"What's going on?" At the moment when the police came in, the fans of "Swapping Lives" in the main live broadcast room were all shocked.
And on the other side, the young men like Chu Rong and Li Zhao at the scene were also stunned by this sudden incident, completely at a loss for how to react.
"Is there a misunderstanding? After all, we're just filming a show," the leader of the fan club tried to explain. Li Zhao and Chu Rong both took a step forward and protected Song Yucheng behind them.
This vigilant posture made the police a bit helpless. They could only explain in a gentle voice that they were just doing their job and wouldn't cause any trouble for everyone.
They came mainly for two things, the legality of the business and specific safety issues. After all, the matter had become so big and there were not just one or two people reporting it online. The investigation orders issued by the system were as high as eight feet tall, and even though they knew that Song Yucheng and his team were filming a show, they still had to follow the procedures.
"I understand. I'm the one who proposed the homestay plan, so you can ask me if you have any questions," Song Yucheng took the initiative to come out and speak. Li Zhao was worried and pulled him back, but Song Yucheng shook his head at him, indicating that there was no problem. He then called Chu Rong to come with him, along with the experts and police who came to check and investigate.
It was unexpected that such a turn of events would happen during a popular online variety show. At this point, the main live broadcast room of "Exchange Lives" was already on the verge of being overwhelmed by curious netizens who had heard the news. Those who had been scolding and insulting online also joined in to see how Song Yucheng and his team were being humiliated.
Unfortunately, they did not get any good "melon"**(a slang term used to describe juicy or exciting gossip or news) to eat. Instead, they were slapped in the face by a sudden turn of events.
Unexpectedly, the program team made the seemingly dangerous small courtyard safe, to everyone's surprise. Even according to the experts, these houses can withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 6 or 7 and remain sturdy.
As for the seemingly rough furniture, each piece has its unique characteristics. The key point is that, unlike common home decoration problems such as excessive formaldehyde, the renovation done by Song Yucheng is purely natural.
All the materials in the courtyard, except for small items such as woven grass, and even the larger furniture, are made using ancient woodworking techniques. Even an ordinary stool is not nailed and glued together but connected with wedges.
This kind of craftsmanship, which only old carpenters possess, is now not so common. It is feared that only such seemingly backward small villages still retain these ancient life hacks.
As for the pigments used in the dyed cloth, they are not chemical pigments but are extracted from natural plants.
As for whether the price is reasonable, Song Yucheng provided a list of charges. The so-called one thousand yuan is the all-inclusive price for the entire courtyard.
No matter how many people come, as long as they can fit in, they can all accept it. Three meals a day are also free, and the stove always has a fire. Even if you want an extra meal, you can do so at any time.
There is a 24-hour supply of fruit and desserts, with freshly squeezed fruit juice and wild tea.
At the same time, there may not be much high technology here, but there are many entertainment projects.
The small hill and stream behind the courtyard are the most natural playground. After changing into Hanfu, the feeling of being immersed in the environment really seems to bring people back to a thousand years ago.
"I think... one thousand yuan is not expensive. People charge one thousand yuan for one night for just one courtyard. If you go in a group, with three people sharing the cost, it is only a little over three hundred yuan per person. Such an environment and treatment can be considered a paradise."
"That's right. Speaking honestly, I also want to go. I don't know if we can still sign up after all this commotion."
"So what? They are operating illegally."
"The young people starting out in this business were originally doing a program, and they just need the cooperation of the audience."
"Cooperation, cooperation. It's so remote here, and the homestay has no reception capacity. If something goes wrong, is the program group responsible?"
It was noisy again in just a moment, but this time, it wasn't just one-sided. However, it was only on the live broadcast side. Weibo and several forums have been occupied by water armies and keyboard warriors.
Anyone who spoke up for Song Yucheng and Chu Rong was labeled as a brainwashed fan. As for the photos on the program broadcast, the so-called technical experts analyzed that they had been filtered to make them look so beautiful. In fact, without the effect, they were just dirty and messy.
And all of these are temporary. When Song Yucheng took out a small box from the inner room of the live broadcast room, everyone was stunned by what was inside.
It was actually a license! And these licenses were not temporarily processed in the name of Song Yucheng and his friends but were applied for in the name of the original owner of the house.
What's even more unbelievable is that even the little maid who cooks for them has a health certificate. Even the vegetables they use have been tested and are pesticide-free.
"How is this possible?" Everyone was confused, but then the questioning and refuting voices followed.
"It's impossible! I've been following their live broadcast. It only took them five or six days from saying they wanted to open a homestay to actually getting it up and running. Even with the shortest process, it takes at least a month to get a normal business license. How did they do it?"
"It must be fake! The media now takes the public for fools. They say it's true, but do they think everyone is as ignorant as brainwashed fans?"
But the relevant evidence that was subsequently announced once again silenced these people.
The business license is real. It was processed well before the program aired. The relevant license number is not obscured and can be checked at any time on the relevant government website.
"Why is this?" The keyboard warriors who once considered themselves righteous were all stunned.
The program group also took the opportunity to give an explanation, which was related to the history of the county town and small village.
Who would have thought that this village was the descendant of a Confucian master in ancient times, it was also one of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage sites in China. With a focus on local dialect and cuisine, this seemingly backward and mediocre little village has unexpectedly retained the ancient charm from thousands of years ago.
Therefore, since a few years ago, after China established a complete standard for homestay business models, this place has already obtained permission to operate homestays. However, unfortunately, due to its remote location, it has not successfully entered the public eye.
Facing the live broadcast camera, Song Yucheng, as the initiator of the homestay plan, explained his idea: "It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. This program is called SwappingLives'. Is it just about exchanging environmental experiences and lifestyles? Why can't we expand this concept and change the fate of this village as well? After all, all good things deserve to be praised by people."
Suddenly enlightened, the entire main live broadcast room fell silent, and all the netizens who heard it couldn't help but sigh. Song Yucheng's words were immediately captured and uploaded online.
The people in the forum who were still madly cursing the program group for putting on a show were all silenced.
They can doubt the validity of the operating license for the homestay and even curse out the program group and the celebrities, Song Yucheng and Chu Rong, for exploiting their fans and maliciously seeking profits. But they cannot and dare not make jokes about the history and culture of their ancestors.
Everyone understands the meaning of the term "intangible cultural heritage" and also understands the significance of what it entails. These are truly national treasures on the verge of extinction, and each one is the most precious thing worth cherishing.
"I think everyone who cursed at them should apologize to Song Yucheng. I don't know about others, but when I was 17, I would never have thought of something like this, nor had the talent and skills to make it happen."
"Blind people see everything as black. I just hope that in the future, everyone will remember to use their brains when watching these things."
"They won't think they were wrong. After all, they are standing on the side of 'justice and morality,' and they are afraid that people will be cheated!"
"Hehe, a bunch of so-called mature adults who can sit behind their screens and use the most insidious thoughts to speculate on other people's intentions, make malicious comments, and give advice. Compared to Song Song, they are the real losers."
The fans of "Swapping Lives," who were previously silenced, finally found an opportunity to fight back. As for the keyboard warriors who were cursing out people just a second ago, they became the targets of ridicule and condemnation, but they couldn't argue back.
There was no way around it, Song Yucheng's slap hit too hard, leaving them with swollen faces. It's unlikely that these people will want to speak in the forum for a while, after all, their face hurts.
The crisis only lasted for half a day and resolved itself naturally. On the other side in Yanjing, Xu Muzhi was completely shocked by the current situation. Although he had heard many of Song Yucheng's teachers praise his intelligence before, it wasn't until now that he truly realized just how capable Song Yucheng was.
But did Song Yucheng already know about the village's history, or was it just a coincidence? Xu Muzhi couldn't figure it out. However, he ultimately decided to attribute it to coincidence.
After all, even the program planners didn't know the history behind this place. He remembered clearly that when they submitted the proposal for the fourth season, they chose this place simply because it was poor.
However, the young man beside him became even more cold and aloof. He had always known that Xu Muzhi was stupid, but he didn't expect him to become even more stupid after two years.
It was clear that Song Yucheng's opening of a homestay was a well-planned move, not a coincidence. From the way he carefully renovated the house without changing the layout, except for painting the walls, it was clear that Song Yucheng knew about the history of the place and that it was an old courtyard that had been left behind. Moreover, when the police requested an investigation, his calm response demonstrated his confidence in his seamless plan.
So what did someone like Song Yucheng see in Xu Muzhi? Was it because he was too intelligent and needed someone foolish to balance things out?
The young man furrowed his brows and suddenly felt that Xu Muzhi's stupidity was extremely annoying.
Standing up, he walked to the door and signaled for Xu Muzhi to stop following him. He then called over his subordinates and ordered, "Investigate those online water armies deliberately manipulating public opinion and the gossip magazines that started the rumors in the first place. Then notify the legal department and have them take official action. Everyone else can report to the police and the National Internet Administration, so we can't just stand here and take the beating." With that, he left with his people.
However, Xu Muzhi's heart became increasingly uneasy. He felt that the last look the young man gave him seemed to be filled with disgust.
With a stunning performance, "Swapping Lives", this show has once again become extremely popular and has completely become the number one variety show for the whole nation. The small village where it was filmed has also become popular. Without a doubt, with the help of this momentum, future development here will also become very smooth.
As for the teenagers Song Yucheng and Chu Rong, they have become the center of attention among netizens.
When the viewing rate for the second-to-last episode of the program was announced, everyone was shocked.
10%. This can be said to be the highest viewing rate for a variety show in the past 50 years in China. The last program to achieve this level was the News Broadcast.
So this is definitely a miracle!
After all, "Swapping Lives" has a live webcast version, and the TV broadcast is only edited content, and the broadcast time is not during the prime time of the national channel, but at ten o'clock on a satellite TV channel.
However, they still created brilliance.
But this is not the end. On the day before the final episode, the number of people watching the webcast exceeded tens of millions.
Faced with such results, the program group was also excited. They made an exception and provided several teenagers with the only reward since the fourth quarter.
The program group provided a mobile phone and gave them a chance to call home, but only for five minutes per person.
Even Li Zhao became a little excited.
For a month and a half, they left their families and were forced to learn to be independent. Even though they suffered hardships and grievances, they could only rely on each other for comfort. Their hard work every day made them each lose weight. Although they also became more mature and stable through the experience, they still couldn't help but become emotional at the mention of their parents.
"Let's let Brother Yucheng come and play first." a girl suggested. Since the show started, Song Yucheng had been the most tired. He had to take care of everyone and think about making money. At first, he didn't even have time to eat a proper meal. Without Song Yucheng, it was estimated that the group, including Chu Rong, would not be able to last even a day. So as soon as the girl spoke, she got the approval of everyone else.
However, Song Yucheng did not seem to answer the phone.
"Brother Yucheng, come on!" thinking that Song Yucheng was feeling embarrassed, another girl took the initiative to approach him and handed him the phone.
Having spent a long time with Song Yucheng, she had more or less figured out his temper. She knew that Song Yucheng saw her as a little sister, and there were many signs of intimacy between them like those of siblings. As for the other young man, he also urged, "Brother Yucheng, don't be shy. You have been away from home for so long, and you must miss your parents very much. Please call your uncle and aunt. You can call them first, and then we will call. You have worked hard taking care of us for this month and a half."
The three of them spoke with hopeful eyes looking at Song Yucheng, but he still did not move.
Standing next to them, Li Zhao, who knew some of the inside story, subconsciously put away her smile and directly turned pale. As for Chu Rong, his heart was even colder.
Missing his parents? This was probably the most ironic joke.
Song Yucheng's parents had long since passed away, and even the house he had worked hard to keep was burnt down a few days ago.
So who was he going to make this call for?
