"So? How do I look, Brother Xiang?" Jiang Cai'Er blinked and made a playful face.
Li Xiang finally snapped out of it, sucking in a breath. "Beautiful!" he said.
"Did you steal your mother's wedding dress?"
"What do you mean, steal? My mom said she's saving it for me," Jiang Cai'Er corrected.
She wore a gorgeous, hand-embroidered outfit, adorned with sparkling silver ornaments. The centerpiece was the pure silver phoenix coronet on her head, which went CLINK CLANK, BLING BLING. It could be called the Miao Race's version of a phoenix coronet and robe of clouds.
It was the traditional attire of a Miao maiden.
"Brother Xiang, what do you think? This outfit will definitely help you get more followers!" Jiang Cai'Er said, full of confidence.
Li Xiang said, "It's mainly because the person wearing it is pretty! A girl this beautiful… I'm almost reluctant to let anyone else see you!"
"Why are you so old-fashioned? So you'd just hide me at home every day, cover me with a shroud like an Afghan woman? I guess I should just drop out of school and never get a job!"
The moment these words left her mouth, Jiang Cai'Er's face turned beet red.
'Look at the brazen things I just said! Asking Brother Xiang to hide me at home?'
But her words made Li Xiang laugh. She had a point. What era were they living in, anyway?
"Come on, come on! Let's go shoot in your backyard!" Jiang Cai'Er did a little spin and fluttered toward Li Xiang's backyard like a butterfly.
Li Xiang followed close behind.
Once in the backyard, considering Li Xiang's camerawork was nothing special, Jiang Cai'Er thought for a moment and decided to teach him some camera movements.
In truth, Jiang Cai'Er had never formally studied it either, but this kind of thing also required a lot of natural talent, and the videos she shot just always turned out great.
"Brother Xiang, in a bit, you're going to squat down first, then slowly stand up, then run over there, then bend over… and finally, do that, and then do this… Let's just see how it looks. If it's no good, we'll try a different pose."
"OK, no problem!" 'When three people walk together, one of them must be my teacher.' Li Xiang gave Jiang Cai'Er a thumbs-up in admiration.
He was good at tutoring, while Jiang Cai'Er was the expert at photography. They taught and helped each other succeed. Looking back on it in the future, it would surely be a beautiful memory.
Beneath the persimmon tree laden with fruit, beside the Overlapping Waterfall, with the "stream" gurgling, the tall and graceful Jiang Cai'Er began to dance, performing a piece called "Miss Qing Shui."
This was a classic dance of the Miao Race, and the accompanying music was the equally classic and melodious "Miao Soul."
It had to be said, they got it in one take. The performance was as smooth as flowing water, and the final cut was so beautiful there was no need for a second try.
Soon after the video was posted, it quickly attracted a lot of comments.
"Such a graceful dance!"
"Brother Xiang, is this the girl who's been helping you film behind the scenes? Is she really from the Miao Race, or is she just wearing the clothes of a Miao maiden?"
"So pretty, and so poised and elegant!"
"So beautiful, not like those others who insist on wearing tiny shorts."
"Gorgeous, a true feast for the eyes. She could be the face of the Miao Race!"
...
There were many beautiful women online who danced Miao dances and wore Miao clothing, but most of them had a worldly, jaded air. Jiang Cai'Er, however, was still a high school student. Her eyes were clear and bright, radiating an extreme purity. She was just being herself, and her unique beauty truly left a different kind of impression.
In less than an hour, this video pushed Li Xiang's follower count past ten thousand, and it was still growing.
At Jiang Cai'Er's strong insistence, Li Xiang helped her film a transformation video next.
The location was still the backyard. After shooting the footage, doing some light editing, and adding music and subtitles, the two of them sat in the backyard pavilion to watch the result. It was absolutely amazing.
It started with the explosive track "Can You Feel It" playing. Jiang Cai'Er was dressed in the simple, ordinary clothes of a country girl. She then picked up the bamboo hat Li Xiang used for shade while working, placed it on her head, and swept her long, slender, lotus-like arm handsomely across her brow.
With that single sweep, the scene instantly transformed!
A girl with skin whiter than snow, a smile in her eyes that curved them into crescents, appeared charmingly on screen, now wearing a Miao headdress and embroidered clothes. The music also switched from the explosive English song to the cheerful "Midu Mountain Song": "Mountain faces mountain, cliff faces cliff, bees come to the deep mountains to gather nectar. The bee is willing to die for the flower, just as Liang Shanbo is for Zhu Yingtai…"
Once this one was posted—damn!—in just half an hour, the comments broke 500 and the likes broke ten thousand. The two of them, riding the momentum, decided to film another one.
Jiang Cai'Er said, "This time, you should be the star, Brother."
After all, the account belonged to Li Xiang. She was just making a guest appearance to help him boost his popularity. Ultimately, the goal was to promote her Brother Xiang. She couldn't steal the spotlight; otherwise, it would defeat the whole purpose.
"Then what should we film?" Li Xiang pinched his chin, lost in thought.
In reality, being a content creator required originality. Otherwise, doing what he did before—posting daily about renovating the backyard, foraging for mushrooms, and making Snake Wine—got pretty boring after a while. And the results proved it; the performance was mediocre at best.
Jiang Cai'Er exclaimed, "Let's do something special!"
They were on the same wavelength.
"Isn't it the National Day holiday? Why don't we film something related to the holiday, to celebrate the motherland's birthday!" Li Xiang said.
Jiang Cai'Er's eyes lit up. "How about we go to Uncle Village Chief, borrow a national flag, and take it to the mountaintop to film? We can wait for the sun to set and shoot a golden sunset scene."
Li Xiang shook his head and said, "A sunset is beautiful, but it can't compare to the vibrant energy of a sunrise. Why don't we go to the mountaintop early tomorrow morning to see the sunrise and film the crimson dawn instead!"
"Okay, okay!" Jiang Cai'Er clapped her hands repeatedly. Her beautiful eyes sparkled, and her heart felt sweet. 'He's going to take me to see the sunrise! Does this count as a date?'
That evening, Li Xiang went to the village chief's house. The chief's name was Li Jinyu, and he and his two brothers, Li Jinman and Li Jintang, were named after the saying "jinyu mantang," which means "a hall filled with gold and jade."
Li Jintang was the third brother. He was the one Li Xiang had seen at the village entrance when he first returned, the one who had boasted about how amazing his son was and mocked Li Xiang for losing face by coming home in a three-wheeled vehicle.
The three "Jinyu Mantang" brothers were cousins of Li Xiang's father.
Li Xiang's great-grandfather had five sons. Among them, Li Xiang's grandfather was the least successful, while the "Jinyu Mantang" branch of the family was the wealthiest. You could tell from their names that they were once very well-off.
Otherwise, an ordinary family wouldn't dare to use such names. Usually, children from poor families were called things like "Dog Egg," "Dog Baby," or "Stone."
When Li Xiang was young, he heard his father say that when the "Jinyu Mantang" family's old house was torn down for reconstruction, a large number of Silver Yuanbao fell out from within the walls. This "treasure" was something even the three "Jinyu Mantang" brothers hadn't known about; it had been hidden that securely.
However, the three "Jinyu Mantang" brothers had vastly different personalities. While Li Jintang had a bad relationship with Li Xiang's family, the village chief, Li Jinyu, was a kind and benevolent elder who had always commanded respect in the village.