Chapter 38
The small courtyard in Yanshan Village was now bustling with people. The entire Project Liuhe team had grown to over a dozen members, making it incredibly lively. Ren Yi’s arrival, in particular, had excited the whole team.
The reason was that when Director Huang had been filming a movie with an anti-drug theme, he had specially invited Ren Yi to serve as the film’s advisor. Ren Yi’s frontline experience and his upright, strong character perfectly matched the director’s image of an anti-drug officer. The stories Ren Yi had shared about his experiences had also earned him the deep admiration of the entire film crew.
But now, in Project Liuhe, Ren Yi was something of a spare part. The livestream filming was handled by Director Huang and Ji Minghui’s professional team, and Xia Anran’s personal safety was taken care of by Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng. He, on the other hand, was rather idle. But because of his special connection with the livestream app, he had to stay by Xia Anran’s side. In the top leader’s words, he was to “await the opportune moment.”
Seeing this so-called interstellar livestream with his own eyes for the first time, Ren Yi couldn’t help but be incredibly curious. Their equipment had been upgraded. The technicians had modified it to connect Xia Anran’s phone to a computer and had also added professional camera equipment. Perhaps because the system had upgraded, the app was no longer as finicky as before and had turned a blind eye to these small modifications. So, Xia Anran’s livestream was no longer limited to a phone camera, and the real-time display on the computer screen made it much more convenient for Director Huang and Ji Minghui to coordinate.
Ren Yi stood behind the monitor and saw the dense wall of comments on the screen. It was a world of ice and fire. Half were engaged in a back-and-forth flame war, while the other half was serenely and crazily professing their love for Xia Anran and Earth. As expected, netizens of any era were always so energetic.
The issue of interstellar races was a bit sensitive, so Xia Anran didn’t continue the topic. She prepared to go out for a walk to her family’s orchard on the mountain.
The moment she stepped out, several neighboring aunties were cooling off under the tree. The villagers of Yanshan usually went up the mountain to pick fruit at five or six in the morning and then took it to the wholesaler at the village entrance to be weighed. Now, at a little after nine, it was just when everyone had finished their work, but not yet time for lunch. So, they would often gather in groups of three or five to play cards or chat.
“Anran! Aiyo, I heard you were back recently, but I haven’t seen you in the village. Did you go to the capital and now you don’t like to go out anymore?” Auntie Wang, who lived behind Xia Anran’s house, greeted her warmly.
Fortunately, not too many people had come out for the outdoor shoot today. The only ones from the production team were the cameraman, Director Huang, and Ji Minghui. The others were at home preparing for the next stream. Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng, as usual, stayed close to Xia Anran. Ren Yi, interested in participating in the livestream for the first time, had also come along.
The villagers didn’t know they were streaming and were very curious when they saw the cameraman with his camera, asking what they were doing. Xia Anran smiled and said she was taking them to her family’s orchard to pick some fruit and film some scenery.
Several aunties immediately offered for them to go to their orchards, guaranteeing they would have enough.
“Aiyo, Anran, how long has it been since you’ve been to your orchard? For the past two days, a few of us who live nearby have been taking turns helping you tend to it. But a lot of it had already gone bad before, and it’s only just starting to grow back now,” Auntie Wang said.
Xia Anran felt a pang of embarrassment. It was true that she hadn’t tended to her family’s orchard in a long time. Although she had gone infrequently even before the livestream appeared, since it had started, she had been running all over the place and hadn’t been back once.
Ji Minghui, listening from behind, couldn’t help but snicker. This was the first time he had seen her look so awkward. The cameraman, with a mischievous glint in his eye, even pointed the camera at her. The comments section also erupted in laughter.
[Wow wow wow, they all look so friendly! They have such a good relationship with Anran.]
[Anran isn’t going out because she’s streaming for us…]
[Hehe, Anran, please do more outdoor streams in the future! I love the village! It’s so beautiful!]
[Where are the primitive Beastmen from last time? I want to see, I want to see!]
[Anran, please film more animals! I can’t take it anymore, I miss our primitive beasts so much.]
[Such enthusiastic aunties! Anran is so popular everywhere!]
[WHAT??? The fruit went bad!]
[Ahhhh, why did you have to let me hear this heartbreaking news?]
[The fruit… my fruit.]
[Anran, how about you take us to plant fruit in your future streams? Don’t let them be uncared for and go bad!]
[That makes sense! And it’ll let that bunch of wastes at the Research Institute learn something. It’s been so long, and they haven’t even produced a single fruit!]
[Thank goodness the villagers helped take care of it! They’re all good people!]
[Hahahaha, look at Anran’s expression. She completely forgot about her own fruit.]
[First time seeing this expression on Anran’s face. So cute!]
Director Li, who was watching the stream intently, slapped his thigh. “So Earth people also have trouble growing fruit! We’re not so disgraceful after all!” To this day, neither the United Star System nor the Interstellar Empire had managed to harvest a single fruit. No matter how they raised them, they would die. It was so frustrating that the researchers’ hair was turning white prematurely. The Beastman race, on the other hand, wasn’t very interested in fruit, only in the scallion pancakes that had appeared before.
The several experts beside him exchanged a helpless smile. It was good that Director Li was happy. Ever since Ye Yuxing had been taken away by Major General Qin Feng yesterday, he had been wearing a long face. They had all been trembling when they reported their work to him.
Xia Anran awkwardly thanked Auntie Wang. She waved it off nonchalantly. “What’s there to thank for? We’re neighbors. Shouldn’t we help each other out? Besides, I heard from Uncle Li that it’s thanks to you that the government is buying our village’s fruit! Helping you look after your orchard is nothing. From now on, you just focus on your work, and we’ll take care of your orchard along with our own!”
The other aunties also chimed in, saying that ever since the news spread that Yanshan Village was a special supplier for the government, their fruit had become a hot commodity. Many buyers were coming specifically to purchase it, and the prices were much higher than before. Now, most of the fruit the villagers grew was sold to the government, with a small portion left for the buyers. Xia Anran had truly helped them solve a major livelihood problem. Auntie Wang said that the village had originally wanted to hold a banquet to thank her, but Uncle Li had heard from his grandson that she was busy with a major project and had told everyone not to bother her.
Unexpectedly, the viewers in the comments were very interested in this village banquet and were clamoring to see it, pleading and acting cute. Xia Anran had no choice but to satisfy their request and told Auntie Wang she had time.
Auntie Wang slapped her thigh. “Alright then! I’ll go tell the village chief right now. We’ll find a few good cooks and have a lively celebration tonight!”
Xia Anran quickly stopped the bustling Auntie Wang, who was about to go organize the banquet. “Auntie Wang, tonight won’t work. How about noon tomorrow?”
“Sure, why not! We’ll do it on your time!” Auntie Wang agreed readily.
The research experts in the interstellar era, however, were wringing their hands in despair, having just spammed the chat with requests for these aunties to teach them how to grow fruit.
…
After finally bidding farewell to the aunties, Xia Anran and her group continued up the mountain. When they reached the village entrance, they saw more than a dozen buyers collecting fruit in the distance. Some villagers were unloading their goods to be weighed. Basket after basket of fruit was being carried down from three-wheeled carts. Combined with the fruit that had already been purchased and was stacked in the back, the scene could only be described as spectacular.
The interstellar folks, who had never seen such a sight, were immediately captivated.
[Holy crap, holy crap!!!! What am I seeing!]
[Ahhh, so much fruit! So much!!!]
[Let me in, let me in! I want to roll around in the fruit!]
[I’m really going to throw a fit. Earth is too wonderful.]
[That’s so much… share some with me, share some!]
[So impactful! I want it, I want it!]
[Compared to seeing them one by one, seeing them piled up like this is so satisfying. I feel like the richest person in the world right now, hehehe.]
[Stop dreaming! That fruit is mine!]
[Raffle some, raffle some, Anran! Or I’ll cry for you to see.]
The official personnel from the United Star System and the Interstellar Empire were seeing red. They had to be so stingy, using them one by one, while these buyers were collecting them by the hundreds of pounds, two people lifting and tossing them onto the trucks. The sight made the hearts of the researchers bleed. They were all grief-stricken.
“Be careful! Handle with care!”
“Aiyo, I can’t watch this.”
“If only we could also buy directly from Earth.”
Unable to resist the enthusiasm of the comments, Xia Anran had to change her route and walk towards the village entrance. There were more than a dozen trucks of various sizes parked there, and the buyers were busy loading fruit. Two or three villagers had just arrived with a full cart and were surrounded by several buyers.
“Old friend, your cherries are really good! Thirty yuan a pound, I’ll take them all!”
“Thirty yuan and you still have the nerve to show your face? Old friend, fifty yuan a pound! I’ll take everything you’ve brought!”
“What’s the meaning of this? Malicious competition?”
“What malicious competition? Don’t give me that. Highest bidder wins. If you can’t afford it, don’t whine here!”
“Then I’ll pay fifty too! I haven’t collected much on this trip today. Old brother, do me a favor and let me have them!”
“Since when is there ‘letting someone have it’ in business? If you haven’t collected enough, that’s your own problem!”
The villagers were a bit overwhelmed, being surrounded by these overly enthusiastic buyers. Usually, these people were the ones haggling down their prices. When had they ever proactively raised the price, and so high at that? Now, with cherries in season, the price was usually around ten yuan a pound. A while ago, these same buyers had pushed it down to seven yuan, which had worried the entire village.
Watching from the side, Xia Anran hadn’t expected Yanshan Village’s fruit to be so popular now. At such a high price, it still seemed to be in short supply.
After a long haggle, the buyers finally came to a peaceful agreement and each took a portion of the fruit. As if afraid the villagers would change their minds, they quickly had it weighed and paid.
“By the way, old friend, you’re from Yanshan Village, right? We’re only buying from Yanshan Village today. We’re not taking any from other villages,” a buyer suddenly asked.
Ever since the news spread that Yanshan Village had a lot of buyers and high prices, a few people from nearby villages had also come to try their luck.
The villager quickly nodded. The few of them vouched for each other, and only then did the buyer feel at ease.
“The mountains and water here are good, so the fruit grows well. The quality of the fruit from the nearby villages is also very good.”
The buyer loaded the fruit onto his truck, turned, and smiled. “Old brother, it’s not the quality of your fruit we’re after, but the reputation of your Yanshan Village! But to be honest, the quality of your fruit is indeed good, and you people are honest. The whole basket is the same, unlike some people who put good fruit on top and bad fruit on the bottom.”
“I’m not just saying nice things to you. Based on that alone, I’m willing to buy your village’s fruit!”
The villagers were also very proud. “Our village chief has instructed us not to disgrace the government, and certainly not to disgrace our Yanshan Village. It all has to be the best!”
…
Xia Anran didn’t get too close, just filmed them from a distance, and then continued on her planned route up the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they could see a large grove of cherry and lychee trees. Director Hukeni’s eyes were wide.
“Are those cherries and lychees up there?”
His assistant nodded.
Director Hukeni thought of the experimental plot in his own lab, where not even a sprout had grown, where nothing had broken through the soil. Then he looked at the tall, sturdy trees on the screen and the abundant fruit hanging from them, and his head ached. The road ahead of them was still a bit too long!
Just as they were about to go up the mountain, a very plump chicken suddenly shot out from the grass by the side of the road. It flapped its wings, clucking, and rushed towards them. Xia Anran was a little startled. Fortunately, Ren Yi was quick and grabbed the chicken by its wings, lifting it up.
The chicken was very fat, with glossy feathers. Its two legs were very sturdy, and the comb on its head stood straight up. Its eyes darted around, glaring at them.
“Cluck-cluck—cluck-cluck-cluck!”
…It had a good set of lungs, too.
The moment this chicken appeared, the Beastman viewers in the livestream immediately took over the screen.
[Another primitive Beastman!]
[Ahhh, I’ve been waiting for so long, and it’s finally here!]
[This one looks a little like many tribes, but also different from all of them.]
[It has wings but can’t fly? Which tribe is this? I’ve never seen it before.]
[Listen to that voice! So loud! And so agile, hehe.]
[Ahhhh, it’s rushing towards Anran! Anran, be careful!]
[Could the animals on Earth really be the ancestors of the Beastman race? They do seem a bit similar, all so fierce.]
[But it looks quite cute! Flapping its wings and trying to fly but can’t, hahahaha.]
[!!! Human, let go of our primitive beast immediately!]
[…My wings are starting to hurt already.]
[Ahhhh, this is abuse! Abuse!]
[How dare you! Let go immediately!]
[I’m so angry, so angry! I challenge you to a duel!]
The chicken was very strong and kept struggling in Ren Yi’s hands. Xia Anran leaned in for a closer look. This should be a chicken raised by the villagers. A little further on was a chicken farm run by Auntie Chunsheng. It wasn’t particularly large, but it had one or two hundred chickens. This one had probably escaped from there.
Sure enough, Xia Anran turned and looked up the mountain. Auntie Chunsheng was coming down in a hurry, a basket on her arm. “So you did run down here! Of all of them, you’re the best at wandering!”
Seeing that the escaped chicken had already been apprehended, she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Xia Anran. “Anran, you weren’t scared, were you?”
“No, no,” Xia Anran said. “I was just thinking it was probably your chicken, Auntie. It’s so well-raised.”
Auntie Chunsheng took the chicken from Ren Yi’s hands and then handed the basket in her other hand to Xia Anran. “Perfect timing. I just collected these eggs. They’re all from free-range chickens, pure and natural. Take them home to eat!”
Before Xia Anran could refuse, the comments section had already exploded again.
[So this is a chicken! Its name is nice too!]
[Ah, so it’s raised by humans again? My poor ancestors.]
[This auntie looks very nice too. The chicken stopped squawking the moment it was in her hands.]
[Wait, what is that?!!]
[An egg… it can’t be what I think it is.]
[This can’t really be a cub, can it?!]
[Eating an egg?]
[Earth is too terrifying! Why do they always have to eat us?]
[They even eat the cubs before they’ve hatched!!!]
[Ahhh, police, I’m calling the police! Someone is eating a child!]