Huayu 1995

Chapter 81 Chen Kaige Also Arrives (Bonus Chapter for 500 Monthly Tickets)

Before going to the karaoke bar, Su Chao also stopped by Lin Zhimeng to collect the 50,000 yuan.

There will definitely be a lot of singers coming tonight.

If there are really big discounts, then it's a good time to buy a bunch of stuff.

With songs like "The Moon Caused the Trouble," "Goodbye," and "Little Sun," Su Chao no longer needs to fill his albums with overly popular tracks.

I just buy whatever is cheap.

At most, it's just a matter of considering the album's style.

"The Moon Caused the Trouble" is about heartbreak, "Goodbye" is about parting, and "Little Sun" is about missing out.

These days, sentimentality and regret are very popular.

Of course, the main songs just need to have the same style.

The scraps are just there to make up the numbers; being a little unconventional might attract a niche fanbase.

"How's your new song? Is it any better than 'Goodbye'?"

Yan Siyuan greeted Su Chao as soon as he saw him.

His forehead was covered in sweat.

Many customers had previously told them to call them as soon as Su Chao's new song was released, so they could hear it immediately.

Most of these guests were seated in private rooms.

They're rich and powerful; they just want to try something new and exciting.

Since Su Chao told him he would be starting tonight.

He would stand by the telephone and call these "VIP guests" of the karaoke bar.

But if Su Chao's new song falls short and doesn't live up to the amazing performance of "Goodbye," he will inevitably be complained about by these VIP guests.

It's not impossible that we'll lose some high-quality customers.

"How can this song compare to 'Goodbye'? A masterpiece is born of nature, a stroke of genius... Bro, why is your face pale and then red? Just kidding, the new song is definitely no worse than 'Goodbye,' why are you hitting me... Bro, you really can't take a joke!"

Su Chao patted the footprints on his leg.

It wasn't that his skills had declined; he deliberately took that kick.

"This is no joke, you're trying to kill me!" Yan Siyuan was almost brought to tears, but he still asked with some unease, "Is it really no worse than 'Goodbye'?"

"Brother, how about we make a bet?"

Su Chao felt wronged. "I call you 'brother,' but you don't trust me."

"What are you gambling?"

Yan Siyuan calmed himself down a bit.

"If 'The Moon Causes Trouble' is more popular than 'Goodbye,' then you should mention the treatment I'll receive at the karaoke bar."

Su Chao was struggling to figure out how to bring it up.

He even considered arranging for Lü Bu to play a double act, having Lü Bu approach Yan Siyuan to discuss his treatment.

Then Su Chao gave Lü Bu a good scolding.

What kind of relationship do I have with General Manager Yan? Why would we talk about money? We never talk about money between us!

This is equivalent to Zhao Benshan's line, "What do you want a bicycle for?"

It just so happens that it was brought up jokingly.

"You little brat, you little brat... you actually tried to play tricks on me," Yan Siyuan was so angry he laughed. He slapped Su Chao hard and said angrily, "I would have fought for your salary even if you hadn't mentioned it. The karaoke bar isn't mine, why would I save money for the boss!"

"What's with the scheming? It's just a bet, bro, you can't afford to lose, can you?"

Su Chao wouldn't admit it.

Actually, everyone here is shrewd; they weigh 130 pounds but have 129 pounds of cunning.

None of them is easy to deal with.

"If your song gets a good response, we'll price your new songs at two hundred yuan."

Yan Siyuan said solemnly.

For many people accustomed to high-end nightlife, there's practically no difference between spending a few hundred yuan and a few dozen yuan.

It's only when you're ordering a girl that you realize there's a difference between 198 and 598.

As for where these people got their money...

This is a difficult thing to explain. As long as enough people are suffering, someone will inevitably be able to enjoy the good life.

"Brother, you're the professional, so you can make the decision."

Su Chao nodded repeatedly. He really hadn't thought of that. After all, he thought fifty yuan was already very expensive.

“From now on, the company will no longer take a cut of the flowers and gifts you receive, and I’ve negotiated your basic salary down to eight thousand with the boss.”

Yan Siyuan is a seasoned veteran.

He was able to hold the position of music director of the nightclub because of his outstanding abilities.

As the music director, he wielded considerable power, managing the nightclub alongside Sister Hong, and his position was even higher than hers.

He certainly knew that simply promising something in return wouldn't keep people.

After Su Chao's performance became increasingly outstanding, he contacted the boss behind the scenes to discuss giving Su Chao a raise.

The initial offer was a base salary of 5,000.

His base salary increased from 1,500 to 5,000, surpassing Wu Xiubo and Sha Baoliang, more than tripling their salaries.

However, before he could share the good news with Su Chao, Su Chao shone brightly on Qixi Festival.

Then he said he was going to release a new song, and that it would premiere in a karaoke bar.

Helpless, Yan Siyuan consulted with his boss again.

It's gone up to 8,000!

If it rises again, it will be more than both his and Sister Hong's.

However, if "The Moon Causes Trouble" becomes more popular than expected, this kind of treatment will definitely not be enough to retain the talent.

Therefore, Yan Siyuan had no choice but to adopt a two-pronged approach.

On the one hand, he improved Su Chao's treatment, and on the other hand, he deepened his personal friendship with Su Chao.

Judging from his interaction with Su Chao today, he is deliberately presenting himself as Su Chao's friend.

"Brother, I ran into Jiang Shan while filming a music video today. Could you reserve a private room for her? And my sister Lin Zhimeng too, you should reserve one for her as well. Oh, and Chen Jiantian, my brother Chen..."

“Chen Jiantian, I’ve already prepared them. You need two more, right? Okay, one Qingyu’an and one Changxiangsi. Changxiangsi is a bit small, it can only seat five or six people. If you have many friends, I can add two more chairs.”

Su Chao immediately asked for two private rooms.

If it were anyone else, Yan Siyuan probably wouldn't even give them a second glance.

But since Su Chao has already spoken, he has to do it no matter how difficult it is.

"Brother, you're my real brother!"

Su Chao knew when to quit while he was ahead.

The most valuable benefit they secured this time was that all the revenue from the flower deliveries went to Su Chao. They also received two hundred yuan for each new song request.

If you request five new songs in one night, that's a thousand yuan.

It's no wonder that celebrities flock to entertainment venues these days.

Some of them are already famous, have released albums, and have acted in roles, and they still often go back to perform at the resident concert.

Because this is genuinely profitable.

The income from singing in one night is more than the income from acting in one episode of a TV series.

"If you really think I'm a good friend, just support me when you become famous, and I'll pay you every penny."

Everyone has selfish motives.

Yan Siyuan meant to support him, not Casablanca.

"Don't worry, bro, just you wait and see!"

Su Chao went to find the sound engineer; the equipment had to be kept in top condition tonight.

We also need to prevent unauthorized recording.

Actually, it doesn't matter whether we record at the VIP booth or not.

With the scene so noisy, what's the point of recording anything with a small recorder?

What I'm afraid of is someone stealing the backing track.

Therefore, the sound engineer bears a particularly heavy responsibility.

Su Chao didn't immediately threaten the sound engineer, saying things like, "If you mess this up, this or that will happen."

His usual approach is to appease and build relationships.

We've been working together for so long.

The sound engineer always takes 5% of his earnings.

Now the karaoke bar no longer takes a share of his profits, and the karaoke bar also makes up for the shortfall in the sound engineer's salary.

Hello, hello, hello everyone.

Just as Su Chao was getting ready, people started arriving at the karaoke bar.

"Looks like everyone's here to hear him sing, are you still going to go on stage?"

Sha Baoliang was asking Wu Xiubo a question.

If he had known that Su Chao was releasing a new song at the karaoke bar today, he would have taken the day off and not come.

Now that we're here, it would be too embarrassing to leave now.

"How can we go up like this? We'll just humiliate ourselves!"

Wu Xiubo frowned, also feeling that the current situation was too difficult.

When they go up to sing, if someone yells at them to get off the stage because they want to hear Su Chao's new song, should they go off or grit their teeth and continue singing?

Whether it's being forced to leave the stage or being booed, it's a fatal blow for a top performer.

Do you think his new song might not be very good?

Sha Baoliang held onto a sliver of hope.

"More customers coming to the karaoke bar is also good for us."

When Wu Xiubo saw Sister Hong coming over, he immediately took back what he was about to say, and he didn't remind Sha Baoliang that Sister Hong was coming.

Sha Bao Liang chuckled coldly upon hearing this: "If that's really what you think, then you wouldn't have had someone make things difficult for him last time."

"Shit, don't make false accusations."

He originally intended to trick Sha Bao Liang, but unexpectedly, the other party tried to frame him.

The two old foxes were evenly matched.

It gives people the feeling of being shrewd and calculating, yet unable to figure things out.

"Why aren't you two getting ready yet? Are you even going to sing tonight?!"

Sister Hong slowed her pace and called out to them.

She must have overheard part of their conversation, but there's no point in dwelling on it now.

The most important thing is not to ruin today's new song premiere.

These days, apart from Su Chao, no one else in the underworld is simple.

Neither of them are good people.

"Sister Hong, my throat is not feeling well today, so I won't sing."

Sha Bao Liang turned around and saw Sister Hong, his expression turning extremely shocked.

It seems they didn't expect someone to come from behind them.

And it was Sister Hong.

Whether he was genuinely shocked or not, only he himself knows.

"I'm not singing either. Today is Su Chao's new song release, and I'm here to listen to it. I've been looking forward to this song for a long time."

Wu Xiubo was much more tactful.

He interpreted "avoiding the limelight" as "not stealing the spotlight."

"Why didn't you say so earlier...? Are there other singers coming? Someone has to go on stage, we can't let it fall silent now."

Sister Hong sneered inwardly, but didn't force them to go on stage.

"Huang Bo is here! Let Huang Bo go!"

Sha Baoliang's former underling is now in cahoots with Su Chao.

He was happy to push Huang Bo to make a fool of himself.

Su Chao was also ready, waiting in the Changxiangsi private room on the second floor.

Also in the same private room were Thor and Little Red Riding Hood sisters, as well as Lü Bu, Guo Xiaofeng, Guo Xiaodong, Qin Hailu, Hao Lei, Zhang Ziyi, and Li Jie.

The already small private room was packed to capacity.

Several more chairs were added.

However, people usually wouldn't even dare to go to a place like Casablanca, so no one would complain about being able to experience a high-class private room for free.

"Chen Jiantian is here, oh my, Xu Wei is here too, my friend..."

"Look, isn't that Jiang Shan?"

"Yes, it's Jiang Shan. The man next to her is Huo Jianqi, a pretty great art director."

"That's... Chen Kaige, what's he doing here?"

Su Chao was very surprised. He wasn't surprised that people like Jiang Wen and Zhang Guoli came, but it was outrageous that Chen Kaige came.

He and the other party had absolutely no connection whatsoever.

"Farewell My Concubine" was released in 93, so it's impossible to ask him to play the role of the King now.

(End of this chapter)