Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 79 Find a new way
[PS: Originally planned to be released on June 61st, but when I communicated with the editor yesterday, they said it would be scheduled for release on the Sanjiang list next week. In order to take advantage of the recommendation bonus, I have to postpone it for a few days.]

Beijing Apartments.

Zhang Yanzheng was eating instant noodles absentmindedly by himself.

With the immense popularity of "Tianjin Wei" magazine and its catchy advertisements, his fame soared, with some newspapers even calling him another "Wang Shuo," or simply "Little Wang Shuo."

Although Zhang Yan disliked this nickname, its fame and influence were undeniable.

So he just casually mentioned that he was interested in record companies, and Zhang Peiren invited him to participate in the production of the album "China Fire", mainly responsible for the cover design of the cassette tape and the record.

With this title, Zhang Yan quickly figured out Zhang Peiren's operating model.

To put it bluntly, it's always better to have a powerful backer.

Zhang Peiren's newly established Magic Stone Culture Company does not have the right to publish albums in mainland China, but he can send the recorded albums to its parent company, Rock Records, for sale.

Once you make a name for yourself in Hong Kong and Taiwan, pirates will naturally help you conquer the mainland market, and it might even be more effective than releasing an album directly in the mainland.

Clearly, this model is more attractive to singers than the model of making a name for themselves on Tianjin TV, releasing albums, and performing at various venues.

After all, this is the era when Hong Kong and Taiwan culture is at its strongest. Rock singers usually talk about the Hong Kong and Taiwan music scene with a resentful attitude, but if they really have the opportunity to 'debut' in Hong Kong and Taiwan, they would all flock to it.

But Zhang Yan could not imitate this model at all.

To achieve a similar effect, you'd have to be on the Spring Festival Gala—or at least CCTV's New Year's Eve Gala.

Knock knock knock~
Just as I was pondering this, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Upon opening the door, they found Guan Hu and a handsome young man with long hair.

"You came just in time."

Zhang Yan ushered the two into the house, then pulled out a box of unopened instant noodles from under the table and showed it to Guan Hu.

"No, no, I've already eaten."

Guan Hu quickly shook his head and refused. He used to like instant noodles, but during the recent period when he was filming commercials, Guangming Flour Mill sponsored twenty boxes of them, which almost made him throw up.

"Who told you to eat it?"

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes and said, "This is Guangming's new cup noodles—I was the one who came up with the idea for them, so naturally we're the ones who will shoot the new commercial."

"real?!"

Guan Hu was overjoyed upon hearing this and exclaimed excitedly, "If this can continue until the end of the year, I won't have to worry about money for making movies!"

Apart from the initial instant noodle advertisement, Zhang Yanke treated him well in all other advertisements, giving him more than 40,000 yuan in half a month.

Of course, Zhang Yan received more, earning over 100,000 yuan in half a month, while Chen Hong, as a main actress, also received nearly 100,000 yuan.

[PS: According to the information I found, the advertising fees for popular celebrities in the early 90s were roughly between 2 and 5 yuan.]

The speed at which he made money led Zhang Yan to consider whether he should give up his record company and start an advertising company instead.

"What are you dreaming about?"

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes at Guan Hu and beckoned to the young man next to him, "You're Gao Qi from the Breathing Band, right? I live alone, so don't be shy, have a seat."

Zhang Yan had met Gao Qi twice before. Although they hadn't interacted much, Gao Qi, like Dou Wei, was a rare good-looking guy in the rock band, so Zhang Yan had a deep impression of him.

Gao Qi smiled shyly and said, "Now we're the Overload band, and I'm the guitarist and lead singer."

"Oh~"

Zhang Yan nodded in realization. It's normal for bands in Beijing to break up and reunite, but Gao Qi's decision to reunite the band at this time and become the lead singer is undoubtedly aimed at "China Fire".

"Brother, is sister-in-law not home today?"

Guan Hu was a little curious. Ever since "Tianjin Wei" became a hit, Chen Hong and Zhang Yan had been inseparable, and he had almost never seen the two of them apart.

"Something came up at work."

Mentioning Chen Hong gives Zhang Yan a headache. She's still thinking about the female lead in "Hair Messed Up," but that role is clearly not suitable for her.

Furthermore, the female lead has two passionate scenes...

"Brother~"

Guan Hu grinned and said, "Do you have any plans for tonight? If not, let Gao Qi treat us. Let's go to Donglaishun for lamb spine hot pot!"

The two have become quite familiar with each other now. Zhang Yan is a year older than him, so he calls him "brother" all the time.

"No need to treat us to a meal."

Zhang Yan didn't bother beating around the bush and asked directly, "Is it about 'China Fire'? I just helped design the cover and packaging. Did you really think I could make the decisions?" Seeing that Zhang Yan had brought it up, Guan Hu quickly seized the opportunity: "No matter what, your influence is more effective than ours—Gao Qi is quite skilled and writes good songs, but because the Overload band is newly formed and not very famous, they are worried about being looked down upon."

After a pause, he added, "I plan to have Gao Qi handle all the songs for our movie!"

The last sentence made Zhang Yangao glance at Gao Qi. Putting aside everything else, at least his ability to appreciate rock music was reliable.

Considering that Guan Hu had been working diligently alongside him during the recent commercial shoot, Zhang Yan turned to Gao Qi and asked, "Is your band's practice place far from here?"

"Not far, not far!"

Gao Qi was overjoyed: "It's right around here!"

Although it was said to be nearby, it took Zhang Yan more than half an hour to drive there. Fortunately, the Overload band was indeed quite good, so at least the trip wasn't in vain.

He made an appointment with Gao Qi to take the Overload Band to see Zhang Peiren the next day; he also made an appointment with Guan Hu to pull off another job with the advertising team the day after tomorrow.

Zhang Yan then returned to his apartment alone.

"Honey!"

As soon as she entered the door, Chen Hong excitedly clung to Zhang Yan and screamed, "Guess why the company called me in this time?!"

Zhang Yan casually guessed the reason: "Is your Youth Art Theatre going to put on a play?"

"No, what's there to be happy about? No matter how hard our theater tries, we can't compare to the National Theatre of China and the Beijing People's Art Theatre—guess again!"

Zhang Yan thought for a moment, then guessed, "Could it be that a famous director has asked you to act in a movie?"

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Hong immediately gave her a kiss and excitedly said, "It's Director Wang Fulin, the same Director Wang Fulin who directed the TV series 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' He's now the chief director of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' He saw an instant noodle commercial and decided to cast me as Diao Chan!"

"real?!"

Zhang Yan was immediately overjoyed, but what he was thinking was to quickly urge Guan Hu to finish the pre-production work for the movie and finalize the cast while Chen Hong was playing Diao Chan.

The two were so happy that they started rolling around in bed, connecting first and then moving, making the South-to-North Water Diversion Project a complete success.

When she entered a period of reflection, Chen Hong glanced at the instant noodles under the table and suddenly became worried: "When I went there this time, my supervisor said that young actors should not be overexposed, otherwise they are overdrawing their acting careers."

"Uh~"

Zhang Yan's eyes darted around, and he frowned as well, saying, "It seems there is such a saying. It seems that shooting commercials and doing commercial performances too frequently will cause the audience to have a rebellious mentality."

"So this advertisement..."

Hearing Zhang Yan say the same thing, Chen Hong became even more worried.

Zhang Yan felt the time was right, so he casually said, "If it doesn't work, we can find someone else. Anyway, we have so many actors in our crew. Wasn't that FAW Tianjin commercial filmed by Chen Daoming?"

Chen Hong nestled in Zhang Yan's arms and suddenly felt that Zhang Yan's heart was beating a little fast.

After a moment's thought, she guessed that Zhang Yan probably wanted Tao Hong to shoot the advertisement.

hum~
That little vixen is really persistent!

She instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she thought that she hadn't seen that little hussy show her face since she came to the capital, which showed that Zhang Yan could still distinguish between good and bad, and between primary and secondary matters.

Moreover, Zhang Yan is clearly a womanizer, or rather, there is no longer any woman who can make him devoted to her.

Even if I can stop it this time, what about next time?

Moreover, I will soon be joining a film crew, and even if Zhang Yan verbally agrees, I can't stop him from doing things behind my back—if I'm too strict, it might make him resentful.

Seeing that Zhang Yan was heading straight for Wang Shuo, we couldn't afford to cause any trouble at this crucial moment.

Besides, it's not like it's the first time...

Thinking of this, she changed to a more alluring pose, drawing circles in Zhang Yan's heart as she said, "Then let's not look for anyone else, let Tao Hong take the picture. Haven't you always treated her like a younger sister? Let's help each other out as much as we can."

Zhang Yan did indeed want to have Tao Hong shoot an advertisement, but not to rekindle their old friendship—well, at least not entirely—but mainly to take the opportunity to improve Tao Hong's living conditions.

But he never expected that Chen Hong would bring up Tao Hong on her own initiative.

Does this mean he feels Tao Hong poses no threat, or has he discovered some clues and is actively testing the waters?
Zhang Yan was a little unsure, but didn't want to hesitate for too long, so he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Then let's go with Tao Hong. Anyway, no one can imitate your beauty. No matter who we choose, we'll have to change the advertising slogan."

Chen Hong giggled, then suddenly seized on a certain 'soft spot' and said playfully, "You can try to find another 'path', but you can't let her surpass me, or I'll get jealous."

These words...

It sounds like a double entendre.

(End of this chapter)