Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 244 - 238 Improve production standards

"When is Chairman Kang coming back?"

With Wang Jian’s presence, Xu Qian quickly regained her composure and got up from him. As she pulled on her pants, she asked, "He’s off with his friends. He won’t be back for a few days, right?"

Wang Jian nodded. "He won’t be back to stay for a while, but I expect he’ll bring his friends over."

"Is that so?" Xu Qian tugged at her pants, her brow furrowing. Her hips were a bit wide; despite her nice curves, it always made getting her pants on a struggle. She had to wiggle and pull just to get them up. After finally succeeding, she let out a sigh of relief and continued, "In that case, you’d better have them give us a day’s notice before they come. Otherwise, I won’t have time to prepare the food."

"Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind."

After giving her instructions, Xu Qian left to cook.

Wang Jian watched her retreating figure, his gaze lingering on her waist and hips. He truly enjoyed these quiet, private days with just the two of them. No need to worry about someone barging in at any moment. He could immerse himself completely. Wasn’t that much better than when people were around?

With nothing else to do, he also got up and went to the courtyard to practice his boxing.

***

Unlike him, Angel and Huang Long were still reeling from their surprise. Cai Qiong had just called with an update: the number of people they’d be interviewing had grown again. It was no longer just Cai Xing and Peng Qing. The list now included leaders from the world of Chinese medicine, university professors from Capital City, and even deans of top-tier hospitals.

This was an absolute windfall! Huang Long was still trying to process the news, unable to snap out of it. He marveled, "What kind of figure did we latch onto?"

Angel sighed. "I have no idea either."

"Even if we went to Demon City to film another emergency room drama, we wouldn’t get this many big shots, right?" Huang Long was confused. "Are we even filming a series about a village doctor anymore?"

"Well..." Angel, collecting herself from her excitement, explained, "The people from Capital City are apparently Wang Jian’s mentors and senior classmates from his university days. If worse comes to worst, we can frame it as ’the story behind the village doctor.’ We can’t be too rigid about it..."

Hearing her say "can’t be too rigid," Huang Long didn’t have the heart to call out her little rationalization. He simply reminded her, "We’d better notify the station. With so many people coming, the resources we prepared won’t be enough. If we get the station’s full support, this documentary could become a sensation before it even airs."

"You’re right! I almost forgot about that," Angel laughed. "I’ll call my dad."

Huang Long finally relaxed. Angel’s father was a senior executive at the television station, so he had the power to throw extra weight behind a program. Not to mention, the benefits were so obvious now that any media professional would be a fool to pass this up. With this double assurance, Huang Long knew their show was a lock.

Things unfolded just as he had expected. The day after Angel made the call, colleagues from the station’s publicity department contacted them, asking for key footage. It wasn’t just them; other teams were also asked to submit material for a promotional trailer. Even Director Zhang Rongsheng was called back early just to cut the promo. For this documentary, the station even hired a famous songwriter to compose a theme song and was already scouting for an influential celebrity with a positive image to perform it. This level of investment was rare, even for the station’s top-rated variety shows. Of course, it helped that they were filming a documentary—a wholesome genre aimed at fulfilling a directive from the higher-ups. So even if they splurged on resources, no one would complain.

News of this important documentary spread like wildfire within Shan Province TV, and word even reached other provinces.

"A documentary about village doctors?"

The people at Toilet TV and Tomato Channel, considered the top local stations in the country, heard about the "village doctor series" and immediately understood it was a government-mandated project. Such topics rarely have popular appeal, so they were both convinced it was being made to fulfill a directive. Yet, the sheer effort Shan Province was pouring into the documentary left them completely baffled.

"Is all this really necessary just to curry favor with the authorities?" The people from Toilet TV, a station famous for chasing ratings, were the most perplexed. Still, just to be safe, they began frantically digging for information.

This news had reached not just television personnel but most of the major players in the entertainment industry. The only ones in the dark were the doctors at the center of the filming, who were completely oblivious to what was happening in their little corner of the world. Aside from the group from Capital City and the people brought by Cai Xing and Peng Qing, not a whisper of the truth had leaked out. This strange information vacuum meant that the stars who showed up to compete for the theme song weren’t exactly top-tier. The publicity department at Shan Province TV was in an awkward spot, wishing they could just leak the truth themselves. If they did, they knew there’d be a mad scramble for the job.

Besides the people in Shan Province, the only others who knew the true story were at the central broadcasting headquarters. As luck would have it, a star named Wen Sheng, who was currently on a variety show in Shan Province, had a former classmate at the headquarters who clued him in.

"Wen Sheng, if I weren’t in the publicity department, I would have no idea about this. You’re in Shan Province right now, right?"

Confused by Lao Cheng’s words, Wen Sheng asked, "What’s the deal with this documentary? I don’t see anyone in the industry fighting over it. Why are you so worked up?"

"Bah! They don’t know jack squat!" Lao Cheng’s voice was so intense his excitement was palpable even through the phone. "Listen to me. You have to grab this opportunity now while no one’s looking. Your comeback could depend on it. This documentary is already being watched closely by the Bureau—the *good* kind of watched. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

HISS... Wen Sheng finally understood Lao Cheng’s meaning. This is my chance to burnish my reputation!

"But I’m afraid I’m too unlucky to get it. You know the kind of rotten luck I’ve had these past few years."

Hearing this, Lao Cheng fell silent for a moment. Wen Sheng really was unlucky. He had a brilliant start to his career, but a car accident nearly killed him, and his career never recovered. Projects would either get snatched from him at the last minute or be canceled out of the blue; his luck was abysmal. He could only take gigs on second-rate variety shows to get by, just barely keeping his face in the public eye.

Lao Cheng then advised him earnestly, "If I didn’t know you, know that you’ve always been an honest guy with a clean record—that your only real flaw is not being famous—I wouldn’t even suggest this, because you’d definitely lose out in a fair competition. But right now, before the news gets out, this is your golden opportunity. Bad luck or not, you have to try."

"Alright!" Wen Sheng slammed his hand on the table, agreeing on the spot.

He had the advantage of being on the scene. As soon as he finished filming the variety show in Shan Province, he approached the station’s publicity department and, just as predicted, secured the role with little effort.

Only after landing the job did he realize how incredibly lucky he’d been. Still, he couldn’t help but worry that his bad luck would jinx the project. A documentary about a village doctor that involved so many business magnates and titans of the medical field... plus, Shan Province was using its highest production standards. This was so far from the rumors of it being a token project to please the higher-ups that it was almost absurd. And most importantly, the songwriter was Lin Shu.

Who was Lin Shu? As someone in the entertainment industry, Wen Sheng knew him well. The man was a monster. Lin Shu: songwriter, artistic soul, with an eccentric temper. But he’s incredibly meticulous, and everything he creates is a masterpiece. His strange temper and his ability to produce hits made him a figure of both love and hate in the industry.

When he saw Lin Shu was involved, Wen Sheng’s last wisp of worry vanished. With so many heavy hitters on board, their collective influence could surely overpower the bad luck of a small fry like him.