The longed-for village system

Chapter 319 IU Arrives
"Teacher He, how much money do we have left?"

He Jiong has always managed the finances of the Mushroom House. He only knows that the production team gave them 3000 yuan after the last performance, but he doesn't know the exact amount now. They need to plan this money carefully so they don't squander it in just two or three episodes. Based on his understanding of the production team, a formidable character will definitely appear in the next two episodes.

If someone like Chen Chichi orders a Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, their 3000 yuan will be reduced by more than half, so even if you have money, you should save it.

"3010 yuan is fine, Teacher Huang, you can buy with confidence, we're not short of money." Teacher He acted like a tycoon, showing that people with money in their pockets are not worried.

In the end, Teacher Huang didn't go too far. The fish cost 20 yuan, the three boxes of tofu cost 6 yuan, the piece of meat cost 40 yuan, the eggplant cost 3 yuan, and all the other odds and ends added up to about 150 yuan, but it was still a very generous meal.

At the Mushroom House, Zhao Xiaogu, her sister, and Peng Peng were enjoying the breeze under the shed when they suddenly heard the sound of a suitcase being dragged not far away. The three of them turned around and saw a pretty figure walking towards them. Peng Peng immediately stood up and asked, "Excuse me, are you the guest who called earlier?"

"Oh? Hello, yes."

The figure paused for a moment upon hearing Peng Peng's call, then responded loudly to Peng Peng's words. Originally, it wanted to sneak in and scare everyone, but it was discovered before it even reached the entrance of the Mushroom House.

Upon hearing the reply, Pengpeng immediately got up and went out to greet them, while Zhao Xiaogu and her sister waited at the door, which was quite tactful in creating an opportunity for Pengpeng to be alone with her. Whether it would work out or not was up to fate.

"Hello, my name is Peng Peng. Can you give me your suitcase?" Peng Peng was delighted to see the female guest. She was indeed a great beauty!

However, he didn't recognize the beautiful woman in front of him, which made him a little strange. Given the current popularity of their show, it would be difficult for even second-tier artists in the industry to get a female celebrity. Even if he didn't know a second-tier or first-tier female celebrity, he would at least recognize her face. He seemed to have never seen this woman before. Could she be a relative who was forced in by the investors?

It's best not to mess with this woman. I don't have Brother Chen's abilities. If I offend those capitalists, I'm finished.

The beautiful woman in front of him probably never imagined that she would be rejected in Peng Peng's mind in just a moment. She smiled and greeted Peng Peng, "Hello Peng Peng, I am singer IU. Thank you for your help."

"No, let's go inside first! Teacher Huang, Teacher He, and Brother Chen went to buy groceries."

The two arrived at the entrance of the Mushroom House. Peng Peng pushed open the gate and went inside. Zhao Xiaogu was also completely unfamiliar with the woman in front of her. She was certain that the woman was not an actress. Even if she couldn't remember the names of first- or second-tier actresses, she must have seen them before. She guessed that the woman was a singer.

However, when the younger sister saw this woman, her eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "You must be IU! I've heard you sing before."

IU was surprised that someone in the Mushroom House recognized her. She thought that perhaps only Teacher He would recognize her. She didn't expect that the younger sister would even know her name. This calmed IU down a lot, as she was a little flustered because it was her first time participating in a variety show in China.

"Hello, seniors. I am IU, a singer from South Korea. I hope you will give me your guidance over the next two days."

IU bowed to the two immediately to greet them. Although the younger sister was younger than her, she was a child star and therefore considered the younger one, so she had to do the greeting. "Hello, welcome to China and to Mushroom House," Zhao Xiaogu, as the elder present and the hostess of the Mushroom House, naturally greeted them and invited IU to rest under the shed.

Although the three of them were very enthusiastic, IU was still a little reserved. However, it was understandable that she was nervous. It was her first time coming to China alone to participate in a variety show recording, and it was the most popular show at the moment. Even though she had been in the industry for many years, it was inevitable that she would be nervous.

"IU, your Chinese is really good! I thought you only spoke standard Chinese when you were singing! I didn't expect you to be so fluent and standard when you were communicating too." Seeing that IU was a little flustered, her younger sister tried to ease her embarrassment by starting a conversation.

“Yes! It’s really standard. When I answered the phone before, I thought you were from Jiangsu or Zhejiang! Your accent is a little similar to Brother Chen’s.” Peng Peng also nodded in acknowledgment of IU’s Chinese ability.

IU was very proud of the two people's praise. Chinese is recognized worldwide as one of the most difficult languages, and it took her several years of hard work to learn it. As for her accent, perhaps it's because her Chinese teacher was from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and she unconsciously imitated it while learning.

"Is my pronunciation okay? It took me several years to learn this. Chinese is really hard to speak. Many characters are the same, but they have different meanings when read. There are still many things I don't understand!" IU said with a troubled look on her face.

The others couldn't help but chuckle at IU's predicament. Indeed, let alone a foreigner like IU, even native Chinese people sometimes can't understand a sentence. The same words can have completely different meanings depending on the pronunciation, and even a different tone or intonation can convey vastly different meanings.

Just like table tennis and football, neither can beat the other, but they express two different meanings. This is the wonder of Chinese characters.

"Take your time. Learning is endless, and we're all still learning. You're already doing very well. At least you won't have any problems communicating with us," Zhao Xiaogu encouraged.

“Sister-in-law Xiaogu is right. Actually, there are many characters we don’t recognize either. Just like the poem with rare characters that Brother Chen wrote for my brother, there are many characters in it that we’ve never even seen before, let alone read. As long as we can communicate normally, it’s fine.” The younger sister nodded in agreement.

IU nodded in response to their encouragement and comfort, and looked at Peng Peng as she said, "I've heard that song with rare characters. It's very popular in South Korea. My Chinese teacher gave me the lyrics and I tried to learn them, but they're too difficult."

IU won't comment on Peng Peng's singing skills, saying they're just average. What she appreciates is the lyrics and melody of the song. The lyricist is amazing; he managed to combine so many obscure characters without making it sound awkward.

Later, she went online to look up all the information about Chen Qing, and she was completely shocked. It turned out that this person was a monster in human skin! In just a few months, he had written so many popular songs, and every single one of them was a masterpiece that could be a hit song.

The reason she chose to participate in "Longing for Life" this time was not only because the show was popular, but also because she wanted to meet this musician who is known as a prodigy. This was what she was most looking forward to. Unfortunately, he is out shopping now.

"Have the guests arrived? We're back."

Teacher He parked the car, picked up the bag, opened the gate, and walked in, speaking to the group.

(End of this chapter)