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 mber Li, what made you decide to quit your glamorous job in the big city and return to our hotown?" the reporter asked, her curiosity piqued. A caraman 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 comnts, both overt and subtle. It’s ntally exhausting.
And that’s not just for ordinary people. Take a world champion who won 15 gold dals and 16 silver dals, along with countless other honors. You could say they’ve achieved sothing unattainable for the average person, right?
But after retiring and entering the workforce, she got a harsh reality check. She was earning a ager salary of just over three thousand a month, and even that was paid late. Later, she beca 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 soone 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 ho with no one to look after her. He wanted to co 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 imdiately asked another question. "Why did you decide to get into self-dia 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 ca back, I considered many ways to make a living and ultimately decided to give self-dia 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 farrs, you set an incredible record of over 36 million in sales in just five days!"
"It’s nothing special. So 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 beco 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 hotown. Additionally, I’m extrely honored and grateful to the county governnt for this opportunity. As a new mber of the CPPCC, I will offer more suggestions and be a voice for the industry and for my fellow farrs 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 mbers’ Charity Forest." Below it, in smaller characters, were the nas 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 so simple tea and snacks, and finally, everyone received a souvenir printed with the event’s the and the organizers’ nas—a thermos with a stainless steel liner.
Li Xiang looked it up online and found that the sa 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 ho 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 ho.
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.
「The next day.」
Li Xiang went to the town for another eting. 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 mber 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 ti, so he hadn’t seen the news yesterday. It seed 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 soday. 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 ti. During the eting, 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.
User Comments
0 comments from readers