Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3016 Red Star Album is a Hit in Hong Kong
Yang Youning's words plunged the office into an eerie atmosphere.

After looking at Yang Youning for a while, Yang Xiaotao took a deep breath and said, "Old Yang, I know I'm tone-deaf, but you don't have to be so sarcastic."

"You need me to sing?"

"Xiaoxue, come here."

Yang Youning and Yu Jun were baffled. They had come excitedly to help the Ninth Division solve its problems and promote its culture, so why were they criticizing Yang Xiaotao?

Even if you gave them ten times the courage, they'd have to think twice.

Yang Youning and Yang Xiaotao have a good relationship. They joke around and have nothing to do with each other, but they never dare to be careless when it comes to serious matters.

Just then, Liu Lixue laughed from behind, "Minister Yang, please don't say that. It's better if I, with my half-baked skills, don't get involved."

Yang Youning felt a bit overwhelmed by what Liu Lixue said.

When did Liu Lixue become a half-baked expert?

While this person's singing ability might not be the best among the nine, it's certainly not bad.

At least in his memory, there were few people in the performing arts troupe who sang better than her.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen her as the lead singer for the performance.

Moreover, this person from the Ninth Radio Station is a frequent visitor, often singing a song like "Sending You a Little Heart" or "I Am a Little Grass That No One Knows," which have long been popular hits.

She sang them all.

If now they say she's not qualified to sing, then who is?
Yang Youning looked back at Liu Lixue, then turned to look at Yang Xiaotao, before walking over and sitting down.

Yu Jun's head was buzzing. He felt like he had been tricked by Yang Youning, but he could only sit down next to Yang Youning.

"I said, what exactly are you doing?"

"If there are any conflicts, resolve them behind closed doors. We're all family here, why make such a fuss?"

Yang Youning figured out what was going on; Yang Xiaotao must have talked to Liu Lixue, but Liu Lixue wasn't one to back down either, and the two were probably arguing.

Yu Jun looked at the three people in the room, one man and two women, and suddenly wondered if he had overheard something he shouldn't have. He quickly shook off the image that was flashing through his mind and sat there seriously.

Seeing Yang Youning's expression, Yang Xiaotao realized that he might have been overthinking things.

"Old Yang, what's up?"

With a light cough, Yang Xiaotao forcibly changed the subject, and Liu Lixue quickly sat down as well.

Yang Youning's words reminded her of the dream she had that night in Dengzhou.

Yang Youning stopped beating around the bush and directly stated his plans.

This surprised Yang Xiaotao.

He conceived the idea of ​​using cassette tapes to open up the market for tape recorders, but he was thinking more about leveraging Hong Kong's entertainment industry to achieve the same goal.

They forgot about their own family's affairs.

However, considering the current prevailing sentiment, Yang Xiaotao hesitated again.

Would a song like this be effective in Hong Kong?
Just as Yang Xiaotao was deep in thought, Yang Youning said again, "So I discussed it with Commander Yu."

"We plan to release two sets of tracks, make them into cassette tapes, and let our comrades choose."

We will support whichever group the people prefer.

As Yang Youning said this, Yu Jun, who was standing next to him, quickly relayed what they had discussed on the way there.

"Director Yang, I discussed it with you and we think that your songs could definitely be released on a separate cassette tape."

"We can find professional singers to record it, and then release the tape to the Hong Kong market. I believe it will be well received by everyone."

After Yu Jun finished speaking, Yang Youning continued, "Commander Yang, I came here with Regiment Commander Yu for this very reason."

“We’ve counted them up right now. You’ve composed a total of six songs, and adding the last one, ‘Red Sun,’ that makes seven. You should have at least ten songs by now.”

"So, take a look at the remaining three poems, and find some time to compose one, how about that?"

After Yang Youning finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao almost slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Old Yang, what do you take me for?"

"Three songs?"

"Look how busy I am, do I even have time to write a song for you?"

Yang Xiaotao looked reluctant, but Yang Youning just sat there leisurely with his legs crossed. "Minister Yang, this isn't about writing a song for me. It's for our Ninth Department and for the cultural export of our country."

"You need to think positively, think about it from a higher perspective, think about it from a higher level."

"Stop, stop, stop lecturing me. I know what I'm doing."

Yang Xiaotao interrupted Yang Youning's rambling, saying that he only had one main point to make and didn't have time.

Just as Yang Xiaotao and Yang Youning were struggling, Lou Xiao'e suddenly counted on her fingers, then looked up and said, "Director Yang, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

Lou Xiao'e suddenly spoke, and everyone else in the room looked over.

Then Lou Xiao'e pointed with her fingers and said, "Director Yang, Director Yang has composed more than seven songs."

Let me count them for you.

"The first one is 'Sons and Daughters of China,' the song that goes, 'Undeterred by wind and snow, the sons and daughters of China shed blood but not tears, never regretting, displaying their divine might upon entering China!'"

"The second one is 'We are walking on the main road,' which I heard when I was in the courtyard house."

"Then there's 'Sunshine Always Comes After the Storm,' 'Soaring Ambition,' 'Little Grass,' 'Sending You a Little Heart,' 'Ten Red Army Soldiers Sent Off,' and this time, 'Red Sun.'"

"If you count them that way, it should be eight poems already, so Director Yang only needs to compose two more."

Lou Xiao'e spoke with certainty, but in Yang Xiaotao's view, what was the difference between these two and the three?
"Alright, alright, stop talking."

Yang Xiaotao waved his hand, and Lou Xiao'e sat down with a pout.

Liu Lixue was surprised that Lou Xiao'e remembered it so clearly.

But what surprised her even more was that, without her noticing, Yang had actually composed so many songs?
This was under the condition that the other party was unwilling. If Yang were as enthusiastic as he was when designing machinery, how many songs would he have created?

Yang Youning hadn't expected that he had missed one song, but it didn't matter, since he would have to trouble Yang Xiaotao anyway.

At this moment, Yang Youning was like an old fisherman, very steady.

Silence fell over the room once again.

Yang Xiaotao looked at Yang Youning, then at the uneasy Yu Jun beside him, and then back at Yang Youning.

After thinking it over, I realized that Yang Youning's words made sense.

Moreover, this matter is also beneficial to the Ninth Department. It's possible that, just as he said, they might actually carry out a wave of cultural export.

But the more you make this song, the harder it is to explain.

After a moment's thought, Yang Xiaotao said, "Okay. But there's one condition."

"No information about me can appear on this tape."

Seeing the determination in Yang Xiaotao's words, Yang Youning knew that going too far was counterproductive.

Moreover, he wasn't certain that it would succeed before the results came out.

What if nobody likes these songs?
Isn't that a slap in the face?

"Okay, Director Yang, please hurry."

"Our performing arts troupe will start looking for people to record songs today."

Yang Youning stood up and smiled. Yang Xiaotao nodded, "I'll send it to you tomorrow."

"Okay, then we'll try to get it done within three days and let you hear it then."

Yang Youning laughed heartily, then left with Yu Jun.

After the two left, Liu Lixue immediately asked with great interest, "Director Yang, what song do you want to write?"

"Was it already written a long time ago?"

Lou Xiao'e also looked expectant.

Yang Xiaotao pulled a piece of paper from the drawer and casually wrote five words on it: "Only by striving can you win!"
As evening fell, Liu Lixue looked at the three sheets of paper, then at Yang Xiaotao, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Although the guy in front of me is tone-deaf, his creative talent is absolutely top-notch.

There were three sheets of paper, one of which was the previous song 'Red Sun', but Yang Xiaotao indicated that he would sing it in Cantonese.

The remaining two cards are "No pain, no gain" and "The sound of the waves remains the same".
Although the last song is somewhat 'different', and the line 'Can this old ticket board your passenger ship?' is interpreted in some 'disagreements', it is undeniably a classic.

"Minister Yang, it's still early, would you like to sing another poem?"

Liu Lixue placed the three pieces of paper behind her back with a smile on her face.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaotao immediately got up and headed out the door, leaving Liu Lixue speechless.

What a waste of someone with such musical talent! Experience has shown that when resources are plentiful and motivation is high, task completion efficiency is absolutely at its peak.

Yang Youning's claim that it would be completed within three days is no exaggeration.

The Ninth Division's cultural troupe has many talented singers, and everyone likes to sing Yang Xiaotao's songs regularly.

When performing outside, I will almost always sing it once.

Especially the song "Ten Send-Offs to the Red Army" is a must-play.

Of course, Yang Xiaotao's last three songs were quite challenging, requiring the selection of new performers and adjustments to the music.

But as the saying goes, many hands make light work.

With the backing of the Ninth Department, the Jiubu Art Troupe could easily find the most suitable people.

Moreover, those artists also like to join the Ninth Department, not for any other reason than for a kind of 'security'.

Three days later, a plastic box containing a cassette tape appeared on Yang Xiaotao's desk.

Yang Youning had a smile on his face, followed by Yu Jun and several key members of the cultural troupe.

Zhang Qing was among them.

Zhang Qing is the lead singer of the song "Little Grass".

Yang Xiaotao looked at the cassette tape. Besides the songs, it listed the singers, with no other markings. This suited his taste perfectly.

He looked at the packaging again and then said, "This is too simple. Make the lyrics into a small booklet and put it in, so that listeners can sing along."

Yang Youning's eyes lit up, and then he nodded, "That's a good idea."

"By the way, Director Yang, we're planning to call this album the 'Red Star Album,' what do you think?"

Yang Xiaotao glanced at Yang Youning; such a cringeworthy name must have been his own creation.

Then, seeing the embarrassment on Yu Jun and the others' faces, he became even more certain.

"Do as you please, I don't care."

After saying that, Liu Lixue picked up the cassette tape and left the office.

Yang Xiaotao then looked at Yu Jun, Zhang Qing, and the others, saying, "I want to give you a heads-up."

"You need to maintain a good attitude towards the fame this song has brought you. Don't get carried away just because you've become famous, especially now. Think before you speak or do anything."

"Also, keep a normal mindset, don't have any crooked thoughts, and don't have a sense of superiority."

"It's best not to say anything; that way, there will be less trouble."

Do you understand what I'm saying?

After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement.

Yang Youning had already warned them once: once they became famous, they would inevitably enter the public eye, and their every word and action would be under scrutiny.

Now, Yang Xiaotao is giving them another reminder, making them realize that the situation they will face in the future may be more complicated than they thought.

"Understood, Commander Yang!"

Yu Jun was the first to express that they were already very fortunate to have joined the Ninth Division, and they dared not have any improper thoughts.

The other lead singers and core members also nodded in agreement.

After saying a few more words, Yang Xiaotao left Zhang Qing behind while the others departed.

"Xiaoqing, you should tell your aunt about this yourself."

"Also, don't leave the Ninth Division anytime soon!"

Zhang Qing nodded. "Cousin, I know. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble."

Yang Xiaotao waved his hand, "There's no need to be nervous. Like I said, just take it easy."

"besides."

"Your sister-in-law invites you to her house for dinner and wants to talk about education. The performing arts troupe is a good place, but for future development, it's better to go to your sister-in-law's place."

"You make the decisions yourself; your sister-in-law and I are just offering suggestions."

Zhang Qing bit her lip and finally nodded.

After Zhang Qing left, Liu Lixue's voice came over the headquarters' loudspeaker, "Comrades, please listen to the songs from the Red Star album."

Then, the first song, "Little Grass," appeared in the sky above the headquarters.

Zhang Qing's voice was even lighter and more pleasant to the ear.

Even Liu Lixue felt a pang of regret after hearing Yang Xiaotao's words, agreeing with him.

How can your side hustle compare to someone else's profession?

Time flies, and it's already mid-February.

As the 'Red Star Album' continued to be played, the songs on the cassette tape spread rapidly.

Along with the Red Star album, the Yanwu brand tape recorder also became famous.

The two sides complement each other, and their relationship is one where one plus one is greater than two.

The tape recorders that were urgently manufactured in Shanghai were snapped up by people in Beijing and Shanghai before they were even delivered to foreign trade companies.

Some people even reached out to Lao Jin through connections, and then transferred the information to the Ninth Department.

To Yang Xiaotao's surprise, Tang Mingyue actually came to the courtyard house in person and packed up the tape recorder that Yang Xiaotao had brought back and took it away.

This caught Yang Xiaotao completely off guard.

Then other departments also started to have their eyes on the tape recorder.

Seeing that things were not going well, Li Rong called Yang Xiaotao and said that they could not move the number of units to 10,000 and they had to quickly invest in Hong Kong.

Otherwise, given this trend, no matter how much we produce, it won't be enough to supply the domestic market.

So, with Yang Xiaotao's intervention, Li Rong sent people to bring a thousand tape recorders and tens of thousands of cassette tapes into the Hong Kong market.

February 14th, Valentine's Day.

On that very day, following instructions, Li San placed the Yanwu brand tape recorder on the shelf of Huimin Store.

In addition, a tape recorder was placed at the entrance of all of its properties, and the Red Star album was played on a loop.

At the same time, Li San also specially took out one hundred units to send to his old customers. These old customers were all prominent and influential people who were particularly fond of such novel items that represented their status.

Driven by these people, the songs on the Red Star album seemed to be on an infinite loop, sung over and over again.

Edson College, a prestigious private school.

Fatty Nan got out of the car. Now that his family finally owned a Velociraptor, no one dared to honk at them in front of the school anymore.

However, today, after getting off the bus south, Fatty was carrying a long box on his shoulder, a rather futuristic-looking long box.

Everyone knew that Fatty Nan often had good stuff, so they all went up to ask him about it.

Fatty Nan, however, patted the tape recorder on his shoulder and began to introduce it with great pride. Everyone became even more curious when they heard that this was a good thing from the north.

When Fatty Nan saw Helen walk into the school gate, he immediately rushed over and said with a smile, "Helen, I have something good for you."

Helen saw Fatty Nan and laughed, "Is it a tape recorder?"

Fatty Nan scratched his head after hearing this, "Helen, you already know?"

Helen nodded, then took a small box out of her schoolbag, inside which was a Red Star cassette tape.

"I brought it from home, but unfortunately Daddy wouldn't let me bring the tape recorder. He said it was for use at the dance."

"It's okay, I have some here."

The two then walked into the classroom and turned on the tape recorder.

Then, amidst the curious gazes of a group of students, he began to operate the device.

A moment later, a sound appeared, followed by silence.

Night falls.

Li San used a satellite phone to call Li Rong, with only one purpose: to ask for a tape recorder and a cassette tape.

Because of this day, tape recorders really became popular.

The price was not high to begin with, and ordinary Hong Kong residents could afford it. In addition, in an era of popular entertainment, some companies purchased it in large quantities.

After Li Rong hung up the phone, she was still a little dazed sitting in her office.

It exploded?
Then he immediately picked up the phone and called Department Nine.

He had a feeling that this thing might become as popular as video game consoles in Hong Kong and around the world.