Poverty Alleviation C26

Chapter 26

In the livestream, seeing that every household was using Li Ji’s cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, the sponsor was grinning from ear to ear.

And the number of online viewers? It had skyrocketed to over 800,000!

The executives of Li Ji were practically beaming with joy.

This money was definitely well spent!

After all, in the countryside, fruits and vegetables cost nothing, and firewood and rice were homegrown. Li Ji had only spent a little over 10,000 yuan to buy some beef, mutton, and fresh pork for Houzhai Village. The sponsored oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were all their own products.

The result? Throughout the first half of the livestream, every household’s cooking scenes prominently featured Li Ji’s branded condiments!

“This is how you properly spend a marketing budget! The marketing department should take notes!”

“I’ve decided to include Li Ji’s marketing campaign in my semester-end marketing report!”

“Li Ji totally nailed this! My brain is buzzing—I can’t stop thinking about Li Ji, Li Ji, Li Ji…”

“Say no more, I’m already reaching for my family’s heirloom Li Ji oyster sauce.”

“Ahhh! So it turns out my husband Wei Sheng and I use the same soy sauce! Li Ji’s original brewed soy sauce is the best! You all have to try it!”

Meanwhile, Wei Sheng’s fans, seemingly anticipating something, swarmed the chat, enthusiastically praising Li Ji’s products.

Zhou Mingxing glanced at the barrage of identical comments and rubbed his chin.

This routine felt familiar… Were Wei Sheng’s wild fans subtly hyping up the brand for their idol?

This was a common tactic for entertainment industry celebrities seeking brand endorsements.

When competing for endorsements, if multiple celebrities were vying for the same deal, their fan management groups would direct influential fans to flood the brand’s social media accounts with engagement. This was to showcase their idol’s immense purchasing power for that product.

From the brand’s perspective, if a celebrity’s fans showed such strong interest in their products…

Wasn’t that just ready-made profit?

The whole point of hiring an endorser was to boost sales, after all.

So naturally, they would choose the celebrity whose fans had the most purchasing power!

However, this kind of operation was usually orchestrated by professional teams and celebrity fan clubs. But Wei Sheng was just an unknown figure without even a manager—so how could he have such an organized fan base?

Unless…

Zhou Mingxing suddenly sat up from the couch and made a call.

“Hey, can you look up an account for me? The NewBo (Weibo) ID is ‘Chef Wei Sheng Who Can Use an Abacus.’”

“I want a breakdown of his fan demographics. Latest by tomorrow morning.”

—

In Houzhai Village, the Hundred-Family Feast had reached its most exciting phase—the food scramble!

For Wei Sheng and his friends, it was their first time witnessing such a way of eating—

No one was sitting on benches. Instead, everyone was carrying their bowls and chopsticks, moving like a horde of foraging zombies, charging straight toward the most delicious smells!

Wei Sheng had guessed right. After enduring an endless speech from the village officials, the villagers were already starving. Add in the cold wind biting at them, and they were now both hungry and freezing!

At this moment, all they wanted was something hot to fill their stomachs.

Wei Sheng had prepared two massive hot pots, but with the sheer number of villagers, they were emptied in the blink of an eye—down to the last drop of broth.

Even the cold dishes were a huge hit.

Wei Sheng’s cooking was quite different from the villagers’. They were used to simple seasonings—just a bit of soy sauce or vinegar. But Wei Sheng? He had everything: oyster sauce, pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns…

He even had multiple types of dried chili—some for fragrance, some for different levels of spiciness, and some specifically for chili oil in cold dishes.

With such a variety of ingredients, his dishes naturally tasted unique compared to the others.

Of course, it wasn’t that Wei Sheng’s cooking was god-tier or anything. As the old saying goes, “The food from someone else’s pot always smells better.”

After eating the same home-cooked meals for years, the villagers naturally wanted to try something new—like Wei Sheng’s dishes!

Wei Sheng quickly grabbed himself a bowl of food, swiped a flatbread from another table, tore it into pieces, and soaked it in mutton soup. As he ate, he gave the village chief, Hou Tianbao, an idea—

“Uncle Tianbao, think about it. Once more tourists start visiting our village, we could regularly host these Hundred-Family Feasts. The village covers the food costs, and a few of the aunties can help with the cooking. Even if you charge just 50 yuan per person, you’ll still make a profit.”

“Besides, these feasts usually happen in the evening, right? If you throw in some alcohol, with how strict the drunk-driving laws are nowadays, the tourists won’t be able to drive back home. That means they’ll have to stay overnight in the village.”

“With that, wouldn’t our village’s guesthouse business start booming too?”

Hou Tianbao nodded repeatedly.

He only regretted one thing—he didn’t have a daughter! Otherwise, he’d marry her off to Wei Sheng in a heartbeat. Then he’d never have to worry about his son-in-law running off!

For now, he could only focus on building a good relationship with Wei Sheng.

Forget everything else—this kid was like a walking money tree!

How did this boy’s brain work, anyway? It wasn’t even that big, yet it was packed with so many clever ideas!

Who would have thought that the Hundred-Family Banquet could actually be sold to tourists?

Wei Sheng chuckled. This was just the beginning.

The Hundred-Family Banquet was merely the cheapest communal meal. Some rural tourism spots had far wilder ways of making money—

Set up a few tempered glass structures in a nest-like design, call them something fancy like a “Panoramic Starry Sky Restaurant,” and set a minimum spend of 998 yuan per meal. If a couple came by and the girlfriend acted coy, how could they not book a spot?

Put up a dozen canopy tents, buy some BBQ grills—or if they were stingy, just use stones and yellow mud to build a few stoves, plant a large patch of grass, and turn it into a rural camping site.

A single tent stay for one night? 300 yuan. Add a BBQ set for another 300 to 500 yuan. There were plenty of young people who loved a lively atmosphere and would be scrambling to book it.

And if they built a few treehouses for kids or wooden cottages shaped like Peppa Pig, Pleasant Goat, or Doraemon, wouldn’t those little ones cry and beg to stay the night? Parents wouldn’t hesitate to spend money!

“Wait! Teacher Xiao Wei, slow down—I need to get a pen and paper to write this down!”

Hearing all this, Hou Tianbao was so excited he couldn’t even eat. He was desperate to grab a recorder and capture every word Wei Sheng said.

In his haste, the old village chief even forgot that modern smartphones had a recording function.

“Eat first. There’s no rush for this,” Wei Sheng quickly reassured him. “After we finish eating, we can discuss it carefully and draft a detailed plan. Besides, if the village is going to implement such a big project, you’ll need a proposal to show the township leaders, right?”

“You’re right! How could I forget something so important?” Hou Tianbao smacked his forehead, then looked a bit sheepish.

It wasn’t his fault—Houzhai Village had been too poor for too long.

So poor that they hardly ever had anything worth reporting to the township.

Every year when he attended township meetings, Hou Tianbao wished he could dig a hole and hide inside—just like a struggling student in class, dreading being called on by the teacher.

What was there to report? Houzhai Village had only just lifted itself out of poverty. Their average annual household income was still barely above subsistence level. Not getting scolded was already a blessing.

But now… heh! Maybe soon it would be Houzhai Village’s time to shine!

Imagining a future where, under Teacher Xiao Wei’s guidance, Houzhai Village would thrive as a rural tourism hotspot, with an average household income breaking the 100,000-yuan mark—far surpassing other township households…

Hou Tianbao could already see himself wearing a big red flower, standing tall on the podium, basking in the admiration of all the township officials. Maybe they’d even invite him to share Houzhai Village’s success story. Heh heh~

Seeing how Wei Sheng had, in just one meal, completely bewitched the village chief, Ouyang Xia couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

No wonder this guy scored so high on his civil service essay exam!

After the Hundred-Family Banquet ended, the real business of the show was just beginning.

Back to Hometown with My Bros truly lived up to its reputation as the most unconventional rural variety show online!

Other rural variety shows portrayed a peaceful, idyllic life—while they were charging ahead at full speed.

Other shows focused on grains and vegetables—while they were concerned about the villagers’ per capita income and household expenses…

Viewers found themselves in a daze, feeling like they were watching Prosperity Economics rather than a variety show.

Since none of the village officials in Houzhai were skilled at writing formal reports, the task naturally fell to Wei Sheng, the contestant with the highest essay score. He was unanimously elected to draft the proposal and reports for the village.

But he wasn’t the only one working.

For this episode, Director Ouyang had even brought two people from the new media department—one tech specialist and one content editor—to develop a custom mini-program for Houzhai Village within two days.

This mini-program would streamline bookings for schools looking to organize student labor experience and study tours. Instead of making calls or inquiries, schools could simply choose a package and place an order online. Standard study tour activities could all be scheduled via the platform.

Ouyang Xia also added an e-commerce feature to the mini-program, allowing Houzhai Village to sell its local specialties online.

However, this meant the village would need to hire two people to manage and operate their new media platform.

One person wouldn’t be enough—what if they needed time off?

But Houzhai was full of elderly folks, women, and children. Where would they find such talent?

Most young people wouldn’t want to work in such a remote, impoverished village.

“Who says we don’t have anyone? Director Ouyang, wait a second—I’ll ask around.”

Right on cue, Wei Sheng, the man with a ridiculously vast network, jumped in again.

Ouyang Xia twitched the corners of his mouth. “How many more surprises are you hiding from us?”

“Heh heh~ Plenty—more than you can imagine~” Wei Sheng hummed a tune as he stepped aside to make some calls.

These days, who didn’t have a few jobless classmates?

Wei Sheng’s university wasn’t exactly top-tier, and its employment rate was, well… “impressive.” The official report claimed 80%, but from what Wei Sheng knew, it was likely under 50%.

Many students had to pull strings, pay fees, or even bribe companies just to get a stamped certificate proving “employment” for school records.

The school couldn’t afford to lose face, but the ones suffering were the students of this graduating class.

So when Wei Sheng mentioned a job opening—one that only required basic skills in photo and video editing, plus managing a mini-program’s backend—two classmates instantly volunteered to come the next day.

What? The job location is in some godforsaken remote countryside?

That’s perfect! Remote mountainous areas mean fewer places to spend money, far away from the temptations of city nightlife, so they can save a lot!

Most importantly, going to the mountains means they can escape the endless nagging from parents and relatives about getting married…

Who knows which heartless expert came up with the idea that if college graduates can’t find a job right away, they should take this time to settle major life events first.

Get married, have kids—it’s a contribution to the country, right?

Pfft! If they can’t even find a job or have a stable income, which family would willingly marry their daughter to them?

Even if someone was willing, what about the bride price? The wedding house? And after having kids—baby formula, diapers, clothes, shoes… Do they think those will just fall from the sky?

Do these experts really believe young people aren’t getting married just because they don’t have time?

Isn’t it all because they don’t have money?!

“Wait! Aren’t you guys going to ask about salary and benefits?” Wei Sheng quickly interrupted their ranting.

To make communication easier, the three of them had just created a group chat.

Oh, right—how much is the salary?

Wei Sheng felt a row of black lines sliding down his forehead.

“This place is just starting out, so the salary won’t be too high at first. But since you guys are being brought in as special technical talents for the village, after some discussion, they’ve decided to set your salary at 45,000 yuan per year, including full social insurance and housing funds.”

“So, in the first year, your take-home pay will be around 3,000 yuan per month.”

“But I also negotiated with the village for you. Since you’ll be handling customer service and after-sales too…”

“The village will give you a 3% commission based on the monthly product sales from the mini-program.”

After some thought, they both decided to give it a try.

However, Wei Sheng made sure to lay out the conditions upfront—

“Houzhaicun is getting a lot of attention online right now, and later on, our show might do a follow-up episode. Since you’ve decided to take the job, you’ll need to stay for at least a year. If you want to leave, you have to wait until the village finds a replacement.”

“Otherwise, if your departure disrupts the village’s operations, you might get cyberbullied…”

This was something Wei Sheng had to make clear.

According to their development plan for Houzhaicun, they intended to establish a rural media network, using live streaming and short videos to boost the village’s online presence.

That meant Houzhaicun would constantly be in the public eye.

Just like those big self-media accounts now—any tiny mistake could be blown out of proportion by ill-intentioned people, eventually escalating into full-blown online harassment.

Wei Sheng wanted to help his classmates find jobs, but he couldn’t just let them walk into a cyberbullying trap, so he had to warn them first.

Jiang Siyuan, who was in the same major as Wei Sheng, was the first to respond—

“A year? Lao Wei, you’re underestimating me! As long as there’s internet and meals are covered, forget one year—I won’t bother leaving even after ten!”

“You have no idea how terrifying my relatives are about marriage! It’s like if I don’t get married soon, I’ll be violating some heavenly law and get struck by lightning the moment I step outside!”

“They all talk a big game, but the moment I mention that I don’t have money to get married and ask to borrow some, they run faster than rabbits!”

“Pfft—” Wei Sheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Same world, same nosy relatives~

Another guy, Fang Chen, who wasn’t in their major but had been assigned to their dorm back in college, quickly chimed in—

“My family isn’t pushing me to get married, but my mom… She’s acting like she’s possessed! Since I haven’t found a job in China, she got tricked by some agency and is actually thinking about selling our house to send me to Australia for further studies!”

“Don’t do it!” Wei Sheng and Jiang Siyuan sent voice messages in perfect unison.

No way, right?

People still believe that if they can’t find a job in China, they can just go abroad, buy a degree from some diploma mill, slap on a fake PhD title, and come back to land a high-paying job?

Even those who went abroad on full scholarships are struggling to find work when they return.

Why do some people end up working overseas after studying abroad?

Do you really think they don’t want to come home?

Isn’t it just because job competition in some Chinese cities is even fiercer than abroad?!

(End of Chapter)