23

Boss Du, who was generous in his actions, was also calculating. Although it seemed a bit absurd, he really believed in the development potential of this town.

Compared to the location of Fangping Town, the other side of Yanxia Mountain had a developed tourist area, but after visiting, Boss Du felt that it was lacking in some aspects.

The scenic area was initially developed by a Hong Kong businessman years ago, with plans to develop most of Yanxia Mountain into a well-known tourist attraction in the province. However, after developing only a tenth of it, the businessman realized the huge mistake he had made.

Yanxia Mountain wasn’t just a single mountain, it was part of a well-known mountain range in the northwest region, towering in height and covering a large area. In addition, it was said that this mountain range contained a wildlife protection area, and parts of Yanxia Mountain were included in it. The Forestry Bureau constantly monitored the area, preventing the scenic area from encroaching on the protected zone. Moreover, due to Yanxia Mountain’s inconvenient transportation, even the roads for the scenic area required a large amount of money to build.

Thus, the Hong Kong businessman cut his losses in time, retaining only a small portion of the area for the scenic area. There weren’t many tourists, and the facilities were quite basic. They charged a ten-yuan entrance fee, where visitors could climb the mountain, look at the naturally formed caves, and then leave.

In contrast to the rather unimpressive scenic area, the small town on the mountain had a bit more of a lively atmosphere.

Du Xun’s family of four lived in Fangping Town. They would go to the morning market for breakfast, and after eating, Du Xun would busy himself remotely managing his company while also discussing the company’s plans with the secretary coming to the town. Du Xun’s mother and wife would take little Xingxing to stroll around the town.

Although there weren’t any amusement facilities in the small town, it was springtime, and everything was coming back to life. They picked wildflowers, made crowns out of leaves, and followed the local children to the river to catch small fish.

Xingxing, who was not yet three years old, ran around every day, clearly overjoyed.

While Du Xun sat in the guesthouse working, he could hear his son’s laughter from far away.

He rubbed his cheek and popped a biscuit into his mouth. Since coming to the mountain, his sleep had greatly improved, and his wife had even confiscated his cigarettes, hoping to take this opportunity to get him to quit smoking.

Du Xun didn’t mind much, as his mouth wasn’t idle.

The small fish they caught from the river were deep-fried by the guesthouse owner’s wife. They were crispy and fragrant, making for a great snack.

There were also some small river shrimp, which only needed a bit of oil to cook. No seasoning was added, and they were sweet and fresh.

His mother also made some locust flowers, mixing them with flour to steam and make locust flower wheat rice.

If all else failed, there were still the biscuits. Taking the opportunity to open his company, Du Xun asked Lin You for a large bag of assorted biscuits for “research,” though he was eating them nonstop.

There were so many delicious treats that the urge for a cigarette wasn’t as strong.

“Xiao Xu, after you arrive, don’t go up the mountain right away. Stay at the base and recruit a few people for me. Remember, don’t recruit too many at first, just an accountant, a clerk, and the rest—milkers, drivers, and operators—can be recruited on the mountain. Oh, and bring the machines up too.”

Du Xun moved quickly, especially after seeing the cows raised by Bo Chuan. He felt helpless.

The cows Bo Chuan raised were mainly for the town’s consumption. If they were to start a biscuit factory, the eight or nine cows wouldn’t provide nearly enough milk!

Fortunately, Bo Chuan had loosened up and said he would gradually increase the number of cows over the next few months, but he also asked Du Xun to hire two workers in Lianhua Town for raising and milking cows.

Without a second thought, Du Xun agreed. If not for his prior agreement with Lin You not to interfere with production, he would have already bought a hundred cows and hired ten or so cow specialists!

With such a small operation, he felt it was a waste of talent.

Since the startup was so small, Du Xun quickly arranged everything.

There was no need to have the biscuit-making machines shipped from other provinces. A quick phone call to Lucheng, and the machines were delivered to Jingshui County the next day. Du Xun rented a two-story house in Fangping Town for six months. Once the paperwork was sorted, he planned to build a few factory buildings in town and also a few houses for his family to live in.

As for hiring people, other than the accountant and clerk, Du Xun planned to follow Lin You’s advice. After all, the cow raisers in Lianhua Town would need to work closely with Bo Chuan and Lin You. Since he wasn’t familiar with the area, it would be better to let Lin You arrange it to avoid trouble.

While Du Xun was working hard on setting up the biscuit factory, Lin You had started another live stream .

However, this time, Lin You was much more relaxed.

Recently, the internet has been buzzing with drama, especially following the recent paparazzi revelations. The scandal kept trending, and the PR company that had sent lawyer letters to various celebrities quickly ran into trouble. It seems they were in a streak of bad luck, after angering some celebrity, someone reported the PR company to the tax authorities, accusing them of improper accounting and tax issues.

This turned into a chain reaction. What was already a company struggling to survive suddenly collapsed and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Of course, the celebrities involved also became a never-ending drama. For example, a rising star was embroiled in a scandal involving accusations of framing a veteran actor. The situation quickly escalated with more outrageous allegations, culminating in a major betrayal by his ex-girlfriend, who exposed his infidelity. Apologies were issued, and the star’s fanbase rapidly dwindled.

There was also a divorced actress who angrily confronted her ex-husband, planning to take legal action to regain custody of their child and file a defamation lawsuit against him.

Meanwhile, the crowd of onlookers was thrilled, eagerly consuming every detail of the gossip.

As for Lin You’s former manager, they were dismissed from a famous entertainment company. The company issued a statement, trying to put an end to the matter.

However, some revelations only emerged after things calmed down.

【Miao Xiao Miao: Actually, I wanted to say before, Lin You is a nice person. When I was a background extra in Hengdian during my summer break in college, Lin You had just become famous. I got heatstroke, and she gave me some ^[1]Huoxiangzhengqi water (藿香正气水) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used to treat symptoms like nausea, indigestion, and heat-related illnesses. It is commonly used to help with … Continue readinghuoxiangzhengqi water.】

【Want some biscuits?: As a background extra in Hengdian, I can say that many celebrities there can be quite unpleasant, but Lin You is pretty good. She would always buy drinks for the extras and never acted snobbish while eating her boxed meals.】

【Cut open Bai: Now that the situation has passed, I can finally speak up. Some of the ‘pure and innocent’ female celebrities that fans adore can really be fake. Lin You’s manager put in so much effort, but when things went south and she went to the shooting location to find Lin You, Lin You didn’t even turn her head. Don’t ask, just know that my brother is from the industry and happened to pass by that day.】

【Green Vine Luo: ^[2]“Let me spill some tea” is a slang expression that means “Let me share some gossip” or “Let me reveal some juicy information.” It’s often used in informal … Continue readingLet me spill some tea. There’s more than one ‘protector’ behind this pure female stars. If you look at Lin You’s rapid rise in such a short time, it’s a bit too smooth. So whenever I see her fans claim they’re being bullied, I just wonder, with such success, don’t complain about hardship. If it’s hard, let me earn that ^[3]“208w” likely refers to “208,000” or “208K,” where “w” is shorthand for “wan” (万), a Chinese unit meaning 10,000. 208w instead!】

Faced with such chaos, it’s needless to say that Mu Qingqing’s fans were enraged, but there was a clear change on Lin You’s side.

First, fans started showing support under her account.

【Youyou Dangdang: Let me raise the flag for Youyou!】

【You Yue Xin: Hello everyone, I’m a new fan. Are there any endorsements or materials?】

【Hi you: Are there any fan groups? Drop me a number!】

Some people found it amusing and asked, “Wait, Lin You has quit the industry, so why are you still fans of hers?”

【You Yue Xin: What do I want? Let me tell you! Look at these egg cakes, and look at these milk biscuits. What am I after? Of course, I’m after the food! (Just kidding.)】

【Hi you: To be honest, I support her just because of my baby. You guys were probably too busy ^[4]“Eating melons” (吃瓜) is a Chinese slang term that refers to being a passive observer of a situation, especially when it involves gossip or drama. It comes from the idea of sitting … Continue readingeating melons to notice the biscuits she made before. 【Image】 This is the biggest domestic mom and baby forum, and someone mentioned that Lin You’s biscuits are great for digestion. A lot of people who tried them said they have that effect… So I’m just a fan for now, hoping to get some biscuits later.】

【Youyou Dangdang: I’m back as an old fan (I was too scared to speak before)! But… anyway, whatever reason, as long as you support Youyou, we’re family!】

So when Lin You was standing in front of the camera holding a bucket of water with bare feet, she was surprised to see that she now had a team controlling the comments!

【Youyou Dangdang: Lin You, top-tier farmer!】

【Hi you: I’m sending a sparkling firework as a tip! Let’s cheer for Youyou!】

【You Yue Xin: New path opening, fragrance spreading worldwide!】

Lin You: …

It’s all good things being said, but it’s kind of strange.

The comments did become more harmonious, and many people came to apologize, saying they had misunderstood her. A few even sent her gifts.

Lin You: “Thanks for everyone’s kindness, but please tip within your means! You all know, I’m not really in need of money right now!”

Although the paparazzi did not mention that Zhang Kai had taken her money, the entertainment industry is full of secrets, and it didn’t take long for someone to leak that the entertainment company still owed her millions. As a result, her former employer was forced to add a statement, promising to pay her the commission as soon as possible.

With five million, Lin You’s financial pressure was greatly reduced.

“Alright, let’s get to the main topic. Today, we’re going to fish and shrimp!”

Lin You excitedly took out the fishing rod and bait. She had been wanting to do this for a long time, but it had been raining frequently, and she had been busy during that time.

Now, the weather had warmed up, and she had more free time, so she was able to relax and sit by the water waiting for fish to bite.

Lin You attached the bait to the hook and leisurely took a landing net, looking for river shrimp in the low-lying areas by the riverbank.

The small river shrimp in spring are only about the size of a fingertip, difficult to catch, but absolutely delicious. Stir-fried river shrimp with chives is both fresh and tasty.

While keeping an eye on the shrimp, Lin You explained: “Look, there are also snails here, but we won’t be catching snails right now. Spring is when snails are pregnant, so there will be many baby snails inside, and the taste isn’t good.”

“Just a reminder, make sure you can tell the difference between snails and apple snails. The main difference is that snail shells are harder, and the layers of apple snails are slightly fewer. Snails have relatively small openings, while apple snails have shorter, flatter tails…”

Lin You patiently explained. Since she is a streamer, her voice was pleasant and not monotonous.

Besides apple snails, she also introduced other creatures she saw by the water, but she kept her focus on the river shrimp. Unfortunately, they were scarce, and it took a long time before she caught a few.

【Flowing Years: Learned something new. Next time I go to the street stall for spicy snails, I’ll definitely make sure to differentiate. I’ve always thought that the one I go to mixes apple snails with regular snails.】

【Who Says I’m Air Force: It’s better to buy and cook them yourself. It’s too common for apple snails to be sold mixed with regular snails… Hey, your fishing rod moved!!】

Lin You didn’t look at the barrage screen, but she kept her attention on the fishing rod.

She noticed the float moving out of the corner of her eye and quickly grabbed the fishing rod.

Out of nowhere, a raccoon cat appeared, meowing loudly, as if urging her to hurry.

In the barrage screen, some experienced fishermen had already started placing bets.

【Floating Life: Bet, big or small.】

【Who Says I’m Air Force: Obviously, with this river, it’s probably a small one, right?】

【Cloudy and Distant: I bet! It’s big!】

【Purple Fur: Bet, over a pound!】

Among them, some of Lin You’s fans jokingly took her side, saying that she would definitely catch a big fish.

Lin You took a deep breath, pulled the fishing rod up, and the float rose out of the water. To everyone’s surprise, there was a fish the size of her forearm!

【Floating Life: !!! This is not scientific!】

【Who Says I’m Air Force: !! If I caught this, I’d walk around the neighborhood three times with it on my back!】

【Purple Fur: Incredible.】

【Youyou Dangdang: Ahhh, my Youyou is the best!】

The raccoon cat meowed contentedly. It might not even like eating fish, but yesterday it had eaten a black, dirt-like round ball, a taste it had never experienced before, with an aroma that it couldn’t resist.

But that little human cried loudly as he walked, insisting on finding the lost ball.

Hmm, was that thing expensive?

It must have been expensive, otherwise, he wouldn’t have cried.

Sigh, I hope this time I can get Lin You to catch more fish, so she can make more money and buy it for herself to eat…

Lin You was overjoyed when she saw the fish—this big crucian carp.

“Let’s go, Furball, I’ll make you some crucian carp tofu soup when we get home!”

Lin You happily turned off the live stream . Before closing it, she didn’t forget to do a giveaway, selecting a few familiar IDs and giving out cookies to twenty people.

Then, amidst the fireworks effects on the screen, she ended the stream and headed home with her newly named Furball.

She had only caught half a pound of small river shrimp, but the crucian carp was big enough!

From a distance, Lin You spotted Bo Chuan walking down the hillside, and couldn’t resist the vanity of a fisherman. She struggled to lift the big crucian carp and proudly said, “Look, I caught it!”