The bearded man said, "It’s fine. I’m not busy anyway, so I can wait here." If he were really in a hurry, he would have called Li Xiang himself to rush him.

But in the end, Granny Li Xiang still asked the older woman to give Li Xiang a call and tell him what was happening.

"Alright, I’ll be right back!" Li Xiang hung up the phone, straightened himself up a bit, and headed home with a basket of winter bamboo shoots on his back.

"Ah, Brother Li Xiang, a pleasure, a real pleasure!" When Li Xiang got home, the bearded man greeted him enthusiastically before he could even set down his bamboo basket.

"You must be Mr. He, right? Hello, hello!" Li Xiang was about to extend his hand but pulled it back. His hands were covered in dirt from working. He smiled and said, "Let me go wash up first."

He Zhixiang quickly stopped him. "Let’s take a picture together first."

"Huh?"

He Zhixiang immediately stood beside him, waved at his driver, and shouted, "Quick, help me get a picture with Brother Xiang."

Seeing the slight surprise on Li Xiang’s and the gathered elders’ faces, He Zhixiang quickly explained, "I’m also a fan of Brother Li Xiang. This visit is partly to indulge my inner fanboy and meet my idol in person. He just got back from working, all raw and authentic. He looks way cooler than he would all cleaned up!"

Li Xiang: "..."

The elders: "..."

’What kind of taste is that?’

After taking one photo, He Zhixiang had Li Xiang take off the basket full of winter bamboo shoots and place it in front of them for another shot. He even picked up Li Xiang’s hoe and struck a pose.

He Zhixiang looked at the photos, extremely satisfied. "When you post your winter bamboo shoot video, I’ll use these two photos to leave a comment. I guarantee it’ll make all those other fans die of envy, haha!"

"Thank you, thank you." Li Xiang was quite touched. ’This will definitely help boost my popularity.’

In truth, while He Zhixiang had come as a fan, he was also here to "investigate" Li Xiang’s actual situation and see if his videos were authentic. Many internet celebrities faked their content, even renting the rural houses they filmed in.

Influencers like that could have their whole image collapse and disappear at any moment. Fakeness can’t last; it can’t withstand scrutiny. If even the setting is fake, can you trust the products they sell?

Are there really sweet potatoes in the sweet potato noodles?

His casual chat with Granny Li Xiang and the other elders hadn’t been without purpose. He had been subtly asking questions and had gathered a lot of information. He could basically confirm that Li Xiang was a genuine farmer—the real deal, without any PR packaging or hype.

He didn’t even have a team behind him.

He couldn’t help but feel that if Li Xiang had a team behind him handling things like traffic generation and promotion, with the quality of his short videos and skits, his follower count wouldn’t be just over a hundred thousand. It would probably be closer to seven or eight hundred thousand, maybe even over a million by now.

In other words, from his perspective as a successful businessman, Li Xiang was currently "undervalued." An ad placement for 8,000 yuan was definitely not a bad deal.

’Because Li Xiang doesn’t delete his videos. In the future, when he becomes a major influencer with millions or even tens of millions of followers, this 8,000-yuan ad will still be on his account, embedded in a short video. Wouldn’t that be a huge profit?’

At this thought, He Zhixiang was secretly pleased. He even had an idea to build a team to cooperate with Li Xiang, but he didn’t know if Li Xiang would be willing.

When Li Xiang returned after washing up and changing his clothes, He Zhixiang brought up the matter. Unfortunately, Li Xiang politely declined.

"Sorry, but I actually prefer to handle things on my own." ’The main reason was that Li Xiang wanted to quietly enjoy these few precious years of peace before the Apocalypse. Making short videos was just a side project; his true goal was to savor the sunlit pastoral life that was "soon to vanish."’

’He knew that this kind of pastoral life was finite; every day that passed was one day less. Once the darkness descended, it would cease to exist, making it the world’s most precious "luxury." Many people now enjoyed the free Sun and took it for granted, but in the Apocalypse, they would miss it endlessly.’

’And for children born after the Apocalypse, days filled with sunlight would only exist in "ancient legends."’

’Having a team meant management, dealing with all sorts of miscellaneous problems, and a high risk of financial disputes and lawsuits. Li Xiang would find it all a "hassle" and a "burden."’

"That’s a real shame," He Zhixiang sighed softly.

Afterward, the two finalized the content of the advertisement and the general method of product placement. Then, He Zhixiang generously pulled out two stacks of red bills from his bag—one slightly thicker, one slightly thinner—and handed them to Li Xiang. "Exactly 16,000 yuan. I already counted it, but you should count it again."

Li Xiang smiled. "No need to count. I trust you."

He Zhixiang insisted, "Brother, you should still count it. It’s not a lot of money, but we should do things by the book."

So, Li Xiang smiled and began counting the money in front of everyone.

The village elders: "..." Their eyes glinted as they looked at Granny Li Xiang with no small amount of envy, thinking, ’If only that were my grandson!’

’Before, they were just hearing talk of sixteen thousand, but now he’s actually pulled it out.’

’He was counting the red bills one by one, right before their eyes. The crisp sound of the new money was quite pleasant to the ear.’

After finishing his count, Li Xiang joked, "The amount is correct. Should I write you a receipt?"

Unexpectedly, He Zhixiang seriously considered it for three seconds before saying, "It would be best if you could issue an official invoice. That’s my suggestion."

Li Xiang was taken aback for a moment. "Thank you. I’ll go register for that when I have some free time."

’This was mainly because he had never done this before and needed to research the procedures first.’

’He Zhixiang’s suggestion was a reminder. Earning money through social media would become troublesome later on without a registered company or studio.’

’After all, this wasn’t the Apocalypse yet. Things hadn’t descended into lawlessness.’

’Even if Li Xiang’s power grew to a Realm unimaginable to ordinary people, he still couldn’t act without restraint, because he had his weaknesses.’

’His grandma, Jiang Cai’Er, his relatives on his maternal grandparents’ side... they were all his weaknesses.’

’Only when the Apocalypse truly arrived and he had established his own faction could his word be law in his own territory.’

Although He Zhixiang said he was just stopping by, he had come all this way and even given him money. So, Li Xiang gave him the basket of winter bamboo shoots he had just dug up, stuffing it—basket and all—into the man’s car trunk. This was good stuff, and the dirt clinging to it was still fresh.

"Thank you, thank you." He Zhixiang was very pleased and took out a carton of cigarettes from the passenger seat as a Return Gift.

Li Xiang didn’t really want it. Giving the winter bamboo shoots was just a small gesture; he wasn’t expecting to get cigarettes in return.

But He Zhixiang insisted, forcing it on him. "This is a small gesture from me, too. Since I was just passing through, I didn’t have time to buy a proper gift."

Li Xiang accepted it and glanced at it. It was a carton of famous cigarettes from Yunnan Province, the soft pack Dàchóngjiǔ.

After He Zhixiang left, the village elders sat and chatted for a while longer before leaving.

Soon, nearly all the villagers knew what had happened, and everyone was envious.

At the same time, another piece of news spread: Li Xiang was planning to do a livestream to sell products for everyone, starting with winter bamboo shoots. If any families had mushrooms, they could bring them over to be sold as well.

’In fact, he’d had this idea for a while. It was just that his follower count had been too low before, and he felt a bit embarrassed. What if the sales were too low? Wouldn’t that be humiliating?’

This time, after seeing his "money-making ability," the elders all urged him to do something for the village. After all, Li Xiang was the future village chief. Li Jinyu had already revealed to everyone that he wanted to train Li Xiang to be his successor.