Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Chapter 89 Yui Hatano is here

"Chen Shu, the lead actress of the drama 'The Righteous Invincible,' was promoting the show in Shanghai. The drama production team asked Chen Shu to make a cameo appearance, but her management team said they needed to see the skit content before deciding whether to make a cameo appearance."

"Sohu Entertainment has started contacting celebrities who are willing to make guest appearances on 'Hilarious Men,' and a list will be sent over later."

"The production team of 'Jin Tailang's Happy Life' said that Li Xiaolu could make a cameo appearance, but later the boss said no, so I made an excuse to decline."

"The rented bus has been returned, and the expenses incurred over the past few days—"

Aya followed behind Zheng Nan, reporting on each matter one by one.

"I heard from my uncle that he hired two editors. Go and give them these materials and have them edit a rough version so I can see how it turns out."

Now that there are employees, Zheng Nan no longer needs to do the work that the employees can do herself.

If you have to do everything yourself, you'll eventually be exhausted.

Zheng Nan handed the task to Aya, who then immediately passed it on to her manager.

During this period of company expansion, Aya's agent department also grew from a one-person operation to a large team of two.

After having a younger brother, Aya's lazy nature began to show, and she spent all her time making her younger brother run errands.

"Is there anything else important? You don't need to tell me about trivial things." Zheng Nan was still very busy every day and didn't really want to listen to Aya's nagging.

"There really is one! The production team of 'The Voice of China' contacted our company and asked if Chen Li and Zhuang Xinyan were interested in participating in their show." Aya patted her head, which hadn't been working very well lately.

The show "The Voice of China" has been criticized for many things.

First, there are constant rumors of insider dealings, such as contestants paying money to secure a pre-determined spot, spending 500,000 yuan to get a mentor to turn their chair, and 30 million yuan to buy a champion, with no advancement allowed if money wasn't paid.

There are also reports that Chen Yixun revealed that the production team instructed the mentors to turn around, and Li Wen released a recording accusing the production team of threatening her.

Secondly, there is the issue of over-commercialization.

Starting from the fifth season, The Voice of China has become shameless in its pursuit of performance fees, with the length of the performance exceeding the length of the singing segment.

There's no need to elaborate on unfair contract terms; many talent show production teams use them.

The most critical issue is the decline in content quality. At first, it was about "selecting good voices," but later it became about "selecting good stories."

To achieve good results, it's not about singing ability, it's about your persona.

The one with a tragic character tends to have better grades.

These scandals ultimately buried the show "The Voice of China".

However, it must be said that the first season of "The Voice of China" was relatively fair.

The first season did not have a public audition; instead, it adopted an active search model. The production team sent out dozens of directors in advance to discover promising talents and good voices.

The production team personally went offline to persuade professional singers and ordinary people to participate in the show.

The Voice of China changed later on, but its original intention was still good.

Moreover, the first season of this show was its peak. Starting from the second episode, it firmly held the top spot in national viewership ratings. The sixth episode broke the 4% viewership rating, securing the title of the year's drama king in advance. The finale's viewership rating even set a new national record of 6.1%.

Even if this show has a thousand flaws, the huge exposure brought by its high ratings alone makes Zheng Nan insist that Chen Li and Zhuang Xinyan participate.

"I have to participate. I'll also talk to the production team about whether it's okay to sing a new song during the show." Zheng Nan came up with a great idea to make money.

Pick two new songs suitable for ringtones and have Chen Li and Zhuang Xinyan sing them during the blind auditions. In terms of the ratings of "The Voice of China", it will definitely be ten times better than Zheng Nan's Weibo promotion.

By the time the show airs, they should have already applied for and obtained their own online SP (Special Permit) status.

Assuming no one else receives a share of the profits besides the telecom operator, Zheng Nan estimates that if these two songs are managed well, they could generate several million yuan in ringback tone revenue per month.

"Okay, I'll talk to the production team about this." Aya readily agreed.

Aya didn't think this condition was difficult. "The Voice of China" hasn't even aired an episode yet, and nobody knows if the show will be a hit. It's already a favor that our company's singers are going to participate in the competition. Why shouldn't your show agree to such a small request?"

Not long after Aya left, the greenhouse that had disappeared for several days reappeared.

"Have you finished your work over there?" Zheng Nan asked.

Zheng Nan was not surprised by Dapeng's departure midway, because Dapeng currently hosts several other programs in addition to "Dapeng Bar".

So Zheng Nan subconsciously assumed that Da Peng had gone back to work.

"None of that matters. I've almost finished coordinating with Yui Hatano. They quoted 150,000 yen, plus reimbursement for round-trip airfare, accommodation, translation fees, etc., so it'll come to about 235,000 yen in total."

Dapeng excitedly reported on his work achievements over the past period.

"You left in such a hurry a while ago just to handle this matter?" Zheng Nan was completely dumbfounded.

A few days ago, when we first started preparing for the third season of "Hilarious Men", Da Peng brought Yu Shasha over to learn.

When the third season officially started filming, the studio moved out first, and Yu Shasha followed along to learn and make a cameo appearance.

Yesterday, Yu Shasha went back to Beijing for work. Before leaving, she said she would go back to Sohu to see what Dapeng had been busy with lately.

Zheng Nan now wants to call Yu Shasha and tell her that her good friend Dapeng has been busy contacting actresses lately.

"Wasn't this the task you assigned me?" Dapeng was also confused.

You asked me to handle Tang Sanzang and his disciples, and I did. Now you're asking me questions.

"Did I say that? It doesn't matter anymore. Just remember to prepare your schedule in advance." Zheng Nan was too lazy to use her brain to recall.

My memory is good now that I've been reborn, and I can remember everything, but remembering so much is too tiring.

So when she has nothing to do, Zheng Nan is too lazy to use her brain.

"Why should I prepare my schedule? Do you have any jobs you can recommend to me?"

"Since you're the one who negotiated, of course you'll be acting opposite Yui Hatano." Zheng Nan patted Da Peng on the shoulder.

Don't say your brother doesn't take care of you.

Many guys in China can only watch Yui Hatano in videos, but I'll let you act opposite her in real life!

"That's not a good idea, I'm already married—" Dapeng said somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't be so polite. I'll write a few scenes for you two later." Zheng Nan looked at Dapeng with disdain.

Now you're getting shy. Why weren't you embarrassed when you invited people across national borders and languages?

You are shameless! You are despicable!

"We haven't transferred the money to their company yet—" Dapeng added, "They'll only come if we pay them first."

"I told my uncle about this and asked him to send money to the other party." Zheng Nan immediately contacted his uncle to send the money.

From a personal perspective, spending 235,000 yuan in 2012 to hire an actress for a cameo appearance for a few minutes was not worthwhile, because that price was enough for someone to fly to Xiao Rizi to shoot a two-hour real-life film and then fly back.

However, from the perspective of web dramas, as long as Yui Hatano can bring popularity and buzz, the 235,000 yen is worth it.

Zheng Nan had no particular feelings for Yui Hatano, nor was she a fan of hers; she was simply curious about actresses.

Zheng Nan didn't keep this curiosity to herself; she told Lin Wenruo and others about it that same day.

Duan Xingye, who was studying for the civil service exam at home, flew from his hometown to Shanghai the next day.

Two days later, amidst the anticipation of a group of men, a plane that had flown in from Xiao Ri landed at Shanghai Airport.

Yui Hatano, dressed in her clothes, failed to cause a commotion at the airport. She and her manager (actresses also have managers) arrived smoothly at Sennan Entertainment Co., Ltd., to begin her first filming trip in China.