We need to explain this to the reporter properly, otherwise what if future historians distort the facts and say that Jiang Xiaoman forced his fellow villagers to build flat-roofed houses because of his personal preferences?
Han Jingru was practically dying of laughter.
Single-story houses have been phased out in many rural areas due to their poor insulation, but surprisingly, Langshan has actually rebuilt them to make money.
The Korean reporter laughed heartily, while Young Master Jin, who was walking along the mountain path, was already in tears.
Just now, he proposed to his beloved mountain sparrow girl, only to be cruelly rejected. o(╥﹏╥)o
Chapter 244
Rewind a few hours—
"Why?! Why don't you want to marry me?"
"Am I not handsome enough? Not rich enough? Sparrow, open your eyes and look! You won't find a better marriage partner than me in the entire Langshan!"
Jin Chengjie couldn't help but roar in pain.
In the past, when his ex-girlfriends tried to force him to marry them, he thought they were delusional. How could he, the future head of the Jin family, possibly marry a girl from a poor family?
But now, the roles are reversed, and all he wants to do is question the titmouse. They already have a child together, so why is the titmouse unwilling to marry him?
Is the young master of the prestigious Jin family not good enough for a poor mountain girl like you?
"Um~ Ah Jie, calm down. It's not that you're not good enough for me, it's just that my mother only has one daughter, and if I get married, our family line will end~" Shan Que looked at Jin Chengjie with difficulty.
"Does your family have a throne to inherit?!"
Kim Sung-jae takes the questions his ex-girlfriends asked him and uses them to question Shan Yue, and it feels completely natural!
tit:"……"
Why does this sound so familiar?
Never mind!!!
In any case, Shan Que just wouldn't agree to get a marriage certificate with Jin Chengjie.
The girl from the mountains hadn't received much education and didn't understand the law. All she knew was that this was the custom of her ancestors in Langshan: if there was no formal marriage ceremony with matchmakers, the child born wouldn't be considered the man's.
The logic is quite simple. Think about it: was the child born from the father's belly or the mother's belly?
Whoever gave birth to it owns it, no problem!
She was determined not to give the child to Jin Chengjie.
Poor young master Jin, he used to be the one toying with girls, but now he's the one being toyed with by a girl?
The girl with the mountain sparrows turned on him as soon as she lifted her skirt; what could he do?
There's no way he could beat her in a fight. The mountain sparrow is pregnant right now, how could he dare to lay a finger on her?
Moreover, the titmouse's cousins are no pushovers... Putting aside the others, Shan Yan alone could beat him to death with his bare hands.
With no other option, Young Master Jin could only come to his older brother in tears.
I heard that Jiang Xiaoman is very prestigious in Langshan. Even when a wife in the village is pregnant, people compete to invite him to a prenatal wine feast. He is Jiang Xiaoman's own brother. How dare Shan Que abandon him after seducing him?
I must get his brother to stand up for me!
After listening to Jin Chengjie's "criticism," Jiang Xiaoman was speechless.
"So how do you want me to help you?"
Although I don't have much contact with this adopted younger brother, what can I do when the internet is so developed these days?
After his relationship with Yan Susu was exposed by netizens, in order to get to the bottom of the story, the resourceful netizens were so eager to dig up and count the ancestral graves of the entire Jin family. As Yan Susu's only son and his half-brother, Jin Chengjie was also thoroughly investigated by the netizens.
Including his past girlfriends, and his latest one, the one who works in the entertainment industry.
You're already playing these fancy games yourself, and you still have the nerve to expect a titmouse to take responsibility for you? Have you no shame?
"I just don't accept it! Why doesn't she want to marry me?" Young Master Jin looked as aggrieved as an innocent girl who had been deceived by a scumbag.
Nearby, three TV reporters were enjoying the gossip.
They all recognized Jin Chengjie.
These days, those of us in the media industry in China can skip regular meetings, but we have to carefully sift through the daily trending topics list every day so as not to miss any opportunities to ride the wave of trending topics.
The relationship between this young master of Jin Yan and actress Kang Xinyue has only been trending on social media for a short time!
What? You're still feeling the novelty and you've already hooked up with a girl from Langshan?
And, pfft~ it sounds like this time it's Young Master Jin who got dumped by the girl from Langshan?
Just as everyone was enjoying the gossip, Xiaoman pulled the person involved aside.
Hey~ That's so unfair! Who cuts off the internet halfway through watching a drama?
Han Jingru and the others were itching for a fight, but unfortunately, they were all civilized people and couldn't bring themselves to eavesdrop. After thinking for a moment, Han Jingru nudged the photographer and gestured for him to follow. They couldn't use the main footage, so they could shoot some behind-the-scenes footage to sell to the new media department. A hot pot meal would surely be enough to cover it.
The photojournalist tiptoed after them, carrying his camera.
Jiang Xiaoman didn't go far. He just felt that outsiders might not easily accept the walking marriage custom of Langshan. He was worried that it might cause the sparrow to be scolded, so he wanted to explain it to Jin Chengjie in private.
"Anyway, your family will definitely not let you marry a girl from the mountains. You don't have any say in your own marriage. Even if Shanque agrees to marry you, would you really register your marriage with her?"
Don't be ridiculous, kid! You're still being supported by your parents, how are you going to support your wife and kids?
Not to mention that a family with the Jin family's status would never allow its future heir to marry a village girl.
It wasn't that Jiang Xiaoman looked down on the sparrow; he himself had no class prejudices. But the Chinese culture was full of circles, and even if someone managed to squeeze into a circle by chance, they might not have a very comfortable life in the future.
If Jiang Xiaoman were a sparrow, he would definitely choose to live in Langshan with his child, just like he does now. Although he might not be as rich and powerful as the Jin family, at least he wouldn't have to work so hard to live.
Besides, isn't the point of life to live it to the fullest? What's the point of having so much money?
Yan Susu thought it was foolish of him to give up the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family, and he thought Yan Susu was foolish too.
He can earn money slowly on his own, but this kind of leisurely life is something that not everyone can give him.
However, seeing Jin Chengjie's distressed state and worried that he might do something foolish, Jiang Xiaoman comforted him.
"Don't you guys always say there are plenty of fish in the sea? Besides, with your looks and qualities, there are definitely plenty of girls who are even better than a titmouse and would be willing to date you, right? Why hang yourself on one tree?"
"Besides, think about it from another perspective. If the titmouse doesn't want to take responsibility for you, doesn't that mean you don't have to take responsibility for her either? Young man, don't be so old-fashioned. What's wrong with adults making a deal? Isn't it good to have another lover who doesn't want you to take responsibility?"
Of course not!
Jin Chengjie glared at him angrily, "I never expected you to be like this, Xiaoman-ge!"
It's a shame that your female fans are always clamoring to marry you. Do they even know that you're an irresponsible scumbag?
Jiang Xiaoman is certainly not a scumbag; she's just putting herself in the scumbag's shoes and trying to persuade him to let go of his friend's sister...
"So what do you suggest? You want to marry Sparrow, but there are two difficulties in front of you: First, Sparrow herself doesn't agree! Second, your parents definitely won't agree either! Are you confident you can solve these two problems?"
Young Master Jin was speechless when asked the question.
"Hehe~" Jiang Xiaoman responded to his naivety with a cold laugh.
Boys at this age always feel that everyone should tolerate their willfulness, but they refuse to think about what kind of trouble their willfulness will cause to others.
If Jin Chengjie really reports this to President Jin, President Jin will definitely not allow his son to marry a village girl. However, he can do without a daughter-in-law, but what if Shanque gives birth to a son? Does President Jin not want a grandson?
When the time comes, it shouldn't be difficult for the Jin family to forcibly take the child away from Shan Que. The most pitiful one will be Shan Que, who clearly has no demands on the Jin family, but will be forced to separate from her child in the end...
Jiang Xiaoman explained this to Jin Chengjie. At first, the boy argued back, thinking that his parents weren't like that. But when Jiang Xiaoman asked him how he planned to protect the mother and child if his parents really tried to take the child from Shan Que, the young master Jin was speechless.
"Hehe~" Jiang Xiaoman felt that the number of times he sneered last year did not equal the number of times he did today.
Being affectionate isn't scary; what's scary is being both foolish and affectionate—that's what truly harms people!
However, perhaps because the "battle for the child" that Jiang Xiaoman described to him was too terrifying, Jin Chengjie actually stopped pestering Shanque to take responsibility for him in the following days.
Instead, she would frequently go to the market to buy beef, mutton, pork, free-range chickens and eggs, as well as various baby products she bought online, and deliver them to Shanque's home.
Even Jiang Xiaoman couldn't quite understand what he was trying to do.
...
After persuading her adopted brother to leave, Jiang Xiaoman spent two days accompanying the TV crew on a tour of almost the entire Langshan Mountain.
Han Jingru finally understood why the county propaganda department was willing to spend money to produce a promotional video for a small town like Langshan.
Good heavens! If this doesn't go viral, I'll be ashamed of my name, Han Jingru!
It's easy to lift people out of poverty in mountainous areas; all you need to do is pour money into them.
But if we want the local people to achieve common prosperity, simply "giving them money" isn't enough, and we don't have that many blood bags!
However, what Han Jingru saw and heard in Langshan Town these past few days completely changed her view of the difficulty of getting rich in impoverished mountainous areas.
It turns out that the problem isn't that getting rich is difficult, but rather that there's a lack of leaders like Jiang Xiaoman, Jiang Yu, Shan Yan, and Lang Ying!
These young people, with their intelligence and hard work, transformed Langshan from a critically ill patient passively waiting for blood transfusions to a healthy person capable of producing their own blood.
Those kind-hearted people who donated money to Langshan probably never imagined that the three or five hundred thousand yuan they casually gave away would fall into the fertile soil of Langshan, take root and sprout, and gradually grow into towering trees that can shelter the people of Langshan from the wind and rain!
Han Jingru originally wanted to downplay this part and focus on the indomitable spirit of the people of Langshan. However, Jiang Xiaoman strongly suggested that the filming crew keep this part and even found several villagers who had applied for start-up funds to share their experiences.
Among these, Lang Ying is the most convincing case.
She applied for 300,000 yuan in start-up capital from this rural revitalization entrepreneurship fund. Without this money, the village's wild mushroom planting cooperative would not have been established so quickly, and the wild mushroom sauce processing workshop would not have been able to come up with such a large sum of start-up capital.
Three hundred thousand yuan may not seem like much to city dwellers, but families with better living conditions can save up that amount in two or three years.
But in the countryside, especially with Lang Ying having to raise two children, it might take several years to save up enough money.
It was thanks to the support of this startup fund, as well as the two-year interest-free startup loan provided by the Women's Federation to rural women, that Lang Ying was able to support a cooperative and a wild mushroom sauce processing plant on her own.
Furthermore, it has directly or indirectly created jobs for 10,000 to 20,000 people in Langshan.
"Our processing plant and wild mushroom cultivation cooperative have now hired more than 50 local employees and paid their social insurance and housing fund contributions. Even during the off-season, their average annual income can reach 40,000 yuan."
"In addition, during the peak production season, about half of the population in Langshan Town will go up the mountain to pick wild mushrooms or grow edible mushrooms on their own mountains to provide raw materials for processing plants. We have roughly estimated that, after deducting various costs, if a household grows edible mushrooms on five mu of land, with two seasons a year, they can earn an additional 80,000 yuan per year."
"Besides these, this industry can also provide our town with many opportunities for odd jobs. For example, during the peak season, people can help the cooperative pack express packages and move goods, or drive their own tractors or small trucks to help growers transport mushrooms. During the off-season, they can help growers go into the mountains to pick mushroom bags, place mushroom bags, and kill pests. All of these can earn money."
"Don't be fooled by the fact that many houses in our town are dilapidated. Everyone is too busy making money to build new ones."
"If you don't believe me, come back to Langshan in two years and see for yourself. These days, who can't afford to spend tens of thousands of yuan to renovate their old house? If there are many able-bodied people in the family, it's not difficult to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan to build a two-story house."