Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 947 The Big Band Reunites

After hearing Luo Suping's words, Bian Lan felt a little uneasy.

After thinking for a moment, she slowly said, "Ultimately, the reason I have the confidence to want to go out now is because of your help in the beginning, Mom, and then it's because of the help Xiaolang has given me this past year. So I'm thinking that if I'm going to go out this time, I must make a name for myself, the kind of person who can help Xiaolang in the future..."

At your age, you really don't need to worry about us so much. Xiaolang and I have plenty of money now..."

Of course, Luo Suping was thinking about enduring more hardship for her children. Before Bian Lang's future was uncertain, she thought about enduring more hardship so that Nan Feiyan would eventually be handed over to Bian Lan. She thought it would be good to give Bian Lang half of the stock and dividends and live a carefree life.

Unexpectedly, her youngest son, whom she had given up on, has now become someone she can't help even if she wants to. He's always dealing with things that she can only watch helplessly, which makes her, as his mother, feel terrible.

However, she wouldn't say it outright: "What age am I? Retirement has been delayed now, so this is exactly the age for me to start my career."

"You must be at the age where you're prone to getting into trouble!" After chatting for a while, Bian Lan finally found a rebuttal.

Bian's mother didn't argue with her about the joke. She just said what she had thought of last night: "I'm fine physically and mentally, but you know I'm just a vocational school graduate. How can my education and learning ability compare to those of you college students?"

I was thinking, I'll test the waters this time. If Mr. Yao can find a partner skilled in business management, it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to give up this part..."

Bian Lan hadn't expected Luo Suping to consider a career path as a professional manager or a marketing management company, or rather, to be willing to accept it. After all, for many self-made people of this generation, the family business and its continuation are still quite important.

However, Luo Suping's behavior gives the impression of being quite up-to-date with the times; in internet slang, she's like a parent who doesn't spoil the fun.

On the contrary, Bian Lan, the young man, clearly thought more deeply about this issue: "Mom, it's not that simple. If our family's flavor, and the recipes Xiao Lang gave us, were to leak out during this process, then..."

“What you said is indeed a problem. Look at those two brothers’ Qiaoxiangyuan restaurant; after they sold it to people from other provinces, the taste is simply awful… If it’s a partner like that, I’d rather not go out and take it a little slower. But if I just want to help your brother, then it’ll have to be…”

Having discussed these points, the mother and daughter had essentially clarified their thoughts and bottom lines, and now they knew exactly how to interact with Lao Yao.

Although Lao Yao had drunk too much last night, he still arrived at Nanfeiyan on time. After finishing a bowl of Nanfeiyan's carefully prepared Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles soup, he felt as if he had instantly come back to life.

After a few words of remark, President Yao finally said seriously, "President Luo, even if we can't reach an agreement on a major collaboration, I'll just personally fund you to open a directly operated store in Shanghai..."

Luo Suping is well aware of her family's unique flavor and commitment to its traditions: "Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Yao. There's a significant reason why Yunnan cuisine doesn't easily expand beyond its home province: the flavor just doesn't match. So, if the taste can't be guaranteed, we'd rather not go abroad..."

They're all seasoned veterans; they can basically understand what the other person means without them having to say it explicitly.

So during the rest of the meal, Nan Feiyan mostly chatted casually, but Lao Yao directly pointed out Bian Bianlan's concerns: "You can't keep the recipe secret. Putting aside the issue of employee loyalty, if someone really wants to imitate it, they can just have a professional come to your place for a few drinks and come up with something that's pretty close to the original."

Milk tea isn't like your Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles, where you have to judge not only the ingredients but also the cooking time. The barrier to entry for milk tea is much lower. If you don't get ahead of the curve, someone else will copy it and pour huge sums of money into it, and then you'll be in trouble!

Bian Lan had considered this, but she thought, "There should be a development cycle for me, right?"

"If, and I mean if, you weren't Bian Lang's older sister, then you could indeed keep a low profile for a while. But given Bian Lang's current influence in China, how long do you think you could keep a low profile?"

Bian Lan hadn't really thought about this matter seriously, but after hearing this, she understood that it was indeed as Lao Yao had said, an urgent matter.

She believed that the formula and concept Bian Lang gave her were enough to secure a place in the market. If someone were to copy it and gain a nationwide advantage, she would have nowhere to turn to cry.

More importantly, it's embarrassing!

There are countless examples like this on Earth. The story of Ba Wang and Cha Yan is unclear, but Qilin Da Kou Cha and Yan Qilin, who is now Cha Qian Yan, are living examples.

They all came from Baoshan and were supposedly business partners, but then they fell out and came to Kunming to start the Qilin Big Mouth Tea dispute!
Although Yan Qilin ultimately lost the lawsuit and had to change his name to Cha Qianyan, by then they already had over a thousand franchise stores nationwide, but Qilin hadn't yet expanded beyond Southwest China.

Therefore, Bian Lan doesn't need to overthink this decision; she only needs to consider her future path. If she truly wants to grow and become stronger, then even if she doesn't cooperate with President Yao, she will definitely need to find someone else to cooperate with in the near future.

So after thinking for half a minute, she said directly, "Then please share your insights, Mr. Yao..."

……

Rewinding to a slightly earlier time at the Rolling Stone Music Industry Park, the lineup for the recording of "The Big Band" reunited to begin rehearsals.

Although they knew Bian Lang wouldn't be there and it was raining, neither the band nor the fans who came to visit were unhappy at all; on the contrary, they were even more enthusiastic.

A rare moment of clarity for Li Hao, who stood at the entrance of the Summer of Music venue, smoking a cigarette and sighing, "How should I put it? It feels like everyone is putting in a lot of effort, wanting to use their own strength to protect rock music!"

Wearing sunglasses, Tian Yuan said in his usual indifferent tone, "Just like that song Bian Lang gave us, right?"

Have you made a decision yet?

"Let's sing it, we'll sing that one for the last episode. Bian Lang has helped us so much, helped Chinese rock so much, now it's our turn to contribute..." Tian Yuan exhaled a puff of smoke into the rain...

As for the other Rolling Stones bands, they're all being bombarded with questions, mainly about Bianlang and the Rolling Stones' situation in Europe, especially the last show. The Bilibili channel is slowly updating the videos song by song, and it's still not finished.

For music fans, it's infuriating, but the high-definition official videos are undeniably appealing. Bilibili, on the other hand, has become like a web novelist whose updates are constantly being followed by fans—it's certainly received its share of criticism, but its user engagement is incredibly strong. But for those with connections who get to participate in "The Big Band" and have the opportunity to see the Rock Records' internal version, why bother waiting for updates?
Having been lectured, Goat is now too afraid to speak out of turn, so the task of making public statements has fallen entirely on the shoulders of his elder brother, Kong Liang: "How should I put it? If we're talking about another band like this in China, I feel like we'll have to wait for the next wave. I'm not exaggerating, the level of love that foreigners have for the Rolling Stones is far more genuine than that of those warriors at domestic music festivals."

Old Zhao wanted to ask Kong Liang something several times, but ultimately held back. He figured that if he used his connections, Bian Lang would probably agree to be a guest performer for Rolling Stones. However, considering Rolling Stones' current international standing, he lost confidence in himself.

But when it came to opening for the Rolling Stones, he felt a little embarrassed: "By the way, how are things going with the big winds this time?"

"Not bad. Da Feng had participated in European music festivals before, and this time he went on a tour with Rolling Stones. If it weren't for Green Algae and the others coming back to cooperate with the formation of 'The Big Band,' their joint tour would have already started."

After hearing Kong Liang's detailed account, Old Zhao was genuinely envious: "Damn! Da Feng is so lucky. If he had come to Chuncheng with Old Pan back then, wouldn't he have been..."

Kong Liang didn't know how to respond to this, after all, he was a generation younger than Lao Zhao. But someone behind him started to tease Lao Zhao: "Lao Zhao, can you be a little more ambitious? It's not shameful to sing the opening act for Rolling Stones abroad. If you don't want to try, then No. 1 Anxiang Road will have to take your place!"

Who else could it be but Qiu Long, the guitarist from No. 1 Anxiang Road, who spoke?
Upon hearing this, Old Zhao was furious: "Do you think you're Liu Piku? You only have a few people who can sing some kind of opening act!"

Qiu Long was obviously joking to provoke him, so he dared to say whatever he wanted: "What's wrong with that? If there's no lead singer, we'll just play instruments. It's not like it's in China. Even if we don't sing for the opening act, those people can still get the party going!"

That's absolutely true, otherwise what would those post-rock bands do? It's just that Qiu Long's joke later really came true.

Old Zhao knew he couldn't win an argument with Qiu Long on this issue, but after realizing that this person shouldn't be here, he changed the subject: "No, what are you doing here? As a professional music fan?" This was the only possibility Old Zhao could think of. Without Bianlang's quirky style, he wouldn't be able to attract these top-tier musicians in the industry to come and watch.

"Lao Tian and Xiao Fan are both here. We're recording a double band performance for the opening of the finals, and we're doing it with Rolling Stones." Qiu Long didn't keep them in suspense and told Lao Zhao the answer directly. When Liu Yao approached them, the brothers agreed almost without hesitation. After seeing the song Bian Lang gave them, they were even more determined to come!

The original singer released this song, so it's definitely worth it!

Old Zhao, feigning resentment, shouted, "Why are you the guest performers, while we're just a competing band?"

"Then why don't you guys stop competing and give us your current rankings? We really want to compete, but it'll have to be next season. It would be so much better if we could face Bian Lang then!"

Hearing Qiu Long say that, Old Zhao laughed: "That's great, we're your seniors now. By the way, what are you singing?"

"Bian Lang's new song is amazing! Sometimes I feel like Bian Lang is from our generation, how can he write so many great songs at such a young age?"

Old Zhao couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "Bian Lang, you could say he's a late bloomer, right? You guys should think about it carefully. In our industry, who didn't have their peak work before the age of 30? Even if you held a gun to my head now, I probably couldn't write the kind of anger I had when I was young!"

"That's true, but anyway, we're really grateful to him. If it weren't for him, the rest of us and Ah Yao probably would never have reconciled in this lifetime. Let alone be able to get back together and play in a band on stage..."

This isn't just something Lao Zhao agrees with; everyone in the rock scene has to admit it: "Let alone you guys, if it weren't for Bian Lang, we'd probably still be holding a grudge against Liu Piku! It's pointless to think about it now, those things from back then..."

"Old Zhao, if you feel sorry for me, you can kowtow to me right now!" Liu Yao's voice came from not far away at this moment.

Without even thinking, Old Zhao blurted out, "Get out of here! Hurry up and go to the shed. We want to hear what kind of divine song Bian Lang gave you!"

Although I haven't heard it yet, Lao Zhao knows this song is definitely not simple, just from the fact that it's going to be the opening act for the finals, and that No. 1 Anxiang Road will be singing it. Just think about what kind of amazing song "No Place to Hide" that Liu Piku went to so much trouble to get the cover rights to?
Moreover, putting all that aside, given the musical talent of these people at No. 1 Anxiang Road, they might not be willing to come even if you offered them money, especially for ordinary things.

After hearing this, Liu Yao waved and laughed, "Let's go, let's go in! But to be honest, I don't think this recording will be broadcast, so everyone should be prepared!" This was obviously meant for the band's older members.

They had all received the lyrics beforehand, so they weren't surprised at all by Liu Yao's judgment.

They were all mentally prepared, so Qiu Long stated directly: "We thought of that a long time ago. If we cared about this, we wouldn't have come!"

Hearing this, Old Zhao became even more interested: "What song is this? It's even better than that song Bian Lang sang that got banned..."

"You'll understand when you hear it..."

Without saying much, the group led Lao Zhao and the others directly to the rehearsal room.

Even though Lao Zhao was somewhat prepared, he still couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap!" when he heard the first verse.

"The minimum wage is delivered to the factory, and drizzle falls outside the window."

A stealthy bullet pierced through the void and embedded itself in the chest.
Children, armed with razors, rushed into the street.

Just to find myself, and then kill myself…

Then, playing Fan's chorus, he immediately got Lao Zhao into the zone:

"This is you, a perfect life, tragic yet real."

Like a fragment, like a broken sword

Like a crying fist…

(End of this chapter)