I bet they all get their goods directly from the processing plant, right?
Holy crap! Where did this red-eyed monster come from?
The three groups of fans who were arguing in the comments section paused for a moment, silently let go of their hair, straightened their sleeves, and rushed over together to surround and attack the haters.
"Here it comes, here it comes again, the sour chicken is jumping around again! Go ahead and be sour, I'd rather hold onto my money and wait for Brother Xiaoman to come and fleece me than spend any money at your place! Hehehe..."
"Hilarious! Selling some mountain produce these days is considered 'harvesting leeks'? You might as well tell all the vegetable vendors at the market to stop selling vegetables, and you shouldn't buy from them either, or you'll get ripped off too!"
"Are all the haters these days so stupid? They don't know how to manage money. Go to the market and compare prices. The local new bamboo shoots haven't even hit the market yet. Last year's stock is still selling for 38 yuan a pound. Xiaoman's bamboo shoots are all freshly dried this year. Even if they're a little more expensive, I'm willing to buy them. It's none of your business!"
"I used to have to secretly hide my purchases of idol merchandise, but ever since I started following Xiaoman, my whole family loves the local honey and salted eggs I buy. Now even my parents are following Xiaoman. I don't understand what's so bad about it. If you can't afford it, just don't buy it. We won't laugh at you, lol~~"
"No way? You really think this is how you fleece your fans? Let me, an industry insider, tell you what fleecing your fans is all about! If Brother Xiaoman really wanted to fleece his fans, he should have done a pre-sale, buying back as many as they sold. That way, there would be no inventory pressure, and all the risk would be on the fans. That's the standard way to fleece your fans, okay?"
...
Jiang Xiaoman was deeply moved to see so many fans speaking up for her in the comments section.
Although he couldn't personally support his fans due to platform rules, Jiang Xiaoman decided that he would give his lovely fans a big treat during this live-streaming sales event!
Chapter 158
After more than half a month of rushing to complete the construction, the second and third floor lofts of Jiang Xiaoman's courier station have finally been fully renovated.
Because the house was originally a farmer's house, and because the production team had limited funds, Yan Xuanxuan did not purchase any fancy or impractical furniture and decorations when designing it.
There are seven guest rooms on the second floor and in the attic. The only valuable items are probably the bamboo and wood furniture in the four guest rooms on the second floor.
This was sponsored by Tang Xinlan's bamboo and wood furniture factory; it didn't cost her any money.
Considering that there is no running water in the rural area, the water used in Jiang Xiaoman's house has to be pumped from the well to the water tower using an electric pump. Therefore, the guest rooms on the second and third floors do not have private bathrooms, and there is only one public bathroom on the first floor.
This approach saves on renovation costs, as everyone knows that bathroom renovations are a major expense. Secondly, without a bathroom in the guest room, the space is more usable.
A bamboo and wood bed with a strong rural feel was placed in the room, and a brick platform was built next to the French windows. Two cushions and a small tea table were placed there. Through the window, you could see the stream and distant mountains. Breathing in the fresh air, even Jiang Xiaoman couldn't believe that such an elegant room only cost a few thousand yuan to decorate!
"Most of the expenses for decorating the guest rooms—the beds, diatomaceous earth, lighting, and curtains—were sponsored by brands that our program partners with. The rest was mainly labor costs," Yan Xuanxuan explained to him with a smile.
Designer Yan really understands the design needs of homestays. She didn't even overlook the corridors and passageways on the second and third floors. When building the walls, she specially asked the workers to leave many niches, some on the walls and some on the ground.
In the future, Jiang Xiaoman can place products from his online store in the niche on the wall, according to their size, and add a QR code. Customers can simply scan the code to place an order and have their purchases delivered directly to their homes. Perhaps the local specialties they bought will arrive before they even get home.
Floor-to-ceiling niches are even more practical. You can place some decorative potted plants directly inside the niche, and with the decorative lights on, the ambiance is instantly enhanced!
Another advantage of this floor-to-ceiling niche design is that it is very convenient to clean. You don't need to move the flower pots around. You can just drag the potted plants out of the niche every now and then and wipe the inside clean.
We conducted a brief interview in the best-lit attic on the third floor, and that concludes this episode.
Before leaving, the person in charge, An Miaomiao, somewhat embarrassedly hinted to Jiang Xiaoman that because their program wasn't very popular, it wasn't scheduled for prime time, with the premiere time being Friday night at 10 PM... She hoped that Jiang Xiaoman could do some pre-show promotion when filming videos recently, and see if she could get fans to support the ratings.
"Ten o'clock at night? Sure! I also have a live stream at eight o'clock on Friday night. I'll let you know when the live stream is almost over. But Director An, don't get your hopes up too high. Well, I think many of my fans probably don't even have a TV at home."
"Haha~ I understand! Everyone should just do their best." An Miaomiao laughed heartily.
After all, if her company hadn't given her cable TV subscription for free, she wouldn't have wanted to buy a TV, right?
Since nobody watches it normally, wouldn't it be better to spend the more than 300 yuan annual cable TV fee on a video streaming service?
Langshan Village is going to be on TV! And on a provincial TV program!
The news spread quickly throughout the surrounding area, and even the town's official WeChat account jumped on the bandwagon, sharing the provincial TV station's program preview in its Friday post to remind the town's residents not to forget to turn on their TVs on Friday night.
After all, it's quite rare for their town to be featured on a show, even if it's just a niche home renovation program.
Jiang Youliang cleaned the TV in his house until it was spotless early in the morning!
He even called all the neighbors living near his house to inform them, telling them not to forget to come and see the new house his son was building in the village at 10 p.m.
Rural people don't have much excitement to see all year round, so it's rare to encounter one, especially one that's on TV. The enthusiasm they feel is almost like a top celebrity being caught by a group of fans while shopping.
Just as the villagers were calling on their friends and family to contribute to Jiang Xiaoman's ratings, he himself was too nervous to care whether anyone was watching the show.
This was his first live stream where he purchased large quantities of mountain products.
The sales performance of this live stream will directly affect his future plans for purchasing local mountain products.
If his sales performance is good enough, he can continue to purchase various local products and specialties from across the town.
Conversely, if the sales performance is poor, he might stop accepting the offer after a few more days.
Otherwise, if he can't sell the goods he buys, and the rainy season comes, all the mountain produce in the house will get damp and moldy, and he will lose everything.
Fortunately, mountain produce cannot be sold directly after being picked from the mountain; it must be processed and dried.
Even with good weather, a batch of dried bamboo shoots will take at least a week to ship.
So Jiang Xiaoman at least has a buffer period to see how well this batch of mountain products sells.
If that doesn't work, next time someone comes to sell mountain produce, he'll accept it first, then tell them he won't buy it for the time being. That way, the villagers won't have worked for nothing, and he can minimize his losses as much as possible...
Having considered the worst-case scenario, Jiang Xiaoman was much calmer when the show officially started airing.
He remained calm for only fifteen minutes.
Looking at the little yellow cart that seemed to have been listed yet also seemed to have never been listed, Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but rub his eyes, leaned closer to the screen to refresh and see again. Well, his fans' fighting power was still fierce; two thousand catties of wild bamboo shoots were sold out in less than ten minutes...
Quick-fingered fans were secretly delighted and flooded the live chat with comments like "Successfully snagged it!"
Fans who were too slow to react were left bewildered.
"What's going on? Didn't Brother Xiaoman say there was plenty of stock this time? Is this all?"
"You call this sufficient stock? Brother Xiaoman, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'sufficient'?"
"Only 2000 jin? Brother Xiaoman, have you forgotten that you have over a million followers?"
"Ten minutes ago, I thought: I would only place an order if Brother Xiaoman could peel bamboo shoots on the spot."
"Me ten minutes later: Where are my dried bamboo shoots?"
"Hilarious! Haters are crying in the comments."
The show got off to a great start, which boosted Jiang Xiaoman's confidence. However, the reason he chose to put the dried bamboo shoots first was mainly to ride the wave of popularity. The local dried bamboo shoots were quite famous in the province, and he thought that even if netizens from other places didn't know how to eat them, local netizens would probably buy some after seeing them.
After all, this year's seasonal dried bamboo shoots haven't been available in large quantities yet, so this is a chance to enjoy the first batch of fresh ones.
The best-selling item set a good precedent, and next Jiang Xiaoman brought out dried bracken fern, which looked like a pile of wire after being dried and blackened. Bracken fern doesn't weigh much, and he was worried that some fans might buy it but not know how to cook it, thus wasting it. So, Chef Jiang Xiaoman thoughtfully prepared a "set meal" for his fans.
"The most common way we eat it here is stir-fried with cured pork and bracken. First, soak the dried bracken in warm water for several hours so that it won't be too tough to chew."
"Then wash the soaked bracken and cut it into sections. Cut the cured pork into strips. I'm using this kind of cured pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat. This way, the bracken will taste better when stir-fried. Don't throw away this piece of fat when you're cooking." Jiang Xiaoman showed the set meal he prepared to the camera.
A half-pound piece of cured pork, plus 200 grams of dried bracken, is priced at 28 yuan. Buy two and get free shipping nationwide.
Don't be fooled by the small quantity; after soaking, there's quite a lot of dried bracken fern. This handful, when soaked and combined with cured pork, can make two stir-fried dishes, which works out to only 14 yuan per dish!
Let alone cutting chives, if you really want to stir-fry a bunch of chives with a few free-range eggs, it would cost at least ten yuan, right?
Fans were speechless when they saw the price of the "Langshan Wild Bracken Dried Vegetables and Farmhouse Cured Pork" set meal newly listed on the shared bikes.
With this price and free shipping nationwide, are they really not losing money?
Seeing a barrage of comments expressing concern that he would lose everything, Jiang Xiaoman smiled and took the opportunity to thank the courier companies and towns that supported his charity event.
“Normally, we wouldn’t make much money at this price, but because this is a charity event to help farmers, the courier company gave us a special discount, so we were able to save a lot on the delivery fee.”
"And you don't know, this year, because fertilizers and seeds are going up in price, and it just so happens that students are starting school, many families in the mountains are having a hard time. I heard from the poverty alleviation cadres in our town that if my charity agricultural assistance activity can last for a month, many families in Langshan will be able to earn enough money to buy seeds, fertilizers, and piglets in the spring."
"Because of this, the town decided to reduce the cost of buying this land for me. Although it's only a partial reduction, it's already a huge help!"
"So don't worry about me losing everything. Actually, when you calculate it this way, I can still make a little profit."
Knowing that his fans were worried that he might go bankrupt building this house, Jiang Xiaoman felt warm inside. Remembering that he had promised the program team to do some advertising, he took the opportunity to mention that he had participated in the recording of the provincial TV station's "Old House, New Home" program.
"Hehe~ To celebrate my first appearance on the provincial TV station, at the end of tonight's live broadcast, I will draw seven lucky winners from the fans who placed orders tonight and give them a two-day trip to Langshan, where they will stay in the guest room upstairs in my house."
Holy crap!
Upon hearing this, even some fans who couldn't cook and hadn't originally planned to order local specialties couldn't help but be tempted.
Even Jiang Cancan's fans caught wind of this and started calling on their friends and family in various fan groups—
"Family! Don't miss this opportunity! Anyone want to visit Can Can's hometown?"
"That 'Rural Little Man' guy next door is having a giveaway tonight! Just place an order and you can buy anything. The winner gets a two-day trip to Langshan! It's right in Can Can's village! Ahhh!"
"Holy crap! Everyone, let's go!"
...
Jiang Xiaoman was diligently introducing the wild mushroom set meal when she suddenly noticed that the comments were refreshing much faster.
That's strange, it's not even available for purchase yet.
I looked up and waited! Wasn't there only a little over 20,000 people watching the live stream just now?
How did it suddenly become more than 50,000?
Is there a bug on the live streaming platform? How come the number of viewers suddenly jumped from 50,000 to 80,000?
Despite my doubts, the high viewership of the live stream is a good thing!
He was worried that he wouldn't be able to sell everything today, which would affect his later acquisition plans. But now that he sees so many people suddenly entering the live stream, he's determined to sell as much as possible, regardless of whether it's a system bug or not!
Jiang Xiaoman hung up more than 200 catties of wild mushrooms and more than 3,000 catties of dried bamboo shoots in one go.
Anyway, hanging it up first won't delay his explanation.
Looking at the script she had meticulously prepared for several nights of livestreaming, Jiang Xiaoman felt that all her hard work was probably going to be wasted again...
Chapter 159
Sure enough! As soon as he put them on the shelves, more than 200 kilograms of wild mushrooms and more than 3,000 kilograms of dried bamboo shoots were sold out instantly.
Jiang Xiaoman suspected that these fans might not have even seen clearly what he was selling.
Sigh! They've already bought it, we can't just keep it sitting there, that would be such a waste!
With that thought in mind, Jiang Xiaoman resignedly picked up the live-streaming script, which seemed to have lost its value, turned to the second to last page, and began to explain to her fans the common ways to eat the mountain products she was selling that night.