Peng Fei knew nothing himself, toiling away every day on the program, while his agent was beaming with joy behind the scenes.
Leveraging the current popularity, many people reached out.
He began to frantically select commercial endorsements and various film and television drama invitations.
The program team hadn't expected the show to become this popular after just one episode. Netizens were flooding the comments, saying they couldn't get enough and wanted to watch them live. After consideration, it saved them the trouble of post-production editing, so they decided to let them stream live.
This not only boosted popularity but also allowed them to receive many gifts, killing multiple birds with one stone.
Thus, the guests began their days of live streaming for up to ten hours.
They thought that with live streaming and no post-production editing, Peng Fei might lose some fans, as there were always some behaviors or remarks that were unlikable.
However, to their surprise, he was even more endearing without editing.
Every day, he just worked, and if no one spoke to him, he wouldn't speak. He would either do this or that, and no matter what he did, it was professional and efficient. He didn't intentionally seek the camera, strike a pose, or act cool. On the first day of the live stream, the peak viewership reached over 14 million.
What did 14 million mean?
A top male star in the entertainment industry, just two days prior, had done a live stream promotion for a new movie, and in three hours, the viewership only reached over 7 million.
His popularity actually surpassed that of a top-tier male star.
He had become this popular within half a month of arriving at the village. What would happen if he stayed longer?
In private, the staff's attitude towards Peng Fei immediately changed; they started calling him Teacher Peng.
Many advertisers also flocked to the program, discussing sponsorship placements with the production team. His agent was soon invited over.
For the advertisements they helped integrate, new contracts were drafted, increasing the advertising fees.
Peng Fei's popularity far exceeded everyone else's, and his value naturally skyrocketed. His agent quoted 300,000 for a single advertisement.
This was not considered high in the industry, so the program team quickly agreed.
The agent came to discuss with Peng Fei, telling him to act naturally, promote the products as arranged by the program team, and subtly showcase the products. The money would then go into his pocket.
For the first time, Peng Fei learned about such an easy way to make money. In just over 20 days, he could earn 900,000 in advertising fees.
900,000 was an astonishing amount for him, a young man from a rural background.
Instantly, he had already planned how to spend the money.
His agent told him to remain calm and not act like he had never seen the world.
"You continue, maintain your current demeanor, don't get ahead of yourself, don't get arrogant. As your fan base grows and your popularity soars, one advertisement could fetch 3 million. In half a year, you could easily afford a villa in Nancheng."
"Peng Fei, I knew you were extraordinary from the start. You're destined for great things. My future success will depend on you."
Peng Fei desperately needed money, and he had many things he wanted to do. Therefore, he listened to his agent.
His agent got him a bank card, and two days later, 900,000 was deposited.
Looking at the long string of numbers in his mobile banking app, for the first time in his life, Peng Fei cried in front of another man.
He wondered if Zhan Jingchun could see him now. If he had earned 900,000 a month earlier, he wouldn't have hurt her.
If he later earned nine million, or ninety million, and went to her with the money, would she still forgive him?
Driven by the need for money, Peng Fei redoubled his efforts on the program.
He listened to his agent, mastering the art of gaining traffic. He showed off his physique when appropriate. After half a month, the program's daily viewership stabilized at around 3 million, solidifying his position as the new traffic king of the entertainment industry.
Time quickly passed until mid-August.
After working under the sun for a long time, Peng Fei's skin tone returned to its rural appearance, dark and glowing.
With his pearly white teeth, harvesting rice in the fields, he had completely transformed into the most beautiful rural spokesperson.
Various commercial activities, film and television drama invitations, and interviews with television stations were already scheduled by his agent until the end of the year.
The reality show was about to conclude. Through six months of hard work, his savings had reached 5.7 million.
After harvesting and storing the rice in the coming days, and the program officially ended, his agent planned to give him one day off.
He decided to use that day to accomplish something significant.
That was to take the 5.7 million and give it to Chen Dongyang, asking him to help build roads for their entire town.
He would never forget the principle Zhan Jingchun had told him in the village: to get rich, you must first build roads.
When his agent heard that the first thing he wanted to do with his earnings was not to buy himself a car or a house, but to build roads, he thought Peng Fei was a complete idiot.
"Is that necessary? Many people succeed in the entertainment industry, but who would contribute everything for the reputation of a few villagers and build roads in a remote mountain area?"
"Those people don't go online or do anything, so your good deeds won't get out. What's the point?"
"You worked hard for half a year, toiling away every day. You should at least reward yourself, right? I suggest you save it, and you can definitely buy a house by the end of the year."
"When the hype dies down in a couple of years, and you don't want to do this anymore, you can get married, have children, and settle down in Nancheng. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Peng Fei didn't think so.
Every penny he earned, he thought of Zhan Jingchun, and every word Chen Dongyang had warned him about.
He just wanted to prove to them that he wasn't a bad person, and the place he came from wasn't a bad place. Everyone could change.
Besides them, he didn't care about anyone else's opinion.
However, he didn't know if Chen Dongyang would help him or be willing to meet him.
Fortunately, he still had Chen Jiaojiao's phone number.
On his day off, Peng Fei woke up early. He felt rather nervous when calling Chen Jiaojiao.
Unexpectedly, Chen Jiaojiao had also watched the program and already knew about his newfound fame.
"Big idol Peng, what made you think of calling me? I thought you'd forgotten about me now that you're famous."
Peng Fei said that would never happen. They exchanged pleasantries, and he thanked her for the opportunity she had given him. He then asked her for Chen Dongyang's contact information.
Chen Jiaojiao was surprised, "How do you know Chen Dongyang? How do you know he's my brother?"
Peng Fei didn't hide anything from her and told her about Chen Dongyang helping to repair his house.
Although Chen Jiaojiao was puzzled about their relationship, she still acted as a connection, and Peng Fei successfully added Chen Dongyang on WeChat.
Hearing that Peng Fei had become famous and his first priority was to build roads for his hometown, Chen Dongyang felt a bit emotional.
However, he wasn't an expert in that area and introduced Peng Fei to a professional. He then asked Peng Fei about his future plans.
Peng Fei replied, "Continue to make money. I haven't thought about anything else. But I want everyone to have jobs, to leave the mountains, and realize our current backwardness."
"Brother Chen, you know more than I do. Can you give me some advice on how I can help everyone?"
Chen Dongyang didn't answer immediately. He took their chat history and showed it to Tiantian.