After Jiang Xiaoman's influence in the village increased, Jiang Baichuan's status as his uncle also rose accordingly. Previously, the village had only tacitly allowed the school to cultivate some vegetables on the small hill in its backyard. However, after Jiang Xiaoman started leading the whole village to do business and make money, the village simply gave the small hill to the school as well.
Just then, Jiang Baichuan also wanted to improve the school's labor course according to the teaching syllabus, so he fenced off a piece of land on the back mountain and used the leftover bricks and cement from building houses to build six pigsties in two rows, as well as six chicken coops and six rabbit cages.
"We plan to gradually offer courses on raising livestock and poultry to students, based on the teaching syllabus."
"This vegetable garden next door will be left to our teachers to take care of in the future. The responsibility fields in the school will be the responsibility of the students themselves, divided into classes, for planting in spring and harvesting in autumn throughout the year."
"We can send the harvested fruits and vegetables to the school cafeteria to eat ourselves, and we can use the leftovers to feed the pigs, chickens and rabbits."
"In this way, we can complete our coursework, provide the school cafeteria with fresh vegetables and necessary meat and eggs, and use the savings in food expenses at the end of the semester to buy paper, pens, notebooks and other items as rewards for our classmates."
Seeing how meticulously Jiang Baichuan had arranged the school's teaching tasks, the leaders of the Education Bureau nodded with satisfaction, while the reporters from the education sector excitedly snapped photos, practically shoving their microphones into Jiang Baichuan's mouth.
The city is always clamoring for the all-round development of physical education and labor, but in the end, it's just about parents taking photos, checking in, and having fun.
Look at Langshan Primary School. It's just a village-run primary school with tight funding, yet it's far ahead of those key primary schools in this respect!
They've divided livestock and poultry farming into several different breeds! From planting to raising, they've arranged the entire process! They make sure students are self-sufficient—that's what a true labor education is all about!
Looking at the lush vegetable garden in front of him, and then at the neat and uniform poultry and livestock pens on the mountain, others were fine, but Jiang Chuan, the producer of J Province TV station, had a sudden inspiration and was instantly inspired to create a new program!
In the past two years, variety shows on the theme of rural revitalization have gradually become popular. Their station is also preparing to launch a variety show on this theme. However, looking at the previous similar programs, many of them are just superficial. They find a group of celebrities to pretend to experience rural life, but in reality, they eat and stay in guesthouses. They play guitar and hold rural concerts when they have nothing to do. Although they have a lot of viewers, they always feel that something is missing.
Looking at Principal Jiang's labor class arrangements now, Jiang Chuan suddenly realized: Isn't it precisely the lack of this genuine sense of participation that's the problem?
You only know that in order to create an atmosphere, the production team rented a farmhouse and kept a dog or a cat. Although it does have cute pet elements and is very attractive to fans, think about it from another perspective: why do rural people keep cats and dogs?
They didn't even want to pet cats and dogs!
I keep cats to catch mice!
I keep a dog to guard my home...
There's also pig farming. It's not just about putting a small miniature pig in the yard and making a fruit platter for it. Principal Jiang told me that the students at the school are assigned to raise pigs, and they also have to take turns cutting pig feed, cooking pig feed, and finding ways to sell vegetables to earn money to vaccinate the pigs... This is what real rural life is like, isn't it?
It's decided! Let J Province TV station start the most brutal and realistic "rural survival documentary" in history!
Around 10 a.m., the main group participating in the event was about to return to the city, but several people from J Province TV station volunteered to stay.
However, the cunning producer had no intention of sharing his new show ideas with his peers. Instead, he hypocritically claimed that his team had just finished a show and that everyone from the producer to the staff was exhausted. Seeing how tranquil Langshan Village was, he planned to bring his staff here for a short break, which could also be considered a team building activity for the department.
Colleagues from other TV stations couldn't help but show expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
No wonder my colleagues are all trying their best to get into a big station like J Province TV Station. Look at their benefits! After finishing a program, the whole department can go on a paid vacation!
The truth is—
No sooner had his colleagues left than producer Jiang Chuan ruthlessly began to enslave them.
The scriptwriter hasn't arrived yet, right? Then let the print reporter step in and help gather script materials!
That photographer, don't just sit there! Go and photograph every corner of Langshan Village! That will help us plan the program segments based on the village's layout later!
And a driver... never mind, the mountain road is too rugged to drive on, so we don't need you for now. Come with me and carry the luggage to Jiang Xiaoman's house for a field trip!
Colleagues: "..."
No, what happened to the promise of caring about our physical and mental health and the special recuperation and rest arrangements?
As expected, the producer and the capitalists are in cahoots!
You all have no heart!
Jiang Chuan didn't care about his colleagues' eye-rolling, and they were right—this new show, still in its infancy and without a script, was actually invested in by his brother-in-law!
He dares to let his brother-in-law lose money? Then he can forget about going home; his sister will beat him to death!
"What? A TV station wants to film a variety show in our village?"
Jiang Xiaoman was shocked when she heard Jiang Chuan's words.
This is J Province TV Station!
How popular was the show "Youth" back then?
It's no exaggeration to say that the production team filmed in Langshan once, and one of the wildly popular contestants was from their village. Even he, a self-taught food blogger, gained a lot of followers. Later, the school incident was resolved smoothly, which was undoubtedly due to the show's huge influence, even attracting the attention of the authorities.
Now the director—no, the producer—is saying that the TV station plans to film a variety show in their village that will last for more than ten episodes? Doesn't that mean they've piggybacked on the show's popularity and will be able to stay on TV and even trending topics for months?
Such a good thing—no, such a big thing—you shouldn't be asking me! Hurry up! Go and bring the deputy mayor back! The city will definitely give you strong support!
“The city sent our station leaders to negotiate. I just need to film our village well. Xiaoman, this is what I’m thinking. I want you, Sister Langying, Principal Baichuan, and Brother Xiaoyu to be our program’s mentors for helping farmers.”
"What? Me? My mentor?" Jiang Xiaoman stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Although he is currently the most educated person in Langshan Village, "agricultural mentor"? It sounds more like someone who teaches people how to farm. Shouldn't they invite some experienced farmers like his father?
“No! Times have changed. I’m sure you’ve felt this deeply since you returned to your hometown to start a business recently,” Jiang Chuan explained with a smile.
“In our generation, as long as we had good skills and experience, we never had to worry about going hungry. But things are different now. If we want to lead our fellow villagers out of poverty and into prosperity through farming, having skills alone is not enough…”
“That’s true.” Jiang Xiaoman nodded in agreement. Otherwise, why would all the tea farmers in Langshan have failed? They worked so hard to grow the tea leaves, but they couldn’t sell them after picking them. This wasn’t something that skill or experience could solve.
"I've thought it through. This time, we're not going to do the traditional variety show about a leisurely, slow-paced life! If we're going to do something, we'll do something big!" Jiang Chuan waved his fist, as if he wanted to smash some kind of feudal society with one punch.
It's kind of scary.
Could it be that it's been possessed by something strange?
Sigh, his father was right. In remote mountain areas like theirs, they still need a shaman. Otherwise, if they encounter something beyond the realm of science, they'll always feel uneasy...
Why don't we make a video call to Jiang Xia and ask him to perform an exorcism for the producer remotely?
Chapter 223
As it turns out, the producer wasn't possessed by a "good friend"; he was simply moved by the positive and striving spirit of the young people of Langshan.
"Xiaoman! Believe me, after the show airs, you, Sister Langying, Brother Xiaoyu, and Principal Baichuan will definitely be the most popular members of our show!"
"If you're not qualified to be mentors, then who is?"
Jiang Chuan held Xiao Man's hand affectionately.
Whoever can make his show's ratings soar is his brother!
"It's settled then! Don't worry about the appearance fee; our investors have plenty of money! As long as the show is entertaining, the appearance fee will definitely satisfy you!"
What? Since you're talking about appearance fees, and they're quite generous, then I'm not sleepy at all!
"Director Jiang, please wait a moment. I'll invite Uncle Baichuan, Brother Xiaoyu, and Sister Yingzi over. No, no, let's wait until tonight. After dinner, when everyone is less busy, we can go to Sister Yingzi's house to discuss this in detail!"
"Why didn't we talk about it at your guesthouse?" Jiang Chuan asked in surprise.
"Um~ Director Jiang, you have children too, right? Sister Yingzi has two kids. She usually can't leave the house at night; her two kids can't be without her," Jiang Xiaoman sighed.
If it weren't for those two children holding her back, with Lang Ying's luck in getting connected with Director Liang and having the backing of a patriotic drama like "The Road to Glory," she could have easily landed a supporting role, right? She could have earned just as much in a year as she would have if she had run her own cooperative.
Jiang Chuan: "..."
"Hehe~ What are you talking about? I'm only 32 years old this year, and I'm not married yet, so where would I get a child?" Jiang Chuan awkwardly touched his nose.
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being pressured to get married by relatives during Chinese New Year?
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."
32 years old isn't young anymore, is it? Yingzi isn't even as old as you.
However, Jiang Xiaoman has heard that the marriage age of people in the entertainment industry is a mystery. Some get married at a very young age, while others are nearly forty and still unmarried... Jiang Xiaoman doesn't think there's anything to advise them about. Everyone has the right to decide their own life trajectory. There's a saying online, "Advising someone to go on a blind date will get you struck by lightning," which probably describes this idea!
Filming a program in the village, and not just filming all day long, but only making a cameo appearance when the script requires it, can earn some money on the side and raise the profile of Langshan. Even if the other three don't agree, he will pester them until they agree, okay?
It's decided!
The first person I'm going to win over is Uncle Baichuan, the most stubborn man in the whole village!
"Rural revitalization theme?"
"To promote tourism in Langshan?"
"You want me to teach the guests how to raise pigs and grow vegetables?"
Every time Jiang Baichuan asked a question, Jiang Xiaoman felt like a cartoon character shrinking little by little under Principal Jiang's towering figure, wishing she could hide herself in the shadows!
At this suffocating moment—
"Could you please tell the production team that I still have teaching duties to attend to? If I'm just making a cameo appearance, as long as it doesn't interfere with my classes, I can do it at any other time."
Jiang Xiaoman: ? ? ?
Was he hallucinating, or was Uncle Baichuan also being controlled by some "good friend"?
Help! We must bring the little priestess back!!
...
Even Jiang Baichuan, who was the most difficult to deal with, agreed, and Jiang Yu and Lang Ying also readily agreed.
Jiangyu has now fully tasted the joy of monetizing traffic.
In the past, his brother Yan and his apprentices risked their lives to beg for food on cliffs. They worked hard for a whole year, but they still didn't earn as much as he does in a single live stream now.
If they can get on a show, especially a popular variety show, not only Langshan, but Jiang Yu himself can also gain another wave of fans. When he becomes a big influencer with tens of millions of followers like Xiaoman, then he won't be the one looking for brands to collaborate with; instead, brands will be the ones coming to him.
Lang Ying also felt this was a good opportunity to promote the wild mushroom cooperative.
Her wild mushroom sauce sells exceptionally well, but as Xiaoman said, to support a cooperative, not only must sales increase, but the supply of raw materials must also keep up. Moreover, these two aspects must go hand in hand; if either one is crippled, it could drag the cooperative down.
So what she needs to do next is not only to encourage more villagers to join the wild mushroom planting cooperative and ensure that the processing plant has a stable source of raw materials, but also to continue to expand the brand's influence. What better promotional opportunity is there than participating in variety shows?
And it's free.
Xiaoman said that the producer told him that this program was a patriotic program that the TV station planned to compete for awards. In order to show the program's support for rural revitalization, the program would not charge any product placement fees for any of the Langshan local specialties that appeared on screen.
I heard that the production team will lose tens of millions of yuan just from advertising fees.
Doesn't this mean the TV station spent tens of millions of yuan to advertise Langshan's local specialties?
If Lang Ying hadn't seized such a great opportunity, she would probably have regretted it so much that she couldn't sleep at night.
In town, when Sun Zheyuan received a call from Jiang Xiaoman saying that Director Jiang from J Province TV wanted to talk to the town leaders about collaborating on a variety show, he could hardly believe his ears!
Poor Director Sun! His first reaction was—
"Xiaoman, our Langshan Town finances can't afford that much sponsorship money!!!"