Chapter 18

On Weibo, many people joked about wanting to eat the pears planted by Ye Chen himself. Ye Chen scrolled through the comments, feeling gradually more lively. At this moment, Gu Qiu suddenly called.

Ye Chen had just finished styling, so he got up and walked to a secluded place to answer the phone.

“What does Shen Mofeng’s Weibo post about pears mean?” Gu Qiu asked suspiciously.

“I have a few pear trees at home,” Ye Chen said truthfully. “The pears were ripe, so I gave Shen Ge a bag.”

Gu Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. “So they’re real pears?”

Ye Chen was slightly surprised. “Well… what else could they be?”

Gu Qiu said, “Nothing.” He had thought it might be some kind of secret code for love…

Recently, Gu Qiu had been paying close attention to the movements of Shen and Ye CP, in order to control the timing and direction to prevent it from burning out. His way of thinking had been influenced by the sugar-coated girls.

Gu Qiu gave a few more instructions, essentially telling Ye Chen to seize this connection with Shen Mofeng, and if there was momentum, boldly ride along. His pragmatic words sounded somewhat harsh, and Ye Chen lightly furrowed his brow, but he didn’t argue. He just silently added a note of gratitude to Shen Mofeng in his mental accounts.

“Oh, by the way, Qiu Ge,” Ye Chen cleared his throat, his tone full of hidden meaning, “do you think Shen Ge was actually helping me advertise?”

“Of course,” Gu Qiu replied. “Do you know how much commercial value his Weibo posts have?”

After winning various awards, Shen Mofeng had become less obsessed with the artistic aspect of his work in the past two years. He had started to venture into big IP commercial films and no longer dismissed promotional activities. Therefore, his popularity had soared rapidly, making him undoubtedly a top-tier celebrity in various senses.

Ye Chen extended a toe towards the edge of his collapsing persona, coaxing gently, “But actually, Shen Ge was advertising my pears. He praised how delicious they are.”

Gu Qiu, alert, asked, “So? What are you trying to say?”

Ye Chen spoke vaguely, quickly adding, “So, I just casually mentioned… Do you think it would be good if I opened an online store to sell fruits? Many celebrities are opening online stores now. The company can invest in the initial stage, and I can manage it myself and split the profits with the company…”

Gu Qiu took a deep breath, tactfully, tactfully, and then tactfully asked, “You, selling fruits? Are you crazy?!”

Ye Chen felt wronged. “Just throwing out an idea.”

Gu Qiu said, “No, I mean, what’s going on with you lately? You…”

Ye Chen hesitated for a few seconds, unwilling to back down. He interrupted mysteriously, “I have a source of fruits and vegetables. You can’t even imagine how good the quality is. They are absolutely top-notch, fit for a state banquet, and definitely won’t ruin my image.”

Even if Ye Chen lacked commercial acumen, it was impossible for him to lose money by opening an online store to sell fruits and vegetables. After all, with a production speed ten times that of ordinary crops and impeccable quality, it would be difficult not to make a profit. 

Currently, although his farming was hard work and the output was not high, once he saved enough capital or convinced Gu Qiu to invest in buying a few large agricultural machinery, he could immediately expand the planting area on a large scale. At that time, he could teach the divine beast babies how to operate tractors, allowing them to lend a hand, and the fruit and vegetable output would increase in the blink of an eye. Then, he could sell through two channels: privately to earn immediate cash and publicly as a celebrity to accelerate the repayment of his debt of 140 million yuan, a win-win situation.

Ye Chen tirelessly persuaded, “What do you think, Qiu Ge? Actually, you could consider it. Other celebrities sell red wine, sell trendy brands, isn’t that also selling things? If you think fruits and vegetables are too low-end… how about precious Chinese herbs?”

Although growing precious Chinese herbs was profitable, the initial investment was large, and herbs could only be planted and supplied in large quantities. Establishing a stable supply-demand relationship with herb merchants was necessary since these were medicinal items and no one dared to accept sporadic quantities of unknown origin. Without investment, Ye Chen dared not think about it for now.

Gu Qiu felt his temples throbbing, feeling like he was about to have a brain hemorrhage. “Let me tell you, in four words, don’t even think about it!”

“And… what’s going on with you these past few months?” Gu Qiu gritted his teeth. “You definitely have something you’re hiding from me.”

Since the last time Ye Chen was arched down downhill by a pig on the reality show, he had become weird. Just a few things Gu Qiu had noticed were:

On the 25th of last month, Ye Chen brought his tablet to Gu Qiu’s office, didn’t do anything, and just ate Gu Qiu’s snacks while downloading over a hundred episodes of Peppa Pig. He couldn’t be chased away…

On the 19th of last month, Ye Chen ran up the stairs from the first floor to the twentieth, carrying a plastic bag, scavenging toilet paper from every men’s restroom on each floor. He only took ten squares of paper from each toilet, not letting anyone fall into the embarrassing situation of having no toilet paper to wipe their butts. Clearly, he was meticulous. When he was caught by Gu Qiu going to the bathroom on the twentieth floor, he was dumbfounded and claimed he was forced to steal toilet paper because he lost a bet…

On the 1st of last month, Ye Chen took a plane to another city for a shoot, buried his head in a Kindle throughout the entire flight. The first time Gu Qiu passed by Ye Chen to go to the bathroom, he found him reading “Comprehensive Tomato Cultivation Techniques.” The second time Gu Qiu passed by Ye Chen to go to the bathroom, he found him reading “Clever Tips for Preventing Sweet Potato Root Rot”…

…

This couldn’t be from being arched down by a pig, right?! Gu Qiu anxiously snapped a pen in half.

But compared to Ye Chen’s sudden full payment for the quadrangle, all of these were nothing…

Gu Qiu still remembered the scene more than a year ago when he first signed Ye Chen. At that time, Ye Chen was just a background actor on set, often covered in fake blood lying in the scorching sun for half a day. Gu Qiu was following up on other artists’ shooting projects at the time and had a keen eye for talent. He saw potential in Ye Chen, thinking that this kid had good looks and could endure hardship. He figured that with some packaging, he could probably become famous. That’s why he signed Ye Chen into the company…

Ye Chen didn’t look like someone with money at all, but recently, he quietly bought a quadrangle.

Changes in artists’ addresses couldn’t escape the company’s notice. Gu Qiu’s first reaction when he received this news was that Ye Chen was being kept by someone. Although the scale of this transaction was a bit large, Gu Qiu thought that with Ye Chen’s looks and that lovable charm, it was entirely possible for some rich old pervert to be captivated and lose their mind. However, when Gu Qiu asked Ye Chen to confirm, Ye Chen insisted that he wasn’t being kept and that he bought it with his own money.

Gu Qiu tried to persuade Ye Chen with emotion and reason, even threatening him with consequences, but Ye Chen’s stance remained unchanged.

Worried that Ye Chen might be up to something behind the company’s back, Gu Qiu secretly investigated through his connections for over a month, only to find that Ye Chen had no private appointments or any ambiguous social interactions. The most explosive information he obtained was that Ye Chen disguised himself and went to the farmers’ market to buy fertilizer and farming tools.

“… ” Gu Qiu was speechless as he looked at the candid photo of Ye Chen wearing a tattered jacket, rubber shoes, holding a sickle in his left hand, and carrying a bag of urea in his right hand.

There was indeed no clause in the contract prohibiting artists from growing vegetables at home…

Unable to find any leverage, Gu Qiu was frustrated. He questioned Ye Chen several times, “Did you buy that quadrangle with borrowed money? Are you farming to pay off debts?”

“Could it be, Qiu Ge, that the company didn’t offer me a place to live before? I didn’t need to borrow money to buy a house, and even if I did, I couldn’t afford something so expensive,” Ye Chen refuted with clear logic. “Besides… if I were short of money, why wouldn’t I ask you to get me more gigs?”

Gu Qiu thought about it and found some truth in Ye Chen’s words.

Unless some perverted tycoon spent hundreds of millions to keep a fresh-faced youngster just to admire him farming remotely…

After repeatedly warning Ye Chen to report any changes promptly, Gu Qiu reluctantly accepted this scenario.

But today, Gu Qiu’s long-suppressed confusion resurfaced.

“Ye Chen, I really feel like you’re short of money.” After pondering for a moment, Gu Qiu boldly speculated, “Is someone forcing you to buy that quadrangle and then forcing you to farm?”

…WTF, he guessed right! Ye Chen’s fingers tightened around his phone, and he chuckled dryly, “If I were being coerced, wouldn’t I have reported it to the police a long time ago? Qiu Ge, your imagination is something else… Besides, who would force me to farm? Are they crazy?”

Hearing Ye Chen call him crazy, Jing Ling incarnation app protested with a ding.

“I just…” Ye Chen lamented, “have a fetish for growing vegetables.”

Gu Qiu: “…”

“Why don’t you believe me, Qiu Ge?” Ye Chen’s tone was earnest. “My family really does have mines. When you signed me, didn’t you say I had a good appearance and temperament, and you wanted me to establish the persona of a noble young master…? Have you forgotten?”

Ye Chen abandoned his conscience and lied through his teeth, “That’s because I really am the young master of a mining company. Back then, in order to pursue the footsteps of my Shen Ge, I stubbornly refused to inherit the family business, had a falling out with my family, and had my living expenses cut off. That’s why I became a background actor.”

Gu Qiu was exasperated. “Didn’t you f*cking tell me last time that you became an actor to pursue your dreams in the entertainment industry? Which version are you going with now?”

After some consideration, Scammer Ye settled on the “Mouth Running Train Version 2.0″ of his fabricated story and reached a unified agreement with the previous media interviews: “…I am chasing after Shen Mofeng. Shen Mofeng is my dream.”

Chasing dreams in the entertainment industry, no problem.

“Alright, alright, forget I asked.” Gu Qiu pressed down on his throbbing temple, forcing himself to accept the scenario so as not to burst a blood vessel from frustration. “Anyway, forget about selling fruits or medicinal herbs. It doesn’t align with your image at all. Isn’t it ridiculous? The company won’t invest, and they won’t allow you to open a shop yourself!”

The large agricultural machinery was still nowhere in sight. Ye Chen sighed softly after hanging up the phone, then opened a webpage bookmarked on his phone and looked at it with the same burning desire a typical boy would have for a luxury sports car—a Lamborghini… tractor.

The Lamborghini Nitro, a top-of-the-line luxury tractor, had won the prestigious Golden Tractor for the Best Design award. Its headlights and contour lines were personally designed by the famous designer Giorgio Armani. With a DeutzTier4i engine and a purely mechanical 5-speed gearbox, the top-of-the-line VRT version cost over a million RMB. It was every farm boy’s dream.

Of course, Ye Chen was only admiring the Lamborghini tractor, but even a regular tractor, including various accessories, would cost tens of thousands. Currently, he couldn’t afford one.

Large agricultural machinery was a necessity. Even if Ye Chen became wealthy in the future and didn’t need to grow fruits and vegetables for a living, he could still use them for large-scale cultivation of legendary plants in the Mountain and Sea Realm Realm.

Save money slowly, step by step… Ye Chen clenched his fist, reluctantly closing the Lamborghini webpage.

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Today’s income: Traffic brought by Shen Ge…

The Lamborghini Nitro tractor does exist in reality. Interested friends can search for it to see. The appearance is indeed cool… Hahaha…

Gu Qiu and Xiao Gao are the bewildered duo around Chen Chen.

[Mini Theater]

After being together…

Ye Chen: Shen Ge, I want a Lamborghini… _(´ཀ`」 ∠)_

Shen Mofeng, pleased: Chen Chen has grown up, finally asking his husband for a sports car. 

Which one caught your eye?

Ye Chen sends a tractor: This one! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Shen Mo feng: …

TN:

The rich old pervert who enjoys watching Chen Chen farm might be a foreshadowing for Shen Mofeng💀.

I did not know Lamborghini made tractors before this😭. The Nitro goes for around $ 96,000 – $ 105,000

PS: Update schedule changed from 2 to 3 per week on M, W & F. You can join discord to get notified when chapters are updated.