Chapter Eighty-Four: The Official Announcement, Rural Support, and the Wrap-Up Ceremony

The crime drama Black Suppression Frenzy had only just begun shooting on September 16. By rights, if a television series moved quickly, it would still take around eighty days before completion.

So when Lin Xing heard that Black Suppression Frenzy was already due to wrap by the end of the month, he was a little taken aback. “That fast?”

“Pretty much. Director Zu works quickly anyway, and the series only has twenty episodes,” Bai Yan explained with a smile. “Axing, our Director Zu is different from the others.”

“That’s true. In this industry, you can count on one hand the directors like him who are only accountable to the work itself.” Lin Xing nodded lightly. “Brother Bai, I understand. Just let me know in advance when the wrap date is set.”

“Sure. I’m only telling you early so you have a rough idea. The wrap could come sooner or later, but in any case it’ll be either a few days before month-end or at the start of next month.” Bai Yan spoke to him.

Lin Xing smiled. “No problem. I’m about to head to Mount Dafeng anyway, and it isn’t far from our crew. Just tell me a day in advance when you’re wrapping.”

“All right, then that’s that. We’ll catch up properly when we meet again.” After a few more words, Bai Yan hung up.

Lin Xing thought for a moment, then told Sister Dao about the situation.

“I was just about to call you. Originally, Emperor Shadow Watch was going to announce your endorsement yesterday, but because some of the materials weren’t fully prepared, they chose to make the announcement today,” Sister Dao said after picking up Lin Xing’s call. “I’ll send you the copy and the other materials in a bit. Have Xiao Nan check it for you, and don’t copy the wrong text when you post it.”

“Mm, I’m not that careless,” Lin Xing said, shaking his head.

“You still have to be careful. A few endorsers before you copied in the words ‘posting at 11:00’ as well, and it became a joke.” Sister Dao was still very cautious.

This was Lin Xing’s second commercial endorsement after Dima Electric Vehicles, and it was an upscale one at that. Naturally, Sister Dao treated it with utmost importance.

After a few more words, Lin Xing ended the call.

Ten minutes later, Sister Dao sent the copy.

Lin Xing copied it over, uploaded the short film as well, and added the hashtag: Emperor Shadow Watch: Let Us Cherish This Second.

The short film was about what could change in a single second.

Then, at 11:15, Emperor Shadow Watch officially announced Lin Xing as its Greater China ambassador.

At 11:20, Lin Xing posted on Weibo.

At 11:25, Lin Xing appeared on the Weibo splash-screen ad.

At 11:30, Lin Xing trended.

At 11:31, the short film began being promoted on other social platforms.

At 11:45, the news of Lin Xing’s endorsement of Emperor Shadow Watch had fully spread.

In fact, right after Lin Xing’s endorsement post went up, Lin Miaoyin reposted it from her main account without saying anything, then quickly reposted it from a secondary account and wrote: “My Xingxing is the best. His endorsements are getting better and better. Let’s see who still dares to mock our Xingxing?!”

“Hahaha, I’m having an extra chicken leg for lunch today. Xingxing is awesome.”

“Xingxing is really on the rise now. This is already his second endorsement.”

“Buy it, buy it, absolutely buy Emperor Shadow Watch.”

...

In Lin Xing’s fan community, many people were genuinely delighted.

At the same time, others were a little stunned.

“Didn’t Qu Shi already endorse Emperor Shadow Watch for ten years? How did they suddenly switch him out?”

“Yeah, I can’t make sense of what Emperor Shadow Watch is thinking. Why would they suddenly use Lin Xing?”

“Damn, Lin Xing actually landed a watch ad. Emperor Shadow Watch isn’t exactly top luxury, but it’s still mid-luxury, right?”

“This leap is huge for Lin Xing. From agricultural tricycles straight to high-end commercial endorsements like watches?”

...

People inside the industry actually knew that something had happened to Qu Shi. After all, there are no secrets in entertainment. Hadn’t everyone noticed that Qu Shi’s Weibo hadn’t been updated since the beginning of July?

But no one in the industry knew that this Emperor Shadow Watch endorsement had gone to Lin Xing.

Many newly ascended top stars, especially people at the level of Xu Han and Hao Zhi, all wanted a luxury endorsement to elevate their status. Even Li Xingchi wanted one.

Yet it had actually been taken by Lin Xing.

Why him?

Unlike the Dima Electric Vehicles endorsement, which these top stars also wanted to fight for, few of them truly held it in high regard from the bottom of their hearts.

It was an ordinary, down-to-earth endorsement. It wouldn’t raise their status.

In fact, no one had even planned to compete for it seriously.

But Emperor Shadow Watch was different. That endorsement inspired envy, jealousy, and bitterness in equal measure.

According to common sense, even if Emperor Shadow Watch was not using someone like Qu Shi—a middle-aged actor with excellent acting skills, solid popularity, and a decent reputation—it still should not have ended up with Lin Xing.

Why him?

The lesser top stars were even more unconvinced. “If I went, I could do it too. Why didn’t they pick me?”

The long-silent “Old Zhong” posted on Weibo: “When Dima Electric Vehicles chose Lin Xing as their endorser, I already said that Lin Xing is very suitable for this kind of grounded endorsement, because at the very least, he won’t have a scandal that brings everything crashing down.

As for why Emperor Shadow Watch would choose Lin Xing, isn’t that even easier to understand? Isn’t this watch basically tailor-made for Du Fei? And I think the most crucial, the most important reason is still that Lin Xing won’t have a scandal.

That point aside, not even top stars are guaranteed safe, let alone some veteran actors.

So if you were the brand, which person would you prioritize?”

...

It was the truth.

Especially in recent years, more and more celebrities had fallen from grace. Some people you thought would never have a scandal ended up having one after all.

Brands had to choose endorsements with extreme caution.

For someone like Lin Xing, who had already proven extremely unlikely to implode, how could any brand possibly let him slip away?

In the end, Old Zhong even said: “You all think Lin Xing doesn’t measure up, but I think these brands are the ones punching above their weight. I said that about Dima Electric Vehicles back then, and I still think the same about Emperor Shadow Watch now. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see.”

Under Old Zhong’s post, quite a few people said his words were fair and to the point.

Others said that in our village, quite a few people had already started buying Dima agricultural tricycles.

For a long time, Dima’s agricultural tricycles had not sold well in the towns and villages. People still seemed to recognize only the old established brands, and even their electric carts and electric tricycles had suffered because of it.

But for reasons no one quite understood, after the Anti-Fraud Bank segment from the comedy program Comedies Are Meant to Make You Laugh was released, many people in the towns and villages had begun buying agricultural tricycles under the Dima name.

Take Zhu Fang’s grandfather, for example.

Still, such reputation spread only gradually, so for now the internet only had scattered remarks like, “Someone in our village bought a Dima.”

Lin Xing did not know any of this, but Dima did.

So when Lin Xing arrived at Mount Dafeng and met Zhou, the head of Dima, he was genuinely a little dazed.

After finishing the final episode of Farm the Land, Lin Xing did not return to the capital. He came directly to record Follow the Stars to the Front Lines of Poverty Alleviation.

“Mr. Lin, we meet again,” Zhou said with a smile.

“Surprised? Isn’t it a pleasant surprise?”

“It really is a surprise.” Lin Xing looked at him in some confusion. “Mr. Zhou, what is this about?”

“We know you’ve been filming here at Mount Dafeng for the poverty alleviation program, so we decided to make a targeted donation to the students here. The main purpose is to improve their food, clothing, housing, and transportation. In addition, we will also give free agricultural tricycles to needy households...” Zhou explained to Lin Xing. “We had already coordinated with the production team in advance, and we knew you were filming this episode today, so I came specially.”

“Then on behalf of all the students at Mount Dafeng, I thank you, Mr. Zhou,” Lin Xing said gratefully. “And on behalf of all the needy households as well.”

“No need to thank me. If anything, we should be thanking you,” Zhou said with a smile.

When Lin Xing was first chosen to endorse Dima Electric Vehicles, some people inside the company had thought he was not the right fit.

But Zhou felt that as long as Lin Xing did not fall from grace, that was enough. Dima Electric Vehicles did not need Lin Xing to drive sales in the first place.

After working with him, however, Zhou felt that they had made the right choice in choosing Lin Xing.

Yet he had never imagined that Lin Xing would give the entire Dima brand such a tremendous surprise.

Dima’s agricultural tricycles in other towns and villages actually saw a small increase in sales, and the researchers reported that people were buying them because of Lin Xing’s endorsement.

No one had expected that.

The research department conducted a more detailed investigation. It turned out that many people in the towns and villages were using the Anti-Fraud Bank segment for promotion, and others were screening the short film during outdoor movie nights.

On top of that, Dima electric carts and agricultural tricycles in the towns carried Lin Xing’s photo, so everyone knew who he was. And when people talked about him, they all said Lin Xing really could farm, and really could drive an electric tricycle and the like.

In short, for Feng Gang, Lin Xing had brought him a surprise. For Dima, Lin Xing had truly brought one as well.

What a coincidence, wasn’t it?

So after discussion, Dima decided to donate money to expand their promotion in the towns and villages.

“I see,” Lin Xing said after hearing Zhou’s explanation, finally understanding what had happened.

“Mr. Lin, Mr. Zhou, the rest of today’s filming is mainly to go to the school and hold a donation ceremony...” the executive director of Follow the Stars to the Front Lines of Poverty Alleviation said to Lin Xing about the rest of the schedule.

“Okay.”

Lin Xing nodded lightly, then smiled. “Let’s go to the high school department first.”

As he spoke, he explained with a smile to Zhou: “Some of the students in the high school department have excellent grades, but their families are in really difficult circumstances. Some of them were even thinking of dropping out and going to work in June, but I managed to persuade them to stay...”

Zhou froze. “You know them?”

“Yes, I do. A lot of the students here in the high school department are people I’ve watched grow up. I’ve also been supporting some of them.” Lin Xing nodded lightly. “After all, I come here every year. In the past I came less often, but I still made time to check on them.”

As he spoke, they arrived at the high school department.

“Principal Jia, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zhou from Dima Electric Vehicles...” Lin Xing introduced Zhou to Principal Jia Yujiang. “Mr. Zhou is preparing a targeted donation for our school, mainly to improve the children’s food, clothing, housing, and transportation.”

“Good, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.” Jia Yujiang hurriedly shook his hand when he heard this.

“Our high school department has twenty-eight classes per grade, and the senior year has thirty-two classes because there are also four repeat classes...” Jia Yujiang walked along while introducing the school to Zhou. “These children all study very hard. I’ve watched them grow up. I hope they can get into university and go out into the world, but the temptations outside are too great, and on top of that, very few families here are well off...”

For the next hour, Zhou came to understand the school in greater detail.

After touring the high school department, Jia Yujiang took Zhou to the middle school and the primary school.

In Jia Yujiang’s view, the more donations the better.

“Like this, Principal Jia, make me a list of what the school currently needs...” Zhou thought for a moment and said. “Air conditioners, computers, books—we can handle all of that. And the playground track and the sports equipment that Mr. Lin mentioned just now, we can take care of those too.”

Beyond that, there were also the proportions for study grants, support for high school students, and support for university students.

For Dima Electric Vehicles, these things might not amount to much.

But for the schools at Mount Dafeng, they could be a complete upgrade, even something that could change the fate of many students.

Education could change the long-standing attitudes of Mount Dafeng, and that was something Jia Yujiang had always wanted to do.

He did not want the students to shoulder too much responsibility. As long as they could get into university and leave here, that would be enough.

Now that Dima Electric Vehicles was willing to donate money and supplies, Jia Yujiang managed to write out all the requirements in less than a day.

He knew exactly what the school lacked, how much was needed, and what else was required.

Four days later, Dima Electric Vehicles held a donation ceremony. The leaders made a few speeches, the formalities were completed, and that was the end of it.

The school wanted practical help. Dima Electric Vehicles wanted publicity. The leaders wanted results.

Everyone was satisfied.

And the Mount Dafeng recording came to a temporary close.

For the production team of Follow the Stars to the Front Lines of Poverty Alleviation, Mount Dafeng had truly exceeded expectations.

After all, a program like this was meant to showcase poor villages and counties, then use the influence of celebrities to do something tangible—perhaps help promote local specialties, perhaps see whether new industries could be developed, and so on.

But here at Mount Dafeng, Dima Electric Vehicles had even said they would help solve part of the employment problem, while also donating so many things to the school.

How could that not be beyond expectations?

“Mr. Lin, when the show airs later, we’ll still need your help promoting it,” the director of Follow the Stars to the Front Lines of Poverty Alleviation said with a smile to Lin Xing. “If nothing unexpected happens, the first episode from Mount Dafeng will air on November third.”

Lin Xing naturally said there was no problem at all.

Even if the director had not said it, he would certainly have helped promote it.

After that, the production team left Mount Dafeng and headed for the next poverty alleviation destination.

Zhou had already left long ago.

As for Lin Xing, he stayed two more days before heading directly to the Black Suppression Frenzy crew to attend the wrap ceremony.

“Brother Xing, this is a script Sister Dao picked out for you,” Xiao Nan said, handing it to Lin Xing on the road. “It’s a crime investigation story. Sister Dao means for you to read it first and see whether you’re interested.”

...

PS: This is a two-in-one chapter, the final one before release. Please support me with monthly votes. There will be a release speech later. By the way, after release, do you prefer big chapters like this, or smaller two-thousand-word chapters?