Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 368 Auspicious Housewarming [Part Two]

The next day arrived at the actual day of the housewarming.

Wang Zhongqi and Cao Fang started working at six o'clock, and around eight o'clock they did a simple rehearsal to make sure there was nothing missing before they finally managed to find some time to make a bowl of instant noodles.

Just as he was picking at his noodles with a fork, a staff member ran over shouting, "Director Wang, something's happened! One of the suona players from the drum troupe fell and broke his arm in the restroom!"

"Huh? What happened? Aren't our toilets all made of non-slip tiles? How could someone break their arm?"

"No, he'd never used a toilet before and didn't know there was a seat. He felt uncomfortable because it was cold on the surface, so he wanted to squat on the toilet seat..."

"What are you waiting for? Get him to the hospital right now!"

"Then this suona..."

"Hurry up and find someone to replace you! If there isn't one available right now, isn't there a traditional opera troupe nearby?!"

After carrying the person out of the toilet, Wang Zhongqi went up to check on them and felt that it was probably a fracture rather than a bone fracture, and the situation was not particularly serious, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, there are all sorts of people when you have a hundred. Yuanmeng's event was quite a big deal, and naturally, all sorts of unexpected and chaotic events were bound to happen.

After Wang Zhongqi had almost finished eating, two more Iveco vans arrived outside and released a bunch of dancers like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Most of them had already changed into dance costumes, and one group even performed a Latin dance that exposed their thighs, attracting the attention of the drum and lion dance teams, and even the tourists queuing to enter from the opposite side were drawn in.

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran were the only exceptions.

It wasn't that they were antisocial; it was just that when others received Wang Luyao's request, they could find classmates to coordinate and rehearse, but the two of them, who graduated early, didn't have that opportunity.

Li Xiaoran didn't care about that, since she wasn't there to become a dancer anyway.

After getting out of the car, she looked around and suddenly pointed to both sides of the gate and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Yan, look, those two balloon figures look like they're dancing!"

Wang Yan immediately pulled her along, saying, "Come on, let's go take a look."

Li Xiaoran didn't think much of it and followed Wang Yan to the door to see the two inflatable figures.

Upon closer inspection, Li Xiaoran marveled at the sight, while Wang Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them just happened to be standing in the middle of three dance schools. Only Li Xiaoran was oblivious and didn't notice the tension in the air.

If they stay where they are, they'll probably be riddled with holes from the stares they're getting.

In fact, local art school students in Tianjin wouldn't dare to challenge students from the Beijing Dance Academy, but since they're in Tianjin, they feel they have the advantage of timing, location, and people.

Besides, these are all students who haven't even left school yet; who would genuinely want to be subordinate to someone else?

At this moment, Huang Zhizhong took the initiative to come up and introduced, "This is called 'Air Dancer,' which is also the idea of ​​our boss Zhang. After we finish using it today, we will move it to the other side to attract customers."

Wang Yan expressed her sincere admiration: "President Zhang is really amazing; he can come up with all sorts of ideas."

Li Xiaoran nodded in agreement, like a chicken pecking at rice; she was truly amazed by these two air dancers.

Huang Zhizhong glanced at the dancers outside the door, then at the two men's casual clothes, and invited them, "If you don't have any performances, would you like to take a look around our Dream Fulfillment office building? The interior design was done by experts; it's top-notch, not just in Tianjin, but even in Beijing!"

Just as Li Xiaoran was about to agree, Wang Yan secretly pinched her and laughed, "You go about your business, don't worry about us. We'll just wander around the lobby for a bit."

Huang Zhizhong was met with a rebuff and had no choice but to retreat awkwardly.

When he returned to the topic of actors, Li Xiaoran asked softly, "Sister Yan, what's going on...?"

"We're new here, and we haven't even settled in yet. We're already fooling around with men and women. What kind of impression do you think that will give the higher-ups?"

As Wang Yan spoke, she turned back to look at the people in the dance troupe: "If you want to be a dancer for life, that's fine, but if you want to be an actress or a star, you'll have to be more careful in your daily life."

This is just a superficial thought. In reality, Wang Yan mainly didn't want to waste her energy on unknown people. If it were an established actor, such as Chen Daoming, she definitely wouldn't have this attitude.

"Oh~"

Li Xiaoran nodded blankly.

Wang Yan shook her head at her appearance, thinking to herself, "Is the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe some kind of paradise? How come she's still so naive after being there for half a year?"

In fact, there was no shortage of infighting within the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, but Li Xiaoran was so focused on changing careers that she didn't care about anything in the troupe. Even if someone was targeting her, she probably wouldn't have noticed.

Just then, a Ford Tempest pulled up to the side of the road. Wang Luyao and her assistant got out of the car and quickly walked over to the dancers, where she was immediately surrounded by a crowd of admirers.

Upon seeing this, Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran quickly joined in to listen to what the regimental commander had to say.

However, just as the two squeezed into the crowd, the crowd suddenly parted to the left and right, and Wang Zhongqi hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Luyao, why did you come early?"

"I'm a little worried about the dance troupe."

Wang Luyao imitated Chen Hong's usual demeanor and said to Wang Zhongqi, "Director Wang, from now on, you, as the head housekeeper, will have to take good care of our dance troupe."

Wang Zhongqi found her pretentious manner amusing, always feeling a sense of déjà vu, like a monkey wearing a crown.

But he couldn't expose her in front of everyone, so he suppressed a laugh and nodded firmly: "Of course, the fact that Teacher Zhang appointed you as the head of the troupe is enough to prove how much he values ​​the dance troupe."

After confirming that nothing unexpected had happened, Wang Zhongqi exchanged a few more pleasantries with Wang Luyao before heading off to greet the early-arriving guests.

After he left, Wang Luyao specifically reminded him: "This is Director Wang of our company. He was the editor in charge of President Zhang's novel back then, and later joined our Yuanmeng team to manage logistics."

Director Wang and General Manager Zhang have a long-standing relationship; even General Manager Chen has to give him some face. You should all be respectful to him in the future.”

A cacophony of responses immediately came from the surroundings, some calling out "Commander Wang," others "Sister Lu Yao."

Wang Luyao wasn't very satisfied with this, but today wasn't the time to nitpick. She could only encourage the three dance groups to perform well.

Then she looked at Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran, who seemed out of place, hesitated for a moment, and said, "You two shouldn't run around either, just come with me."

Those who were initially gloating over the two being alone immediately turned into sour grapes—no matter how well they danced, how could it compare to making an impression on the leader?

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran followed behind Wang Luyao and finally entered the office building. They were immediately stunned by the magnificent hall.

They weren't exactly unsophisticated, but this hall was indeed quite different from current aesthetics, exuding a fashionable and avant-garde technological feel in addition to its luxury.

"What do you think? This new office building is pretty good, isn't it?"

Seeing the two of them like this, Wang Luyao said with pride, "This was actually our CEO Zhang's idea; the designer just helped to refine it."

As he spoke, he pulled out a bunch of keys: "Come on, I'll take you upstairs for a look around."

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran marveled at Mr. Zhang's many talents as they followed Wang Luyao into the elevator. The four of them went straight to the top floor.

After exiting the elevator, Wang Luyao first showed the two people her office as the head of the dance troupe, and then, feigning an exit, went to the two innermost offices.

"This is Mr. Zhang's office."

She pointed to one of the offices, then pointed to the one opposite: "That's President Chen's office over there."

As she spoke, she took out a shiny key and opened the door to Zhang Yan's office.

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran were both very surprised to see this.

While stealing glances at their shocked expressions, Wang Luyao tried her best to appear nonchalant and said, "I bought a painting for President Zhang in Beijing. You can help me hang it up."

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers, and her assistant immediately handed a scroll to Li Xiaoran, then rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a hammer and nails.

Under her direction, Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran took off their shoes in a daze, stepped on the sofa, and held the scroll high. It wasn't until the assistant banged on the nails that an idea suddenly popped into Wang Yan's mind.

That newly promoted concubine's head maidservant, who wouldn't say it, is...

After hanging the painting, Wang Luyao examined it carefully and found that it didn't quite match, but it wasn't too bad either. So she waved her hand and said, "Let's go downstairs. I guess President Zhang and President Chen will be here soon."

Once we got back downstairs...

Sure enough, there were many more people than before. The two followed behind Wang Luyao and got to know big singers such as Han Lei, Tian Zhen, Gao Feng, and Ren Xianqi, as well as well-known actors such as Chen Daoming, Gai Lili, and Deng Jie.

At 8:30, Zhang Yan and Chen Hong finally showed up.

Accompanying them were the company's current middle and senior management: Wang Jinghua, Zhang Weining, Zhang Guoli, Chang Jihong, and Liu Weidong.

[PS: Zhang Guoli recently took on the title of film and television director.]

After Zhang Yan arrived, the other VIP guests began to appear one after another.

There were local Tianjin residents, such as several directors and deputy directors of the TV station, the general manager of the film and television base, the main leaders of the management committee, the vice mayor in charge of culture, and famous folk artists such as Niu Qun, Feng Gong, and others.

There were also people who came from afar from Beijing, such as Director Han of Beijing Film Studio, the deputy director of August First Film Studio, the director in charge of variety shows at CCTV, a group of writers led by Yu Hua and Liu Zhenyun, as well as public figures such as Liu Xiaoqing and Zhou Tao.

The music industry had the most attendees, with over twenty well-known singers such as Li Guyi, Mao Amin, and Na Ying, and countless others who were not famous.

Even Yang Yuying and Mao Ning, who live far away in Guangzhou, specially sent gifts through intermediaries.

The rock musicians were even more complete, basically encompassing the most popular groups and individuals of the moment.

Many music company owners also came, including Su Yue of Tianxing Records and Zhang Peiren of Magic Stone Records.

Adding to the crowd of sycophants and those who came to join the fun, there were a total of seven or eight hundred people. There wasn't enough room for anyone outside the door or in the hall, so Zhang Yan had no choice but to invite a dozen or so important guests upstairs to entertain them.

As the newly appointed head of the dance troupe, Wang Luyao naturally followed behind with two newcomers.

As she casually mentioned the identities of the guests along the way, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited.

As expected of the number one private entertainment company in China, with such connections and influence, as long as you can get the company's support, why worry about not becoming famous?
As a result, he became even more attentive and attentive to Wang Luyao.

Although the second wife was not as effective as the first wife, the fact that she could freely enter and leave Mr. Zhang's office showed that she must have considerable influence.

If you can become her confidant, you'll definitely get access to a lot of resources.

At this moment, Li Xiaoran suddenly said, "With so many people downstairs, where are we going to dance?"

Is now the time to care?

Didn't you say you wanted to switch careers and become an actor?
The man not far ahead is none other than the famous director of the Beijing Film Studio!

Wang Yan was speechless and complained inwardly, but Wang Luyao didn't think there was anything wrong with the question and patiently explained, "Isn't there a lion dance team? The lion dance team will be responsible for clearing the venue in a while."

So they were dancing outside.

Wang Yan was increasingly glad that she hadn't been so reckless as to join the crowd. Now it seemed that the information she had gathered by following Commander Wang was the most important.

However, once upstairs, the dozen or so guests were divided into three groups according to their social circles, each accompanied by Zhang Yan, Chen Hong, and Wang Jinghua respectively. Wang Luyao was unsure which group to join, or rather, felt that nowhere was appropriate to go.

Finally, he prepared to take the two of them to his office to sit for a while.

At this moment, Zhang Yan suddenly called out to her and instructed, "The Latin dance group should not perform at the entrance. The TV station has sent a film crew, and it wouldn't be appropriate to record them."

Actually, commercial performances are much more elaborate than this. Latin dances that show off thighs are considered relatively simple, but with so many government officials present, the combination of the two seems rather discordant.

Wang Luyao accepted the order and hurriedly ran downstairs to herd the girls who were about to dance Latin dance onto the Iveco van. She also scolded them for playing the piano inappropriately.

This is just passing the buck; these are things that the battalion commander should be concerned with.

It was 9:45.

As soon as the gongs and drums sounded, the six lions immediately came to life and began to frolic, creating a space for their performance.

When two of the six lions jumped onto the high platform made of stacked tables, they first bit out the red silk with the words "Grand Opening" on it, and then jumped down from the platform with a red ribbon with an embroidered ball hanging from it in their mouths.

Wang Luyao hurriedly urged the students from the Beijing Dance Academy to step forward and act as etiquette ladies, holding up the long red silk at a distance of one meter.

At this moment, the mountain of square tables was removed, and Zhang Yan and several VIPs, who had been waiting at the door, stepped forward, took the scissors from the staff, and began the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

at the same time.

The 99 strings of firecrackers that had been laid out on the street were also lit, and the sound of firecrackers, symbolizing longevity and prosperity, filled the air, making people's ears ring.

Only after the firecrackers stopped did Zhang Yan return to the front gate and reach out his hand to Chen Hong, who was hiding inside.

Chen Hong was pregnant after all, and Zhang Yan was worried that she would be frightened, so he didn't let her participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but the unveiling ceremony couldn't be without the boss's wife.

The two stood on either side of the door, smiled at each other, and then simultaneously pulled the red silk, unveiling the marble signboard on the ceiling of the hall.

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, almost as loud as the firecrackers that had just been set off.

At that moment, countless people cast envious glances at the couple. Some envied Chen Hong for being able to marry such a rich, powerful, young, and handsome husband; others envied Zhang Yan's spirited demeanor, thinking that a true man should be like this.

Of course, there are also those who take unconventional approaches.

For example, a chubby, dark-skinned guy who came with the suona player from the opera troupe to freeload had his eyes fixed on Zhang Yan... while Feng Gong, standing next to him, was thinking nothing but how to replace him.

(End of this chapter)