Chapter 14

Phoebe looked over and saw all three of them staring at her. She teased, “So, are you still planning to win by doing nothing?”

In unison, the three replied, “Absolutely.”

Phoebe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Well then, I suggest we go visit the families that Charles has mentioned. We can set up a time with them to help out and then head straight there to exchange money or food.”

At first, Maddox wasn’t keen on the idea. He was too tired. But after hearing Phoebe out, he agreed. “Yeah, let’s go ask today so we don’t miss out.” They didn’t want the other team to beat them to it.

James and Lexie were quick to agree, “Alright.”

Then, with Phoebe leading the way, the four of them managed to locate several households accurately and arranged to assist with the work.

After securing an appointment with the last household, Lexie looked at Phoebe with excitement and said, “Pheebs, how did you manage to find each household so accurately!”

They followed Phoebe’s guidance, and every time they knocked on a door and inquired, they found the right person Charles had given them. Getting it right once or twice could be attributed to luck, but Phoebe’s accurate findings five times in a row were definitely more than luck; it was pure wisdom.

James and Maddox also looked at Phoebe and expressed their curiosity.

Phoebe explained, “I had drawn a map beforehand and carefully asked Charles about the unique characteristics of each of the houses. For example, David’s yard has several fig trees, which makes it stand out, and Daniel’s house has some stones and other items piled up at the door. By following the map and matching the features, we were able to locate each household with ease.”

Upon hearing her explanation, the three guests were amazed and showered Phoebe with praise, “Pherbs, you’re amazing!”

These were things they had never even considered. It became clear that Phoebe had been gathering information from Charles about the houses’ characteristics in order to locate the right ones.

Maddox had a big smile and said, “They say opportunities come to those who are prepared. Now I totally get what that means.” Then he turned to Phoebe and asked, “Are you always so serious about everything!”

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and being the youngest son, he didn’t have to take over the family business. So, from childhood to adulthood, there were always people around to help him with everything.

Phoebe just smiled and said, “Yeah, that’s about right. If you’re gonna do something, might as well give it your all.”

Her mentor taught her from a young age that she could only rely on herself and should keep learning throughout life. Being careful with everything was being responsible to others and herself.

Phoebe didn’t say much about this to show off how hard she was working. Instead, she changed the subject.

“Starting tomorrow, we’ll have work to do for the next few days,” she said. “Do you want to keep exploring the village or head back and rest?”

James and Lexie thought Phoebe would try to stand out by saying more about herself, but she didn’t, and it felt more genuine.

Lexie stretched her legs and said, “Why don’t we head back and take a break? My legs feel like they’re not even mine anymore.” She usually danced, but she had never felt this tired.

Phoebe kindly said, “We’ve been on the bus for so long and walking since we got here. I’m really beat.”

The two guys agreed, “Yeah, let’s head back and chill.” So, the four of them went back to the yard.

There were no beddings, so Lexie took out the clothes from the suitcase and used them as a makeshift cushion to rest. She was just too exhausted and sleepy.

Phoebe sat cross-legged on the bed with her eyes closed. Seeing them like that, the photographer who was live-streaming stepped out.

The comments just kept coming during the live broadcast.

Phoebe is incredible. She nailed every location accurately.

3:13 PM

Chapter 14

She made a map and took notes to find each place. She’s so dedicated.

I’m a fan of Phoebe now, I like how serious she is about her work.

She didn’t even take credit for it. Most people would’ve tried to show off, but not her.

Isn’t that what Sienna did in the other live stream?

I didn’t catch that live stream. Did they get anything in exchange!

Since the two teams were split up, the show had two live streams. If anyone worked alone, they would have their own live stream. That way, the audience could compare the two teams more easily.

Right now, Maddox’s fans were really annoyed.

I had two live streams on, and the other team had to go to a lot of houses before finding one that couldn’t say no to them.

Sienna helped them cook and managed to exchange a few eggs and a cabbage for their group.

Then Jamar and Reece praised her, and she kept saying that she had learned how to cook before coming here.

It’s like she’s afraid no one knows she worked really hard to learn.

She’s always hinting at her contribution, which is totally different from Phoebe.

I saw that old lady. She was almost unable to keep the smile on her face.

What’s up with that?

Labo saw this. “The old lady’s family wasn’t well off, but Sienna convinced her to let her help with cooking in exchange for food.”

But Sienna, who knew nothing of the sufferings of the world, whipped up three dishes and cleared out half of the food in the old lady’s fridge.

When she cooked, the old lady’s granddaughters did everything except putting the ingredients in the pot.

I could tell she didn’t like the old lady’s house at first, but she kept holding back in front of the camera.

Her fans kept saying that Sienna was so warm and hardworking, and I felt a little embarrassed watching her.

LOL, there’s one more embarrassing thing.

They found another family and helped take care of the baby in exchange for food.

But the originally well-behaved baby would be brought to tears by them, and Sienna couldn’t appease him.

I laughed so hard. Sienna tried to calm the baby down, but when the baby tried to hug her, and she dodged.

She seems so nice, but turns out she’s not a fan of kids. So fake.

Did they get anything in return?

Nope, they actually got kicked out by the baby’s grandma, who just got back from the farm.

Afterward, Sienna kept apologizing, and Jamar and Reece tried to comfort her.

Jamar felt bad for Sienna and tried to make her feel better by saying that the family had no manners and didn’t know how to be grateful.

I don’t get his logic. They made the baby cry. Why should the family be grateful!

Well, Jamar thinks that anyone who makes his sister suffer has issues.

I think Jamar has some serious sister-obsession issues. I sympathize with his future girlfriend.

If it hadn’t been for the comparison to Phoebe and the complaints from Maddox’s fans, Sienna’s performance would’ve won over a lot of people. But now, fans of other guests and onlookers felt like Sienna was trying a bit too hard.

Maddox and his crew were just chilling in the yard, watching Phoebe skillfully weave storage baskets out of reed stalks.

Phoebe had spotted a bunch of dried reed stalks in the yard, and with the production team’s permission, she snagged some to make storage baskets for clothes and stuff.

2/3

3:14 PM

Chapter 14

The other three were watching her with curiosity, shooting the breeze.

When Jamar and the others came back looking beat, they saw Phoebe’s team just lounging around, watching Phoebe weave like it was no big deal. That was when they felt the sudden urge to let out a curse or two.

Why are these guys just chilling while we’re busting our butts? they thought.

1:14 PM