Most of the people who remain in the village today are around the same age as Jiang Youliang. Their generation experienced the famine years that caused many to starve, and they can't stand seeing land lying fallow. Every household will plant a few konjac plants in front of or behind their houses, wherever there is space suitable for growing crops. Even if other crops are difficult to grow, they will always plant a few konjac plants.
This thing is incredibly resilient. Whenever you remember, just throw a basket of pig manure over, and it will grow lush and green on its own. You don't need to take care of it at all, and you can dig it up and eat it when the time comes.
In the past, villagers would carry their wares to the market to sell them. If they were willing to go through the trouble of making them themselves, they were lucky if they could sell them for one yuan per kilogram. If they couldn't sell them and didn't want to carry them back, they could only sell them cheaply to workshops in town that made konjac tofu for a few cents per kilogram.
Now things are much better. Thanks to Jiang Xiaoman, even the families in Langshan Village who grow the least amount of konjac have made several thousand yuan in one go by selling it, and some have even made more than ten thousand yuan!
This is a huge income in their village. Many families work hard to grow potatoes all year round, but they can't earn that much money.
"Xiaoman, if this konjac really sells well, can we switch to growing konjac next year? We can grow konjac on all the potato fields in our village too!"
Village chief Jiang Youtian looked at Jiang Xiaoman with anticipation.
Even a primary school student could figure this out: konjac costs one yuan per kilogram, while potatoes cost fifty cents per kilogram. Which one is more profitable to grow? Isn't that obvious?
Besides, growing potatoes is such hard work! Buying seeds, fertilizing, weeding, and working hard for half a year, and the yield is still not as high as that of konjac!
Then look at growing konjac. You just dig a hole, apply some base fertilizer, put in the konjac seeds you saved from the previous year, and then let it grow on its own. When you remember, you can add a basket of pig manure fertilizer. You don't even need to water it. You can easily make money.
If all the land in the village were planted with konjac, how much money would they make in a year?
"Uncle Tian, the reason our village sold so much konjac this year is not because of my ability, but because a big celebrity used our konjac during a live stream. He has so many fans, more than 20 million! Even if only one out of a hundred people buys our konjac, it still sells out all the konjac in our village."
“But this is a one-off deal! Even a big star can’t help us sell konjac every year, right?” Jiang Xiaoman sighed.
He knew that if the whole village grew and sold konjac, and the market opened up, their village would become rich immediately. But the problem was that he was just taking a chance.
Making konjac tofu is so complicated that even he, a local, failed twice when he first started, let alone many people who are not good at cooking.
Many people who fail once will not buy again the second time.
If there are no repeat customers, who will he sell to?
"Sigh! What if we sell less?" Jiang Youtian still didn't give up. "Like this year, it would be good if each family could sell a few thousand kilograms and earn a few thousand yuan, which would be enough for the whole family's living expenses for half a year."
"Uncle, I really can't guarantee that. I can only promise you that I will continue to sell our village's konjac online. If there are many buyers, I will definitely give priority to our village. What do you think?"
"That's all we can do, child. You've gone to a lot of trouble! Our whole village owes you a debt of gratitude this time!" Jiang Youtian patted Jiang Xiaoman's shoulder with satisfaction.
"Don't worry! I'll make sure they pick out the best konjac for you. This is our first time selling online, we can't ruin our reputation!"
"Thank you, Uncle. You'll have to keep a close eye on the quality issues, Uncle. You know I'm young and a junior, how can a junior be in charge of an elder? This matter depends on you!"
Jiang Xiaoman's words made Jiang Youtian feel completely at ease, and he wished he could immediately run to the ridges of each family's fields to keep an eye on things and prevent anyone from mixing in the rotten konjac.
Actually, it wouldn't have mattered if they had sneaked in. When Jiang Xiaoman was collecting konjac, he had people sort them by size. You could tell at a glance whether the large ones had been broken or not, and it didn't matter if the small ones had been broken a little, since he was going to buy them to keep for seed anyway.
As long as the bud on top isn't broken, even if you cut off all the roots and only leave one bud, konjac can still grow back.
He has already discussed it with his father, and next year they will replace all the cornfields on their mountain with konjac.
Growing corn in the mountains is not easy; half of an acre of land is destroyed by wild boars. But it's different with konjac. Wild boars don't like to eat it, konjac has a high yield, and most importantly, it doesn't require much management.
Most importantly, Jiang Xiaoman wanted to use her own land as a "test field" to see if replacing one acre with konjac would yield more in a year than potatoes.
The villagers made a mistake in their calculations: although potatoes are cheap, they can be grown two seasons a year.
Although konjac is expensive, it can only be grown for one season.
Whether it's two seasons of potatoes or one season of konjac, which is more cost-effective, you'll have to try it yourself to find out.
He doesn't like making promises lightly, especially to the villagers. Many families rely on the annual harvest from their fields for food, and there are no government subsidies for what he's doing. If he's not careful, he could cause the whole village to go hungry.
After much thought, I decided to sacrifice my own family's interests and conduct an experiment.
Chapter 81
To Jiang Xiaoman's regret, because he was busy selling konjac for the village, he still missed Jiang Cancan's group stage match and could only desperately promote Jiang Cancan's products in the village.
"Tonight at 8 PM! J Province TV! Don't forget, everyone! Jiang Cancan from our village is playing!" → Elderly villagers aren't used to watching live streams on their phones? No problem! Turn on all the TVs in the house! Don't change the channel during commercials, we must keep the ratings high!
It's much easier for young people with mobile phones: just send out links to online platforms in bulk!
"8 PM! Let's go live! What will we broadcast? We'll broadcast the group stage of 'Young People Singing for the Motherland'! I doubt there will be many fans cheering for Can Can in person, so we need to arrange some online support. If Can Can wins, we'll do a giveaway in the live stream! The prize is thirty boxes of local specialty red potatoes, sponsored by my own family!"
He had originally planned to organize his classmates to cheer for Jiang Cancan, but the competition was in the evening, and there was no wind or rain. It was unreasonable to leave the child at school, so Jiang Xiaoman had to give up with regret.
I don't know if Jiang Xiaoman is really some kind of "chosen one". The weather was originally clear and sunny, but in the afternoon, large swathes of dark clouds rushed in and a torrential downpour started!
Now, students who live far away can't go home.
"Could the old shaman's divination be true?"
At this moment, even Jiang Baichuan's firm atheism began to waver.
Students who live far from school can't go home. They heard that they have to watch the live broadcast tonight to cheer for Jiang Cancan's competition, so even students who live nearby don't want to go home.
Living at school is so much fun! I can eat delicious meals cooked by Brother Xiaoman, watch live streams with my classmates at night, and sleep in a dormitory! It's so much more fun than sleeping alone at home.
At the students' pleading, Jiang Baichuan could only shake his head helplessly, lend them his phone, and tell them to come to the office one by one to call their parents to ask for leave. Only with their parents' consent could they sleep at school.
Furthermore, parents have to send bedding and clothes over, as students who live nearby do not have spare bedding or changes of clothes at school.
When the parents heard that their children were staying at school to watch the live stream and cheer for Jiang Cancan, some of them, who had nothing to do at home, simply came to the school themselves. Bringing gifts for their children was secondary; they mainly wanted to join in the fun.
Since it was raining and they couldn't do farm work, the villagers, who were already bored at home and couldn't wash clothes, came over when they heard there was something interesting to see at the school. Even those without children at home joined in.
However, they didn't come empty-handed; how can you watch TV without snacks?
One family brought out a basket of roasted peanuts, another bought two pounds of sunflower seeds, and there were also homemade potato chips, dried sweet potatoes, cat's ear noodles, and other snacks, filling the table to the brim. Anyone who wanted to eat could come and grab some themselves.
The whole school was in an uproar.
On such a rare and joyous occasion, Jiang Baichuan generously turned on the corridor lights and brewed a large pot of brown sugar ginger tea to warm everyone up.
Unlike typical galas that save their big-name guests for last, J Province TV Station, well aware of the secrets to attracting viewers for these talent shows, immediately brought out Jiang Cancan, a true bombshell, to blow up the stage!
This time, Jiang Cancan didn't wear a dowdy school uniform and deliberately put on a "poor girl makeup" look like she did when she first appeared on stage. Instead, she wore a bright red dress, and her shoulder-length hair was styled into two playful ponytails, with a lifelike little white rabbit hair accessory on one side. The hair accessory seemed to have a spring inside, so whenever she moved, the little rabbit on her head would bounce up, looking exceptionally lively.
Jiang Cancan's makeup was also carefully done, perfectly highlighting her big eyes and bright smile. The eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes was added in some way, making her smile as dazzling as a fairy descending from heaven!
She's already so beautiful, and then she opens her mouth—wow! The previously noisy audience fell completely silent, the only sound being Jiang Cancan's ethereal and melodious voice...
"This is our Langshan's farewell song for our beloved!"
As soon as the intro started, Langshan Elementary School erupted in cheers.
So, netizens who happened to click into the Langshan Primary School live stream saw a room full of men, women, and children singing along with Jiang Cancan on the big screen—
"I saw my love off for two miles, where the peach blossoms were in full bloom in March..."
There aren't many people who can sing this song now, but decades ago, almost everyone in Jiang Youliang's generation could sing a few lines.
Many people, including young people in Langshan, have probably long forgotten that Langshan, besides being poor, also produced countless national heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country. The most famous of them all is the protagonist in this song, "Sending Off My Love."
The protagonist was not a legendary general; he was just a platoon leader until his death.
However, while he was lying in a field hospital with severe injuries, he met a poet. At that time, his eyes had been blinded by shrapnel, he had lost both legs, and his vocal cords had become hoarse. Yet, he used all his strength to tell the poet about his beautiful hometown, Langshan, and about the mountain girl he had grown up with since childhood.
As his life drew to a close, this hero did not regret his choice to leave his hometown for the battlefield. Instead, he smiled and softly hummed the folk song his lover had sung for him before she passed away...
My dearest, though I can never return to your side, we have won the battle, and peace will soon come.
By then, my beloved mountain girl will still be able to wear beautiful dresses and sing loudly among the wildflowers, without having to feel anxious and fearful at the sound of distant gunfire...
The poet held the hero's broken body and wept bitterly.
After returning from the battlefield, the poet used the melody of a folk song to compose new music and lyrics, creating the sensational "Sending Off My Lover".
As the song ended, the entire audience was moved to tears, and thunderous applause filled the air. Even several music academy instructors couldn't help but stand up and applaud Jiang Cancan and the hero recorded in this song!
"I was wrong, I shouldn't have said the show's name was cheesy. It's not that the show is cheesy, it's that I was heartless, sob sob~"
"Quickly turn on the TV and switch to J Province Channel! Sisters, let's go! This program is so good, doesn't she deserve to be the ratings champion?"
"I've turned on all the TVs in the house. J Province TV, right? From today onwards, you're the star of my TV!"
...
"Director Chen! The ratings! The ratings have exploded! Holy crap! They're skyrocketing!"
"Jiang Cancan's singing of [unclear] is trending!"
"The children's song 'Singing for the Motherland' also went up!"
"Sending Lang Ge upstairs!"
At the same time, the live broadcast room of Langshan Primary School and the live broadcast room of the program team were boiling over, and the ratings of the program were also boiling over along with the live broadcast room.
Strangely enough, tonight happens to be the highlight moment for the female lead of a fantasy drama on H Province TV, the old rival of J Province TV. The female lead, who was tortured in the early stages, finally breaks up with the male lead here!
J Province TV station can swear that they never intended to compete with their old rivals at this time slot. It was obvious they couldn't win, so they simply gave up and did their own thing.
Unexpectedly, this singing competition with its seemingly corny name blew away the fantasy drama on the neighboring H province TV station right from the start—
Jiang Cancan appeared for one minute, and the ratings were already on par with the show next door;
In one and a half minutes, "Young People Singing for the Motherland" achieved a viewership rating of 2.3, while the fantasy drama next door had a rating of 1.4.
Two and a half minutes later, "Young People Singing for the Motherland" had a rating of 2.8, while the fantasy drama next door had already plummeted to a dismal 0.7...
It's no wonder the show next door is so unlucky. I don't know if it was the lead actor or director's rival who deliberately pulled a big move. Just when the fantasy drama bought trending searches and was praising the acting skills and highlights of the male and female leads, negative news suddenly broke online that the drama's plot was suspected of plagiarism in many places and that the original author was preparing to sue the screenwriter!
Now, what was originally a shining moment has turned into a moment of plagiarism.
Meanwhile, "Young People Singing for the Motherland" also saw a surge in viewership during the same time slot!
"Hahahahaha..."
The show's director, Chen Shu, slapped the table and burst into laughter.
Beside him, Wei Sheng's manager, Zhou Mingxing, also tried hard to suppress the wildly upturned corners of his mouth.
Hehe, at such a young age, she has already won the title of queen of ratings in her first variety show appearance.
Jiang Cancan, you have a bright future ahead of you!!!
When Wang Zha appeared, the singing competition program on J Province TV, with its somewhat corny name, became an overnight sensation. Thanks to Jiang Cancan's heavenly voice, the program team gained several trending topics for free. Director Chen Shu excitedly squatted down in the audience. As soon as Jiang Cancan came off the stage, this chubby uncle picked her up and spun her around several times.
The little spring-loaded bunny on her head was spinning so fast it almost flew off.
"Hahaha~ Can Can, you're truly our show's lucky star! You'll get an extra chicken leg tonight! No, Uncle Chen will give you a big red envelope!"
It's not just the director who should be giving Jiang Cancan a red envelope; tonight's ratings are absolutely phenomenal! It's J Province TV's highlight of the year. I bet the station leaders will come to "warmly congratulate" Jiang Cancan, this great contributor, as soon as they get to work tomorrow.