Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 153: Taking advantage of Beijing’s self-respect
"Very good, very good!"

In the TV station's recording studio, Zhang Yadong, who had been dejected, excitedly praised Wang Luyao's performance.

Although Wang Luyao's voice wasn't as deep and hoarse as it was last time—after all, a day and two nights had passed—the emotions she conveyed were much more on point.

It gives people a feeling of resentment flowing against the current, yet desperately trying to control themselves and unwilling to show it.

Of course, giving people this feeling means that she didn't control herself successfully, but it is precisely because she didn't control herself that she has this veiled, half-concealed charm.

This version is not much worse than Tian Zhen's version, and the way he tries so hard to maintain his dignity is even more likely to evoke public sympathy.

"It's really good."

Chen Hong smiled and took off her headphones, giving a thumbs-up to the person across the glass.

Then he said to Zhang Yadong, "It seems that Cao Fang is quite good at 'enlightening' people. Why don't we have her come to the company to help after the New Year? Jinghua is also lacking a trusted confidante."

"Uh~"

Zhang Yadong's smile suddenly became somewhat forced. He had initially thought Zhang Yan was joking, but who knew that Wang Luyao could actually empathize with Cao Fang's perspective.

The mixing console that was singing with such a mournful tone just now looks exactly like Cao Fang!

Would she start hating me too?

At this moment, Zhang Yan leaned close to the microphone and reminded her, "Lu Yao, you need to remember your current emotions. After all, when you go on stage to perform later, you won't have enough time to prepare your emotions."

Wang Luyao nodded silently and said, "Then I'll do it again."

She sang it four times, and although her performance fluctuated a bit, it was generally above average. This made Zhang Yadong happy, but also a little puzzled.

Could it be that Cao Fang possesses some special talent that I haven't discovered? Otherwise, how could she achieve such good results in just one day?

During the break.

When Chen Hong noticed that Wang Luyao kept glancing at Zhang Yan, she called Zhang Yadong out to the corridor and they started talking about the revenue sharing from the single.

As soon as they left, Wang Luyao unsurprisingly sidled up to Zhang Yan, clamping her pectoral muscles around his biceps in a pitiful manner, and whispered her grievances, "Brother Zhang, Sister Hong... she threatened me with my family!"

As she spoke, her voice trembled with a hint of tears.

"what?"

Zhang Yan was also taken aback and hurriedly asked what had happened.

After Wang Luyao finished speaking with a pitiful expression, he finally felt relieved—not because he was worried about Wang Luyao, but mainly because he was afraid that Chen Hong would get involved in some illegal incident.

He wrapped his arm around Wang Luyao's waist and asked softly, "So what are you thinking? Do you want to make our relationship public?"

"This……"

Wang Luyao was speechless. She had started out by taking an unconventional approach, which was inherently questionable. Even with the support of the Women's Federation, she still attracted a lot of criticism.

If it's revealed that she had a third party involved and slept with the company boss...

Zhang Yan kissed her forehead at the right moment and whispered, "Then you should behave well in front of her from now on. Of course, I definitely won't let her bully you."

Wang Luyao hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a pitiful expression.

Of course, she was unwilling to be controlled by others like this, but judging from Zhang Yan's attitude, she knew that she had little chance of advancing to the rank of first wife for the time being.

How can she compete with Chen Hong now?
Forget it, forget it anyway. My original goal was just to get a long-term meal ticket, so I'll stop thinking about it now. Singing "Your Tenderness I Will Never Understand" well is the most important thing right now.

A moment later, Chen Hong also brought Zhang Yadong back to the recording studio. As soon as Zhang Yadong came in, he excitedly expressed his loyalty to Zhang Yan, clearly very satisfied with the company's offer.

Although he has Zhang Weining above him, so he can't get the highest salary, the prices for songs outside are dirt cheap now. As long as he can get a share of the commission, it's already a salary that others can only dream of.

Seeing that Wang Luyao and Zhang Yadong had begun to devote themselves wholeheartedly to practicing singing, Zhang Yan and Chen Hong exchanged a glance and silently left the recording studio.

Outside, at the corner of the corridor, Xu Wei was chatting with Han Lei.

"Once my album becomes a hit, I'm going to buy a big house and bring my wife over..."

Zhang Yan suddenly chimed in, asking, "Should we buy it in Beijing or Tianjin?"

"boss Zhang."

Xu Wei stood up somewhat awkwardly and said with a smile, "You're an expert, could you give me a recommendation?"

"Let's buy it in Beijing. Resources within the Second Ring Road are scarce. If we don't seize the opportunity now, it will be difficult to buy them later."

After giving Xu Wei his feedback, Zhang Yan and Chen Hong left the audition room.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Chen Hong shook her head slightly and said, "I'm afraid he might not be able to save enough money to buy a house in the Second Ring Road."

Zhang Yan asked in surprise, "What, you don't think much of him? Or do you lack confidence in our dream coming true?" "Neither."

Chen Hong took his arm and said, "Actually, Xu Wei is a somewhat sensitive and insecure person. So even though he earns less than others, he treats the most people. He especially likes the idea of ​​being generous and righteous."

In fact, many rock singers have this problem.

Before he became famous, he was cynical and reckless. Once he had money, he spent it lavishly and particularly enjoyed the thrill of buying friends with money. If the other person had achieved something or there was something he admired about them, he would be even more generous and quick to spend.

Dou Wei also has some of that spirit, but he is a rather withdrawn and introverted person, so he doesn't have many people who approve of him, and therefore he has relatively few followers.

"It's not easy for us to advise you on this."

Zhang Yan thought for a moment and said, "When his wife comes to Tianjin to see the concert, you can quietly remind her."

Just then, Zhang Yan's mobile phone rang. Upon answering, he recognized the voice as that of Deputy Director Yan Xiaoming.

"Yan Tai, what are your instructions?"

"The fart's instruction."

Yan Xiaoming asked, "Are you at the TV station now?"

"I was just about to leave, and I had just reached the lobby on the first floor."

"Let's not go any further. Let's have a meeting on the third floor."

What kind of meeting is it?

"You'll know when you get here."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan shrugged at Chen Hong and said, "Why are you being so mysterious? Do you want to come along and listen in?"

"No, our agency isn't affiliated with any TV station," Chen Hong said, straightening his collar and cuffs. "I'm going back to the company now; we should start making arrangements for the MV promotion in advance."

These days, it's not an easy task to promote your products nationwide. Even if it's relatively easy to contact TV stations, it's still necessary to lay the groundwork one or two months in advance.

As if by prior arrangement, the two of them never mentioned Wang Luyao.

After parting ways at the main entrance, Zhang Yan went to the conference room on the third floor alone. Upon entering, he saw Director Ma Yuan sitting in the center, with the three deputy directors, including Yan Xiaoming, seated on either side.

This battle...

At Ma Yuan's invitation, Zhang Yan sat down in his seat and asked in confusion, "Director, what big thing has happened this time?"

"Ah~"

Before the leader could speak, Chen Zhipeng across from him sighed with a worried look, "What else could it be? Our Brightening Formula is selling too well, and as a result, the city has taken notice!"

After a year and a half of aggressive expansion, Bright Dairy instant noodles have captured nearly 40% of the national market, making it the undisputed industry leader.

Meanwhile, the factory's size expanded from a small factory with just over two hundred employees to more than three thousand employees—mainly due to the passive acquisition of many small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises.

Moreover, compared to other companies that often suffer from indigestion after merging with others, Guangming Flour Mill, with its abundant capital injection and Chen Zhipeng's iron-fisted management, can be considered a benchmark for state-owned enterprises in Tianjin.

Such a high-quality enterprise naturally attracted the attention of the city.

Rumors are circulating that Guangming Flour Mill will be upgraded two levels and reorganized into Guangming Group, which is directly under the municipal government.

After listening, Zhang Yan smiled at Chen Zhipeng and said, "Director Chen, this is a bad thing for others, but it should be a good thing for you, right? You'll be at the bureau level by then."

Chen Zhipeng scoffed, "I don't care about rank, I'm just worried about being put under someone's thumb!"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at one of the deputy directors, who had previously suggested 'strengthening' the leadership of the Guangming Factory. As for the purpose...

The deputy director coughed somewhat awkwardly and took the initiative to change the subject, saying, "Xiao Zhang, you have made great contributions to Guangming's growth and success. Why don't you say a few words first?"

Zhang Yan originally wanted to be modest, but seeing that everyone was looking at him, he realized he had developed a habit of following the same path, so he simply stopped pretending.

After a moment's thought, he suggested, "Let's throw money at it!"

"Throw money at it?"

Ma Yuan frowned and asked, "You mean increase the percentage of taxes to be handed over to the municipal government?"

"What's the use? Once it's directly under someone else's command, it'll all belong to them."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "What I mean is, let's take the lead in doing a few big projects that require a lot of money, such as raising funds to build a satellite broadcasting service, which would be beneficial to the future development of our TV station."

Regardless of whether we can actually achieve it, let's make some grand promises first. If the higher-ups still want to take over Guangming Factory, we'll demand that these projects be converted into government expenditures.

By the way, isn't Beijing planning to build a film and television base? We could suggest we collaborate on it; then the higher-ups wouldn't be able to stop it even if they wanted to—that would be a way to leverage Beijing's influence.

(End of this chapter)