Lang Ying no longer cares at all about how unfortunate her former in-laws' family is now.
Instead of wasting her free time, she would be better off learning more from the teachers on the film crew.
Chapter 193
Just as the crew of "The Road to Brilliance" was working hard to catch up on the schedule in Langshan Village, Jiang Xiaoman finally received a call from Sun Zheyuan—
The large interview team organized by the Provincial Party Committee's Publicity Department is finally coming to Langshan!
"It wasn't supposed to be this fast. According to the original plan, our town was scheduled for next month. But we heard that director Liang Songyun's tribute film was being filmed in our town. Wasn't this a good opportunity to ride the wave of popularity? So we decided to adjust the interview order and interview us here first."
Sun Zheyuan briefly explained the whole story.
The key point implied to Jiang Xiaoman was that the interview team wanted to ride the coattails of the big director's new movie and hoped the village could cooperate.
How could he possibly make that decision?
Let alone him, even Lang Ying, who is currently filming on set, is not qualified to make an internationally renowned director listen to their arrangements!
"Director Sun, how about this? Let's pretend we don't know anything about this. Anyway, the film crew will be shooting here for another ten days or so. You can just bring the interview team over then. Our village is so small, the filming and interview locations from both sides will definitely overlap. How much we can interview depends on the reporters' own abilities."
"However, I think the production team will give the media this face, after all, it's free publicity, and so many media outlets have come at once, including some national-level ones. They want to ride on the production team's popularity, and maybe the production team also wants to get some free promotion?"
"That's right! Xiaoman, you're so quick-witted!" Sun Zheyuan suddenly realized.
Thinking about it carefully, Jiang Xiaoman's method is still the best. It doesn't offend either side, and it's not too deliberate. Just consider it as the interview team and the film crew bumping into each other.
Perhaps the director is acquainted with the media involved?
However, the thought that their town had simultaneously welcomed both a renowned director and a provincial-level interview team filled Sun Zheyuan with excitement, and he couldn't wait for the interview team to arrive tomorrow!
That's impossible.
There are so many advanced counties and districts in the province for rural revitalization, with plenty of impressive projects. Langshan is just benefiting from the achievements of its predecessors. Because it is an old revolutionary base area, even though it doesn't have any impressive projects, it has barely managed to get a name on the list and secure a spot.
Fortunately, there's still the tribute film "The Road to Glory" to ride the wave of popularity!
Thinking of this, Sun Zheyuan immediately stood up. Before the town market closed, he bought two pieces of local pork, three large black carp, half a bucket of crayfish, and gritted his teeth to buy two packs of good cigarettes that he usually couldn't afford. Then he waved down a minivan and hurriedly headed to Langshan Village.
When they arrived in the village, the film crew was still shooting. Jiang Xiaoman, along with Shan Ying and another sister-in-law, were preparing the crew's meals for the day.
The crew originally planned to ask two local aunties to help cook when they arrived in the area, since this wasn't a film studio and they couldn't find a restaurant even if they wanted to order boxed meals.
Unexpectedly, after eating the food cooked by Jiang Xiaoman, director Liang Songyun immediately gave up the idea of hiring a housekeeper and asked Jiang Xiaoman if she could take over the catering for the crew during filming.
These past few days, because the film crew had been using a lot of space in the village for shooting, the villagers had been going to watch the excitement every day and had no interest in drying vegetables to sell. Jiang Xiaoman didn't have much business here, and she wanted to give the director some face, so she thought about it and agreed.
The crew that moved to this location to film consisted of more than 60 people, including actors, directors, and staff. Including their own people, it meant that at least 80 boxed meals had to be prepared for each meal.
Most people would probably be in a lot of trouble for a while, but Jiang Xiaoman is different; he has experience!
After all, university canteens are responsible for feeding thousands of students every day, and they are the most professional in cooking large quantities of food!
Using the skills she learned while working odd jobs in the university cafeteria, Jiang Xiaoman quickly arranged the division of labor.
In the morning, he would first go to town to buy the meat, eggs, fish, shrimp, and other ingredients he needed for the day. He would buy vegetables in the village, which would also help support the businesses of the elderly living alone in the village (except for Lang Ying's former parents-in-law).
In the morning, after the aunts and sisters-in-law who came to help had finished arranging the housework, I came over to help wash and pick vegetables and process the ingredients.
At ten o'clock, he started steaming rice and cooking dishes; at eleven o'clock sharp, he packed the food. While packing the food, he moved but the food didn't move. The cooked food was put into a large basin and lined up in a row. The group of them carried lunchboxes and walked forward one by one. After packing the food, they covered it and put it in a styrofoam box, then went back to pack the next meal...
This is the fastest way to serve food, and there are people watching over you from the front and back, so you won't miss any dishes because you're lazy.
The crew had visited so many film and television bases, but they never expected that the best boxed lunches would be found in a small mountain village where even small restaurants were hard to find.
Jiang Xiaoman's boxed meals are not only plentiful and filling, but also taste exceptionally good.
Unlike some of the takeout food ordered from film studios, which is either bland or so salty it's almost unbearable, Jiang Xiaoman's dishes are refreshing. The vegetables are light and crisp, and the pickled vegetables are tangy and spicy. Dishes like braised pork with preserved mustard greens, steamed pork with rice flour, braised chicken with potatoes, and sour fish soup taste even better than some of the local restaurants they eat in the city if you don't look at the food boxes!
The funny thing is, some of the crew members were craving something sweet and, not satisfied with the boxed lunches, came to ask Brother Xiaoman if he could cook them a special meal.
They were willing to spend extra money to have Jiang Xiaoman cook them a pot of braised chicken with potatoes or braised pork with preserved vegetables.
Jiang Xiaoman also felt that this was a good opportunity for her sisters-in-law to train. After asking the director privately and learning that the crew would not prohibit employees from having their own meals, she simply printed out some "takeout orders" and sent them out when delivering the boxed lunches.
The takeout order has three columns: main dishes, side dishes, and side dishes and drinks.
Staple foods include braised pork and potato rice and corn rice. For those who cannot eat staple foods due to weight control, there are also meal replacements such as boiled corn, steamed sweet potatoes, and roasted potatoes.
The dishes are all local home-style dishes, such as stewed cured pork with bamboo shoots, braised chicken with potatoes, braised duck with konjac tofu, braised pork belly with radish, spinach with sesame oil, and stir-fried bok choy. There are usually many dried vegetables to eat this season, but who can blame them when the H province emptied out all the dried vegetables in their village?
Although the villagers of Langshan Village made a fortune selling dried and fresh vegetables this year, they still didn't have any dried vegetables to eat for the Chinese New Year o(╥﹏╥)o
Jiang Xiaoman bought the dried bamboo shoots and dried plum vegetables she used for cooking herself from the town.
Fortunately, a new batch of vegetables was pickled after winter set in, and his convenience store could also provide some drinks and alcohol, which was enough to meet the needs of the film crew.
The crew, who originally thought they were going to follow the director to the remote mountains to "reminisce about the past and appreciate the present," never expected to encounter Jiang Xiaoman, a hidden rural culinary genius. In less than half a month, the crew members gained more than three pounds each...
The actors were incredibly envious; they wanted to eat it too, but the director wouldn't let them. o(╥﹏╥)o
Want to eat? After filming wraps up, those of you who aren't filming can stay in Langshan Village and eat your fill!
Liang Songyun was clearly just saying it in anger, but he didn't expect anyone to take it seriously. Looking at his own scenes, it seemed that there were no more scenes after Langshan Village. He quickly and efficiently booked a room at Jiang Xiaoman's house!
What? The rooms above the village's courier station are all booked? There are still rooms up in the mountains!
Jiang Xiaoman originally wanted to do a good job in providing logistical support for the film crew so that the wealthy crew could mention the name of their Langshan Village in the later promotion. Unexpectedly, because the logistics were done so well, he earned tens of thousands of yuan in just half a month from guest rooms and catering!
No wonder some film studios have gone public; they're so profitable, how could they not go public?
He would never dare to dream of going public, but the lady in charge of publicity for the film crew had already privately assured him that when their group started promoting, they would definitely include the name of their Langshan Village!
Anyway, the script was written by the young lady, and she didn't make anything up. Besides, the production team originally chose Langshan as the location to take advantage of the old district's reputation... It's a win-win situation for both sides!
The PR lady would never admit that Xiaoman promised to make her two jars of Langshan's special spicy and sour radish pickles afterward... How come she never gets tired of these radish pickles?
Just like the publicity team, actor Jiang Yuan was also reluctant to leave Langshan.
However, he wasn't after the local delicacies of Langshan Mountain, but rather because it had actually cured his long-standing insomnia!
The actor, who is seen as a highly skilled and dedicated actor, actually suffers from depression and insomnia at a young age due to his excessively high self-expectations. As a result, he can only film 1-2 dramas a year now, and spends the rest of his time in a quiet place to recuperate.
Industry insiders praise him for being low-key and cherishing his reputation. It is rumored that only exceptionally good scripts can catch the eye of this award-winning actor. Scripts that are just for easy money or to promote newcomers are simply not sent to him. Those who dare to try and get a "tentative invitation" will be chased and scolded by Jiang Yuan's fans for at least a week!
Boycott freebies and rip-offs!
Jiang Yuan used to complain that China was too noisy, so he would secretly go abroad during his breaks. He would either go to the socially awkward Nordic countries or find a small island in Australia to hide away. As a result, his colleagues published articles subtly criticizing him for being a Western worshipper.
In all honesty, he simply couldn't find a place in the country where he could live in seclusion.
However, now there is...
When the film crew came to Jiang Xiaoman's house to shoot scenes, Jiang Yuan asked his assistant to book two months' worth of rooms at the Zen retreat guesthouse next to Jiang's house!
After filming this movie, he didn't want to go out until the Chinese New Year. He stayed deep in Langshan Mountain, raising pigs, feeding chickens, and meditating. If it weren't for the various award ceremonies and galas at the end of the year that required him to appear as a tool, Jiang Yuan would have even thought about buying a house here and settling down!
Just as the film crew moved up the mountain to shoot the scene of potato planting, Sun Zheyuan had already arrived at the village committee with an interview team organized by the province.
Jiang Xiaoman had no choice but to ask Shan Ying and the others to help prepare today's lunchbox, because the interview team wanted to interview him first.
He also specifically requested to visit his rural express delivery station.
It seems that apart from his courier station, there is nothing else of a "real economy" to visit in their village for the time being.
Oh, and there's also a small tea processing workshop, which is still under construction.
When Jiang Xiaoman arrived at the village committee, she realized that what Director Sun had said was not an exaggeration at all. The largest meeting room in the village was already packed with people, all listening to the village head Jiang Youtian give a report.
Jiang Youtian's article was written with the help of the town's propaganda officer. It sounded like someone who had passed the civil service exam, and his perspective was particularly high, making the reporters drowsy.
Fortunately, the meeting was short. After leaving the village committee, everyone followed Jiang Xiaoman to visit his express delivery station.
"Our village has too few people, so we didn't meet the requirements for applying for a courier station. But because **courier company has special support policies for rural revitalization, we were able to apply and they even waived our franchise fee." With nothing else to do on the road, Jiang Xiaoman took the opportunity to advertise for her partner.
Unexpectedly, a reporter had noted this point down. Jiang Xiaoman secretly looked at the name tags of these media outlets, which showed that they were all organizations like **Traffic News and Traffic Radio, presumably because express delivery and logistics were also within their reporting scope.
A reporter also took the opportunity to ask him how many packages he sends and receives on average each month.
Jiang Xiaoman thought for a moment and then gave two numbers, which made the reporters gasp: "Your village must have quite a few express delivery orders!"
"The main reason is that most of the young and middle-aged people in our village work in other places and rarely come back once a year. Sometimes when they need something at home, they order it online and fill in the village address directly. This saves them the cost of express delivery compared to buying it themselves and having it sent over."
Actually, when we entered the village earlier, everyone had already seen Jiang Xiaoman's courier station. Now that we got closer, we were surprised to find that the interior decoration was better than many courier stations in the city.
Before Jiang Xiaoman could even come out to explain, a reporter from the provincial television station accompanying her started advertising for their own station.
"Speaking of which, this express delivery station in Langshan Village has quite a connection with our station. If I remember correctly, Xiaoman signed up for our station's 'Old Houses Get New Homes' program. After the express delivery station was renovated, it became a local hot topic because it looked so good, and the number of clicks was extremely high!"
Jiang Xiaoman nodded in agreement: "The departments at all levels in our province are very supportive of the rural revitalization cause!"
This sentence is truly the finishing touch!
Not only did the provincial propaganda department leader leading the team nod in approval, but the accompanying reporters also noted down this remark.
After all, no matter how good the official publicity is, it's not as convincing as Jiang Xiaoman's personal testimony!
The old village chief, who was following behind and couldn't utter a single word, almost wanted to snatch Jiang Xiaoman away to succeed him as the next village chief.
Look how eloquent this child is! He's not at all shy when talking to high-ranking provincial leaders.
It seems that children in rural areas still need to study more!
Look at Xiaoman. If she hadn't gone to university, would she be able to speak such fluent official jargon?
Chapter 194
After exchanging pleasantries, the leaders decided to first visit Jiang Xiaoman's express delivery station.
After a period of trial operation, Jiang Xiaoman later changed the original decoration layout.
When he applied for a business license, he was told that food businesses cannot be located near courier stations, as this would make the food susceptible to contamination by germs carried by courier packages.
Therefore, modern express delivery stations are actually divided into four functional areas—
Next to the courtyard, two and a half side rooms were built with bricks and tiles: one kitchen, one staff canteen, and the other half used to store firewood.
Rural areas are different from cities; they haven't been connected to natural gas pipelines yet. Using gas stoves would be too expensive and also pose certain dangers. Therefore, express delivery stations still mainly use traditional wood-burning stoves, supplemented by small appliances such as induction cookers and rice cookers provided by partner brands. These appliances can basically meet the daily cooking needs.
After entering, there are two rooms, one in front and one in back. The front room is a courier station, and the back room is where Jiang Xiaoman sleeps and a shared restroom.