The director of the "Flowers and Youth" production team was Li Chao, and at this very moment, he was coordinating with the airline company regarding the issue of overweight equipment.
This was considered a daily occurrence for a travel show production team.
Every time they took a plane, the production team had to spend a lot of money on this.
What he didn't expect was that Zhang Ruoyun and Mu Li came to find him at this time.
"How about it, Director? Consider it?" Zhang Ruoyun asked with a fawning smile.
As an experienced variety show director, Li Chao immediately understood—the variety show effect was here.
Li Chao raised his eyebrows and said, "What methods do you have?"
Zhang Ruoyun smiled and said, "Let's discuss the conditions first."
"What conditions?" Li Chao feigned confusion.
"Director, you see, your overweight baggage will cost at least fifty thousand yuan in overweight fees, won't it?" Zhang Ruoyun asked.
Li Chao nodded: "Roughly."
Zhang Ruoyun smiled and said, "You see, if this money goes to the airline company, they earn it. Wouldn't it be better to give it to us? We won't ask for much; for these fifty thousand yuan, we'll give you half off, twenty-five thousand. How does that sound?"
Li Chao stroked his chin, seemingly contemplating whether this deal was worthwhile.
If viewed purely as a business transaction, the production team would definitely benefit.
However, Li Chao was not only considering the business but also the entertainment value of the show.
If the guests had too much money, it would often diminish some of the entertainment value, as their show was previously known for its frugal budget.
"Twenty-five thousand isn't expensive," Li Chao said after a moment of consideration. "Divided among each of you, it's less than four thousand yuan extra, which is acceptable."
"No, no, no," Zhang Ruoyun shook his finger. "It's twenty-five thousand more for each stop. We have three stops in total this time, which means seventy-five thousand."
Li Chao's expression changed: "No way, that price is too high. If I give it to you, you'll have it too easy. At most, I'll give you a total of twenty-five thousand."
Zhang Ruoyun immediately refused: "Director, that's too little. An extra four thousand yuan per person, and we have to go to so many places. We won't be able to do anything at all."
After some thought, Li Chao said, "Alright then, I'll give you fifteen thousand more for each stop, totaling forty-five thousand. If that works, then it's fine."
A hint of hesitation appeared on Zhang Ruoyun's face, and he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, though it's less than expected, it's barely enough."
Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Mu Li also smiled and came over: "Director, let everyone put their equipment together."
Previously, Mu Li hadn't paid much attention to the equipment carried by the production team, but when it all piled up, Mu Li was a little startled.
It was like a small mountain.
No wonder the airline company had to charge so much for overweight baggage.
Mu Li didn't say much; he directly had Gengar collect all the equipment.
Throughout the entire process, Li Chao's gaze towards Gengar changed.
This wasn't Gengar!
This was clearly a mobile money bag!
If he had a Gengar like this, the production team would never have to worry about expenses.
It has to be said, Mu Li's move directly changed the entire production team's perception of him.
Poor life skills? What does that count for!
Mu Li could save money!
Putting aside everything else, just the cost of transporting this equipment, from cars to planes, back and forth between three regions, would be at least 500,000 yuan.
This also solved a problem in Li Chao's mind.
Not to mention anything else, with so much equipment, it took a lot of time each time, from taking it out to preparing it, and then packing it up after filming.
When they returned to the guests' side, the remaining guests were overjoyed.
The seven of them happily divided the extra funds.
Each person received an extra 2,000 yuan in pocket money, which meant they didn't have to be too frugal.
After everyone boarded the plane, they were almost too sleepy to function.
Among this group, except for Mu Li, everyone else had barely slept the night before.
The entire journey, including layovers, was 10 hours, which was enough time for everyone to rest.
There were no direct flights to the New Kapu Islands; one had to take a boat from the nearest city.
After ten hours, everyone finally arrived on the continent.
It was just getting dark there, and it would take another 2 hours for everyone to travel by boat.
Fortunately, Mu Li and Zhang Ruoyun found a local guide who had already arranged vehicles for pick-up and drop-off, so no other time was wasted along the way.
By the time they arrived, it was already 8 PM.
"Finally here, my whole body is numb from sitting," Song Ling'er couldn't help but stretch.
"Isn't that right?" Cai Ming also tried to stretch his body after getting out of the car. "A dozen hours of travel in one day, it's really exhausting!"
Fu Peiyao didn't complain, but instead comforted them: "Isn't that how traveling is? There are still places where we'll suffer ahead."
Everyone understood that they were out here for work, so it naturally couldn't compare to pure tourism.
Led by Mu Li and Zhang Ruoyun, everyone found the guesthouse they were going to stay in this time.
As soon as they entered, everyone's expressions turned a little sour.
"This guesthouse..." Zhang Ruoyun couldn't help but complain, "It's too different from the photos online."
Mu Li had also seen the photos of this guesthouse before.
It claimed a minimalist renovation style, luxurious modern design, with a total of four rooms, two bathrooms, and eight beds.
At the time, the two of them immediately decided and booked this room.
But they didn't expect that when they saw it in person, it was indeed a minimalist renovation style—there was nothing inside, just a sofa and a TV in the living room. How could it not be minimalist?
Of the four rooms, two didn't even have doors.
The bathrooms were enough, one inside a room and one outside, but they were incredibly small.
Even the beds were like that; it said eight beds, but in reality, there were only six single beds, and the remaining two beds needed to be assembled themselves.
"How are we supposed to live here?" Everyone had a bit of a headache.
However, it was clearly too late to change rooms temporarily.
Now was the peak tourist season for the New Kapu Islands, and coincidentally, the Kapu Islands' celebration was also happening these few days. On the entire island, let alone hotels and guesthouses, even many residents had rented out their rooms.
Even though this guesthouse was rundown, it still cost 2,000 yuan per night to rent.
"This..." Mu Li looked at Zhang Ruoyun, appearing somewhat helpless.
Zhang Ruoyun also shrugged helplessly.
Fu Peiyao, however, comforted them: "There's no other way right now. Why don't we just make do and stay for one night?"
Zhang Ruoyun echoed: "That's right, let's stay for one night, and tomorrow we'll try to ask other hotels or guesthouses to see if there are other options."
Cai Ming didn't say much; she had also lived through tough times before, so she didn't pay too much attention to the current situation.
Seeing that Cai Ming, the oldest, didn't say anything, Xin Zilei only complained a little verbally and then accepted the current situation.
As for Song Ling'er, she was even more indifferent; when she studied abroad previously, she had lived with other people, so she could barely accept the current conditions.
The three gentlemen were also not finicky people; they directly gave the two rooms with doors to the four ladies, and they would allocate the remaining two rooms among themselves.
"It's really hard on everyone," Mu Li and Zhang Ruoyun were clearly still very guilty; this matter was primarily their responsibility.
Just as Mu Li was about to have Gengar take out things for everyone to wash up and rest, someone suddenly knocked on the door.