After washing up in the evening, Xu Lai listened to the rain outside, opened a short video app on another phone, and posted a video she had edited earlier.
There were many red dots in the message bar. Xu Lai clicked on them to take a look and replied to some of the comments. Suddenly, she saw a line of text: "Why break tree branches? No manners."
Xu Lai glanced at the comments and saw that it was from the episode about locust flowers. She must have broken off a small branch at the time, but she didn't expect to be criticized by netizens. Xu Lai ignored it, since the person didn't know that locust branches can regenerate.
Now her account is getting more and more traffic, and her number of followers is about to break 10,000, although apart from the tofu episode which got more than 10,000 likes, the others only got a few thousand likes.
Xu Lai checked her private messages and found that big-name skincare and cosmetic brands were contacting her to advertise, as well as some food brands.
She frowned slightly, unsure how to reply, so she contacted her strategist, Xia Ning.
Xia Ning was lying in bed when Xu Lai sent her a screenshot, saying, "I don't know how to handle this. Can you give me some advice?"
Xia Ning opened the screenshot and exclaimed in surprise, "Honey, you actually have a business collaboration! That's great news!"
Xu Lai was confused and asked, "So what will I get in return for cooperating with them?"
Xia Ning explained to her, "You can pick some businesses that you think are good, and then casually introduce their products in your videos. This can be divided into overt and covert advertising. You also need to send the video to the advertisers for review. Only after they approve it can you publish it."
Xu Lai found it troublesome and was about to say forget it when Xia Ning continued, "Judging from the traffic of your account, the advertising fee should be between eight hundred and one thousand."
Xu Lai silently swallowed her refusal. After all, making short videos was also about making money. She decided to choose some good products to advertise for. She didn't want to accept some useless products just to make money and mislead her fans into making purchases. That wouldn't last long.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Lai browsed through the products sent by the advertisers and chose a lotion and cream from a brand she used before. She put all the food advertisements on hold until the merchants sent samples before deciding whether to advertise them.
After finishing these tasks, it was almost eleven o'clock. Xu Lai yawned and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.
The next day, because she didn't need to go to the market to buy groceries, she got up a little late. After washing up, she went downstairs to have breakfast. Her grandmother had left her some porridge, and Xu Lai heated up a steamed bun herself, quickly finishing her breakfast.
The rain was still falling, and it seemed to be getting heavier. Grandpa sat under the eaves smoking, his face full of worry. "I wonder if this year's rain will affect the crops."
Xu Lai glanced at the weather forecast and reassured him, "Don't worry, Grandpa, I just checked the weather forecast, the sun will come out in a couple of days."
The rain stopped soon after, and the whole village seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of fog, making it impossible to see the entire village.
Taking advantage of the rain stopping, she grabbed a bucket and a snakeskin bag, put on her fishing clothes, and went to the house of the owner of the pond in front of her house.
"Uncle, I'd like to collect some snails and clams from your pond today. I'll pay you later," Xu Lai called out into the house.
The pond owner quickly came out and said, "It's free, go pick it up yourself. If you're paying, then don't bother."
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Alright then, thank you, Uncle. I won't be polite."
She went down into the pond and could see a layer of snails on the surface. There were so many in the pond that Xu Lai specifically picked out the big ones and also collected a lot of clam shells.
It was almost ten o'clock when Xu Lai finished picking up the snakeskin bag. She lifted it and found it was quite heavy, so she called out to the front door, "Grandpa, come and help me carry this."
The two of them struggled to carry the bag home. Xu Lai went to the stream to wash her fishing clothes clean, took them off and hung them on the wall. Her clothes were covered in mud. Xu Lai took a bath and then came down to cook lunch.
For lunch, we had braised chicken with potatoes. She bought half of the chicken yesterday, chopped it into pieces, blanched it with a four-piece deodorizing kit, then stir-fried it until it was colored, added water, brought it to a boil, and then added potatoes to stew.
Xu Lai also added a piece of flatbread, as she liked the way the broth clung to the noodles. Finally, she stir-fried some shredded potatoes, and then it was time to eat.
After eating, she rinsed the snails twice and soaked them in clean water. The snails she had just picked up had a lot of mud and sand, so they needed to be soaked for a few days to remove it. She also rinsed the mud off the clam shells, and Xu Lai took a small knife and pried them open.
Grandma watched her work, and Xu Lai asked with a smile, "When I was little, I watched TV dramas where people could open oysters and find pearls. I wonder if this will work?"
Grandma smiled and said, "Those grow in the sea or in streams. There shouldn't be any in this pond. Open it up and take a look."
Xu Lai put on gloves, picked the largest one, and pried it open along the seam with a knife. Inside was clean white clam meat, but no pearl at all.
She removed all the internal organs, and threw the remaining meat into a clean bowl. In no time, a small bowl of meat was piled up.
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