After all, it wasn’t the dead of winter yet, so the snakes weren’t necessarily in a deep sleep.

The mention of a snake’s foul mood from being woken up made many people laugh.

"Snakes get grumpy when they’re woken up?"

"Don’t laugh. Everything gets grumpy when it’s woken up. I mean, think about it. If you were sleeping soundly and someone ripped your blanket off, wouldn’t you want to bite them?"

"Well, last time my girlfriend ripped my blanket off, I was the one who got bitten instead."

...

Sure enough, once all the dirt was cleared away, a groggy snake lazily lifted its triangular head. Upon realizing a ’two-legged beast’ had disturbed its slumber, it grew furious, letting out an angry HISS. Its tongue flicked wildly, as if it were cursing up a storm.

Then, with a flash of green, its entire body shot toward Li Xiang like an arrow.

Holy crap! Everyone in the livestream chat was stunned.

In that instant, many people’s hearts leaped into their throats. ’Brother Xiang isn’t going to get taken out just like that, is he?’ they thought.

He was in a remote village with poor medical facilities; there was no way he’d get timely treatment.

In a flash, their fears were assuaged. They watched as Li Xiang’s hand shot out and miraculously snatched the snake by its head, gripping it tightly.

The snake struggled, but it couldn’t break free or bite Li Xiang.

"Holy crap, he actually caught it?"

"He caught a snake bare-handed?"

The fans went wild. For a moment, "Finger Hearts," "Romantic Sparks," "Marry You Home," "Golden Scale into Dragon," "Lamborghinis," "Hearts of the Universe," "Carnivals"... gifts of all sizes streamed across the screen, too fast to keep track of.

This was the biggest flood of gifts Li Xiang had ever received. So far.

Some fans spammed the chat: "Make Snake Wine! Make Snake Wine!"

Other fans, however, issued a warning: "That’s a protected species! Brother Xiang, you should probably end the stream. It’ll be bad if someone reports you!"

Li Xiang was quick to take good advice and immediately ended the stream.

In the short span of less than thirty seconds between catching the snake and ending the stream, he had received over 10,000 RMB in gifts.

Even after he stopped streaming, fans kept sending tips—and then additional tips—to his most recent video about digging winter bamboo shoots.

The main reason was that the sight of Li Xiang catching the snake bare-handed was just too awesome! Who else could pull that off?

Someone commented jokingly, "Li Xiang’s speed is at least seven times the snake’s!"

As for the bamboo pit viper in Li Xiang’s hands, he naturally killed it. He would take it back, gut it, remove its fangs and venom glands, then wash, air-dry, and steep it to make Snake Wine.

You have to de-venom a poisonous snake before making Snake Wine. Otherwise, the resulting wine will be full of venom, making it unsafe for either internal consumption or topical application.

If applied topically, the venom can penetrate the skin and affect kidney function. Plus, some snakes contain unknown toxins that can be life-threatening.

Anyone who says Snake Wine’s medicinal effects come from the venom is just gambling with their own health.

System: "Congratulations, Host, for slaying the Tier Two Mutated Creature, Cyan-Scaled Flying Flood Dragon. Reward: three blooms of Tier One Mutated Spirit Grass, Bamboo Swallow’s Nest."

With a thought, Li Xiang checked his inventory. Sure enough, three glistening, golden, and crystal-clear Bamboo Swallow’s Nests had appeared. Their quality was far superior to any ordinary specimen.

Bamboo Swallow’s Nest, also known as bamboo fungus, bamboo flower, or bamboo mushroom, is an extremely rare and valuable edible fungus.

A special parasite inhabits young bamboo stalks in the forest. As it feeds on the sap, it leaves behind a residue of bamboo fibers and juice on the branches. Under the right conditions of temperature and humidity, a flower-like fungus sprouts from this residue. This fungus is a rare symbiotic organism, drawing nutrients from both the bamboo sap and the insect itself. Its shape and flavor resemble a swallow’s nest, with a smooth and refreshing texture that is at once savory, tender, and crisp. Its nutritional value is comparable to that of an actual swallow’s nest, earning it the name "the plant-based swallow’s nest."

Inferior Bamboo Swallow’s Nests are black, while better ones are yellow. But the Tier One Spirit Grass Li Xiang had received was a brilliant, shimmering gold, like a piece of soft gold. One look and you could tell it was no Mortal Item.

Of course, he had no intention of selling something this good. He planned to wait for Jiang Cai’Er’s next monthly school holiday and stew it for his grandmother and her to eat.

The great bamboo-shoot-digging campaign in Li Family Village continued in full swing. It wasn’t just Li Xiang; nearly everyone in the village—men and women, young and old—was out, with the exception of students and those who were either too young or too old.

Nothing like this had ever happened in previous years. Back then, there was nowhere to sell the shoots even if you dug them up, so they would just rot. It was better to only dig as many as you planned to eat.

Li Xiang was a fast worker. In just two days, he had his family’s three hundred kilograms ready. The other families, lacking able-bodied workers, took a day or two longer.

Li Xiang used this spare time to take a trip to the county town to register his own studio. The fees weren’t high, only a few hundred RMB, but running around to prepare all the necessary documents was a hassle.

There was business registration, getting an official seal registered with the Public Security Bureau, obtaining an organization code certificate from the Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, opening a bank account, tax registration... The process involved many steps, but thankfully, there were no major hurdles, and it all went relatively smoothly.

He also signed up for Star Map, the official advertising marketplace recommended by the streaming platform.

You’ve probably seen it on many influencers’ profiles—a note that says "For collaborations, find me on Star Map..." or a "Collaborate with me" link. Clicking it takes you to a marketplace platform, and that’s Star Map.

When filling out his profile, Li Xiang set his rates: 8,800 RMB for a 60-second ad and 12,000 RMB for a 120-second ad. He didn’t list prices for longer spots, as overly long ads would negatively impact the viewer experience.

’I should probably put some more thought into how I integrate ads,’ Li Xiang thought. Ad integration was actually a bit of an art. Some people’s ad placements were jarring and awkward. Others, however, wove them in so smoothly that they felt completely natural and could even be compelling.

’Are the prices a little high? Well, we can always negotiate privately,’ he mused.

But if a deal was made through the platform, it would take a cut. So, it was always better to arrange things offline if possible.

His deal with He Zhixiang, for example, had been arranged offline.

...

Piles of winter bamboo shoots, dried mushrooms, and "nine-steamed, nine-sundried" Solomon’s seal were laid out in Li Xiang’s backyard.

His backyard was more than half the size of a soccer field, a wide-open space. Some of the villagers who were visiting for the first time repeatedly praised how nice the yard was.

Li Family Village was as lively as it was during the New Year; it hadn’t been this bustling in a long time. Nearly everyone had come to take part, sitting or standing around the backyard, chatting and laughing.

But since this was the first time the entire village was trying to sell their goods together, many people were still anxious, wondering if anything would actually sell.

Someone remarked that it didn’t cost anything to try, anyway.

Li Jintang and his family didn’t show up. Li Jintang had always looked down on Li Xiang. How could he come begging for help selling his products now? He couldn’t afford the loss of face!

Because of this, Li Jintang had gotten into an argument with his wife at home.

Li Jintang: "What’s the point of getting mixed up in all that? They’ll probably go through all that trouble and not even make a single sale. Isn’t it a pain, moving all that stuff back and forth?"

In truth, even Li Xiang himself was a little intimidated. The volume of goods was massive this time. Looking at the "mountains" of produce piled up in the yard, he could feel the pressure.

Still, the products were all high-quality; he had personally inspected every single one.

When the livestream began, Li Xiang first greeted his fans, then slowly panned the camera to give everyone a clear view of the entire backyard.