Chapter 56: Chapter 27: The Script (2)
So some people changed their strategy, starting to take the high-level route, specializing in pretending to be mysterious and deceiving the rich and influential, which could make the impact of the performance greater and spread the fame further... The highest level of this route was, of course, to deceive the emperor.
Historically, many emperors were fascinated by longevity and immortality, giving these people the opportunity to exploit. It turned out that a person’s intelligence does not necessarily increase with their status; deceiving important figures is not much harder than deceiving ordinary people.
But doing this was very dangerous, and if not done well, it could cost you your head. There are many records of predecessors who failed and were caught. The general public’s understanding of sorcerers mostly comes from the Xingshen Sect sorcerers.
Many anecdotal notes about sorcerers and their techniques are also related to the Xingshen Sect.
Because their promotion ceremonies, at least for promotion from Tier Two to Tier Three, require public performances and strong public opinion feedback.
Peng Xian often sighed that he was born in a good era. Mobile internet plus self-media equals an information production machine plus receiver for each person, so he no longer had to toil and risk like his predecessors.
Peng Xian not only owned a self-media company but also registered several institutions, including a grassroots charity organization. The promotion ceremony he designed was conducted through an online platform called "Charity Foundation."
Through this platform, livestreams were held under the guise of poverty alleviation and assistance, selling goods. The script was written by Peng Xian himself, and its theme was called "Collecting Mountain Goods."
Peng Xian’s "Collecting Mountain Goods" was also inspired by another scam called "Selling Tea" that was popular online a few years ago.
"Selling Tea" was not the promotion ceremony script of Xingshen Sect sorcerers, but it was once very popular and well-known, to the point where it became cliché today, requiring appropriate adaptation if borrowed.
The script of "Collecting Mountain Goods" has the following elements:
First, there needs to be a gentle, calm voiceover, like a documentary narrator on CCTV, serving as an introduction and connecting a series of scenes.
The lead role should be a minor from a poor mountain area, ideally a pretty, frail-looking girl. Her clothes should be rustic, not too fitting, her hair slightly messy, shoes muddy, and pants unevenly rolled up.
Supporting role 1 can be a slightly older child, preferably female, acting as the lead’s friend or relative.
Supporting roles 2 and 3 should be elderly, possibly an old couple left behind in the village, with a weathered appearance, preferably with mild disabilities.
Physical disability or frailty adds points but shouldn’t be too severe, or it would affect credibility. Clothes should be old, preferably with patches but relatively clean, with deep wrinkles on the face and hands.
There are two main scenes.
Scene 1 is a run-down house, the main character’s home, the starting point of the shoot. It should ideally be an old earthen house with mud walls and a straw roof. A brick house is acceptable, with a piece of plastic sheeting covering the roof to show it leaks and hasn’t been repaired.
Doors, windows, and furniture should be worn and items placed in disarray, with a stool missing a leg propped up with a brick in a noticeable place.
Cooking is done on an old earthen stove or pit, or an old stove, but definitely not modern gas appliances. The bowl the girl uses to serve rice should have a visible chip, yet still usable.
Scene 2 visually appears as a mid-mountain house, home to the old couple, the endpoint of the shoot.
The building can be a brick house, relatively worn but clean, with a courtyard or large open area in front displaying old bamboo weaving and such for showcasing various "mountain goods."
As for other scenes, located between Scene 1 and Scene 2, during the main character’s journey, at least the following elements should be included:
A display of dense forests in the distance; a small bridge over rushing water below; a seemingly steep, difficult mountain path.
Let’s give the main character a name, Xiaozhao, then a more standard filming process of "Collecting Mountain Goods" could unfold with a few bird chirps, followed by the explanation of the off-screen voice like this—
Before dawn, Xiaozhao, living deep in Daliang Mountain, would get up. She is only twelve this year; last month, her father got injured at a construction site, and her mother is in the hospital taking care of him. At such a young age, she bears the burden of life...
She has long learned to start a fire and cook by herself. After a simple breakfast, she has to go out to work. Today, she will help Uncle Sangjie and Granny Sangjie in the mountains collect goods. The big bamboo basket is almost taller than she is.
The morning mist in the woods gradually disperses, the air is exceptionally fresh, the scenery of the distant mountains is beautiful, and there are many unknown flowers and grass by the roadside, with various bird calls coming from afar...
(Film the scene of her cooking breakfast, tidying up, and going out. The lead can break in with some self-introduction. After going out, she passes supplementary scenes, arriving at the door of the cousin’s house, who plays the supporting role 1.)
Xiaozhao: "Cousin, have you finished eating? Hurry up, let’s go to Uncle Sangjie’s house."
Cousin: "What for?"
Xiaozhao: "Didn’t the uncles and aunts in the fan group ask us to collect more mountain goods? I visited a few places yesterday, today we’ll check out Uncle Sangjie’s house. Every year he collects a lot of mountain goods to take to town to exchange for money. This year, let’s help him."
(Transition to filming the two girls packing medicine baskets and rain cloths, showcasing various mountain specialties hanging at the cousin’s house to increase the video’s credibility, subtly emphasizing the identity of the two.)
The two head out up the mountain, cross a bridge, the camera shows mountain streams and rugged paths, and various sceneries, with the lead giving some introductions to the local situation, arriving at Scene 2.)
Xiaozhao: "Uncle Sangjie, are you home? We’re here!"
Uncle Sangjie opens the door: "Coming, coming." (Uncle and Granny can speak in dialects, with a heavy accent. The two girls can speak standard Mandarin with a dialect accent.)
Xiaozhao: "Uncle, you said last time that you had some mountain goods at home. We came this time to collect them for you, so you won’t have to carry them down to sell every time."
Uncle Sangjie: "Thank you, thank you."
Entering the courtyard, Granny Sangjie greets them: "Have you eaten? Come in and have some."
Cousin: "No need, we’ve already eaten."
(The camera shows the mountain goods in the courtyard, with the lead introducing, using walnut oil as an example.)
Xiaozhao: "The wild walnut trees in Daliang Mountain are all a hundred or even hundreds of years old, growing at altitudes of two thousand to four thousand meters, with ample sunlight and rich in various nutrients.
The ancient mountain people here all called them Longevity Fruit.
Our walnut oil here is made using traditional old methods, without any additives, it’s pure natural green ecological food, retaining its original nutritional value, and it tastes particularly fragrant..."
Above is the standard script of "Collecting Mountain Goods" designed by Peng Xian. Don’t ask how the old couple can press so much industrial-grade walnut oil at home. If necessary, selling dried walnuts isn’t impossible.
Peng Xian’s job is to assemble a team, hire actors, find scenes, do livestreams, and afterward make it into short videos distributed across major platforms. More importantly, he uses various methods to drive traffic and increase popularity.
In ancient times, it was incredibly difficult for a performance to resonate with tens of thousands, unless in very special occasions like on a large battlefield; otherwise, it had to be divided into multiple sessions, repeated in different settings.
But in the era of smartphones and self-media, as long as you understand traffic operations, it’s easy to achieve this effect, and you can conveniently reap a wave of wealth.
Therefore, Peng Xian exclaimed that today’s sorcerers are incredibly lucky!
He is not someone with a rich imagination and creativity; he just learned a few tricks in Magic Sect and was inspired by popular online cases, designing his own scam.
Given the scale of the Eastern Country’s internet, as long as the traffic is drawn slightly better, reaching millions of viewers isn’t difficult.
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