And so, Teacher Wang used her "good looks" as a stepping stone to successfully promote their new variety of potatoes...
Both the director and the lead actor couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Screenwriter Jiang Yueming was also deeply moved.
She now has a brand new idea!
She wanted to create a character completely different from the disheveled poverty alleviation cadres in previous news reports!
Think about it! Who wouldn't love a poverty alleviation cadre who is highly educated, good-looking, and down-to-earth?
Then, just thinking about how such a charismatic grassroots cadre unexpectedly sacrificed his life on the road to poverty alleviation, the screenwriter couldn't help but feel a heart attack for the audience just by imagining it.
Waaaaah~ She really didn't want to be tortured, it's all the director's and the Best Actor's fault!
The tranquil Zen retreat provided an excellent environment for the screenwriter's creative process.
The director and the lead actor didn't bother him. Instead, they followed Jiang Youliang around, retracing the poverty alleviation route that Teacher Wang Xian had taken years ago.
The poverty alleviation efforts finally received funding from higher authorities in the year Wang Xian sacrificed his life.
Today, this road has become part of the county road. The section belonging to Langshan Town has been named "Fuping Road," which was also Teacher Wang's wish back then.
Standing on this road, watching the passing vehicles, the director and the Best Actor felt a surge of emotion in their eyes, their feelings of passion and sense of mission reaching their peak!
"It's time to go back..." the director murmured.
"Yes, we can go back now..." The movie star clenched his fist.
Even though the new script hasn't been written yet, the two of them seem to have already figured out how to portray Wang Xian as a new-era poverty alleviation cadre.
On the eve of their departure from Langshan, Jiang Xiaoman personally cooked a potato feast for the director and the award-winning actor—
The main dish was still the potato and cured pork rice that Teacher Wang Xian never tired of eating back then.
In the middle was a large stainless steel basin filled with potatoes and chicken. Jiang Youliang had heard that they were going to make a movie about Teacher Wang Xian's story, so he specially killed the heaviest rooster in his house!
In a slightly smaller stainless steel pot next to it, there was a stew of potato noodles and pork belly. The pork belly was made from authentic local black pigs, sliced with the skin on. It was stir-fried in a pot until both sides were slightly browned, then soaked wild mushrooms were added, along with two bowls of water. After boiling, homemade potato noodles were added, and finally seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried chili peppers. The stewed potato noodles were smooth and tender, and the pork belly was especially fragrant!
Jiang Xiaoman also made almost every imaginable way to eat potatoes, including potato cakes, sour soup potato chips, salt and pepper potato chunks, wolf tooth potato strips, preserved vegetable potato cakes, and stir-fried potato shreds.
Finally, a pot of roasted potatoes that had been burned black was served.
"Don't let the appearance of these potatoes fool you, they're a type of potato that can only be found here, called shriveled potatoes."
"Actually, these are potatoes that we didn't finish storing last year. After they dried out and lost moisture, they were roasted and tasted even sweeter than fresh potatoes."
“Yes, yes, you should try them while they’re hot. Teacher Wang used to love these dried potatoes. Once, he ate too many and his stomach hurt from the bloating. I had to ask the old shaman for some herbs to brew for him,” Jiang Youliang added with a smile.
Upon hearing that this was Teacher Wang Xian's favorite, everyone else couldn't resist taking one to try.
I never expected that these potatoes, which looked so dry and shriveled, would taste so sweet and soft!
A whole basket full of roasted potatoes, but in the end, not a single one was left.
The accompanying photographers weren't satisfied after finishing their meal and asked Jiang Xiaoman if she had any more of these dried-out potatoes at home, as they wanted to take some footage back with them.
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's buy another bag after we finish filming and take it back as a prop!" The director quickly put down his chopsticks as well.
These shriveled potatoes are something you can't even buy in supermarkets (duh! Supermarkets would throw away these severely dehydrated, unappealing potatoes as wet waste long ago), but if this joke were made into a movie, it would definitely be very memorable!
Everyone has potatoes, but have you ever eaten dehydrated, shriveled potatoes? The respected Professor Wang Xian has!
Doesn't this make the character more three-dimensional?
The group arrived lightly equipped, but left wanting to empty Jiang Xiaoman's house!
Shriveled potatoes, sprouted sweet potatoes, torn work shoes, straw hats, baskets, dustpans, fire tongs... If it weren't for Jiang Youliang being concerned about the pigs he raised at home, the director would have loved to borrow him to play a cameo role as a fellow villager in the movie.
Of course, the pay is excellent, definitely not the price of an extra; it's at least for an important supporting role!
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."
You're dreaming! No amount of money can buy my dad!
Old Jiang actually really wanted to try making movies.
But when he thought about how no one was feeding his pigs and chickens, he had no choice but to reluctantly decline the director's offer to make a cameo appearance.
With the director's permission, Jiang Xiaoman has been openly allowing the crew to appear in her shots from time to time as guests in her home while filming videos these past few days.
This is really bad!
Immediately, enthusiastic passersby tagged the fans of actor Jiang Yuan:
Come and see! Jiang Yuan, who disappeared as soon as he joined the crew, went to our Xiaoman's house to experience life!
What? My brother went to the internet celebrity's house?
Fans' first reaction was that some shameless internet celebrity was trying to ride on the actor's popularity again. But when they followed the directions from netizens to find Jiang Xiaoman's video account and clicked on it, they were immediately relieved.
That's right, this is something their brother would do. To better portray a character, he went to experience life and such. How dedicated!
As is customary, the video was first forwarded with a barrage of compliments, and the fans began to search for Jiang Yuan's figure in Jiang Xiaoman's videos with great interest.
As they watched, they got hungry...
So, what I'm saying is, this time the brother really did take on an inspirational poverty alleviation drama, right?
Why does experiencing everyday life look so appetizing?
For breakfast, we had sweet potato porridge cooked in a large wood-fired pot in a farmhouse, and chive and egg pancakes made with local eggs.
For lunch, we had a delicious braised pork and potato rice, along with sour soup potato chips, salt and pepper potato cakes, and braised pork belly with cabbage, potatoes, and vermicelli...
Sometimes in the evening, it's tofu pudding ground with spring water, topped with a soup made of shredded chicken and tofu skin. Other times, it's noodles with a topping of stir-fried cured pork, pickled bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms.
Even the side dishes for each of the three meals a day are several kinds!
Pickled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, pickled Jerusalem artichokes, spicy and sour pickled scallions, minced meat stir-fried with pickled bamboo shoots and pickled cowpeas, fermented tofu, chopped chili peppers...
Wait a minute! Aren't they here to see the Best Actor?
Why did my fingers disobey and click on Jiang Xiaoman's shopping cart window?
Chapter 185
If Jiang Xiaoman had any rivals, they would probably be furious by now.
Just when they thought this rural guy had run out of ideas and was at his wit's end, he always managed to find a way to go viral and gain even more followers from an angle that even a primate wouldn't expect!
Last time, he rode the wave of the super flu outbreak in H province. Although he was heavily criticized by online trolls, he actually turned the tide and gained hundreds of thousands of followers!
This time it's even more speechless. I don't know which god this kid burned the incense for, he actually got lucky and got involved with the "core of traffic" entertainment industry.
Yes, Director Liang doesn't have many active fans, but actor Jiang Yuan's fans are known for their loyalty in the Chinese entertainment industry!
Jiang Yuan rarely engages in public activities and doesn't actively try to please his fans. Yet, his fans would rather cherish his film and television works, watching and editing them repeatedly, than switch allegiances to appreciate the diverse world of entertainment. He is jokingly referred to as the only reclusive fan group on the entire internet by the Chinese entertainment industry.
They practically have the phrase "focus on their own business" etched on their foreheads.
Now, as soon as some colleagues heard that the Best Actor went to the hometown of this internet celebrity Jiang Xiaoman to experience life, they couldn't help but feel envious:
"So even a three-time Golden Horse Award winner wants to ride the coattails of an internet celebrity?" → This is a pseudo-passerby trying to stir up trouble and make Jiang Xiaoman and award-winning actor Jiang Yuan turn against each other.
"Hilarious! Is the movie star short of money and planning to find an internet celebrity to sell products with him?" → This is a preemptive warning to passersby, worried that the movie star might steal their jobs.
In the past, when they criticized Jiang Xiaoman, things went smoothly because Xiaoman's fans were mostly "farmers" and didn't tend to argue.
However, this time, the haters finally kicked a hornet's nest!
What kind of people are Jiang Yuan's fans?
When the best actors are in the public eye, they are already very powerful; when they are out of the public eye, they are even more powerful than usual!
Upon seeing trolls subtly stirring up trouble online, the anti-troll team immediately became alert and organized a counterattack.
Immediately afterwards, on their way to fight against online smear campaigns, they encountered Jiang Cancan's fans who had come spontaneously to fight against such campaigns.
Wait a minute! Isn't this Jiang Cancan that child star from the talent show?
When did his family establish diplomatic relations with Jiang Cancan's fans?
The foreign aid team approached with bewildered expressions to greet them, subtly inquiring whether their brother had any new collaboration with the other party that their fans were unaware of.
It turned out that after asking, they found out that the other party wasn't after the movie star at all.
Jiang Cancan's fans are here to seek justice for Xiaoman.
In the past two years, fans have witnessed how well Jiang Xiaoman has taken care of Jiang Cancan's grandmother and younger sister. There are even things that Jiang Xiaoman thought of that they hadn't considered.
Jiang Xiaoman would go to town to buy whatever was needed for each traditional festival, and she would never forget to buy a portion for her grandmother's family.
Grandma Jiang is unable to attend parent-teacher meetings due to her poor eyesight, so Jiang Xiaoman always attends as a substitute parent.
Even when Grandma Jiang was bored at home alone, Jiang Xiaoman found her a job: to help her twist hemp rope to use as a tie for the outer packaging of the small tea cakes.
This is a job that can be done even if you are blind, and it is a great way to pass the time. Although twisting hemp rope for half a day only earns you a dozen yuan, Grandma Jiang is very satisfied, and her fans are also very pleased to see it.
What they care about is not how much money Grandma Jiang can earn every day, but making her feel that she is still contributing to the family.
Haven't you noticed how much better Grandma Jiang's complexion has become since she started making hemp rope to earn money?
Bullying Jiang Xiaoman is like attacking Cancan's very rear!
With her home front unstable, how could Jiang Cancan focus on her studies and business outside?
Their intentions are absolutely despicable!
Jiang Cancan's fans are mostly successful people in society. Many of them have been in and out of government and business for decades and are particularly good at making up their own stories!
This leads me to believe that these online trolls who are jumping around and attacking me are definitely hired by CanCan's rivals.
The goal is to make Jiang Xiaoman and Grandma Jiang lose their livelihood, and to make Cancan lose interest in studying and improving her education... She must be killed immediately!
So, those with money contributed money (to hire online trolls), and those with strength contributed their strength (to fight back against online attacks), preparing to confront the online trolls head-on. Unexpectedly, they first joined forces with Jiang Yuan's "friendly forces."
What are we waiting for?
Not all of Jiang Yuan's fans are rich, and few would spend their own money to hire online trolls. But that's okay, they may not have the money, but Jiang Cancan's wealthy fans have plenty of it. Throw it away! Throw it away for us! Hire all the online trolls and hand them over to Jiang Yuan's anti-blacklisting team. Let the professionals do the professional work!
In short, they all had only one demand: Jiang Xiaoman's video account must not lose followers!
Isn't that simple?