Chapter 128

Despite everything, this unconventional poverty alleviation drama—thanks to its unique style and comedic flair, not to mention a protagonist who constantly reminds the locals to break bad rural habits and strive for prosperity—unexpectedly received unanimous approval from the script review committee!

There was no helping it. In recent years, there had been a flood of rural-themed poverty alleviation dramas. At first, audiences found them fresh and engaging, but as similar storylines piled up, viewer fatigue set in. The result? Many of these dramas were critically acclaimed but flopped in ratings—high scores, dismal viewership.

To put it bluntly, local TV stations invest in dramas to make money. Of course, the ideal is to gain both fame and fortune. But if all you get is a good reputation while losing a ton of money—who can afford that?

But the script Le Ling brought this time made the station execs sit up and take notice. This was a poverty alleviation drama unlike any they’d seen before!

Sure, the male lead seemed a bit… goofy. Hmm~ come to think of it, remembering how Wei Sheng played the Fox Uncle in *Daji Reborn*—another cluelessly goofy character—hey, this role might actually suit him pretty well?

As whispers filled the meeting room, with people discussing how well-suited he was for the role and the occasional “Fox Uncle” popping up, Zhou Mingxing was grinning so hard his face was about to split. He looked at Wei Sheng with a face full of schadenfreude.

Serves you right! Always leaning into that goofy persona—now look what you’ve done. The moment a silly role comes up, you’re the first one they think of!

And just like that, without giving Wei Sheng a chance to object, the entire committee voted unanimously to cast him as the male lead.

Wei Sheng: “…” Just end me already! Whoever wants this nepotism role can have it!

With the lead role decided, it would still be a while before filming officially began. But Wei Sheng didn’t have time to slack off—next up, he was heading into production for the upcoming New Year blockbuster, *Nezha Reborn: Battle of Chentang Pass Again*.

After that, it would be straight into shooting the Spring Festival special of *Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation*.

The good news was, since his schedule was packed, Zhou Mingxing had successfully helped him decline several unnecessary events for the sake of his health.

The “bad news”? He was trending on the hot search—again!

No need to guess—it was definitely because of the “pre-selected male lead” controversy.

When he got the call, Wei Sheng lazily opened Weibo and found his name on the trending list. Sure enough, the contents of today’s meeting had been leaked online.

On the other end of the line, Zhou Mingxing’s voice was full of menace: “Someone actually dared to leak a confidential internal meeting? I swear I’m going to drag that mole out into the light!”

Wei Sheng knew all too well that there were people at the station who just couldn’t stand him. Some folks, unable to achieve anything themselves, desperately wanted everyone around them to be just as mediocre. Only when everyone was equally stuck in the same rut did they feel satisfied.

The moment someone stood out, they’d get jealous, resentful. They’d rather sabotage others than see anyone succeed.

Last time, when he and Zhou Mingxing were setting up a company during a program shoot, Zhou had suspected that the tip-off to the authorities came from someone inside. Otherwise, with so many small businesses registering every day, how come it was their company that got reported? And so “accurately” to their own workplace?

Now, with the internal meeting leaked, the station leaders were furious. They had Zhou Mingxing issue a press release to clarify the situation—and immediately called the police!

The whistleblower probably never imagined that the station would report them to the authorities over something like this.

When Wei Sheng heard that the leaker had been taken in for questioning by the police, he was shocked. He knew the girl—it was someone from the station’s advertising department. Young, with long, sleek black hair.

He remembered her because during one of the *Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation* shoots, the equipment broke down and they had to take a half-day break. During that time, Chen Mengjie had gossiped with them, saying that Deputy Station Head Pu Xiangdong had “overruled all objections” to personally bring this girl into the station. Rumor had it she might be Pu’s “second mistress.”

Normally, Wei Sheng just listened to that kind of gossip and let it go. Whether it was true or not, he believed that unless you knew someone’s full story, you had no right to judge the choices they made.

He felt that way because one of Grandma Hu’s old friends was in a similar situation—essentially a “second mistress.”

That old lady had lived a hard life. Her first husband was a violent abuser. After nearly being beaten to death one time, she fled from the countryside to the city. At first, she worked as a housemaid. Later, the lady of the house, who couldn’t have children due to health issues, saw how quiet and obedient she was and asked if she’d be willing to “help” them have a child.

If she agreed, they’d help her divorce her abusive husband. And if she bore the man a child—though she wouldn’t be allowed to raise it—they’d give her a job in the city and help her get a city household registration.

Back then, a city hukou was worth its weight in gold—let alone a stable job in the city.

What choice did a rural-born housemaid really have?

Fortunately, the family kept their word. After she bore them a son, they not only helped dissolve her previous marriage but also got her a job as a bus conductor.

At the time, being a bus conductor was a coveted position. And since she was fairly attractive, even though she was divorced, plenty of people still wanted to set her up with someone.

That’s why Grandma Hu always praised her for being “clear-headed.” In those days, most women believed marriage and children were the ultimate happiness. But this woman, probably burned by her first marriage, wanted nothing more to do with men.

Besides, as a divorcée, the men people tried to set her up with were either dragging along several kids or had some kind of defect.

She’d have to be crazy to give up a carefree, independent life just to become a stepmother or take care of some broken-down man.

So, she never married again—and lived a pretty comfortable life.

Though many of the older folks around them looked down on her for “renting her womb,” both Wei Sheng and Grandma Hu respected her.

In such dire circumstances, what were her choices? Go back to the village and wait to be beaten to death? Or grit her teeth and use the only asset she had—her fertility—to carve out a new life? When it comes down to it, Wei Sheng believed most people would make the same choice.

Not only did he understand—Grandma Hu even praised the woman’s “integrity” in private:

“She was lucky to meet good people, but it was also because she had a good heart. That’s why good things came her way.”

“Think about it—if she’d been greedy, going from a maid to a pampered mistress, then gave birth to the heir of a wealthy family, she might’ve tried to get rid of the wife and take her place, or used the child to claw her way up. But she didn’t. She just wanted a way out—and she took exactly that, nothing more.”

“Good deeds bring good rewards. No wonder the lady of the house was willing to treat her well.”

Grandma Hu had told Wei Sheng this story to teach him not to judge people by appearances or gossip, but by their actions.

Rumors can lie, but a person’s behavior doesn’t. Someone who maintains their dignity in poverty is worthy of respect. But someone who stays clear-headed in the face of overwhelming wealth and refuses to take what isn’t theirs—that’s someone truly worthy of trust.

Because of this, Wei Sheng had always kept quiet about the so-called “second mistress” of Deputy Station Head Pu. Maybe she had her own reasons, her own struggles.

But this time, he’d misjudged.

He never expected to run into someone so greedy and calculating—a true schemer through and through.

That’s the thing about crossing the line: once you do it, there’s no shortage of people with hidden agendas trying to get close to you. After all, if you’ve already broken your bottom line, what’s left that you wouldn’t do?

This so-called “Second Mistress” had heard that Pu Xiangdong’s current wife was once a mistress herself who clawed her way up. Rumor had it their marriage was now just for show, and the wife was aging and losing her appeal. That made the mistress-to-be itch to “take her place.” But she wasn’t stupid—she knew the reason Pu Xiangdong’s wife had held onto her position was because she helped him build and maintain his network of connections.

So the question was: what could she do to replace the wife and bring even more value to Pu Xiangdong?

That’s how Wei Sheng, who was cozy with major sponsors and held a treasure trove of business resources, ended up in this ambitious woman’s crosshairs.

One report didn’t work? Then keep leaking dirt. As long as Wei Sheng backed down and handed over his resources to the station, she could use her relationship with Pu Xiangdong to snag a piece of the pie. If she could help him rake in serious money, would she really have to worry about not replacing that old woman at home?

Wei Sheng never imagined that after so many “political enemies” failed to take Pu Xiangdong down, it would be the canary he secretly kept on the side—on a whim, no less—that finally brought him down!

Talk about bad luck—this all happened just as the inspection team arrived in J City. The whole TV station was thrown into chaos, and even Zhou Mingxing got summoned for a few “cups of tea.”

Luckily, Zhou Mingxing had been navigating the entertainment industry for years. Not even smear campaigns from rival networks had managed to topple him, which just showed how cautious he usually was.

But Pu Xiangdong and his circle weren’t so lucky. Not only was he taken in, but many others who were “too close” to his current wife were also invited in for “a chat.”

With such a massive shake-up at J Province TV Station, who cared whether Wei Sheng had connections or not? Everyone was too busy rushing in to enjoy the juicy gossip.

Wei Sheng actually wanted to join in on the drama too, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury—station turmoil was for the higher-ups to worry about. As a low-level grunt, his job was still to bring in money for the station.

The poverty alleviation drama was still on hold for a while, so Wei Sheng’s next assignment was to join the cast of the station’s big New Year blockbuster: *Nezha Reborn: Battle of Chentang Pass Again*.

After handing over the completed script to the production team, Liang Yi didn’t even show up for the opening ceremony.

Word was the director invited him, but he declined—afraid someone might unmask his secret identity.

After all, in the public eye, Lawyer Liang was the embodiment of justice. How could he secretly be writing absurd, slapstick comedy scripts?

Wei Sheng was completely baffled by this split personality. But then he thought about some famous historical scientists who studied both science and theology at the same time. Maybe this kind of mental compartmentalization was just how high-IQ people operated?

The main storyline of the film was Nezha stirring up the seas, so naturally, they had to shoot by the ocean. What Wei Sheng didn’t expect was that the legendary, invincible Third Prince Nezha would get electrocuted the moment he appeared—by a group of fishermen illegally electro-fishing in the river.

Just then, the river patrol officer passing by—none other than the Third Prince of the Dragon King of the East Sea—rescued the nearly-fried Nezha.

Wei Sheng, playing the Dragon King’s Third Prince: “???”

Originally, Wei Sheng was supposed to play Nezha, but he didn’t fit the age profile. In the end, the role went to his junior disciple Xiang Lei, a kid even more delicate and handsome than Wei Sheng—perfect for portraying Nezha, who straddled the line between youth and adolescence.

When Xiang Lei heard his first scene involved getting electrocuted, he looked helplessly at his senior brother.

Wei Sheng: “…” Don’t look at me! I’ve been a law-abiding citizen since I was a kid. I love the environment. I’ve never electro-fished in my life!

And just like that, the station’s New Year blockbuster kicked off amidst utter chaos and a crash course in illegal fishing techniques.

(End of chapter)