Chapter 57

That night, Wei Sheng once again made it onto several trending topics along with the Mountain Path production team.

However, instead of checking his own trending topics, he silently clicked on the top-ranking one: Huang Xiujuan Mountain Path.

As expected, people had never forgotten the girl who sacrificed herself on the front lines of poverty alleviation.

This was a rare trending topic with almost no haters. Everyone was deeply reminiscing about the cheerful, strong, and optimistic girl.

Among them, one post contained only a single sentence, yet it brought countless people to tears.

“By now, if we count properly, Xiujuan should be almost two years old, right?”

Netizens were momentarily stunned before bursting into tears, leaving comments one after another—

“Yes, she’d be teething by now, probably drooling a lot too.”

“She’d be waddling when she walks, like an adorable little duck.”

“She might still be drinking formula… wonder if she’s managed to ditch diapers yet.”

“I was about to give up on my teacher certification exam, but then I thought—what if I end up becoming Xiujuan’s teacher in this lifetime? Damn it! Full recovery! Back to grinding those practice questions!”

“I was going to close up shop, but then I thought—what if Xiujuan’s mother in this life happens to pass by and buys her a pair of pretty crocheted hair clips? I think I can hold on a little longer!”

One comment after another—none explicitly expressed longing, yet every single one was overflowing with it.

Wei Sheng had always respected, but never fully believed in, the idea of past and future lives.

But at this moment, he truly wished reincarnation was real.

A star so bright and pure shouldn’t have simply fallen. She should have been like a plump seed, buried beneath the earth, breaking through the soil the following spring to become a brand-new life!

—

The next evening, after work, Wei Sheng changed out of his television station uniform in the company locker room, putting on casual clothes from home. He followed Zhou Mingxing to attend the New Year’s banquet hosted by the station for retired senior colleagues.

“Do I need to be mindful of anything? Do our station’s veteran leaders have any particular taboos?” Wei Sheng was a little nervous.

Zhou Mingxing glanced at him. “No need to prepare anything. Just be yourself.”

Wei Sheng: “…”

Why did that sound… not so reassuring?

That said, keeping the elderly company was something he was quite good at.

Pu Xiangdong had originally brought Wei Sheng to this high-profile dinner to subtly signal to the station’s senior leadership that he had a keen eye for talent, better than anyone else. But unexpectedly, Wei Sheng didn’t mention a single word about the workplace.

Instead, he spent the entire time enthusiastically chatting with the elderly guests about his experiences in the countryside!

These retired station veterans had all worked in grassroots regions when they were young, but it had been decades since they’d gone back. Now, hearing Wei Sheng share amusing village anecdotes had them absolutely delighted!

On such a joyous occasion, Wei Sheng wasn’t about to bring up anything sad.

He deliberately picked the most lighthearted and amusing stories.

“There’s an old man in Houzhai Village called Sanqiang. That guy! He’s got the biggest image-consciousness in the whole village! Everyone else came to me for help with their smartphones, but he was too proud to ask a youngster like me.

“So, when I was helping others clear out junk apps, the old man quietly eavesdropped. He overheard me say that phones get laggy because of too much junk… and when he got home, he completely disassembled the fancy smartphone his daughter bought him! Then, to top it off, he scrubbed it clean with laundry detergent!”

“Originally, the village had a little square where the aunties could dance, but later it got repurposed into a night market. With nowhere else to dance, they had to line up in a narrow alley. One evening, their speaker broke, so they just clapped along and danced without music. Then, two drunk guys happened to walk by. Seeing a row of aunties silently moving their arms and legs in the alley, they thought they’d stumbled into a ghost scene and fainted on the spot…!”

“Hahahaha!”

A whole crowd gathered around Wei Sheng, listening intently to his hilarious village tales.

Pu Xiangdong tried several times to join the conversation, but he soon realized—topics like golf, fine wine, and antique collecting, which he was familiar with, seemed to hold no interest for these elderly retirees.

He refused to believe it! Did they really not care about station affairs anymore?

At past New Year’s banquets, the station’s higher-ups would grill them about last year’s performance and question their plans for the upcoming year.

He had endured those interrogations for years—so why was Wei Sheng the only one getting off easy?

With that in mind, Pu Xiangdong cheerfully turned to Wei Sheng and said, “Don’t just talk about other people’s business! Tell us about our own! After the New Year, the second season of your show will start filming. Have you thought about where you’ll be going for the next round of poverty alleviation?”

“How would I know? I’m not the producer or director!” Wei Sheng silently grumbled in his heart.

However, he had been studying the station’s development history lately, and he did have some ideas. With all the station’s retired veterans present, it was the perfect chance to seek their insights.

From afar, Zhou Mingxing spotted Wei Sheng’s signature shy smile and barely held back a laugh.

This kid! Whenever he put on that innocent, pure expression, it usually meant he was about to subtly sway someone’s opinion.

Sure enough, Wei Sheng quickly brought up a topic that deeply resonated with every retired station veteran present—

“President Zhou often tells us that to build up the company, we first need to understand it. So lately, I’ve been spending time in the archives, flipping through our station’s old newspapers and magazines. But the video records are tough to borrow… cough

“As I was reading, I noticed that in the past, our station had one-on-one assistance programs with many impoverished towns in neighboring cities. Now, decades later, I wonder—how have those towns developed?”

Now that was a topic that struck a chord!

A bald, elderly cadre immediately slapped the table. “I would’ve forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it! Back when we sent piglets to the countryside, the folks in W Village even said that once the pigs were grown, they’d invite us back for a slaughter feast. But we were young then, always busy with social gatherings—who had the time to travel so far just for a meal?”

“Now that I think about it, the biggest regret of my life is actually missing that slaughter feast!”

Beside him, an elderly woman wearing a gauze scarf sighed. “Xiao Wei is right. We really should go back for a visit. I remember when I was with the agricultural team, we went to the countryside to promote high-yield rice. During meals, the villagers steamed a plate of salted duck for us. Even the duck bones we left behind—they would take them back, wash them clean, and say they could still be used to make a cabbage stew. Sigh!”

The countryside back then was even poorer than it is now. Yet no matter how poor, when the cadres went to the villages, the locals would always bring out their best to host them. Over the years, the cities have changed rapidly—it’s hard to imagine that, as Wei Sheng said, some of the elderly folks have never even ridden a subway or even know what it is.

Pu Xiangdong thought these old-timers were just all talk, not realizing that it was simply because they hadn’t been touched on something they truly cared about.

Wei Sheng’s words instantly made several old cadres who had participated in rural work in the past fall into deep thought.

Before long, Producer Wang Yang and Director Wang Qun were called over by a phone call.

“Old leaders, did our Xiao Wei do something wrong? The kid is still young—I’ll give him a proper scolding when we get back, please don’t take it to heart~”

Seeing Wei Sheng surrounded, Wang Qun thought he had somehow offended the old comrades and hurried over to explain.

“Not at all! Xiao Wei is a great kid! Actually, it’s Xiao Pu—we were just talking about which towns your program will be covering for next year’s rural revitalization initiative. I heard that since your show became popular, you’ve been getting a lot of calls from towns asking for help. Which towns have reached out?”

Wei Sheng had a good relationship with Wang Qun, so he immediately gave him a hint. “Secretary Song just mentioned to me that those towns our station used to support—no one really knows how they’re doing now…”

Wang Qun smiled knowingly. “Old Wang and I have actually been discussing this recently, and we do have some ideas. It looks like our thinking aligns perfectly with the old leaders’!”

The two newcomers were quickly pulled into the discussion by the enthusiastic old cadres.

As for Pu Xiangdong, who was more focused on power struggles and had long stopped caring about the station’s work—who still remembered him?

Through the crowd, Wei Sheng shot the Deputy Station Chief an apologetic smile, then accompanied the old cadres without a care in the world.

Hey, don’t blame me! I didn’t even want to come here—it was you, Deputy Station Chief, who insisted. So now I can only “perform filial piety in colorful clothes” and take good care of these seniors on behalf of the station (#^.^#).

This year’s New Year’s Eve banquet for retired cadres was nothing short of lively!

A group of usually silent old cadres—who normally avoided taking sides or voicing opinions—were now itching to start preparing for Season Two right away.

At this moment, someone finally raised a question—

“Since the content has changed so much, doesn’t it feel off to keep using the old program title?”

Producer Wang Yang paused, then immediately admitted his mistake. “We didn’t think this through carefully. The current title no longer fits our program’s direction. Mr. Zhao, you’re the best writer in our provincial station—why don’t you help us come up with a new one?”

Oh my!

Although Mr. Zhao had once worked at their station, before retiring, he was actually the Deputy Director of the Provincial Broadcasting Bureau and a Party Committee Member! He was also the Vice Chairman of the Provincial Journalist Association.

If their program could get a title personally written by Mr. Zhao, wouldn’t that mean smooth sailing through future approvals?

After all, many of the current big names in the provincial broadcasting system were once Mr. Zhao’s students or subordinates…

Wei Sheng really was their show’s lucky star!

Sensing Wang Yang’s eagerness, Wei Sheng blinked. Wait, this Mr. Zhao—they were talking about the same elegant old gentleman who had just asked for his address so he could stop by his specialty store while picking up his granddaughter tomorrow?

When Wang Qun realized his partner was boldly asking Mr. Zhao to name the program, he looked over nervously.

Meanwhile, Pu Xiangdong—who had been squeezed out to the neighboring table—crossed his arms and sneered internally. “Mr. Zhao hasn’t written anything in years—would he really make an exception for a small show like yours? Hmph…”

Just as the sneer formed on his lips, he saw the shameless Wei Sheng already putting on a respectful expression, eyes filled with admiration, as he pulled out his phone’s notes app to assist Wang Yang—

“Secretary Zhao, why don’t you think of a few names first? I’ll jot them down, and later we can have some title cards made. Then we’d love for you to take a look and help us decide on the best one!”

Good grief!

Wang Yang could only exclaim in his heart—this kid must have taken some kind of top sales training course!

This was exactly like the tactic used by the boutique shop his wife loved to visit!

In most stores, the clerks would say, “Which one do you like? I’ll take it down for you to try on.”

But the top sales assistant?

“Mrs. Wang, you’re finally here! We just got in some new tea-length dresses—the weather is great right now, perfect for wearing to meet your friends for coffee. You should pick a couple before they’re gone!”

And at that point, could his wife still resist?

Meeting friends = Can’t look shabby = Must wear the prettiest new dress!

And if she didn’t have one? Well, she was about to buy one, wasn’t she?

Sure enough, when Wang Yang first asked Mr. Zhao to name the program, he instinctively wanted to refuse.

But when Wei Sheng framed it as simply “thinking of a few names” and mentioned that they would later refine and select the best one, it suddenly didn’t seem like such an immediate commitment.

After a moment of thought, Mr. Zhao came up with a few names he found quite suitable.

No surprise—having served as the Provincial Party Secretary’s top aide, his writing skills and depth of knowledge were outstanding! Every name he suggested was one Wang Yang couldn’t bear to let go.

Even Pu Xiangdong, who had been pretending not to care from the neighboring table, couldn’t help but crane his neck to take a look.

And the more he saw, the more jealous he became!

So many meaningful and impactful names—each one could be used for an individual program on its own! And now they have to pick just one? That’s a lot to ask!

Of course, Wei Sheng wouldn’t be so full of himself. He had a small face—literally! Even Director Li said he was quite photogenic, hmph~

“Director Wang, I’ve just sent you the program names that Mr. Zhao came up with for us. Why don’t we work some overtime tonight and try to put together a draft version by tomorrow so we can show it to him for feedback?”

What do retired senior officials hate the most?

They hate how, back in the day, their words carried weight, but now, when they bring up something important, some bureaucrat either gives them the runaround or says, “We’ll look into this and get back to you.”

Look into what?

Look at young Wei! He’s got the same energy they had in their youth! When the boss gives an assignment, you work overnight if necessary, and by the next day, you already have a draft ready for review. Now that’s the attitude of someone who gets things done!

Even though Mr. Zhao had publicly announced his “retirement from writing,” technically, Wei Sheng hadn’t asked him to write anything.

All he did was speak, offering some suggestions. And when the program’s title sequence was finished, he would just take a look… That didn’t really count as breaking his retirement vow, right?

On the way home, Wei Sheng used the excuse of making sure Wang Yang and Wang Qun—who had both drunk a bit too much—got home safely. The three of them shared a cab.

Wang Yang was still in high spirits but had started to sober up a little. He sighed from the back seat, “What a shame we couldn’t get Mr. Zhao to personally write something. That would’ve made our opening sequence so valuable!”

Wang Qun chuckled, “Go home, take a shower, and go to bed! You can dream about it all you want!”

Wei Sheng hesitated for a moment before murmuring, “Does it really have to be handwritten by Mr. Zhao himself?”

“I mean, I noticed that our station’s archives still have a lot of documents that Mr. Zhao personally wrote back when he was stationed at the network…”

Suddenly, both men in the back seat were wide awake.

“Driver, turn around! Take us to the provincial TV station!”

“Boss Wang, Director Wang, aren’t you guys going home?”

“Home? What home?! We’re heading back to the office to pull an all-nighter and get that opening sequence done!”

Damn! They had completely forgotten—while Mr. Zhao’s personal calligraphy was rare, when he was stationed at the provincial network, he had left behind quite a few handwritten instructions and memos!

Who would’ve thought about checking the archives?

Who in their right mind would spend time in the station’s archive room digging through old documents for fun?

Wait!

There was one person right in front of them who wasn’t exactly “in their right mind”…

“You little fox! Spill it—did you take the job as a contract worker just so you’d have easier access to the archives and could steal past exam papers to help you pass the civil service test later?”

The TV station’s archives didn’t just store official documents; they also held past years’ recruitment exams and interview records!

Wei Sheng chuckled, “How can you call it stealing? This is just reviewing authentic exam materials in advance! You can’t buy this stuff anywhere else, y’know~”

The two old-timers burst out laughing.

Kids these days were getting sharper and sharper!

But honestly, if someone was willing to put in the effort to study and pass the test fair and square, that was still better than trying to butter up their bosses and take shortcuts.

See? Hard work pays off!

If Wei Sheng weren’t such a dedicated learner, would he have even thought of checking the archives for Mr. Zhao’s old handwritten notes?

The provincial station’s archive room could only be accessed with an internal employee keycard. It was mainly for reporters to look up references whenever they needed. After all, in the early days before computers were widespread, most records weren’t digitized and only existed in paper form.

That included all the past recruitment exams, which were kept under lock and key. Wei Sheng had initially gone in to find old test papers for studying, but in the process, he discovered that the place was a gold mine!

Wei Sheng quickly navigated his way through the archive, scanning the labels before pulling out a thick file. “Should be all in here.”

Two days later, the official account for Back to Hometown with My Bros announced that, starting next season, the program would be renamed:

“Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation”

Word on the street was that the revamped show would select four of the most representative impoverished towns from the current round of applications. The celebrity guests, now acting as “Rural Development Ambassadors,” would retrace the steps of past poverty alleviation officers and work to help the local people revitalize their communities and achieve prosperity through hard work.

Additionally, each episode would feature a special guest—one of the original poverty alleviation officers—who would return to the places where they once worked, experiencing firsthand how those villages had transformed over the years.

This was going to make waves!

After all, the people who had been assigned to poverty alleviation work back then had, at the very least, risen to become department heads by now.

Getting all those officials together wasn’t something a TV station could accomplish on its own.

Good thing Mr. Zhao had agreed to be the show’s special policy advisor.

He hadn’t wanted to at first. But when Wei Sheng put on a pitiful expression and complained about how many officials nowadays refused to go into the field, handling “poverty alleviation” with just a few phone calls, collecting some data, and handing it off to an assistant to draft a report—essentially treating it as “remote poverty alleviation” without ever setting foot in the countryside…

Mr. Zhao’s face had darkened immediately.

In the end, he was so worried about the show that he not only agreed to be the advisor but even roped in some “old comrades” to help out.

These “old comrades” included Luo Hao, a retired official from J Province’s Department of Agriculture, and Lu Ping, who had just stepped down from his position at the Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Just like that, fortune smiled upon them, and for the second season of their show, not only did Wang Qun and his team get a flashier name, but they also secured three heavyweight consultants in one go!

Don’t assume that these retired senior officials are just useless old men. Sure, they’ve stepped down, but their protégés and former colleagues are still in important positions. Some of their children have even surpassed them in influence!

Take Lu Ping from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, for example—his son, Lu Yan, is currently in [REDACTED]… Ahem! Let’s not spread that around. Those who should know, already know. Those who shouldn’t, naturally don’t need to.

The three veterans usually kept a low profile, with their favorite pastime being fishing. Their wives often nagged them about it, but now, as “consultants,” they had the perfect excuse to go “guide” work in the countryside while sneaking in a fishing trip or two—how delightful!

Producer Wang Yang was even more delighted. With these three big names onboard, he immediately raised the bar for businesses hoping to sponsor the show.

They were no longer some low-tier, forgettable program. With consultants of this caliber, did the station dare push a show personally overseen by Elder Zhao to a post-10 PM slot? Not a chance!

Of course, the station wouldn’t dare. Forget Pu Xiangdong—even the old station director had to respectfully call Elder Zhao “Teacher Zhao.” As soon as the program was renamed, the scheduling team immediately assigned Retracing the Road to Poverty Alleviation to Saturday nights at 8:05 PM—the most prime-time golden slot of the entire weekend!

He Yaru was the first to snatch up the naming rights for sponsorship. After all, Wei Sheng was already their brand ambassador, so they could even negotiate a discount.

Li Ji Seasonings, the first-season sponsor, was a step too slow. Their offer didn’t satisfy the station, so they had to settle for being the “Exclusive Partner for Seasonings” rather than the title sponsor.

There was no helping it—Wei Sheng made cooking look too appetizing! Even kitchen novices watching the show couldn’t help but think, If I buy the same Li Ji sauces, maybe I can make mouthwatering dishes just like Wei Sheng!

Other advertisers for this season were also of much higher caliber than before. The “Poverty Alleviation Ambassadors” upgraded from ox carts to domestic-brand off-road vehicles, wore national-brand sportswear, and even their outdoor water bottles were from a designated partner brand…

At last, Wei Sheng finally understood why local TV stations were all pouring money into variety shows. If a show became a hit, it could rake in serious profits!

(End of Chapter)