After hearing the game rules, the guests had different expressions. In particular, Liang Zhiwei's eyes suddenly lit up.
Originally, she had been very worried about whether she could play her part in this group. Although she had heard before that there might be a cooking segment, she was a bit nervous. She didn't know what kind of segment it would be. She was both worried that she wouldn't be useful and that she would steal the limelight from others.
Unexpectedly, it was about opening a restaurant in groups! Then in her group, she could play the most important role. Liang Zhiwei glanced at Chu Yanze, and her eyes became even brighter. There was also a hidden Sichuan cuisine chef here. This was definitely eye - catching. Even if she couldn't attract customers, Chu Yanze could.
Just as she finished thinking about these things, she saw Li Xunxi in the opposite group raise her hand without hesitation.
"Bet."
Liang Zhiwei was startled for a moment. Suddenly, she thought of something and turned to look at Gu Zhaoping. She remembered that Gu Zhaoping seemed to have graduated in business and law.
She asked carefully, "Sister Zhaoping, what do you think? Do you think we need to bet our chips?"
In this aspect, Gu Zhaoping should know more than the two of them.
Chu Yanze also turned to look over. Betting chips required taking out costs from their virtual funds. Although if they won the bet, they could increase the rate of return, it would also compress the initial costs. Whether it was renting a shop from the program team, purchasing kitchen utensils and ingredients in the early stage, or decorating the restaurant, all required virtual funds. If they bet too much, they might have some difficulties later.
Running the whole restaurant well was the most important thing.
Gu Zhaoping hadn't expressed her opinion yet.
Apart from their two groups, there was also a third group. The third group was relatively conservative. After discussing with each other, they didn't choose to bet on the outcome of the game. Instead, they used all their virtual funds to open a shop.
Li Xunxi first bet 5000, betting that her group would win. After a while, she took out another 5000 funds and bet that Gu Zhaoping's group would lose.
Liang Zhiwei was stunned. She saw that Chu Yanze's face also changed a bit, and the look in his eyes when looking at the other side was no longer kind.
It was okay to bet on her own group to win, but also betting on their group to lose. Was she clearly standing on the opposite side of them?
How could someone be so arrogant? Completely ignoring the decency between each other.
But for Li Xunxi, she really didn't have these concerns. As a wealthy young lady, she was spoiled and grew up. She had never been taught that she couldn't offend anyone. Even if there were such people, these few were not within the scope of those she couldn't offend.
Suddenly, the atmosphere between the two groups became tense. The other guests and the program team also looked over. Even the slowest ones could sense something was wrong between them.
Ruan Nian looked apologetically and said, "Sorry, Sister Zhaoping and Chu Yanze. Maybe we'll offend you this time."
However, Li Xunxi didn't even look at them. She pressed her finger on the chips she had given out, stared straight ahead at the blackboard without looking sideways, and said,
"What's there to apologize for? Originally, the game in this segment of the program is to rely on one's own ability. We can't not bet on them to lose just because they are in a weak position. With the ready - made chips right in front of us, if we don't try to get them, it's not the way of doing business at all."
Li Xunxi said it as a matter of course. Naturally, she had received family training in business.
This program was mainly to show the lives of the wealthy. So, the daily behaviors, business abilities of these wealthy members, including what they usually learned and the gold content of their degrees, were all taken into consideration.
Wasn't this segment just to show their business abilities?
To prevent the audience from not understanding how smart she was during the later broadcast, Li Xunxi turned to explain to Ruan Nian, "This is called the principle of risk hedging. After all, we have three groups. By betting on our group to win and their group to lose at the same time, the probability of our getting compensation is much greater."
Only then did Ruan Nian seem to be persuaded by her. She put away her guilty expression, turned back, and listened to Li Xunxi seriously with a cooperative look on her face.
The people in this group all heard these words, but Gu Zhaoping didn't care much about them.
Liang Zhiwei was not good at making decisions for others, so she always waited for Gu Zhaoping's opinion and just looked worriedly a few times. And Chu Yanze had always been cold - natured and indifferent to things that didn't concern him. He just sat there calmly without caring.
Whether intentionally or not, Ruan Nian still mentioned at this time, "Sister Xunxi, after all, Sister Zhaoping graduated in business. Her business ability should be very good, right? Shouldn't we be too careless? Is it okay to bet on them to lose like this? Will we lose money?"
Li Xunxi seemed to hear a joke. She had always disliked Gu Zhaoping because she thought Gu Zhaoping was a complete loser.
"Gu Zhaoping loses money every time she does business. As far as I've heard, several of the shops she opened have gone bankrupt. This time, I really'm afraid she'll make the audience laugh their heads off."
Li Xunxi looked full of disdain. With the support of the Gu family and Shen Yifeng leading the way, Gu Zhaoping was still so useless. In this program, she didn't believe that Gu Zhaoping could suddenly wake up.
It was also strange. Gu Zhaoping's younger brother, Gu Zhaoye, was so outstanding, but Gu Zhaoping was just like this.
"If they also bet on themselves to win, then I'll increase my bet. Gu Zhaoping is a top - level jinx. The more confident she is in herself, the more likely she is to mess things up."
Li Xunxi was chatting and laughing with Ruan Nian. At this time, Chu Yanze's face finally changed. He looked up coldly at them.
Ruan Nian was startled by his look. She was stunned for a moment and didn't understand why Chu Yanze would look at her like this. Weren't there always rumors that he was pursuing her?
Gu Zhaoping didn't know if she heard these words. She just looked at the chips in her hand, opened the envelope, pushed out two chips, and asked the director's team, "Can I take a look at the pricing of the shop costs first?"
Everyone else looked at the director, and the director quickly said, "Yes, you can."
They pushed out the poster full of pricing.
The three groups had different choices. They could choose a street stall, a street - front shop, or an office building in a business district. The costs were different.
The rental cost of a street stall was the lowest, with a daily rent of 20,000. The cost of a street - front shop was the highest. The rent plus the initial decoration and equipment costs needed 40,000, while the office building required 30,000.
Seeing that Gu Zhaoping didn't seem to be impulsive at all but went to understand the rent cost first, Li Xunxi and her brother were a bit surprised. They didn't expect Gu Zhaoping to be so calm now.
They temporarily stopped discussing who to bet on. Li Xunwen and Li Xunxi whispered to each other and thought that they either choose a street - facing storefront or an office building storefront. It was impossible for them to choose a mobile stall. After all, they still wanted to build a brand and take advantage of the brand effect.
The profit from a mobile stall was so low that it would be difficult to make much profit in the end.
Just then, while they were still discussing which one to rent, Gu Zhaoping pushed her chips forward again and said, "I bet 10,000 chips on our group to win."
Although her voice was not loud, it was unexpectedly clear and powerful. As soon as she finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
What? Just now, Li Xunxi's group only put out a total of 10,000 in funds, betting on both their own group to win and Gu Zhaoping's group to lose. Was Gu Zhaoping really going to bet 10,000 just on her own group to win?
Wasn't this just out of anger? Didn't she want to share the risk? There was a two - thirds chance that she would lose it all!
Moreover, the odds of her group winning were only 1.5. It didn't seem worth taking such a big risk for such a small return.
The members of Group 3 thought it wasn't worth it for Gu Zhaoping and felt sorry for her. At this time, the faces of Li Xunwen and Li Xunxi completely changed.
Just now, Li Xunxi had said that if Gu Zhaoping dared to bet on her own group to win, then she would increase her bet.
She didn't expect that Gu Zhaoping had heard her and really wanted to go against her. What did it mean? Did Gu Zhaoping want to drag her down even if it meant losing all her own money?
Sure enough, she was being impulsive. Li Xunxi held back her anger and looked down on Gu Zhaoping even more.
Originally, she wanted to hide the matter of increasing the bet since others hadn't heard her. But unexpectedly, Gu Zhaoping turned her head, gave her a casual look with a hint of a smile in her eyes, and then tilted her head and asked, "Are you going to increase the bet? How much?"
Gu Zhaoping's tone was calm, but it was really infuriating:
"You're not going to increase the bet less than what I've bet, are you? Since you look down on me, Li Xunxi, don't keep the odds the same as mine. That would be meaningless."
The smile on Li Xunxi's face disappeared in an instant, and her face even started to turn ashen.
She stared coldly at Gu Zhaoping and finally couldn't resist the provocation.
Ignoring Li Xunwen's advice to calm down and Ruan Nian's slightly panicked expression, she directly pushed out some more of her remaining chips and said, "Our group doesn't lack funds. We'll increase the bet by 10,000 to bet on the neighboring group to lose and another 10,000 to bet on our group to win."
This time, the whole room was in an uproar, and there was a burst of cheers.
In this way, Li Xunxi's group had spent a total of 30,000 on the bet, with a potential return of 15,000 if their group won and another 15,000 if Gu Zhaoping's group lost.
This was a completely irrational act!
In this case, even if Gu Zhaoping's group lost, Li Xunxi's group's odds would only be 1.67. But if Gu Zhaoping's group won, the odds would be 2.5.
Li Xunwen showed a pained expression on his face and was about to stop Li Xunxi from continuing. But unexpectedly, Li Xunxi just looked at Gu Zhaoping provocatively and said, "Gu Zhaoping, I've increased the bet. You're not going to back out, are you? You're not that much of a coward, are you?"
Li Xunwen's heart skipped a beat, and then he finally understood.
So his sister was planning for a lose - lose situation! Since Gu Zhaoping had provoked them, they couldn't just back down. Otherwise, they would lose their morale.
But with Gu Zhaoping's temper, she definitely wouldn't be able to resist Li Xunxi's provocation.
At this time, Chu Yanze, who had always looked calm, finally frowned and suddenly turned to look at them, with a hint of suppressed annoyance in his eyes.
Just as he was about to speak, a hand reached out and pressed on his shoulder. With just this one press, all his emotions subsided. Chu Yanze was slightly stunned and then calmed down.
"Not increasing the bet," Gu Zhaoping said.
Everyone had different expressions. Li Xunxi was even more incredulous and almost lost her composure. She barely managed to hold back from shouting in anger.
"What? You really aren't increasing the bet? Gu Zhaoping, didn't you want to compete with us? Are you such a coward?"
Li Xunxi was a bit on the verge of a breakdown. This was completely unexpected. If Gu Zhaoping didn't continue to increase the bet, she would really be in an awkward situation.
Their group was planning to rent either an office building or a street - facing storefront, and the cost was already high. Now they had spent 30,000 on the bet, and they would definitely be in a tight spot when it came to opening the store.
Seeing that Gu Zhaoping remained unmoved and even started to discuss other things with her group members, Li Xunxi deliberately said with a provoking tone:
"So this is the fiancée Shen Yifeng has. People are right. The only wrong thing he ever did in his life was choosing the wrong person for marriage."
"He can choose wrongly if he wants. Someone who can be chosen by him isn't a good person either."
Gu Zhaoping's tone was calm, and she didn't want to beat around the bush anymore. Her words left everyone stunned.
These words were completely unlike what Gu Zhaoping would usually say. Li Xunxi was shocked as if she had seen a ghost. How could Gu Zhaoping evaluate Shen Yifeng like this?
Li Xunxi was so angry that her face turned a bit green. What was Gu Zhaoping doing? How could she evaluate Shen Yifeng like this? Had she been scolded by Shen Yifeng recently and was this a result of love turning into hatred? Or was she just trying to attract Shen Yifeng's attention and gain some self - esteem?
Chu Yanze and Liang Zhiwei were also surprised.
Sister Zhaoping had always been very calm and generous in front of them. This was the first time they had seen her evaluate someone so rudely.
That fiancé must not be a good person. Chu Yanze had met him before and knew this clearly. Their expressions immediately became serious, and they started to fight back against the other group one after another:
"We've said we'll increase the bet. You should be able to play fair. Don't back out just because we've put out our chips. Are you afraid that the cost is too high and you'll lose?" Chu Yanze frowned. Usually looking cold and aloof, he didn't show any mercy when arguing, with a sarcastic tone.
"If you can't afford to put out the chips, don't make big statements. You've acted so high - and - mighty, but now you don't want to spend the money? The Li family is supposed to be a distinguished guest in the business world, but this kind of business ethics is really disgraceful and laughable."
Liang Zhiwei usually seemed gentle and soft - tempered, but at this time, she didn't stay silent either.
"I thought your group was confident of winning! If you're sure you'll win, then what does it matter how much more you bet? After all, it'll all come back to you in the end, right? Moreover, your group has two guests from wealthy families who have received a commercial education. With such a big advantage, the chance of winning should be quite high. Why are you worried? If necessary, you can just cut down on the costs. Didn't the program crew offer so many options?"
The tone was much softer, but it still left no room for negotiation.
One played the good cop and the other the bad cop, cornering Li Xunxi.
Just then, the director timidly asked her, "Ms. Li, do you think we should increase the bet?"
Should she increase it? Could she say no?
Li Xunxi had never backed down in such decision - making moments in her life. Moreover, this was a competition against Gu Zhaoping. How could she lose face?
Li Xunxi could only grit her teeth and say, "Let's increase it. It's no big deal. We can definitely cut down on the costs. Let's keep looking at the following options!"
Gu Zhaoping gave a soft laugh.
Now even Ruan Nian was a bit panicked. She kept counting the chips over and over again. They only had 70,000 yuan in principal left. No matter which storefront they rented, it would cost a lot.
She estimated that the cost of the storefront alone would be at least 20,000 to 40,000 yuan. And the ingredients definitely wouldn't be cheap either. She whispered a suggestion:
"Let's choose the street stall. It's convenient, and there's no need for renovation. We can start doing business soon. Also, with my fame, it'll be easy to attract customers on the street..."
Li Xunxi glanced at her, as if she had never considered this option at all. "I've never eaten food from a street stall."
Ruan Nian: "..."
She was really fed up with this young lady. You've never eaten? Well, fine, you've never eaten. But what does your normal life have to do with completing the task on the show?
Haven't you seen a pig run even if you've never eaten pork? They already had the least amount of principal left. And yet she didn't choose the lowest - cost option. Did she want to choose the street - facing storefront that cost a full 40,000 yuan?
Then there would only be 30,000 yuan left. She didn't think this 30,000 yuan would be enough for the subsequent operation, let alone the first - day maintenance, renovation, and ingredients!
Moreover, among the three of them, it was obvious that only she seemed to know how to cook. How could there be a restaurant with only one chef?
No, Ruan Nian watched as Li Xunwen and Li Xunxi excitedly discussed which was better, the office building or the street - facing storefront. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and her head started to spin.
It seemed that these two young master and young lady weren't the type to be good waiters. Maybe she would have to do all these things herself in the end. Would she have to cook the meals laboriously, then serve the dishes, collect the money, and even wash the dishes?
Ruan Nian couldn't believe it. She was a top - tier celebrity who had been popular for many years. She had never experienced being ignored instead of being the center of attention and being ordered around like this.
Suddenly, she began to regret it. Why did she team up with these two?
She should have chosen the third group. Although the popularity of that group wasn't very high, at least there were more normal people. And with four people, the tasks could definitely be shared.
Ruan Nian really regretted it.
The third group had been watching the dispute on this side. After witnessing this scene, they turned back and sighed with relief, "Fortunately, there are no conflicts in our group. We must cooperate with each other and control the costs!"
In this group, a young man with a handsome face and light - brown pupils looked up at Gu Zhaoping's group.
He had a clear and gentle look like the scenery of the southern water towns. His voice was as young as a teenager's, and when he spoke, there was a gentle tone, as if he had read a lot of books and was soaked in the fragrance of ink.
He seemed to want to say something, but finally he withdrew his gaze.
"Su Yubai, come and discuss your ideas."
His voice was clear and mellow. "Coming."
But later, his gaze still couldn't help but drift towards Gu Zhaoping's side. Several times, it seemed that he and Gu Zhaoping had some eye contact, but Gu Zhaoping still didn't stop looking at him.
Su Yubai seriously discussed with his group members which storefront to choose, but his mind was wandering absent - mindedly.
The emotions in his heart gradually sank.
Sister Zhaoping.
Do you really not remember me?
Why don't you even look at me once?
Is it because there are too many little boys around you?
I'm just an insignificant one.
The most insignificant one.
In Gu Zhaoping's group, the first one to notice this strange look was Chu Yanze.
During the discussion, he casually looked up and met Su Yubai's eyes. However, Su Yubai quickly nodded politely and then shifted his gaze.
After withdrawing his gaze, Chu Yanze said seriously to Gu Zhaoping beside him, "Sister Zhaoping, you make the decision. We'll all follow you."
"Okay." Gu Zhaoping was just being polite. She always thought she should make the decision. Most of the time, Gu Zhaoping had a strong sense of control.
Once she made a decision, others couldn't come up with any objections or meaningful ideas.
When Gu Zhaoping wanted to bet more chips just now, the other two didn't object at all. Obviously, she was the core decision - maker of their group.
"Have all the guests decided which storefront to choose?"
Su Yubai's group had just made their decision.
The director's group then added the rules, "Our rule is that each of the three groups must choose a different location. If two groups choose the same location, then they need to bid."
Did the bidding start from now?
They started to discuss again. At this time, only one group didn't think much and just said, "We choose the street - facing storefront."
The other groups all looked over in surprise. It was actually Gu Zhaoping who made this decision!
The director quickly picked up a microphone and asked,
"Ms. Gu, your group has already spent 10,000 yuan of the principal, and you have 90,000 yuan left. You don't have the most remaining principal among all the groups. If you choose the street - facing storefront, you may have to bear more costs. Are you sure you want to choose it?"
"I don't need to be asked again about the decisions I make. When I say it's definite, it's definite." Gu Zhaoping put down the envelope indifferently, and everyone else was instantly stunned.
The Li siblings from Group 2 had initially worried that Gu Zhaoping would choose the cheapest option—street stalls—thereby dragging down their overall costs. They had been sweating over it.
But to their surprise, Gu Zhaoping went straight for the most expensive choice.
They burst into laughter, their pressure instantly easing by several degrees.
"We’ll go with the office building," Li Xunxi declared. As for the remaining Group 3, their original plan had been the street stalls—they leaned toward a more conservative approach. With no one competing for it, they were both shocked and relieved.
Thank goodness, they thought. They’d ended up with two wealthy young ladies who hadn’t even considered the street stall option—perhaps because they disliked being too exposed in public.
And so, the planned bidding segment never even took off.
Even the director hadn’t expected their choices to diverge so smoothly. Scratching his head, he continued, "Next, please use your remaining funds to select the kitchenware you’ll need."
The props team brought out the kitchen equipment.
The moment they saw the prices, the Li siblings’ expressions changed again.
Seriously, what was the production team thinking? How could these items be so expensive?
Were they being messed with?
Still, the thought that Gu Zhaoping’s group had chosen the even pricier storefront location—and that their own costs were already high—made their frustration fade somewhat.
But Li Xunxi never could have anticipated what happened next.
Gu Zhaoping raised her placard again and announced, "Our group forfeits. We won’t be selecting anything."
Everyone froze.
It was only then that Liang Zhiwei finally couldn’t hold back her laughter.
She nearly burst out laughing right then and there.
During the prelude filming, the production team had provided some living expenses for the cast to purchase daily necessities before moving into the estate.
While the others had bought typical household items—skincare products, wellness supplies, and other consumables—only their group, following Liang Zhiwei’s lead, had stocked up on kitchenware!
