Bai Xiaozhen was indeed a capable person. In his previous life, Fengming had collapsed, and he couldn’t provide his idol with good resources. But in this life, Fengming was developing well, and with Zhang Jue being a national team athlete, it gave Bai Xiaozhen a lot of room to make things happen.

Less than a week after Zhang Jue returned from the Misty Cup, Bai Xiaozhen excitedly ran over to tell him.

“Little Jue, I got you a good new endorsement. Though there’s not much money in it, the ad will air on CCTV for 30 seconds. It’s an official promotion! Remember to wait for me at the school gate next Monday after class, I’ll take you to meet the director.”

This kind of resource was clearly exclusive to top stars. Zhang Jue, having been an idol before, couldn’t help but get excited when he heard it.

He asked in the same excited tone: “Brother Bai, what’s the endorsement?”

Bai Xiaozhen had been worried that Zhang Jue might be unhappy with the project due to the low pay. But seeing Zhang Jue’s enthusiasm, he immediately relaxed.

He replied mysteriously: “You’ll know when the time comes. Don’t worry, it’s for a very popular product, something every household buys. It’s even more widespread than your Ladder Mountain milk!”

Zhang Jue happily agreed and met the director with Bai Xiaozhen on Monday.

The director was a chubby man wearing overalls, and he had pockets from his chest to his thighs. Let’s call him Director Pocket. He waddled over, speaking fluent Shandong dialect while explaining how the commercial would be filmed.

It turned out that it was a poverty alleviation advertisement. A poor county, with an average income far below a moderate living standard, had been visited by poverty alleviation officials. After some research, they discovered that the land there was perfect for a special type of sweet corn studied by a professor at Zhongnong University. So, Zhang Jue was to endorse their corn.

Yes, the corn even had a name—Sweet Zizi No. 1.

By the way, if Zhang Jue had successfully passed the recommendation for graduate studies in his previous life, that Professor Wu would likely have been his mentor.

Also, when Professor Wu learned that Zhang Jue would endorse this product, he was not only aware but also happy about it. He said it was fate, because among all the famous public figures, who could be more suitable to endorse this product than Zhang Jue, a student from Zhongnong University?

Zhang Jue was in a daze: “Yes, yes, what a fate from the past and present. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll probably be involved in experiments to improve the taste of this corn in the future. The creation of Sweet Zizi No. 2 will have my contribution too.”

For clarification, Sweet Zizi No. 1 was crispy corn, sweet, tender, and juicy. Sweet Zizi No. 2, while less juicy, was glutinous corn, so they could actually be considered two different products. The land in that poor county was perfect for growing Sweet Zizi No. 1.

The commercial was not difficult to film. There were hardly any special effects needed. Zhang Jue had to travel to the corn-producing area, run with local children in the green fields, and then stand in the farmland eating corn while giving a thumbs up.

The ad tagline was: “Pure, natural organic sweet corn, the taste is extraordinary.”

Zhang Jue: “…Indeed, it’s more widely known than Ladder Mountain milk, a product that can enter every household. Brother Bai, after two lifetimes, the first endorsement you got me was corn.”

Sigh, other idols’ fans support them by voting, buying albums, and watching movies, but Zhang Jue’s fans buy milk, corn, Oreos, and Piggy Warrior hats and gloves. Fitness enthusiasts can also buy protein powder. It’s more like buying everyday items than supporting an idol.

Only the most loyal fans would buy posters, fans, or attend live competitions. But if they showed ten original posters of Zhang Jue plus three ticket stubs from live competitions, they could apply for a discount card for one of Zhang Jue’s endorsed products from the official China Skating Union website, which was quite a deal.

So, supporting him was actually pretty profitable.

After sharing these strange operations, Bai Xiaozhen told Zhang Jue: “Your endorsement of Sweet Zizi No. 1 also helps with poverty alleviation, so the locals are sending you two boxes of corn. I figured since you’re a farming student, you can grow or buy your own, so I’ll take the two boxes and use them for a giveaway on the China Skating Union’s website for your fans.”

Zhang Jue replied: “…It’s up to you, but not all farming students grow corn.”

He really had to correct people’s misunderstanding of farming students—just because someone studied agriculture doesn’t mean they’d automatically farm!

Bai Xiaozhen asked: “You don’t know how to grow corn?”

Zhang Jue sighed, looking up.

“I know how.”

Back in the day, he had spent time in the fields watching over Sweet Zizi No. 2, personally fertilizing it with chicken manure he got from his senior in animal husbandry… After all, whether or not he could pass the graduate studies recommendation depended on No. 2.

There was a period when animal manure was quite popular among the animal husbandry students. Zhang Jue, being handsome, had become very efficient at collecting manure, which is how he got pulled into helping with Sweet Zizi No. 2.

Although, in the end, he didn’t make it to the graduate program because he dropped out.

But the misunderstanding about farming students being able to farm probably wasn’t going to be cleared up anytime soon.

Zhang Jue filmed the ad in late October. By November 3, he flew to Shanghai with Jin Zixuan and Liu Yeming, who were also competing in the Chinese leg of the competition. His coaches followed, and Qin Xuejun sat next to him.

As for Saori, Chicken One, and Chicken Two, Zhang Jue entrusted them to Dela, who was good at taking care of hamsters. He wasn’t familiar with raising chickens, but it was said that Lan Run’s grandfather, who worked at a chicken farm, could come help.

Speaking of chickens, Zhang Jue said with some concern to Qin Xuejun: “Chicken One, and Chicken Two are 8 months old now, and they’ve been with us for 30 days. They’re already 120 days old. They might start laying eggs soon. Since I’m leaving, I might miss their first eggs. It’s a pity.”

Qin Xuejun sympathetically grabbed Zhang Jue’s hand with his big bear paw.

“Yes, after raising chickens for so long, it would be so regrettable if we don’t get to eat the first eggs.”

Jin Zixuan turned his head with a weird expression, and Huang Ying and Guan Lin whispered.

“Zhang Jue is really raising chickens.”

“His profile and Twitter photos are just pictures of those two Langshan chickens. Sigh, with his handsome face, he’s studying such a rural subject. It’s a good thing gambling isn’t allowed, otherwise, those who bet on Zhang Jue studying actuarial science would lose everything.”

“I think maybe he’s trying to get more food. Look at how he ate so well under Aunt Ning’s care. But athletes can’t easily eat outside food. He’s probably adding meals through this!”

When Zhang Junbao heard this, he couldn’t help but think of the brother, Bai Yin, who had studied animal husbandry and raised a pig at home.

To let his younger brother eat safe pork knuckles, Bai Yin was really putting in a lot of effort.

When they arrived in Shanghai, Zhang Jue was no longer surrounded by enthusiastic fans because they used a special channel, and a car was waiting for them at the exit, directly taking them to the hotel. Bai Xiaozhen had already arranged everything, so Zhang Jue just needed to take his suitcase to his room.

This kind of thoughtfulness made him very grateful, and Bai Xiaozhen smiled and told Zhang Jue: “No need to thank me, I earned a commission too.”

Although it was only 5%, Zhang Jue’s annual income was around 15 million yuan, so 5% was still 750,000 yuan, which was a significant sum even after taxes.

Bai Xiaozhen didn’t bring out any famous entertainment industry celebrities, but even by just serving Zhang Jue, an athlete, he was not at a loss. Besides, if he took good care of Zhang Jue, then in the future, Zhang Jue’s junior athletes might also have opportunities to compete for spots.

This year, the notable male singles participants in the China station were Sergei (Russia), David (Belgium), Juventus (Czech), and Carlson (Canada). As for the female singles, there were Bai Xiaozhen Russia’s new number one Serena, and the second-ranked Kateryna.

The Russian athletes were all disciples of Old Boris, and it was worth mentioning that Kateryna was his youngest apprentice. She was also the first student after Vasily became a coach. She had just moved up this season and reportedly scored just below Serena, the new Russian number one, at a test competition.

Since Old Boris was getting older and reluctant to travel internationally, he let Vasily take charge of all the overseas competitions. It showed how eager he was to retire, though this time, Vasily didn’t come to China because he was helping Ilya practice jumps.

Zhang Jue saw these familiar faces when the draw was made.

Support translation: