Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Chapter 77 First Encounter with Zhang Chaoyang: The Art of Language

At Sohu, there is only one person whom Liu Chun addresses as "General Manager Zhang," and that is Zhang Chaoyang.

Zheng Nan had visited Sohu several times but had not been able to meet Zhang Chaoyang. This time, Zhang Chaoyang actually took the initiative to invite Zheng Nan to meet.

Unsurprisingly, it was to negotiate the exclusive rights to the third season of "Hilarious Men".

In the contract signed in the second quarter, Sohu had the priority right to purchase in the third quarter. So even though other platforms contacted Zheng Nan and made offers during this period, Zheng Nan only confirmed the offers with them and did not discuss them further.

"No problem, see you on Sohu after the New Year," Zheng Nan replied to Liu Chun.

Dilraba replied directly via QQ: "Happy Chinese New Year! The food was so good during the New Year, I gained three pounds!"

"It's better to be a little chubby; being too thin makes you more susceptible to illness." Zheng Nan prefers women to have a bit of curves.

Being too thin is unattractive, making you look like a skeleton, and it's also uncomfortable to look at.

"But I don't look good on camera if I'm fat—" Dilraba complained pitifully.

To avoid distorting an actor's facial features when filming a face, cameras typically use medium to long telephoto lenses.

This type of lens compresses the sense of distance between front and back, flattening the three-dimensional facial features onto a two-dimensional plane.

The consequence is that the depth difference between the bridge of the nose and the cheeks disappears, the transition between the cheekbone and the jaw is weakened, and the entire facial contour looks like a flattened pancake, naturally making it appear wider and fatter.

The saying "you look three pounds heavier on camera" comes from this.

Actresses often choose to diet or even fast in order to look good on camera.

Some people have undesirable facial features and need bone reduction surgery.

This is why people who have had cosmetic surgery often have pointed chins.

Because a pointed chin looks good on camera.

After offering a few words of comfort to Dilraba, Zheng Nan continued replying to the others.

"Happy New Year, Director Zheng. I'll visit your company after the New Year. I'll let you know in advance before I go," Zhuang Xinyan replied to Zheng Nan's New Year's greeting.

"Welcome, I'll give you a welcome dinner." Before the Lunar New Year, Zheng Nan found Zhuang Xinyan online and left her contact information. They chatted a few times afterward.

Zhuang Xinyan is currently a popular online streamer on Kugou Fanxing.com. She wants to become a real singer, but doesn't know how.

Therefore, Zheng Nan's invitation was exactly what Zhuang Xinyan wanted.

After replying to everyone, Zheng Nan casually tossed her phone aside and lay down.

I'll just have to lie in bed for a few more days, and then it'll be time to start another year of hard work.

Zheng Nan remained in bed until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year before finally leaving her warm home with her uncle and heading to Beijing.

The Sohu building was brightly lit on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

"Whenever I come to Sohu, it always feels like there are a lot of people working. Don't they get any rest?" Zheng Nan had never worked as a process designer, so she didn't know how a programmer's rest time was calculated.

"I've never had a proper job, and you're asking me?" The only job Ding Xiu ever had was as the chairman of Sennan Entertainment for Zheng Nan.

I entered Sohu with ease.

The front desk customer service contacted Liu Chun in advance after seeing Zheng Nan's face.

"Director Zheng Nan, Mr. Liu requests that you go directly to the fifteenth floor."

The 15th floor of the Sohu Network Building is Sohu's core office area, containing offices for Liu Chun and Zhang Chaoyang.

As soon as the elevator doors opened on the fifteenth floor, Zheng Nan saw Liu Chun standing to the side waiting.

"Happy New Year, Brother Liu! Did you prepare a red envelope for me?" Zheng Nan had dealt with Liu Chun many times, and his address had changed from "President Liu" to "Brother Liu".

"I'm from Anhui. In some parts of our area, as long as the younger generation works and earns money, they not only don't give red envelopes, but they also have to contribute to household expenses if they're not married," Liu Chun said with a slight smile.

"What does 'paying household expenses' mean?" Zheng Nan was confused. He was from Northeast China and had never heard of this term before.

"Every month, I give my parents a sum of money to help with their living expenses, food, and daily expenses." Liu Chun provides free explanations of some strange little facts.

A big question mark appeared on Zheng Nan's face.

What? I'm giving money back to my family? I'm already being nice by not sponging off them!

"Haha, no red envelope, but I'll treat you to dinner tonight." Liu Chun was happy to see this naive side of Zheng Nan and said with a smile, "Let's go, President Zhang is waiting for you in his office."

The main event is coming!

Zheng Nan was quite looking forward to meeting Zhang Chaoyang.

Zhang Chaoyang has many labels: he is a pioneer of the Internet, a first-generation star entrepreneur, and a benchmark figure in the portal era.

He is also a flamboyant CEO who prioritizes marketing over product development.

Zheng Nan's deepest impression of Zhang Chaoyang was his high-profile showmanship, such as appearing on fashion magazine covers and going to yacht parties.

His actions, such as hiking with celebrities and appearing semi-nude, are completely unlike those of an entrepreneur.

Upon reaching an office, Liu Chun knocked on the door and led Zheng Nan and Ding Xiu inside.

Zheng Nan spotted Zhang Chaoyang sitting behind the enormous desk at a glance.

Mr. Zhang was wearing a black suit with a dark gray striped shirt underneath, complemented by his signature side-swept bangs.

"What a classic image!" Zheng Nan thought to herself.

"Mr. Zhang, Zheng Nan, the director and lead actor of 'Hilarious Men,' has arrived. This gentleman next to him is Mr. Ding Xiu, the chairman of Sennan Entertainment," Liu Chun introduced formally.

Before Zhang Chaoyang could speak, Zheng Nan said, "Professor Zhang, I didn't do well in physics in high school. I first learned about you when I was searching for information online. I found out that you graduated from the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University and have a Ph.D. in Physics at MIT."

If you give a gift to a rich person, such as a bottle of Moutai worth 100,000 yuan, he won't care because he has plenty at home.

But if you give him a lighter worth 20,000 yuan, he'll wear it every day.

You gave him a car worth 200,000 yuan, but he thought it was just average because he already has too many cars.

But if you give him a belt worth 50,000 yuan, he'll wear it every day.

This is the art of gift-giving.

Flattery is like giving gifts; you have to hit the nail on the head.

Zhang Chaoyang is worth billions; he can have anything he wants and has never missed out on flattery.

Normally at Sohu, everyone calls Zhang Chaoyang General Manager Zhang or Chairman Zhang; no one calls him Teacher Zhang. Zheng Nan is the first person to do so.

The title "teacher" is not yet overused and is a positive term.

If a young man with a reputation for talent calls you "teacher" the first time you meet him, even if he is Zhang Chaoyang, you will feel very pleased at that moment.

Moreover, after achieving entrepreneurial success, Zhang Chaoyang felt increasingly empty and longed for the days when he simply studied physics.

Zheng Nan's address of "teacher" touched Zhang Chaoyang's heart.

Ding Xiu, who was standing next to him, was stunned. Was he talking about my own nephew?

He doesn't usually talk to me this nicely!

Zhang Chaoyang felt secretly pleased for several seconds before recovering and saying, "Happy New Year to you both. Chairman Ding's company has an excellent employee."

Zhang Chaoyang was unaware of the relationship between Zheng Nan and Ding Xiu, assuming they were simply superior and subordinate. He even praised Zheng Nan in front of Ding Xiu.

Liu Chun leaned close to Zhang Chaoyang's ear and explained their relationship.

"Your maternal uncle?"

"Yes, dear." Liu Chun nodded.

"Given the relationship between the two of you, I can speak frankly." Zhang Chaoyang looked at Zheng Nan with suspicion: "With your emotional intelligence, how could you have done that?"