Sang Ning surveyed the three brick houses in the center of the courtyard, nodding in satisfaction before turning to her family. "Dad, Mom, the center house is pretty spacious, let's use it as your master bedroom. The other two rooms can go to Sang Chuan and me, one each."
Sang Youming and Hu Zhi exchanged a quick glance, their faces filled with wry smiles.
These brick houses were even shabbier than their old house in the slums. How could they possibly live here?
But seeing how happy their daughter was, they didn't have the heart to say anything that might dampen her spirits.
Sang Chuan was dumbfounded the moment he laid eyes on the three brick houses. He quickly set down the snakeskin bag he was lugging and walked straight into the middle house, pushing the door open.
Upon seeing weeds growing all over the inside of the room, his heart sank as if into an icy abyss. Standing by the doorway, he shouted out to Sang Ning, "Sang Ning, take a look for yourself. The entire room is filled with weeds! How are people supposed to live here? Are you kidding me?"
Sang Ning walked over to the door, stuck her head in for a glance, and said nonchalantly, "It's just a little bit of weeds. If we each take a room, it won't take more than half an hour to clear them out."
Sang Chuan was so shocked he was speechless. He gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, fighting to hold back the bitter tears threatening to fall.
After a few seconds, he pushed aside his melancholy expression and looked at Sang Ning angrily. "Let me ask you this—without any tools for weeding, do you expect us to pull them out with our bare hands? Don't joke with me."
"And even if we clear the weeds, these houses are still uninhabitable. Don't tell me you're planning for us to sleep on the floor?"
"Don't get impatient, young man. If you have patience, everything you want will come in due time." Sang Ning patted Sang Chuan on the shoulder with a deep, meaningful tone, then turned to look at the filming crew.
The filming crew member was startled by Sang Ning's sudden turn to face them. Seeing her sly, half-smiling expression, their heart skipped a beat. What trick was she brewing this time?
"You all are livestreaming this right now, right?"
The filming crew member, clueless, still obediently nodded.
Then they watched as Sang Ning straightened her posture, clasped her hands over her abdomen, and put on a generic, polite smile, bowing just slightly toward the camera.
The filming crew member was startled again and instinctively took a step back, just in time to see Sang Ning lift her head and begin speaking in a broadcaster's tone.
"Do we have any sponsorship dads watching through the camera right now? As you can see, we urgently need to transform this abandoned cowshed into a cozy little home. The items we're in desperate need of include, but are not limited to, beds, tables, sofas, and other home furnishing essentials. If you are interested in advertising collaborations, please call the 'Encounter in Countryside' production hotline. Xiao Sang will wholeheartedly serve you!"
The filming crew member was dumbfounded. The audience watching the livestream was just as stunned. Was this even allowed?
They'd watched variety shows for so long, yet this was the first time they'd seen a guest solicit sponsors live on-camera.
The first day of "Encounter in Countryside" had just begun filming, and they hadn't even started attracting advertisements yet. However, major companies had their eyes on this golden opportunity. After all, the hype surrounding this show was sky-high. Even a few seconds of product placement during the show could translate into incredible sales figures.
Particularly with the Sang Family's live audience already numbering over 90 million—on the cusp of breaking 100 million. Even the so-called top-tier celebrity Shen Yi's livestream viewership was only at a little over 40 million. Sang Ning's traffic numbers were terrifying. If she really became their spokesperson, it would be the icing on the cake for any company.
Market departments from various home furnishing companies immediately reported this to their corporate leaders. After hearing about it, the executives instructed them to promptly get in touch with the show's director. As long as the director agreed, they'd notify the nearest factories to Liyuan Village to ship the goods Sang Ning needed without delay.
On camera, Li Keyao, after seeing Sang Ning's call for sponsorship, sidled up to her brother, Li Juezhou, and hooked her arm onto his. Giggling coquettishly, she said, "Brother, if I remember correctly, doesn't Hai Chuan Group have a home furniture division? Can you ask your secretary to contact the director and send Sister Sangsang some essentials?"
Li Keyao had been raised abroad her entire life. This was her first time back in China with her brother. She'd casually tuned into the livestream to kill time, but from the moment she laid eyes on Sang Ning, she was smitten. Especially when Sang Ning drove a tractor—she thought the woman was just too cool!
Now her idol was in need. How could she not step up?
Li Juezhou was seated on the sofa, dealing with work on his laptop. The volume on the TV was obnoxiously loud. While he hadn't lifted his head, he was aware that the woman on-screen was soliciting sponsors.
Without looking up, his slender fingers continued typing on the keyboard, and he replied in a low voice, "The name Hai Chuan Group is already the best endorsement. We no longer need celebrities to boost our brand recognition."
Li Keyao pouted. Hai Chuan was now the top corporation in China and ranked among the top ten internationally. Her brother, just as the CEO of Hai Chuan, had over 1.5 billion followers on Weibo. He wasn't wrong—Hai Chuan no longer relied on celebrities.
But when she looked back at Sang Ning on the TV, she sighed internally. However, a stunning beauty needs help!
"Brother, how can your 37°C mouth say something so icy cold? The beauty desperately needs your bed right now! Just look at the TV for one second—just one! Can you still bring yourself to refuse a face that gorgeous?"
Li Keyao clung onto Li Juezhou's arm, whining incessantly, clearly refusing to let go until he agreed.
Li Juezhou's brows furrowed slightly. He lifted his gaze to glance at the TV. The woman on the screen had a stunning, radiant smile, and a pair of fox-like eyes that sparkled wickedly with sly charisma.
His gaze never stayed on women for more than a second. Yet after the first glance at Sang Ning, he couldn't help but take a second and a third. It took him a full ten seconds to snap out of it, at which point he lowered his head and refocused on his laptop screen.
"Apart from her pretty eyes, everything else is pretty average. If you insist on fangirling, might as well pick someone else."
Hearing this, Li Keyao rolled her eyes nearly to the heavens. "Brother, wake up! If Sister Sangsang is 'average,' then the entire entertainment industry has no beauties left!"
"Admittedly, you've always been my standard for god-tier looks, but now that Sister Sangsang has appeared, I'm declaring that you're out of the running."
"I've never begged you for anything my whole life, but if you don't agree to this today, I'm going to tell Mom and Dad you're mistreating their one and only precious little sister!"
Seeing that her persuasion was failing, Li Keyao took things a step further, dramatically flopping onto the carpet and rolling around theatrically.
Li Juezhou pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, clearly helpless when it came to his younger sister. After all, she was their parents' darling little princess. He didn't want to earn an earful from the elders, so he grabbed his phone and issued a warning to her. "If you don't stop rolling around, I'm not making this call today."
In the blink of an eye, the tantrum-throwing Li Keyao sprang up from the floor with a bright smile. "Thank you, Brother! You're the best!"