Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

In 1996, the Chinese music scene, especially in mainland China, had a pitifully limited range of promotional methods.

There were no trending topics, no short videos, and no streaming media recommendations.

For a song to become popular, besides relying on radio broadcasts, it also relies heavily on the pair of cheap but extremely loud speakers outside countless record stores across the country.

On Monday, the compilation album "The Golden Autumn of 1996" was quietly distributed to the shelves of music stores across the country by Star Disc Records' distributors.

Beijing, Xicheng District.

Wang Jianguo, the owner of "Tian Tian Audio-Visual Store," yawned and casually opened a newly delivered cassette tape.

"Another one of these old, outdated albums. Oh well, I'll just put it in and listen to it anyway."

Wang Jianguo muttered to himself as he stuffed the cassette tape into the tape recorder connected to the huge speaker outside the door.

Press the play button.

The first song is a piece of pointless whining by an unknown singer.

Wang Jianguo pursed his lips, didn't change the song, just used it as background noise, and lowered his head to start sorting the goods.

The second song was equally mediocre.

Until the melody of the third song began.

"Relief means acknowledging that this was a mistake, and that I shouldn't have lingered on..."

Wang Jianguo's hands, which were sorting goods, paused.

He looked up and listened intently for a while.

The male vocals are of excellent quality and full of emotion, and the melody of the chorus is particularly catchy.

"This song is pretty good, it's interesting."

Wang Jianguo glanced at the list of artists and songs on the cassette tape packaging.

"Qin Sheng? Never heard of him."

Just then, a female college student carrying a shoulder bag walked into the store and casually asked:

"Boss, what was that song you just played called? It was pretty good."

"It's called 'Relief,' and it seems to be sung by a newcomer on this compilation album."

Wang Jianguo pulled out the cassette tape and handed it over.

The female college student hesitated for a moment.

Compilation albums usually only have one or two listenable tracks, so buying them is a bit of a waste.

But that song was really to her liking.

Just as I was hesitating, the third song ended and the fourth song started playing.

"You're always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, crying alone until dawn..."

The female college student paused.

Wang Jianguo also paused.

"You love that person so unconditionally, but I know you're not actually that strong..."

The lyrics... are pretty ordinary.

But this melody is really pleasing to the ear!

Everything went so smoothly!

Like lubricating oil, it seeped into my brain through my ears.

Falling in love is always easy, but staying together is so hard. If it's not meant to be, don't force it...

The two of them stood there silently and listened to the entire song.

After listening, the female college student seemed to snap out of her daze and excitedly exclaimed:

"Boss, I'll take this cassette tape! How much?"

The female college student took out her wallet from her pocket and paid readily.

After Wang Jianguo received the money, his heart skipped a beat as he watched the female college student leave happily.

Having run a record store for so many years, he has developed his own intuition about what products sell well.

This song, "Too Softhearted," is so catchy!

This Qin Sheng, and this compilation album, are probably going to be a hit!

Without waiting for the next song, he immediately rewound the tape, turned the volume of the recorder to the maximum, and set "Too Softhearted" to repeat.

A huge roar surged into the street.

Ten minutes later, a female textile factory worker, who was getting ready for work, stopped in front of the store pushing her bicycle.

"Boss, what song are you playing? It's strangely catchy!"

Half an hour later, three young men with dyed yellow hair approached.

"Boss, this song is great! It perfectly captures my feelings. Give me a copy!"

In one morning, Wang Jianguo's store received twenty copies of "The Golden Autumn of 1996," and they all sold out!

At noon, after taking inventory, Wang Jianguo excitedly picked up the phone and called his upstream distributors.

"Hey! Old Zhang! Send me another fifty boxes of that '1996 Golden Autumn Popular Trend' compilation! No, a hundred! Hurry up!"

The popularity of "The Golden Autumn of 1996" is not an isolated case.

The same scene is playing out in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and record stores across the country at a speed that is as rapid as a virus spreading.

In just ten days.

In just ten days, "Too Softhearted" swept across the Chinese music scene in mainland China like a sudden tsunami.

You're walking down the street, and the barbershop is playing "You're Always Too Soft-Hearted."

You pass by the market, and the radio at the meat stall is playing "Crying alone until dawn."

You get into a taxi, and the driver is humming along to the radio song, "Falling in love is always easy, but staying together is too difficult."

This isn't just fire, this is domination!

Star Disc Records.

Mr. Li slumped into his boss's chair, staring blankly at the endless order forms on the table.

The landline at the front desk has been ringing off the hook; the receptionist's voice is hoarse from shouting.

"Mr. Li! The Northeast region needs 50,000 units!"

"Mr. Li! The South China region also needs 50,000 units! We don't have that many units, what should we do?"

"Mr. Li..."

Boss Li suddenly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and his face turned red.

"Reprint! Notify the factory, the machines are running 24/7! Get me an extra print run right now!"

After arranging and giving instructions for everything, he finally slumped back onto the sofa, feeling completely exhausted.

In all his years in the industry, he'd seen fire, but he'd never seen anything this hot!

This isn't selling cassette tapes, it's printing money!

Despite having almost no promotion in its first week, this terrible compilation album still managed to sell 50,000 copies across all channels thanks to word of mouth!

What kind of insane sales figures are these!

It's worth noting that the peak sales volume in the first week in mainland China is only around 80,000 to 90,000 boxes.

And this platter is about to break into the top ten in history with ease!

too exaggerated!

And this isn't even the peak!

With orders for 200,000 boxes already placed across all channels for next week, Boss Li was so excited he was about to have a heart attack!

This is all money!

Even if I only make one dollar per cassette tape, I can still earn 200,000 yuan a week!

When have I ever earned money so easily?

Suddenly remembering something, Boss Li's expression immediately turned serious!

"No! I have to go to the factory and keep an eye on things so they can't slack off!"

Pirated copies will be hitting the market next week! I have to compete with them for sales!

With that, Boss Li hurriedly left the office.

Baihua Hutong Recording Studio.

Liu Huan, Mao Amin, and Na Ying were sitting on the sofa, their faces blank.

The recording studio was very soundproof, but it still couldn't block out the sound of Qin Sheng's "Too Softhearted" coming from the loudspeaker of the small shop at the entrance of the alley.

"You're always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted..."

These past few days, this song has been like a persistent, immersive sound, everywhere you look!

Mao Amin gave a bitter smile, breaking the silence.

"Old Liu, you said before that this album would sell no more than 50,000 copies?"

Liu Huan blushed instantly, but then glared back at Mao Amin.

"Did you really think you could sell over 50,000 copies?"

However, before Mao Amin could answer, Liu Huan sighed and said with a wry smile:

"I misjudged this time, I completely and utterly misjudged it!"

Mao Amin chimed in, "Who says otherwise! When Lao Li called me yesterday to talk about the sales figures, I couldn't believe it!"

A shabby compilation album, selling this many copies in just over a week! It's simply unbelievable!

Of the three present, only Na Ying did not express any disapproval of Qin Sheng.

But that was because she hadn't seen Qin Sheng for a few days and hadn't had a chance to say it.

Otherwise, she'll only say something even harsher!

However, this doesn't stop Na Ying from being smug and proud.

"How could a genius who can write songs like 'Heroes's Song,' 'Longing,' 'Conquer,' 'Red-Haired Girl,' 'Looking Out the Window,' and 'If Only Then' possibly write a simple song for himself?"

You guys! You dare to doubt this? I really don't know what you're thinking!