Chapter 71: The Birth of a Family - Ma Yan Village

The next morning, the family members got up early and headed to their destination...

Li Shenxing woke up ten minutes earlier than usual. After washing up, he woke up Hyori, who was still sound asleep, and pulled her, still groggy, to the bathroom. After she came out, he took their travel bags downstairs and placed them by the door before preparing breakfast.

Today's breakfast was very simple. He peeled the boiled eggs from last night, placed them in a bowl, poured two glasses of milk, and put a few slices of toast in the microwave to heat for one minute.

During this time, he washed a few fruits, dried them, and put them in a plastic bag for the car ride.

By the time he finished, Hyori had also washed up and come downstairs. He brought the heated milk and toast to the dining table, and they started eating breakfast.

After finishing breakfast and clearing the dishes, they received a call from Xiaoxie, who was already waiting downstairs.

Li Shenxing put on his backpack and took Hyori's luggage, while Hyori carried the shopping bag with food. They put on their canvas shoes and went downstairs.

As soon as they got downstairs, they saw the VJ holding a camera and filming them.

Li Shenxing nodded to the VJ and opened the car door, getting in first. Hyori followed and got in the back. There was a camera inside the car, facing the middle. After closing the door, Xiaoxie started the car.

In the car, besides Xiaoxie, there was a female assistant, Kang Hye-young. Xiao Zhu had already been transferred to S.M. Entertainment, and Hyori was sad about it for a few days.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Hye-young turned around and handed them two files. "Unnie, Shenxing Oppa, this is the script for the shoot."

After putting the luggage in place, Li Shenxing placed the bag with food in front and asked, "Xiaoxie, Hye-young, have you had breakfast? There are bread rolls in the shopping bag, help yourselves."

Hye-young smiled and replied, "Thank you, Shenxing Oppa, that's so nice! I haven't had breakfast yet, and I was thinking about where to buy something to eat. Now I don't have to." She then picked out two bread rolls, gave one to Xiaoxie, and started eating.

The script wasn't long, and Li Shenxing finished reading it quickly. Since the journey was long, he brought a game console, lowered his seat, and extended the footrest, lying back to play games to pass the time.

Hyori read through the plan a few times and then put it aside, starting to catch up on sleep.

Li Shenxing put an eye mask on her, placed a neck pillow to prevent her from getting a stiff neck, and reclined her seat. He then covered her with a blanket and continued playing games.

When they were about an hour away from the village, he woke Hyori up, gave her a wet wipe to freshen up, and then handed her a bottle of water.

"Have some water first," he said, and then to Xiaoxie, "Xiaoxie, stop at the next rest area so everyone can rest and have something to eat."

At the rest area, everyone got out to stretch their legs. They went to the restaurant in the rest area, which had many small shops, including coffee shops, pastry shops, and specialty stores, offering a wide variety of food.

They chose the popular cold noodles and udon at the rest area and sat down to eat.

After everyone had eaten and rested, Li Shenxing bought a few cans of iced coffee, and they continued their journey.

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Gangwon Province is located in the monsoon climate zone. Winters are continental, cold, and dry, while summers are influenced by the marine climate, hot, and rainy. Spring and autumn are mainly characterized by clear and dry weather. Additionally, Gangwon Province has a rich and diverse geographical environment with unique climatic conditions. The western region has a continental climate with significant seasonal temperature differences, experiencing severe cold and heat. In contrast, the coastal areas have a warm marine climate with little temperature variation and are relatively mild. The highland and mountainous areas are cold year-round with heavy snowfall, making them suitable for winter sports, and there are many winter sports facilities.

Gangwon Province boasts the cleanest natural environment and the most beautiful natural scenery in South Korea. Leveraging this, the province is dedicated to producing green food and developing tourism. It is the best place for leisure and tourism in South Korea, with over 300 tourist attractions. The province preserves unique traditional folk cultures, including the only silent mask play (pantomime) in the country, the Gwanno Mask Play, and the source of "Arirang," the Jeongseon Arirang.

Four-fifths of Gangwon Province is forested, producing wild vegetables and mushrooms. The region is rich in mineral resources, including iron, coal, tungsten, fluorite, and limestone. Industrial development has been supported by the use of hydroelectric and geothermal power. The area is also known for its abundant fish, particularly squid and cod.

The reason for choosing Gangwon Province as the first shooting location is primarily due to its proximity to Seoul, with a round trip of about four hours, making it a popular tourist destination with many leisure spots and famous attractions. The natural environment is excellent, with vast forests and rich mountain resources, including representative local specialties. The summer in Gangwon Province is beautiful, and many Koreans choose to vacation there during the summer, which is why the production team selected this location.

When Hyori arrived, Yoo Jae-suk, Daesung, and Kim Soo-roo were already waiting at the entrance of the hall.

"Brother Soo-roo, Brother Jae-suk," Li Shenxing got out of the car and greeted them with hugs.

"It's Shenxing! Welcome to our new son-in-law's first variety show, but your matching outfits are really eye-catching, aren't they?" Yoo Jae-suk patted his shoulder teasingly.

Today, Li Shenxing and Hyori were wearing the same white T-shirts with the same pattern.

Seeing Li Shenxing being teased by Yoo Jae-suk, Hyori defended him, "Brother Jae-suk, your turn is coming soon, hmm..."

Yoo Jae-suk smiled awkwardly and stopped teasing Li Shenxing.

Today's guest was Kim Dong-wan, born on November 21, 1979, in Seoul, South Korea. He is a Korean singer, actor, photographer, and a member of the boy band Shinhwa.

After everyone had gathered, Yoo Jae-suk asked, "PD Jang, how should we proceed now?"

PD Jang Jae-hyuk handed a piece of paper to Yoo Jae-suk and said, "This is a simple map drawn by the grandmother. Follow the map to her house."

Yoo Jae-suk took the map and opened it, and everyone gathered around.

Looking at the winding, staircase-like route on the map, Yoon Jong-shin said grandly, "Do we have to take a cloud ladder to get to the grandmother's house..."

Hyori pointed at the map and asked, "Do we have to follow this to find our way?"

"It feels more confusing than a treasure map," Li Shenxing also found it incomprehensible.

"Whatever, let's just go," Yoo Jae-suk waved his hand and led the way.

The countryside, far from the city's hustle and bustle, was quiet and fresh, with lush rice fields on both sides of the road and mountains covered in trees in the distance, giving a sense of being surrounded by nature.

When they reached a fork in the road, everyone looked at the map but couldn't figure out which direction to take.

"Brother Jae-suk, isn't there a phone number on the map?" Li Shenxing suggested.

"Oh! Right, I'll give her a call," Yoo Jae-suk took out his phone and dialed the number.

"Annyeonghaseyo~!" The grandmother's voice came through the phone.

Yoo Jae-suk immediately greeted her respectfully, "Hello! Grandmother, this is Yoo Jae-suk. We are at the stone bridge in the village. How do we get to your house?"

"The simple map is quite good. Just follow the map," the grandmother replied.

Hearing the grandmother's words, Yoo Jae-suk laughed helplessly.

"Okay, okay, we understand. See you soon," he said and hung up the phone.

Looking at the expectant faces, Yoo Jae-suk smiled and said, "The grandmother said the simple map is good and we should follow it."

"Ha ha ha..." Everyone was amused.

"Let's go, let's cross the bridge first."

After a long and winding journey, the family finally arrived at the grandmother's house, guided by the production team.

Four grandmothers were already waiting in the yard. Seeing Yoo Jae-suk and the others, they warmly welcomed them.

Besides recognizing Yoo Jae-suk, the grandmothers also recognized Hyori, as they often saw her on the packaging of commonly used food products.

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