Chapter 7

What the station leadership didn’t expect was that, due to the show’s somewhat supernatural “black history,” employees with even a little ambition for their careers and futures were too scared to sign up.

Besides, going out to film a show and getting paid only 1,000 yuan a day? Were they begging for volunteers?

Even their station’s field reporters, the lowest-tier hosts, could earn several thousand yuan just by hosting a wedding or a grand opening.

As for the station’s star hosts, their appearance fees were almost on par with minor celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Seeing that no one was signing up, the leadership was unhappy. So, they resorted to the almighty internal “mandatory quota system”—

No one wants to sign up?

Fine. Then each department must nominate at least one person!

Post-Production Department Head Jiang Fei had a whole string of curses for the leadership…

Did they really think their department was all-around superhuman?

They already had to pull all-nighters editing footage, and now they were expected to look good on camera too?

Wait a minute!

Their department actually did have a pretty suitable candidate…

Jiang Fei called in Wei Sheng, who had just recently reported to the department and had yet to be wrecked by endless overtime, ruining his looks and figure.

“Xiao Wei, you look pretty good. Why don’t you sign up on behalf of our department?”

“Sigh, you’ve been here a few days now, so you’ve probably seen the state of everyone in this department—balding, dark circles, stress-induced weight gain… Looking around, you’re the only one who could somewhat represent the Post-Production Department’s image.”

“Huh? You want me to be on the show? No way! I can’t even get a word out in front of a camera!” Wei Sheng waved his hands frantically.

“Xiao Wei, don’t be so quick to refuse. Did you know that this show is currently a major priority for the higher-ups?”

“If you perform well and make a good impression on them, when the station holds its next recruitment exam, as long as you make it to the interview stage, do you think those leaders will give you a low score?”

Recruitment exam?!

Wei Sheng was immediately hooked by those two words.

It wasn’t that he was desperate for the stability of a government job—he just knew that his mother’s biggest regret and resentment in life was that his father had a great start, getting into the state-owned tobacco company right out of college, and after working there for over thirty years, he still couldn’t even pull some strings to get their son a job!

Everyone knew that big state-owned enterprises had a bit of a “family succession” tradition. Employees’ children had an easier time getting hired—usually, before an external job posting even went public, insiders had already been secretly preparing their kids for the exam… Ahem.

Wei Zhiyong’s younger colleagues—who had entered the company even later than him—had all arranged stable jobs for their kids at the company or its affiliated firms.

Only Wei Zhiyong, clueless his whole life, neither flattered his superiors nor networked with his colleagues. His son graduated from college with no job prospects, and in the end, it was his wife, a housewife, who had to come up with a solution!

Hu Qianqian was dead set on getting her son into the system, just to prove to Wei Zhiyong that she and her son didn’t need his help to land a respectable job.

Wei Sheng knew that his mother had been holding in this resentment for years. If he didn’t land a government job, she’d never let it go.

“Alright then, I’ll listen to you, Director. But I really don’t have any on-camera presence. If I get eliminated, please don’t be disappointed.” Wei Sheng reluctantly accepted the department’s “mandatory task.”

Of course, this decision came with some immediate benefits.

Before the internal “auditions” even started, Jiang Fei took him off the overtime schedule.

“Take the next few days to rest well—absolutely no dark circles!” Jiang Fei instructed, handing him a box of whitening face masks. “Keep these in the fridge and use one every night before bed!”

Wei Sheng: “….”

When Han Zekai heard that Wei Sheng had been “persuaded” by the department head to sign up, he placed a sympathetic hand on his skinny little shoulder.

With a solemn expression, he said, “Bro, don’t worry. If anyone trashes you online after the show airs, I swear I’ll create a small account and go defend you!”

Wei Sheng: “…”

W-was it really going to be that bad?!

But hey, this was a TV station full of talented people—as a mere intern, it wasn’t certain he’d even get selected, right?

The next day, Wei Sheng received a notification—he was chosen!

Wei Sheng: ???

Did… did he just screw himself over?!

Department Head Jiang Fei felt genuinely apologetic: “Xiao Wei, this is going to be tough on you! The higher-ups decided that since the Post-Production Department is always roasting the show’s guests, we have to send someone to be a permanent cast member. So, you must do well and make us proud!”

“Don’t worry! If you finish this show successfully, I’ll personally handle your internship assessment and full-time employment!”

Wei Sheng: “…”

Nope. He was definitely not reassured right now. o(╥﹏╥)o

But as an intern, he had zero say in front of his department head—let alone against the station’s top executive, who had made the final decision.

At least, he wasn’t going in alone.

Along with him, a young lady from the Planning Department named Chen Mengjie was also forcibly recruited.

There was also a young man from the Advertising Department, said to be particularly skilled at livening up the atmosphere, named Zhang Zexuan.

The highest-ranking guest among them was Ouyang Xia, the deputy director of the New Media Department, and their destination for this trip was none other than Director Ouyang’s hometown—Wutong Town.

The reason these four people were chosen was reportedly because their departments had been constantly complaining about how poorly the production team was handling the show during its preparation.

The producer had put it to the station executives like this—

“Since these departments’ colleagues think we’re doing a terrible job, why not let them go on the show themselves?”

If they don’t experience it firsthand, how would they ever understand how hard it is to make a program?

Do they really think that as long as the Advertising Department secures sponsorships, the Planning Department writes a script, the Post-Production Department puts in a little extra effort, and the New Media Department pushes a few promotional posts, a show will magically go viral across the internet?

Wishful thinking!

If they think we’re doing it wrong, let’s see them try it themselves!

This time, the producer and the director finally had a chance to vent their frustration. In fact, they even deliberately chose the filming location to be the hometown of the New Media Department’s Director Ouyang. If the show still went wrong, what excuses would these departments have then?

It would be hilarious if, instead of blaming the production team, they started turning on each other like a pack of dogs.

That said, perhaps because the initial pay of 1,000 yuan per day was simply too low, and after enduring ridicule from internal chats, the producer uncharacteristically showed some generosity. They fought for a pay raise and managed to get the appearance fee increased to 20,000 yuan per episode for the guests.

That was probably the only comforting news after receiving their assignments.

For Wei sheng, the timing was perfect—he needed money. He had been planning to save up after his housing fund kicked in so he could buy his mother a small apartment for her retirement.

Aside from the two disastrous episodes, Back to Hometown with My Bros was originally planned for a total of ten episodes.

At 20,000 yuan per episode, that was 200,000 yuan for the full run—equivalent to two years of Wei sheng’s salary.

The producer’s “cash burn” strategy worked wonders—suddenly, none of the grumbling guests had any more complaints.

Worried that their newly acquired participants might back out, the producer and the show’s director wasted no time. Just three days after finalizing the cast, they rushed everyone off to Wutong Town.

From its name, Wutong Town sounded like a poetic and idyllic Jiangnan water town. In reality, it was a poverty-stricken rural village located at the junction of central and western China.

And ironically, there were no wutong (parasol) trees in Wutong Town.

“Haha! Our town was actually named after an old folktale,” explained Ouyang Xia, the main guest of this episode, who took on the role of a temporary tour guide as he shared the history of Wutong Town.

According to the story, a feng shui master once passed through the area and noticed that the intersecting waterways formed the shape of a phoenix spreading its wings. At the time, the region suffered from constant flooding, leaving the people in misery. The local magistrate invited the master to assess the situation.

Surprisingly, the master neither performed any rituals nor demanded offerings to the river god. Instead, he simply advised the magistrate to rename the towns along the upper and lower reaches of the river.

One became Fenglai Town (Phoenix Arrival Town), and the other was named Wutong Town (Parasol Tree Town).

Since ancient times, it was said that “phoenixes only rest upon parasol trees”—a symbol of great fortune and prosperity.

And sure enough, after the renaming, the flooding miraculously subsided.

However, that prosperity did not last forever…

Over centuries, with the absence of frequent floods, Fenglai Town flourished. Thanks to its abundant water resources, it became a “paradise in the desert.” The fertile land along the riverbanks was first converted into farmland, then gradually filled with rows upon rows of buildings.

Today, what was once Fenglai Town had fully developed into Fenglai City. Though it still experienced annual flooding that occasionally submerged half the city, its economy had undeniably taken off.

A soaring phoenix no longer needed the parasol tree beneath it.

And so, Wutong Town was left behind, fading into obscurity over time, becoming one of the most impoverished areas in the region.

“The elders in our town often joke that Wutong Town was poorly named from the start. A parasol tree is nothing more than a stepping stone for a phoenix. Once the phoenix grows strong, it will inevitably fly away,” Ouyang Xia said with a bitter smile.

Wasn’t he himself one such phoenix that had taken flight?

Back when he was admitted to a prestigious university, the whole village had celebrated, with every household pitching in to send him off to school. At the time, Ouyang Xia had sworn that once he became successful, he would return to help develop his hometown.

But reality quickly humbled the once-ambitious young man.

The poverty-stricken Wutong Town had no place for a journalism graduate.

He couldn’t even pass the local civil service exam.

He wasn’t some wealthy second-generation heir, nor was he the protagonist of a web novel, born with a golden finger (a cheat-like ability).

Despite being the deputy director of the TV station’s New Media Department—something the villagers believed made him a big shot in a provincial media company—the truth was, he was just a glorified corporate slave!

Earning a take-home salary of barely over 10,000 yuan a month, he couldn’t even change his own fate, let alone that of his hometown.

Hearing Ouyang’s words, the entire car fell silent.

See? This is why countryside slow-life variety shows are best suited for naive young celebrities who have never known hardship!

They’d marvel at everything they saw, never bringing up the struggles of rural life the way they just had.

Audiences watched variety shows for entertainment. Who would want to spend the evening reflecting on life’s miseries after being beaten down at work all day?

“Actually… maybe media professionals are still needed here,” Wei sheng suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.

The dejected cameraman immediately perked up and excitedly pointed his camera at his colleague.

Little Wei is a good comrade! He actually knows how to create talking points for the show?

Caught off guard by the dark camera lens suddenly thrust in his face, Wei sheng was so startled that all the words he had planned to say completely flew out of his mind.

(End of chapter)