Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 325 Dream Dance Troupe
Zhang Yanzheng was wondering what the local officials were up to when he received another phone call from his hometown.

It turned out that there were people from the city present earlier, but now that they were gone, Zhang Xingguo spoke much more frankly.

"Since 92, Hengjiang's factory has been in a slump. After the official document was issued last year, the banks were no longer willing to bail it out. The city tried many methods, but the situation is getting worse day by day."

I reckon the reason they suddenly sent someone to Tianjin this time is either to try and get you to invest back in your hometown, or to get you to buy a few factories.

If you don't mean it that way, just come up with an excuse beforehand. Anyway, your mother and I are planning to go to Tianjin to help you take care of the kids, so you don't need to worry about anything.

So that's what happened.

In fact, Zhang Yan had already guessed some of it. After all, state-owned enterprises have been having problems for a long time. Even Tianjin, the second largest coastal city in the north, has been struggling with difficulties for many companies in the past two years.

The reason why Guangming Group was able to expand so rapidly and operate stably without overspending was because the higher authorities were eager for them to acquire more struggling companies in order to reduce the burden on the city, so they provided various policy supports.

But just because this works in Tianjin doesn't mean it will work in Hengjiang.

At least for now, Zhang Yan isn't confident he can handle it.

However, investing back in one's hometown is not feasible, but connecting people with labor export opportunities is still an option.

Because the Economic Development Zone has done a much better job in attracting investment than the original Shikuang, and because the laid-off workers have been taken in by Guangming Group, the Economic Development Zone is currently experiencing a certain degree of labor shortage.

Of course, these positions are mainly for small and medium-sized private enterprises. At present, joint ventures can easily poach employees, let alone recruit them.

[PS: The mass layoffs didn't happen until after 95, and the situation in Tianjin wasn't as severe as in Northeast China, which is why Bright Food Group was able to acquire it.]

…………

A few days later.

While waiting for his parents to arrive in Tianjin, Zhang Yan continued to discuss the preparations for "National Treasure" with Ma Yuan.

As the business of fulfilling dreams expands, Zhang Yan will certainly not be able to devote all his energy to variety shows like he did in the first and second seasons of "I Am a Singer".

So this time he conscripted another member of Deputy Director Yan's team.

Just then, Yan Tai's anti-corruption documentary program came to an end, and he was also quite interested in promoting national treasures and publicizing the long history of Chinese civilization.

Therefore, he took on the preliminary preparation work without hesitation and prepared to personally visit major museums to make contact and provide explanations, which also reflects the importance that Tianjin TV station attaches to this program.

Of course, Tianjin TV is not CCTV after all, and its appeal is far inferior, so it does not insist on the director-level personnel appearing on camera. It would be enough for a deputy director or office director to appear.

After handing over the preliminary preparations to Yan Xiaoming, Zhang Yan immediately began studying the script for a youth idol drama.

He was going to hand the script over to Liu Zhenyun as the main writer, but since he had promised to tailor a role for Wang Luyao, the character design would definitely have to be handled by Zhang Yan himself.

After all, no one knew Wang Luyao's true strength better than him.

In addition, Zhang Yan also took the time to meet with the Economic Development Zone Management Committee to lay the groundwork for labor export.

Having just tasted the benefits of the August 1st Film and Television Base—tourism and real estate development—the Economic Development Zone naturally reciprocated Zhang Yan's request without hesitation.

However, the management committee also made the unpleasant point clear: they would definitely arrange jobs for the newcomers, but the Economic Development Zone was currently striving for excellence, so regarding welfare and other benefits...

Anyway, it can't compare to the old state-owned enterprises of the past.

The workload will definitely be heavy, and the practice of eating from the same pot will absolutely not be tolerated.

Zhang Yan had anticipated this situation. As for whether Hengjiang would agree to these conditions—he was just a 'middleman' who didn't take any money, and his abilities were limited; if they couldn't reach an agreement, he would have to give up.

By April 13th, Chen Hong had returned from Beijing. In addition to securing a large order from the insurance company, she had also negotiated several advertising contracts with Zhang Guoli.

She could have made even more money, but when she heard that her in-laws were coming, she finished her orders and hurriedly returned to Tianjin.

Zhang Fang, the sister-in-law, was also with them, but she said she was afraid of the two Border Collies and refused to go to the villa no matter how much Zhang Yan and Chen Hong tried to persuade her.

Left with no other choice, the two arranged for her to stay in an apartment with Cao Ying temporarily.

Zhang Fang's words served as a reminder to Zhang Yan. To prevent his parents from being frightened by the dog, he specially had a large iron cage made, intending to lock the dog inside once his parents arrived.

A brief separation for the soon-to-be couple makes them feel even closer.

When they arrived at the company the next day, Zhang Yan finally got down to business.

Chen Hong didn't quite understand the terms "labor export" or anything like that.

After hearing about the idea of ​​"National Treasure", she asked worriedly, "Won't the Tianjin Museum look inferior if it's displayed alongside the National Museum of China and the Palace Museum? I hope it doesn't backfire."

"You can rest assured about that."

Zhang Yan explained, "Thanks to the influence of those retired gentlemen back then, the Tianjin Museum has a pretty rich collection. In terms of sheer quantity, it could even rank among the top five in the country. Although the quality is somewhat lacking, it still has a few treasures that are the museum's crown jewels."

After hearing Zhang Yan's explanation, Chen Hong was relieved and then smiled and said, "I also have something important to discuss with you. We have more and more singers under our management and more and more commercial performances. It is troublesome to always find a dance troupe to cooperate with us. Also, the tacit understanding is not enough."

So Jinghua and I discussed it, and we wondered if we should also start our own dance troupe to help develop the singers' singing and dancing skills.

To realize your dream of having your own dance troupe?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan couldn't help but think of a certain large song and dance troupe in later generations. However, Yuanmeng was different from that large troupe; it was a genuine dance troupe in need.

With commercial performances becoming increasingly common, if Yuanmeng wants to maintain its brand influence, it needs to put in more effort in all aspects. A dance troupe that can work well with singers is naturally of paramount importance.

"You can have this."

Zhang Yan said, "It just so happens that the song and dance troupes are seriously overstaffed right now. If we dig out some good talents from all over the place and recruit a batch of new people from the dance academy, that should be about right—it's just that finding choreographers is a bit of a problem."

"Zhang Weining should have a suitable candidate."

Chen Hong suggested, "He used to be a choreographer for the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, so he must have had a lot of dealings with choreographers. We can ask him to recommend a high-level choreographer, or we can hire him at a high price."

After a pause, Chen Hong added, "In addition, I want Lu Yao to manage this matter, so that she won't be idle and thinking about this and that all day long."

"This...can she manage it well?"

Wang Luyao was indeed a dancer, but she switched careers too early, having given up dancing at the age of 16.

"Let's give it a try first, and if it doesn't work, we can find someone else."

Since Chen Hong had already said so, Zhang Yan couldn't object anymore. So the two of them called Wang Luyao over and told her about their plan to establish a dance troupe and entrust her with its management.

Wang Luyao was quite excited after hearing this and kept asking, "Sister Hong, how many people are in our dance troupe?"

"We'll recruit thirty dancers to start, and adjust the numbers based on the situation. We'll also need two dance teachers, one choreographer, and you can draft a list of anything else we need in the next few days—you should know that better than we do."

"okay!"

Wang Luyao was overjoyed and about to go back to make preparations, but she stopped at the office door and turned back to ask hopefully, "Sister Hong, can I go to the Beijing Dance Academy for campus recruitment?"

(End of this chapter)