A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 148 Courage!
The sputtering sound of a motorcycle exhaust.

It's cloudy today, but there's no wind. It's a bit cold, but only mildly so.

While BMWs aren't cold, they're far inferior to motorcycles when it comes to navigating alleyways.

What's more, this is a Beijing A yellow license plate, buddy, it won't be subject to any traffic restrictions for another thirty years.

When they arrived at the destination, they parked the car, went over and knocked on the door. Soon, Dou Wei's sister, Dou Ying, ran over and opened the door. "Oh, Jian Lu! Come on in!" — Yes, it was arranged; she was here to visit Wang Fei today.

I gave birth, it seems like it was right at the beginning of 1997. I didn't have time before, so I couldn't take care of her, but now that I'm back and have finished this round of Spring Festival Gala rehearsals, and I don't plan to go back to New York before the new year, even if I have some free time, I still have to come and see the baby.

He has a good relationship with both Lao Dou and Lao Wang.

The car was pushed in and parked, and Dou Wei was already standing at the door.

"Hey, that's great! You've gained a little weight, but good things always make people happy!"

Dou Wei grinned, tilted his head, and said, "Come in!"

Upon entering the room, Dou Wei's mother was also there. She quickly greeted her before looking at the bed. "Oh my, let me see my daughter!"—She was still a baby in swaddling clothes, not yet out of confinement!
Wang Fei lay crookedly on the bed, smiling as she parted the blanket slightly to show him.

"Hey……"

Lin Jianlu took off his leather gloves, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small jade Buddha. It was inlaid with gold, and the workmanship and carving were extremely exquisite. Liu Xiaoli had been in charge of procuring it. "Men wear Guanyin and women wear Buddha. This is for my daughter!"

As she spoke, she pulled the blanket aside a little more, touched the little jade Buddha to her baby's hand, and said that was enough to show that she was asleep. Then she handed it to Wang Fei, saying, "Keep this for my daughter!"

Wang Fei accepted it without hesitation, without even saying thank you. Instead, he said, "You keep calling her 'your daughter,' are you trying to make our girl recognize you as her godfather?"

These days, godparents, or godfathers and godmothers, are not like those of later generations, which have been stigmatized, monetized, and traded. Nowadays, godparents are only recognized by very close friends, and they are treated like half a father.

Dou Wei should be more reserved, but Wang Fei is a clever person. Having Lin Jianlu as her godfather can only bring benefits and no harm.

"Forget about it now, let's talk about it in a few years! I'm only twenty, lady!"

Lin Jianlu didn't stand on ceremony. Dou Ying brought him a chair, and he sat down directly. "When my daughter grows up and becomes sensible, if she likes me, I'll accept her as my goddaughter."

Wang Fei didn't argue and was even quite happy, "Okay!"

Dou Ying quickly brought over another cup of hot tea. Lin Jianlu thanked her and took it, then turned to chat with Dou Wei's mother for a few moments. He then looked down at a steaming contraption beside the bed. He didn't know what it was called; he'd never seen one before. It looked like an old-fashioned radiator, but it seemed to be electric, and it certainly made the house quite warm. Lin Jianlu was quite surprised that this couple had chosen to give birth to their child in the capital during the dead of winter. The reason was simple: there was no heating in his yard, while Ganggang was much warmer in comparison!

But that was a matter between the couple, and Lin Jianlu didn't even bother to inquire about it.

We sat down and chatted.

At first, they were just chatting about who appeared on and who didn't appear on this year's Spring Festival Gala. In her usual style, Wang Fei teased, "Although you're a bit too benevolent, you really go all out to praise your own women!"

"Hi……"

This is referring to Su Huilun.

CCTV usually contacts singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan every year. This year, they basically confirmed Zhang Yu from Taiwan, who is popular enough and has considerable influence. However, with a little push from Lin Jianlu, Su Huilun was also promoted. Even singers who are popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan value being able to appear on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala.

Simply put, the mainland market is just too big!
Even with rampant piracy, genuine products can still sell some copies.

Besides, even if the official version doesn't make much money, as long as the pirated version sells well, the influence is the same. People who have reached a certain level aren't that short-sighted. If they can't make money from record sales right away, they can build up their influence and then make money from commercial performances in the future!
Su Huilun's rise to fame is actually only a recent phenomenon, occurring in the last six months or so. Her overall influence is still somewhat less than that of Zhang Yu. If Lin Jianlu hadn't promoted her, and if she wanted to maintain the popularity of "Lemon-tree" and "Duck" for two or three years, her influence would have truly been cultivated before she could legitimately appear on the Spring Festival Gala.

But now that it's on, it's just a matter of giving it a push.

However... you should know that Wang Fei has been popular in Hong Kong for several years, but she has never appeared on the Spring Festival Gala!

You're from the capital, with that kind of family background, and suddenly everyone moved away to Hong Kong and even got citizenship there. Do you really think we don't know why? Even if we did, you wouldn't hold a grudge?

The words were already on the tip of her tongue when she continued, "For my daughter's sake! Let her mother go next year! I said it!"

Wang Fei scoffed, but stopped abruptly, looking on with suspicion. "Really? You'd push me? Why not Chen Shuhua? She's become a sensation three times! You're really generous!"

"Why don't you two work together? I'll write a duet for you two, are you in?"

Wang Fei stopped laughing and asked seriously, "Really?"

"See... if you don't believe me, then forget it!"

"I believe you! I believe you! Your brother Lu always keeps his word! He has an impeccable reputation! ... Come on, girl, kowtow to your godfather to thank him for helping us so much!"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

They soon started talking about the recent nominations for the Top Ten Jade Solid Gold Songs in Hong Kong.

Yes, it was just announced.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Jianlu, who was incredibly popular in Hong Kong last year, came away empty-handed. Many Hong Kong fans were outraged, criticizing the organizers for being restrictive and resistant to change, refusing to allow Lin Jianlu to be on the list. The incident caused quite a stir, especially since Lin Jianlu's protégés, Su Huilun, Richie Jen, and Chen Shuhua, had all become hugely popular in Hong Kong thanks to his work, making the situation even more awkward. The organizers were also embarrassed and had to explain that it was the rule and that they would consider adjusting the rules in the future, but at least this year's rules could not be changed.

In addition, they stated that they are working hard to invite Mr. Hayashi Mikasa as a special guest to attend this year's awards ceremony, and that they have also invited Tetsuya Komuro to present the awards.

In short, make up for it and change the subject.

I have indeed received the invitation, but I haven't replied yet because I don't really want to go.

It wasn't that he was angry; frankly, Lin Jianlu didn't care whether a song was selected for the so-called Top Ten Hits or not. He simply hated the rules.

In contrast, Murdoch's Star Media's satellite radio station Channel also announced its "Global Chinese Music Awards" winners in January, and Lin Jianlu was at least selected.

The main thing is their Top 20. "Fairy Tale" is ranked first, and Su Huilun's "Lemon-tree" is also on the list at number ten. However, the flaw of their list is also very obvious. Each person has only one song. No matter how popular you are, only one song of yours will be selected for the list. To put it bluntly, everyone gets all the benefits, which is meaningless.

Moreover, they also do this for separate awards—Lin Jianlu did win two awards, one for Best Newcomer and one for Best Music Video, but the Grand Prize went to Zhang Xueyou, the Media Recommendation Award went to Andy Lau, the Special Recommendation Male Singer was Lao Lang, and the Special Recommendation Female Singer was Tian Zhen.

It's all about dividing the cake.

Last year's Singer of the Year award went to Zhang Xueyou? And the Media Recommendation Award went to Andy Lau?
Last year, Lin Jianlu was the most popular animal in all of Asia!

The only certified diamond album in the history of Chinese pop music, and the only Chinese album to break into the top 100 albums worldwide—just for that, how could the Artist of the Year award go to someone else!

Since her debut, Lin Jianlu has made the front page of countless newspapers countless times!

On radio and television, he consistently generated buzz from beginning to end!

In this respect alone, no one in the entire Chinese-language entertainment industry last year could compare.

Yeah, so I'm not going to accept the award. Whatever. I'll wait and see if I can win a Grammy next. After I win the Grammy, I'll come back and win an award in the Chinese-speaking world.

Faye Wong said, "It's actually very simple, just get Hong Kong citizenship!"

Lin Jianlu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. "Get Hong Kong citizenship? Are you kidding me! That place is just a place to make some money. What kind of citizenship do you need? I'm a citizen of the capital!"

Now it was Wang Fei's turn to be surprised, and she was speechless for a long time.

…………

After chatting for almost an hour, Lin Jianlu got up to leave, but Dou Wei immediately stopped her, saying, "What are you doing! Finish your meal!"

"Hi!"

Lin Jianlu waved his hand, "Forget it! You have enough to serve by this mother and daughter at home! I'm busy, going to pick up girls! There will be plenty of opportunities another day!" He then said goodbye to Dou Wei's mother, pushed his motorcycle, and sputtered away.

Go check on the renovation progress of your second house in Nanchizi Hutong.

Then I went home.

Xu Qing wasn't home. Hearing the sound of a motorcycle, Lin Qingxia, wearing a down jacket, lifted the curtain at the main house and came out. Standing on the porch, she saw Lin Jianlu come in, smiled, and waved, "Come on over!"

After Lin Jianlu strode over, she crossed her arms and went into the inner tea room with her. First, she pressed Lin Jianlu down into a chair, then took out her bag, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to her.

"Look!"

I took a look at it, but didn't quite understand it at first. But after looking at it again, I found the following conclusion.

"Pregnancy? Holy crap...you're pregnant?"

"Ok!"

She was particularly smug and energetic. She casually tossed her down jacket onto the sofa, then straddled Lin Jianlu's lap, her face very close. "How is it? Happy?"

"Holy crap... I'm so happy! Of course I'm fucking happy! I... wow!"

"What's wrong? You agreed! You said you'd let me have your child, no take-backs! I don't want an abortion!" She was a little frightened, first quickly presenting evidence and making harsh statements, then pleading with her arms crossed, "Ah Lu, just let me have one for you! I'm over forty, abortion is too dangerous! And once I have an abortion, I might never be able to get pregnant again in my life!"

Lin Jianlu snapped out of her daze, "I didn't say I wouldn't let you have children! I was just marveling... I'm fucking brave!"

She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest so hard it trembled. "You scared me to death! I thought you were going to back out! Let me tell you, I'd rather have nothing than lose this child!" Seemingly realizing that Lin Jianlu really didn't intend to back out, she quickly relaxed and became happy again, even a little mischievous. "Hey, what do you think? Should I tell Xu Qing, or should I go to Hong Kong to give birth in a while?"

Hey……

He casually slapped her plump buttocks. "My own woman is pregnant and will have my child. Why would I be afraid of others finding out? What kind of life is that?"

She hugged his face and kissed him, then immediately cursed, "Stop testing me! If you want to have a child, then have one! We agreed that you wouldn't go looking for an old man anymore, and you'd give me a child, and I'd support you and your child for the rest of your life! When has Lin Jianlu ever gone back on his word?"

(End of this chapter)