Of course, the production team wouldn't offer help proactively; they'd wait for someone to personally ask. After all, providing assistance in a time of need is always better than adding to what's already plentiful.
Starting at noon, they drove for more than four hours on winding mountain roads. The Hua Shao Group still hadn't reached their destination for the day: a small town known as the "City of Beautiful Towers." (Picture in comments)
This was a necessary stop before heading to Tuscany, a place with endless vineyards and wheat fields, dense and majestic olive groves, and world-renowned beautiful nightscapes, wine, and ham.
After leaving Rome, the road ahead wasn't just highways; there were also many winding mountain roads. Coupled with the fact that the car was a manual transmission, not an automatic, Yi Xing's legs were starting to ache after such a long time.
As time passed, he grew increasingly anxious. Realizing that simply continuing to drive wasn't a solution, he looked for a place to pull over nearby to rest his legs and ask passersby for directions.
They stopped by a gas station, and the two older sisters in the back seat woke up. About an hour earlier, they had leaned their heads against the seats, closed their eyes, and fallen asleep.
Xu Qing rubbed her eyes and asked in a lazy voice, "Are we there yet?"
"Not yet. We're just stopping to rest and stretch. If anyone needs to use the restroom, now's your chance." Yi Xing answered the question as he opened the car door and headed towards the restroom sign.
After taking care of his needs, he stood at the sink and washed his hands. Looking at the slightly fatigued person in the mirror, he splashed cold water on his face, patted his cheeks, and adjusted his state. He didn't know how much longer they'd have to drive, so he couldn't afford to lose his energy now.
Walking back to the car, he picked up the map from the seat and started talking to the gas station attendant. He absolutely wouldn't ask the production team for help unless it was a last resort, because after "fleecing" them last time, who knew if they'd use this opportunity to get revenge.
"Hello, excuse me, could you tell me how to get here?" Yi Xing asked, pointing to a spot on the map.
But the other person acted as if he hadn't seen him, looking off into the distance, constantly checking for incoming cars.
"Hey, buddy, I'm talking to you! Why aren't you answering?"
"What place? I don't know. Don't ask me." Although he got a reply this time, the person didn't even glance at him.
Yi Xing, feeling a bit dejected after being rebuffed, took the map back to the others. Zhang Han came over and asked caringly, "Xiao Xing, how was it? Did you get the specific route?"
"No, he completely ignored me."
"Then what do we do?"
"Either we wait for someone to come get gas, or we grit our teeth and keep driving." He shrugged, offering two rather unreliable options.
Normally, a gas station should have other staff, but for some reason, there was only one person here. Even the cashier's counter in the convenience store was empty.
"We're heading in the right direction, aren't we?"
"That's right."
"Then we should be there soon. Let's just keep driving for now and ask people on the road later."
"I think that works."
The two quickly reached a consensus, returned to their respective driver's seats, and called for the five older sisters by the roadside to get in the car. They were about to set off again, and the occupants of each car remained unchanged from before.
"Xiao Xing, which way do we go next?"
"Keep driving straight and see if we can find other people to ask for directions."
"Alright."
...Another two hours passed, but even though Yi Xing had asked for specific directions, it was of no use.
The information gleaned from passersby was: drive about thirty kilometers ahead, there will be an exit ramp; follow the ramp, then continue for another fifty kilometers, you'll reach a crossroads, then turn right, and drive another ten-plus kilometers, and you'll be there.
He drove according to the instructions he had received. For the first part of the journey, he could estimate how far he had driven based on his speed and the surrounding road conditions.
But as the sky grew darker, the information he could see became scarcer, and he could only rely on guesswork. Moreover, there were too many crossroads along the way; he had no idea which one the passerby had referred to.
Long periods of uphill and downhill driving and gear changes caused the clutch of one of the cars to overheat a bit, and smoke started coming from the hood. Fortunately, their current location was on a main road, so they could pull over and rest.
Then, seven people appeared neatly squatting by the roadside, discussing which direction to continue after resting. After discussing for a long time, they still couldn't reach a conclusion.
Having no other option, the Hua Shao Group was forced to ask the production team for help. Yi Xing and Zheng Peipei walked to the car behind them and knocked on the window. As the person inside pressed a button, Director Liao's face appeared before him.
"What's up? If you have something to say, say it quickly."
"Director, can you get us a GPS? You don't want us to drive all day and you not get any footage, do you?"
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, no, we're still discussing it. We really need a GPS to guide us for the rest of the way. Is there anything we need to do?" Zheng Peipei continued in a friendly tone.
The two cooperated perfectly, one playing the bad cop, the other the good cop.
"Come in and talk." Director Liao had the person in the back open the car door, and Yi Xing and Zheng Peipei both got into the car. The production team's cars were all minivans, with enough space for negotiations.
After the car door closed, the atmosphere inside was a bit heavy. He leaned back in his seat, crossed his legs, and his gaze swept back and forth between the two. Now the roles were reversed; it was their turn to beg him.
"Getting a GPS isn't out of the question. We'll provide it to you in the form of a rental: 100 euros per hour, and any time less than an hour will be counted as a full hour."
"You might as well just rob us!" Yi Xing, keenly aware that he was playing the bad cop, spoke in an extremely agitated tone. One person only had 120 euros for the entire day, which wasn't even enough to rent it for two hours.
"Hey, what kind of talk is that? If you don't want it, you can just get out of the car."
"100 euros is too much, 30 euros at most."
"I can compromise, 80 euros."
"Xiao Xing, let's go." Zheng Peipei prepared to open the car door and take Yi Xing out. Spending so much money to rent a GPS, it would be better to just stubbornly hold out against the production team and see who could last longer.
"Don't go! 50 euros, no lower."
"Deal."
After getting the much-desired GPS, the smoking car had also cooled down sufficiently. The group returned to their cars and, following the voice prompts on the tablet, headed towards the small town.
After spending 100 euros, they finally reached their resting place for the night, a farmhouse. It was completely different from staying in a hotel, offering a sense of belonging like home. It seemed Zhang Han had done his homework diligently to find such a wonderful place.
There were all single and double rooms, and upstairs there was a charming small attic. After choosing their rooms, they moved their luggage from the cars. Yi Xing and Zhang Han, who had been driving all day, quickly got back to work.
The five older sisters immediately stood up from the living room chairs and went downstairs to help. Having done basically no strenuous work all day, they felt too awkward to sit comfortably.
With everyone's concerted efforts, they put their luggage into their rooms in five minutes. They cooked some noodles in the kitchen for a quick meal, then returned to their beds to relax properly and slept until the next day.