Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

For the next two days, Zheng Hui's life was filled with radio appearances.

From Commercial Radio to RTHK and then to Metro Radio, most DJs were friendly to him. After all, with the gimmick of five million copies sold in mainland China, his programs were never short of topics.

But as expected, questions arose. In an interview program on Metro Radio, the host directly posed a pointed question.

"Mr. Zheng, many people have expressed doubts about your sales of five million units in mainland China."

After all, this number is astonishing. Even the Four Heavenly Kings would find it difficult to achieve this level of success in mainland China. Do you have anything to say in response?

Zheng Hui replied into the microphone, "I don't have anything to say in particular. This number wasn't given by me or my company."

"In mainland China, the reproduction of audio-visual products requires applying for quotas and license numbers from the State Press and Publication Administration, and every single one is documented. If you have any questions, you can check the official data with the relevant departments."

"In addition, I also paid the corresponding personal income tax to the mainland tax authorities for the income from these five million cassette tapes."

Tax returns can also prove my source of income. I think official data and tax returns are more convincing than any explanation I may give myself.

His answer was watertight, directly passing the buck to the most authoritative official institution.

Seeing that he couldn't get a straight answer, the host changed the subject: "Your songs are very inspiring, why did you choose to write this type of song?"

"Because that's what I was thinking at the time, that's how I wrote it."

Throughout several interviews, Zheng Hui used the same explanation to address all the questions about sales figures.

He passed the buck to the official authorities, leaving those who wanted to question him with no grounds for criticism.

My three-day trip to Hong Kong ended amidst a flurry of announcements.

On the morning of the fourth day, Zheng Hui and his group boarded a plane bound for Taiwan.

The plane landed at Taoyuan Airport, where they were greeted by promotional staff from PolyGram Taiwan.

Without exchanging pleasantries, we got in the car and headed straight to the first location for the announcement—the headquarters of the China Times.

On the bus, Manager Chen introduced to Zheng Hui: "The China Times is an elite publication in Taiwan, and its readers are mainly intellectuals and white-collar workers."

Your songs are inspiring, and your image is positive, which aligns well with their positioning. Securing this newspaper interview is crucial for your future image in Taiwan.

An hour later, Zheng Hui sat in the meeting room of the China Times.

The reporter who conducted the interview was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, and his questions were quite insightful.

He didn't dwell too much on sales figures, but instead discussed with Zheng Hui the song's creative background and its impact on contemporary young people.

Zheng Hui's answer also placed greater emphasis on humanistic care and social responsibility.

This interview was more like a cultural dialogue.

After leaving the China Times, they immediately headed to the Min Sheng Daily.

"This is Taiwan's number one entertainment newspaper. All celebrities who come to Taiwan to promote their music will definitely stop here," Manager Chen said in the car.

The interview style of the Min Sheng Daily was much more relaxed, with the reporter showing more interest in Zheng Hui's personal life, such as what kind of girls he liked and what his hobbies were.

Zheng Hui brushed it off with the standard, uninteresting answer that he was currently focused on his career and enjoyed reading.

The real battle began the next day.

In the morning, we recorded CTV's "Dragon Brothers and Tiger Brothers".

This once-popular variety show may be declining in popularity, but it still has a huge influence.

Zheng Hui met the hosts Huang An and Xu Nailin backstage.

The two were very curious about him, this new sales champion from Macau.

When the recording of the show began, Zheng Hui was the first guest to appear and sang "I Believe".

The soaring melody and powerful lyrics quickly ignited the atmosphere at the scene.

After the singing, it was time for the interview segment.

Just as Huang An and Xu Nailin were about to ask their questions according to procedure, a man wearing a floral shirt and with a big beard walked out from backstage.

Zhang Fei.

He picked up the microphone and looked at Zheng Hui with a smile: "Little friend, I'm listening. Are you from Macau?"

"Hello, Brother Fei." Zheng Hui bowed politely.

"I heard you're very popular in mainland China. How popular? Tell me, Fei-ge." Zhang Fei looked him over with great interest.

Zheng Hui thought for a moment and said, "It's to the point where if I walk down the street in Guangdong, people will recognize me and ask for my autograph."

Chang Fei laughed heartily: "That's about the same as me!"

The audience laughed along with the performers.

Zhang Fei's appearance greatly improved the show's effect. He was good at throwing out jokes and taking care of newcomers, giving Zheng Hui many opportunities to perform.

After the recording ended, Chang Fei went over to Zheng Hui and patted him on the shoulder.

"Young man, you have a bright future, your songs have power."

In the afternoon, it was CTS's "Super Sunday".

This is currently the most popular variety show in Taiwan, hosted by Chang Hsiao-yen and Harlem Yu.

The atmosphere backstage was noticeably more tense than during the filming of "Brothers in Arms".

People coming and going are all popular Taiwanese celebrities or publicists.

Zheng Hui is just a guest on a talk show, waiting to be called upon.

When it was his turn to perform, he chose to sing "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky".

Compared to the rousing "I Believe," this song is more tranquil and affectionate.

Harlem Yu is a musician himself. After listening to Zheng Hui's performance, he said directly on stage, "The arrangement of this song is great, and the melody is very smooth. It is a very sincere work."

Gaining his approval is more effective than any form of publicity.

In two days, I recorded for four newspapers and two top variety shows.

That evening, in the hotel room, Manager Chen and Supervisor Wang from Taiwan found Zheng Hui together.

Manager Chen's face was filled with undisguised excitement.

"Zheng Sheng, it's working!"

He spread several newspapers on the table.

Both the China Times and the Min Sheng Daily devoted considerable space to reporting on Zheng Hui.

The headline is eye-catching: "Mainland China's newest star arrives in Taiwan with five million in sales; his inspirational voice aims to shake up the island's music scene."

"In Hong Kong, the Jade Solid Gold Awards aired on Saturday. This morning, I asked a colleague to go to the record store, and there were already a few students and girls asking when your CDs would be available."

Manager Wang added, "It's the same here in Taiwan. This afternoon I received several calls from radio DJs asking when your song will be released. They've read the newspapers and are very interested."

Manager Chen looked at Zheng Hui and revealed his true purpose.

"Mr. Zheng, I need to discuss something with you. Your original schedule was to end tomorrow, but given how well the response has been, could we stay a few more days?"

Zheng Hui looked at him without saying a word.

Manager Chen continued, "There's a very troublesome rule in Taiwan's record market, set by the IFPI, or International Federation of the Phonographic Industry."

"When a new record is released, the association's system will start tracking sales. If sales are less than 500 copies in the first few days, the system will classify the record as a slow-moving product and stop tracking it."

"Once you're relegated to this cold palace, even if you suddenly become popular for some reason later, fans won't be able to buy your music because record stores won't stock it."

This album is unlikely to chart again due to its poor historical performance.

He paused for a moment, then said, "So, I want to strike while the iron is hot. Now that the newspapers and TV programs have generated buzz and the public is curious, why don't we hold a book signing event in Taipei right away?"

"Use autograph sessions to boost initial sales. Once we break through the barrier of slow-moving products and keep the records in the tracking system, things will be much easier from here on out."

"If the autograph session is a success and record sales skyrocket, we'll immediately go back to Hong Kong and hold another one in Causeway Bay using the same format!"

Zheng Hui and his team originally planned to return to the mainland immediately after finishing their promotional activities in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

There are still more than half a month before the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal, so I can take on another twenty or thirty commercial performances and make some quick money.

Manager Chen's proposal now means that the original plan will be disrupted.

Zheng Hui looked at Manager Chen: "If we stay, how long will it take?"

"A week is needed for venue setup, approvals, and promotion. We're using this week to prepare, betting on the possibility of a complete explosion in the Taiwan and Hong Kong markets."

Zheng Hui was contemplating whether to give up a guaranteed income of hundreds of thousands or millions in mainland China to gamble on an uncertain future.

He glanced at the newspaper on the table and recalled the curious looks the staff members gave him backstage at "Super Sunday".

I haven't accepted any commercial performances in mainland China yet; it's just a plan.

Trading a week for a bigger market—this gamble is worth taking.

"Okay," Zheng Hui said.

Manager Chen and Supervisor Wang's faces instantly lit up.

"I promise you, I'll stay," Zheng Hui said.

After agreeing, Zheng Hui looked at Manager Chen and suddenly smiled.

"Manager Chen, were you planning this all along?"

Manager Chen was taken aback: "Huh?"

"The originally planned week-long trip, you actually had a backup plan from the beginning, intending to increase the duration depending on the situation, right?"

A hint of unease flashed across Manager Chen's face, and he quickly waved his hand.

"No, no, absolutely not. To be honest, I didn't expect it to work so well myself. It's all thanks to your own abilities, Mr. Zheng. I was just going with the flow."

Zheng Hui smiled without saying a word, seeing his slightly flustered appearance.