"Go for it! Go for it!" Li Xiang was naturally supportive.

They were all in the self-media business, so filming videos was a major part of their job. They had just finished dinner and were strolling around when Sister Yao decided to get to work. ’Where could you find such a hard-working and dedicated employee?’

Yao Yao walked over to a spot under a streetlight. She struck a few poses, trying to find the right feeling. Just as Li Xiang was about to start filming, she stopped.

"I need to find a song." She felt she could perform better with musical accompaniment.

They could always add music in post-production, but dancing was all about rhythm and hitting the beat. Playing it on the spot would create a better synergy and make it easier for her to get in tune with the music.

"Let’s use this one, ’Xiang Xu’."

Yao Yao unlocked her phone and handed it to Lei Xiaohui, asking her to play the music in a moment.

Although Lei Xiaohui was closer to Zhao Xueqing, and Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing were often secretly competing with each other, girls were different from men. They preferred covert battles. On the surface, they maintained a harmonious front, sometimes even fooling around and playing together.

For example, when Yao Yao saw Zhao Xueqing, she might say, "Oh, your hairstyle is so unique today! I want to style my hair like that too. Can you teach me?"

Then the two of them would have a little session, one teaching and the other learning.

And Zhao Xueqing might sometimes say, "Your outfit is so beautiful today. It really flatters your figure."

As for what they were muttering under their breath once they turned away, only they themselves knew.

Lei Xiaohui was a bit more straightforward, but not by much. One could only say it was a woman’s natural talent.

’Still,’ Li Xiang thought, ’these three girls are much better than most of the women I encountered in my previous jobs.’

There might be another reason, too: when you become powerful, you find yourself surrounded by good people.

Take Li Jintang from the village, for example. That was his third uncle, the one who had mocked Li Xiang the moment he returned. Now, he was extremely polite every time they met, even proactively offering Li Xiang cigarettes and saying only the most pleasant things.

His son had come back for the New Year, and it seemed he had lost a lot of money in the provincial capital. The big gold chain around his neck was gone, his Mercedes-Benz had been replaced with an ordinary car, and some of the people who used to work for him had found jobs elsewhere this year.

If Li Xiang hadn’t known the man’s character and if their families hadn’t been on bad terms, he too would have thought the man was benevolent and affable.

Some old classmates he hadn’t been in touch with had also started interacting with him, liking and commenting on his videos.

As for his former colleagues, Li Xiang didn’t pay them much mind after quitting. They were no longer in the same circle. He couldn’t be bothered to reply to the ones who proactively left messages and comments for him. He only interacted with Chen Huanhuan occasionally.

Chen Huanhuan still didn’t have a boyfriend. Her chats with Li Xiang were full of lonely complaints, but there was nothing Li Xiang could do to help her.

On this early spring evening, a light mist hung in the secluded alley. The soft glow of the streetlight cast down, creating a hazy and tranquil scene.

Yao Yao, dressed in light gauze with flowing water sleeves, her graceful figure faintly visible in the light, tapped her toes and began to dance elegantly. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The accompanying music, "Xiang Xu," was very light and cheerful. Just listening to this instrumental piece evoked a sense of happiness—like a reunion after a long separation, like recovering something lost, like a promised arrival, and like a hopeful future. It flowed with a deep affection, and paired with Yao Yao’s stunningly captivating dance, it left Li Xiang slightly dazed.

’Beautiful. Just so beautiful.’

’The ancients really knew how to live. If I could watch a beauty dance up close like this every day, who would need to watch TV or play on their phone?’

Zhao Xueqing pouted slightly. She wanted to perform too, but she wasn’t good at dancing; she had only learned Kung Fu Tea. ’I’ll have to practice more when I have time,’ she mused. ’Otherwise, Brother Xiang’s soul is going to be snatched away by that vixen sooner or later.’

A hint of inferiority crept into Lei Xiaohui as well. All she knew was how to brandish swords and spears. Being beautiful and cool was one thing, but ’do men really like the heroic and dashing type? I bet they all prefer a little temptress like Yao Yao, don’t they?’

When the song ended, Yao Yao ran over cheerfully, calling out coquettishly, "Brother Xiang, did you get it? Let me see!"

"I got it. It’s really good! I feel like you’ve improved a lot since the village gala last year," Li Xiang praised.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Yao Yao was instantly delighted. ’So my days of diligent practice weren’t in vain,’ she thought to herself.

In truth, she was better at the sexy, fiery, high-energy dancing you’d see in a nightclub. However, Li Xiang was planning to build a National Style Tavern, and that kind of dancing wouldn’t be appropriate. That’s why she had started to study traditional dance more deeply.

She had never taken any training classes; she just watched videos online and practiced on her own. It had to be said, this kind of thing really came down to talent. Back in school, her grades were poor, and just looking at test questions gave her a headache. But when it came to practicing dance, she was full of enthusiasm. She learned things instantly and mastered them quickly, and she was exceptionally good at discovering and grasping the essence of a dance, understanding the emotions it contained.

Now, she could even choreograph beautiful dances herself. It was no exaggeration for her to call herself a Soul Dancer.

It was only because she came from a poor family in the countryside. If she had been born into a wealthy city family, she probably would have been enrolled in all sorts of interest classes from a young age, discovered this talent, and set upon the right path.

But meeting Li Xiang now was also a great opportunity. He had given her this platform, freeing her from the need to worry about making a living and giving her more time to research and practice various dances.

"Brother Xiang, what caption do you think I should use?"

Li Xiang thought for a moment and said, "How about a line from Zhang Ruoxu’s ’Spring River Flower Moon Night’? ’I long to follow the flowing moonlight to where it shines upon you.’"

"Brother Xiang, you’re amazing! You know so much!" Yao Yao said, her face full of admiration.

Nearby, Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui rolled their eyes in unison.

...

To the surprise of the county magistrate and others, it wasn’t just the county that was promoting them. Many official media outlets from Sichuan Province were also driving traffic their way, reporting on the county’s charity event to support farmers. Most notably, they heavily featured Li Xiang.

The video footage released by these official media outlets focused entirely on Li Xiang; the other streamers weren’t mentioned at all.

Li Xiang suspected Xu Xuan was pulling strings behind the scenes, so he called him privately to ask. Xu Xuan denied it, then told him it was all thanks to Zhang Youyou. Her family had connections in the propaganda department.

Li Xiang: "Well, you two are a couple anyway. Thanks a million!"

"Haha," Xu Xuan laughed heartily. Then he gave him a piece of bad news. The items Li Xiang had sent last time were put up for auction, but no one recognized their value, so they failed to sell. However, he also reassured Li Xiang that they would keep trying through other channels.

Li Xiang expressed his thanks and said if no one really recognized their value, then so be it. It wasn’t like he absolutely had to sell them.

After the push from the provincial official media, Li Xiang’s fame grew even more, and his follower count broke three million. Sales should have softened in the latter days of the event compared to the first two, but thanks to this boost, Li Xiang’s momentum didn’t weaken in the slightest.

The reason his numbers didn’t explode even more was probably because those media outlets were only within Sichuan Province and had limited influence nationwide.

In five days, Li Xiang’s team generated a total of 36.64 million yuan in sales. Even taking only a 1% commission, that was over 360,000 yuan.

Adding the various gifts sent by fans, the total exceeded 500,000 yuan. Of course, he donated about 150,000 of that to genuine poverty alleviation work.

The fans were truly amazing; many of them were repeat buyers.

On Thursday, Li Xiang even took an hour off to easily ace his Subject Three driving test. Of course, when he took leave, he left the three girls to continue hosting the live stream, so his work was basically unaffected.

People were always more forgiving of the top seller.

When the county magistrate found out, he even asked with concern which driving school Li Xiang was attending and what kind of car he planned to buy in the future. It was just small talk, a way to close the distance between them.

On the last day, at the celebration banquet before they left, Li Xiang received a piece of news: he had been nominated and recommended to become a member of the County Political Consultative Conference. The process was underway, but it was basically a sure thing.

This was because the county magistrate himself had told him quietly while holding his hand.

Li Xiang: "..."

’No one told me there’d be such a good perk before I came.’

He had really come for purely charitable reasons, just to help his hometown sell some spring bamboo shoots. He never expected the county government to give him such a huge reward.

Although a Political Consultative Conference member in a small county wasn’t a huge deal, for Li Family Village, this was the kind of talent that only appeared once in a hundred years.

Back when the Li Family’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were wealthy, they were country squires and landlords. Although some family members had held minor official posts, they were, strictly speaking, just clerks, and their popular prestige certainly couldn’t compare to a County Political Consultative Conference member.

After Li Xiang returned home, he shared the good news with his grandma, who was naturally so happy she couldn’t stop smiling.

Li Xiang himself didn’t think it was a big deal, but in the hearts of the elderly, this was better than anything. Better than earning any amount of money.

That night, Grandma burned incense and paper money, reporting to his grandpa and the ancestors that Xiang’Er was now successful and had brought glory to the family.

"Your father and mother, in the great beyond, must be so happy for you too." As Grandma spoke, she started to cry.