Chapter Sixty-Two: The True Meaning of Charity, Popularity Restored

With these thoughts in mind, everyone’s mood grew heavy.

Wen Huaiyu and the others began to chat casually with Teacher Zhang Ruchun. They all held a sincere respect for this dedicated educator.

Meanwhile, Bai Ling and Zhuge Ming, both quite sensible, took the initiative to fetch cleaning tools and started tidying up the school. Though they couldn’t do much, offering what little help they could was already commendable.

Leng Yan and Jin Chenglin also came out to lend a hand. In truth, Jin Chenglin need not have bothered—his joints were old, and there was no need for him to strain himself. But he was not one for idle chatter and felt more at ease contributing through action.

Everyone pitched in wholeheartedly. No matter the circumstances, doing what they could was enough.

From a purely programmatic perspective, the atmosphere that followed was somewhat stifling. The seriousness of the subject matter weighed on the guests, making it difficult for them to relax.

Both Wen Huaiyu and Wen Haiquan were traditionalists by nature, and the topics they discussed with Teacher Zhang Ruchun were not the sort to appeal to the general audience.

Regrettably, while most viewers had some degree of empathy, in this age of entertainment above all else, few wanted to linger too long in such somber moods.

As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Doing what one could was sufficient.

Those wishing to donate or help often simply exited the live stream at this point, unable to bear watching further.

The result was predictable: for a considerable period, the number of viewers steadily declined. Both popularity and online presence dropped sharply.

When Director Wang received the real-time data from the operations team, his expression grew increasingly grave.

“This isn’t good. This attempt may have failed.”

Though raising awareness of left-behind children’s hardships was a good deed, the current situation spelled failure for the program’s own “performance.”

Director Wang felt a twinge of regret. He had hoped to ride the wave of popularity brought by Bai Ling, but the reality was far more challenging than he’d imagined.

“What should I do now?” he muttered, troubled.

“Morning reading will soon be over. Next is the interaction with the children.”

“But can these interactions turn things around and restore the live stream’s popularity?” Wang was not optimistic.

Still, he was not one to give up easily. He had already prepared contingency plans, and now it was time to set them in motion.

To win back the audience, Director Wang called all the guests to the camera right after morning reading ended.

“Director Wang, do you have instructions?” asked Teacher Jin Chenglin.

“Dear guests, you came to the school today not just to help clean up,” Director Wang began. “We discussed this earlier with Principal Zhang. Due to a shortage of teaching staff, Teacher Zhang must juggle multiple roles, teaching several classes in both language and math, as well as art and music. The burden is immense.”

“So, I’d like to ask if any of you would volunteer to let Teacher Zhang take a day off?”

“Of course, having the crew step in might disrupt the teaching schedule and cause some inconvenience for Teacher Zhang and her colleagues. To help, we will be providing the school with supplies such as textbooks, sketchbooks, pencils, and brushes.”

“In addition, the live stream will activate the tipping function, and all viewer donations will go directly to support the elementary school.”

“Rest assured, all funds will be handled with the utmost transparency, with certified witnesses overseeing the process to ensure Zhoujia Village Elementary receives the maximum benefit.”

At these words, everyone was stunned.

Director Wang truly lived up to his reputation as the chief director of the smash-hit variety show "Celebrate the New Year at My Home." This was a brilliant idea.

Perhaps the people of Zhoujia Village were so welcoming precisely because of this.

Wen Huaiyu and Wen Haiquan led the applause, joined by Jin Chenglin, Leng Yan, Bai Ling, and the rest.

“Well done, Director Wang!” they echoed.

Director Wang accepted the praise, adding, “It seems you all have no objections. I’ll just add this—minors are prohibited from tipping during the live stream. The tipping function is open to adults only, and even then, please donate according to your own financial situation and discretion!”

With these disclaimers, Director Wang’s plan was officially underway.

The viewers responded enthusiastically.

“This show just keeps getting better.”

“Well done, Director Wang!”

“Now this is what meaningful variety should look like—a far cry from those talent competitions.”

“That’s right. Most shows nowadays just pander for attention, stirring up anxiety and conflict over trivial matters.”

“I’ll definitely support this event.”

“I had considered donating to some charity before, but to be honest, I don’t trust those so-called organizations. If they were effective, there wouldn’t be so many left-behind children.”

“Exactly—a lot of charities are shady, with even some celebrities setting up foundations to line their own pockets. It’s sickening.”

“Let’s hope this show truly achieves fairness and transparency.”

Thanks to this event, the program’s popularity rebounded significantly. Though not quite reaching its previous peak, the numbers were impressive.

Meanwhile, in the guesthouse, Lin Yubai, Wen Yan, and Ouyang Ruofeng were busy preparing a loving lunch for the entire school—a sizable undertaking, and a meaningful one.

However, Wen Yan was still somewhat dissatisfied. After working hard all day, she would have only about thirty minutes of screen time on the main live stream—hardly worth the effort.

She truly envied Bai Ling.

Even as she helped with the lunch, she was visibly less than cheerful.

At noon, Wen Yan, Lin Yubai, and Ouyang Ruofeng, accompanied by the production staff, brought the packed meals to Zhoujia Village Elementary.

Finally, it was her time to appear on camera, and Wen Yan couldn’t help feeling excited.

Though her screen time was brief, she was determined to make the most of it.

Even if her "talent" performance the day before had been thoroughly overshadowed by Bai Ling, and she failed to impress the senior guests, Wen Yan did not lose heart.

She had never intended to take the “talented woman” route—it was too exhausting.

Her time on the girl group talent show had taught her that being too outstanding only leads to alienation from teammates, and one must constantly strive to maintain the top spot.

Just look at those in the industry who built their reputations on being academic prodigies—most ended up falling from grace.

In other words, if you don’t have what it takes, don’t bite off more than you can chew.

After much deliberation, Wen Yan decisively abandoned that path.