Ni Bingyan could understand how they felt. After all, in the past, even when the county magistrate swallowed his pride to personally promote the products, daily sales only amounted to a thousand or so pounds.
Compared to the staff's excitement, she was much calmer.
"Potatoes have a long shelf life and don't lose much nutritional value during storage, but if you don't normally cook or if you dislike potatoes, please don't buy them on impulse! Be sensible! Also, if you are underage, you must ask your parents first. Only place an order after they agree!"
While everyone else was getting hyped up, she was trying to pour cold water on the situation. She was afraid that after all the excitement, they would be left with a mess. The good deed would backfire, leaving them with nothing but trouble.
Someone in the livestream chat said, "It's so cheap, and you're worried about returns? Who do you take us for? Cut the chatter and restock! I missed out just now!"
Ni Bingyan happened to see the comment and quickly explained, "I'm really not looking down on anyone. I keep stressing this point because these potatoes are all grown by local farmers themselves. The government's poverty alleviation office is leading the effort to gather them all and has arranged for shipping. If we get too many returns or exchanges, we might not have enough staff to process your requests promptly."
Only after most people in the chat indicated they understood her concerns did she smile and ask the accountant from the county office, "Do we have any stock left?"
The accountant, wiping away sweat while tallying on his calculator, looked very disappointed as he licked his dry, chapped lips. "It's all gone! We're completely sold out!"
Ni Bingyan took off her hat to fan herself. A few frizzy flyaways fluttered about, tickling her neck. She reached up to tuck them away, accidentally smudging dirt from her hand onto her face and instantly streaking it. She paid it no mind, just squinted at the distant mountain ridge.
"What about the ones still in the ground? I saw there are still tons out in the fields!"
"There are more in the ground, but they haven't been dug up yet! We don't even know what they look like, how can we sell them?"
As the two spoke, everyone in the livestream heard them and was moved by the simple sincerity of the local officials.
Potatoes weren't like fruit with a detailed grading system. They were sold by the pound, so whether they were big or small didn't really matter.
Besides, think about how expertly corporations fleece their customers these days!
Forget potatoes that were already in the ground—countless companies took pre-orders a month in advance and only started sourcing materials after they had the money.
So sincere!
They were just too sincere!
Who couldn't afford potatoes that were so cheap?
Let's go, people! Charge!
Seeing the comments flooding the screen, Ni Bingyan deliberately raised her voice and asked a staff member:
"Since the government's poverty alleviation department is heading this up and the co-op already has contracts for the potatoes in the ground, it should be fine to sell them in advance, right?"
The staff member nodded. "We can."
She then asked the representative from the livestream platform, "Once we take the orders, what's the latest shipping deadline the platform will support?"
"If it's shipped within 24 hours, the product can get an 'express shipping' tag. Generally, shipping within 48 hours is fine. If it's a pre-sale, you have up to 30 days."
The staff member gave a very precise answer.
Ni Bingyan then asked the people from the county, "Can we dig up what we've sold within two days? If not, should we switch to a pre-sale model? We can dig and ship them fresh as we go?"
Director Luo from the poverty alleviation office was experienced. "These potatoes all belong to the farmers themselves. We'll send out a notice telling everyone to dig them up quickly and bring them to the warehouse for packing. Two days should be enough."
The sandy soil didn't get compacted, so digging potatoes was quick. If the whole community got involved, it would be even quicker.
So, with Ni Bingyan mediating, they quickly settled on a workable plan. The accountant's fingers tapped away on the calculator, CLACK CLACK, while the staff rapidly added more stock.
Whatever amount they listed sold out in seconds. Finally, the panicked accountant yelled for them to stop. "That's enough, that's enough! We're almost at this year's total yield! If we oversell, where are we going to find more?"
He was genuinely frantic. They were grassroots poverty alleviation officials, not some commercial company that could just source more product from elsewhere. When the time came, they couldn't just conjure up more potatoes. It's not like they could buy them from another place to fulfill the orders, right?
As public servants, that was against the rules.
"I remember a few of the neighboring counties also grow potatoes. You could ask if they want to sell theirs with us."
The geographical conditions in this region were all pretty much the same; Wutong County was just the most obviously impoverished. The officials here were worried sick, but were the other counties completely carefree?
Even if they weren't worried, with an opportunity to make money right in front of them, if they didn't seize it, wouldn't the folks from the neighboring counties raise a ruckus with their own local government once they heard about it?
'It's not every day you have this many customers lined up to buy something. What are they waiting for?'
'There's an old saying about good friends sticking together and getting rich together. Since there was still room on this gravy train, why not invite their buddies—the ones they usually trudged along with—for a ride? It would only take a phone call, so why not do it?'
'Pass the decision on to them, and that way, the blame can't fall on us later, right?'
Director Luo, who had been scrambling all morning until his brain felt numb, slapped his thigh with an "Ah!" and immediately stepped aside to make a call.
Upon receiving the news, and with Wutong County setting a precedent, all the other counties had to do was follow their example. It was that easy! Of course, none of them said no.
It was peak potato harvest season, so the poverty alleviation offices in each county had these figures readily available. They immediately pulled out their documents and sent over the numbers.
The Wutong County staff immediately sprang into action. Surprisingly, there was no signing of various documents. One had to admit, these people were quick on their feet and didn't let red tape slow things down.
And so, the entire team hustled and bustled all morning. By the end, even Ni Bingyan had lost track of the total sales.
'Anyway, I'm just the one promoting the product,' she thought. 'Other people will take care of the rest.'
If she were working with a private company, she might worry about getting cheated, but she had no such concerns now.
"Alright, not only are Wutong County's potatoes gone, but you've also bought out several of the surrounding counties. Next, we're going back to the village to cook. I'll teach you some potato recipes so you'll have different ways to enjoy them when your orders arrive."
With the pressure of selling gone, the sales-focused livestream instantly became a casual hangout stream.
Ni Bingyan walked with a spring in her step, a small basket on her back, selectively answering some questions from the viewers as she walked. Before she knew it, she was back in Lao Gua Village.
The stream was still on, and the viewers followed her, taking in the beautiful scenery of the terraced fields, just like watching a documentary!
The charming young woman looked like a mountain sprite as she walked along the winding path. Behind her, the terraced fields cascaded down in layers, like the flowing train of a gown gifted to her by nature.
Peng Huan was the camerawoman for the day. Through her lens, both the natural scenery and Ni Bingyan herself reached a new level of beauty. Viewers in the chat couldn't stop gushing, and many people were clamoring to visit.
Just as people who live by the sea often don't find the ocean particularly special, and people in the mountains don't think mountains are anything worth climbing, the locals never imagined that outsiders would find their everyday terraced fields so fascinating.
This, perhaps, was the limitation of one's own perspective.
The eyes of the poverty alleviation office staff lit up; they had a new idea.
The terraced fields were like a young maiden; they could find ways to dress her up and make her even more beautiful.
What if they planted rings of rapeseed flowers or sunflowers along the earthen ridges? Wouldn't that make for even more beautiful photos?
Seeing the houses in Lao Gua Village, the viewers fell silent.
So *this* was who Ni Bingyan was helping. No wonder she'd been so concerned about returns.
Money well spent.
They'd be back for the next one.
Ni Bingyan had no idea how much of an impact today's livestream had. Right now, she just wanted to finish up and eat!
'I'm starving! I spent the whole morning digging potatoes under the hot sun and barely had a few sips of water.'
The people in Lao Gua Village had already cleaned up their neatest kitchen. The potatoes had also been peeled and cut into chunks, strips, and slivers, just as she had requested beforehand.
Ni Bingyan took off her sun protection clothing, put on a white T-shirt, and tied on a clean apron the villagers had washed and dried. Then, she got to work like a chef possessed—braised potatoes, griddle-fried potato slices, potato pancakes, potato and rice pilaf, fried potato patties, roasted potatoes, hot and sour potato slivers, flash-fried potato slices, sweet and sour mashed potatoes…
In less than an hour, the table was laden with a full-on potato feast.
The dishes were a feast for the senses—aromatic, flavorful, and beautiful. The sheer variety was her way of thanking her fans for their support, all while showing off her formidable cooking skills.
The livestream viewers were watching as if it were a variety show, staying glued to their screens until the stream ended in the afternoon, still wanting more.
'That's a master chef's daughter for you!'
'Those skills!'
It wasn't just the viewers whose mouths were watering; everyone on-site couldn't help but gulp.
'How does she make it smell so good?'
Everyone found a place to sit down. After a moment of silence, they all burst out laughing.
They had been so wound up with excitement before, like tightly drawn bowstrings. Now that the tension was released, everyone felt a wave of exhaustion wash over them.
With the enticing aroma in the air, they didn't want to think about anything else.
'Time to eat!'
'Let's eat our fill.'
'As long as they kept working hard, not only would they all be able to eat their fill in the future, but the lives of all their fellow villagers would only get better and better!'