We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

Hou Yong was woken up by a phone call.

At 7:30 in the morning, he was still sound asleep in bed when his phone started vibrating.

One shot after another, like a machine gun.

Hou Yong groggily reached for his phone, squinted, and saw—his agent, Xiao Ma.

"Feed..."

"Brother Yong! You're famous! You're famous, do you even know that?!" Xiao Ma's voice boomed from the receiver, his throat cracking.

Hou Yong was jolted awake by the shout and sat up against the headboard: "What's going on? What did I do?"

"In the Name of the People! It aired last night, don't you remember?!" Xiao Ma's voice trembled with excitement. "You're trending! Third on the trending list! Do you know how many people are looking for you? My phone hasn't stopped ringing since last night!"

Hou Yong was stunned for a moment.

He really forgot.

He and his wife watched the show at home last night. After watching the second episode, he took a shower and went to bed, just like usual.

"Trending topics?" Hou Yong rubbed his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Brother Yong, stop pretending! Look at Weibo! Look!" Xiao Ma was going crazy. "A dozen interview invitations, three variety show appearances, and two endorsement deals! And this is all in one night!"

Hou Yong frowned.

He has been acting for over twenty years. He has been famous before, but it was through gradual accumulation that he achieved success step by step.

He had never experienced becoming an overnight sensation before.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Hou Yong said. "Let me see, I'll call you back in a bit."

After hanging up the phone, Hou Yong opened Weibo.

The top trending topic: #InTheNameOfThePeoplePremiere#

Second on the trending list: #ThroatBraveActing#

Third on the trending topics list: #ZhaoDehan200MillionYuanInCash#

Hou Yong clicked on the second item and saw the word "Boiling" following his name.

It has been read over 300 million times.

His hand trembled slightly.

"What's wrong?" His wife, Zhao Lan, had also woken up and was looking at him while rubbing her eyes.

"It's okay, you can go back to sleep," Hou Yong said.

Zhao Lan leaned over and glanced at his phone, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Second on the trending topics list? You?"

Hou Yong nodded.

Zhao Lan snatched the phone, scrolled through several comments, and her mouth gaped wider and wider.

"Honey, you're famous! You're really famous!"

"I know." Hou Yong took the phone back.

"Look at these comments! 'Teacher Hou Yong is a god!' 'Hou Yong's acting skills far surpass those of young idols!' 'We suggest awarding Teacher Hou Yong a lifetime achievement award…' Honey, are you about to win an award?!"

Hou Yong felt a little embarrassed by what was said and put his phone face down on the bedside table.

"Alright, alright, stop watching."

"Why won't you look?" Zhao Lan picked up her phone again. "I want to look! I want to share it! I want to post it on my WeChat Moments!"

At this time.

My phone vibrated again.

It's a WeChat group.

Hou Yong clicked on it and saw it was a group chat for the TV series "In the Name of the People".

It's already exploded.

Wu Gang: "@Hou Yong, you're famous! You have to treat us!"

Zhang Zhijian: "Last night, after my wife finished watching the first episode, she asked me who this actor was, saying he acted so well. I said it was Hou Yong, and she said she would watch all his shows from now on."

Xu Yajun: "@Hou Yongyong, where's the red envelope?"

Lu Yi: "@Hou Yongyong, +1 red envelope"

Hou Yong looked at the screen full of @ tags and couldn't help but smile.

He typed: "What red envelope? I don't know how to send one."

Wu Gang replied instantly: "Keep pretending! Keep pretending!"

Zhang Zhijian: "I've taken a screenshot and sent it to Director Lin."

Zhang Fengyi: "That's not very nice of you. You've become famous and now you don't care about people anymore?"

Hou Yong smiled and shook his head, then sent a 200-yuan red envelope with the note: "Have some fun, everyone."

The red envelopes were snapped up in 0.3 seconds as soon as they were sent out.

Xu Yajun: "Two hundred yuan? Brother Yong, are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Wu Gang: "+1"

Zhang Zhijian: "+1"

Zhang Fengyi: "+1"

Lu Yi: "+1"

Hou Yong: "That's enough! This is all the money I have hidden away!"

The group chat erupted in laughter.

……

the other side.

Lin Mo also saw the message in the group.

He was sitting at his workstation, drinking coffee and scrolling through his phone.

Seeing Hou Yong surrounded by a group of people asking for red envelopes, I couldn't help but laugh.

He typed a message in the group: "Brother Yong, I didn't get one either. Could you send me another one?"

Hou Yong replied instantly: "Director Lin, why are you joining in the commotion too?"

Wu Gang: "@Director Lin Mo is here! Director Lin, if you're being fair, shouldn't Brother Yong give out a big red envelope?"

Lin Mo: "I think so."

Hou Yong sent a facepalm emoji: "Fine, fine, you guys wait."

I sent another 500 yuan red envelope.

Xu Yajun: "That's more like it!"

Zhang Fengyi: "So impressive! /Applause/"

Lin Mo grabbed the red envelope; it was 7.8 yuan.

He replied with a grinning emoji.

Hou Yong messaged him privately: "Director Lin, thank you. I couldn't have acted that scene if you hadn't explained it to me."

Lin Mo replied, "Brother Yong, don't thank me. It was your own good acting."

Hou Yong sent a handshake emoji.

……

On its third day of airing, "In the Name of the People" achieved a viewership rating of over 3%.

The fifth day, breaking the fourth.

By the end of the first week, the ratings had soared to 4.8 percent.

This number silenced the entire television industry.

The last drama to break 4 stars during prime time on CCTV was five years ago.

Moreover, that show only gradually climbed the rankings in the latter half of its run.

"In the Name of the People" was great; it went straight to 4.8 in its first week.

What's even more terrifying is that the show's trajectory wasn't one of starting strong and then declining, but rather one of starting strong and then rising.

Each episode is more intense than the last, and each day is more explosive than the last.

Following Zhao Dehan's downfall, the demolition of Dafeng Factory took place immediately.

The night the scene from January 16th aired, the entire internet exploded once again.

The factory was engulfed in flames, the workers guarding the factory, the crying children, and the elderly employees who had been burned...

The scene was so realistic, it didn't feel like watching a TV series.

The Douban rating rose instead of falling, from 9.2 to 9.4.

On Weibo's trending topics list, there are at least three topics related to "In the Name of the People" every day.

Netizens have completely fallen for it.

"Secretary Dakang, don't bow your head, or GDP will drop! Don't shed tears, or Qi Tongwei will laugh!"

"That spendthrift woman, Ouyang Jing, will ruin Secretary Dakang's life sooner or later!"

"Xu Yajun's performance in the scene where Qi Tongwei kneels down is superb. The resentment, humiliation, and forbearance are all conveyed in his eyes."

"The entire cast delivered excellent performances, even the demolition office director who only had three scenes acted well. This show is terrifying."

"I've recommended it to everyone around me, and now my whole family watches CCTV every day without fail."

"The Supreme People's Procuratorate has truly achieved something remarkable this time, setting a new standard for domestically produced dramas."

Of course, emojis are also indispensable.

Secretary Dakang frowned, Secretary Dakang slammed his fist on the table, Secretary Dakang glared, Secretary Dakang drank water...

Wu Gang's face has been the subject of countless memes and jokes by netizens.

Even Wu Gang himself said in an interview, "My son sent me a bunch of emojis and asked me which one was the best-looking."