Chapter 93 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 93

Ji Jingyu thought about it for a long time in her heart, but in the end, fear still gained the upper hand.

She did not speak out the doubts in her heart.

Because she was afraid that if she really asked, and her dad’s answer was not something she could bear, an irreparable crack would appear between them.

If he really was not her dad…

Should she pretend to be deaf and dumb, acting as if nothing had happened? Or should she turn hostile with him, make her resistance and disgust clear, and refuse his care from then on?

Just thinking about the latter possibility made Ji Jingyu feel stifled inside, a little sour, a little painful, with all kinds of mixed emotions so complicated they were impossible to describe.

She had truly never enjoyed such gentle, attentive fatherly love before.

Tian Chunfang only beat and scolded her, despised her for being a money losing burden, said she ate without working, and that living was worse than dying early.

As for her dad in her previous life, he had a taciturn personality and worked outside all year round. He only came home three or four months a year. Most of the time, he was busy making children with Tian Chunfang, with no time to care about her situation. Only when Tian Chunfang went too far would he speak up to stop it.

But because he needed Tian Chunfang to bear children, most of the time, he turned a blind eye to her actions.

Choosing the best among the worst, with no one to rely on, Ji Jingyu could only treat her dad from her previous life as her only dependence during childhood, and she spent her entire life reminiscing about his goodness.

In reality, she had never enjoyed the kind of warm, affectionate father daughter moments she imagined.

After being reborn, however, things were different.

This dad, most of the time, seemed no different from her dad in her previous life, but in the finer details, he showed her a kind of bottomless indulgence and doting.

Every time he rubbed her head, there was always a helpless smile at the corner of his mouth.

Through this small gesture, Ji Jingyu could feel the gentleness and fondness in his heart.

He did not care about having a son or not. After divorcing Tian Chunfang, when people introduced him to potential marriage partners, he waved his hand away without a second thought, saying that having just one daughter was enough.

When she happened to overhear those words after coming back from outside, her heart was deeply shaken.

It was also those words that made her harbor even more doubts about her dad’s identity.

Her dad in her previous life would never have had such determination.

Ji Jingyu closed her eyes.

Fine then. Let her be a deserter this once.

……

“Girl, what are you thinking about?”

Ji Xiu saw Ji Jingyu smiling one moment, then suddenly showing a sad expression the next. Her brows were tightly knitted together. He rubbed her head and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Did something happen outside? Did someone bully you, or did someone provoke you? Tell Dad, Dad will go teach them a lesson.”

Ji Jingyu came back to her senses, rubbed her face, and said casually, “Nothing. Dad, you must be hungry. I’ll go cook.”

Ji Xiu looked at her suspiciously for a long time, then stroked his chin. “Alright, go ahead. Make a little less today. I already ate lunch at your uncle’s place. I’m kind of full.”

Ji Jingyu smiled and agreed, then turned and went into the kitchen.

Ji Xiu stared at her back, still feeling that something was off.

Over the next few days, he beat around the bush, trying to find the reason why Ji Jingyu had suddenly become upset. But this time, Ji Jingyu was very vigilant and did not reveal the slightest clue.

After searching for several days without finding anything, Ji Xiu regretfully gave up continuing his investigation.

Since she was unwilling to say it, then he would not force her. When she untied the knot in her heart and was willing to confide in him, she would naturally come to find him.

When the time came, helping her come up with ideas would not be a bad thing.

……

Ji Xiu took Ji Jingyu to school to apply for long term leave and supervised her self studying at home.

Just like that, half a month passed, and the strawberries entered their peak harvest period.

During peak season, after the strawberries were picked clean, a few days later another patch of red would sprout again, as if they could never be fully picked. If they were not harvested in time, they would quickly rot in the fields.

According to rough statistics, during this period, the strawberry fields could produce up to two thousand jin of strawberries per day.

Aside from the fixed one thousand jin required by the provincial capital hotels, Ji Xiu needed to develop a second market.

At first, he thought about opening a small shop in town to sell some strawberries retail, but the day he proposed this idea, his eldest brother Ji Qin rejected it outright.

“Strawberries in town sell for twenty yuan per jin, and even then they’re hard to sell. You plan to price yours at sixty. Brother, be rational.”

Thinking it over, Ji Xiu felt that was true. He should not have expectations about the consumption power of small town residents.

In that case, there was only one path left to take, selling through online channels.

Ji Xiu registered a Taobao shop with a simple and crude name, Jingfeng Mountain Specialty Retail Store, and listed a new product in the shop, strawberries at sixty one yuan per jin, no free shipping.

He personally took the photos of the strawberries. There were photos of the scenery on Jingfeng Mountain, aerial views of the strawberry fields, high definition close ups of the strawberries, cross section shots of strawberries, and photos showing the weight of one jin of strawberries.

Every photo was exquisite and unedited. Yet because the foundation was strong, people could still feel the beautiful scenery of Jingfeng Mountain through the photos, as well as the irresistible appeal of the vast strawberry fields on the mountain.

Ji Xiu was full of confidence.

He searched for similar products and confirmed that aside from his, many strawberry listings were priced above sixty yuan, so his price was not expensive at all. It was a conscientious price and should definitely open for business very quickly.

But in reality, after the shop had been open for three days, there was not a single order, and the page views were only a few dozen.

Ji Xiu frowned as he looked at the page he had edited, feeling that something was very wrong.

Ji Jingyu knew that Ji Xiu was busy tinkering with the online shop and peeked in from the doorway.

When Ji Xiu noticed her, he waved her over. “Girl, come take a look. What’s wrong with my Taobao shop?”

Ji Jingyu ran over and sat beside him, leaning forward to look at the computer seriously. She was also puzzled. After thinking for a bit, she asked, “Could it be because we’re a new shop with no foundation, so we’re being traffic limited?”

She refused to admit that it was because Ji Xiu’s price was too expensive.

Ever since the strawberries ripened, she ate a small basket every day and never got tired of them. Such delicious strawberries selling for sixty yuan was nothing.

Ji Jingyu looked at Ji Xiu. “Dad, how about we buy some promotion, or find people to advertise?”

These days, even the best wine feared deep alleys.

Without good exposure, in today’s era of abundant goods, even if you relied on quality to break out, it would still require a long period of accumulation and waiting.

But strawberries were a seasonal crop. They could not afford to wait.

On the contrary, with advertising and exposure, once there was a first batch of people willing to try, they should quickly gain public recognition and push the strawberries into the market.

Ji Jingyu listed the benefits of advertising one by one.

Ji Xiu had done business before, so he naturally understood the importance of advertising and marketing. But it was just strawberries. Was it really necessary?

Moreover, with his current assets just reaching a million, he could not find very good advertising channels.

Ji Jingyu waved her hand. “That’s fine, Dad. We can find some cheap contractors.”

“Hm?”

Ji Jingyu narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Do you know Bilibili?”

……

Caojian was a Bilibili content creator with just over two hundred thousand followers, mainly active in the food category.

However, as a male creator, his cooking skills were not particularly outstanding. Apart from searching for and copying recipes online, he could not come up with any new recipe development.

In order to attract followers, he had no choice but to add a travel and shop exploration column, flying all over the country to recommend popular tourist attractions and must eat food spots to his fans.

After going back and forth like this, his performance gradually improved. His followers grew from a few tens of thousands to two hundred thousand, and he received the first advertisement of his life.

Jingfeng Mountain: Dear, are you interested in taking a promotion?

Caojian: !!!

Caojian told himself to stay calm and composed, but he still could not control his excitement as he typed rapidly.

Caojian: Dear sponsor, may I ask what type of promotion it is? As long as it’s food related, high quality, and legally operated, I can take a look!!

The other side fell silent for a long while, making Caojian a little nervous.

Could it be that the sponsor disliked him for being too eager?

But there was no way around it. To run this account, he had poured all his savings from these years into it. He did not even have money for next month’s plane ticket. If he could not find a source of income, the next update would have to be postponed.

And postponing was very bad for a content creator.

His followers had just started paying attention to him and had not yet developed fondness or habits around him. If they did not see him for a few days, they would immediately forget his existence.

By the time he updated again, many fans might have already forgotten who he was.

Back then, Caojian had the potential to explode in popularity, but because he was busy with work and stopped updating for over a month, most of his fans left when he returned, and his popularity dropped as well.

Now that he was back on an upward path, he absolutely could not allow himself to stop updating.

Caojian nervously typed again.

Before he could send the message, the other side replied.

Jingfeng Mountain: It’s a promotion similar to shop exploration. I contracted a mountain this year, and the strawberries on the mountain are ripe now, but sales are a bit problematic. I want to find someone to promote them.

Caojian was stunned, feeling hesitant and troubled.

Hearing this description, it felt a bit not great.

What kind of strange promotion was this? He had been on Bilibili for so many years and had seen countless big creators take promotions. This was the first time he had seen something so down to earth.

It sounded like some grassroots poverty alleviation rural fruit farmer.

However, very soon, the other side sent another message, saying that this promotion required on site live streaming. He could go over personally to take a look. They would cover food, lodging, and airfare. After seeing the strawberry fields, if he felt confident about the product quality, they could sign the promotion contract then.

Caojian’s heart was instantly stirred.

The address the other party sent happened to be in the neighboring city of his next trip.

Even if this deal did not work out, he could at least save on round trip airfare.

Caojian: Okay!

The two sides quickly agreed on the time and location and exchanged contact information.

Time waited for no one, and strawberry season was even more fleeting. In order to settle things as early as possible, Caojian flew to the provincial capital the next day. After transferring vehicles, he met the sponsor who had contacted him at Fengti City Railway Station.

To be honest, at the moment he saw the person, Caojian was a little surprised.

The man in front of him was tall, with fair skin and bright, gentle eyes. He stood out from the crowd and was very eye catching. If not for the fact that he was wearing simple long pants and a short sleeved shirt with a straw hat on his head, people would have believed he was a young master from a wealthy family.

Caojian instantly became well behaved. The slight disdain and pickiness he had felt toward the sponsor’s fruit farmer identity vanished as he shook hands with the other party.

Ji Xiu revealed a faint smile. “Welcome.”

Caojian smiled a little embarrassedly and shook the camera in his hand. “Boss, I’ve already started filming. Do you mind being on camera? If you mind, I can avoid filming you.”

“So fast?” Ji Xiu was surprised. “Didn’t you say you hadn’t decided whether to take the promotion yet?”

“I need to prepare in advance,” Caojian explained. “If we confirm cooperation, I can edit it into a short travel video. That way I won’t worry about lacking footage later.”

Ji Xiu suddenly understood and smiled as he nodded. “You’ll definitely succeed. There aren’t many people as prepared as you.”

Caojian felt ashamed by the praise. In reality, he just wanted to use it as shop exploration material.

The two left the station, took a taxi back to Hetian Town, then walked a bit more and returned to Liuzhuang Village.

Standing at the village entrance, Ji Xiu pointed in the direction of Jingfeng Mountain. “That’s the mountain I contracted.”

Caojian swallowed.

He had thought it would be a very large farm with lots of people. But what was going on? Why did it feel more and more remote?

From the moment they arrived in Hetian Town, Caojian had started feeling uneasy. After walking for over ten minutes and entering the village, that still was not enough. They still had to go up the mountain.

Could he have run into bandits who killed and robbed people?

Caojian was at a loss. He wanted to refuse this promotion and turn around to run, but he was also afraid that if this really was a scam, angering the other party would be dangerous. Swallowing nervously, he suddenly thought of something and turned to ask, “This place looks like it has pretty good scenery. Can I start a livestream?”

Ji Xiu was greeting passing villagers and explaining Caojian’s identity. He did not notice his change in expression and answered without thinking, “Do as you like.”

Using the fastest speed of his life, Caojian opened his phone, connected to the internet, and started a livestream.

He had two hundred thousand followers and had just started gaining popularity. His fans were at their most enthusiastic stage. Not long after the stream started, dozens of people entered the room.

Seeing this, Caojian let out a sigh of relief. He loudly greeted everyone and said that he had just met a new friend and was currently visiting the other party’s home with his accompaniment.

While speaking, he emphasized the address three times.

One comment floated by.

[Caoxian, you’re in Fengti City? My home is in Fengti City too. Where are you? I’ll come play with you.]

Seeing this comment, Caojian felt relieved and suddenly gained a sense of security.

He did not expect to be so lucky to encounter a local viewer.

He relaxed a little and started chatting back and forth with this viewer.

[Caoxian, you don’t seem to be in the city.]

[Oh oh, Hetian Town. Why did you go to Hetian Town? That place is very remote. My aunt’s family is there. I went once and ran back home after staying two days.]

[But the scenery there is pretty good, and there’s a very famous local breakfast shop. The food is really delicious. If you went for the food, I can understand.]

Seeing these two messages, Caojian’s heart stirred. “Is it that good?”

One important reason he chose to be a food category creator was because he himself was a foodie.

When his popularity was not good and he switched to travel shop exploration, on one hand it was to attract popularity. On the other hand, it was also to satisfy his own dream of eating his way across China.

If there was good food here, since he was already here, he definitely had to try it.

“Breakfast shop?” Ji Xiu finished talking with the villagers and came back to continue hosting Caojian. Seeing the comment flash by on his phone, he casually said, “It’s in town. I go there almost every morning.”

Caojian’s eyes lit up. “Every day? Then it must be really good.”

Ji Xiu laughed. “Didn’t expect it, you’re a foodie too. You’re just like my daughter. As soon as you hear about food, your eyes light up.”

Caojian blurted out, “Boss, you have a daughter?”

A smile appeared on Ji Xiu’s face. “My daughter is waiting at home. Let’s go. I’ll take you to my place to rest first.”

With the livestream giving him courage, Caojian became bold for a moment. “Alright.”

When he mentioned his daughter just now, his eyes and brows were full of smiles, clearly doting very much on this daughter.

He felt that a man who cherished his daughter like this should not be a bad person.

The two walked toward the Ji family courtyard. Along the way, Caojian did not stop the livestream.

Liuzhuang Village was a remote and quiet small village, with crisscrossing paths and willows lining the roads. Under the camera lens, the scenery was tranquil and beautiful, fully satisfying urbanites’ various beautiful fantasies about the countryside.

The livestream room gradually became lively.

While chatting with Ji Xiu and occasionally responding to viewers, Caojian looked up and found that they had arrived at the Ji home.

“Girl, I’ve brought him.”

Ji Xiu naturally pushed open the bamboo fence gate, took off his straw hat, fanned himself with the brim, and entered the house.

Hearing the movement, Ji Jingyu came out of the house and looked outside.

At just that moment, Caojian followed Ji Xiu into the courtyard, and the phone camera pointed straight at Ji Jingyu.

[Aaa, loli, little loli!]

[What kind of fairy loli is this?]

[That look just now, I’m dead. So cool.]

The livestream comments exploded. Caojian also froze in place, staring blankly at the loli who was simply dressed yet cute, cool, and beautiful, with a dazed expression.

He had thought that the boss’s daughter would be the kind shown on TV, wearing a polyester floral dress, hair braided into pigtails, with two patches of highland red on her face, yellowish dark skin, standing at the village entrance and smiling shyly at passersby.

But clearly, he was wrong.

This loli was simply too cute.

It was also his own fault for not thinking it through. The boss was so handsome. His daughter definitely could not be ugly.

“Are you Caojian?” Ji Jingyu tilted her head and looked at him.

Caojian jolted and nodded rapidly. “Hello little sister, I’m Caojian.”

“You already started filming?” Ji Jingyu looked at the phone he was holding.

Caojian froze for a moment and quickly moved the phone away, ignoring the flood of complaints in the comments. “I was just livestreaming the scenery in the village.”

Ji Jingyu nodded. “I see.”

She glanced at Caojian again and felt that this person was a bit silly.

But there was no helping it. They had contacted twelve creators, and only this person was willing to come.

Thinking of this, Ji Jingyu could not help sighing. Her attitude toward Caojian softened a bit as she asked, “Do you want me to take you up the mountain to take a look before deciding whether to take this promotion?”

Caojian could not bear to refuse any request from the loli and quickly agreed. “Sure. Anytime is fine.”

A comment floated by in the livestream.

[Caoxian, you’re going to take a promotion? Congrats!]

[Congrats]

[Getting rich]

[Congrats]

A wave of congratulations swept through. Caojian caught a glimpse of them and felt warm inside.

These fans had always worried about his livelihood, afraid he would starve. Now that he had finally gotten a promotion, even though it was not confirmed yet, seeing their congratulations made his heart feel comforted.

There was no one better than his fans.

Caojian felt motivated and wanted to make better content for them. He also became more serious about this promotion.

If he could secure this promotion, then at least for the next three months, he would not lack money for plane tickets.

“How do we get up the mountain?”

Ji Jingyu pointed outside. “That way, just ahead. But climbing the mountain is too tiring. Let’s drive.”

“There’s a car too?”

Ji Jingyu nodded proudly. “Of course.”

She led him behind the house and pointed. “There.”

Caojian: “…A tricycle?”

What should he do? The motivation he had just mustered from his fans suddenly died again.

Such a poor, down to earth sponsor. Should he really do a promotion?

It felt like he would be draining his reputation for money.

But since he was already here, he could not just leave casually.

Ji Xiu found the keys from inside the house, mounted the tricycle, and smiled at Caojian.

Caojian gritted his teeth. Seeing that the loli had already climbed onto the vehicle, he steeled himself and climbed up as well.

“Hold on tight. Let’s go!”

Ji Xiu turned the key, and the tricycle jolted along toward the mountain road.

Caojian gripped the handles on both sides tightly, his expression twisted.

The livestream exploded with laughter.

[Hahahahaha tricycle…]

[Caoxian, what’s up with your sponsor? This is too funny.]

[Poor Caoxian. Just to take a promotion, you had to come all the way here and ride a tricycle.]

Ji Xiu’s vibe was truly unique.

Ordinary farmers who contracted mountains would never think of finding Bilibili creators to advertise. Those who did think of advertising on Bilibili were companies or brands.

This was the first time anyone had seen a fruit farmer seeking promotion.

While the livestream room was filled with laughter, the tricycle reached the mountain.

[Damn… this place is too beautiful.]

Caojian was also stunned. Looking at Jingfeng Mountain before him, watching the vehicle climb higher and higher, he felt like he was passing through a comic.

Above was a blue sky with drifting white clouds, clean and clear, almost transparent.

On both sides of the road were grasslands full of green grass. On the grasslands, yellow cattle grazed, children ran about, and laughter rang out endlessly.

In the distance were rolling green mountains. A breeze passed by, grass and trees swayed gently. Everything was so beautiful, as if filtered, filled with the flavor of summer.

Seeing this scenery, Caojian was so amazed that he could not even speak.

At this moment, the vehicle reached the end of the mountain road.

Another wave of praise erupted in the livestream.

Surrounded by fences ahead were vast stretches of blooming, richly colored roses. Every single flower was so beautiful that it stole one’s breath, like fake flowers, like paintings, like scenes from a dream.

Combined with the green mountains in the distance, it gave people a sense of purity, as if their souls were being cleansed.

Ji Xiu jumped off the vehicle and pushed open the fence gate.

What appeared before everyone’s eyes was yet another scene.