Read Novel Full Chapter 150 Part 1 – Exposing Their True Faces to the Entire Country (I)
Chapter 150 Part 1 – Exposing Their True Faces to the Entire Country (I)
One week later, the latest issue of Film & Entertainment magazine hit the shelves.
Film & Entertainment was the best-selling entertainment magazine under the Rong family’s publishing group. Ever since Rong Xin started its own entertainment company, the magazine and the business had been working hand-in-hand, keeping the magazine firmly in the number one spot among its competitors.
This particular issue featured a hugely popular celebrity on the cover and in the main interview, driving sales up by an additional 20% over the usual numbers.
Mao Zhishan’s interview was buried near the back. While he wasn’t a top-tier star, he was still a familiar face, enough for readers flipping through to pause and glance.
His remarkable life story piqued the curiosity of more than a few.
Born in a remote mountain village, with only a primary school education, he’d been bullied for years because of his unusually delicate looks. He and his wife had three daughters, but faced harsh oppression from a family steeped in son-preference ideology.
It wasn’t until his eldest daughter was nearly sold off that he finally found the courage to flee with his entire family. At forty, a “late” age by industry standards, he was discovered by a talent scout in Yan City and began his acting career. While not a household name yet, many viewers still recognized his roles.
People loved a good grassroots comeback story.
At the end of the interview, he proudly mentioned his three daughters, who were all thriving now. He expressed how grateful he was for risking everything back then.
Now that he had the means, he hoped to help more girls like his daughters, those who had been denied education by entrenched patriarchal norms.
The interview was well written. But in this era where print still dominated, the reach of this magazine interview was limited. At first, it barely caused a ripple.
A few small tabloids ran brief stories about actor Mao Zhishan funding education for girls in impoverished areas, easily overlooked if you weren’t paying attention.
Ironically, it was a quirky social story in a local evening paper that caught more public attention:
“Shameless Family Vanishes After Taking Daughter’s Bride Price—Elderly Mother Left to Face Fallout Alone; Brother Jailed as Collateral Damage, Destitution Follows.”
The article mirrored Old Lady Mao’s words and judgments about Mao Zhishan’s family nearly word for word. Readers were outraged, cursing the so-called “selfish and shameless” second son’s family who fled with the money.
But after venting their anger, most dismissed it. After all, dramatic family stories filled the papers every day, and this was just one of the many.
That is, until two days later, when that very anecdote and Mao Zhishan’s magazine interview were both featured side-by-side in a full-page gossip spread in an entertainment newspaper.
The headline was sensational: “Is Actor Mao Zhishan a Fugitive Criminal?”
The article meticulously compared the content of Mao Zhishan’s interview and the claims made by the elderly mother in the anecdote. Filtering out emotional bias and analyzing the facts, it pointed out that: Mao Zhishan was the second son in his family, he fled his hometown four years ago, he had three daughters, and he was from Mingxi County.
Everything lined up.
The conclusion: Mao Zhishan and his family were the very same selfish scoundrels from the now-viral story, people who had brought ruin to their own family members.
With celebrity status now mixed with ethical scandal, the story exploded. The public was abuzz.
Entertainment and social journalists alike caught the scent of a big scoop. Those quickest to react set off for Mingxi County immediately.
The people of Mingxi caught wind of it too. The whole county erupted.
The once-mocked, constantly scolded Second Mao who’d always been berated by his own mother had turned out to be a big star after missing for a few years. People who’d once spoken to him, even worked with him, were suddenly thrilled, trying to recall every little interaction they’d had with him.
By the time reporters arrived, they realized there was far more to uncover than they had imagined.
For entertainment reporters, Mao Zhishan had left traces all over town in various labor jobs.
For news journalists, the Mao family represented a near-perfect preservation of regressive, patriarchal ideology, basically a gold mine of material with massive potential for in-depth investigative reporting.
The Mao family, too busy basking in their own excitement, still had no idea what the arrival of these reporters truly meant.
Old Lady Mao stared at the photo of the handsome, refined Mao Zhishan in the newspaper, her voice full of disbelief. “This is impossible. How could it be? That useless second child? Who’d want him on TV? Those TV people must be blind!”
“This world’s gone mad. Someone like Dawei, such a good kid, can’t make it on TV, and they let this piece of trash get famous?”
Her two sons, on the other hand, were visibly thrilled.
Third Mao said, “Mom, this really is your second son! Think he’s made a lot of money?”
The eldest added, “It must be a lot. Doesn’t it say right here? He’s planning to sponsor all the girls in our county to go to school. Imagine how much he had to make for that. At least a hundred thousand!”
The old lady, startled out of her shock, immediately began to curse, “I knew that jinx would do such a foolish thing one day! Got money and now doesn’t know where to spend it? Wants to fund those money-wasting girls to go to school? He’d better kill me first!”
Third Mao rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Mom, so what do we do? Should we go find him? Do we know where he is?”
Old Lady Mao raised her chin arrogantly. “Find him? Why should we? He should come back and pick us up!”
After being interviewed earlier, she had complete faith in reporters now, believing it was thanks to them that Mao Zhishan had been found so quickly.
And with that entertainment newspaper boldly claiming Mao Zhishan was a fugitive, her confidence only grew.
“I’m going to find that reporter again. Have them run another story to tell him to come back. If he doesn’t, I’ll report him. Let the police arrest him!”
“Then he can hand over all his money so Dawei and Daying can build a new house—no, make it two stories! Let’s see how long he can keep up this act!”
Thanks to Old Lady Mao, both the entertainment and news reporters got their hands on some truly outrageous content.
Especially the journalist investigating whether she had fabricated her story. Who would have expected her to basically self-destruct on the spot?
While reporters in Mingxi were scrambling, the promo for A Date with Shen Shi dropped: ‘Unveiling the mystery of Mao Zhishan’s past—Is he a fugitive who fled with stolen money, or a philanthropist devoted to girls’ education?’
That Friday, many people gathered around their TVs, waiting for answers.
At 7:40 PM sharp, A Date with Shen Shi began broadcasting.
Xia Wenyue, Xia Mian, even Ning Shaoyun and Aunt Wei were all seated in front of the TV at the Mao family home, watching together.
After a brief introduction, the host invited Mao Zhishan on stage. Dressed in a casual outfit, he stood tall and straight. His striking face, though marked with a few clear wrinkles, only made him appear more distinguished.
But it wasn’t until he began to speak that viewers realized that he was nothing like the cold, detached roles he played in dramas. He was a quiet, humble man of few words.
Fortunately, Shen Shi was an excellent host who knew exactly how to guide a conversation. With her help, Mao Zhishan appeared completely at ease.
After Mao Zhishan sat down, Shen Shi started by giving a brief introduction of his acting career and works, using the magazine interview as a reference to begin the conversation.
“Mr. Mao,” Shen Shi began, “you mentioned that you were discovered by a talent scout from Xinyue Company at the age of forty. That’s an incredibly rare opportunity. What was the turning point for you?”
Mao Zhishan answered honestly, “My appearance.”
Shen Shi guided him gently, “And what was your first reaction at the time?”
“I was terrified,” Mao Zhishan said. “It seems silly now, but back then, I was even scared to step outside and be seen by people.”
Shen Shi looked surprised. “Why?”
“Because for the first forty years of my life, my appearance wasn’t something people appreciated. It brought trouble even to my wife and daughters.”
Shen Shi was baffled. “How could that be? You have such natural advantages. Do you know how many people dream of looks like yours?”
“I only realized it could be seen as an advantage after I left my hometown.”
Mao Zhishan continued, “But the truth is, because of the way I look and the sound of my voice, I was mocked from childhood.”
“Especially by my mother. She detested me for it. So before I turned forty, I was deeply insecure.”
Back in Mingxi County, the eldest uncle commented in front of the TV, “Honestly, it wasn’t everyone else—it was mostly his mother. Who knows what was wrong with that old woman? She beat him and cursed him until he was too scared to even lift his head or speak.”
Xia Chuan added, “Insisting that her own son was bringing her bad luck!”
The eldest uncle snorted, “She’ll end up cursing herself into an early grave.”
Many viewers, like Shen Shi, found this hard to believe. Aunt Wei couldn’t help but mutter, “Telling others that Mr. Mao has run off with money was one thing, but how could anyone say that face of his isn’t handsome?”
On the screen, Shen Shi continued, “Since you were so afraid, what gave you the courage to start acting?”
“Money,” Mao Zhishan replied, again very frankly. “Our family of five fled with nothing. I wanted to make life easier for my wife and make sure my three daughters could go to school.”
“I heard acting paid well, so I decided to try.”
“You must be an incredible husband and father,” Shen Shi smiled. “And now you want to help girls from poor areas get an education—also because of your daughters?”
“Yes,” Mao Zhishan nodded. “A lot of families where I come from don’t let girls go to school because of traditional beliefs.”
“My family was the same. My wife and I did everything we could to get our daughters into school. I know how deeply girls long for the chance to learn. Now that I have the means, I want to do something for them.”
Shen Shi turned to the audience. “From what I know, Mr. Mao’s three daughters are all outstanding. Let’s take a look at some of their accomplishments.”
The screen first showed a photo of Mao Huimei. She was surrounded by a group of foreigners, holding a bright red contract folder, shaking hands with a man who looked like a government official.
Shen Shi looked amazed. “This is your eldest daughter, isn’t it? She works abroad?”
“She’s my eldest, yes, but she doesn’t work abroad.” The man, who had been modest and reserved up to now, lit up with pride when talking about his daughter. “Last year, to solve the problem of unsold fruit for the farmers on Jingyi Mountain, she started a juice factory that exports overseas.”
“That’s Three Sisters Beverage Factory. This photo was taken last year when she signed a contract abroad.”
Shen Shi exclaimed, “What an exceptional young woman.”
Mao Zhishan let out a sigh. “She suffered the most growing up with us.”
The screen then showed a photo of Mao Huilan, holding her college acceptance letter, her smile beaming.
“This is your second daughter?”
Mao Zhishan couldn’t suppress the joy on his face. “Yes, she just finished her college entrance exams this year. Her scores were pretty good—she received her admission letter just a few days ago.”
Next appeared a still from a TV drama: a little girl in historical costume played by Mao Huizhu.
Shen Shi said, “I know this one—Little Pearl! So the actress who played her is your youngest daughter?”
Mao Zhishan smiled, “Yes. She loves acting and says she wants to become an actress like me.”
Shen Shi turned to the audience. “So what kind of environment nearly buried the potential of these three outstanding girls?”
“Let’s take a look at the reality in the areas Mr. Mao hopes to support.”
Footage gathered by the reporters played on screen:
Several plainly dressed middle-aged and elderly people appeared one after another. When asked by reporters about sending girls to school, nearly all of them gave similar responses:
“What’s the point of girls studying? They’ll just get married anyway. It’s a waste of money!”
“Better they learn housework. Being capable and obedient is what matters.”
Most striking was an elderly woman shown last. When asked about her grandchildren, she proudly listed her grandsons—never mentioning a single granddaughter, as if they didn’t exist in the family at all.
When pressed by the reporter, she finally said of her granddaughters, “Started working at five or six years old.”
The reporter made sure to include an edited clip of her previous quote: “Had three useless girls. All money drains!”
The clip successfully aroused viewers’ anger.
Aunt Wei couldn’t comprehend it. “Wasn’t she born a girl too? Wasn’t she also considered a money drain?”
Xia Mian thought to herself, If this is a livestream with comment pop-ups, this old woman would be absolutely roasted!
Next, the camera cut to footage of several young girls—not much older than children—some carrying their younger siblings while doing laundry, others chopping firewood, and some working in the fields.
When the reporter asked them if they wanted to go to school, their eyes lit up with longing.
“I do!”
“Yes, I want to!”
The countless crisp voices saying “I want to” struck a deep chord in viewers’ hearts.
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