Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 328 Do you think I still have a chance?

[I'm stuck, only one update, consider this a leave of absence.]

Besides connecting people in my hometown...

Zhang Yan also arranged two easy jobs for his parents. Zhang Xingguo took over his vacancy and went to work at the Tianjin Literature Magazine, while Sun Xiaohong was assigned to work at the Women's Federation.

However, the elderly couple hasn't started working yet, since their most important purpose in coming to Beijing this time is to set a wedding date for Zhang Yan and Chen Hong.

After repeated negotiations with the Jiangxi side, the wedding was finally scheduled for July 18th.

After the wedding, we'll take "Sunshine" to the Venice Film Festival, and use it as our honeymoon in Europe.

Because of the distance, the Chen family expects to send more than 20 people, while Zhang Guoxing and Sun Xiaohong have initially estimated that 70 or 80 people from the Zhang family will come, fully demonstrating the saying that even the rich have distant relatives in remote mountains.

This made the old couple grumble for several days. They didn't care about the selection fee, since the Zhang family wasn't short of money. Their main concern was that too many people would gossip and they would embarrass themselves in front of their in-laws.

Seeing the elderly couple looking so worried, Zhang Yan was quite dismissive. He hadn't gotten to where he was because of his in-laws' connections, so there was no need for him to care too much about their opinions.

Besides, who doesn't have a few poor relatives?
But the elderly couple were determined to handle things perfectly, and Zhang Yan couldn't dissuade them, so he gave up and left it to them.

On the evening of the 23rd, Zhou Tao called Zhang Yan and said that Yang Lan had already taken an afternoon flight abroad and that she had decided to take over "Zhengda Variety Show". So she thought of asking Zhang Yan to take a look at the program and give it a good review.

Zhang Yan was speechless. Although everyone was closely connected, they couldn't keep taking advantage of each other like this.
Besides, if I keep helping Zhou Tao, people will definitely gossip if it happens too often.

Zhou Tao said dismissively, "Do you think no one is gossiping now? Do you think there aren't many people like us in the station? As long as we don't get caught in the act, it's fine."

It can only be said that the eyes of the masses are discerning.

"I can give my opinion, but I won't interfere with the overall direction."

Zhang Yan finally agreed to Zhou Tao's request. The inspection team was scheduled to return to Beijing on the evening of the 26th, and he planned to go to Beijing to discuss the movie channel with Leader Lin and also have a chat with Han Sanping.

When we return, we can also pick up Lung Wu and Andy Lau.

However, before going to Beijing, Zhang Yan needed to finalize the cooperation with Shandong TV.

The first thing to discuss is the cast of "The White-Browed Hero". Originally, according to Chen Hong and Wang Jinghua, it would have been best if they could get the right to choose the male and female leads.

However, after contacting the male lead selected by Shandong TV, Yuanmeng quickly gave up competing for the role.

Since the candidate nominated by the other party is from Hengjiang and grew up in Tianjin, they have to give him some face as fellow villagers.

Therefore, Yuanmeng settled for second best and obtained the casting rights for the second and third male leads, preparing to let the three martial arts school students compete with Huang Zhizhong, Li Yapeng, Wang Jinsong and others for the roles.

Then there's the variety show that Zhang Yan had previously agreed to.

Because Shandong TV took the initiative to offer the project "Gan Shijiu Mei" to Yuanmeng for collaboration, Zhang Yan reciprocated by providing two creative ideas: "Boys and Girls Rush Forward" and "Swing Bridge".

Both are water-based programs, which aligns with Jinan's reputation as the "City of a Thousand Springs."

At first, the Shandong TV representative was somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that the two variety shows lacked technical sophistication.

After Zhang Yan arranged a brief demonstration at the film and television base, the Shandong TV representative was overjoyed – not to mention the entertainment value of the two programs, the important thing was to select more female contestants with good figures.

However, Cao Ying, who was called upon to host the event, was not happy at all as he watched the hilarious scenes unfolding on the swaying bridge.

The main attraction of this show lies in the contestants, and the role of the host is quite limited, not to mention that her position is only supportive.

At this moment, Zhang Yan raised his hand to check his watch and said to the Shandong TV representative who was still enjoying himself, "Brother, it's getting late. Why don't we find a place nearby to fill our stomachs first?"

"Don't rush to eat."

The burly Shandong man leading the team pointed to the swaying bridge and said, "Mr. Zhang, do you think we should dismantle this bridge and its mechanisms first?" Actually, given the current speed of information dissemination, even if the film and television base launched these two projects, it wouldn't affect Shandong TV's ratings.

Seeing the other party's serious expression, Zhang Yan had no choice but to comply and asked the film and television base staff to dismantle the bridge and remove half of the mechanism, temporarily sealing it in the warehouse.

Once the variety shows on Shandong TV are launched, the film and television base can then launch these two projects with great fanfare.

We ate lunch at a newly opened small restaurant near the film studio. The food was so-so, but the Shandong TV crew was in high spirits. The three of them couldn't even finish five jin of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

As usual, Zhang Yan abstained from alcohol under the pretext of preparing for pregnancy. However, Cao Ying took the initiative to toast several people, since she would be working under them soon.

After taking the three of them back to their hotel.

Zhang Yan glanced at Cao Ying, whose face was flushed in the passenger seat, and asked, "Should I take you to your apartment, or should we go back to the company together?"

Cao Ying seemed to feel a tightness in her chest, casually adjusted her seatbelt, and then suddenly asked, "President Zhang, when will I be able to stand on my own like Sister Lu Yao?"

Zhang Yan glanced at her again and said, "Gold always shines. Besides, you've only been with the company for less than a year, and you're already hosting a variety show on Shandong TV. That's quite an achievement."

"I know, of course I know."

As Cao Ying spoke, she unconsciously tightened her grip on the seatbelt again, as if trying to recapture the suffocating feeling she had just experienced. Then she lowered her head and said, "But I'm not from a professional background, and now the company has so many new employees, I...I..."

Besides being jealous of Wang Luyao's treatment, Cao Ying also felt increased pressure from the fact that the group of newcomers with formal training were all there that day.

Although there hasn't been an expansion of recruitment for TV hosts yet, Zhang Fang is a graduate of the Broadcasting Institute. When she graduates next year, there will definitely be people with connections who will help her realize her dream.

If I try to develop in both directions, I'll end up not being able to do either.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan frowned slightly and asked in return, "Then what do you want?"

"I... I just want to be like Sister Luyao. She didn't have formal training either, and her singing ability isn't among the best in the company, nor is her management ability..."

Cao Ying's voice trailed off as she spoke. She shouldn't have said these things; if President Zhang told Wang Luyao, Wang Luyao would definitely find a way to punish her.

But she still spoke her mind, in order to further push herself and leave herself with no way out.

Zhang Yan frowned even more deeply and simply turned around to look directly at Cao Ying.

In fact, Zhang Yan was quite optimistic about the girl's future development and did not think she would lose to the competition with professionally trained artists, but Cao Ying herself obviously did not think so.

Her voice grew softer and softer, but her head gradually rose until it met Zhang Yan's gaze. She bit her lower lip and asked, "Mr. Zhang, do you think I still have a chance?"

"You really want to be like her?"

"Ah."

Cao Ying bit her lip and nodded vigorously, as if that wasn't enough. Her face flushed and her voice trembled as she said, "I... I just want to improve. I want to improve so much."

Seeing her like this, Zhang Yan sighed helplessly: "But have you ever thought that if all the female artists in the company were as ambitious as you, wouldn't there still be too many applicants and not enough opportunities?"

Cao Ying was stunned for a moment, but quickly became determined again: "I just want a real opportunity to get ahead. If it doesn't work out, I'll accept it and I won't keep bothering you, Mr. Zhang!"

It seems that she is different from Wang Luyao. Wang Luyao was looking for the long term, while she had a bit of a gambler's mentality.

Zhang Yan was actually reluctant to accept her as a friend, after all, she was his younger sister's best friend, and he felt that if he really made a move on her...

But seeing Cao Ying's resolute yet pleading expression, our General Manager Zhang couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She had already put it this way; if he didn't accept her offer, it would be too disrespectful to the young lady.

So he finally promised, "When I return from the capital in a few days, if you still want to improve yourself, just give me a call."

(End of this chapter)