Chapter 202: Returning the Faithful Big Sister Q&A Channel
In late June, the first batch of local pigs raised collectively by the village cooperative were released. As planned, Zhu Yingning and Chen Fei began intensive publicity work.
Xu Sirui's studio does have publicity and promotion staff, but the two games under their name have not yet released any peripheral products, and the employees lack experience in this area. In order to ensure that everything is foolproof, Zhu Yingning discussed with him and decided to find a dedicated operations team to cooperate with.
They have been very busy during this period, and all they talk about on WeChat is work.
That day in the city, not long after leaving the restaurant, Zhu Yingning nonchalantly called Shen Fei and Wen Wenxu, saying she had finished her work and could come back anytime. She also asked if they had eaten. Wen Wenxu and Shen Fei didn't dare to admit they were at the farmhouse restaurant, so they could only vaguely say they were having lunch at an unknown small shop.
"Okay, then I'll just hang out at the milk tea shop in the shopping mall and wait for you. Take your time eating, I'm not in a hurry." She said softly on the other end of the phone.
After meeting, Chen Fei paid special attention to Zhu Yingning and found that she had completely recovered as Wen Wenxu had guessed.
As for Xu Sirui, Chen Fei finished the job of informing with a guilty conscience. She thought he would say something excitedly, but unexpectedly, his attitude was as calm as Zhu Yingning's. He just said "I know, thank you" and that was it.
What on earth did he know? Shen Fei was puzzled.
But she couldn't afford to gossip; the work that followed quickly extinguished her curiosity. Besides the cooperative farm, she also had to manage the desk pet she'd developed herself, which was already nearing completion. Chen Fei wished there were forty-eight hours in a day, and even better, those forty-eight hours could be broken down into their own individual divisions.
As the project leader, Zhu Yingning wasn't idle either. Every day, they rose earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs. In just ten days, the two of them had become as haggard as dehydrated mummies.
The joint trailer was produced, and the village's pork products were initially packaged and stored. Before that, Zhu Yingning and Wang Shengju went to discuss cold chain logistics cooperation to ensure that the most important transportation channels were unobstructed.
Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.
Zhu Yingning hoped that this east wind would blow even stronger.
**
When Xu Sirui received Zhu Yingning's call, he was busy with the launch of the new version and the joint promotion. He swiped his finger to the answer button, thinking that she would ask about the operation as usual, but unexpectedly, the first thing she said was: "Xu Sirui, are you still in touch with Guo Yingying?"
Xu Sirui was stunned for a moment, not knowing what she meant by asking this question. After thinking it over, he said carefully, "We just contacted each other once during the Chinese New Year... What's wrong?"
"Oh, I see." She sounded a little disappointed.
Although he was completely bewildered, his inexplicable desire to survive made him immediately explain: "Even when I contacted her, it was always with the whole class at a dinner party. We never contacted each other individually."
"Oh..." She sounded even more disappointed, "I thought you two knew each other well."
Xu Sirui sensed something was wrong: "...Why do you seem to really want me to be very familiar with her?"
"I definitely hope you two are familiar with each other." Zhu Yingning stated her plan. "I've already contacted Shao Yanjun and asked her to help forward our collaboration trailer after it's released. She agreed, and then I thought, if you're still in touch with Guo Yingying, could we ask her for help? She and I haven't been in touch since high school, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak up. You and her were classmates in high school. If you're still in touch, it would definitely be better for you to speak up."
Guo Yingying recently participated in a talent show variety show.
During her senior year, she recorded a practice video of her broadcasting and uploaded it online. Because of her beauty and strong professional skills, she unexpectedly became an online sensation and amassed a considerable following. Some time ago, during the auditions for this variety show, her fans strongly urged her to sign up, saying that there were many beautiful women who could sing and dance, but few who were pursuing the broadcasting track. Perhaps this would help her stand out from the crowd, and at the very least, she could develop some casual fans or even attract audience attention.
At that time, Guo Yingying encountered setbacks in finding a job. She thought that changing her thinking might lead to a bright future, so she signed up.
This variety show has only been aired for a short time, but it has a very good momentum and the ratings have broken historical highs.
"I watched the video that made Guo Yingying popular at the time. It was an exercise imitating a CCTV Finance Channel video," Zhu Yingning calmly analyzed. "I also did some research on her fan base and discovered that, besides her beautiful voice and strong professional skills, they also liked her because she had a virtuous and upstanding personality. Fans thought she looked intimidating and inoffensive, 'very pretty,' and 'you can't see the possibility of her reputation collapsing at first glance'—those were their exact words."
"I've thought about it carefully and feel that asking her for publicity is a win-win situation. The project we're working on is ultimately inseparable from poverty alleviation, and poverty alleviation is in line with national policy. If she helps us promote it, we can expand our influence, and she can also consolidate her own legitimate roots."
After she finished her explanation in detail, Xu Sirui remained silent for a long time, and finally laughed with an indecipherable meaning.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhu Yingning asked, confused but humbly. "...Do you think this plan isn't feasible? Is there some loophole I haven't noticed?"
He shook his head on the phone: "No."
He simply thought his initial misunderstanding was hilarious. They say being blinded by pork can blind one's heart, and he thought he'd been blinded to the extent that it would take several tons of lard. How deep into love must one be to think she was asking about Guo Yingying to test his loyalty?
Not to mention that he and Zhu Yingning have nothing to do with each other now, even if he is really her boyfriend, he is sure that she will not avoid hiring people just because of questions like "who liked whom before" or "who had a crush on whom before".
She is such an upright person.
"I think it's a good idea." Xu Sirui cleared his throat and returned to the topic. "I can try to talk to Guo Yingying, but we haven't been in touch for a long time. Our relationship is much more distant than it was in high school, so I'm not sure it will work out."
"It doesn't matter. Whether the negotiation succeeds or not, as long as you've tried hard, that's all that matters," she encouraged.
**
Two days later, Zhu Yingning received a call from Xu Sirui, informing her of the results of the negotiations with Guo Yingying.
Xu Sirui's tone on the other end of the phone was very calm, so calm that when Zhu Yingning picked up the phone, she thought the result must be a failure. Unexpectedly, Xu Sirui said, "She agreed."
“!!!”
Although it was she who came up with the idea of asking Guo Yingying for help, she did not hold out much hope. After all, ever since Guo Yingying decided to change her career and become an art student, the number of times they contacted each other became very few.
Often, the fading of friendships is as uncontrollable as their birth. In late high school, Guo Yingying often had to attend intensive training camps and rarely came to school. Although they initially would ask each other about their lives when they met, she would tell Guo Yingying if she needed any help—especially with academic subjects—she could always come to her. But as their meetings dwindled, these promises gradually faded.
Zhu Yingning felt that being able to get Guo Yingying to help was all thanks to Xu Sirui. She was so excited that she kept saying thank you several times on the phone, but Xu Sirui snorted, "Come on, don't thank me, thank yourself. She said she agreed to help because you helped her before."
Zhu Yingning was stunned when she heard this, because she no longer remembered what she had done to help Guo Yingying.
She never deliberately remembered who she had helped or what good things she had done.
Being forgettable doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Those little acts of kindness that she had forgotten were like the snow that fell on the top of a high mountain. One day, they accumulated into a lot, and the snow melted, and the snowflakes gathered into a long river of life, flowing endlessly back to her.
**
The promotion was released as scheduled, and originally only caused heated discussions among game players. However, since Shao Yanjun and Guo Yingying forwarded the promotion one after another a few hours later, the popularity of the promotion was like a wild horse running out of control, and it went straight to the hot search.
The online world is bustling with activity, but Zhu Yingning's family is in dire straits.
They haven't turned on their phones in hours.
The reason is simple - I dare not look.
It was precisely because they had invested so much energy and expectation that they were particularly afraid that the results would not meet their expectations. The three of them sat together in silence, eating a tasteless midnight snack, as miserable as if they were having a banquet. In the end, Zhu Yingning slammed the table, stood up, and said angrily, "We can't escape this anymore!"
Shen Fei and Wen Wenxu looked at her pitifully.
"Since you don't dare to look, I'll do it." She went to get her cell phone in one go.
Wen Wenxu immediately stopped her and, before she could even look at her phone, quickly instructed, "Wait, wait, wait...! Captain, you have to give us a mental break! How about this: if the results are good, you give us a thumbs-up. If they're average, you keep your thumbs flat. If they're unsatisfactory... you give us a thumbs-up. Once we've prepared ourselves mentally, you can tell us the specific data and everyone's evaluation, okay?"
Zhu Yingning was both amused and speechless. She wanted to ask, "Why are you so nervous?" but when she saw Chen Fei nodding in agreement, she could only sigh, "Alright."
Under the expectant and terrified gazes of the two people in front of her, she took a deep breath and raised her hand to unlock her phone.
Wen Wenxu and Shen Fei held their breath.
Because she rarely uses social media apps like Weibo, Tik Tok, and TikTok, she's incredibly slow. Even logging in is as slow as an elderly person unfamiliar with phones and isolated from the world. After she'd languidly logged in and was about to click on the trending search, Wen Wenxu clenched his fists and paused in the air, "No, I can't take it anymore!"
After saying that, before Zhu Yingning could react, he snatched the phone from her hand.
Everything that happened next was like a silent movie. She saw Wen Wenxu put his eyes close to the phone, opened his eyes and looked carefully for a few seconds, and then let out a silent scream. However, just by looking at the arc of his open mouth, one could imagine how excited he was.
He slammed his cell phone on the sofa and rushed out without looking back.
A child happened to pass by their door. Wen Wenxu put his hands under the child's armpits, lifted him up and spun him around, then put the confused child down on the spot and continued to run away, turning to harm the next person.
Zhu Yingning & Chen Fei: “?”
They looked at each other in confusion, and Chen Fei asked weakly, "Captain, is he too sad? Here..." As she spoke, she pointed at her temples with her index finger, "Is there something wrong?"
"Maybe I'm just too happy."
Frightened by his behavior, Shen Fei didn't dare to look anymore. Zhu Yingning could only take the still lit phone and glance at it briefly.
The fifth most searched Weibo post was "I really just wanted to raise a pig in the game." Clicking on it revealed a post by a player they had arranged, with the text "I really just wanted to raise a pig in the game...how come my pig came looking for me in real life/Black Question Mark Face.jpg." The attached picture was a photo of a large bag of fresh pork and the game's end-of-game screen.
The comments section was also quite lively. The top comment was from the game's official account: "Open the door, your pig has arrived /doghead.jpg." The second and third comments were from players: "Your pig looks a little dead." "There's something wrong with your pig. I suggest you send it over so I can try it."
The third most searched topic was "Yes, we have a friend who raises pigs." Clicking on it revealed the forwarded text from Shao Yanjun and Guo Yingying.
The popularity of both hot searches remains high.
Zhu Yingning opened other social media platforms and found that the topics they created, whether before or after, all became trending topics due to natural discussions.
She told Chen Fei the result. Chen Fei covered her lips and suddenly rushed over to hug her tightly. They looked at each other and then laughed with their heads against each other.
Although traffic does not equate to profit data, and although high traffic does not necessarily mean that there will be more people paying, but——
Who cares!
In the height of summer, when everything is growing unrestrained, their city had just issued a daytime high temperature warning, reminding residents to exercise caution when traveling in the coming days to prevent heatstroke. Their arms, clasped together, were covered in a thin layer of sweat, and the fan in the room, creaking, couldn't dispel the sticky sweat. Outside, the summer cicadas were buzzing at full speed, their clamor penetrating their eardrums through the screened windows.
But what is hotter than this heat and louder than the noise outside the window is the dream of youth.
The joy at this moment has nothing to do with interests or future, it is purely joy itself.
**
A few days later, the discussion of both trending topics cooled with the rapid pace of online information. However, a commentary platform widely praised by young people for its sincere and objective views, directly addressing social pain points, published an article titled "The Cross-Dimensional Linkage between Gaming and Farming: Does Going to the Countryside Mean Being "Unfashionable"?" This article quietly propelled the incident to another level of popularity.
"How's it going? Isn't it well written?" Wu Bo boasted on WeChat. "Although my senior sister was the lead writer, I also played an integral role in the writing."
"Which part did you participate in?" Zhu Yingning asked while typing on the keyboard, following Wu Bo's words.
"I participated in proofreading for typos."
She burst into laughter, wiping away tears as she typed a reply: "Indeed, it's indispensable."
After the joke, he added a sincere thank you, "Thanks so much to you this time."
"Oh, it's nothing. My senior sisters and the others were looking for materials, and you brought them to them. It would be a shame for them not to write about it."
This public account was founded by a senior sister in the same major as Wu Bo. She had worked in the news industry and was deeply disappointed with the sensationalism of the current news industry, so she created her own public account for current affairs commentary.
When Zhu Yingning approached Wu Bo, she had only intended to ask if she knew any famous writers who could help promote her work. Unexpectedly, she offered a much better solution. Trending searches, after all, are only temporary, fleeting in the online world. Only the written word that survives can spread the ideas it contains far and wide.
At the end of that commentary, Wu Bo's senior sister even thoughtfully included the contact information of their village to encourage aspiring young people to return home and start a business.
Of course, returning to one's hometown isn't easy for young people, and few would be so enthralled by an article that they'd idealize returning to their hometowns to farm. But it's at least a good start. Within a few days of the article's publication, their Party and Mass Service Center had already received three or four calls from young people asking, "I'm about to graduate from university, but I still don't know what my true ideal is or what kind of career I want to pursue. What should I do?" or "My mom wants me to go back home for a blind date, but I don't want to spend my life like this. What should I do?"
Zhu Yingning felt that this was a good sign. Even if he could not attract young people to return home, it might be a good thing to be able to chat with these confused young people and give them a little comfort.
The voice of the hometown should be heard by young people, and correspondingly, the hometown also has the profound power to listen to the voice of young people.
"We can almost open a 'channel for intimate elder sisters to answer questions and resolve doubts'." Wang Shengju joked.
Zhu Yingning chuckled twice.
At this time, another call came in. She thought it was another consultation call from someone, so she picked up the phone and answered it. But after listening, she was stunned. She moved the phone away and called to Wang Shengju blankly: "Secretary, come and listen."
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The author has something to say: The second update will be released at 11:30.
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