Chapter 160

“You’ve really got something going on, kid! When are you going to do a livestream with our film crew? Let us ride the wave of your livestream traffic too~”

The crew of *New Song of Sending Off the Lover* had heard that Wei Sheng, with only two livestreams, had managed to make a completely unknown, bottom-tier brand go viral. Director Chen Shu was green with envy. He couldn’t wait to wrap up filming so he could skip the whole variety show promotion circuit and just hop straight into a livestream on Wei Sheng’s company channel!

It just so happened that Wei Sheng’s team was doing livestreams to support agriculture, and the main theme of their film was also about poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in the new era. Wasn’t that a perfect match?

Wei Sheng hadn’t originally planned to take advantage of Chen Shu, since they weren’t particularly close. But then again, if someone was offering themselves up on a silver platter…

“No need to wait, Director Chen. We’ve got a golden opportunity to go live right now! Come, let me explain…” Wei Sheng smoothly pulled Chen Shu aside to start his pitch.

Turns out, although they weren’t doing a direct remake of the old script, to help older audiences connect emotionally, nearly all the filming locations for *New Song of Sending Off the Lover* were set in Langshan, the hometown of the hero—specifically, Langshan’s Sanchaling.

Speaking of which, there was an old tale that had been passed down for generations. Long ago, because Langshan was poor and isolated, many young men who wanted to make a life outside were sent off by their families to Sanchaling. That was as far as their loved ones would accompany them.

Sanchaling had three roads leading out of the mountains, each heading to a different city, symbolizing three entirely different life paths. Which road a young man took depended on his own choices and fate.

“Once you pass Sanchaling, your life is no longer your own.” Even today, that saying still echoed in the region.

It was said that in ancient times, of all the young men who left Langshan via Sanchaling, barely one in a hundred ever made it back. Which made sense—how many rags-to-riches stories are there in real life, really?

Of course, things were much better in modern times. Going out to work might mean getting stiffed on wages, but even if you ended up broke, there were still social safety nets. At least you could make it home.

Still, the people of Sanchaling remained poor.

Their poverty was different from the rest of Langshan. Sanchaling, despite its many roads, had barren soil and little in the way of agricultural output. The only thing it produced in abundance was “huolang”—the old-time peddlers who used to carry goods on their backs, walking from village to village. Decades ago, these were the folks shaking rattles and shouting “Feathers for candy!” in the countryside.

Wei Sheng only learned all this while filming there. He noticed that nearly all the vendors at the local markets were from Sanchaling.

“So what?” Chen Shu asked, still confused after listening to Wei Sheng’s long explanation.

“So I was thinking,” Wei Sheng replied, “if they can handle the hard life of peddling from street to street, why can’t they do some e-commerce while they’re at it? Our film is all about promoting rural revitalization, right? Why not have our crew do a few livestreams each week, take our fans on a tour of the rural markets, and help the Sanchaling vendors develop their own online sales channels?”

It was actually a pretty good fit. These vendors already had their own supply chains, and even if they didn’t, Wei Sheng’s tech company could help them source products. Plus, these former “huolang” were all smooth talkers—perfect for livestream e-commerce.

Ever since the film crew arrived, the village officials of Sanchaling had been dreaming big. They hoped that once the movie became a hit, their village could follow in the footsteps of others and develop a tourism industry based on being a filming location. That would be their ticket out of poverty. What they didn’t expect was that the crew really did want to help—but not through tourism. Instead, they were talking about rural e-commerce?

“But… our Sanchaling doesn’t really have any special local products to offer,” said Jiang Yongzhi, a village official, worried.

“Uncle Yongzhi, you don’t get it. Your people are your greatest asset!” Wei Sheng was starting to feel like a master of persuasion. Seeing that Jiang Yongzhi still hadn’t fully grasped it, he pulled him aside for another round of brainwashing.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yongzhi wandered off in a daze.

The next evening, the usually quiet Sanchaling Village came alive. Jiang Yongzhi gathered all the villagers who still ran small businesses locally and held a closed-door village meeting.

Poor Uncle Yongzhi had thought it would take a lot of effort to convince people. But the moment he mentioned that Wei Sheng wanted to help them get into e-commerce, the villagers swarmed him like bees to honey!

“Uncle Yongzhi, quick! Sign me and my brother up! I’ve been wanting to do livestream sales forever, just didn’t have anyone to guide me. Couldn’t get any traffic.”

“Me too! Don’t underestimate us just because Sanchaling doesn’t have much in the way of local specialties. Langshan’s surrounding villages have tons of good stuff. As long as we can sell it on livestream, I’ll definitely grow my account and bring honor to our village!”

“Yeah, right! Just admit you want to make money with Boss Wei. ‘Bring honor to the village’? What, like the village needs *you* to bring it honor? If we can send our kids to college, *that’s* what brings honor!”

“Oh, listen to you brag! Just because your kids are top students? If both of them get into college, you and your wife are gonna be under a lot of pressure~”

“Hmph! How much pressure could it be? Even if it breaks my back, I’ll make sure my daughter and son both go to college!”

The one speaking was Jiang Dayu, a well-known “tiger dad” in Sanchaling. He had a daughter and a son. His eldest daughter had just gotten into the top high school in the county last year with the highest score in the entire township. The school had even waived her tuition and dorm fees and gave her a scholarship of several thousand yuan a year to recruit her.

His younger son was no slouch either. He’d just started middle school and was already topping his class in every exam. No wonder Jiang Dayu could confidently declare, “Even if it breaks me, I’ll get both my kids through college.”

Despite all the teasing and sarcasm, if their own kids were doing that well, every family here would be willing to break their backs too.

Jiang Yongzhi had worried no one would be interested. Instead, everyone who came to the meeting wanted in on Wei Sheng’s e-commerce plan. Now the problem was how to choose.

They couldn’t let the whole village sign up, could they?

“You all want to give it a try? Well… maybe that’s not impossible…”

After hearing Jiang Yongzhi out, Wei Sheng paused in thought, then told him to wait a moment. He turned and went inside to get Director Chen Shu.

“What? You’re saying you want to use this opportunity to build an e-commerce incubation platform for Sanchaling Village? Can you even pull that off in time?”

The moment Chen Shu heard that Wei Sheng was planning to start another “business venture” while on set, his emotions became a tangled mess.

From a professional standpoint, of course he didn’t want Wei Sheng pouring all his energy into some side project. After all, they came to Sanchaling to shoot a film, not to launch a startup.

But then again, setting aside the actual filming schedule and thinking back on how Wei Sheng had already brought massive attention and social impact to the show through his poverty alleviation efforts… Chen Shu couldn’t help but feel a little tempted. What if Wei Sheng pulled off another big move and ended up boosting their film to new heights?

Truth be told, he’d lied to Zhou Mingxing.

Back when he insisted on casting Wei Sheng as the male lead, going against the majority opinion, it wasn’t just because Wei Sheng fit the role perfectly. The real reason was that he wanted to ride the wave of Wei Sheng’s uncanny “luck.”

Let’s be honest—people in this industry are all a little superstitious. Every show Wei Sheng touched turned to gold. Even that absurd New Year comedy *Daji Reborn*, which was completely nonsensical, had crushed big-budget productions by famous directors. With a track record like that, it was no wonder other pretty-boy actors in the industry were all trying to “shield” themselves from being overshadowed by him. If they didn’t, directors would all be scrambling to cast Wei Sheng, and where would that leave the rest of them?

Thinking about it now, Chen Shu felt like maybe the actual filming wasn’t that important after all. Everyone’s technical skills were more or less the same, and he wasn’t exactly a household-name director. If he didn’t ride a bit of that mystical wave, what if the movie flopped?

“Alright! Just tell me what you need from the crew. If it helps the villagers lift themselves out of poverty, then this film will have been worth it.”

For some reason, whenever he was around Wei Sheng, Chen Shu felt like his own image got a mysterious glow-up. He patted his chest and gave his full support.

“Thanks, Director Chen! Here’s what I’m thinking…”

Wei Sheng picked up one of the sugar-heart apples Zhou Mingxing had brought last time. As he peeled it, he casually explained his idea to Chen Shu.

Anyone who had watched his previous shows would probably recognize the model. He’d already successfully tested this approach at the Haitangyuan Street Elderly Services Center, which had birthed the now-viral “Haitangyuan Street Sunset Red Live Streaming Group.”

What Wei Sheng wanted to build in Sanchaling Village was essentially a rural version of the “Sunset Red Live Streaming Group.”

In recent years, voices online had been complaining that the push for “civilized cities” had wiped out the human warmth and everyday bustle of urban life. People missed the old street vendors and the peddlers who used to walk the alleys with their wares.

Wei Sheng couldn’t go against the tide of urban development, but he could gather up those vendors who had been pushed out and create a virtual marketplace for them.

Langshan was undeniably poor, and Sanchaling Village didn’t have any special local products to speak of. But what it did have was a thriving market culture. Wei Sheng’s idea was simple: since many of the villagers made a living by setting up stalls at rotating markets, spending most of the month traveling between towns, why not take advantage of that?

They could shoot more videos of these lively market scenes, letting viewers who had never been to Langshan experience its vibrant market culture online. At the same time, these videos could help the content creators behind them gain followers.

With a solid fan base, these market vendors could do more than just make money from their stalls. They could sell products through their profile storefronts, or even livestream their market days—selling both online and offline.

Of course, not everyone was cut out for livestreaming.

So, Wei Sheng’s plan was for his company to invest in building a Rural E-commerce Incubation Base in partnership with Sanchaling Village. Anyone interested in joining the e-commerce world could sign up for the “Incubation Initiative.” Wei Sheng would organize professional training sessions to teach villagers how to shoot videos and run livestreams, guiding them step by step.

Participants would get a one- to two-year incubation period. Those who met the company’s follower-growth targets during this time could sign a contract and become official streamers under the company, gaining access to its product supply chains and promotional resources.

Those who didn’t make the cut or chose to drop out midway would simply walk away with some free training and lost time—no fees, no penalties.

By the time Wei Sheng finished explaining, Chen Shu was completely stunned, practically regretting his life choices.

Was it too late to revise the script?

Why did it feel like Wei Sheng’s plan for Sanchaling Village would make a better movie than the one they were actually filming? Help! Had he really been brainwashed by this guy?

(End of Chapter)