Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Director’s Treasured Script
The Public Relations Department immediately released Tao Ti’s medical examination report: aside from minor malnutrition, Tao Ti was in great shape.
Naturally, there were internet trolls among the netizens who questioned the authenticity of the report.
“[Eating so much and still malnourished?]”
“[With that appetite, if she came from a poor background, wouldn’t she have eaten her family into poverty?]”
“[Isn’t this child from a mountain village? With such a big appetite, an ordinary family couldn’t afford her, right?]”
“[I was wondering why they were so harsh on the child when I watched Manman’s show. They were so cruel to Tao Ti but very kind to the other two children. Looks like the root cause is here!]”
“[If my family were not well-off and I had a child , I probably wouldn’t be able to like her either.]”
“[Eating a lot isn’t something Tao Ti wants to do herself.]”
“[You guys are strange, what’s the point in targeting a six-year-old child? Please be kind!]”
“[She’s trying to become famous by creating a ‘foodie’ persona, right? The footage is all edited to hype up the newcomer!]”
“[I started to believe those online rumors, Tao Ti must have found a wealthy ‘godfather’! Otherwise, how could a little village girl with no background be so hyped up?]”
“[Let’s be honest, Little Taotie is good-looking, has a nice voice, and is obedient and sensible. Why can’t she be promoted? The company promotes newcomers for mutual benefit. Little Taotie has potential, so the company training and promoting her makes perfect sense. How did it become ‘Little Taotie found a godfather’ in your mouths?]”
“[Exactly! Trolls, shut up! Isn’t it a loss of conscience to attack a child!]”
Online the crowd split into two factions, one was the trolls and the other was Tao Ti’s newly acquired fans.
“[I’m not a fan of Tao Ti, but I’m a food live-streamer, and I can confidently say with my years of experience that she really eats.]”
“[Even if she does eat for real, doesn’t that mean she could induce vomiting?]”
“[Unless Pastoral Life is live-streamed 24/7, who would believe it!]”
Suddenly, a user with the ID ‘I Am a Little Farmer’ commented, “[As you wish]”
As netizens were pondering, the official ‘Pastoral Life’ account posted: “[Starting this Sunday, Pastoral Life will be live-streamed 24 hours a day for a month.]”
“[@I Am a Little Farmer, your real identity is a scriptwriter or director, right?]”
“[@Director Cheng, stop pretending, ‘I Am a Little Farmer’ is your alt account! You think we can’t recognize you just because you changed your outfit?]”
“[Exactly! Stop pretending! We’ve seen through your little tricks!]”
The scriptwriter sat at home, but trouble dropped from the sky, throwing him into frustration and anger.
Until he received a call from Cheng Guodong.
“Extra investment of thirty million.”
“Chairman Cheng, you’re on the right track!”
The scriptwriter, like seeing the clouds part after a storm, began planning the follow-up to the program.
He had realized that Chairman Cheng wanted to use this show to both clear Little Taotie’s name and to launch her into stardom.
As long as he arranged the subsequent episodes well, this was his opportunity. High viewership for the show meant he could transition into directing TV dramas.
In the industry’s hierarchy of disdain: film directors look down on TV drama directors, who in turn look down on variety show directors.
He wanted to direct TV dramas, to elevate his status.
“Chairman Cheng, I have a script that’s really suitable for Little Taotie. However, I’ve never directed a TV drama before and have been doing variety shows, so no investors are willing to take the risk. They’re somewhat distrustful of my abilities.”
From the other end of the line, Cheng Guodong cheerfully said, “Alright, send me the script. As long as it’s really good, I’ll invest in it!”
“Thanks a lot, Chairman Cheng!”
The scriptwriter’s eyes lit up; he hadn’t guessed wrong—any opportunity involving Little Taotie was his chance!
He pulled out a script he had treasured for many years. It was a script he had written in his graduation year, with a protagonist who was a lost little girl.
Because the protagonist’s life was divided into childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and middle age, it was extremely difficult to find suitable actresses for all these periods. Unable to secure investment, he had to give up his dream of making films to make ends meet by working on variety shows.
After Cheng Guodong received the script, he read it through and thought it was very good. But fearing his judgment was biased, he asked for opinions from many in the industry.
Many people were very optimistic about the work, but there were dissenting opinions too. They thought the script was excellent, but difficult to execute.