Huayu 1995

Chapter 17 Huang Bo, you're so handsome

Su Chao did not forget to pay the one month's salary that General Manager Yan had promised in advance.

And then there's the money for requesting songs, sending flowers, and drinking with customers today.

This part of the statistics is also done very quickly, with dedicated personnel responsible for bookkeeping.

There were three flower baskets, one costing 300 yuan and the other two costing 200 yuan. There were also quite a few bouquets and flowers. In total, Su Chao could get several hundred yuan.

You can get several hundred yuan for requesting songs.

I only accompanied one table of guests for drinks, but because I stayed for a while, I still managed to get a fair share of the drinks.

There's also an advance payment of 1,500 yuan as a guaranteed minimum wage.

Wu Xiubo and Sha Baoliang's families have three thousand top-tier courtesans.

Because Su Chao is handsome and can sing Cantonese songs, Yan Siyuan plans to groom him as the next top star, so he offers him a base salary of 1,500 yuan.

I originally wanted to offer him a salary of 2,000, but Su Chao was unruly and insisted on flexible employment.

Poor Huang Bo only had five hundred.

Because Zhou Xun was on probation and Yang Kun had made multiple mistakes, they didn't even receive the five hundred.

With the two thousand yuan given by Wei Jiahui, Su Chao earned more than four thousand yuan today.

Of course, this is not the norm.

After deducting the unexpected windfall of two thousand yuan, and breaking down his monthly salary of one thousand five hundred yuan into daily earnings, his income today is "only" a little over one thousand yuan.

In a place as extravagant as Casablanca, it's common for a resident singer to earn several hundred dollars a day.

In this era, the average person only earns three or four hundred yuan a month.

"Round it up to five thousand!"

Yan Siyuan walked into the finance office. He had just washed his face with cold water and was now finally a little more awake.

"Thank you bro!"

Su Chao certainly wouldn't refuse; he was just over two hundred short of five thousand.

"Consider this your bonus for today. You did a good job. Now, sign this agreement."

What they presented was a formal residency contract.

It also includes a "non-compete agreement," which clearly stipulates that Su Chao cannot sign similar resident singing contracts with other karaoke bars.

Even for commercial performances, there can be no more than three per month.

Wu Xiubo signed this kind of contract.

He left Peace House because he violated the non-compete agreement.

Su Chao didn't hesitate. After reading the terms, he signed them all in one go.

There was no bargaining.

Yan Siyuan felt incredibly relieved after seeing this.

In fact, for Su Chao, singing in nightclubs was just a "small side quest" to help him accumulate initial wealth.

It's like having a girlfriend.

I have no plans to get married.

Just play around with it.

Therefore, any constraints are meaningless to him.

Su Chao walked out of Casablanca, where Lu Bu and the Guo brothers were already waiting for him.

When the Guo brothers saw Su Chao's bulging pockets, even though they weren't called Lü Bu, they still felt an urge to kneel down and call him their godfather.

They've all heard about it.

Su Chao endured the ordeal in the private room for more than two hours and received a tip of two thousand yuan.

For a time, everyone in the karaoke bar revered him as a god.

"Let's go, where's a barbecue place nearby?"

Su Chao didn't have a chance to eat anything tonight; he just drank two bottles of beer and ate some fruit from the private room.

"I know where to find it, and it tastes pretty good."

Lu Bu frequently came to work here, so he naturally knew quite a bit about it.

"Wait a minute, count me in!"

The person arrived as soon as the voice rang out; it was Huang Bo, whom I had seen at the karaoke bar.

There was also Zhou Xun in sight, who had just come out of the karaoke bar. She looked over when she heard the noise, but she was clearly not walking with Huang Bo.

"Sure, Miss Zhou, would you like to grab a late-night snack together?"

Su Chao casually called out to Zhou Xun.

Putting aside his overrated status, among all the people present, Zhou Xun should be the most accomplished.

"You guys... I'm not treating you."

Zhou Xun glanced at the group of men, especially at Su Chao, before slowly speaking.

It's not that she's taken a liking to Su Chao.

Currently, her relationship with her boyfriend is relatively stable. Although they are poor, they are both working hard for a better life.

The main reason for paying attention to Su Chao is his incredible social skills.

Neither she nor her boyfriend can compare.

Of course, Su Chao earning five thousand yuan on his first day of work was also a major point of interest for everyone.

The news spread as quickly as a plague.

It's estimated that by tomorrow morning the news will have spread throughout all the bars and nightclubs in Beijing.

Earning five thousand a day is something even the top hostess in major karaoke bars can do. If you're lucky, it's not uncommon to get two thousand in tips at once.

But those were all top-tier performers, seasoned veterans who had been in the business for many years.

It's absolutely impossible for a newcomer to do that.

The group chatted as they walked.

Huang Bo mainly stayed by Su Chao's side and chatted with him.

He actually recognized Lü Bu and knew he was a security guard at the karaoke bar, but he pretended not to see anything.

"You really wrote your own songs?"

"correct."

"You wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and arranged all by yourself?"

"Hmm~"

If someone asks what techniques they need to use to win over Huang Bo after being reborn.

The answer is that no special skills are required.

He posted it himself.

"Can you write a song for me? I'll pay you, and all the money I make from releasing the song is yours."

Huang Bo is single-mindedly focused on debuting as a singer at this time.

Aside from being a bit ugly, he can sing and dance, so there's no reason why he can't be a singer.

There are plenty of people who aren't handsome.

For example, Huo Feng, the singer of "The Big Sedan Chair," Yin Xiangjie, the singer of "The Boatman's Love," and Tengger, who sang "The Mongolian," are all incredibly popular.

"You... I'll think about it."

Su Chao found it utterly absurd; he had actually met Huang Bo in his past life.

I think it was the College Student Film Festival.

He was one of those who got in by tagging along with someone else, and he happened to run into Huang Bo. Across a group of people, Su Chao shouted, "Huang Bo, you're so handsome!"

Huang Bo smiled and waved at him.

Su Chao was quite excited at the time, and afterwards told people that Huang Bo truly deserved to be called a superstar from humble beginnings, as his interpersonal skills were impeccable.

Who would have thought it would be just a simple rebirth?

Then Huang Bo followed him with his head bowed and scraped, hoping to get a chance.

"Don't you know Dou Wei?"

Lu Bu worked at a karaoke bar and knew about this rumor.

The reason why Sha Baoliang and others held Huang Bo in high regard was not only because Huang Bo and the music director were from the same hometown of Qingdao, but also because Huang Bo knew Dou Wei.

"Sigh, it's all for nothing. Dou Wei himself is in a lot of trouble right now."

Huang Bo sighed.

The group soon arrived at the barbecue stall that Lü Bu had mentioned.

The stall was small and there were no other customers at all, since it was already the middle of the night.

Seeing a group of people approaching, the stall owner finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In this sweltering heat, if the ingredients don't sell, they'll probably taste stale tomorrow.

"Boss, forty skewers of chicken, please."

Lu Bu immediately ordered the cheapest option, as the price of chicken had plummeted in recent years due to the increasing number of chicken farms in the suburbs of Beijing.

"We only have about twenty skewers of chicken left. Let's get something else."

The boss curled his lip.

"Grill twenty skewers of lamb and beef, and whatever else you like, and bring them out first. Boss, don't rip us off. I'll come here often for late-night snacks from now on."

Su Chao was quite decisive.

Today, there are five grown men and one woman, six people in total, and we'll definitely need two or three hundred skewers to fill our stomachs.

In the 1980s, lamb skewers cost two mao (0.2 yuan) each, but now they've risen to one yuan. Fortunately, the portions are quite generous, and they're mostly made of real lamb.

When Su Chao traveled back in time, roadside barbecue stalls were full of duck meat, and getting real mutton was a matter of luck.

The meat skewers were served quickly, and Su Chao also ordered beer. The group ate and chatted.

Barbecue, beer, and roadside stalls—life is short, so enjoy it while you can.

Many people have probably had similar experiences.

"Hey, where do you all live?"

Huang Bo is good at starting conversations. These people are all from out of town and working in Beijing, so similar topics easily resonate with them.

By sharing their grievances, they can become familiar with each other.

“When we first arrived, we slept in the park. Now it’s better. My brother and I live in a basement that costs 120 yuan a month.”

Guo Xiaofeng is also trying to integrate into this group.

Although the two brothers are not from Qingdao, they are from Linyi, making them half-fellow villagers with Huang Bo.

“When I first arrived, it was also terrible. I stayed in a cubicle, which cost 15 yuan a bed. When it rained heavily, the water got in, and my clothes were covered in mushrooms.”

Huang Bo originally just wanted to find a topic that everyone could participate in.

But the more he talked about it, the more miserable he felt.

Last year, he was singing in an underpass when the business administration confiscated his guitar, and he couldn't get his ransom back.

After finally managing to sneak into the "Yangetai" nightclub, she was asked by customers to sing while kneeling. She forced herself to finish the song while holding back her tears, only to be met with even more outrageous demands.

He finally couldn't take it anymore.

big deal...

As expected, he was fired from the "Yangetai" nightclub and didn't get his two hundred yuan deposit back.

"Security deposit? What security deposit?"

Su Chao didn't remember Yan Siyuan mentioning any guarantee deposit.

"..."

At that moment, Huang Bo wanted to swear.

Uh, Rixian Niang!

Unfortunately, he didn't dare, so he could only take a couple more bites of the skewer.

It's obvious that Lu Bu and the Guo brothers both follow Su Chao's lead.

"Well, it seems he forgot."

Su Chao felt he had gone a bit too far today; Yan Siyuan was clearly completely won over by him.

Of course, Kobayashi Music Store may also have played a role in this.

"I... I live in a house converted from an air-raid shelter, which costs about two hundred yuan a month. My boyfriend and I live together."

Zhou Xun didn't talk much at first, but after having a few drinks, she gradually opened up.

"It's good for two people to support each other."

Su Chao didn't say much; he didn't intend to advise Zhou Xun to break up with her boyfriend.

They're going to break up sooner or later anyway.

Zhou Xun was doing quite well; she started shooting calendars when she was fifteen years old in 1989.

It costs two yuan to take a picture. In a good month, you can take hundreds of pictures, which can earn you two or three hundred yuan in a single month.

Back then, a worker's monthly salary was only seventy yuan.

After getting together with Dou Peng, she had to use the money she earned as a nude model to buy her boyfriend a Yamaha synthesizer.

However, Zhou Xun found it quite enjoyable.

Dou Peng used a drumstick dipped in beer to write musical notation and gave it to her.

How the hell can I persuade them?

However, while he didn't offer any advice, he was quite adept at making sarcastic remarks.

Yes, the mutual support made Zhou Xun feel quite isolated.

"Sigh, the most painful thing is not seeing any hope. I have no worries about food or clothing now, but where is my hope? I... I may go back to my hometown at the end of the year. My dad supports me in opening a small factory."

Huang Bo looked at Su Chao with a bewildered expression.

He wanted Su Chao to help him write a good song so that he could become an overnight sensation like Dai Jun, Chen Ming, and Han Lei.

"Forehead……"

Su Chao didn't know what to say.

Don't open a factory. It's almost 1997, and with the financial crisis, your savings from the past few years will be gone.

You'll still have to continue your life as a migrant worker in Beijing.

Why bother?

You want me to write songs to make you famous? That's something I can't do.

You're not destined to be a singer.

"As long as you are rich and noble, don't forget each other!"

Lu Bu clinked his wine bottle against Huang Bo's, thus timely rescuing Su Chao from a predicament.

My godfather isn't famous yet, so he doesn't have time to promote you.