Sheng Yuxiao was about to say that if this was the kind of family connection they'd find, it might be better not to acknowledge it at all - who knows what kind of unsavory characters they might encounter. But when he met the little girl's innocent gaze, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
And so it goes - becoming an adult is the worst thing that can happen in this world. The first thoughts that come to mind are always self-serving.
At this moment, it was Xu Ruying who spoke up: "No matter what, they're all adults, which is different from you. And from what we've heard, that powerful old man is still alive."
As she spoke, Xu Ruying couldn't help but mutter, "Surely it won't be so unlucky that he passes away in the next few days?"
Realizing her thoughtless words, she glanced furtively at Li Xiaoya's expression and hurriedly made a sound to ward off bad luck.
Li Xiaoya responded softly with an "Mm."
She lowered her head without saying anything more, and for a moment, no one knew what thoughts were running through her little mind.
After a while, she asked Sheng Yuxiao in a quiet voice: "That person is probably not a con artist, right?"
"Based on what Xu Ruying said, it doesn't seem like it. It just depends on whether she embellished her description of that person," Sheng Yuxiao replied.
Xu Ruying interjected indignantly: "Sheng Yuxiao! If you're going to talk behind someone's back, at least do it when they're not around!"
Li Xiaoya continued: "Then let's wait. Wait for him to come find me again."
Just as they finished speaking, the strange "loyal servant" hadn't arrived, but Dou Dawei came first.
"Come, come, Xiaoya, look at this - Jinhua ham! It's perfect for making soup. I also brought some fresh meat that would go well in the pot," Dou Dawei said eagerly as he offered the food.
The production team immediately objected: "This won't do! How can you keep bringing food here? What kind of village life is this? Isn't this breaking the show's rules?"
Dou Dawei didn't mince words and rolled his eyes at them: "What are your show's rules? Isn't it just a reality show? What does 'reality show' mean? Tell me!
"Isn't it supposed to be about recording whatever happens here with your cameras? Isn't what's happening right now real enough? Do you have to follow your script? How can you call that a reality show?"
"You might as well call it a scripted performance!" Dou Dawei concluded bluntly.
The Chief Director: "..."
Someone urged him: "Say something, sir."
The Chief Director's expression was complex: "He does have a point."
"Huh?"
The Chief Director was at a loss for words. How was it that everyone who came here could persuade him so easily?
On second thought, he realized it was mainly because this was their first time doing this, so it was normal to lack experience. Constant adjustments and improvements were all for the sake of viewership, so why worry about saving face?
"Alright, alright, go ahead and bring it in," he conceded.
Li Xiaoya, having heard their conversation, suddenly poked her head out and asked the Chief Director: "Uncle, do a lot of people watch our show?"
The question caught the Chief Director off guard. After a moment, he couldn't help but laugh and say: "You don't know?"
Li Xiaoya shook her head in confusion.
The Chief Director said: "The live broadcast ratings have already broken 4. Do you know what that means?"
Sheng Yuxiao coldly interjected: "Don't talk nonsense. Just say something she can understand."
The Chief Director: "..."
The Chief Director continued without protest: "If there are about 1 billion viewer instances watching live broadcasts during the same time slot, then about 40 million of those are watching our show."
After finishing, the Chief Director looked at Sheng Yuxiao doubtfully: "Does she know what 40 million means?"
Sheng Yuxiao glanced at him sideways: "Li Xiaoya is smarter than you."
The Chief Director wanted to argue.
Li Xiaoya asked again: "So, will many people see me on TV?"
The Chief Director smiled and said: "Not just on TV, but on mobile phones, all mobile devices, various social media platforms - they can all see you."
Hearing this, Sheng Yuxiao instantly understood Li Xiaoya's meaning.
He smirked: "That's right, this is a reality show after all."
Ning Heng couldn't hold back: "Bro Sheng, so what does this mean? What does it have to do with being a reality show?"
Sheng Yuxiao didn't even look at him, only saying to the Chief Director: "Set up the cameras. I think we can do a 24-hour live broadcast from now on."
The Chief Director was stunned: "Is... is that okay?"
Sheng Yuxiao said: "As long as I agree, what's the problem?"
"Let the audience join in on this story of searching for relatives. This is probably unprecedented in the history of reality shows," Sheng Yuxiao said calmly but forcefully.
Ning Heng clapped his hands together: "Damn! Bro Sheng, you're a genius!"
Xu Ruying also murmured: "This way, whatever demons or monsters there are, they'll have to show their true colors on camera. What can they do under the watchful eyes of the entire nation?"
"Wait, what search for relatives?" The Chief Director was confused.
Because they had deliberately avoided the production team when calling Xu Ji earlier, the Chief Director was still completely unaware of what had happened.
"Didn't you hear this morning? Relatives from Li Xiaoya's mother's family came to find her," Sheng Yuxiao said casually.
The Chief Director nodded: "Ah, I heard. Is there anything special about her mother's family?"
Ning Heng smiled and patted the Chief Director's shoulder: "You'll find out later." Despite all of them being quite young, Ning Heng was still half a head taller than the Chief Director.
The Chief Director reluctantly accepted the pat and had people set up the cameras.
"I'm afraid no one will watch a 24-hour live broadcast..." the Chief Director muttered.
Sheng Yuxiao crouched down and said to Li Xiaoya: "Do you know about a very common tactic used in business?"
"Hm? What is it?" Li Xiaoya looked at him with big eyes, listening attentively.
Sheng Yuxiao held up one finger: "This is a best-selling product A." He then raised his left hand: "This is a product B that doesn't sell well."
"If you reduce the price of slow-moving items too much, it will still damage the brand value. So at this time, the brand will launch things like mystery boxes, unlock through likes, and other activities. For example, you need to buy ten of product A to have the opportunity to buy product B. Then product B will quickly become highly sought after."
Li Xiaoya nodded: "Hmm, I think I understand."
Sheng Yuxiao turned to look at the Chief Director: "She understands, don't you?"
The Chief Director's mouth twitched: "I... I get it. If we make the 24-hour live broadcast a kind of reward, unlocked when the viewership or ratings reach a certain level, then everyone will become interested in it..."
Sheng Yuxiao gave a slight nod.
The Chief Director was speechless.
These rich kids really do have an innate knowledge of how to make money!
The show's official Weibo account announced this new "initiative" that very day.
They stated that they knew everyone had been particularly concerned about Li Xiaoya and Young Master Sheng's life in the village recently, and that the brief glimpses each day were surely not enough. So, to give back to the audience -
— We've decided to launch a 24-hour live stream link. Only those who reach fan level LV6 on the streaming platform will be able to unlock it, and they'll also receive an exclusive avatar pendant and medal title!
This move to stratify the audience indeed further stimulated their enthusiasm for watching.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The man in the black suit came to the village committee every day but failed to meet Li Xiaoya face to face.
On this end, Xu Ruying couldn't help but marvel at how a child like Li Xiaoya could be so patient. She said she would wait for the man to actively seek her out, and she really did just sit and wait!
It was like a tug of war.
Amusingly, it was a tug of war between an adult and a child.
In the end, it was the man in the black suit who couldn't wait any longer.
"Useless!" he spat.
Those villagers who had taken money to report back not only failed to accomplish anything but also refused to return the errand money.
He clenched his fist and coldly uttered: "Despicable people from poor mountain villages."
He grabbed the villager in front of him and twisted his arm until it broke.
The villager had been happily running errands these past few days, thinking it was a good thing Li Xiaoya didn't come because he could keep collecting money. Now his arm was suddenly broken - how could that be good?
He rolled on the ground, his mouth full of "Ouch!"
"Let me tell you, don't think you're so great just because you're from the city, you..." the villager wailed and cursed.
The man in the black suit said coldly: "I know that in villages like yours, the local customs are rough. Gathering to resist law enforcement is a common occurrence. With a hoe in hand and a sickle at the ready, you dare to throw your weight around... Sheng Yuxiao scared you earlier."
He leaned down and pulled out two bills, throwing them in the villager's face: "I'm more ruthless than Sheng Yuxiao."
The man in the black suit, having finished speaking, strode out, deliberately stepping on the villager's broken arm as he left.
He wasn't going to wait any longer.
He had to find that little girl himself!
