Age of Legends

Chapter 197 Propaganda Machine
After Chen Xuran was involved in a criminal case, her show "Wan Zi Qian Hong" was suspended for a period of time. Since her comeback, the show has come to an end and is facing transformation.

The municipal television station had been discussing Chen Xuran's next program proposal, but Chen Xuran was not satisfied with several of them. On the other hand, the leaders of the municipal television station were also under great pressure. Now, through the television station's mailbox and some private channels, the leaders of the television station were repeatedly asked why Chen Xuran had not appeared yet, whether she had offended someone, and whether the municipal television station was intentionally burying her and harming a meritorious veteran.

Citizens are submitting mail and reporting issues through various channels, causing the leaders a huge headache. He just took office, and his predecessor's incident was so big that it became famous throughout the city. How could he dare to act recklessly and engage in underhanded tactics in front of everyone? It's purely because this old lady hasn't decided on a plan yet.

Several contractors and producers who submitted proposals wanted to recruit her. Everyone knows that Chen Xuran now represents huge popularity, and her comeback after a period of silence will likely result in a huge success with her first program.

But none of them were to her liking, and the plans kept getting revised. What could she do?
Who dares to offend her now?
Moreover, they've started their own business now. Although working at a TV station requires clocking in and out and there are rules, they're an investment partner. How can you control their investments?
Moreover, if this auntie gets unhappy, she can simply walk away, leaving the station in a bad mood both inside and outside. So now, who dares to offend Chen Xuran? Even the new station director has to win people over.

Fortunately, the leadership received some great news: Chen Xuran personally delivered a program proposal to replace the program slot of "Wan Zi Qian Hong"—a talk show called "I Have a Dream to Say".

The show regularly invites renowned scholars, artists, scientists, experts, or even ordinary people from Fuzhou or their hometowns to share their knowledge and insights on history, culture, science, art, and even life experiences from their professional perspectives. It encapsulates their life trajectories, showcasing the perseverance and ideals of individuals. The show emphasizes humanistic care while also being all-encompassing. The theme of the program is "As long as you have a dream, we'll give you a stage to speak."

It was unanimously adopted at a seminar of the city's leadership.

This period coincided with a boom in talk shows in China. Essentially, the television industry was undergoing a market-oriented transformation, and talk shows, with their low production costs and flexible topics, became a key area for innovation.

Before the internet became widespread, television remained the primary medium for the public. These programs typically attracted viewers through formats such as "elite dialogues" and "celebrity interviews," satisfying both the audience's demand for authoritative viewpoints and catering to the trend of entertainment.

Before this, the most famous program of its kind in China was "Lecture Room," which started in 95. It had a low production cost and simply invited celebrities and authorities to give lectures, but it generated a lot of buzz and traffic, and remained popular for generations, producing a number of celebrities.

This year's CCTV talk show "Dialogue" should be the first successful example of this type of program in the market, selling the highest price and advertising revenue for a talk show.

After that, talk shows sprang up all over the country like mushrooms after rain, and many famous scenes such as "Really? I don't believe it!" and "Are Chinese people even human?" became popular.

The new leaders of the city TV station are very open-minded. They have studied and investigated all over the country and know the current trends. They didn't expect Chen Xuran to submit this proposal. They even had the interview outlines for the previous episodes. So what are we waiting for? The city TV station immediately mobilized resources and started working on it!
The first episode of "I Have a Dream to Talk About" aired on Rongcheng TV at 9:30 pm on Sunday, coinciding with Chen Xuran's comeback.

The show airs every Sunday at 9:30 PM.

In the first episode's Chinese-style guest interview room, Chen Xuran made a stunning appearance in a light purple cheongsam. The cheongsam was not bright, so it did not overshadow the main character, but because it was a dark color, it could hold the scene and show her composure and ability to guide the conversation.

A traditional Chinese square table, four antique wooden official's hat chairs, and three guests present today.

Yes, the first episode was a tabletop dialogue format.

The first guest was Tan Xiaoxi, deputy director of the Chengdu Construction Committee. He entered with humility, took his seat, and smiled gently.

The second person is a middle-aged woman with curly hair wearing a red cheongsam. Her name is Huang Huifen, the legal representative and chairman of Xuhui Company, the contractor for the renovation project of Lanyuan Park.

The third is Ma Hongrui, a US-trained master's graduate and the founder of XAD Architecture Studio.

Yes, this episode of "I Have a Dream to Talk About" mainly focuses on the Rongcheng Municipal Government's response to the Western Development Strategy and the initiation of urban park transformation. Representatives from three aspects—government planning, construction, and specific design—open up blueprints for imagination and plan the future urban landscape.

In fact, Chen Xuran invited the vice mayor in charge of the relevant duties. The vice mayor was busy, and after reviewing the program's format, he knew that if he went on this kind of program, he would inevitably become the main character. However, it was obvious that he was not the main character in this program's structure.

However, Chen Xuran still managed to get the notification in place. The vice mayor then notified the municipal construction commission under its jurisdiction. The municipal construction commission was the predecessor of the housing and construction bureau. At this time, it had not yet been restructured. The director of the construction commission clearly knew that he could not be the main character. However, this program needed a government representative to convey the government's plans and spread the government's ideas.

Tan Xiaoxi, the deputy director, who also holds a master's degree in civil engineering, would be a good representative of the scholar-official type in the government, and would be able to answer and clarify questions regarding planning.

So, the show featured Chen Xuran guiding Huang Huifen as she outlined her specific entrepreneurial ideas and the goals of Xuhui Company. These were grand and unrealistic statements, but Huang Huifen dared to speak her mind. The dialogue between designers Ma Hongrui and Chen Xuran was another highlight of the program. Ma Hongrui recounted many of his experiences studying abroad and his award-winning adventures, captivating the audience—experiences many people would be curious about.

When Huang Huifen said, "Our project must first be in line with history and preserve historical traces, so that people can feel the strong atmosphere of traditional culture and history. It must also meet the needs of the surrounding communities. People have lived there for generations and have familiar memories. We can't just demolish everything..."

Ma Hongrui chimed in from the side, “Yes, for example, there’s a spiral escalator in the center of Lan Garden. I’ve inquired about it, and many people from Fuzhou played on it in their childhood… So we decided to upgrade this escalator, making it a landmark in the center of the park, preserving the memories for generations to come…”

The city's TV ratings are skyrocketing.

In front of the TV, everyone was originally watching because of Chen Xuran's comeback. Chen Xuran used to be a host, reading lines in a proper and formal way on the show. But in the talk show, hey, it felt like listening to her chat with someone. The distance between them was immediately reduced.

This makes people even more curious about the personality of this top female star.

Actually, you don't need to know anything; everyone in Fuzhou loves this lively and beautiful host.

Unexpectedly, this talk show was a real time killer. Even though it was just people chatting, it was surprisingly engaging, like meeting a group of friends, sitting around a table, having a long, rambling conversation. And the architect, Ma Hongrui, was not only handsome but also seemed incredibly knowledgeable. His descriptions of design scenarios, often accompanied by his PowerPoint presentations, were simply amazing. It made you want to live in the buildings he designed and the parks he transformed.

When the spiral staircase that everyone in Fuzhou knows is mentioned, many Fuzhou residents watching TV share a common memory: "Your grandfather used to take your dad and me, who were probably teenagers, to play on that slide, and we even wore out our pants!"

"Chen Erwa, after you came back from the zoo, you wanted to play there... You even ran into a greenhead once, remember!"

"Oh my, time flies... We can't demolish it, absolutely not! The designer said we have to renovate it. We'll go again after the renovation, my kids will want to go play there in the future..."

Chen Xuran's talk show has achieved unprecedented success.

The first episode left a deep impression. I remembered Tan Xiaoxi, the deputy director of the construction committee, who was taciturn but very professional. Huang Huifen, who dared to say anything and even make outrageous remarks, said that houses are getting more and more expensive, but the quality is shoddy. She said that we should build high-quality houses that can withstand scrutiny and that ordinary people can afford. There was also Ma Hongrui, who was elegant and full of wonderful ideas.

Although it's just a talk show, the quality is surprisingly high!
The program became an instant hit, and Xuhui Real Estate became a hot topic of conversation. Many Fuzhou residents would even walk several kilometers after dinner to visit Xuhui Real Estate's Lanyuan renovation project, leave messages on the message board, and even post old photos on the bulletin board to create a memorial board for the past after the renovation.

The ideas behind Huang Huifen's Lanyuan Apartments are also gaining traction everywhere.

In the conference room of Yipin Real Estate, Liu Qi was listening to a report. The project manager said, "Watsons and McDonald's, who came to contact us before, are not very interested in connecting with us now. They are more inclined to talk to Lanyuan about bringing in the community's ground floor shops."

The cost planning department pointed at the report with some embarrassment, "This month's advertising expenses amounted to five million, including elevator ads, DM magazine, and red envelopes in several major newspapers... It's a bit of a budget overrun..."

"The previous homeowners put up banners in front of the Municipal Construction Committee, still complaining about the quality of their houses, and even citing Xuhui's promise of ten times the compensation... Mr. Liu... what do you think we should do about this... should we cancel the purchase? But we need to be careful to avoid a stampede..."

As Liu Qi listened to these words, he realized for the first time the terrifying effect that a celebrity like Chen Xuran could have when she controlled publicity tools.

In the blink of an eye, he used someone else's strength against them. He had spent millions of dollars on publicity, but now this person's talk show has achieved a much bigger and more exaggerated effect. All his investment has gone down the drain!
More importantly, the Municipal Construction Commission also went. That Tan Xiaoxi, who used to be so humble and obedient when serving wine at the dinner table, was acting like a fool on the show.

Liu Qi used to think Chen Xuran was easy to deal with, but now it seems... this woman is not simple.

Seeing his men, Liu Qi sighed, "Take down all outdoor advertisements."

(End of this chapter)