to find the treasures!" the host announced.
Huo Guining inwardly scoffed at how childish it all seemed.
Huo Xiaozheng crouched down and earnestly instructed Ningning: "Don't go anywhere dangerous. If you feel unwell at all, have the cameraman uncle contact Dad immediately, understand?"
He then cast a cool glance at the cameraman.
Huo Guining nodded, accustomed to such instructions.
The other children had already spent time together in previous episodes, so they were relatively more familiar with each other.
They held hands and looked in Ningning's direction.
Liang Wenzhuo, the oldest boy, called out loudly as he saw Ningning dawdling: "Hurry up! We'll be late if we don't leave now!"
Huo Guining waved goodbye to her father and set off on the 'treasure hunt' path with the other children.
The filming location was in an ancient village in the north of the city.
It was a place with a long history, featuring white walls and dark tiles surrounding courtyards and skylights, with deep gardens, small bridges, and flowing water - a typical Jiangnan scenery.
Yinuo, naturally friendly, held onto the hem of Huo Guining's clothes, tottering behind her.
Worried that the little one might trip with her short legs, Huo Guining proactively moved to the outer side of the path, protecting Yinuo on the inner side.
Following along a large pond, the group arrived at the first treasure location.
Villagers sat at their doorways, curiously observing the little treasure-hunting squad.
Liang Wenzhuo took the initiative to speak: "Grandma, have you seen any treasure?"
The grandmother's face was full of wrinkles. Although she couldn't understand the children's words, she generally knew what they were looking for.
She stretched out her hand, pointing in a direction.
The group continued inward.
Inside was an ancestral hall with a courtyard. Above the courtyard, there were no tiles covering the sky, allowing a large patch of sunlight to fall down.
It illuminated the ancestral hall brightly.
Liang Wenzhuo, acting like a little adult, quickly walked in. After a search, he found a treasure box.
"Found it!"
The boys swarmed over in a rush.
Yinuo, who probably hadn't understood the rules, squatted by the courtyard, intently digging at the moss on the ground.
As she played, she would occasionally hand some moss to Huo Guining like a little puppy.
Huo Guining, not particularly interested in the treasure hunt either, kept Yinuo company, and the two sisters dug at the ground together.
The cameraman reminded them: "Ningning, if you don't look for treasures, you might not have anything to eat for dinner."
Huo Guining thought for a moment, then calmly said: "No rush."
She still had her dad; he definitely wouldn't let her go hungry.
Yinuo suddenly came to her senses: "Big sister, Daddy told me to find treasures so he can make something yummy for dinner."
Yinuo looked like a porcelain doll, with naturally curly hair and bright, crystal-clear eyes. She was adorably cute.
Huo Guining smiled: "Is your daddy a very good cook?"
Yinuo nodded: "My daddy is super good at cooking!"
Huo Guining's eyes lit up as a plan slowly formed in her mind.
From that point on, Huo Guining's behavior changed dramatically.
Although Liang Wenzhuo was seven years old, he was still a child, and the vast Gu Village was somewhat complex for little ones.
After leaving the ancestral hall, he began to lose his bearings.
Add to that the language barrier with the locals, and the treasure hunt quickly reached an impasse.
Seeing this, Huo Guining spread out the simple map, figured out the general directions, and then began searching systematically, one location at a time, based on their proximity.
Although Huo Guining looked cold, she was very goal-oriented.
Leading the group, she found treasures with unerring accuracy, almost effortlessly.
Soon, the group had thoroughly scoured the so-called 'treasures'.
The children who had initially looked down on Huo Guining now had stars in their eyes, calling her "Ningning" this and "Ningning" that.
Huo Guining gathered the children together and had everyone open their treasures.
As expected, the treasure rewards were nothing more than daily necessities.
"Fish, who wants fish?"
Zhang Ling raised his hand: "Ningning, can I have it?"
Huo Guining generously handed it to him.
"Ice cream!"
At these three words, all the children's eyes lit up.
"Me! Me! Me!"
Although it said ice cream, Huo Guining guessed that, given the nature of the show, there was probably only one.
Thinking this, she spoke up directly: "There's only one ice cream. I don't want it. What about you all?"
Liang Wenzhuo also stated: "I don't want it either. Let's leave it for the younger ones."
Huo Guining nodded at him approvingly.
Zhang Ling followed suit: "Then I'll leave it for the younger ones too."
Huo Guining gave him an appreciative look.
Then she turned to the remaining two children: "Yinuo and Haohao, can you two share it?"
Haohao puffed out his chest like a little gentleman: "This time, let's give it to the little sister. I can eat some when I get home."
Without hesitation, Huo Guining promptly gave the ice cream card to Yinuo: "Yinuo, keep the card safe. You can exchange it for ice cream later."
Yinuo smiled sweetly and obediently put the card in the front pocket of her overalls.
Huo Guining continued her actions.
"As for the meat, I'll keep it for myself. If anyone wants some, come find me." She looked at everyone: "Do you have any objections?"
The children shook their heads vigorously, like little rattle drums.
