By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 95: The Rural Renovation Plan of a 100,000-Follower Streamer! [6,000 words!]

Li Younan drove Lu Xiaolan and Xu Liya back to the county town.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Xu Liya jumped out and stretched comfortably.

She had already removed all her makeup and changed back into ordinary clothes. Carrying the small briefcase, she squinted her eyes and said comfortably, "Today's experience was amazing, Brother You Nan. Don't forget to send me the photos!"

Li Younan nodded.

He planned to ask Jing Chaoyi to do some post-processing on the photos before sending them to them. After all, if he wasn't going to do it, he might as well do it to the best of his ability.

These two girls have just finished their college entrance exams and are currently at the most carefree time of their lives. They should indulge in their hobbies and relax to their heart's content. As their older brother, I shouldn't spoil their fun at this time and should try my best to help them enjoy themselves.

Xu Liya then said to Lu Xiaolan, "I'm so envious of you, damn it..."

She couldn't help but swear, then secretly glanced at Li Younan. Seeing that he didn't seem to be paying attention, she continued, "My cousins ​​are all scoundrels. I wish I could trade all my cousins ​​for you."

Lu Xiaolan laughed heartily.

After Xu Liya got home, Lu Xiaolan sat in the passenger seat again.

She had just received a message from Li Younan's aunt, who was also her own mother, that they had to go out for two days and there would be no one at Lu Xiaolan's house during those two days. So her mother asked Li Younan to take Lu Xiaolan to their house so she could eat and stay there.

In her mother's opinion, Lu Xiaolan is still an 18-year-old girl, and it's not good to leave her alone at home. She can sleep in the same room with her after she comes over.

Lu Xiaolan readily agreed, and like Li Younan, she also loved her aunt dearly.

Because her aunt never lectured her like other elders.

In the car, Lu Xiaolan rummaged through her makeup bag.

Li Younan glanced at it and asked curiously, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, where did you get this set of cosmetics?"

This set of cosmetics isn't a complete set; it contains both better and worse items.

Lu Xiaolan looked up and said, "This is the set my cousin uses."

Li Younan blinked. If it was Lu Xiaolan's cousin, he probably knew who it was, so he remained silent.

Lu Xiaolan's cousin is of course not related to Li Younan.

Lu Xiaolan zipped up her makeup bag, blinked, and suddenly said to Li Younan, "Cousin, can you teach me how to do makeup?"

Li Younan glanced at Lu Xiaolan, then turned his gaze back to the road ahead.

At the next intersection, Li Younan turned the car around and slowly said, "Teaching you makeup isn't out of the question... Well, you've graduated from high school and are about to go to university, so it's definitely a good idea to learn some makeup."

Li Younan didn't have any malicious views about makeup; for a girl, makeup is quite an important skill.

Putting everything else aside, at least dressing yourself up nicely will improve your mood.

Lu Xiaolan's family wasn't poor; different family circumstances support different consumption habits.

Moreover, makeup skills and parkour skills are quite different. Makeup skills involve a lot of knowledge. Although talent and muscle memory are also important, it is a skill that can be taught to others.

If you really asked him to teach parkour, he wouldn't know where to begin.

Seeing that Li Younan had agreed, Lu Xiaolan's eyes began to light up even more.

Today's experience opened a new world for her; she discovered that she looked absolutely stunning with makeup on.

If only I could learn even a trick or two from my cousin...

However, she hesitated for a moment, then glanced at her cousin somewhat casually and said, "Cousin, your makeup skills are so good, did you really just learn it by casually trying it on your ex-girlfriend's face?"

Li Younan calmly asked, "What's wrong? Don't you believe me?"

Lu Xiaolan thought for a moment, and seeing her cousin's calm expression, she realized that whether she occasionally video-called her cousin or went to their house, she had never seen a single feminine item in her cousin's videos or in his room, let alone cosmetics.

The tiny, outrageous thought that had just arisen was instantly extinguished.

She chuckled to herself, wondering what she was thinking. Her cousin was, of course, a straight man.

Of course, she didn't say this out loud. She secretly glanced at Li Younan and looked out the window somewhat guiltily: "I... I just find it unbelievable that you straight men can learn women's skills so quickly."

The car had already come to a steady stop in the courtyard of the company's apartment complex.

Li Younan unbuckled his seatbelt and tapped Lu Xiaolan on the head with a disgruntled tone: "Why did you have to emphasize that... straight man?"

The tap was a bit too hard. Lu Xiaolan let out a soft "Ouch!" and then covered her head with a pitiful expression, pouting, "It hurts..."

……

In the evening, the sounds of my mother and Lu Xiaolan's happy laughter could be heard from time to time in the living room.

Li Younan was alone in the room.

He sent the photos he took that afternoon to Jing Chaoyi, asking her to help with the post-processing.

A good photographer produces portraits with a sense of quality.

A skilled post-production engineer can maximize this texture by controlling light, shadow, and color.

Photos taken with a mobile phone have a one-click, foolproof beauty filter. Even if the subject is a beautiful woman, these photos are often called "sweet and juicy" photos, but in the eyes of professional photographers, they are not as good as AI-generated images.

After receiving the photos, Jing Chaoyi asked curiously, "Who are these two girls?"

Li Younan didn't mention Xu Liya's specific identity, only vaguely saying that she was his younger sister who had just finished the college entrance examination.

Upon hearing that it was her younger sister, Jing Chaoyi immediately perked up and confidently sent a message: "Oh, so it's one of us! I'll definitely do my best to edit the photos and give your sister a wonderful ending to her hard work all day!"

Li Younan replied: "Thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, he closed his laptop and left.

Just then, Mom and Lu Xiaolan suddenly started talking about part-time jobs.

My mom said, "How about this, you can come to our bank, and I'll talk to the branch manager to see if we can get you a job as a customer manager at the front desk."

It's important to note that while some bank customer managers are full-time employees, others are temporary workers whose pay is barely higher than that of security guards. Their main job is simply to guide people who are unfamiliar with modern business and procedures to fill out forms and use ATMs – such simple tasks.

The rural commercial bank where my mother works is the latter.

Lu Xiaolan was a little socially awkward, and after hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Is there anything else we can do?"

Mom thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she said, "Oh right, we're also short of someone to clean the toilets in our office building!"

"Huh?" Lu Xiaolan was taken aback, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

"You're kidding! You actually believed that?" Mom covered her mouth and laughed.

Lu Xiaolan pouted, "Auntie!"

Li Younan laughed heartily as he strolled over and sat down next to the two of them. Suddenly, he said, "Looking for a summer job, right?" He stroked his chin. "How about Xiaolan works with me?"

The mother looked at Li Younan with a puzzled expression.

Lu Xiaolan became excited and immediately asked, "Cousin, what do you want me to do?"

Li Younan smiled slightly and uttered two words: "Moving bricks!"

Lu Xiaolan's expression became even more stunned: "Huh?"

……

Of course, Li Younan would never actually let Lu Xiaolan go and move bricks.

However, there will still be some light physical work to do. Li Younan plans to bring Lu Xiaolan along when renovating the old house so she can help with some tasks.

Although Lu Xiaolan is a girl, she is capable of doing quite a lot.

The first day was over, and the first task was to take a video to carefully capture what Grandpa and Grandma's house looked like at that moment.

This is important, because the most satisfying moment is when you compare the finished old house with the new one.

To ensure image clarity, Li Younan recorded the video directly with a camera.

He first walked around the perimeter of his grandparents' house, filming the general surroundings. Since he hadn't bought any recording equipment, Li Younan didn't plan to provide any narration. He planned to write some script himself after the video was filmed, and then have Brother Long help with the voice-over.

Afterwards, Li Younan went to his grandparents' house.

What comes into view is a large courtyard with a chicken coop, several small vegetable gardens, and a large cement open space in the middle.

Grandpa and Grandma would occasionally dry some grains or vegetables on it.

Directly opposite the gate are two separate old houses.

One is the main room, which serves as both a kitchen and a living room, and also as a place for smoking cured meat.

The other room was the living quarters, with several rooms where the grandparents lived, and some miscellaneous items were also stored there.

Upstairs in the house was a simple attic, where some farm tools were stored, and a wooden ladder led up to the attic.

There is a small door at the back of the courtyard, leading to the slope that connects to the Baishui River.

Li Younan slowly walked to the chicken coop, where there was a dry toilet. A pungent smell hit him, so Li Younan opened the door and took a picture of it.

Lu Xiaolan watched Li Younan doing these things with curiosity.

When Li Younan put away his camera, she asked, "Cousin, why did you take these pictures?"

Li Younan said, "Of course we'll make it into a video after filming it. You'll find out about that later."

Lu Xiaolan was already eager to try, and excitedly asked, "Cousin, what should we do today?"

Li Younan smiled slightly: "There's no rush today, at least not right now." After all, Li Younan's grandparents were not related to Lu Xiaolan by blood, so Lu Xiaolan was still a little reserved when facing her grandparents.

Grandma asked her kindly, "You're Nannan's cousin, right? Nannan often mentions you to me."

People in the countryside value the bonds of blood ties more. Grandma was very warm to Lu Xiaolan. Just after noon, Lu Xiaolan was already chatting with Grandma comfortably.

Grandpa sat on the threshold of the main room, lit his pipe, and took a couple of puffs.

Li Younan went over and briefly explained the upcoming plans to his grandfather: "Today I will call a small excavator to come and level the slope behind us."

A smile, hard to decipher, appeared on Grandpa's face. It was a mix of helplessness, relief, and a lazy, "whatever, do what you want" attitude. He said, "Grandpa and Grandma are practically half-buried in the ground. There's really no need for you to spend this money..."

Li Younan said, "Grandpa, you and Grandma have worked hard for most of your lives. I've finally made something of myself, and I want to make you more comfortable. I'm happy when you're comfortable."

Grandpa put down his pipe, gently tapped it on the stone slab in front of him to knock out the ash, and slowly rolled up the pipe and put it away, saying, "Alright, alright, whatever you say is fine, just don't tire yourself out."

In the afternoon, the small excavator finally arrived in Baishui Township.

This smallest excavator, though small in size, is well-suited for working in yards.

You can open the gate to the yard and drive right in without even damaging the gate's structure.

Following Li Younan's instructions, the excavator was driven directly to the slope and then began excavation work.

Li Younan set up the camera position.

The person operating the mini excavator was a young man. He worked quite professionally. Under Li Younan's direction, he cleared the slope little by little, creating a small step more than a meter high. He filled in all the excess material, gradually making the entire slope flat.

This process naturally involves a lot of noise.

As Li Younan had predicted, there were many large rocks on this slope that were impossible to move by manpower, but the small excavator handled them relatively easily.

Seeing that the young man fully understood his intentions, Li Younan felt relieved and started filming the video from the side.

Just then, JK Long sent a message asking, "When will your renovation project start?"

Li Younan recorded a video for him on the spot, showing the excavator working.

JK Long replied somewhat displeasedly, "Why did you start right away? You should definitely film some videos before starting construction, showing what the old house looked like before..."

Li Younan said confidently, "Don't worry, it's already been taken. However, it was taken with a camera, so I can't send it to you right now. I can only send it to you when I get back tonight."

JK Long's tone softened a bit, and he said with exasperation, "At least you've shown some intelligence."

Li Younan coughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Suddenly, JK Long said, "Why don't you just start a live stream?"

Li Younan blinked. "Live stream?" He typed his muttered thoughts into text and sent it to JK Long. "Live stream? Is live streaming even useful now?"

JK Long said, "Actually, it's like this: live streaming isn't about getting traffic or making money, but about proving that you're really doing this. Do you understand what I mean?"

"There are too many videos of the same type of old house renovation now. If you just post a dry video of an old house renovation, you won't get as much traffic as before."

"We need to think about what's special about us, what makes us stand out from the crowd."

"After thinking it over, didn't you say you planned to do everything yourself?"

“You’re a travel blogger, and you’re… well, pretty handsome. You can do backflips like a cat, and you can cook. Then you suddenly transform into a bricklayer and a plumber. That creates a contrast and makes it a hot topic.”

Li Younan's gaze fell on the phrase... "can do backflips like a cat."

Ah.

Although JK Long said that, Li Younan was still puzzled and directly sent him a voice message asking, "I understand this, but what does it have to do with the live stream?"

JK Long typed another long message: "Because it's real."

"What problems would you encounter if you didn't do a live stream and just made it into a video?"

“Some people will say that you just staged the photo, only showing the mud and bricks, but in fact most of the work was done by the workers you hired. This makes it seem like a staged photo, and it’s hard to prove yourself.”

"Although it's not a very important matter anymore, it's inevitable that some people will try to stir up trouble."

“But it’s different if you stream the whole thing live; everyone will know you really can do everything.” After a pause, JK Long asked, “You really can do everything, right?”

Li Younan started sending voice messages again: "Building blocks, mud, and a four-wheel drive car..."

JK Long sent three words in a disdainful tone: "Get lost, get lost, get lost."

……

However, Li Younan does not plan to start the live stream today.

He discussed it with JK Long, and JK Long would work overtime tonight to turn the initial state of the yard he filmed into a video, and then add a catchy caption, such as "A Gen Z guy quit his job and personally transformed his old house into a country villa..."

After working all afternoon, the slope was starting to take shape.

If we come again tomorrow, the slope should be mostly cleared up.

Looking at today's results, Li Younan saw that the large stones that had been dug out were already piled up at the edge of the slope.

Although it's not completely flat yet, it already has a basic shape.

The young man had been working all afternoon and was quite tired.

Grandpa and Grandma couldn't help much, but they cooked rice, stir-fried vegetables and cured meat they grew themselves, added water to make a meat and vegetable soup, and after it boiled, they put in the torn noodles to make a stew.

The young man also came from a rural background, so naturally he wouldn't have trouble eating this kind of food.

Lu Xiaolan was also very happy. Although she grew up in the county town, she would occasionally eat food from the countryside.

The three young men each took a porcelain bowl from their grandfather's house, filled it to the brim, and squatted down on the steps in front of the gate to eat.

Lu Xiaolan took a sip of noodle soup and said with a grin, "Cousin, today was quite interesting, hahaha."

Li Younan smiled, said nothing, and took a sip of the noodle soup, feeling very satisfied.

The guy operating the excavator ate quickly, put down his bowl, and went to use the restroom. After a while, he came back, sighed, and said, "I didn't expect your place to have this kind of latrine. I almost fell in just now."

Lu Xiaolan was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly and covered the bowl, moving away to the side.

Li Younan smiled wryly when he saw Xiaolan's actions.

Although the young man spoke bluntly, he did point out a major problem.

Li Younan had worried about this before. After all, his grandparents were nearly 70 years old. Although they looked quite healthy now, their age was a factor.

Who knows, one day, my legs might suddenly become weak.

The outhouse was dug many years ago, and no one thought much about it at the time. Over time, the wooden planks used for squatting have become slippery and may not even be as sturdy anymore.

Therefore, Li Younan had originally planned to deal with the latrine as well this time.

This time, the township's waterway reconstruction also includes the sewers. There will be a main road that will be dug from about 30 meters away from Grandpa's house.

Li Younan planned to have the young man use an excavator to dig a small ditch across the area.

In a couple of days, the sewage pipes will arrive and be pre-buried, and then they will all be connected to the village's sewage system.

"That's enough for today's task." Li Younan had agreed on a time with his older brother for tomorrow morning, and he was also preparing to take Xiaolan back.

Grandpa and Grandma watched his car drive away without saying much, only repeatedly saying, "Drive slowly on the road."

Sitting in the car, Lu Xiaolan sighed softly and said, "Cousin, I don't think I did anything today. Will you pay me?"

Li Younan looked at the road ahead and said, "Fine! It's too hurtful for us siblings to talk about money... Your cousin is thinking of it for you... But starting tomorrow, you'll have to get busy too."

The next morning, when they left home, Li Younan asked Lu Xiaolan to carry a bag containing four power banks and also asked her to bring a camera tripod.

Lu Xiaolan asked curiously, "Cousin, what are you doing bringing all this stuff?"

Li Younan patted Xiaolan on the shoulder and said, "I hereby announce that you are now my assistant, starting today."

Lu Xiaolan was taken aback: "Huh? Assistant? What assistant?"

Li Younan took out the spare phone, which only had live streaming software installed and would not be disturbed by other calls or messages.

Li Younan handed the spare phone to Lu Xiaolan and said, "I'm going to start a live stream. Your job is to follow me wherever I go. Oh, by the way, I don't know if you usually watch live streams. I heard there's some kind of moderator function. Anyway, you can figure it out and log in to your account with your own phone to activate the permissions. If you encounter any annoying people in the live stream, ban them."

Lu Xiaolan was unaware that Li Younan was filming videos, and even less aware that he was now a fairly well-known travel streamer.

Without thinking too much about it, she took Li Younan's phone and muttered, "So professional?"

But when she opened Li Younan's live streaming app, she was stunned. "One, two, three, four... five, six!" Lu Xiaolan counted on her fingers in disbelief, "Ones, tens, hundreds... one hundred thousand! Cousin, you actually have one hundred thousand followers! My god, you're a big streamer!"

Li Younan blinked. He hadn't expected that the number of followers, which was only 7 last time, would grow to 10 so quickly.

It seems that the video he filmed in Nanchang last time had an effect. After all, it was filmed and edited by the official team using professional equipment, and it was also promoted by the official team, which led to a surge in his followers. That must be it.

Li Younan lifted the camera tripod with one hand and said calmly, "Don't get excited, it's nothing scary."

"Excited! Of course I'm excited!" Lu Xiaolan looked at Li Younan, her eyes shining. "Cousin, you're amazing! How did you do that? Let me see your video..."

Li Younan smiled and said, "You can look at it slowly once you get in the car. For now, focus on going down the stairs and don't fall."

Lu Xiaolan nodded while staring at her phone screen, then looked up and bumped into a doorpost.

Li Younan: "..."

(End of this chapter)