80: What a dribbling move!

Cheng Yan pushed the phone over once again.

"This guy is so underhanded???"

Qu Lang looked at the enlarged small print on the phone screen in surprise: "Tianyu Media."

Hua Hua's company.

"Unexpected, right? I didn't expect it either~" Cheng Yan smiled.

Qu Lang pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and sat down with a pensive look on his face.

Cheng Yan continued to speak to himself.

"Our current situation is very tricky. On the surface, Xiao Fan's livestream room is very popular, but it's just him alone. The popularity of the program itself has actually declined."

"He's essentially leeching off the other celebrity guests. One-tenth of Hua Hua's fans have followed Gao Xiaofan, and one-third of Han Han's have too. This is straight-up harvesting the other stars like leeks~"

"Sigh, if Gao Xiaofan just harvested them, that would be one thing. But some viewers, seeing their idols looking so pathetic, have unfollowed them and stopped watching the show altogether~"

"Normal popularity should be maintained at 90 million, and even spiking to 150 million wouldn't be impossible. But right now, it's 70 million at most."

Qu Lang listened to him finish while smoking, then asked.

"Even if revenue increases, we can't hire more staff?"

Cheng Yan shook his head.

"The measures were meant to give Gao Xiaofan two options: either fish for himself, and even if he catches something, selling it to other guests would make their earnings easy; or realize that fishing isn't viable and return to the village to continue working. Only then can we create some sparks~"

"But... I really didn't expect him to land such a massive Bighead Carp. Most importantly, he even hired a staff member to help him transport the goods..."

"What we're considering now is recalling the staff and not allowing him to continue recruiting."

After listening, Qu Lang shook his head.

"Not ideal. Where he is now, a round trip in one day is perfectly sufficient. At most, it's just a bit tiring for him; it doesn't affect his earnings."

Cheng Yan sighed.

"That's exactly why we've been hesitating, considering this situation."

The two sat by the table, blowing smoke rings with troubled expressions.

"From what you're saying, I basically understand. The current problem is that Xiao Fan's popularity is too high, but the show's overall popularity isn't, and the guests' morale isn't great. We can approach this from two directions."

Qu Lang said with narrowed eyes.

"First, we can't adjust things on Xiao Fan's end anymore. He's currently the show's biggest draw. Weakening him would be like stabbing ourselves."

"The remaining options are either to continue strengthening the guests' presence in the show, or to do the opposite and strengthen Gao Xiaofan."

Hearing this, Cheng Yan blinked, not quite following.

"Strengthen Gao Xiaofan? He's already doing wilderness survival, and you want to strengthen him? Any more and he'll be ascending to the heavens~"

Qu Lang smiled and flicked his cigarette ash.

"One person indeed can't beat seven. But what if he's a god? Broaden your horizons a bit. Tell me, if Gao Xiaofan becomes a superstar, how do you think those second-tier guests will react?"

Cheng Yan's eyes lit up; this was a good direction. But then, his eyes dimmed again.

He shook his head and said, "Impossible. The company won't spend that much money to promote an internet celebrity."

Qu Lang stubbed out his cigarette and tapped the table.

"Regardless of whether it works, I think you can mention it to the higher-ups. What if they think it's viable?"

Cheng Yan thought for a moment and nodded.

"Alright, I'll find an opportunity to bring it up tonight. What about the other direction? How do we strengthen the other guests?"

"Make the guests' money useful. Currently, the only things they can exchange for in Xiushui Village are the canteen, Gao Xiaofan's fish, and the exchange point. It's too little. We must quickly add new points of consumption."

"Additionally, we can buy Gao Xiaofan's fish, process it ourselves, and then sell it to the guests. That would surely improve the audience's impression as well."

...In the tent by the water, Gao Xiaofan, Qiu Gu, and Yan Feng were sitting together. The camera was mounted on a tripod aimed at Gao Xiaofan and Yan Feng, while Qiu Gu huddled in the back.

The three were eating the pickled cabbage fish cooked by Lü Tao while chatting.

Of course, Qiu Gu just watched them chat. Being able to eat a portion of the pickled cabbage fish gifted by Gao Xiaofan was already a luxury; he wouldn't dare expose himself in the livestream room.

Qiu Gu ate with gentle movements. The toasted steamed bun slices soaked in the fish soup covered with red oil were delicious.

Outside the tent, the wind whistled and roared.

"Why is the wind so strong tonight?" Gao Xiaofan said curiously as he picked up a slice of fish.

Ugh, the bones weren't removed. Not good~

"A typhoon is probably coming. But it should be fine in the village; after all, the village is backed by a hillside that can block quite a bit," Yan Feng said as he ate casually.

He had already eaten before coming, but seeing the two of them eating made him a bit hungry too.

"Typhoon?" Gao Xiaofan was stunned.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. The weather forecast says it'll basically die down by the time it reaches Annan."

Yan Feng put down his chopsticks and spoke casually.

Only then did Gao Xiaofan feel relieved and nodded.

If there really was a typhoon, he'd have to hurry back to the village. How miserable would it be if he got blown away~

After finishing the meal, they cleaned up the dishes and went back to their respective tents to sleep.

"This sleeping bag is a bit small, so just make do with it. If it doesn't work, we'll go exchange for one tomorrow~"

Gao Xiaofan rolled into his sleeping bag and looked at Yan Feng, who was still tossing and turning nearby.

The sleeping bags were bought on PDD at the time. He had only bought one, but he ended up receiving two packages~

The pleasure of getting something for free is something you guys can't understand~

Gao Xiaofan slept exceptionally soundly that night. The sound of the wind outside was very conducive to sleep.

It almost caused Gao Xiaofan, who had planned to catch the early bite, to oversleep.

He opened his eyes groggily, saw Yan Feng still sleeping, and cautiously walked outside the tent.

He lit the small earthen stove, sprinkled some water on the steamed bun slices, skewered them on chopsticks, and began to toast them.

After a while, Qiu Gu, who had received a message from the Program Production Crew, also walked out of his tent with bleary eyes. He looked at Gao Xiaofan squatting on the ground in a daze, then recovered and ran into Gao Xiaofan's tent to get the camera.

Gao Xiaofan glanced at Qiu Gu and beckoned with the hand holding the steamed bun.

He toasted Qiu Gu's portion as well, since it was inconvenient for the guy to do it while holding the camera.

Qiu Gu approached happily.

While munching on the steamed bun, Gao Xiaofan walked to yesterday's fishing spot and threw in a few scoops of corn with the bait spoon.

After finishing his meal, he gave the rod a big swing and started fishing.

The comments in the livestream room were sparse; most people had fallen asleep with the stream still running last night.

"Brother Wo Zi is basically no different from a wandering Angler now~"

"Wandering fishing is the ultimate romance for an Angler~"

"Then what is an Angler's dream?"

"Naturally, it's to win the Kings Battle in one fell swoop~"

The early bite wasn't as good as expected. The occasional movements of the float were all from small Blunt-snouted bream. Not much fish was caught even after more than an hour.

"Xiao Fan, the Program Production Crew has updated again~"

Gao Xiaofan watched Lü Tao's figure jogging over, panting, her chest bouncing with every step. What a dribble~