Salty Fish Livestream

Chapter Thirty-One

"Mother hen isn't for giving away." Li Wenchuan hurriedly comforted the emotionally wounded Coo Coo, lightly tapping its head as he laughed. "You're quite intelligent, aren't you?"

Later, he would have to ask whose mother hen this was and find a way to buy it. He did not have much money right now, but raising a mother hen should be manageable.

Walking straight over to the simple table that had been set up, he looked at the viewers in the livestream and still found it somewhat novel. There had been audiences on set when he filmed shows before, and it had felt like attending court in his former life. Now, with only a phone before him, interacting with viewers felt like talking to himself.

Having never watched e-commerce sales streams, Xiao Yi enthusiastically guided him from the side, while Su Mingwei also leaned over.

"You have to describe how tasty and fresh it is," Su Mingwei whispered. "Sometimes you can exaggerate a little, like, 'OMG,' or 'All the ladies here, look over here.'"

"...That's a little difficult."

Water caltrops were not easy to crack open, but in Li Wenchuan's hands, they were as easy to snap as chocolate bars. He swiftly cracked several open before the phone camera and held them up for display.

"Look at the flesh. It's very tender and fresh. They were boiled right after being picked."

The water caltrop flesh was snowy white and translucent, like jade condensed into crystal. Li Wenchuan popped them into his mouth one after another.

"This handsome guy is so good-looking. What platform does he stream on?"

"Fake. He's using beauty filters."

"Who knows what he looks like with the filter off?"

"You can tell at a glance that he's using skin smoothing."

Li Wenchuan, who had been eating with gusto, froze when he saw those comments. "What's a beauty filter?"

"Keep pretending. I'll just watch you keep pretending."

"Is that necessary, uncle? You use a beauty filter but don't dare admit it?"

"No way, no way. There are still people these days who don't know what beauty filters are?"

The internet was full of all sorts of people. There was always a group who blurted things out, assumed guilt before knowing the truth, and thought themselves the smartest people in the world.

The man on-screen had sword-like brows and starry eyes, his facial contours as finely drawn as an ink painting. Especially when he had leaned straight into the camera just now—even at that face-on, unforgiving angle, it had not diminished his looks in the slightest. His pores were so fine that he looked like a porcelain figure.

And the man finally found the beauty filter they were talking about. "I found it. There's a button labeled 'One-Tap Beauty Filter.'"

Then he pressed it. The person on-screen immediately warped—his chin became pointy, his eyes enormous, and two glaring patches of blush appeared on his cheeks. He looked like a textbook case of botched plastic surgery.

Li Wenchuan even gradually dragged the beauty filter slider higher, making his face distort more and more.

"Please, turn off the beauty filter, okay?"

"Why aren't those idiots from earlier saying anything now?"

"Wow, this face is truly breathtaking."

"Tch, maybe he's wearing makeup. Who knows how ugly he'll be after taking it off?"

Unable to attack the beauty filter anymore, some people began insisting it was makeup. But as soon as they said that, they watched Li Wenchuan take a towel handed over by someone nearby and vigorously wipe his face.

Just like how your mother had washed your face when you were little—direct, brisk, and thorough.

Most of the people entering had come through various channels. Since Tang Jingran was not the one livestreaming now, they had nearly forgotten this was Tang Jingran's Weibo livestream. Other than watching a handsome guy, they craved the water caltrops. Seeing the price was good, they placed orders like mad.

It was not their fault for failing to recognize Li Wenchuan. When a person's spirit and bearing changed, the impression they gave could be vastly different. Li Wenchuan gave off a lazy air, but when he became serious, he was upright and gentlemanly. Many people began asking for his name.

Tang Jingran's fans in particular kept asking whether Ranran could come out and explain. Was this an ordinary person?

Seeing the momentum, Uncle Zhang came over and asked whether selling only water caltrops would be too monotonous. There were also plenty of dried mushrooms at home, as well as fresh mushrooms. He wondered if they could sell those too.

The moment Xiao Yi heard that, he immediately said, "Yes, yes, the more the better."

Having received permission, Uncle Zhang rubbed his hands, looking a little embarrassed. "I also wanted to ask on behalf of the other people in the village. Can they bring their goods over to sell too? The market hasn't been good this year, and the village's farm products have all piled up..."

"Bring them all over, Uncle Zhang. Later, you can open an online shop, and I can help promote it." Jiang Hansheng answered upon hearing this.

As long as there were no issues with quality, once these people were taught how to use their phones, they would not have to wait for others to come collect their goods.

"Yes, yes, thank you so much." Uncle Zhang beamed with delight.

Ever since hearing that business was bad over there, he had not known what to do. He worried himself sleepless every day. His eldest son had even told him to quit and simply move to the city with him.

But how much better could his eldest son's situation be? His grandson needed to go to school, and expenses were high. Given enough time, perhaps his daughter-in-law would become unhappy too.

While they were not yet too old, they would work for as many years as they could and save up more money.

Traffic truly had immense pulling power. Most fans did not even ask questions. They entered the livestream, bought something, and left to continue with their own business. Their idol's merchandise usually cost more than this, and they still fought to buy it. What were a few dozen yuan?

New product links went up. Dried mushrooms could not be eaten directly, so everyone began setting up a simple outdoor stove. They brought two pots and a cutting board from Uncle Zhang's house, while Tang Jingran dutifully started the fire.

He had not learned much during this time, but he had become exceptionally skilled at starting fires.

In recent years, he had also been considering changing directions. Living off traffic was pleasant, but it could not last forever. He could endure hardship and work hard too; he just needed the chance to show it.

"After it rains, there are lots of mushrooms around the village. The villagers wander around the mountains when they have nothing to do and can gather quite a few." Li Wenchuan showed the viewers the dried termite mushrooms. "Look, these ones are really expensive even at the market. Last time, when we ate at Grandpa Chen's house, we treated them like ordinary bok choy."

They boiled some water and soaked the dried termite mushrooms in it for the time being, leaving them alone afterward.

He picked up a plump mushroom, his interest piqued. "I wonder whether everyone recognizes this mushroom. It has a nickname—Dancing Little People Mushroom. If you cook and eat it, you'll hallucinate. I heard that most people see little people dancing."

"I heard that after one family ate it, they thought they were mermaids living in the ocean and sat neatly on the sofa blowing bubbles. They were only discovered because the daughter kept blowing bubbles at home the next day and did not go to school."

"Don't think it sounds fun. It can actually cause a certain degree of damage to your nerves, so make sure you cook it thoroughly before eating it. I'll cut one open for you to see."

He placed the fresh Hand-Blue Mushroom on the cutting board and sliced it open. One second it was still white mushroom flesh; the next, blue had stained the entire cross-section. It looked exactly like the sort of thing that would be poisonous.

Jiang Hansheng discussed the sales arrangements with Uncle Zhang. He had also been doing charity work for years. Perhaps it was due to his identity in his previous life, but whenever he saw something he could help with, he would not ignore it. He said that he would send people over later to offer guidance.

It just so happened that his Household had developments in this area as well, making it beneficial for both sides.

Watching from afar as the person before the phone chatted and smiled, he let out a soft laugh as well.

"Just a little more..."

The warm wind swept past, crushing that murmured soliloquy and carrying it away with the breeze.