I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 186 Desert Variety Show
"Station Chief Xu."

Liu Kai held up his phone and said, "I couldn't get through to your phone. Director Yi asked me to remind you to call back."

"Okay, thanks for reminding me."

Xu Ying realized she had left her phone at the shelter and pushed open the farm gate to head towards it.

Before leaving, he reminded Liu Kai to plant trees diligently and not to slack off.

After all, we still owe two thousand trees.

Liu Kai now comes to Xu Ying's place to "pay back his debts" whenever he has free time or after getting off work at 4:30 pm every day.

Liu Kai felt like he wanted to smash his head against a poplar tree and die.

Xu Ying noticed that Director Yi had called ten times in a row, so it must be something urgent.

She quickly called Director Yi back.

"Director Yi, what happened? Is there a small animal that needs emergency rescue?"

Xu Ying found it strange that if it were this urgent, Liu Kai would have told her directly.

"Station Chief Xu, it's like this. I received a notice from my superiors that the Xizhou Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Xuelang Video are collaborating to produce an S-level variety show called 'Rules of Survival in the Desert,' and they will invite celebrities to come to our desertification control area to film the variety show."

Director Yi asked in a consultative tone, "The organization here is sending you to participate in this variety show as a guest. Would you be willing?"

"Huh? On a variety show?"

Xu Ying was taken aback.

Xuelang Video is one of the major mainstream video platforms in China, with over 100 million daily active users. It has produced several nationally popular variety shows and has a particularly generous budget for them, which can make the filming locations of the shows popular.

Xu Ying frowned.

She felt a little unsure if she were recording a variety show with celebrities.

The S-level big-budget variety shows produced by Xuelang Video all feature first- and second-tier celebrities.

Among these celebrities are many with connections, hype-mongering types, or troublemakers... all sorts of eccentric characters. Xu Ying doesn't have many connections in the entertainment industry. She's heard that some celebrities say one thing to the camera during filming and another behind the scenes...

Although the pay for variety show appearances should be quite substantial, she is living a fulfilling life now and has no need to make herself unhappy.

Seeing Xu Ying hesitate, Director Yi continued, "Considering that this variety show will encounter many unexpected situations while filming in the desert, the production team will offer you the maximum fee of 60 yuan per episode, with each episode taking two days to film. In addition, there will be advertising revenue and membership fee sharing, because you are quite famous online now."

"The latter two items are the big ones. Judging from the program's sponsorship situation, if the variety show is popular and has high ratings, you can expect to earn seven figures in total, with a minimum of one million. If the program's ratings are good, it's not impossible to double or triple that."

"Take the young master?!"

Xu Ying was stunned, her heart pounding wildly.

Then again.

Although we're living a pretty comfortable life now, this is a seven-figure pie.

"In addition, you can also pay appearance fees for the animals at your rescue station. You'll get 20,000 yuan per animal, plus various additional expenses such as food, medical care, and insurance. It will all be clearly stated in the contract."

"It's just a fee for their appearance; they're not forced to do anything."

When the topic of small animals in the desert came up, Xu Ying immediately became serious.

Xu Ying became worried: "Will the production team guarantee that they will not harm the animals or force them to participate in the filming activities?"

Director Yi replied earnestly, "Don't worry, we prioritize the ecological environment. We have already discussed various terms and conditions with the program team, and they will be held responsible for any breach of contract."

"Our main purpose in undertaking this variety show filming is to generate buzz and revenue for the desertification control area, and to earn more funds to improve the desert ecological environment." Xu Ying was very interested after hearing what Director Yi said.

The two then exchanged some details about the show "Rules of Survival in the Desert".

After confirming that everything was correct, Xu Ying said:

"Okay, I'll go back and inform the small animals in the desert. If they don't want to appear on camera, I'll ask them to avoid the filming locations once the shooting route for the show is finalized."

Director Yi highly appreciated Xu Ying's caution: "Good, I'm relieved to have you issue the notification. We were actually worried that the production crew might disturb wild animals they encountered on the way."

"In about a week, the production team will contact us to sign a contract, and the list of celebrity guests will be released at that time."

"I'm letting you know in advance."

--"OK!"

After Xu Ying hung up the phone, five little foxes had already surrounded her feet.

The conversation between Xu Ying and Director Yi was very long and contained a lot of information, which the little foxes couldn't understand.

[Sister, sister, what are variety shows?]

[I heard that small animals get appearance fees! Do I get one too?]
The curious little fennec foxes squeaked, bombarding the questioner with one one after another.

Xu Ying patiently explained to them what a variety show is.

The fox cubs were overjoyed to hear this! [We can earn money to buy ourselves milk powder!]

"Yes!"

Xu Ying cupped the fennec fox's little face and squished it.

However, she then gave the fox cubs a preventative shot.

"A production crew has hundreds of people. It's impossible for everyone to be kind and easy to get along with. You need to be wary of strangers, understand?"

"We'll look out for each other if anything happens."

The fox cubs immediately nodded their heads like chicks pecking at rice, patting their chests in response: "We only stick close to our sister!"

The eldest fox then demonstrated the responsibility of an elder brother. [Don't worry, stationmaster, I will protect my four younger siblings!]
"But if you encounter anything you don't like, just hide away in the little sand cat's den and ignore it."

Xu Ying instructed, "Don't push yourself, understand?"

The little fennec foxes all nodded in unison.

Fox Xiao Wu said in a serious tone: [Wow, we can act like divas! Refuse to act!]
Xu Ying was amused by Hu Xiaowu's words, "Yes! Baby learns so fast!"

Xu Ying then asked the bird messenger, Grey Drongo, to help spread the word that a program crew was coming to the desert to film, and that when they saw the recording studio vehicles and various machines, they shouldn't be afraid.

As the sun sets, it bathes Xu Ying's modern indoor farm in a golden-red glow.

She bent down and walked among the vegetable patches, deftly plucking a handful of tender green spinach and picking a few plump tomatoes.

The plant workshop was filled with a humid and warm atmosphere, which contrasted sharply with the desolate Gobi Desert outside.

"rustle."

A soft rustling sound suddenly came from the edge of the vegetable patch.

Five fluffy little fennec foxes lined up and squeezed in, their big ears twitching alertly.

[Big brother, fourth brother, how many times have I told you? You can't steal your sister's tomatoes!]
Fox Erniu used his paws to hold down Fox Sibao, who was about to pounce on the tomato.