Lin An thought seriously for a moment, recalling what Boss He had said about the online store, which seemed very promising.
Through the show, Lin An had met many high-quality customers, and Boss He provided a channel for product distribution. Moreover, Lin An had absolute confidence in the fruits and vegetables he grew.
As long as the land was secured, it wouldn't take long for everything to operate smoothly and continuously.
In the end, Lin An decided to go to the place for on-site inspection. If it was really good, he would settle there for development.
After a night of recuperation, Lin An, full of energy, began his work.
In the morning, he mainly went for auditions, and in the afternoon, he went to Shang Dao to shoot the remaining part of the advertisement.
The audition turned out okay. Out of four movie auditions, he secured two roles, not many lines but outstanding in their own way.
The third male lead in the TV drama was originally a character with a cold and loyal personality. Lin An often pretended to be cold at home, and that reliable aura of his matched the role perfectly.
The director and screenwriter basically made up their minds upon seeing Lin An for the first time, even if his acting skills were somewhat lacking.
In casting for idol dramas, the first consideration was always looks, followed by acting skills. Fortunately, Lin An's good looks and recent popularity easily convinced the producers.
The afternoon's advertisement mainly involved outdoor scenes, with the focus on elder brothers taking care of younger brothers, including the challenging horseback riding scenes.
Because neither of the spokespersons knew how to ride horses well, it took a lot of effort to capture a handsome scene.
After a day's work, Lin An finally returned to the villa.
Upon entering, he saw Nian Wenran sitting on the sofa with a tablet, writing and drawing.
Lin An walked over, intending to surprise her. However, just a few steps in, Nian Wenran, as if sensing something, looked up at him.
"You're back!" Nian Wenran was delighted to see Lin An. "So, how was your auditions today?"
"I personally think it went very well. I've been confirmed for the TV drama. But it's a bit of a pity that I didn't audition for the roles in two movies."
"That's still great." After thinking for a moment, Nian Wenran asked, "What genre is your TV drama?"
"It's an idol drama," Lin An replied, looking at Nian Wenran with a serious expression, tempted to ruffle her hair.
Recalling the memories of the original owner, Lin An leaned in and said, "I haven't done that before either; it was all staged."
Nian Wenran blushed slightly and pushed Lin An lightly, "Why are you suddenly getting so close? And why are you telling me about your past?"
Lin An chuckled, "I thought you might want to know."
"I definitely don't!" Nian Wenran blushed even more, "I want to draw. Keep your distance."
"Nope," Lin An decisively refused. "I've been busy these days, and I finally get to see you."
Hearing this, Nian Wenran felt a touch of sweetness in her heart, and she didn't say much more. The two of them nestled on the sofa like that.
This scene was filled with an ambiguous and sweet atmosphere thanks to the pink bubble filter applied later during the broadcast of the show.
As the edited version of the show aired on television, Lin An's popularity continued to rise. Even the dramas he had previously acted in were dug up by fans, and their viewership increased significantly.
The most obvious thing for Lin An was that if he disguised himself a little, he would often be stopped on the street for photos.
It was partly his own fault. He thought it would be a good opportunity to stroll around, ride a shared bicycle without any disguise, and just enjoy himself.
In the past couple of days, his popularity surged again. On a street frequented by young people, he was recognized by fans and pulled in for photos and autographs.
At first, he found it a novel experience, but as more and more people approached him, it started to become a bit overwhelming.
Because Lin An was planning to visit the village to check on the fields, but now, half an hour had passed just taking photos.
Compared with big celebrities, not many people wanted to take photos with Lin An. However, most of those who did were either fans of Lin An or had a positive impression of him.
Lin An watched as everyone took photos under the sun and tried his best to cooperate with them to take photos that everyone was satisfied with. He could roughly distinguish between those who genuinely liked him and those who were just joining in the excitement.
Facing the fans who liked him, he couldn't help chatting a bit more during the autograph sessions and wrote some extra words of blessing, which took up quite a bit of time.
Fortunately, after hearing about this, Sister Li sent a car to pick up Lin An, allowing him to break free from the crowd.
Lin An looked at the people waving outside the car and waved back from inside, even though they couldn't see him. This scene made Lin An quite sentimental: "No wonder so many people are eager to enter the entertainment industry and become stars."
Sister Li was accustomed to these situations and remained calm: "You should be aware of your rising fame. Try to disguise yourself when going out alone next time. And did you remember the instructions for autograph sessions?"
"Don't worry, I'm measured. It happened suddenly. Some were signed on clothes due to the sudden requests. Most of them, though, were signed on postcards I bought nearby."
Sister Li couldn't help but smile as she looked at Lin An. "Now that you're famous, you're finally considering your fans."
The two chatted for a while, and then Sister Li briefed Lin An on the schedule for the upcoming week.
It can be said that Sister Li maximized Lin An's free time to the fullest. If Lin An didn't reject commercial performances, Sister Li could even find opportunities to squeeze them in.
When Lin An heard about recording so many programs and several interview sessions in the coming days, he felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Can't we cut down on some?"
"There's nothing I can do. The higher-ups in the company know you have no intention of signing a contract and are eager to make more money while you're popular," Sister Li said, feeling exhausted just thinking about the pressure she faced dealing with the executives these days.
Businessmen pursue profits, and the company did invest quite a bit in the original owner. However, the current situation appeared a bit ugly to look at.
It was fortunate that Lin An was in good health. After negotiating the compensation with Sister Li, Lin An reluctantly agreed to these arrangements.
"There's no choice. The boss has been in poor health and has been admitted to the hospital. His son is anxious to make achievements." Sister Li said only this much, but Lin An understood the reason behind the sudden increase in workload.
After reaching the station, Lin An put on the mask Sister Li gave him and took a car to the destination. He still needed to transfer to another vehicle to reach the village.
Lin An and the villagers rented a small electric car and circled around the village. He noticed that the land on the east side was fertile, while the west side was poor. The crowd also gathered more on the east side, leaving a large piece of wasteland on the west side, backed by a mountain.
Lin An was immediately moved. For him, the soil's fertility was a minor issue; the key was that it was rare to see such a complete and connected piece of land backed by a mountain.
Lin An went straight to the village committee to discuss leasing the land with the village chief..
However, things didn't go smoothly because Lin An was not from this village. Although much of the wasteland was unused, some parts had households cultivating them, making it difficult to convince them.
Looking into the village chief's eyes, Lin An said, "Uncle, I sincerely want to lease this land. As long as it's reasonable, I can be flexible with the money. If I can contract the entire piece of land along with those near the mountain, I'll offer a market price."
The village chief was somewhat moved after hearing this, but it was not as easy to lease land as it used to be. Moreover, Lin An's proposed lease period was quite long, adding to the difficulty.
Lin An, having grown up in a rural area and later starting a business locally, had relatively rich experience in dealing with villagers.
After a heated discussion, Lin An finally reached a preliminary agreement with the village chief to establish a cooperative, providing job opportunities for the local villagers.
Lin An contributed money, and the village chief used his influence to persuade the villagers.
What Lin An was unaware of was that many businessmen more informed than him had long set their sights on that piece of land. However, most of them were interested in using it for real estate development.
The wasteland near the mountain had little value in the eyes of the farmers, but for real estate developers, it was a treasure trove. The village had beautiful scenery, relatively convenient transportation, and a location that was at an acceptable level.
Once this village was incorporated into the city, various infrastructure would undoubtedly be improved. When houses were built, many wealthy individuals would likely be willing to buy a house here for retirement.
Alternatively, they could establish bed and breakfasts, providing a great accommodation choice for tourists visiting the city. After all, despite the somewhat outdated infrastructure, it took less than an hour to travel from here to the city.
Unfortunately, the current sense of desolation in this village was due to its location. In earlier years, some got rich, others found employment, and many people left the place.
This village has no reputation or distinctive features, and most of the government support was in the form of poverty alleviation funds. For various reasons, this village was left with more conservative residents.
Some developers promised to compensate with a house elsewhere or build nursing homes after development.
However, many elderly residents preferred to stay here, defying the promises and wishes of their parents' generation.
Conflicting values, combined with the fact that everyone was there for business, made it difficult to reach an agreement on many conditions.
Then came Lin An, a person willing to help them escape poverty and become prosperous, and he was sincere about it. At least in the village chief's eyes, Lin An wouldn't deceive them.
Lin An expressed his conditions in extremely understandable language during discussions with the village chief. Other businessmen's conditions were also straightforward, and the village chief, being more educated than other villagers, could easily comprehend them. However, it wasn't as straightforward for the rest of the villagers.
The village chief had to understand and then convey the information to the other villagers. Translating several times made the village chief annoyed, but dealing with everyone's interests forced him to do so.
In the village chief's view, Lin An's conditions were very favorable, and he could easily convey them. Of course, what moved the villagers was Lin An and the village chief's statement that as long as the entire village operated successfully and income increased, the young people who had migrated for work would naturally choose to return home.
Not everyone in the village could find a job with decent wages near the village, and parents whose children were still in school wanted to save some money for their children.
Moreover, Lin An's plan benefited the entire village. If it were handled by previous businessmen, most profits would go to the west side of the village. Given the village's size, people on the east side might not even make much money.
Several previous attempts failed because some households on the east side were dissatisfied, and dissatisfaction tended to spread further. If they were unwilling to participate, it would be challenging to proceed.
Moreover, quickly recouping the investment on nearly 7 square kilometers of land was not an easy task.
The villagers were quite satisfied with Lin An's proposal, so the agreement was reached quickly.