◎ A blow ◎

Ren Lu’s livestream room was lively, while Peng Hongyu and his wife’s livestream room was unusually anxious.

Many fans were leaving comments on the bullet screen, telling them to give up and informing them of the truth.

But the two of them were surrounded by villagers, busy answering all kinds of questions, without any time to check the bullet screen.

It had to be said that once surrounded by these elderly uncles and aunties, they were completely caught in a whirlpool of questions and answers.

After hearing that they were big internet celebrities, the curious questions came one after another, dazzling in variety. Obviously, they were questions that made one impatient, but facing these socially adept yet kind elders, the two of them were like people trapped in a whirlpool, unable to escape, and could only answer them one by one.

Every time they tried to ask the village chief, the topic would be led astray. It was not until someone kept delivering food into the meeting room and the aroma of dishes wafted out in waves that they finally found the chance to ask.

“Ah, the village chief is inside talking with a big boss about the village’s investment and construction matters.”

Perhaps their previous frank attitude moved the villagers, so the villagers reciprocated by revealing some inside information.

“What big boss? Talking about selling cotton?” The couple became alert.

Right now, they were sensitive to the words “big boss,” because there was such a person among the guests. If it really was Lu Sinian, then they wouldn’t need to waste their efforts.

“It’s the big boss who came with you, but he probably looks down on small businesses like cotton. With all the village officials holding a meeting, it must be something much bigger…”

The old man began explaining, but whatever he said afterwards, Xu Shiqing could no longer hear. Her mind was instantly filled with “We’re done for.”

Sure enough, it was Lu Sinian. Their cotton-selling business had been taken first!

“We still have something to do, so we’ll be going first.”

The two of them immediately got up to leave. This time, even if the elderly uncles and aunties tried to keep them, they did not stop; their departing figures were extremely resolute.

If Lu Sinian stepped in, naturally they had no room to compete.

Competing with President Lu in business was simply impossible.

If it came to a proper business arena, they weren’t even qualified to be on the same project as Lu Sinian. Now, selling cotton barely put them on the same starting line, but the couple knew the gap between them was like a chasm. If they still went up to compete at such a time, it would only be asking for humiliation.

After finishing her meal, Ren Lu was sitting on a chair digesting when she saw the couple walking over one after the other.

Both of them had stern expressions, their complexions looking quite bad. They were only barely maintaining their expressions without losing their temper, but the low pressure around them was impossible to hide.

Anyone left waiting outside for two hours for nothing would not be in a good mood.

What’s more, this was something that could have been avoided. If the production team or a village staff member had come to inform them, they wouldn’t have been so foolish.

Yet no one had informed them, making them sit outside like fools. Even when they stopped the young staff earlier to paint big promises, in the eyes of the viewers, it must have seemed even more ridiculous—simply grandstanding. The more they thought about it, the worse they felt—ashamed and embarrassed.

“Have you eaten? We swapped with the production team for a boxed meal for you.” Zhou Shanshan took out the untouched boxed meal.

Xu Shiqing forced a smile and waved her hand in refusal: “Thank you for thinking of us, but the weather is too hot. Hongyu and I don’t have much of an appetite. You all eat it.”

Zhou Shanshan didn’t try to persuade further. Anyone could see they were not in high spirits, so there was no need to ask for trouble.

Once everyone had rested enough, they all prepared to head to the fields.

They did not have President Lu’s business acumen, nor did they intend to achieve performance like Xu Shiqing’s couple. After all, this was just a couple’s variety show, not a business variety show. Having some program effect was enough; there was no need to work so hard.

Before leaving, seeing that Xu Shiqing and her husband were still under low pressure, Chen Wan couldn’t help but advise: “Shiqing, Xiao Peng, come with us to the fields to pick cotton. It’s really fun. There are quite a few college students over there experiencing rural life. You can perform and exchange for cotton, and I’m sure many of them are your fans.”

“That’s right, leave this kind of business model stuff to President Lu.” Seeing his wife speak up, Zhai Jin also immediately joined in persuading.

“No, Sister Wan, Brother Zhai, we’re not in the entertainment industry, we’re not good at performing. We’ll think of another way. You go ahead, but don’t work too hard, and remember to protect yourself from the sun.” Xu Shiqing replied immediately. Her tone sounded polite, but the meaning in her words was an obvious refusal.

Chen Wan and Zhai Jin didn’t try to persuade further, only nodding in farewell.

“Young people still have a lot of drive,” Zhai Jin said softly.

“When you were young, you were also very driven.” Chen Wan replied.

The two looked at each other, clearly recalling past events, and could not help but laugh.

“That’s true. Having spirit is quite good, as long as one can bear the consequences.”

The couple’s conversation ended there, but the bullet screen was lively. After all, these two had both struggled in the entertainment industry, and their words couldn’t be taken only at face value.

Xu Shiqing and her husband came to this variety show precisely to gain fame. If they were like Chen Wan and Zhou Shanshan’s couples, just going with the flow without coming up with anything new, then they would simply be here as background.

Moreover, if all four couples were doing the same thing—picking cotton in the fields—it would be fine for them to give up. But now that Lu Sinian had soared ahead, plus their earlier embarrassment of being blocked outside, they had to win back their dignity no matter what.

They not only needed program effect, but it had to be stunning.

After the discussion, they still refused to give up on selling goods. Since they couldn’t cooperate with the village collectively, they would personally organize villagers willing to sell cotton. Although the efficiency would be lower, there would definitely be those who were willing. It would certainly be more watchable than picking cotton.

The plan was set, but when it came to actually making contact, it was extremely tedious.

Usually, they had other staff to help with selling goods. Now, they had to handle every step themselves—communication, statistics, and cost calculation, etc.

“Girl, it’s not that we don’t want to sell to you, but it’s difficult. The roads in our village are narrow, and the delivery cost is high. Your cost is too high, the price has no advantage, and the audience isn’t made of fools.”

Someone who understood the business, upon hearing the plan, immediately came out to stop them.

Nowadays, with the internet being so developed, it wasn’t that they hadn’t thought about it before. But although the road in the village was paved flat, the lanes weren’t wide, making it inconvenient for large vehicles to come and go.

Cotton wasn’t anything novel; it could be bought anywhere. If the price were much higher, even fans wouldn’t want to buy it. After all, this product had no fan value. If they were making some peripheral merchandise to sell at a markup, that would still be acceptable.

“It’s fine. When the time comes, we’ll send a vehicle to collect it from your door. We definitely won’t trouble you.” Peng Hongyu guaranteed.

In truth, he was feeling annoyed at the moment.

Who would be willing to fuss over this little bit of lousy cotton?

The production team was simply crazy. He felt that what they were doing now completely lowered their class. But since the arrow had been released, there was no turning back. They couldn’t compromise now; they had to grit their teeth and push through. Otherwise, it would feel like admitting defeat.

Today’s goods-selling task had to be completed no matter what. Even if he had to pay out of his own pocket, he had to make it happen. Otherwise, they would definitely be laughed at to death.

The shop owner, upon hearing this, no longer tried to stop them, but his eyes were still full of disbelief.

In front of the camera, Peng Hongyu did not argue. He could only grit his teeth and endure it. But in his heart, he was already cursing.

Why ask so many questions? Just do as you’re told. Even a money-giving business gets so much nonsense.

Finally, after communicating with all parties and wasting nearly an hour, their little yellow cart was finally hung up, and they began preparing to sell goods.

Standing in front of the camera, Xu Shiqing felt her mouth dry even before starting her sales pitch.

The preliminary work was both complicated and trivial, and these elderly uncles and aunties had endless questions. They could ask the same thing eight hundred times, and even after answering, they might not bring out their cotton, completely there to cause trouble.

“Hello everyone, we are Hongqing Greenery. I’m sure you’ve seen the cotton piled up behind us. It was just picked from the fields, soft and white, with no dead petals…”

After a simple self-introduction, the two began vigorously recommending the cotton, even grabbing a large handful to show the audience clearly.

“As for the transportation issue you were worried about before, that’s already been resolved. I contacted a truck team, and they’re on the way here. In just over an hour, they’ll arrive. Once you place your orders, we’ll pack here, and they’ll load it up and send it off…”

It had to be said that their tacit understanding as a couple blogger was fully displayed at this moment.

Whether introducing the product or talking about transportation, the two complemented each other perfectly.

While they were speaking, they suddenly heard a few car horns.

“Hey, the truck is here!” a villager shouted loudly, and many others went to watch the commotion.

“So fast!” Xu Shiqing and her husband exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and joy in each other’s eyes.

With the truck here, they felt more confident.

Among the viewers who had been watching the whole livestream, the number of people placing orders for cotton wasn’t many. After all, seeing them so unlucky before, trust was low. It all gave off a bit of a slapdash vibe, so sales were few.

But now that the truck had arrived, transportation was no longer an issue.

“There’s a lot of mud and sand in the truck.”

“What’s this for?”

But very soon, the villagers’ feedback shattered their joy.

They had booked the truck to load cotton. Aside from bringing over some burlap sacks, it should have been mostly empty. But now it was filled entirely with mud and sand, clearly not their truck.

“Folks, Mr. Lu is going to build roads for us, construct houses, and develop an all-in-one rural tourism service. The preliminary work is already in preparation. This is the first batch of mud and sand for road construction. Everyone must cooperate more, pay attention to your own safety, and stay away from the construction team…”

At this moment, the village cadres also arrived, loudly announcing the good news with a loudspeaker.

Immediately, the villagers who had been watching the commotion all cheered. Everyone knew that if you wanted to get rich, you had to build roads first.

And now, in their village’s future plans, there was not only road construction but also building houses and developing rural tourism. This was a bold plan for construction, obviously meant to revitalize the entire village.

“Good, the God of Wealth has arrived!”

“Which one is Mr. Lu?”

“He’s the one who went into the cotton field before, picked just a few cotton bolls, and then dropped everything and quit. You even said that young man dressed so properly, but it turns out he’s useless at everything, a coward.”

“What coward? Pah, pah, pah, that’s clearly a golden egg!”

The villagers gathered in twos and threes, discussing enthusiastically. Their words were all filled with joy, and those who had secretly mocked Mr. Lu before completely changed their attitude, now praising him to the skies.

Having been busy until now, Xu Shiqing, who finally felt she could see hope, was struck as if by a bolt from the blue when she heard this news.

Overcome with anger, her body also felt extremely unwell. The side effects of not eating lunch all surged up at once. Suffering a double blow both physically and mentally, she ultimately could not hold on. Her vision went black, and she directly fainted.

Ren Lu, holding her phone, had rushed over to watch the commotion and happened to see this scene. She was momentarily stunned.

“Ah, what’s wrong with Shiqing? Did she faint from hunger?”

Naturally, no one answered her. Xu Shiqing was now surrounded by staff members. She did not go up to check, so as not to cause trouble.

“You ran so fast, looks like you had a good lunch.”

Her shoulder was patted, and a low male voice sounded from behind her.

Ren Lu turned around and saw Lu Sinian’s handsome face. At this moment, he had already taken off his suit jacket, and his tie had disappeared somewhere. He was only wearing a shirt, sleeves rolled up, revealing strong arms.

“After such a long meeting, you’re still looking refreshed. President Lu’s meals must be even better.” She teased.

“Does that count as a compliment?” he asked.

Ren Lu looked at him with a smile and without speaking. It was truly too difficult to read anything from his completely expressionless face.

“It counts, of course it counts. President Lu has worked hard all day; there must be some reward.” She nodded, giving a definite answer.

The man raised an eyebrow and reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

“Alright, I’ve been angry several times today.”

His words were puzzling, but Ren Lu immediately laughed.“Director, we’ve completed all our tasks.”