136: Chapter 136 A Stark Contrast

Su Yun sat in the passenger seat, holding the planning document and communicating with the floor manager in the back seat from time to time.

"County Magistrate Lin talked to me again this morning."

Su Yun suddenly turned her head to say to Xiao Bei, "She asked a lot of questions about you."

Xiao Bei's hand tightened on the steering wheel: "What exactly did she ask?"

"Mainly about your work style, and also... our relationship."

Su Yun frowned slightly, "She seems very concerned about whether you are genuinely interested in poverty alleviation, rather than just putting on a political show."

Xiao Bei gave a light snort: "She sure knows how to worry."

"I think she's actually quite nice."

Su Yun tilted her head, "She even gave me the contact information for several provincial agricultural e-commerce experts, saying I could contact them anytime if I needed consultation."

Xiao Bei did not respond. County Magistrate Lin Ruohan's unusual enthusiasm for the livestreaming plan stood in sharp contrast to Mayor Qin's warning, making it difficult for him to judge the true intentions of this female County Magistrate.

The scene at Qingshan Village was even livelier than yesterday. On the open ground in front of the village committee, Secretary Wang Dehai had organized dozens of villagers to wait, some holding the vegetables and fruits they had grown themselves. Seeing Xiao Bei and his group get out of the car, the villagers curiously surrounded them.

"This is County Magistrate Xiao!"

Secretary Wang Dehai introduced him loudly, "He has come to help us sell rice! Even fresher vegetables and fruits can be sold!"

Scattered applause rang out from the crowd, with most people's faces filled with suspicion. An old man with a wrinkled face said loudly:

"Party Secretary Wang, last time County Magistrate Liu also said he would help us sell rice and build a tea factory, but after collecting the 'security deposit,' he disappeared!"

"Exactly!"

"City people just know how to fool us common folks!" several villagers chimed in.

Xiao Bei stepped forward and stood on a rock: "Folks, I understand your concerns. Today we are not collecting a single cent; we are just here to teach everyone how to use mobile phones to sell rice."

He pointed to Su Yun, "This is Reporter Su from the county TV station; she will teach everyone how to make money just by talking into the phone."

Su Yun smiled and turned on the livestreaming equipment, showing the phone screen to the villagers: "Look, everyone, the camera is pointed at us now, and viewers from all over the country can see us..."

The rehearsal began, but it did not go smoothly. Most villagers were unfamiliar with smartphones, let alone livestreaming. A middle-aged woman was too nervous to speak; a young man was very active, but he spoke in a dialect that the audience couldn't understand at all; and several elderly people shook their heads, saying this was a "deceptive trick."

"This won't work."

Xiao Bei pulled Secretary Wang Dehai aside, "We need to find a few young villagers who can speak Mandarin and train them specifically."

Secretary Wang Dehai scratched his head: "The young people in the village have all gone out to work... Oh, right, Teacher Li from the village primary school is at home on vacation, and there is also Nurse Zhou from the health clinic; both of them are college graduates!"

Half an hour later, Teacher Li, who wore glasses, and Nurse Zhou, who wore a ponytail, were invited to the village committee. Although both were a bit reserved, they quickly grasped the basic sales pitch under Su Yun's guidance.

"Qingshan organic rice grows in a high-mountain basin at an altitude of 800 meters, with sufficient sunshine and irrigated by spring water..."

Teacher Li spoke eloquently to the phone camera, looking every bit like a professional livestreamer.

The number of villagers watching gradually increased, and some began to whisper:

"It seems it might actually work..."

"My daughter in the city says that's how people buy things now..."

Suddenly, a harsh voice broke the harmonious atmosphere:

"It's a lie! They just know how to put on these fancy shows!"

The crowd parted, and a burly man with a flushed face walked over unsteadily, emitting a strong smell of alcohol. Secretary Wang Dehai's expression changed:

"Zhang Laosan! You're drunk again!"

"I'm not drunk!"

The burly man waved a wine bottle, "They are just scammers! Last time that Liu Fuzhi came, he also talked nicely, but what was the result? My family's rice is still piled up in the warehouse! My family even bought tea seedlings for this, and they all went to waste!"

Xiao Bei was about to step forward to explain, when Zhang Laosan suddenly pushed over the tripod used for livestreaming, and the phone fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"What are you doing!"

Su Yun exclaimed and went to pick up the equipment.

The scene became chaotic for a moment. Secretary Wang Dehai quickly called a few young villagers to drag Zhang Laosan away, but the watching villagers had already started whispering, and the feeling of suspicion spread once again.

"I'm sorry, County Magistrate Xiao."

Secretary Wang Dehai wiped his sweat and apologized, "Zhang Laosan's family is the most difficult one; his wife is sick, and his son is in college, so he owes a mountain of debt. Last time he was cheated out of five thousand yuan by County Magistrate Liu, so he..."

Xiao Bei waved his hand to indicate understanding: "The county will find a way to compensate for his losses. The key now is to let everyone regain confidence."

He turned to Su Yun, "Is the equipment okay?"

Su Yun checked it: "It's fine, just the protective case cracked."

She looked at the dejected villagers around her and suddenly raised her voice,

"Folks, shall we do a live trial run right now? Let Teacher Li introduce everyone's rice and see if we can really sell it!"

This proposal reignited the villagers' interest. Twenty minutes later, a simple but sincere livestream began in Qingshan Village. Teacher Li and Nurse Zhou took turns introducing the village's agricultural products, while Su Yun guided them on the side to interact with the comments.

"There are really orders!"

Ten minutes later, the operator exclaimed: "Twenty orders have already been sold!"

The villagers were in an uproar, crowding over to look at the phone screen. When they saw the "Order Placed" notifications popping up one after another, many people widened their eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

"This... it just sold like that?"

An old man asked stutteringly, "And we don't have to give a cut to the middlemen?"

Xiao Bei nodded with a smile: "Selling directly to consumers can increase the price by more than 30%."

By the time the rehearsal ended, the livestream's sales had exceeded five thousand yuan. The villagers surrounded Xiao Bei and Su Yun, asking about the next livestream time in a clamor, and some even ran home to bring more samples, asking to join in.

"Folks, we need to recruit and train livestreamers, floor managers, and operators. This way, we will have people providing the goods, people operating the livestream to sell goods with the comrades from the TV station, and of course, people controlling the quality! We must ensure the quality of our goods to maintain a steady stream of customers!"

Xiao Bei could not suppress his joy and continued: "From now on, Comrade Party Secretary Wang Dehai will be fully in charge. It is better to learn how to fish than to wait for fish to be distributed! Everyone, sign up enthusiastically; we will officially start in half a month!"

"Good!"

"Great!"

Amidst the villagers' cheers, Xiao Bei finally saw a glimmer of hope.

On the way back to the county town, the atmosphere in the car was relaxed and happy. Su Yun flipped through the livestreaming data:

"The audience retention rate is very high, and the conversion rate exceeded expectations. If we can have more traffic during the official livestream..."

"Traffic is not a problem."

Xiao Bei looked straight ahead, "The launch ceremony will invite provincial and municipal media for publicity, and Mayor Qin might even show up to support us in person."