Chapter 335: Chapter 335: Kicking the Internet Addiction

[Watching them dig and bury the soil together, why do I suddenly want to cry?]

[Ye Jie’s fans are so orderly, all of them are working diligently without chasing for autographs]

Soon, the topic #Ye Jie Leads Fans in Desert Tree Planting# rocketed to the top of the trending list. In the topic page, passerby netizens praised:

"This is what a public figure should look like."

"Suddenly got Ye Jie’s appeal, switching to a fan, switching to a fan."

"Hope the industry has more celebrities like this, less hype."

The number of people in the live broadcast room exceeded the million mark.

Three days later, the tree-planting base welcomed another unexpected visitor.

When Xu Ying saw the esteemed veteran actor Yao Yingzhe from "Desert Survival Law" stepping out of the car with his family, she was so surprised she almost couldn’t speak.

"Teacher Yao! You too..." Xu Ying ran up to greet him, unable to finish her sentence before being amused by the scene in front of her.

Behind Yao Yingzhe, a small boy wearing black-rimmed glasses stomped his feet at his phone in frustration: "What a lousy place! No signal at all! I want to go home!"

Yao Yingzhe shook his head helplessly, lovingly patting the boy’s head: "Little Xu Station Chief, this is my grandson Yao Chenchen, he’s six years old this year."

The old gentleman sighed, "This child knows only how to play on his phone all day. No matter what I or his parents say, he won’t listen. After seeing the news of Ye bringing fans to plant trees a few days ago, I thought..."

"Grandpa, you’re so annoying!" Yao Chenchen interrupted, his little face flushed with anger, "I want to play games! There’s not even WiFi here!"

Yao Yingzhe calmly continued: "Our family had a discussion and decided to come together to help plant trees. My old movie fans are too aged to come, so I’m representing them..."

Just then, Little Sand Cat walked by with a shovel larger than itself.

It stopped curiously, tilting its head to examine this unfamiliar human child throwing a tantrum.

Suddenly, it placed the shovel on the ground, nudging it with its paw before making a digging motion.

"Is it... inviting me?" Yao Chenchen’s cries abruptly stopped, eyes wide behind his glasses.

Xu Ying squatted down, speaking gently, "Yes, it wants to dig a hole and plant trees with you. Look how small it is, yet it can dig such a big pit."

She pointed at the neat tree holes previously dug by Little Sand Cat a short distance away.

Yao Chenchen bit his lip, looking at his phone with no signal, then at Little Sand Cat looking at him expectantly.

The little fellow even did a somersault for show, making Yao Chenchen chuckle with a "pfft".

"Sister..." the little boy suddenly asked softly, "Is there... a smaller shovel?"

Yao Yingzhe’s family exchanged looks of surprise.

Yao Chenchen was already squatting next to Little Sand Cat, mimicking the act of digging a hole earnestly.

Little Sand Cat occasionally used its paw to adjust his posture, the boy and the cat cooperating with increasing harmony.

"Animals sure have a way!" Yao Chenchen’s mother said emotionally.

Yao Yingzhe solemnly took out an envelope from his pocket, handing it to Xu Ying, "Little Xu Station Chief, this is my pension for this month. Though it’s not much..."

"Teacher Yao! How could I accept this!" Xu Ying said, maneuvering to refuse.

"Please take it." Yao Yingzhe insisted, his eyes warm and steadfast, "Seeing the child getting along so well with the animal, I think the money is worth spending."

The barrage area of the live broadcast room was in an uproar, the audience amazed by Yao Chenchen’s change:

[Wow, this effect is immediate! Much more effective than those internet addiction correction schools!]

[Officially impressed! The internet-addicted teenager in my house needs this kind of treatment (dog head)]

[Suggest turning it into an internet addiction treatment base for youths (not serious)]

More netizens began sharing their personal experiences:

[Seriously, a day of farming works better than any hypnosis, out like a light as soon as you hit the pillow]

[Ever since I went to the suburbs to plant vegetables on weekends, my mobile phone usage time was directly cut in half]

[After physical labor, sleep quality skyrocketed, much better than taking melatonin]

As the discussion fervor rose, the topic #Desert Tree Planting to Quit Phones# quickly went viral. The comment section was soon flooded with various inquiries:

[Looking for sign-up channel!]

[Can college students come?]

[Is food and accommodation provided? Can we get internship certificates?]

Seeing the enthusiastic feedback from netizens, Xu Ying immediately held an emergency meeting with Director Yi of the Desert Management Office.

Three days later, an announcement titled "Desert Greening Volunteer Recruitment Plan" stormed across the internet:

"This project provides: free food and accommodation (desert-featured tent camps), professional tree-planting skills training, volunteer certificates, and internship confirmation, with exceptional volunteers having the opportunity to transition to formal positions."

The notice especially noted: "Sign-up requires an online questionnaire screening and an online interview, focusing on assessing physical fitness and environmental awareness. The first batch will only open 100 spots."

As soon as the news was out, the sign-up website was flooded, receiving ten thousand applications in the first hour, with more than half listing "wanting to quit phones, treating insomnia, and meeting celebrity animals" as their reasons for signing up.

Director Yi gazed at the backend data, sighing: "We never expected desert management to also treat internet addiction, this really is an unexpected gain."

Xu Ying added with a smile: "To get kids today to put down their phones, it’s not just about lecturing them, but letting them personally experience the charm of nature~"

As the live broadcast popularity of the "Desert Tree Planting Program" continued to rise, major brands keenly sensed the commercial value of this wave of green traffic.

Half a month later, the base looked completely new in the morning: smart tents printed with an outdoor brand’s logo were lined up neatly, volunteers wore uniform sponsored sportswear, and even the animals had custom equipment.

"Station Chief Xu, here is the latest batch of sponsored supplies list."

Assistant Qin Fuli rushed over with a pile of documents, "Including solar charging equipment, all-terrain off-road vehicles, and specially made biodegradable paw covers for the animals."

Xu Ying took the list, the sunshine reflecting on the brand-new logos in the tent area.

Three months ago, she was still worrying about funding and manpower; now, she had to entertain representatives from sponsors visiting because of the fame every day.

"The condition is it cannot affect the normal tree-planting work~" she repeatedly emphasized.

Unexpectedly, the brand partners were even more proactive—one sports brand offered to donate 100,000 yuan for every 100 trees that survived, with netizens in the live broadcast room applauding: "This sponsorship is amazing!"

Even smart devices moved in: the drone patrol system increased monitoring efficiency several times, volunteers wearing fitness trackers that recorded tree planting data real-time, and even Little Sand Cat wore a mini recorder around its neck.

Xu Ying truly experienced that where there is traffic, there is money.

Now the food truck provided nutritious meals supplied by sponsors, the medical tent was equipped with top-notch outdoor first-aid gear, and even the transportation of seedlings had switched to new energy trucks, all provided by major brand sponsors.