Age of Legends

Chapter 306 Seasons
The mock exam caused a delay, and before Zhang Chen could start the new project for Jiang Rong, the situation at the provincial TV station changed. Wu Yue snatched Jiang Rong's program from the provincial TV station, and Meng Lihui fully supported her niece. Even worse, Wu Yue intercepted the advertisers that Jiang Rong was originally working with, took the provincial TV station's documents, and negotiated business with the original advertisers, demanding that the advertisements be signed with them starting from the next quarter.

This whole process wasn't without its share of discontent within the station, but it was just discontent. After all, this act of snatching things from his representative, a young girl named Jiang Rong, while Wang Bowen was declining, was somewhat unorthodox. The provincial station, after all, had built up its reputation over the years and still maintained a basic level of professionalism. Even when it broadcast low-quality news or advertisements for infertility hospitals, it still had basic business ethics. Now, its behavior was simply too ugly. Meng Lihui's actions had made things even more outrageous. Despite the discontent, Meng Lihui had risen to power; her position was what it was, and what could be done?

But after this incident, Wang Bowen still contacted Meng Lihui.

That day, Wang Bowen deliberately knocked on Meng Lihui's office door in the afternoon.

Wang Bowen, wearing a suit jacket and shorts, entered the room. Meng Lihui looked up at him and smiled, "Teacher Wang, you still look just like Brother Chao! You're getting younger and younger!"

Wang Bowen smiled and said, "President Meng, I'm here today to make an exception for you."

Meng Lihui looked up, her expression calm, a professional smile on her lips: "Teacher Wang, you are a senior, how could I dare let you say something like 'saving face'?"

She was still flipping through the program in her hand, without stopping, and glanced at the teapot in front of the reception room. "Pour yourself some tea!"

Wang Bowen said "okay" several times, picked up his paper cup, and drank the cheap tea that was served at the TV station. At a slightly awkward moment, he spoke slowly and directly: "Jiang Rong is hardworking and has potential. I was the planner for 'Emotional Mediation Room,' but I let her do it, and she's the one who made it happen. Although she's young, the audience feedback has been good. Could you perhaps ease up the scheduling and move Wednesday afternoon to a better time slot? Just for my sake."

In fact, the fact that Wu Yue had snatched Jiang Rong's show was already established, and Wang Bowen could only try to secure a better time slot for Jiang Rong by rescheduling the program.

Meng Lihui gently put down her pen, raised her eyes, and said with a half-smile, "Teacher Wang, you're a veteran, of course I respect you. But this isn't the time for favoritism at the station. Policies from above change every day, and there's nothing we can do. For programs like this that grasp public opinion and reflect social sentiments, the spirit of the documents is entirely controlled by the TV station. You're a producer now, you know our difficulties..."

Wang Bowen almost laughed out of anger, "In terms of advertising and viewership, our collaboration must have brought the station a considerable amount of revenue!"

Meng Lihui leaned back in her chair, picked up a delicate bone china cup she had brought back from England, took a sip of water, and said gently, "Teacher Wang, everyone sees the benefits you bring. But the problem is, times are changing, and you understand the higher-ups' intentions better than I do. The station must have representative, benchmark programs; this is a political task, not something anyone can change to whatever time slot they want. There's nothing I can do about it."

She changed the subject and slowly tapped the pen on the table: "Moreover, Wu Yue has been specifically mentioned by provincial leaders who said they would give her special support."

Wang Bowen's face suddenly darkened, and he felt a lump in his throat, almost bursting out laughing: "Heh... I understand. So it's 'what the higher-ups mean.' Does that mean that no matter how talented a young person is, they can only stand aside?"

Wang Bowen knew perfectly well what he was pretending for. The so-called support from provincial leaders was probably something Meng Lihui had recommended behind the scenes.

Meng Lihui's eyes were indifferent as she picked up the bone china cup, rubbing the rim with her hand: "You can't say that, Teacher Wang, don't put a label on me. Jiang Rong is a good prospect, but she needs more experience. Although Wednesday afternoon slots are less popular, it's not without opportunities. Don't worry, I will 'try my best' to help with the publicity."

"Try your best?" Wang Bowen's voice was low and laced with sarcasm.

Given the situation, Meng Lihui kept making excuses throughout.

He slowly stood up, straightened his short suit, and his tone was no longer polite: "President Meng, I have brought many programs to the provincial station. I may not have made any great contributions, but I have put in a lot of hard work. If the station really calculates things this way, then don't blame some people for feeling disheartened."

The old Wang Bowen wouldn't have had the confidence to speak like that, but now, with Zhang Chen's courage, he can speak more boldly.

Meng Lihui was still smiling as she pushed the documents on the table forward: "Teacher Wang, I'll see you off."

Wang Bowen stormed off. Meng Lihui's smile, holding the bone china cup, gradually faded. She wasn't unaware of the rumors surrounding Wang Bowen. The previous executive deputy director of Rongcheng Channel 2, Liu Bingrong, was said to have clashed with Wang Bowen. Later, Chen Xuran betrayed him, obtained evidence against Liu Bingrong, and Liu Bingrong hired someone to commit murder, resulting in his dismissal.

Meng Lihui naturally didn't think of herself as someone like Liu Bingrong, but if Wang Bowen wanted to threaten her and stand up for Jiang Rong, she wouldn't hesitate to see what kind of magic this washed-up former financial host had up his sleeve and what kind of trouble he could stir up on the provincial TV station.

……

After receiving Meng Lihui's final response from Wang Bowen, Zhang Chen understood that this hurdle had to be overcome. Jiang Rong's program was essentially canceled, and Wu Yue had basically taken over the advertising slots from the moment the program moved on.

Although contracts were signed, advertising contracts were typically signed for one quarter or one broadcast cycle, due to the high degree of variability. Changes to the program were also within the scope of the contract's stipulated variables, and could even result in compensation. Now that Wu Yue has taken over, the contract has been broken. While no compensation has been paid, her income has indeed decreased sharply.

Not only that, Wu Yue also poached a lot of the team members who came from the show. Well, people have to eat, and Wu Yue has such a powerful backer. It's understandable that everyone wants to seek a better place to live.

The original cast remained, with Yang Xiaole surprisingly sticking with Jiang Rong. Meanwhile, Wu Yue's silent usurpation of the show quickly had its consequences. After the program's revamp, Wu Yue abandoned the old "outcast troupe," instead selecting genuine individuals with relationship problems and offering them hefty sums. This attracted many people whose relationships were already strained, driven by both financial gain and a desire for revenge. Furthermore, due to her strong desire for self-expression, her role as a mediator often resulted in shocking statements.

The opening episode of "The Golden Mediator" features a husband addicted to gambling, who has lost his car and house, incurred high-interest loans, and whose family is on the verge of breaking up. Wanting her husband to quit gambling, Wu Yue tells his wife on the show, "If you ask me, gambling addiction is a disease. You have to use love to influence him. The more you scold him, the more pressure he feels, and the more he wants to gamble! You should give him back his salary card and trust him one more time. This is called 'fighting poison with poison'!"

Turning to the husband, she said, "Brother, you're having such bad luck. Didn't you go to a temple to pray? Finding a master to change your luck might be better than anything else!"

Later, the daughter recounts her love and talent for art, wanting to take the art exam, but her mother believes that studying art has no future and forces her to study accounting. However, her mother insists that she study accounting.

Wu Yue immediately sided with her eloquent mother: "Study art? In the future, won't you just be setting up a street stall to draw sketches for people? How much money can you make by working in the wind and sun? Your mother wants you to study accounting for your own good. You'll be sitting in an office where it's warm in winter and cool in summer, and it will be easy to find a good husband in the future! Can a hobby put food on the table? Van Gogh was a great painter, but he was so poor that he couldn't even afford to eat when he was alive. Think about it!"

The daughter broke down in tears on the spot.

Another family is facing immense financial pressure because the wife is obsessed with buying luxury handbags and repeatedly overdraws her credit cards.

Wu Yue then began to lecture him from the beginning.

"Women are naturally drawn to beauty! Your wife carrying a nice designer bag makes you look good, doesn't it?"

"You complain that she spends too much? Then work hard to earn more! How dare you dictate how your wife spends money if you can't even earn any?"

Moreover, Wu Yue was aiming for high output and big productions, with two episodes a week, each episode mediating three cases intensively, airing on Friday nights and Sunday days. Viewers' blood pressure was raised after watching, and some people clenched their fists in front of the TV, thinking, "I really want to slap this woman in the face!"

Wu Yue originally intended to turn this into a personal showcase, highlighting her role as a "top mediator," and she also mobilized provincial TV resources in conjunction with Meng Lihui to create momentum.

As a result, each mediation session almost escalated into a physical fight.

The ratings did indeed soar, but they seemed to be getting out of control. Wu Yue, on the other hand, liked to add fuel to the fire, and every time she asked a "sharp question," the two sides would get emotional and argue so fiercely that they almost came to blows.

The local online forums in Fuzhou have been abuzz with criticism of the host, Wu Yue. The provincial TV station's hotline is flooded with complaints, and letters are filled with people venting their frustration about their blood pressure after watching the program.

The show's reputation (although previous episodes weren't great either, with some outrageous plots) is still generally insightful. It touches on many things but keeps them within limits, controlling the level of intensity. It stays on point with what the public enjoys, without being too detached from real-life emotional conflicts, and hasn't completely degenerated into something like it has now, which is "provoking," "vulgar," and "morally questionable."

People are no longer discussing case studies in their leisure time; instead, they're talking about "what stupid thing that idiot host said this time?"

However, the soaring ratings and the large contracts signed by advertisers in the early stages allowed Meng Lihui to forcefully suppress the audience's critical feedback, while the station widely publicized Wu Yue's "performance," showcasing a very promising situation.

Many people at the station were hesitant to speak out about this situation, only saying privately, "What can we do? They have results to show for themselves!"

Zhang Chen was quite busy. Taking advantage of the brief relaxation after the mock exam, Wang Shuowei, having gotten a good score, went to an internet cafe with Jing Qinming and the others, while Zhang Chen stayed at home typing on the computer.

After two days of rest and focused writing, Zhang Chen, carrying a floppy disk, sneaked into Jiang Rong's rented room one afternoon and inserted drive A into her computer.

Among the data read from this 1.44MB floppy disk, a document appeared on her computer.

Jiang Rong gripped the back of the chair, leaning forward slightly. The fine hairs in her pupils widened, revealing a sense of eager anticipation and excitement, as if she were discovering a treasure. She watched Zhang Chen operate the system and opened the document.

"This is my new show?"

"Seven-Day Promise...a reality TV show—what is that!?"

The swaying shadows of the trees outside the window, Jiang Rong's floral dress, and her bright eyes shone with the subtle fragrance of orchids in the early summer.

(End of this chapter)