Restart life

Chapter 451 0441 [Coffee and Garlic]

Bian Guanyue was playing on her phone in the car when she saw Chen Guiliang and Yang Shuo return. She put her phone away and said, "You really think highly of this drone? You actually went to make the trip yourself."

"Maybe you'll use their products in the future," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Chen Guiliang came to Shenzhen this time to accompany Bian Guanyue to a concert.

He had accompanied Bian Guanyue to several concerts before, mainly at venues such as the Beijing Concert Hall and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, to enjoy performances by groups such as the China National Traditional Orchestra.

Today, however, I flew to Shenzhen specifically to enjoy the performance of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.

After leaving DJI, we took a car to a restaurant for lunch, and then headed straight for the concert hall.

The performance venue wasn't large, but there were quite a few audience members; it was almost full.

The audience was mainly foreigners and white-collar workers, and it's hard to say how many of them were actually there to listen to the music.

Before Chen Guiliang could even sit down, he saw some audience members taking photos with their phones and then frantically typing on their phones—presumably to post on Weibo to show off.

A lot of people use Apple products!
Next are Nokia, HarmonyOS, Meizu, and Ham.

No matter what phone you use, if you post on Weibo, you're definitely using ByteDance Weibo.

ByteDance's Weibo has a huge user base, allowing it to grow rapidly through viral marketing. Moreover, it has even pioneered a blogger-driven e-commerce model.

A series of combined attacks left Sina Weibo utterly defenseless.

Today, ByteDance's Weibo has nearly 3500 million registered users, meaning it has added 2300 million users in just one year.

No matter how much promotion Sina Weibo does, it can't break 500 million users, and its activity level is far lower than ByteDance's Weibo. In particular, many celebrities who were invited to join the platform have become too lazy to update their status, and their teams only occasionally release promotional press releases.

But Sina Weibo is still unwilling to give up and continues to desperately try to maintain its position, waiting for ByteDance's Weibo to run into problems and self-destruct one day.

Dozens of microblogging products emerged last year, but more than 90% of them have already failed.

Take People's Weibo on People's Daily Online as an example; it's full of zombie users, and you hardly see any real people.

Kongzhong's Weibo account is quite active. They transformed into a mobile game community early on, and it's quite lively with the games they distribute.

Chen Guiliang and Bian Guanyue sat in the front row.

Chen Guiliang was standing next to a foreigner, while Bian Guanyue was next to a middle-aged Chinese man. They were both with their partners and chatting amongst themselves, not paying close attention to who Chen Guiliang was.

Soon after, the orchestra took their positions, and then the conductor went on stage.

Chen Guiliang thoroughly enjoyed the performance; listening to music live was indeed different, allowing him to more clearly perceive the meaning conveyed by the music.

Of course, there are also a few experimental works that Chen Guiliang simply cannot appreciate.

After the performance, Chen Guiliang asked, "How did you feel?"

Bian Guanyue said, "It's not convenient to talk about this here."

"That means you don't like it," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

They left the concert hall and returned to their car.

Chen Guiliang said, "I think it sounds quite nice, especially 'Qin Terracotta Warriors,' which has a particularly artistic conception."

Bian Guanyue elaborated: "This orchestra is indeed very talented, but I don't really like their style. I can appreciate both traditional Chinese music and Western music. But to use traditional Chinese instruments to perform Chinese or a combination of Chinese and Western music in a symphonic style... just feels awkward."

"Haha, I can't tell," Chen Guiliang laughed.

Bian Guanyue added, "But that conductor was incredibly skilled, absolutely a master. They must have precise musical notation and be able to perfectly interpret complex modern musical techniques. Yet the conducting wasn't mechanical Western-style conducting; it subtly incorporated the free rhythm of Chinese folk music. Hmm... Western learning as the foundation, Chinese learning as the soul."

Chen Guiliang said, "That's good."

Bian Guanyue said, "But even in free rhythm, this kind of conducting is carefully designed, making it impossible for the performers to perform normally. This orchestra is not only great in its conductor, but also in its performers. They can dance so well even while wearing shackles."

"Then why don't you like it?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Bian Guanyue thought about it carefully for a long time, then uttered three words: "A hybrid of East and West." She added, "It's very international, suitable for foreigners interested in Chinese culture. It's also suitable for Chinese people who pursue sophistication. Although I don't like it, I respect their exploration of the fusion of East and West."

Chen Guiliang finally realized why Bian Guanyue said "Western learning as the foundation, Chinese learning as the soul" instead of "Western learning for practical application, Chinese learning as the foundation".

Because of this orchestra's performances, even the "body" has been Westernized, leaving only the "soul" of traditional folk music. This "soul" is still a bound soul, restricted and unable to express itself freely.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Is this the assignment your tutor gave you?"

“Our mentor had us listen to tapes of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, but I think the experience of listening to it live is much better,” Bian Guanyue said.

This rich girl has plenty of money; she even flies all the way to Shenzhen to listen to live performances while doing her homework.

Bian Guanyue couldn't help but complain again: "This orchestra promotes environmental protection, removing the python skin and other materials from their instruments and replacing them with other materials. Their eco-friendly erhu has a uniform, cold, and mechanical tone, like the sound produced on a factory assembly line."

Chen Guiliang could only go along with her and let Yang Shuo drive to the night market. The three of them had a late-night snack before returning to the hotel.

After taking a shower, Chen Guiliang lay in bed, scrolling through Weibo, and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Bian Guanyue tapped away on her laptop: "I'm doing homework. My tutor asked us to listen to the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's performance and write a short review for him."

"Such a beautiful day, don't you want to do something else?" Chen Guiliang took off his clothes and showed off his muscles like a bodybuilder.

Bian Guanyue chuckled: "Wait a little longer."

Chen Guiliang was speechless and continued scrolling through Weibo.

With the surge in smartphone sales, Weibo has become increasingly popular. Some netizens have even abandoned HaiNei.com to focus solely on Weibo every day.

Many celebrities have also become addicted to Weibo. Especially when they're traveling for work and it's inconvenient to use a computer, and they don't have friends around, they like to use Weibo to interact with their fans. Some have even argued on Weibo!

At this very moment, Chen Guiliang is watching the drama unfold on Weibo, enjoying the verbal battle between Guo Degang and Zhou Libo.

Late last year, Zhou Libo mocked Guo Degang during a performance, saying that someone who eats garlic is not worthy of performing on the same stage as someone who drinks coffee. The video has recently resurfaced and gone viral online.

Guo Degang immediately put together a crosstalk piece called "You Want to Be Elegant," launching a counterattack against Zhou Libo.

Both of them are now using ByteDance Weibo.

Zhou Libo couldn't help but respond with a couple of words, criticizing Guo Degang for being petty and even bringing up Guo Degang's apprentice.

Guo Degang then retorted: "At least my apprentice couldn't get me locked up. Some people have been locked up for over 200 days by their own fathers-in-law."

As if he had been stepped on, Zhou Libo stopped his sarcastic and insinuating remarks and directly launched into a tirade against Guo Degang.

Guo Degang naturally had to retaliate with insults.

Chen Guiliang watched with great interest and couldn't help but call the hotel: "Send over a cup of coffee and two cloves of garlic... Don't send any if you don't have garlic. If you do send the garlic, I'll give you a tip."

"What are you doing?" Bian Guanyue asked, turning her head.

Chen Guiliang said, "I've been so focused on publicity for the past six months that I haven't expressed my personal opinions for a long time. I might as well join in the fun."

The owners of online social platforms are indeed not suited to personally engage in verbal battles with others.

But Chen Guiliang couldn't resist!

Not long after, the hotel actually delivered coffee and garlic.

Chen Guiliang put the two things together, took out his phone to take a picture, and then posted it on Weibo with the caption: "Does it taste good together?"

He waited a few minutes and then refreshed the page.

Wow, this Weibo post has gone viral; I wonder how many people have shared and commented on it.

"Haha, Old Ancestor Chen is also watching the fun."

"Chen Sheng, mind your place. You're being incredibly mean!"

"I'll bring two cloves of garlic to coffee tomorrow too."

"@Guo Degang @Zhou Libo Come and get your food, Boss Chen has fed you."

"..."

Many celebrities also tagged @ChenGuiliang.

Zhang Chaoyang: You're just bored out of your mind.

Guo Degang: "Mr. Chen, it's been a long time! When are you coming to see our crosstalk performance?"

Zhou Libo: "If Mr. Chen comes to Shanghai, I'll treat you to a Shanghai-style stand-up comedy show and some of our coffee."

Fan Bingbing: "Let's watch."

Lei Jun: "Actually, cola tastes better than coffee."

Huang Bo: "President Chen, I saw your cameo in 'The Founding of a Republic.' Your acting was really good."

Yan Danchen: "You're not going to be on TV anymore?"

Dou Wentao: "I'll organize a gathering, Mr. Chen, let's talk about coffee and garlic on 'Qiang Qiang San Ren Xing'."

Yao Dazui: "Looking forward to working with President Chen."

Pan Shiyi: "In life, we should learn to respect others. Different lifestyles and eating habits stem from different upbringing and life experiences..."

Chen Guiliang's post of pictures and text instantly attracted a large number of celebrities.

It's ridiculous that the person with the most Weibo followers at this time is Yao Dazui, just like in the original timeline. The media has already dubbed her the "Weibo Queen".

The sensation it generated has attracted more celebrities to pay attention to ByteDance Weibo.

Fan Bingbing also worked hard to manage her Weibo account, but her number of followers didn't even rank in the top ten.

Without exception, those at the top of the list are all enthusiastic about commenting on current events, exuding an elite air of opinion leaders.

Li Kaifu initially registered on Sina Weibo, but finding there was no future there, he actively moved to ByteDance Weibo. He posted on Weibo daily, commenting on this and that, and his follower count quickly climbed into the top five.

Then there's Pan Shiyi, who has cultivated himself into a Confucian businessman, peddling his business thinking, life insights, and philosophy of life. Currently, his number of fans has already entered the top ten.

Han Han is even more impressive, breaking into the top three.

Apart from Yao Ming, the number of fans of other celebrities is below ten, and very few can even make it into the top thirty.

The era of celebrities on Weibo has not yet arrived; the era of opinion leaders has arrived.

The reason for this is, of course, related to the composition of Weibo users at that time. They were mainly students, white-collar workers, civil servants, and wealthy people.

While scrolling through Weibo, Chen Guiliang was thinking about organizing the year-end celebration.

How about we hold a Weibo Night at the end of this year?
Chen Guiliang was scrolling through Weibo when he suddenly felt the bed shake.

Bian Guanyue had already finished showering and returned. She jumped onto the bed and lay there, looking alluring and seductive, saying, "Good brother, do you still want to play on your phone?"

(End of this chapter)