Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 638 "The Voice" Premieres

October 30, 2009, seemed like an ordinary day, but it was the day Huayi Brothers went public.

Because the Shenzhen Stock Exchange could not accommodate 28 listed companies to hold their opening ceremonies at the same time, the crowds attending the opening ceremonies had to move to the Shenzhen Wuzhou Hotel.

The chairmen of the listed companies were grouped into groups of seven and each group rang the ceremonial bell.

At 9:30 a.m., as soon as the bell rang, the huge electronic display screen announced the opening prices of each company listed on the ChiNext board.

At the same time, a chorus of exclamations erupted from the audience.

The 28 stocks opened with an average increase of 76.46%, with Huayi Brothers leading the pack at 122.74%, and a dynamic price-to-earnings ratio of 249.52.

Zhang Chen doesn't care about ringing the bell; he only cares about the stock price.

Huayi opened at 63.66 yuan, reached a high of 91.8 yuan, and finally closed at 70.8 yuan for the day.

In just four hours of trading, Huayi Brothers rapidly grew into a "large-cap company" with a total market value of over 4 billion yuan, equivalent to 50 Emperor Group companies, while Wang Zhongjun's personal net worth exceeded 33 billion yuan.

To the average person, this was just another piece of news, but it caused quite a stir within the industry.

They all saw their future in Huayi Brothers.

Especially Zhong Lifang!

The market's optimism towards media companies gave her hope for a bright future.

Huayi Brothers' IPO prospectus states that its net profit for the entire year of 2008 was 6806.45 million yuan.

With such poor performance, it still managed to reach a market value of tens of billions at the opening. What if it were Star Entertainment?
Doubling it would be an insult to Star Entertainment.

300 million?
400 million?
Still 500 billion?
Let's talk about the stocks they hold.

Previously, Zhang Chen acquired 1200 million shares from the Wang brothers at a price of 3 yuan per share, and he wanted to split them equally with Dong Jianqiang and Zhong Lifang.

Unfortunately, they didn't have enough money on hand.

In the end, Zhang Chen acquired 680 million shares, while Zhong Lifang and Dong Jianqiang together acquired 520 million shares.

Currently, Zhang Chen's 680 million shares are worth 4.81 million yuan, while Zhong Lifang and Dong Jianqiang's shares are worth 3.68 million yuan.

The shock of the three men suddenly becoming rich is unparalleled.

Even though Zhang Chen already had Jiahe in his hands, he never experienced the joy of turning 3 yuan into 70 yuan.

It's so unreal that it's hard to believe it's real!
Of course, it's only paper wealth right now and can't be cashed out yet; there's a freeze period.

Even just the paper wealth is exciting.

They're really raking in those protection fees.

The Wang brothers were forced to pay protection money, but in truth, they also benefited from it.

Initially, Huayi Brothers' issue price was 16 yuan, then it was adjusted to 30 yuan, and then adjusted to 60 yuan because of Zhang Chen's involvement, which is why it has a market value of 10 billion yuan.

Huayi Brothers' IPO was definitely a major event in the industry and was discussed for a long time.

Those celebrities who bought shares in Huayi Brothers all made a fortune, a phenomenon that became a popular topic of conversation, especially the Wang brothers, who from that moment on truly became big shots in the industry.

Although the stock surged dramatically on the opening day, it still couldn't escape the inherent laws of the stock market the next day, and Huayi's stock hit the daily limit down.

This is a normal phenomenon; investors need to calm down.

Then, someone suddenly leaked a list of Huayi Brothers' shareholders online.

Among Wang Zhongjun, Wang Zhonglei, and a host of celebrities, one name stands out—Zhang Chen.

People then discovered that Zhang Chen was actually the fourth largest individual shareholder of Huayi Brothers.

What's going on here?

What is Zhang Chen's relationship with Huayi Brothers, and why did he become Huayi Brothers' fourth largest shareholder?

Looking further ahead, not only Zhang Chen, but also two other senior executives of Star Entertainment are shareholders of Huayi Brothers.

Is Huayi Brothers now entangled with Star Entertainment?

Media outlets offered various speculations, but all interview requests were rejected without exception.

Star Entertainment doesn't seem to want to discuss this topic.

Anyone with a brain knows who leaked this information—it was the Wang brothers.

When the agreement was signed, he wasn't allowed to disclose anything, but as soon as the stock price hit its daily limit down, he immediately used his fame to save the day. That's something else.

There haven't been any really exciting topics on Weibo lately, but the buzz surrounding Huayi Brothers' IPO lasted for a whole week, until Friday.

The Voice of China will premiere at 8 PM on Friday.

A red velvet curtain slowly opened, revealing four silver and black swivel chairs lined up in a row. The names of the four guest teachers were affixed to the backs of the chairs: "Yehenara Ying", "Harlem", "Jay Chou", and "Jay Chou".

The first contestant came on stage with a guitar, and without any introduction or interaction, immediately started singing.

She sang "Lemon Tree".

Throughout the process, the audience could see the contestants, but the four mentors' chairs were always facing away from the stage, so the mentors could only listen with their ears.

The program uses this format to tell all viewers that, as advertised, it is 'searching for the best-sounding voices'.

The singing continued, the students' voices clear and bright, like musical notes floating in the air.

The four mentors closed their eyes and swayed their bodies to the rhythm of the melody. When the chorus came, Yehenara Ying suddenly opened her eyes and was the first to press the button on her swivel chair.

The mechanical sound of the chair spinning, mixed with the audience's gasps, instantly ignited the atmosphere.

Yehenala Ying's turn was like a signal, and three more mechanical voices rang out in succession. All four mentors actually turned around.

The first contestant was noticed by everyone, which was a great start!
"That voice! It's like it's been washed by a clear spring! I'm getting my hands on this person, and none of you can take it from me!"

Yehenala Ying praised the student enthusiastically and announced to the other three.

Harlem immediately chimed in, "Then why are you in such a hurry, sister? Everyone has already turned around; now it's their turn to choose us."

Then he immediately switched to a wolfish tone: "I really like your voice. Come to my team, let's try some different arrangements!"

Jacky Cheung, who plays the arrogant and domineering 'Fly' in the movie, is actually very refined in real life. He pushed up his glasses and said in a gentle voice, "Come to my team. I can help you hone your singing skills and take you into the recording studio to release a single that belongs to you."

Seeing that everyone else was scrambling for it, Jay Chou got a little anxious: "Don't listen to them, come to my team. I can not only teach you how to write songs, but also help you with trendy mixing, so that your songs can become popular among young people."

The four mentors each displayed their unique talents, using tactics ranging from resource promises to musical philosophies to recruit contestants, which amused the audience and created a fantastic atmosphere.

In the backstage monitoring room, producer Guo Xiaohua and host Ma Ke nervously clenched their fists. Today was the premiere of "The Voice of China," and whether it would be a success or a failure depended on today.

As the show aired, both of them kept their eyes glued to the ratings numbers flashing on the screen, their hearts racing along with the numbers:
0.4、0.6、0.8……    当学员唱完最后一个音符时，数字猛地跳到 1.0，马可猛地一拍桌子，嘶吼着：“破 1了！节目才刚开播就破1了！”

Marco and his wife were aware of the betting agreement between Xingchen Entertainment and Zhejiang TV. Breaking 1 was the dividing line; below 1, Xingchen Entertainment would lose money, but breaking 1 meant at least breaking even.

The two continued watching, and as the program progressed, the ratings continued to climb—1.5, 1.6, 1.7…

Ah ah ah~
The staff erupted in excitement. Marco and his wife hugged each other, and people from Zhejiang TV excitedly pulled out their phones to post on WeChat Moments: it's broken 1.7!

Marco excitedly hugged his wife, saying, "I knew this show would be a hit, I knew it..."

The following morning, the popularity of "The Voice of China" spread through the internet.

On Weibo's trending topics list, hashtags such as #TheVoiceofChina'sSwivelChairFamousScene# and #JackyCheersYehenaraying'sBattleForTalent# dominated the top ten.

A Zhejiang netizen, @哲人有说话, posted on Weibo: "Zhejiang TV has finally stood up for itself! I was about to give up on all the variety shows they aired before, but this time 'The Voice of China' has become a legend!"

The comment section was quickly taken over by science enthusiasts. @Film and Television Gossip King replied: "Dude, don't praise the wrong thing. This show is produced and broadcast separately. The production company is Star Entertainment, and Zhejiang TV is just the broadcasting platform. But Star Entertainment is really amazing. Their first talent show is so explosive!"

Hundreds of comments followed in agreement, with some posting screenshots of interactions with the mentors and others asking for the full version of the students' songs. The comment section was as lively as a vegetable market.

At the same time, in the dormitory of Hunan TV in Changsha, Wang Han stared at the ratings report of "The Voice of China" in his hand, his eyes full of fatigue.

"Day Day Up" only moved to the prime time slot in the second half of this year; it had been airing in the midnight slot before.

God knows how much he and his team sacrificed, stayed up countless nights, revised the process, found guests, and did promotion. They finally managed to stabilize the ratings at 1.8, making it the second-best on Hunan TV, second only to "Happy Camp".

Just when I was about to catch my breath, "The Voice of China" suddenly appeared, immediately catching up to 1.7 and almost surpassing it.

"We've only been in prime time for a few days, how come we've already run into such a competitor..."

He rubbed his throbbing temples, picked up his phone and texted the director: "We're having a meeting at seven tomorrow morning to discuss how to adjust the content. We can't let ourselves be outdone like this."

After sending the message, he opened the replay video of "The Voice of China" and frowned even more as he watched the swivel chair spin.

In essence, "The Voice of China" is no different from other singing talent shows, but the addition of the swivel chair feature makes the whole show feel different.

"Xiaohua is truly talented; she's probably about to take off!"

Wang Han was unaware that the entire plan for "The Voice of China" was devised by Zhang Chen, and thought it was his good friend's achievement.

Inside the Hunan TV office building, the atmosphere was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.

In the conference room, a dozen people sat around a long table, on which were spread out audience profiles, viewership curves, and social media data for "The Voice of China."

Wearing a black suit, Long Danni slammed her fingers on the data report: "78% of the audience is between 15 and 45 years old, especially young people aged 20 to 30, who are exactly the core audience of 'Running Man'! Next, our 'Running Man' will definitely go head-to-head with the second season of 'The Voice of China'. If we are overshadowed by 'The Voice of China', our KPIs for the second half of the year will be completely ruined!"

The marketing manager wiped the sweat from his brow and whispered, "Mr. Long, the time is too short. A month is simply not enough for the selection and recording. With such a tight schedule, I'm afraid the quality of what we produce in such a rush won't be good..."

Long Danni shook her head: "If the quality isn't good, we'll find other ways to improve it. For example, we can organize some activities, such as online quizzes to win tickets to the recording, and collaborate with video platforms to create a challenge. We must win back the audience's attention!"

For the next three days, the conference room lights were almost never off. Everyone talked about everything from promotional strategies to content adjustments. They even ate boxed lunches in the conference room for lunch. Everyone's face showed that they were on high alert.

Meanwhile, in the BJ Star Entertainment office, Zhong Lifang received a report from her subordinate: "President Zhong, Hunan TV has been removing a large number of our collaborations. For those with signed contracts, they're only paying lip service, and for those without, they're not even giving us a chance to negotiate. This is seriously affecting the promotion of 'Pacific Rim 2'..."

"Okay, I understand, you can get out."

These were all expected.

From the moment they partnered with the other three satellite TV stations, they were already on the opposite side of Hunan TV.

If their show fails, that's fine; Hunan TV might not care.

However, The Voice of China had surprisingly good ratings, and its first episode almost beat their flagship program, Day Day Up, thus creating a grudge between the two.

Zhong Lifang sighed; there was nothing she could do about it.

If Star Entertainment wants to make a name for itself in the variety show field, it must challenge the former kings.

The birth of a new king is inevitably accompanied by the fall of the old one.

The Ministry of Commerce staff had just left when the HR manager knocked on the door and came in.

"Mr. Zhong, the entire C team of the Screenwriting & Creative Department has resigned."

"Hmm? Yu Zheng's team?"

"Correct."

Who's behind that?

"I already asked, it's Huayi Brothers~"

Star Entertainment's scriptwriting department is renowned in the industry, and their compensation is also top-notch.

In the past, it wasn't that no one had tried to poach talent, nor that no one had switched jobs.

But they were just a few here and there, and everyone could understand that people strive for higher positions and water flows downhill.

Star Entertainment is a large platform, but it can't possibly have that many suitable positions to satisfy everyone.

But this time, the entire team leaving means that someone is definitely poaching them from behind the scenes.

Sure enough, it was Huayi Brothers.

With Huayi Brothers going public, they suddenly had an extra 12 billion yuan in hand, making them incredibly wealthy.

The Wang brothers were unhappy that Zhang Chen had collected protection money from them before the company went public. Although they wouldn't retaliate, it was necessary to annoy Xingchen Entertainment, which led to the poaching of Yu Zheng.

Yu Zheng is a big shot at Star Entertainment, and he's very good at period dramas, but he's never gotten along with the other people in the scriptwriting department.

Huayi Brothers offered him a price he couldn't refuse: a signing bonus, benefits, and bonuses, far exceeding what Star Entertainment offered.

If he can bring his entire team with him to switch jobs, his signing bonus could double.

Yu's mother agreed without much thought, even though it might offend Zhang Chen, but... what was Lu Bu's saying again? "A true man should not remain subservient to others for long."
The Wang brothers' conflict wasn't purely a matter of personal pride. Huayi Brothers' TV dramas weren't particularly outstanding, so Yu Zheng brought the whole team to fill that gap.

"Let them leave if they want, just pass on a message for me: they are absolutely not allowed to disclose any projects they handled at Star Entertainment, otherwise they can expect to be blacklisted by the industry."

Zhong Lifang has no plans to do anything about Yu Ma's departure. Staff turnover is normal, as long as it doesn't harm the company's interests.

Yu's mother does have some ability, but that's all.

Star Entertainment is full of talent; it doesn't need another Yu Mama.

She didn't take the Wang brothers' poaching attempt to her heart.

Having seized so many shares from someone else, the Wang brothers must be feeling incredibly bad. It's only natural for them to vent their frustrations. If the two brothers keep holding it in, then Zhong Lifang needs to be careful.

(End of this chapter)