"Yeah, haha, to celebrate my new video reaching a million views, here you go! I'll give you another string of popping candy!" Jiang Xiaoman laughed and took a string of popping candy from the wall and stuffed it into her backpack.
"That won't do. You need to sell all of these. We'll just take the milk tablets," Lang Guochang hurriedly declined.
"They're just cheap snacks, what's wrong with me giving them to my niece to try? Guochang, you've really done me a huge favor this time! If this series of videos of mine goes viral, I can provide my niece with all the candy and snacks for a year, let alone just a few bags of popping candy!"
As expected, this video series did not take long to gain traction; the first episode showed signs of becoming a hit as soon as it was released.
What truly made his peers envious and resentful was that, not long after, official media outlets also joined in and praised his video.
As we all know, the precipitous decline in the national birth rate in recent years has alarmed the higher authorities. In addition, young people not only don't want to have children, but they also don't want to get married. If this continues, will the Chinese nation become extinct?
Because of this, in the past two years, some entertainment companies with a keen sense of smell have stopped investing in and producing family dramas about murdering wives for insurance money, domestic violence, and emotional abuse. Instead, they have followed current events and invested in and produced sweet and romantic dramas for the whole family.
The whole nation is united in purpose, eager to shout to unmarried young men and women through megaphones: Look! There are still good men and women in this world. As long as everyone is willing to give love a chance, a happy marriage is not a dream!
Unfortunately, it's much harder to fool this generation of young people.
No matter how much the TV series romanticizes them, the moment girls see the low-quality, lazy men in the real world, their tentatively extended toes immediately recoil.
At this point, there is an urgent need for videos like Jiang Xiaoman's, which directly draw inspiration from real people around us. Look at Qing Shan, and then look at Lang Guochang. They can shoulder family responsibilities outside and actively share housework when they come home. They work so hard, yet they still remember to pick up their children from school and buy them snacks... Perhaps, they really should try to find more.
What if I actually end up with a good man?
When state media gets involved, the message immediately becomes much more sophisticated!
To Jiang Xiaoman's utter disbelief, he simply filmed "A Day in the Life of a Rural Father with Two Children," and it actually garnered praise from the official editor of the People's Daily.
This video account, as a leading one among verified accounts, already boasts over 100 million followers. It usually interacts with influential figures who promote traditional culture and positive energy. Surprisingly, this time, the editor actually shared and liked Jiang Xiaoman's latest video, even offering a particularly heartfelt commentary:
Sisters, don't lose faith in love!
Look, here comes the model student of good men in the real world!
Following suit, major official WeChat accounts also followed suit. The official WeChat account of People's Daily even quickly published a commentary article titled "The Sublimation of Parents' Love! Seeing the Peaceful Life of Contemporary Young People with Two Children - Reflections on Rural Love Through the Lens of Rural Brother Xiaoman!"
Xiaoman's fans: ? ? ?
What's going on? Did Xiaoman get a like from a top-tier official media outlet?
These kinds of serious commentary articles, which are so serious they make you want to doze off, usually get low click rates. But because of Jiang Xiaoman, many fans clicked in, wanting to see how the official media praised their Xiaoman.
The commentator from the official media pointed out from the beginning that some self-media outlets are desperately writing short dramas with distorted values in order to attract attention and traffic, advocating gender antagonism, which has had a very bad influence on the views of love and marriage of contemporary young men and women!
After criticizing the negative examples, the official media immediately promoted "Brother Xiaoman from the countryside" as a positive role model, praising his videos for perfectly showcasing the married life of an ordinary family, which was not as extreme as portrayed by Southern Fist Feminism, and that both men and women were working hard for a happy and fulfilling life.
"Men and women are essential members of a family and even a society. Extreme antagonism will only lead to mutual destruction in the end!"
"I hope our society can have more positive influencers like Brother Xiaoman from the countryside, so that more unmarried young men and women can see real and heartwarming ordinary love stories through their lenses..."
As expected of a writer for a national-level newspaper, Jiang Xiaoman herself couldn't help but shed tears after writing a commentary.
However, when he first wanted to make this series, it wasn't as lofty as the commentators described. He just felt that he couldn't just film the aunts and sisters-in-law in the village, but also the uncles and brothers.
During her time back in her hometown starting her own business, Jiang Xiaoman discovered that there were very few truly awful men like Jiang Erming in the village. Most of them were like her father, Uncle Tian, and Lang Guochang. They might not be considered "capable men" in the conventional sense, but they were also trying their best to shoulder the burden of their families.
They favor sons over daughters, but if the family has the means, they are equally unwilling to mistreat their daughters.
They give up when they see no hope, but as long as life gives them even the slightest hope of climbing up, they desperately try to grasp that little bit of hope.
Their biggest goal is to enable their families to live a better life, build new houses, and buy affordable four-wheeled electric vehicles!
Jiang Xiaoman thought this series would be criticized by some female fans, but to her surprise, after the video was released, there were more female fans who liked and commented than male fans.
Regarding this phenomenon, Ms. Lang Ying offered a precise critique:
"Xiaoman, did you see that? How low have girls' standards for men dropped these days?"
"As long as he doesn't slack off, doesn't cause them trouble, and occasionally helps with the kids and housework, he's considered a good man, haha~"
The last two meaningful "hehe"s almost sent Qingshan away on the spot.
Wait a minute! Has he done anything to upset his wife lately?
No, right?
Chapter 227
Just as Jiang Xiaoman was busy filming her new video, good news came from the town:
Their application to the Agricultural University for a "wild mushroom cultivation experimental base" has completed the approval process!
"Xiaoman, you are truly a lucky star for our Langshan Town!"
Sun Zheyuan's voice cracked with excitement on the other end of the phone.
"You don't know! After the professors and experts from the Agricultural University came to Langshan to investigate, they found that our place is very suitable for the artificial cultivation of wild mushrooms. In addition to your Langshan Village, they also plan to open experimental bases in other villages to cultivate some precious wild mushrooms."
"Xiaoman, there's hope for the revitalization of Langshan!!"
Very good!
Jiang Xiaoman was initially worried that since their cooperative was based on villages, other villages might not be willing to cooperate with them.
But if the agricultural university steps in and cooperates directly with the town, then this business can be expanded to the whole town in no time!
His original purpose in establishing this cooperative was to improve the lives of the people in Langshan. He also took the opportunity to open an online store to sell local specialties and earn enough money for his father and Uncle Baichuan to support themselves in their old age.
The most tiring work has now been taken over by the town and the agricultural university. If the wild mushroom cultivation area expands, in addition to Lang Ying's food factory, perhaps he can also introduce a drying line to process the wild mushrooms into dried products for sale.
In this way, from the field to the table, the crops that ordinary people work hard to grow can earn money for their families, and city dwellers can also enjoy high-quality and inexpensive wild mushrooms.
This is a major event concerning the entire town's poverty alleviation and prosperity. The town acted quickly, and after signing a cooperation agreement with the Agricultural University, it immediately began to organize villagers from various villages who were willing to join the wild mushroom planting cooperative to sign contracts in batches.
Just then, the "I Help My Fellow Villagers Sell Their Local Products" program team from J Province TV officially settled in Langshan Village!
The entire film crew, along with the staff of the celebrity guests, filled all the prefabricated houses that had been built in the village as soon as they arrived!
However, due to a lack of space, the celebrities' RVs had to be parked in an open area next to Lang Ying's house.
When talented actress Dai Yonghui heard that the RV was parked next to the home of "rural assistance mentor" Lang Ying, she was overjoyed: "Great! I can secretly ask Teacher Lang to give me private lessons from now on."
"Hehe~ I'm really sorry, teachers, but Langshan is my home turf! My junior sister is from this village, as you all know, right?" Wei Sheng boasted proudly.
Everyone was speechless for a moment.
How could I not know?
Every year, only a few lucky people in the entertainment industry become famous overnight. For those in the entertainment industry who are particularly superstitious, these newcomers who seem to have fallen from the sky are people they would rather befriend than offend, as long as there is no conflict of interest between them and the newcomers.
Otherwise, if the Ziwei star's fortune is too strong, and the suppression fails, it might backfire, which would be a loss.
Thinking of the Purple Star, the young people couldn't help but glance at Wei Sheng with envy. Wasn't he also the Purple Star back then? He was clearly just a post-production image editing technician! He became inexplicably famous!
I heard that J Province TV station is so tight on funding that they can't even afford to buy online trolls and trending topics for them! And yet they still managed to rise to fame through public opinion alone?!
It has to be said that, whether it's becoming famous or making a fortune, doing things on the side really does require a bit of luck.
With all the guests present, director Chen Shu picked up a megaphone and announced the tasks and rules for the first episode.
The first step is to draw lots to pair up five production teams, with each team consisting of a guest, a mentor, and a farmer. Each team can then choose the industry they are best at, and the teams will be ranked according to their sales performance over a five-day filming period.
The program "I Help My Fellow Villagers Sell Mountain Products" mainly allows celebrity guests to use their popularity or business acumen to expand sales channels for local mountain products.
Of course, to create more buzz, how could the production team not set traps for the guests?
Each guest will start with a batch of "inventory". Only by selling off their "inventory" can they accumulate their first pot of gold and lay the foundation for their next "entrepreneurial venture".
How much of the local produce can be sold next doesn't just depend on popularity. Otherwise, wouldn't any top influencer have already exceeded the target?
Hilarious! How could the production team be so kind?
According to the program's rules, the guests must first earn their "first pot of gold" before they can use that money to purchase raw materials, produce products, and sell them to achieve their final personal achievement.
Guests: "..." Are we playing this realistically?
After the program rules were read out, the first step, team formation, began.
Concerned that if the randomly assigned guests failed to show up, affecting the program's effect, the team formation process involved each guest introducing their marketing strengths and expertise before the farmers selected their partners.
Several farmers sat nervously opposite the big stars. The first to take the stage was Dai Yonghui, the most senior and accomplished actress present.
As soon as she came out, the eyes of several farmers lit up!
Who hasn't seen the TV dramas starring Dai Yonghui? From the martial arts films that swept the country in the 1990s to the spy dramas and period palace dramas that followed... People may not know Dai Yonghui's real name, but they can definitely name a few of the classic roles she played.
Several farmers immediately expressed their desire to vote for her.
After all, among these guests, only Dai Yonghui looks mature and stable. As for the other young people, humph~ they'd be fine with spending money, but making money? They'd probably lose their entire fortune!
After a fierce competition, Dai Yonghui was finally snatched away by a farmer who owned a large tea garden. This villager was good at playing the nostalgia card, and immediately expressed that he especially liked the role of a tea-picking girl that Dai Yonghui played when she was young.
Dai Yonghui is now a thing of the past in the entertainment industry, and her popularity is far less than it was in her youth. She never expected that there would still be so many of her old fans in a small place like Langshan. She was so happy that she couldn't wait to show her skills and help the farmers sell their Langshan wild tea cakes for a good price!
Next up was Wei Sheng. The villagers don't usually follow celebrities, so theoretically, few should recognize this rising star. But what could they do? He was Jiang Cancan's senior from their village.
People in the countryside sometimes value this kind of "master-disciple relationship" even more than in-law relationships.
Upon hearing that the competition involved prize money for several guests, the remaining villagers exchanged glances. This time, they stopped arguing and instead nominated the person with the best financial situation among the four.
In this way, Wei Sheng's starting point is much higher than that of the other guests!
Other guests: "..."
I'm so angry! Is this the legendary imperial family destined for heaven?
What's even more infuriating is that, as a promising young actress who has been heavily promoted by J Province TV in recent years, Manyue originally thought that her acting skills were definitely better than Song Yi, who could only act in mindless bad movies, right?
No!
After Wei Sheng made the decision, the remaining villagers all started scrambling to get Song Yi.
The reason is simple: the ridiculous dramas Song Yi acted in were exactly the kind of shows the villagers loved to watch! They were all too familiar with his face!
He looks so friendly, I'll take him!!
Song Yi was completely bewildered when it was snatched away.
In the end, only the beautiful female host Tian Sijia and the youthful and lovely young actress Manyue remained.
It's not that the villagers lack aesthetic sense, nor that they don't like looking at beautiful women; it's just that to do farm work or do business, you either need to be strong or have experience, and neither of them seems to possess either of these two excellent qualities.
Seeing that things were about to fall into an awkward silence if they didn't decide soon, the director quickly stepped in to liven things up by using the traditional method of rock-paper-scissors to determine the final two groups.
Tian Sijia was assigned to a large-scale pig farming household, while Manyue was assigned to a large-scale beekeeping household.