Chapter 97

“Wei Sheng, you’re always full of ideas. You go ahead and say it—what’s the plan? We’ll coordinate with you!” Shen Yi cut off the unpleasant topic and signaled for Wei Sheng to get to the point.

Wei Sheng’s idea stunned everyone.

Shen Yi originally thought, what kind of entrepreneurship could elderly people even do? Maybe take some factory piecework home? Or teach others how to do square dancing?

Turns out it was none of those.

“Sister Yi, do you know how many elderly people across the country love watching short videos?”

“I was thinking, since young people can livestream and sell products, why can’t seniors do it too? I’ve seen some elderly folks doing rural e-commerce on short video platforms—not top-tier, but their sales are definitely way higher than what they earn farming.”

“So I’m thinking, why not pilot a livestream room for seniors at the Haitangyuan Street-level Elderly Care Center? Let’s focus on the elderly market! Find a few chatty grandpas and grandmas, and have them livestream every night, chatting with other seniors. They kill time and sell products they themselves use.”

“This way, we can create new job opportunities for seniors in the area who are still able to work.”

“Also, since some elderly folks can’t handle physically demanding or technical jobs, those roles can be publicly recruited, helping solve unemployment for others in society.”

What a great idea!

Shen Yi’s eyes lit up and she couldn’t help chiming in—

“Middle-aged and elderly clothing is hot right now, plus things like elder shoes, square dancing costumes and props.”

“Then you have health supplements, milk powder, wellness foods for seniors.”

“Oh, and don’t forget reading glasses, senior-friendly phones, massagers, moxibustion gear…”

“Sister Yi, how do you know all this?” The other three exchanged looks of surprise.

Shen Yi smiled smugly. “A former colleague from university started a business in this field. She didn’t have enough money and her family didn’t support her, so she came to me for investment. I figured it wasn’t that much, so I threw in a few million. Who knew it would actually turn such a huge profit?”

Back then, people laughed at her for investing in the “sunset industry,” saying old folks spent their days fighting over discounted eggs—how could they have money?

Turns out, that inconspicuous little trading company was pulling in tens of millions in dividends every year!

She made back her investment within the first year, and every year since was pure profit—not even counting the rising market valuation of the company shares. The returns were so outrageous even fund managers would cry with envy.

“Lately my colleague’s been trying to convince me to invest more and scale up. I was still on the fence…”

“Don’t hesitate, girl! If you’re not investing, give me the opportunity!” Wei Sheng looked at her with sparkling eyes.

“Who said I’m not investing? My money’s ready.” Shen Yi quickly refused.

Come on, if she had any hesitation before, after hearing Wei Sheng’s incredibly persuasive pitch, she wasn’t just ready to invest more—she was thinking of pouring in enough money to open a whole new branch.

Who doesn’t want to make more money?

Wei Sheng sighed with exaggerated disappointment, but like a cockroach that won’t die, he quickly bounced back and began pitching the others to join in.

“Sister Yi, Brother Zhang, Sister Yangyang, you’re all loaded—why don’t we go big? Let’s partner up and start a company, use Haitangyuan as our test site. If this seniors-only livestream room takes off, we grow the follower base, and later build our own e-commerce channel. Might even make more than we do acting.”

Of course!

Haven’t many top celebrities started livestreaming in recent years?

That alone shows how profitable this industry is.

The only catch is Zhou Mingxing is strict—he always tells them to maintain a clean image. If they’re going to be in showbiz, they need to stay spotless, with not even the smallest scandal, so they can have a long, respected career. That’s why, unless a brand specifically requests them to livestream for promotions, Zhou barely lets them touch commercial livestreaming.

Does Zhou not know how profitable livestreaming is?

Of course he does. But he also knows how risky it is.

After all, he’s spent so long grooming a few money-makers. He’s counting on Shen Yi and the others to generate income for years. There’s no way he’d let them ruin themselves.

Wei Sheng, sly as ever, figured Zhou wouldn’t allow them to appear in commercial livestreams, so he came up with this “Sunset Live” scheme—get a bunch of bored retirees to go on camera while he makes a killing behind the scenes. Ahem~

“Think about it—this is really about caring for seniors’ mental health, right? Sister Yi, older folks often have trouble sleeping at night. Some of them live alone with no kids nearby. When it’s quiet and they can’t sleep, all they can do is scroll on their phones. How lonely is that?”

“If we open a livestream room, get some online friends to keep them company, it passes the time and gives them some extra income. Win-win!”

Exactly! No one had any issue with the idea—it was actually too good. They were all tempted.

And since they wouldn’t be on camera, they didn’t need Zhou Mingxing’s approval. They’d just invest some money, and if the account took off, it’d be like raising a golden goose.

No—more than one goose…

Wei Sheng then showed them how a real idea factory exploits capital.

With years of experience hanging out among the elderly, he quickly fleshed out the “Sunset Live” concept.

He wanted to build a 24/7 livestream room just for seniors—not with one person streaming nonstop (that’d be elder abuse), but divided into time slots with different hosts and styles.

For example, classy auntie types who love literature, humorous grandmas who crack jokes, elegant uncles with talent and wit, or comedic banter pairs that keep things lively…

“You’re turning this into “Country Love” the livestream version?” Shen Yi was stunned.

{T/N: “Country Love” (乡村爱情) is a long-running Chinese rural comedy-drama set in the fictional Xiangxue Village. It follows the lives and romances of villagers, blending humor, family drama, and local culture. Created by Zhao Benshan, the show is beloved for its down-to-earth characters and realistic portrayal of rural life in China.}

“Hehe~ as the saying goes, great vulgarity is great elegance. What’s wrong with Country Love? That’s exactly what grandpas and grandmas love!” Wei Sheng chuckled and spread out a densely scrawled A4 sheet showing a tree diagram.

“What’s so great about young idols forming couples? Senior CPs are where it’s at. When we’re recruiting, let’s figure out some strong combos with chemistry—put together different CP styles that’ll have fans hooked and chasing our ‘Sunset Live’ every day!”

The others: “…”

You’re so good at star-making, better pray Zhou Mingxing doesn’t find out, or he’ll snatch you up to work as an agent!

At that moment, none of the four imagined that a few years later, what would become the most popular livestream group in China—and even trend overseas—the country’s premier “Sunset Live Squad,” would be born on this humble sheet of A4 paper.

E-commerce livestreaming doesn’t require much startup capital. The four of them discussed and decided someone had to take the lead. They nominated Wei Sheng as the spearhead. He’d invest 50%, and the other three would each chip in 100,000 yuan. If they needed to invest more later, they’d follow this ratio.

A hundred thousand was nothing for them. Besides, after interacting with local governments during filming, they were well aware that China would be pouring massive resources into elderly care in the coming decades.

What does that mean?

It means that as aging accelerates, elderly care will replace real estate, finance, and high-tech as a new pillar industry in China.

You know how the saying goes? Earn money in China, spend it in China—not a cent should be taken abroad! Instead of letting these wealthy elderly folks take piles of cash overseas for retirement, why not work hard to develop the domestic elderly care industry? That way, the pensions distributed at home stay spent at home—keeping the wealth within the family, so to speak.

Countless successful startup stories have proven one thing: only by closely following the national industrial development plans can you firmly ride the wave of venture capital opportunities!

Jin Yannan had only gone home for a bowl of old goose soup. By the time she returned to the production team, she heard the four guests were planning to invest in setting up a tech company to incubate a group of elderly livestreamers for Haitangyuan Street!

Jin Yannan: “……”

When did we write a new script? Why, as the director, am I the last to know?

Or did I actually drink not goose soup last night, but the waters of forgetfulness?

How did the whole world change overnight?

Turns out, Director Jin hadn’t mistakenly drunk any forgetfulness potion. The world hadn’t changed—only the four permanent guests had.

While filming the show, they’d stumbled upon a business opportunity, wanted to invest in a new project, and hadn’t broken any production rules. They weren’t even official employees of the TV station, so even if they started a business, they didn’t need to report it to anyone, okay?

All that can be said is—being rich is great! Want to start a project? They didn’t even need investors; they just threw money at it and got going.

So, while the renovation company Wei Sheng hired was enthusiastically working on their after-school care center, the four guests split up and dove headfirst into setting up the company.

Shen Yi had previously co-founded a trading company with a colleague, which already targeted the middle-aged and elderly market—a happy coincidence—so she took charge of sourcing the products.

Wei Sheng had extensive local connections, ahem… the departments that required approvals and permits were left to him.

Zhang Hanxing had a childhood friend who, during the livestreaming boom years ago, had invested in several online businesses. He was likely connected to many professionals in the field, so recruiting talent was his job.

“What about me?” Yang Junyao pointed to herself.

“Sister Yangyang, your job is the most important! The three of us will be busy with company stuff, so you’re in charge of filming the livestreams with the production crew!” Wei Sheng coaxed.

Yang Junyao: “……”

Heh~ Another day of being bossed around by my junior brother.

What she didn’t expect was that while being sent off to handle livestream props, she’d accidentally discover an adorably sweet CP!

Would this count as a blessing in disguise?

(End of chapter)