After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but take another look at her video account. She found that the popularity had gone down, but the number of views had slowly climbed to nearly a million, and the number of followers had increased to 11,000. Although she was a little disappointed, she thought about it carefully and realized that she had gained more than 10,000 followers without spending a penny. This trip was really worth it!
The next morning, my aunt had already prepared breakfast. Because Banligou wanted to "let tourists experience the traditional life of the mountain people up close," they still kept the earthen pots and stoves. In the morning, my aunt cooked a big pot of red bean porridge and went to the village's breakfast shop to buy freshly fried dough sticks, glutinous rice cakes, chive boxes, and tea eggs. There were several side dishes on the table to accompany the porridge, treating Jiang Xiaoman like a VIP.
"Auntie, if you keep being so polite, next time you come to my house for dinner, I'll have to slaughter a pig for you," Jiang Xiaoman said helplessly.
"Alright, alright, this is your first time staying at our house, so we'll definitely make you lots of good food. We won't do this next time you come." His aunt served him a big bowl of red bean porridge. The red bean porridge was made with the kind of red beans with freckles that grow in the mountains. When cooked, they were soft and sticky, and tasted especially delicious.
After dinner, Jiang Xiaoman saw that his cousin's family was busy, so he said he would go to the village to play. Since he was a grown man, Shanrong wasn't worried about him getting lost. However, he still called the village's joint defense office to let them know, and worried they might not recognize him, he even made a video call right in front of Jiang Xiaoman so the officers could get to know his new relative online, so they could help him out if he encountered anything on the way.
Old Village Chief Shan Rong still held considerable prestige in Banligou. When Jiang Xiaoman boldly confronted him, the joint defense office members all smiled and said they would definitely treat him like one of their own brothers, and even wanted to invite Jiang Xiaoman to a banquet. Shan Rong laughed and scolded them back: "When he comes to pay his respects this year, you families will take turns inviting him! No one can escape! For now, forget it. You all better get back to work and no drinking on weekdays!"
Jiang Xiaoman knew that Shan Rong was trying to build connections for him. After all, Banligou was developing so well now, with each household either having its own business or making great investments. This experience was exactly what Jiang Xiaoman needed right now.
Jiang Xiaoman originally wanted to wander around the village by herself, but when she heard from her cousin that the village's joint defense office was going to patrol various places in the morning, her eyes lit up and she immediately asked Shan Rong for the patrol team leader's phone number, intending to hitch a ride on the patrol car.
Author's Note:
Tomorrow is a company team-building event, which will take a whole day round trip, so I probably won't have time to write. I'm asking for a day off, and I'm very sorry! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2021-11-22 12:29:03 and 2021-11-23 11:04:25!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 lemon;
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Juexiao (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 20
Banligou is truly a different place now. In the past, the joint defense office patrolled on foot, but now they even have electric sightseeing vehicles. These vehicles are dual-purpose, with patrol team members sitting in the front and back, and tourists can hitch a ride in the middle. You can pay by scanning a QR code and get a ride around the whole village for just two yuan. Many tourists who don't want to walk will wait for the sightseeing vehicle by the roadside. After the tour, they can go back to their rooms and continue playing on their phones.
Not long after getting on the bus, Jiang Xiaoman, with his social skills, immediately recognized several teammates as relatives: Banligou is mostly inhabited by people with the surname Shan, and there are a few with the surname Lang. Among them, those with the surname Shan are all Jiang Xiaoman's maternal uncles or cousins. Jiang Xiaoman is also very sweet-talking, and before long, his arms were filled with fruits, snacks and treats that his maternal uncles or cousins had bought for him along the way.
"I've already graduated from university..." Jiang Xiaoman said with a mix of amusement and exasperation. She stuffed the snacks she couldn't carry into her bag, and shared the rest with the people in the car. Did they think she was a child?
“You’re still young. Even if you graduate with a master’s degree, you’ll still be a junior!” Another cousin waved his hand and immediately decided to “kidnap” Jiang Xiaoman to his house for dinner that night. Brother Shanrong only said no drinking, but he didn’t say no to inviting people to dinner.
Besides, can sweet rice wine even be considered wine?
"Next time, I'm not just being polite, Uncle. I came to the village carrying the hopes of the whole village. I already asked Uncle Shanrong to help me make an appointment with Boss Tang. Boss Tang said she's free after four o'clock, and I don't know how long we'll chat. Uncle Shanrong said he'd like to invite Boss Tang to his house for dinner, and I'll definitely join him. I'll come to your house for dinner next time I come." Jiang Xiaoman quickly explained, otherwise this newly recognized uncle would probably call his family to go to the market to buy groceries right away.
Upon hearing that he had come specifically to visit Tang Xinlan on behalf of the village, everyone in the car wore expressions of "I knew it," and his uncle patted his shoulder with a sigh: "You guys should have come to see Boss Tang a long time ago. He has so many projects in his hands, and he has been looking for places to invest in all these years. It's better to let our own relatives make the money than let outsiders do it."
Jiang Xiaoman smiled but didn't say anything. A few years ago, he was still in college. Even if he wanted to come back and help build his hometown, if he dared to drop out halfway, his father would break his legs.
Following the patrol car of Banligou, Jiang Xiaoman toured the entire village.
The chestnut valley was much livelier during the day than at night. Jiang Xiaoman even saw some tourists wearing mosquito-proof clothing and going up the mountain with the villagers to pick mushrooms. When she asked, she learned that they just wanted to experience life. Picking mushrooms in the mountains was fun, and they could also exchange them for money. This amount of money was nothing to guests who could afford to stay in guesthouses that cost several thousand yuan a night, but it was fun, and it was something new to talk about! While others spent money on tourism, they made money.
The village's pickle experience shop is also very lively. Originally, there was only a temporary workshop here. Later, many tourists who came to visit wanted to experience making pickles themselves. Village Party Secretary Shen Kaiping simply pulled Boss Tang to invest together and set up a pickle experience shop in the village, imitating the model of Zhangjia Village, with a shop in the front and a factory in the back. In addition to the factory building, there is also a pickle making workshop specially for tourists to experience. Tourists can bottle and package the mushroom sauce they make on the spot.
Jiang Xiaoman watched for a long time, extremely envious of this experiential shopping model.
The quality of their local honey is exceptionally good; almost everyone who tries it buys it again and again. He plans to open an experiential factory like this in the village once the road is completed. He'll build it right next to the mountain, plant flowers all over the back hill, and set up beehives! Tourists can harvest and extract the honey themselves. Seeing it harvested firsthand guarantees it's genuine, unadulterated local honey. The experiential store can also offer other activities, such as making honey grapefruit tea and honey lemon tea on-site, which will also boost fruit sales.
Their mountainous areas are very suitable for growing fruits like pomelos and lemons. They can encourage local people to grow these two fruits and sell them to tourists. Any unsold produce can be recycled by the factory and made into bottled pomelo tea and lemon tea, or the currently popular freeze-dried honey lemon slices. As long as there is a market, the local people can make money.
After leaving the pickle factory, Jiang Xiaoman followed the sightseeing bus to the village's visitor center. Looking at the cleverly designed and interesting visitor center, Jiang Xiaoman thought to herself, "No wonder people from all around say that Banligou has really prospered in recent years. Look at their visitor center!"
The whole complex is a super-large mushroom-shaped building complex. The largest mushroom-shaped building in the middle is the service hall, which contains ticket office, medical room, express delivery service point, local specialty store and restroom. There are several smaller mushrooms next to it, some designed as children's playground, some as mini bookstore, coffee shop, snack shop, etc., and there is even a small shop that rents out ethnic costumes and Hanfu for tourists to take photos!
Jiang Xiaoman walked around twice and found that once you enter the village, tourists can stay for a long time. Moreover, the prices are not as outrageous as some scenic spots. Meat-filled sesame cakes sell for three yuan each outside, but only five yuan each here. The children's playground costs fifteen yuan for a whole day, and there are also iced Americanos for ten yuan a cup. It can be described as affordable!
What caught his eye even more was the corridor in the middle of the mushroom-shaped building, which was designed entirely with embedded vending machines. The glass display cases showed all kinds of handicrafts made of rattan, straw, and bamboo, as well as some New Year pictures, with prices clearly marked. If you saw something you liked, you could scan a code to pay, and a key would fall out of the vending machine. You could then use the key to open the glass display case and take the item away.
That's a good idea! Jiang Xiaoman thought for a moment and decided to ask his cousin if the village accepted consignment sales. If they did, he could put the local embroidery from Langshan here, which could be used as decorative paintings and also consigned for sale. Wouldn't that give him another sales channel?
Besides the large facilities in the village, the homestays and farmhouses in Banligou are also quite good, exceeding Jiang Xiaoman's expectations. In particular, the farmhouses here were much better than Jiang Xiaoman had imagined. She originally thought that farmhouses would only provide food and lodging, but she didn't expect that the farmhouses here would offer other services as well.
For example, some tour guides offer short-distance trips to pick wild mushrooms and hunt rabbits, while others provide chartered transportation to surrounding towns and villages. Some are even more interesting, offering "half-day rural market tours" for a service fee of only 50 yuan per person. Locals will take you to the market for food, drinks, and entertainment, and even help you bargain. This service is incredibly popular… It has to be said, the people of Banligou are truly "skilled at making money"!
Around noon, the patrol team was heading back to the village committee canteen for lunch. Jiang Xiaoman got off the bus near Shan Rong's house and returned home. Sure enough, her aunt had already prepared lunch.
There were guests at home, so everyone except his cousin's wife, who was upstairs catching up on sleep after working the night shift, came back for dinner. Jiang Xiaoman felt a little embarrassed, but luckily he would be going back tomorrow. However, Jiang Xiaoman secretly decided that when he returned from school, he would definitely find an opportunity to invite his cousin's family to his home for a meal. They had been so good to him, and no matter how well he talked to Boss Tang this time, he had to repay this favor.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Xiaoman didn't go out. He quietly locked himself in his room. To be honest, this was the first time he had ever spoken face-to-face with such a big boss as Tang Xinlan. He was a little nervous. She would definitely ask him why he went to see her. It would be too embarrassing to just say that he wanted to ask her for alms and wanted her to invest in a project for his village.
But if they didn't tell the truth, and the two didn't know each other, they wouldn't even have an excuse to exchange pleasantries.
At this moment, Jiang Xiaoman finally understood why Granny Liu blushed so deeply when she first entered the Grand View Garden in *Dream of the Red Chamber*. He felt his own ears burning with embarrassment. But no matter how awkward it was, he had to speak up. Even if it was just to ensure the children at the village primary school could eat meat a few more times each month, he would do his best to try.
Before 4 p.m., Shan Rong called: "Boss Tang's meeting ended early. Get ready, I'll bring her to my house later. Boss Tang is very kind. If you have any difficulties, just tell her in person."
Jiang Xiaoman nodded nervously. Remembering that Shan Rong couldn't see him over the phone, he quickly replied. After hanging up, he carefully recalled what Shan Rong's uncle had just said and felt a warmth in his heart. He knew that his uncle had deliberately said the last sentence in front of Boss Tang, probably because he was afraid that the young man would be too embarrassed to say some of his complaints.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, what's so hard to say? Is there anything in this world more difficult than poverty?
With money, he could let his father live in a big rural villa like Banligou, where the air conditioning could be on all night in winter, so what was there to worry about with rheumatism?
With money, he could buy as much meat as he wanted for the children at the village primary school! He wouldn't have to be so frugal now, having to scrimp and save for ages just to eat a bowl of braised pork belly with potatoes.
Having made up his mind, Jiang Xiaoman secretly cheered himself up. If all else failed, he would just treat Tang Xinlan as his cousin. It was not good to complain in front of strangers, but he had no embarrassment at all towards his own relatives and elders.
To his surprise, his first meeting with Tang Xinlan went exceptionally smoothly.
Tang Xinlan was a very easy-going and gentle person. He looked to be only a few years older than him. Perhaps because he was Shan Rong's relative, Tang Xinlan was taken aback when he saw him, and then jokingly teased Uncle Shan Rong: "Old Village Chief Shan Rong, this child doesn't look like yours. He looks more like a city kid, so fair and clean."
Shan Rong loved to hear this and immediately started showing off: "Isn't that right? Our Xiaoman is a top student from S Province University! A key undergraduate! If it weren't for the fact that his family is poor and his father is old and needs someone to take care of him, with his little brain, he could easily get a doctorate!"
The conversation quickly veered towards Jiang Xiaoman's family background.
Jiang Xiaoman felt that, in terms of social arrogance alone, he really was a bit like someone from Shan Rong's uncle's side of the family.
Chapter 21
Tang Xinlan has recently been wanting to travel and see the world. Her career is fine, but her short videos are a problem. She keeps filming the same few villages over and over again, and her fans are getting tired of it. Recently, the number of views and likes on her short videos has dropped significantly, and this can't go on.
Just when she was about to doze off, someone brought her a pillow. After listening to Jiang Xiaoman's description of the situation in Langshan, Tang Xinlan had a vague idea in her mind. However, she still needed to go back and call a meeting with her team to brainstorm how to do it.
"Okay, Xiaoman, aren't you going back to school to move dorms? You go back and do your thing first. I still need to discuss things with the team. Let's add each other on WeChat. After you come back, I'd like to take the team to your place for an on-site inspection. Is that okay?" Tang Xinlan took out her phone, added Jiang Xiaoman as a friend, and sent him a red envelope.
"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoman looked up in surprise.
"I'm quite interested in all the local specialties you mentioned. Keep this money and buy some samples for me when you get back, okay?" Tang Xinlan smiled and leaned closer to him, whispering, "I watched your video. Could you buy some honey from the school's farms so the principal can earn some money to buy meat for the kids!"
Jiang Xiaoman looked up in surprise, paused for a moment, and nodded vigorously. "Yes! They love braised pork with preserved mustard greens the most; it goes well with rice."
The two chatted for a short while when a handsome and tall man came over, holding a child's hand in each hand.
"Oh my, my little darling is here. Well, that's all for today. We'll arrange a time to visit you when you get back from school." With that, Tang Xinlan resignedly stood up, quickly walked over, and picked up the little girl whose eyes were already filled with tears. The man standing next to her also picked up another boy and whispered something to her. Tang Xinlan smiled and gently flicked the little boy's forehead twice. The family's back view looked exceptionally warm.
Shan Rong had originally planned to invite Tang Xinlan's family to dinner at his home, but Tang Xinlan said she had to return to the provincial capital to attend a classmate's wedding that evening, so it would have to wait until next time. Shan Rong was a little disappointed, but when he heard Jiang Xiaoman say that Tang Xinlan had promised to take her team to Langshan Township for a field trip after he returned from school, he cheered up again.
"Xiao Tang isn't someone who talks big. Since she said she'd lead a team to your area for an inspection, there's at least a 50% chance that it will work out."
Jiang Xiaoman also felt that this trip was worthwhile. He spent half a day exploring Banligou Village and broadened his horizons. He also finalized the plans with Tang Xinlan to go to Langshan for an inspection. He stayed at the mountain house for another night, and the next day he said goodbye and went home.
Shan Rong knew that he was thinking about his father, so he didn't dare to keep him. He arranged to bring him a bunch of local specialties from Banligou, and also caught two big black carp from the pond in his own yard, asking him to take them back for his father to try.
Jiang Xiaoman carried a large bag of things back to the village. The first thing he did upon returning was to deliver the pork hind leg meat he had bought in town to the school.
"Why didn't you buy pork belly? You always pick the cheapest option." Jiang Xia's foot was almost healed, but he still stayed at school. The main reason was that he could eat in the cafeteria three times a day, which was a paradise for otaku!
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm just too poor to buy good meat, so I only have the cheapest hind leg meat. Take it or leave it!" Jiang Xiaoman retorted, then took out a black carp. There are only two people in her family, so one carp is enough. This one is perfect for Jiang Baichuan. He'll kill it and freeze it first, and tomorrow he'll buy some tofu and stew it in a pot to satisfy the children's cravings.
"Wait! Xiaoman, I haven't been to your house yet. My foot is better now. Wait a minute, I'm going to the shop to buy something. I'll go upstairs to see your dad." Jiang Xia saw that he was about to leave, so she quickly followed.
Jiang Xiaoman turned around and looked at him suspiciously: "Why aren't you home now that your foot is better?"
He didn't believe Jiang Xia was actually so polite. The two families weren't even close relatives, so there was no need for him to specially buy things to visit. In their area, it was only when a younger generation visited their elders that they felt obliged to go in and pay their respects.
"Cough~ You know how well Jiang Baichuan cooks. If I eat any more, I'll die," Jiang Xia said with a bitter face.
Jiang Xiaoman looked at him speechlessly: "Even if Uncle Baichuan's cooking is terrible, it's still better than you eating roasted potatoes all day long, right?"
Jiang Xia simply pretended to be dead and stopped talking.
The village store was not far from the school, just a short walk away. Jiang Xiaoman couldn't shake off this big, clingy guy at all, and could only watch helplessly as he bought two bottles of wine and a pack of cigarettes from the store, then followed him home like a little puppy.
Compared to the "lofty mountains" near Jiang Xia's home, the mountain roads near Jiang Xiaoman's home were much easier to walk on. He would stop from time to time to pick some tender bracken shoots that had just sprouted by the roadside. These things are especially delicious when blanched and used to braise meat. If you can't finish them, you can dry them and keep them to stew with ham in winter. They are a common wild vegetable in their area during spring and summer.
“We have plenty of these back home, much fatter than yours, and nobody wants them,” Jiang Xia said, pouting as she followed behind.
"Then why don't you pick some, dry them, and eat them as vegetables? The other day when I went to your house to cook for you, you even bought the garlic!" Jiang Xiaoman looked at him with heartache.
I live in the countryside, and there are large tracts of mountain land that are not cultivated. Let alone growing some corn and sweet potatoes to raise a couple of pigs, at least grow some onions and garlic, right?
"If I had the time to pick wild vegetables, wouldn't I have edited more videos? The tips alone could buy hundreds of kilograms of garlic, okay?" Since Jiang Xia found a new way to make money, he has never gone to his family's land again.
Moreover, their situation is different from Jiang Xiaoman's. There are many wild boars there. Half of the corn on an acre of land will be ruined by wild boars. After working hard for half a year, the corn harvested in the end will probably not earn as much as he earns from a single video tip.
"Does your idol know that you like him for money?" Jiang Xiaoman asked him quietly.
"Nonsense! I've liked him since elementary school! I wasn't thinking about making money when I was editing the videos, it's just... well, I have to survive first before I can continue promoting Jiang Yuan, right?" Jiang Xia was almost furious with embarrassment.
The two bickered as they walked, making it much more lively than when Jiang Xiaoman usually climbed the mountain alone. When they passed a small pond, they saw that the water celery and houttuynia cordata growing by the pond were quite good, so Jiang Xiaoman put down her basket and picked some.
Despite the complaints, he was still a guest. It was Jiang Xia's first time visiting his home, and he had even brought such expensive cigarettes and alcohol. It wouldn't be right not to cook him a proper meal.
As they approached his house, they ran into his father returning from gathering pig feed. His waist-high basket was crammed full of pig feed, and Jiang Youliang was walking with great difficulty, his whole body hunched over. Jiang Xiaoman watched from afar, tears welling in her eyes. She quickly ran up to him and helped him up from behind.
"Hey? Xiaoman, you're back? Did you see that Boss Tang?"
"I met her. Sister Tang is a really nice person. She even promised to let me go back to school and move into my dorm first. After I come back from school, she will bring her team to our place for an on-site inspection." Jiang Xiaoman explained briefly, and then told his father that he planned to go back to school on Monday. Everyone would be at work on Monday, and train tickets would be easier to buy.
"Okay, I'll clean the house and buy a new set of bowls and chopsticks. We don't even have enough bowls to make a table." Jiang Youliang put down the pig feed, stood up and rubbed his back. He glanced at his son casually and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jiang Xiaoman didn't seem upset.
He knew that Jiang Xiaoman was going there to ask for a favor, and he was very worried that he would have to be mindful of others' attitudes. Unfortunately, he was not good with words and could not help even if he went with him. He could only let his son struggle on his own. During the few days that Jiang Xiaoman was away, Jiang Youliang felt uneasy. He hoped that his son would come home soon, but he was also afraid that if his son came back too early, it would mean that the matter had not been resolved. Now that he heard that others were willing to come and investigate, it was good news.
Jiang Youliang was quite happy to see Jiang Xia arrive. After all, he had known Jiang Xia's father for many years, and he always felt that the shaman was equivalent to the patriarch of the Jiang family. He felt honored by Jiang Xia's arrival and smiled as he told him to stay a few more days and have some fun.
Why would Jiangxia agree to stay a few more days?
He had just heard Jiang Xiaoman say that he had to go back to school on Monday. He seemed to have heard of Jiang Youliang's cooking skills, which were similar to his own. All he could cook was sweet potato porridge and roasted potatoes. Since he couldn't get a free meal, he might as well go back to his own home.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Youliang quickly took some pig feed, chopped it up, mixed it with rice bran, cooked it, and fed it to the pigs. They rarely bought pig feed for their own pigs; instead, they would go down the mountain to buy cheap rice bran or their own corn and sweet potatoes, grind them up, and mix them with the pig feed to save money.
Jiang Xiaoman quickly directed Jiang Xia to help pick vegetables and cook, and also set up a tripod to film a video of the cooking process.
"Wait! I can't be on camera!" Jiang Xia quickly jumped to the side.
Why?