Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Gu Ming looked at the unfamiliar number flashing on his phone screen but didn't answer immediately.

He left the phone ringing and waited patiently.

He had already accurately cast his bait at eight o'clock.

A marketing account called "Hegang Observation Diary," which was recently registered, posted a 15-second video on Douyin and Weibo.

The video content is taken from the music video "The Sky Over Hegang".

The scene is a fleeting shot of Xiao Tong passing by the rusty gate of Longquan Winery.

The copy was written by Gu Ming himself.

"Everyone saw the brokenness of the goddess in the abandoned primary school, but no one noticed this one-second shot. This is where her dream began. According to insiders, Xiao Tong's father was a veteran worker at Longquan Winery, dedicating half his life to the place. Now the factory is deserted, her father is laid off, and his daughter stands at the factory gate, looking back in bewilderment. How many untold stories are there in this scene?"

This story is entirely fictional.

But it's emotional enough and generates a lot of buzz.

After the video was released, Wang Min immediately directed her prepared online army to rush in.

The comments section was flooded with the most popular comments within minutes.

"Holy crap! There was another layer to the story? No wonder the music video felt so sad!"

"No wonder Gu Shen wanted to make this music video; he's giving voice to an era!"

"Longquan Winery? That's the winery that recently had a problem? What a pity, my dad used to love their wines."

"Support the goddess! Where can I buy Longquan wine? I'll buy a bottle to show my support, just for this sentiment!"

Public opinion was cleverly guided towards sentiment and support.

Then, the second wave of online trolls began their operation.

They flooded into Longquan Winery's barely functioning official online store, leaving frantic messages in the customer service backend using various IDs.

"Is customer service available? I want to buy the same wine that the goddess in the music video watched!"

"Do you still have 'Guofang 1915' in stock? I'd like to buy ten cases!"

"Boss, hang in there! We people from Hegang support our own brand!"

……

Longquan Winery, Chairman's Office.

Zhou Jianjun paced restlessly in his office.

He couldn't wait a week.

Every minute, every second, the company's account is losing money.

He picked up the phone, then put it down again.

Why should he ask a young man in his twenties for help?

He can't.

Just then, the department manager in charge of e-commerce forgot to knock and rushed in in a panic.

"Chairman...Chairman! Something terrible has happened!"

"What happened?! Did the sky fall down?"

Zhou Jianjun roared in annoyance.

"More thrilling than the sky falling down!"

The manager's lips were trembling as he placed his laptop, shaking, on Zhou Jianjun's desk.

"You...you can see our online store's backend..."

Zhou Jianjun glanced at it impatiently.

He froze completely at that one glance.

The curve representing the number of visitors in real time was shooting straight upwards!

100...500...2000...

The numbers are still jumping wildly!

You have to understand, in the past, his barely surviving online store was considered lucky to get a few dozen visitors a day.

"What...what's going on? Is there a system error?"

Zhou Jianjun's voice was trembling.

"No! It's not a mistake!"

The manager was so excited he was almost crying. "Chairman, look! Look at these user comments!"

He opened the comments section.

A flood of purchase requests and messages of support poured in.

Zhou Jianjun looked at each item one by one, his eyes widening with each passing moment.

He saw Xiao Tong, he saw the music video, he saw the sentiment.

Although he didn't understand new media, he could see the business opportunities right in front of him.

flow!

This is what traffic is all about!

This is the solution that young man was talking about!

It turns out that what he said was true.

He really has a way to revive Longquan Winery!

"Phone! Quick! Give me that Gu's phone number!"

Zhou Jianjun shouted frantically at his secretary.

……

Inside the car, Gu Ming finally pressed the answer button.

He specifically turned on speakerphone.

"Feed?"

On the other end of the phone, there was a rapid breathing sound, followed by Zhou Jianjun's voice, which sounded humble and anxious compared to a few days ago.

"Mr. Gu... Mr. Gu? I am Zhou Jianjun, Zhou Jianjun from Longquan Winery."

"Oh, Jay Chou."

"Mr. Gu, do you have some time now? I'd like to... I'd like to talk to you in person! About that collaboration you mentioned last time!"

"Now?"

Gu Ming glanced out the window and said casually, "I'm out scouting locations, it's not convenient for me."

"Then...when is a convenient time for you? I...I can come to see you anytime!"

"Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock."

Gu Ming spoke as if he were arranging an unimportant event: "Come to my company, Star Media."

"Okay, okay! Thank you, Mr. Gu! Thank you, Mr. Gu! I'll definitely be there on time tomorrow!"

Gu Ming didn't say another word and hung up the phone.

He tossed his phone aside and turned his gaze back to the ruins outside the window.

The spot where Chen Mo was practicing is now empty.

He opened WeChat, tapped on the black profile picture, and sent a message.

"That was a great exercise."

He thought for a moment, then asked another question.

"By the way, how much do your father's medical expenses typically amount to per year?"

the other side.

Near the HG city center hospital, a construction site under construction.

A girl covered in dust, wearing a safety helmet and mask, was struggling to lift a bag of cement from the ground onto her shoulder.

That bag of cement weighed at least 100 pounds.

The weight pressed down on her thin shoulders, making every step she took exceptionally difficult.

This is Chen Mo.

To pay for her father's expensive rehabilitation treatment, she worked three odd jobs at construction sites during the day, carrying bricks, hauling cement, and doing all sorts of dirty and tiring work.

Only late at night would she go to that ruin that belonged to her, to practice those movements that allowed her to temporarily forget reality.

Sweat slid down her cheeks, mixing with the dust on her face, making her feel unbearably itchy.

Just as she put down the cement and was about to catch her breath, the old cell phone in her pocket vibrated.

She took out her phone and saw a message from Gu Ming.

When she saw the words "medical expenses," her hand holding the phone trembled violently.

This is a pain in her heart, and a secret she never tells anyone.

How did he know?

Her wariness made her instinctively want to block the man.

But before she could do anything, Gu Ming sent her a second message.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just assessing an artist's commercial value. With your skills, if packaged properly, one 'GG' ad should be enough to generate income."

One "GG"... is that enough?

Chen Mo's breathing stopped.

Her father's annual medical expenses, plus various rehabilitation costs, amounted to nearly 300,000 yuan.

That was the money she earned by carrying three thousand bags of cement on this construction site without eating or drinking.

And now, this man is telling her that all she needs to do is film a GG?

This information stirred up a ripple in her long-numbed heart.

She looked at her phone screen, at the text, and then at her hands, covered in calluses and scars. For the first time, she considered a different possibility for her future.

Gu Ming did not send any more messages.

He put away his phone and looked at the outline of the ruins in the moonlight in the distance.

Chen Mo has great potential.

Her skills have many uses; they can be used to create cyberpunk-style urban night runs, or combined with traditional Chinese style to create martial arts series. She even has the opportunity to become an action star in Hollywood.