"Is Ning Heng here too?" Xu Qiulai asked.
"Yes, Auntie Xu, I'm here. Brother Sheng is having such a hard time here. Please agree to all his requests."
Xu Qiulai ignored Ning Heng's words and showed no excitement or dissatisfaction with Sheng Yuxiao's claim about insufficient funds. Instead, she continued in a calm tone, "Do you remember what work needs to be done for the investment?"
Sheng Yuxiao replied, "I do."
Xu Qiulai then asked, "Why did you let Li Xiaoya make the choice?"
The audience's hearts leapt to their throats once again.
[She said she'd hold him accountable, and here it comes!]
Sheng Yuxiao's lips moved, unsure how to describe his feelings at that moment.
But before he could speak, Xu Qiulai continued, "You shouldn't have done that, Sheng Yuxiao."
"You shifted the decision-making that should have been yours, your responsibility, onto a young girl. Have you considered whether her shoulders can bear this burden? If the investment fails, she'll be more anxious than you. Do you want her to lose sleep every night?"
[Huh?]
[Damn, so this is why Ms. Xu thought Li Xiaoya shouldn't make the decision?]
Sheng Yuxiao said with certainty, "I won't fail, and then Li Xiaoya will know that every choice she made was right."
Xu Qiulai was momentarily speechless.
But her son had always been like this, so she was used to it.
Sheng Yuxiao then asked, "Are you worried about the money?"
Xu Qiulai replied, "What do you think?"
Sheng Yuxiao smiled, "I think you're not. You care more about whether I can take responsibility like an adult. This amount of money, for other families' children, wouldn't even be enough for a practice run."
Xu Qiulai only said, "Don't let me see you make a fool of yourself," before hanging up.
But with just these few words, Xu Qiulai's attitude was clearly established in front of everyone.
Sheng Yuxiao returned the phone to the director and said to Li Xiaoya, "See? My mom cares about you."
A look of confusion appeared on Li Xiaoya's face. Why? Why wouldn't Sheng Yuxiao's mother scold her?
[I'm amazed. Sheng Yuxiao's mother is so open-minded.]
[Laughing and crying, this is the kind of open-mindedness only rich families can afford to play with.]
Outside the TV, Dou Dawei plopped back onto the sofa, laughing and crying, "Good, good! It's finally going smoothly!"
Ning Heng sighed at this point, "Well, looks like there's no chance for me to intervene."
He moved closer to Li Xiaoya and whispered, "Don't worry, Brother Sheng definitely won't fail in his investment. He'll definitely make money!"
"Let me tell you, when he was young, he went to Wall Street with his uncle. In elementary school, during a business simulation game, he took all the other students' funds..."
Before Ning Heng could finish, Sheng Yuxiao pushed him aside, "What are you telling Li Xiaoya?"
"Nothing, just recounting your glorious deeds."
Sheng Yuxiao thought for a moment, "You're allowed to tell her."
[Young Master Sheng, don't be too ridiculous, haha]
[At this point, I'm really a bit envious of Li Xiaoya]
[Can you also eat one meal and worry about the next in a small mountain village, walk for hours on mountain roads to school, and do farm work and take care of your grandfather when you get home?]
[Okay, I can't. So this is what she deserves]
That day, the segment of Ning Heng falling into the manure pit while feeding pigs hit the trending topics, instantly attracting more viewers.
After all, it's rare to see a rich second-generation fall into a manure pit.
Whether it was the show's production team or at Xu Qiulai's suggestion, although the conversation about the investment was uploaded online, most of the heat was removed, downplaying its impact.
The director sat behind the scenes, looking at the trending data and sighing, "Young Master Sheng and his group's ratings are still skyrocketing. The live broadcast is about to break 2, and the replay viewing data is about to break 600 million."
A staff member asked, "What about Li Qingqing's side?"
The director was silent for a moment before saying, "0.3, but overall live broadcast ratings are not high now. 0.3 is considered a normal level. The cumulative replays have also reached 300 million. People still really like to watch the life of a village child going into a wealthy family."
Most viewers aren't so black and white in their likes and dislikes. They only care if the show has what they want to see.
Li Qingqing entering a wealthy family is very relatable for most people, allowing them to indulge in the dream of entering high society.
Sheng Yuxiao's side, on the other hand, provides more entertainment. The fact that it has such strong data performance has already far exceeded the director's expectations.
"Next season's sponsorship is secured," the director couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.
Meanwhile, Dou Dawei turned off the TV, grabbed a few folders, and set out.
Two Audis slowly drove along the dilapidated mountain road, entering the small village.
For the villagers of Li Family Village, they might not always recognize Rolls-Royce or Porsche logos, but they could somewhat identify BMW, Mercedes, and Audi.
So when the Audis entered the village, they knew rich people had come.
"Why has our village been so lucky recently? Rich people are coming again?" They couldn't help but crane their necks, holding their bowls as they watched the spectacle outside.
As they watched, they realized...
"Why are those cars heading to Li Xiaoya's house again?"
With these words, everyone fell silent again.
After a while, someone finally gritted out, "Li Xiaoya is so lucky!"
They had completely forgotten that they had previously cursed her as a bringer of bad luck.
The Audis drove closer and came to a stop.
Inside the car, several middle-aged men couldn't help but curse, "Is this really the place, Dou Dawei? You're not lying to us, are you?"
"You little bastard, you're not up to something bad, are you?"
Dou Dawei quickly raised his hands and said, "I don't have any bad intentions. Look carefully, aren't there many people carrying cameras outside? I told you, they're really filming a show here. Don't you all watch variety shows? This show was even trending today!"
"I glanced at it. Something about a rich second-generation falling into a manure pit."
Dou Dawei quickly advised, "Don't say that to their faces later. If the rich kid gets angry, our investment might fall through."
"I say, it would have been better to sell directly to foreign investors. Take the cash and go our separate ways."
Dou Dawei didn't respond and walked straight ahead after getting out of the car.
"Who are you? What do you want?" A staff member turned and shouted.
"I'm here to see Young Master Sheng. I'm the person in charge of the project that Young Master Sheng wants to invest in," Dou Dawei said with a smile.
The staff member was stunned. They're really investing?
The staff led Dou Dawei and his group over, and the program was temporarily interrupted.
As it happened, Ning Heng had never experienced much village life, so she picked up a stool to go out and watch the stars. Sheng Yuxiao lazily walked behind her, helping Li Xiaoya carry a bowl of chestnuts.
The chestnuts were collected from the mountain and thrown into the stove to roast, bursting open with a small crack, giving off a delicious, nutty aroma.
The two groups ran into each other face to face.
"Young Master Sheng!" These three words escaped from Dou Dawei's throat, tears almost bursting forth on the spot.
Sheng Yuxiao took half a step back: "Don't act like you've finally found your long-lost father."
Dou Dawei was immediately choked up, but at least he didn't get all emotional.
At this moment, Li Xiaoya also came out.
Dou Dawei immediately pushed forward the things he was carrying, forcing a sickly sweet smile, and even wanted to pick up Li Xiaoya: "Here, Xiaoya! Uncle bought this especially for you! Uncle owes you so much..."
Sheng Yuxiao frowned, extending an index finger to push Dou Dawei away slightly: "Why are you being so overly familiar?"
Dou Dawei was taken aback: "Am I being overly familiar?"
What else should he call her then?
Ning Heng asked from the side: "Sheng, what are these country bumpkins here for?"
The middle-aged men Dou Dawei brought along twitched their mouths violently upon hearing this. Country bumpkins? They were at least local entrepreneurs. Although their factories weren't doing well now, they were all decked out in expensive clothes and clearly looked like wealthy people!
"They're here for investment," Sheng Yuxiao said concisely.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoya had already sat down on a small stool. Sheng Yuxiao quickly sat down next to her, shoving the chestnuts into Ning Heng's arms: "Peel them, peel a couple for Li Xiaoya to try first."
"We..." Dou Dawei couldn't help but speak up.
"Sit down, what are you all standing around for?" Sheng Yuxiao said without looking up, "You're blocking Li Xiaoya's light."
"Oh, oh." Dou Dawei turned in a circle, finding no spare stools, and finally borrowed some folding chairs from the program crew.
They sat down in a circle like this.
The others quietly observed Sheng Yuxiao and Ning Heng, not yet clear about the identities of these two.
Dou Dawei had already handed over the documents.
"Please take a look."
"Wait a moment..." Sheng Yuxiao took a peeled chestnut from Ning Heng's hand and gave it to Li Xiaoya, "Eat."
Li Xiaoya hadn't said anything yet.
Suddenly, Sheng Yuxiao remembered something and snatched the chestnut back, returning it to Ning Heng: "Did you wash your hands properly?"
Ning Heng said pitifully: "I washed them clean, really no smell left. Sheng, if you don't believe me, you can smell them yourself?"
Now the middle-aged men knew - this was the one who had fallen into the manure pit.
At this moment, Li Xiaoya leaned forward, lowering her head. Her nose twitched slightly as she sniffed Ning Heng's hand. Then she lifted her face and said seriously: "Mmm, I smelled it. There's no odor left, very clean."
Ning Heng was so moved he almost cried: "Li Xiaoya, be my little sister, come home with me!"
