After dinner, Jiang Baichuan led four people from the TV station to Jiang Cancan's house.
The girl in the video with the clear, melodious voice, like a lark, actually doesn't have a good life.
As Jiang Baichuan walked, he briefly explained Jiang Cancan's family situation to the four people.
Jiang Cancan's family consists of an elderly grandmother, herself, and her youngest sister, Jiang Yueyue. Her mother is also a pitiful person. After marrying into the family, she kept having children. Her father insisted on having a son, but the family had no money. As a result, when her mother gave birth to Jiang Yueyue, she couldn't bear to go to the hospital and gave birth at home. Unexpectedly, she suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage. Her family lived in the mountains, and it took two hours to walk from the township health center. Before she could be taken to the hospital, she died that night.
Her father was no better. His wife died giving birth to his son, and he, before the grass had even grown on her grave, couldn't wait to marry another woman—using the dowry money he got from marrying off his eldest daughter, Jiang Cancan's older sister, Jiang Cuicui!
Who wouldn't call him an absolute scumbag?
I heard that his second wife didn't like living in the mountains, so Jiang Cancan's father took his second wife to work in the city. They were gone for several years without coming home to see their two children or sending money home. It was clear that he didn't care about their lives... Fortunately, Jiang Cancan had a grandmother. With the help of the high-yield red potatoes and the neighbors, the family of three barely managed not to starve to death.
"Given Jiang Cancan's family's situation, is there no poverty relief or similar assistance available locally?" Assistant Xiaobai asked in surprise.
"How could there not be? The higher-ups don't know the situation either. Every year, the subsidies are directly deposited into Jiang Cancan's father's account. Her father hasn't come back for several years, so they probably haven't received a single penny of the poverty subsidy..." Jiang Baichuan said bitterly.
"Holy crap! How can they still give this scum a subsidy? Xiao Li, can we include this part in the final cut? I'm going to expose him!" Wei Sheng was absolutely furious.
"Yes! I'll definitely cut this in as backup footage. Wei, you should talk to the director again. I think he'll definitely include this part." The cameraman was also furious.
Damn it, it's fine if you want a son, but at least raise your daughter after she's born! Not only do you not raise your child, but you also swallow the poverty relief funds meant to save the lives of your family. Are you even human?
The group walked and talked, and the more than one-hour mountain road was not too difficult to endure. Soon they could see Jiang Cancan's old house built halfway up the mountain in the distance.
Wei Sheng swore that he had never seen such a dilapidated house in his entire life... The film crew he worked with before, which told a story from the early 20th century, should really come here to learn from it. It would definitely be more visually impactful than any artificially constructed building by the film crew, right?
The Jiang family's house consisted of two low mud-brick houses with thatched roofs. The roofs were probably too old, as the thatch had rotted and had holes in some places. They were patched up with bamboo strips mixed with some unknown dry grass.
The windows are also wooden windows with a lot of vintage charm. To call them wooden is an exaggeration; they're just a few branches crisscrossing each other to barely qualify as windows. There's no glass; they're just covered with a transparent plastic sheet.
As I approached, I saw an elderly woman with a full head of white hair sitting on a wooden stump chopping pig feed in the open space by the door. A little girl was squatting on the ground helping the old woman throw potatoes into a basin. Under the eaves, another little girl, slightly older than her, was sitting on a small stool with a larger stool in front of her, engrossed in doing her homework. Her hair was probably too long, and she didn't want to spend money on a haircut, so she just cut it short herself at home with scissors. Her head was all bumpy and uneven, which looked both pitiful and funny.
"Jiang Cancan!" Jiang Baichuan called out from afar.
Jiang Cancan looked up, her face lighting up with a delighted smile, and she jumped to her feet: "Principal Daddy!"
Holy crap! This kid's beautiful! The photographer's eyes lit up, and he immediately grabbed his camera and headed over.
Jiang Cancan was startled and took two steps back nervously, looking at Jiang Baichuan opposite her with unease.
"Don't be afraid, they are the people I told you about, the program team from J Province TV station." Jiang Baichuan bypassed the photographer, skillfully took Jiang Cancan's hand, and introduced her to Wei Sheng and his assistant Xiaobai. When he introduced Wei Sheng, Jiang Cancan secretly looked up at him. Her slightly chapped face, which was a little red because she couldn't bear to buy moisturizer, was flushed, but her big, round eyes were shining.
"I've seen you on TV before, you're that Fox King!"
"Pfft~" Wei Sheng almost spat out a mouthful of blood. His assistant, Xiao Bai, quickly covered his mouth, afraid that he would burst out laughing.
This is the pain of working within the system: you have to play whatever the boss tells you to play.
Two years ago, the station collaborated with an entertainment company to produce a Lunar New Year film. The plot was very fantastical, about how a fox spirit who escaped from a Chinese folktale was taught a lesson in modern society. Of course, the theme was very positive. Wei Sheng played the fox spirit's brother, an old-fashioned man who valued the traditions of the fox spirit clan. He was also a very comedic character. Although the plot was fantastical, the film achieved good box office results that year because of the clever casting.
What's frustrating is that this film has been shown on CCTV's movie channel very frequently. The reason is simple: one of the screenwriters of this series comes from a background of writing legal and criminal investigation scripts. The film incorporates many familiar legal references, so much so that whenever a legal figure emerges in the entertainment industry, the movie channel brings up this film to educate the public about the law... Thanks to this film, the young actor Wei Sheng has gained a certain level of national recognition.
That's why they say becoming a big star depends on fate.
When Wei Sheng took on the role of the villain in this Lunar New Year film, he was ridiculed by his fellow idols through press releases, who said he was just trying to make easy money after becoming famous and had even predicted that this Lunar New Year film would be the worst movie of the year...
And what happened? That year, a certain director, who had high hopes for the nation, assembled half of the entertainment industry to make a New Year's film. However, it was criticized by netizens from the very beginning for its forced integration of jokes and awkward humor. On the contrary, the low-budget New Year's film from their provincial TV station suddenly became a hit. With its imaginative script and various hilarious legal jokes, it quickly went viral. Even the usually arrogant national movie channel made a special program about this film.
Wei Sheng only regretted that he had signed a fixed-salary contract with the station; otherwise, he could have bought a house by now just from box office revenue sharing. o(╥﹏╥)o
Although the process was somewhat frustrating, Jiang Baichuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief because Jiang Cancan knew Wei Sheng and had a good impression of him because of the movie.
While the cameraman went to film the Jiang family's old house, Jiang Baichuan quickly pulled Jiang Cancan aside. Some things couldn't be explained over the phone (mainly because phone calls are expensive), so he had to explain them to the child in person.
In a typical family, someone this young would be involved in matters concerning her future education, and the parents would certainly be the first to be contacted. But Jiang Cancan was different. Her grandmother was old and nearly deaf, unable to hear clearly, and her biological father didn't care about her. So, this nine-year-old girl was making all the decisions about the family. As a result, Jiang Baichuan had to treat her like an adult, carefully explaining the pros and cons of the situation to her using adult logic—
“You know your family’s current financial situation. After you graduate from junior high school, you probably won’t be able to afford high school. Instead of working in a factory, you might as well try participating in the show. It’s only for six months anyway, and they’ve promised to find you tutoring classes to catch up on your studies. I’ve asked around, and they usually record shows from Friday to Sunday, so you can still attend classes normally from Monday to Thursday.”
"You don't need to worry about your living conditions. You'll get paid for recording the show, and there will be bonuses for advancing. Your meals and accommodation will be provided by the TV station in a hotel. See that assistant, Xiaobai? I heard that the production team will also arrange a life coach to take care of you."
"There's one thing you need to think about clearly: this contract stipulates that if those who make it into the top ten want to sign with an agency, Xinghuo Entertainment, a subsidiary of the TV station, has the priority to sign them, provided that the salary and benefits are equal."
"This means that if you want to continue making money through singing, you'll need to find a management company, sign a contract with them, and share a portion of your earnings with them..."
Jiang Baichuan was also cramming at the last minute, searching for a lot of information online, and then stumbling and carefully explaining the contract terms to the students for quite a while.
"Dad, how much can I earn singing on TV? Is it a secure job like yours? Can I earn as much as five thousand yuan a month?"
"Pfft~ Little Jiang, you earn way more singing than your principal. Five thousand is nothing. If you're famous, you can easily earn tens of thousands by doing a few commercial performances and singing a couple of songs." Wei Sheng explained with a smile from the side.
Looking at Jiang Cancan now, it's like seeing myself a few years ago. When I heard that the TV station offered a salary of 180,000 yuan a year after the civil service exam, I rushed into the exam room in a moment of impulsiveness.
But now that I think about it, having a stable job isn't so bad. At least it provides a livelihood. Even if he loses his fame, he can always go back to working behind the scenes at the TV station.
Chapter 50
“Fifty thousand? Principal Dad, then I’ll go record the show! If I don’t have fifty thousand, five thousand will do. I want to repair our old house and get a new iron pot.” Jiang Cancan looked at Jiang Baichuan with bright eyes.
Before he finished speaking, the cameraman emerged from the Jiang family's low, dark kitchen, his eyes red with tears.
"Brother Wei, can I buy a pot for Can Can's family?"
What? Wei Sheng was stunned.
However, he soon found out why.
They arrived at the location after 10 PM. Filming and Jiang Baichuan's conversation with the students took some time, so by the time they finished, it was already lunchtime. Jiang Cancan started a fire in the yard and brought out several jars of eight-treasure porridge, their outer layers blackened by smoke.
Next, the little girl took a large bowl and brought out half a bowl of rice that had turned slightly yellow. The rice seemed to have been stored for too long, as it was infested with insects. Jiang Cancan carefully picked out the insects, threw them on the ground to feed the chickens, and then rinsed the rice several times to make sure it was clean. Only then did she carefully place the rice grains one by one into the eight-treasure porridge pot, pour in water, cover it with a few small stone slabs, and place it by the fire to cook the porridge.
"Principal Dad, the big pot at home broke a few days ago. Grandma said we should use this jar for now, and once we've collected enough eggs, we'll go to the market to get a new pot." Jiang Cancan smiled sheepishly.
What she didn't say was that even this last bit of rice was a gift from the village during last year's Spring Festival. They hadn't been able to bear eating it, and only when her younger sister really craved it would they cook a little rice porridge with some brown sugar to satisfy her craving. But today, Principal Dad had brought guests, and Jiang Cancan didn't want him to lose face in front of them, so she had to bring out the best things in the house to entertain them.
Wei Sheng was stunned for a moment, and his throat felt like it was blocked by something.
"You child! Didn't I tell you? If you have any difficulties at home, come to me. The pot is broken, how have you been eating these past few days?" Jiang Baichuan looked at his student reproachfully.
"Grandma won't let me tell! Besides, this jar is quite useful. Once it's cooked, we don't need to use bowls to serve the rice. It's perfect for one for each person~" Jiang Cancan took another bowl of potatoes and threw it into the fire to bury it.
What she didn't say was that they had actually been cooking potatoes for the past few days, but without a pot, boiling water was quite a hassle. However, now that the weather is warmer, boiling water in a small tin can isn't difficult. This box of eight-treasure porridge was a gift from the village officials during the Spring Festival. They finished the porridge, washed the can clean, and kept it as a water cup or toothbrush cup—it works quite well. Luckily, they didn't throw it away; after their pot broke, this tin can came in very handy!
After dinner, assistant Xiaobai flipped through the script the director had given him and asked Jiang Cancan to sing a short song in front of the camera. Originally, the script said she should sing at home, probably because the screenwriter wanted to play the victim here. However, Wei Sheng looked up and decisively decided to change the script for the director—he had Jiang Cancan sit on the slope in front of her house and sing a short song. There was a field of potatoes growing there, lush and green, making for a particularly beautiful background.
"What are you trying to play the victim for? She won't be miserable in the future!" Wei Sheng retorted, sticking his neck out to the cameraman.
At worst, he'd just take on a few more commercial performances despite the negative press. As long as he had food to eat, he would never let this little girl go hungry again! Even if the show eliminated her in the end, he would still sponsor the child!
"Can Can, sing that song 'Daylily Flower'! You sing it the best!" Jiang Baichuan secretly suggested to her from the side.
This song was quite popular a couple of years ago. At that time, a children's singing competition was held in the township. Jiang Cancan, who had just started first grade, represented the school in the competition and won first prize. The song she sang at that time was this one.
Jiang Cancan was a little nervous in front of the camera, but once her principal father stood behind the camera, she wasn't afraid at all. She pursed her lips, looked at the camera (actually, at the principal), and softly hummed a widely popular song—
Daylilies bloom on the high green hills
I'll pick one for my little girl.
...
The girl's voice was clear and soothing. Behind her, a large field of potato seedlings swayed in the wind, as if they were waving glow sticks for her. The cameraman originally only wanted to shoot one segment, because the final cut of this shot would only be a dozen seconds long, and there was no need to shoot too much. But this time, he insisted on shooting the entire song from beginning to end.
At that moment, he had no idea that after the show aired, because of Jiang Cancan's overnight fame, the production team released the full version of this segment as behind-the-scenes footage on their official Weibo account. In just one night, the number of views reached an astonishing 20 million! That's even more popular than some A-list celebrities…
But that's a story for later. Right now, after listening to Jiang Cancan's a cappella performance, Wei Sheng silently opened his phone and sent a video he had taken to his manager.
"Brother Zhou, are you signing any new artists? Investing in them would be a great deal!!"
Wei Sheng's agent, Zhou Mingxing, lives up to his name. In his words, he only manages celebrities, or those he thinks have the "star quality" of a future star. Currently, he only manages Wei Sheng and another young actress who takes the acting route. These days, Zhou Mingxing is working hard to secure a big-screen role for the young actress, so he has been somewhat neglecting Wei Sheng, who is a "permanent employee" with his own resources within the system. When he received the video call, he thought it was another relative of Wei Sheng coming to plead for him, and he immediately felt annoyed.
I've encountered this situation before, but it wasn't Wei Sheng. His parents approached Zhou Mingxing privately, saying that he had a cousin who was quite pretty and wanted to enter the entertainment industry, and asked if he could introduce her to someone.
Out of consideration for Wei Sheng, Zhou Mingxing agreed to meet her first, but it turned out to be worse than not meeting her at all. The photos the girl sent him were filtered at least a hundred times! Her real features weren't delicate enough, and her skin wasn't smooth enough.
That's not all. After all, some actors who focus on acting skills or character portrayals don't have high requirements for appearance. The problem is that this cousin not only "minorly modified" herself to look like an internet celebrity, but she was also extremely confident. As soon as they met, she kept complaining to Zhou Mingxing, saying that her cousin Wei Sheng was short and ugly when he was young, and yet he became a big star. She said she was even prettier than her cousin and would definitely become famous if she went to act. She even hinted to Zhou Mingxing that she could have "secondary development" under the intervention of a plastic surgeon... Zhou Mingxing rolled his eyes on the spot.
However, he was waiting outside for Xiaohua's audition, and since he had nothing else to do, Zhou Mingxing casually turned on the video. A moment later, listening to the child's voice that sounded like heavenly music coming from his headphones, Zhou Mingxing was completely stunned.
After frantically turning off the video, Zhou Mingxing grabbed his phone and started frantically pressing buttons—
"Where are you?"
Who is this?
"Send me your location! I need her right now!"
Wei Sheng: "..." He knew it! His brother Zhou was known for not acting until he saw a clear opportunity, and for going crazy once he did.
It's a bit taboo for him to privately approach Zhou Mingxing. After all, if Jiang Cancan really makes it into the top ten, the production team will definitely have its own plans. So many agents in the company are eyeing and waiting to snatch up this newcomer who brings her own popularity. What he did was essentially poaching talent from the production team.
But so what? Anyway, if Jiang Cancan really wants to sign with the company, it's better to let Brother Zhou manage her than to hand her over to an unreliable agent.
Zhou Mingxing is indeed a bit of a snob; whoever can make money for him is his ancestor. But he also has one redeeming quality: he's extremely protective of his own.
Anyway, ever since he was signed by Zhou Mingxing, apart from necessary business engagements, Zhou Mingxing has never arranged for him to attend those dinners with ulterior motives. As for those subtle invitations from colleagues that he couldn't refuse, as long as he handed them over to Zhou Mingxing, he could help him handle them gracefully, so as not to cause him to directly fall out with his colleagues...
Having been in this industry for several years, Wei Sheng knew that agents like Zhou Mingxing were quite rare, especially suitable for Jiang Cancan at this stage.
When Jiang Cancan's grandmother heard that she was going to participate in a competition on TV, she happily wiped away her tears: "The competition is great! Baichuan, thank you! Thank you for taking such good care of our Cancan..."
The old man thought this competition was similar to the township singing competition that Jiang Baichuan had taken his granddaughter to participate in before.
That time, Jiang Cancan won 800 yuan in prize money just by singing. Although it wasn't a lot of money, it was enough for her and her grandmother to live on for three months and even have two meals of meat.
Jiang Baichuan felt ashamed and had to loudly explain the competition rules to the old man again, because if Jiang Cancan failed to advance, she might return in half a month. If she advanced smoothly, or was lucky enough to make it to the finals, she might not return until after the New Year.
According to Wei Sheng, this competition is a key project for the station in the second half of the year. The top ten finalists and popular contestants will have to participate in a special concert organized by the program team according to their contracts, and they will also have to cooperate in recording the station's New Year's Gala... With this delay, Jiang Cancan probably won't be able to go home for more than half a year.
“This, this is just working? Baichuan, our Cancan is only nine years old... Can she go out to work? Then she won’t be able to go to school anymore? This, this won’t do, right? She still has to go to school.” Grandma Jiang immediately became anxious and groped to grab Jiang Baichuan’s arm.
"It's not a job! It's a competition, Auntie!" Jiang Baichuan loudly explained in the old woman's ear, "It's a nationwide competition! Winning an award will allow Cancan to study and go to university for free! Don't worry, Auntie, I will tutor Cancan and I will definitely not let her grades drop!"
"Free schooling? Oh, this is a competition organized by Project Hope, right? Okay! Then we'll entrust Cancan to Project Hope." Grandma didn't know what she heard, but she understood it as Project Hope. After all, in the older generation's impression, only the national Project Hope could provide free schooling for children in impoverished mountain areas.
Thinking of this, Grandma Jiang smiled and pulled Jiang Baichuan back. Her blurry vision found her granddaughter's figure, and she pointed to Jiang Yueyue, who was squatting next to her washing potatoes: "Then do you think our Yueyue can also sign up for this Project Hope?"
Worried that he would have to explain for ages, Wei Sheng quickly rushed over and took over, leaning close to the old lady's ear and loudly saying, "Yes! Your Yueyue can register for school as soon as she starts!"
It's just sponsoring another child's schooling, right? A few thousand yuan a year in scholarships is something he, as an artist, can afford. He can just pay for it himself! That way, Jiang Baichuan won't have to explain for so long.
Jiang Baichuan stared blankly as the old lady was instantly calmed down by Wei Sheng, a complete stranger, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
However, it turned out that Wei Sheng's method was better.