Fan Tianyu’s mouth, which had just twitched, twitched again as he asked, "So, have you figured it out yet?"
"Not at all."
"There’s a saying that practice brings out the truth. I think you should give it a try first. If there’s a problem, then you can think from a different angle to avoid being stuck at the starting point. But I guess you’re not that dumb—so what exactly are you struggling with?" Mei Mengzhen sincerely suggested.
Of course, the Ji brothers weren’t that dumb. They may not have eaten pork before but had seen pigs run; they hadn’t chopped wood but knew how to do it. However, there was such a big difference between knowing how to chop and actually chopping wood that both of them started to doubt their lives.
After using all their might, there was still no movement from the wood in front of them, so they could only stand there, deep in thought.
However, the two of them mulling over the wood became four with the addition of Mei Mengzhen and Fan Tianyu.
Mei Mengzhen glanced at the two and asked, "How about... I give it a try?"
Ji Ran advised, "Sister Zhenzhen, this firewood is tough to split. It seems like the method we saw on TV doesn’t work at all. We just tried it."
Mei Mengzhen frowned slightly, took the axe from Ji Ran’s hand, stepped back two steps, and chopped straight down. The log that had been placed in the middle of the four was split into two halves in an instant, falling towards Ji Ran and Ji Chengnan without any hesitation from start to finish.
This... was a bit awkward.
Ji Chengnan and Ji Ran looked at Mei Mengzhen in confusion. Where did you come from, and how did you split it so easily?
Mei Mengzhen also looked at the Ji brothers in confusion. Do you guys really have that little strength? She hadn’t even exerted much force.
From how Mei Mengzhen had just chopped the wood, it was clear that improper technique wasn’t the reason. Ultimately, it wasn’t because the two men hadn’t exerted enough strength.
Two men, neither stronger than a woman—how could that not be embarrassing?
It was simply super embarrassing.
The key point was that this embarrassing moment was captured by the camera. One day in the not-too-distant future, it would be broadcast on television, and then not just a few people would know about this incident.
Ji Chengnan’s face couldn’t help but show embarrassment, but he couldn’t let his persona collapse. He casually picked up the firewood that had fallen at his feet, placing it back in the center. He took the axe in hand and struck at the center of the wood with great force. The axe chopped down but then got stuck in the log and wouldn’t budge.
Mei Mengzhen said, "That’s right, just like that. Brother Chengnan, just give it a few more chops and it will split apart."
Following Mei Mengzhen’s instructions, Ji Chengnan lifted the axe and slashed down several times until the wood finally split in two. Ji Chengnan was thoroughly exhausted, and that was just from splitting one log in half, with over 30 more to go. So really, was his face saved or not?
Ji Chengnan felt somewhat despondent at the moment, fearing that his persona might be ruined by just one show.
Yet, that wasn’t the case. Before this show, Ji Chengnan had been too distant from his fans, but the variety show brought him closer to the people, earning him even more fans than before.
Since Ji Chengnan had chopped, Ji Ran naturally wanted to try as well. But when Ji Ran tried to chop, the wood in front of him wouldn’t split at all.
Ji Ran didn’t understand. "I clearly exerted my strength, but this firewood just won’t split."
Ji Chengnan knew in his heart that it wasn’t because the wood couldn’t be split, but that the strength they had used before was too little. Ji Ran, with his slender arms and legs, exerted even less strength, so it was not surprising that he couldn’t split the wood.
Fan Tianyu asked, "Do you need help?"
Ji Chengnan smiled and replied immediately, "No need."
However, a voice quicker than Ji Chengnan’s piped up—it was Ji Ran, who unabashedly and even eagerly said, "Yes."
One said yes, the other no, so which was it? Ji Chengnan’s smile became more awkward, "You’ve already completed your task. How about you go have breakfast first? We’ll try for a bit, and if it really doesn’t work, then you can help us."
"Okay."
Mei Mengzhen and Fan Tianyu walked towards the production team, picked up their breakfast, which was generous with porridge, eggs, and steamed buns. These items gave Mei Mengzhen fleeting illusion as if they were packed from a hotel, but the taste... was really quite mediocre. However, as long as it filled the stomach, they weren’t too choosy.
She and Fan Tianyu weren’t particularly hungry, each grabbed an egg, and ate while watching the Ji brothers beside them busy chopping wood.
Seeing this, Fan Tianyu suddenly understood why Mei Mengzhen had chosen the wood chopping task at first; she was looking out for the brothers. However, the brothers... it’s not that they weren’t appreciative, but they probably didn’t expect things to turn out like this.
Fan Tianyu speechlessly grabbed another egg and stuffed it into his mouth. The egg was a bit choking, so he took a sip of the porridge.
Mei Mengzhen glanced at him and asked, "You can still eat?"
Fan Tianyu composedly nodded, "What’s there not to eat? I always have a big appetite. A few buns in the morning are not enough; with these, it’s just right."
While Fan Tianyu remained composed, the Ji brothers hadn’t chopped much wood and were exhausted. Mei Mengzhen once again asked, "Are you sure you don’t need help? Why don’t you rest for a bit, wipe off some sweat? We can take over for you, and you can come back after a break."
Ji Chengnan, after chopping two pieces of firewood, was indeed tired and thus easily agreed.
Mei Mengzhen and Fan Tianyu wiped their hands and walked over to take the axes from the brothers. Ji Chengnan and Ji Ran took seats in the place Mei Mengzhen and her partner had just vacated, ready to insist that they didn’t need to trouble themselves, that they would take over soon, when the two newcomers began chopping wood with great vigor.
It was useless; they both had great strength and were now full, which made it seem almost effortless to split the firewood in half with each strike.
Initially, Mei Mengzhen was chopping while Fan Tianyu was positioning the logs. Later, Fan Tianyu took over the chopping, and Mei Mengzhen positioned the logs. The cousins worked together seamlessly, both showing the potential to be excellent workers.
In the dumbfounded gaze of the Ji brothers, the firewood was quickly chopped.
Ji Ran asked, "Brother Chengnan, am I seeing this correctly?"
Ji Chengnan coughed lightly and said, "No."
The task of chopping the 30 pieces of firewood didn’t take long to complete. After the wood was chopped, the Ji brothers couldn’t just let the others continue to stack it, so they quickly joined in, and soon, the task with the firewood was finally accomplished.