Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 241 The Mongolian Song King
Before Zhang Yan could get a good look, An Wen followed Wang Jinghua and Chen Hong into the house.

"boss Zhang."

Before Zhang Yan could look away, Han Lei brought a man with a thick beard to his side: "Let me introduce you—this is Tengger, a singer of our Mongolian ethnicity, and the first singer from the mainland to hold a solo concert in Taiwan!"

With his still-thick hair, Teng Ge'er bent over and smiled broadly as he reached out to Zhang, saying, "Mr. Zhang, I've heard so much about you. Actually, I studied in Tianjin back then, so I'm practically a Tianjin native."

As Zhang Yan shook hands with him, the words "Paradise" came to mind, but she was already quite calm. After all, it wasn't the singers who needed to fulfill their dreams, but rather the singers who longed to fulfill their dreams.

Moreover, Tengger looked somewhat disheveled, with several scratches on his face that hadn't fully healed.

Perhaps noticing Zhang Yan examining the injury on his face, Teng Ge'er chuckled and said, "I had a little argument with my wife a couple of days ago, but it's all resolved now."

At this moment, Han Lei's assistant brought over a few stools, and Zhang Yan, Zhang Weining, Han Lei, and Teng Ge'er sat together and chatted. The first thing they talked about was naturally Teng Ge'er's concert in Taiwan.

This connection actually began in 1990 when Tenggeer was invited to sing the theme song for the TV series "Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon".

Because the TV series was quite popular in Taiwan, Teng Ge'er was later invited to Taiwan. He first appeared on Fei Yuqing's variety show, sang "Meeting at the Aobao" with his wife, and then released an album and held a concert.

"Later I heard that rock bands in mainland China were quite popular, and I wanted to join in the fun, so I contributed money and effort to form the Canglang Band. Who knew that before we had even performed a few shows, someone in the band was scammed and it cost me a lot of money to settle it."

My wife and I had a fight over this. Later, when she heard that "I Am a Singer" was going to have a second season, she urged me to give it a try. But when we got to Tianjin, we found out that singers who had already released albums weren't allowed to participate.

At this point, Han Lei continued, "Later, we met at a bar. As soon as I heard that perfectly enunciated 'Mongolian,' I knew it must be him."

Tengge'er also laughed and said, "I wrote this song when I was studying in Tianjin."

These words clearly concealed something. It's true that he held a solo concert in Taiwan, but it most likely flopped. Otherwise, a folk singer like him wouldn't have suddenly returned to the mainland to form a rock band.

As for the so-called "honey trap"...

Zhang Yan was unsure whether it was true or not, and was even more worried that he himself was testing the law, so even though he could clearly see that Teng Ge'er was interested in serving him, he did not show any intention of recruiting him.

Tengger, however, was a bit too proud to admit it, so although the two sides chatted enthusiastically, they didn't discuss any serious business.

As noon approached, six tables of banquet food, which had been booked in advance, were set up along the side of the courtyard. Guo Chuanlin brought over two large barrels of draft beer, and Zhang Yan also had two cases of Wuliangye liquor brought out. The atmosphere in the courtyard became increasingly lively.

Upon seeing Wuliangye, Tengge'er forgot everything else and started playing drinking games with Han Lei.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Yan found Wang Zhongqi and, based on Tenggeer's description, contacted a local song and dance troupe—this troupe had reported the bad party to the 'Information Distribution Center', so they had each other's contact information.

According to feedback from the dance troupe, Tengger's statement was half true and half false. In fact, after their performance, the bassist, drunk, sneaked into a model's room and attempted to rape her but failed.

The Canglang Band in Tengger was surrounded all night. They had to pay compensation and beg and plead to finally settle the matter. When they left, both of their cars had seven tires punctured.

Since it wasn't Tengger himself who broke the law, Zhang Yan felt much more at ease.

When I came out of the house, I saw that Tengger was already drunk. He had taken off his shirt, was carrying a women's bicycle, and was singing toasting songs to people at the table.

Zhang Yan could understand taking off his shirt, but what did it mean to have a bicycle on his shoulder?
[PS: According to the information I found, Tengge'er has been drunk lately and likes to carry bicycles from the stairwell to his friends' houses.]

Zhang Yan approached Han Lei, who was already somewhat drunk, and gestured, "Let him sing a song."

Han Lei asked in bewilderment, "Isn't it being sung right now?"

"I mean, let him sing a proper song, like 'Many hands make light work'."

Han Lei was slightly taken aback, then seemed to realize what was going on, and hesitated before asking, "Is this necessary?"

"Just go when I tell you to." Zhang Yan glared at him, and Han Lei had no choice but to run off to coax Teng Ge'er into singing.

Zhang Yan then called Zhang Weining and Zhang Yadong to his side and instructed them, "Listen to this person's voice and see if there are any conflicts with our singers, especially how big the conflict is with Han Lei."

To outsiders, the more good singers a record company has, the better. But this is a misconception. If several singers with similar styles and levels are put together, there will inevitably be a situation of too many singers and too few singers in the future.

Even if it weren't a case of too many monks and too few porridge, it would still be a complicated and messy matter to figure out who gets the more popular song and who gets the better song.

Moreover, singers are different from actors. Once a singer becomes famous, they have a strong sense of autonomy and independence, and they have the capital and ability to terminate their contracts if they are wronged.

Zhang Yan didn't want to expand blindly and end up causing the company to fall apart.

By this time, Han Lei had already persuaded Teng Ge'er, but Teng Ge'er did not sing "Big Ship", but rather Han Lei's most popular song at the moment, "Wandering Around".

After listening for a while, Zhang Yan could roughly tell the difference. With the same deep voice, Han Lei's version had a more carefree feel, while Teng Ge'er's version had a desolate feel.

The same lyrics, one walks through the bustling world, the other walks across the vast land.

Tengger even spontaneously added a few words in Mongolian, which came out perfectly and didn't seem out of place at all—proving that he is definitely better than Han Lei in terms of creative ability.

After singing "Walking Around the World," Tengger sang his signature song "Mongolian" amidst applause, mixing a line of Chinese with a line of Mongolian.

Zhang Yan heard half of it, then held a short meeting with Zhang Weining and Zhang Dongya.

Zhang Weining commented first: "His explosive power from low to high notes is extremely rare, and it has a strong grassland flavor. If he is paired with a song that can highlight this feature, he will definitely become popular, and the kind of popularity that people will remember for decades."

Zhang Yadong followed up with his comments: "There are quite a few singers who sing with ethnic characteristics in their native language, but this is the first time I have seen someone sing with such a strong grassland flavor in Mandarin. If he continues to delve deeper into this area, he should be able to become a representative figure in the Inner Mongolian music scene."

Zhang Yan could hear the strong grassland flavor, but the explosive power from low to high notes...

Well, it's normal that he didn't recognize it; a boss doesn't need to be so omnipotent.

So he nodded and asked, "How does he compare to Han Lei?"

Zhang Weining and Zhang Yadong exchanged a glance and said, "There are indeed some conflicts, but because Teng Ge'er's personal style is so strong, his version will definitely be different from Han Lei's."

"In other words, Han Lei can probably sing any song he can sing, but it just won't sound the same?"

That's roughly the idea.

"So, do you think we should sign him?"

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's question, Zhang Weining replied without hesitation, "Of course we should sign him. It would be such a pity to miss out on a singer like him."

Zhang Yadong hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's best to find out what Han Lei thinks first."

So Zhang Yan called Han Lei over and repeated their evaluations in detail, except that he simplified "representative figure of the Inner Mongolian music scene" to "King of Inner Mongolian Songs".

Upon hearing these four words, Han Lei's expression became noticeably uncomfortable. His nose twitched slightly, and he opened his mouth but then closed it again.

Zhang Yan didn't rush him, patted him on the shoulder and said, "No rush, everything is based on your opinion, just give me your answer after the wedding."

Han Lei nodded, then started burying his head in a can of beer.

Not to be outdone, Tengger and his companion drank until they were both completely drunk in the middle of the day.

(End of this chapter)