The young, pretty female reporter finally got her chance to interview Li Xiang. He spoke eloquently, briefly recounting his experiences over the past few years.

"Committee Member Li, what made you decide to quit your glamorous job in the big city and return to our hometown?" the reporter asked, her curiosity piqued. A cameraman was filming beside them.

Li Xiang shook his head and sighed softly. "It might seem glamorous on the outside, but the pace is incredibly fast, the competition is fierce, and the social dynamics are complicated. Most importantly, the rent is just too expensive. Anyone who’s drifted from place to place knows that without a house, without roots, the cost of living is very high."

Landlords raise the rent at the drop of a hat, and most of your salary ends up going to local people who don’t have to produce anything. If young people don’t have help from their families, there’s basically no hope of buying a house on a regular salary.

Besides, moving frequently is a huge hassle. If you run into a bad landlord, you have to deal with constant nitpicking, them withholding your security deposit, their disdainful looks, and their sarcastic comments, both overt and subtle. It’s mentally exhausting.

And that’s not just for ordinary people. Take a world champion who won 15 gold medals and 16 silver medals, along with countless other honors. You could say they’ve achieved something unattainable for the average person, right?

But after retiring and entering the workforce, she got a harsh reality check. She was earning a meager salary of just over three thousand a month, and even that was paid late. Later, she became a coach at a sports school, also for a little over three thousand, with the promise of a permanent position after two years. But when the two years were up, the position was given to someone with connections.

A world champion, at an awards ceremony in a small city, wasn’t a presenter or even on stage—she was serving trays. This just goes to show how difficult it is for people from poor families with no background to make it on their own.

Of course, Li Xiang wasn’t just complaining. He also explained that the main reason he returned to the countryside to farm was that his parents had passed away early, leaving his elderly grandmother at home with no one to look after her. He wanted to come back and take care of her. Even if life was a bit harder, having family around would surely make his grandmother’s later years happier.

The reporter was very moved and immediately asked another question. "Why did you decide to get into self-media and do rural-life livestreams?"

Li Xiang replied, "That’s because you can hardly make any money just by farming; more often than not, you’ll lose money. All the young people in the village leave to find work elsewhere. Before I came back, I considered many ways to make a living and ultimately decided to give self-media a try. Even though the industry is already a Red Sea, the barrier to entry is low. At first, I was just trying it out, but I never expected to gain so many followers and achieve what little success I have now."

"You’re being too modest! How can you call that ’little success’? I heard that during your last charity livestream to support farmers, you set an incredible record of over 36 million in sales in just five days!"

"It’s nothing special. Some of the top influencers can surpass 100 million in a single day. The road ahead is long, and I won’t be discouraged, nor will I become complacent. The path ahead is long and hard, but today we take the first step on a new journey. I will strive to do better and contribute what little I can to my hometown. Additionally, I’m extremely honored and grateful to the county government for this opportunity. As a new member of the CPPCC, I will offer more suggestions and be a voice for the industry and for my fellow farmers in the future."

After that, the young, pretty reporter asked many more questions. Toward the end, she was practically making up things to ask, clearly reluctant to let Li Xiang go.

Fortunately, it was a group event, and a leader called Li Xiang over for a photo, which "rescued" him.

After the tree planting was finished, a pre-made sign was erected in a conspicuous spot near the road. It read: "County CPPCC Committee Members’ Charity Forest." Below it, in smaller characters, were the names of the sponsoring organizations and the date of the joint effort.

In the past, after an event like this, everyone would eat and drink together to build camaraderie. But now, with stricter regulations, big feasts are definitely not allowed. So, the group went to a quiet, elegant teahouse nearby. A few leaders hosted a symposium, they enjoyed some simple tea and snacks, and finally, everyone received a souvenir printed with the event’s theme and the organizers’ names—a thermos with a stainless steel liner.

Li Xiang looked it up online and found that the same model of thermos was quite expensive. ’The style is a bit old-fashioned, though, better suited for an elderly person,’ he thought. He decided to take it home for his grandmother to use.

Of course, there were benefits to not drinking. He had driven there. If there had been alcohol at a gathering like this, he would have inevitably been dragged into a few rounds. Even though the old comrades were no match for him, he would have had to find a designated driver to get home.

His grandmother absolutely loved the thermos. She washed it and made tea in it that very day, then took it with her to go chat with the neighbors. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

「The next day.」

Li Xiang went to the town for another meeting. After all, he was the village’s Party secretary and chief. The other village cadres from the surrounding area were also in attendance.

"Hey, Committee Member Li! I saw you on TV yesterday! The reporter was interviewing you, and you spoke so well!"

"Haha, you think so? It was nothing special," Li Xiang said humbly. He hadn’t been in the habit of watching TV for a long time, so he hadn’t seen the news yesterday. It seemed his grandmother had watched it in the evening, though.

"Joining the CPPCC at such a young age... you might even be elected as a delegate to the National People’s Congress someday. Your future is limitless!" His colleagues were all quite envious.

The town leaders also saw him in a new light, enthusiastically pulling him aside to chat for a long time. During the meeting, the leaders invited him to speak again, asking him to share his thoughts on being elected to the county CPPCC and his work plans for the future.