Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 341 Times have changed, the Spring Festival Gala became a hit, and Xuanlan was covered in ice.
When Yan Li returned, the atmosphere was somewhat tense, but not particularly oppressive.

The three of them automatically divided the work, each busy with their own tasks, or chatting with Zhang Hong and Grandma Yan.

There are limits to friction. Making a scene during the Lunar New Year and becoming the target of everyone's criticism will only benefit no one.

Everything that needed to be prepared had been prepared beforehand. The busyness was just for show; in reality, the only one who actually did the work was Old Yan, who cooked.

He had been overseeing the kitchen by himself for a long time, and he had prepared all kinds of dishes. When it came to actual work, he didn't need much help from others.

Yan Li would occasionally help out with errands, and then return to the main room to listen to the women chatting.

Fan Xiaopang is bragging about his experience performing on the Spring Festival Gala.

To be honest, if it comes to talking about ratings, box office, or income rankings, Zhang Hong and Grandma Yan don't really understand them or the intricacies involved.

However, the Spring Festival Gala is a well-known stage, at least in the northern region, and it is highly prestigious. In addition, today is New Year's Eve, which makes it even more noteworthy.

Dong Xuan couldn't stand it. It's just the Spring Festival Gala, it's like she's never been on it.

Fan Xiaopang noticed Dong Xuan's emotions and began to emphasize his experience of performing on the Spring Festival Gala for the second time.

She has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala twice, once as one of the Seven Fairies like Dong Xuan, and the other time as a solo singer of "Invisible Wings". In terms of both the number of appearances and the importance of the program, she is far ahead of others.

Qin Lan was focused on peeling dried fruit. She had never been on the Spring Festival Gala, so she didn't want to humiliate herself by getting involved in the topic.

"Actually, the Spring Festival Gala production team also contacted me this year. My song 'Painting Heart' was quite popular, but I felt the song wasn't suitable, and performing on the Spring Festival Gala would be tiring, so I turned it down."

Seeing that Chairman Qin was in a bad mood, Fan Xiaopang added insult to injury.

She wasn't exaggerating when she said that; the Spring Festival Gala production team did indeed contact her this year. However, it wasn't that she refused, but rather that they couldn't reach an agreement on some matters and the deal fell through.

Fan Xiaopang has reached the pinnacle of female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Those who know her will recognize her even without appearing on the Spring Festival Gala; those who don't know her might not benefit much even if they did appear on the Gala.

If she hadn't been on it before, she might still have been thinking about this grand stage, but Fan Xiaopang has been on the Spring Festival Gala twice, achieved the necessary resume and accomplishments, and reaped all the related benefits, so the Spring Festival Gala stage is not as attractive to her as before.

If conditions are good, or if there is a need, she might consider it once, but in ordinary years she'll pass.

Ultimately, she's not a singer, but an actress, and she's even preparing to get involved in some behind-the-scenes work now, so it doesn't matter if she gets the title of "regular at the Spring Festival Gala".

Grandma Yan and her husband were a little disappointed. They felt that it would have been wonderful to see their son/granddaughter-in-law on the Spring Festival Gala and then have New Year's Eve dinner together.

However, on the other hand, with three sons/granddaughters-in-law, one performing on the Spring Festival Gala and the other two busy at home, it's not easy to manage. Thinking about it carefully, it's safer now.

Qin Lan really didn't want to listen to Fan Xiaopang's boasting, so she started to change the subject to others.

"This year's Spring Festival Gala features Zhou Jielun, as well as Jackie Chan and Eason Chan, so there are bound to be many great performances."

Dong Xuan chimed in tacitly, "It's a pity that Fan Wei and Song Dandan didn't participate this year, and Zhao Benshan is carrying the team alone. I don't know if he can handle it."

"Even if one person has to shoulder the main responsibility, it's still Zhao Benshan."

Yan Li interjected, "Moreover, he brought along Zhao's apprentices this time. These Errenzhuan actors are all skilled, and if they perform well, they might be outstanding."

It's hard to say about other programs, but Zhao Benshan's skit happened to trigger one of Yan Li's monthly intelligence reports.

Because of this, Yan Li knew in advance that a rising star would emerge from this year's Spring Festival Gala, someone who would become incredibly popular, to the point that even Zhang Yimou was forced to cast him as the male lead.

Unfortunately, this guy's approach doesn't quite fit with most of Yi An's projects, and Zhao Benshan might not hand over his cash cow to Yi An to manage. Yan Li can probably only watch from the sidelines.

Fan Xiaopang ate a pistachio: "You're so busy, how do you still have time to follow the news about the Spring Festival Gala?"

"I can ignore everything else, but not the Spring Festival Gala."

In the past two years, Yan Li didn't pay much attention to the Spring Festival Gala unless it was his own artists performing on stage; he just focused on watching the shows.

The reason why this is being taken so seriously is that Weibo wants to capitalize on this stage, which is followed by hundreds of millions of viewers, to generate traffic during the Spring Festival.

In the past, when people watched the Spring Festival Gala, the mainstream voice came from the media. Although the voice of the Internet is becoming increasingly important, it is still somewhat scattered overall.

Today, Weibo has risen to become the most popular and trending instant social platform, staying at the forefront of information and news.

It can not only integrate the scattered voices on the Internet, but also allow countless netizens to have face-to-face discussions and exchanges through Weibo and trending topics.

The Spring Festival programs had just ended, or were still in progress, when netizens' comments and discussions had already begun.

Weibo also gave this Spring Festival strategy a catchy code name: "Everyone Watches the Spring Festival Gala," which is in line with the "Everyone Watches the Olympics" campaign during the summer vacation.

Under these circumstances, Yan Li naturally had to pay attention to the Spring Festival Gala.

As afternoon approached, it was finally time for a few people to put their skills to use. The family started making dumplings, but it was Grandma Yan and Zhang Hong who did the actual work.

These three women are all mediocre cooks. They can make dumplings, but they're nowhere near as good as Zhang Hong and other experienced cooks.

Seeing that several people were starting to ruin the dough and filling, Zhang Hong began to chase them away.

"Go out and have some fun, take a stroll around the alley, and then come back for dinner."

"It's so cold, what's there to go shopping for?"

Yan Li didn't want to go, but Fan Xiaopang and the others were eager to try. They were tired of talking to the elders all the time, so it would be good to go out for some fresh air.

One reason was the cold weather, and the other was the fear of being photographed. The four of them were dressed thickly and tightly, with only one eye showing.

Their relationships are all public knowledge, so they're not afraid of being photographed. It's just that it's two people; it's more sensitive for four people to spend the New Year together.

Yan Li didn't want to compete with the Spring Festival Gala for trending topics during the Lunar New Year; he wanted to keep a low profile and have a peaceful holiday.

It was during the Spring Festival, and the neighborhood was quite lively.

A bunch of kids ran around and played. As I walked along, I saw that every household was busy preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner. The aroma of meat, fried food, and sweetness filled the air.

Yan Li was in a particularly good mood as he looked at the scene before him. Perhaps it was because there were so many people visiting his home this year, and everyone was there, that this year's Spring Festival felt more festive than ever before.

Fan Xiaopang is usually busy with work, and it's been a while since he's had such a leisurely rest and stroll around, so he's in a very good mood.

It's a pity that if it were just her and Yan Li without those two third wheels, it would be perfect.

Coincidentally, Qin Lan and Dong Xuan thought the same thing, and the tension that had just eased due to the festive atmosphere of the New Year quickly returned.

There was also an old man at the entrance who hadn't closed his stall yet, selling roasted chestnuts, candied hawthorns, and other snacks.

Qin Lan ordered a plate of roasted chestnuts, and then bought three skewers of candied hawthorns. One skewer for Yan Li, one skewer for Dong Xuan, and one skewer for herself, but she wouldn't give one to Fan Xiaopang.

"Who cares?"

Fan Xiaopang took out his wallet and pulled out a few bills: "Grandpa, I'll help you pack up early."

After saying that, she even bought the straw baskets for holding the candied hawthorns, and asked Yan Li to help carry them. She held a big handful in each hand and looked at Qin Lan smugly.

"Can you even eat that?"

"If I can't finish it, I'll give it away. I'm rich and happy to spend it."

So, when Fan Xiaopang met a passerby, he gave him a string of candied hawthorns. At first, some people didn't want them or were too afraid to accept them, so the process was a bit bumpy. But then a group of children saw it and bought them all.

Fan Xiaopang didn't give it away for nothing; after finishing the candied hawthorns, he made a request.

"Praise your sister for being beautiful."

The children, holding candied hawthorns, were very cooperative and readily complied. Fan Xiaopang laughed heartily, then pointed at Qin Dong and the other man and asked them questions.

"Whether it's the older sister or those two aunties, they're prettier."

Since the children's faces were too small to see, of course, whoever gave the candied hawthorn was praised. Dong Xuan cleverly applied what she had learned: "Anyone want some roasted chestnuts? It's on me."

"think."

The more you can't have, the better. Soon, many children rebelled. Dong Xuan packed up the remaining roasted chestnuts and returned the favor to Fan Xiaopang for what he had just done.

Yan Li didn't interfere, but stood by with his hands in his pockets, watching the three women childishly spar and give the child "benefits".

Let's fight!

The kids are benefiting now, but it'll be his turn next.

After wandering around outside for more than half an hour, Yan Li "splurged" again, buying them all sorts of strange and unusual toys and snacks.

During this time, Fan Xiaopang subtly gained some advantages, and she was quite pleased with herself, while Chairman Qin was completely the opposite.

After returning home and resting briefly, it got dark, and the New Year's Eve dinner was almost ready.

Let's eat first!
At this time of year, Old Yan is always the most noticeable. On a whim, he had a few extra drinks with his son, and before he could even watch the Spring Festival Gala, he was already dizzy and in standby mode, going to lie down in his bedroom.

Fan Xiaopang and his friends also drank quite a bit, but they all knew their limits, remaining slightly tipsy but not drunk. After finishing their meal, they watched the Spring Festival Gala while setting up a mahjong table.

Grandma Yan didn't know much about mahjong, so Zhang Hong and her three daughters-in-law played it. After one round, Fan Xiaopang got fed up.

Chairman Qin is shameless. He joined forces with her to deal with her, preferring to be unable to leave himself rather than let her have an easy time, making the game experience completely ruined.

At her protest, Yan Li took Qin Lan's place and played cards with several people.

Qin Lan sat next to him, but instead of offering advice, she secretly peeked at his cards and told Zhang Hong what she had learned.

Yan Li himself didn't take it seriously, so he practically became an ATM, losing money every single time.

Zhang Hong was the luckiest player. In addition to Qin Lan helping her cheat, Fan Xiaopang and Dong Xuan also helped feed her cards. Ms. Zhang Hong was truly dominant.

Then there's Fan Xiaopang, who's really lucky today, drawing good hands every now and then.

Although she didn't win as many times as Zhang Hong, she actually earned more because of her better hand.

Yan Li didn't care about any of that; he just wanted to make his mother and wives happy. He not only gambled away all his cash but also borrowed money from Fan Xiaopang at exorbitant interest rates—the kind where he couldn't repay it without sexual favors!

While playing cards, everyone would occasionally watch the Spring Festival Gala. Most of the programs were just so-so, nothing special.

However, the appearance of an acquaintance caused Yan Li to receive several sharp glares.

Yellow Saint Cloth!
This so-called ex-girlfriend of Yan Li is a thorn in Dong Xuan's side, and Qin Lan and Fan Xiaopang don't like her very much either.

"Dongfeng, this is her second time on the Spring Festival Gala, right? I heard she's also going to Hollywood to film a movie. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?"

Fan Xiaopang spoke sarcastically, but Yan Li calmly played an eight-cake hand: "What thoughts do I have? I'm not even familiar with her."

"hehe."

Dong Xuan sneered, glanced at Zhang Hong, and said without criticizing her, "You're just being stubborn. She's about to marry into a wealthy family."

"A wealthy family?"

"If his family is a wealthy family, then our family is a tycoon."

Yan Li shook his head. Huang's career had actually progressed fairly well in the past two years, especially with the success of "The Fairy Couple," which brought her considerable career boost.

Another issue is the complicated and often contradictory rumors and gossip surrounding her and her partner, Young Master Yang.

Although this young master Yang can't be considered a capable person, he's quite good at self-promotion and boasting.

However, internet users today have extremely poor discernment. Taking advantage of Huang Shengyi and some film and television projects, plus his family's somewhat well-known business, they were actually fooled by his various boasts and marketing press releases.

But while others might not know what was going on, Yan Li had already figured out the other party's background; even the Four Young Masters of the Capital were more valuable than him.

Huang Shengyi's current career is booming and seems to be doing well, but to some extent, it is at the expense of his fame and public image.

If they're lucky, they might have another representative work like "The Fairy Couple" to continue their popularity and stay popular for a few more years. Otherwise, they'll fade into obscurity in a few years.

As for making it in Hollywood, just take that with a grain of salt.

Every year, countless artists try their luck in Hollywood, but how many actually succeed?

Going to Hollywood to play a minor role or take a photo on the Walk of Fame doesn't count as making it into Hollywood; that's just going out to work or travel.

Moreover, Yan Li never thought that making it in Hollywood was something worth mentioning.

Times have changed!

This is not like the 1990s or the early 2000s, when the domestic market was limited. Only by breaking into Hollywood could one become an international superstar and earn more money.

Even if they don't succeed in their ventures, they can still gain prestige and come back with a higher status and greater fame.

The future Chinese market is hot enough to attract a group of Hollywood stars to make money.

The so-called international superstars and those who went overseas and then sold domestically are not that valuable. What the market and capital value is traffic and real box office appeal, not an ethereal title.

As a Chinese film and television tycoon, Yan Li has more or less dealt with some overseas film and television companies and Hollywood executives, so he is not lacking in connections and channels.

If he wanted to, he would have arranged for Fan Xiaopang to go to Hollywood to get some experience long ago.

The reason we didn't do it is because it wasn't necessary. You have to be strong yourself to succeed; it's better to create your own opportunity than to rely on others!
Yan Li has built a cinema chain, become an industry giant, and controls a media platform. Yet, he still fawns over Hollywood like other film companies. What a waste of his talent!

When the Chinese market is big enough to attract Hollywood's attention, and Yan Li can directly influence their mainland revenue, Yi An won't need to approach Hollywood; they'll come begging for cooperation themselves.

Aside from the minor incident involving Huang Shengyi, the most eye-catching segment of the Spring Festival Gala was Zhao Benshan's skit, "Not Short of Money."

Even though Yan Li had already read the intelligence and knew the general plot and Xiao Shenyang's acting style, he was still amused and laughed out loud, then shook his head.

This somewhat rustic and effeminate style becomes increasingly popular and controversial.

But this is a good thing for Weibo. Yan Li sent a WeChat message to the person in charge of Weibo on duty, asking him to drive traffic to Xiao Shenyang's Weibo account.

Actually, he didn't need to remind me; judging from the data from various sources, Weibo had already realized that this person was rapidly gaining popularity.

At this moment, Xiao Shenyang's personal Weibo account has appeared on the homepage and been recommended to Weibo users.

The song "Not Short of Money" and related topics also appeared on the trending search list and rose rapidly, becoming the most eye-catching presence on the Spring Festival Gala trending search list along with Zhou Jielun.

"I wonder if this Spring Festival Gala, plus the second Weibo Goddess competition, will be able to break the 1 million mark."

The emergence of mobile devices has led to a significant increase in the number of Weibo users. Combined with these trending topics, it's not far from reaching 100 million registered users.

This is destined to be a milestone moment!
According to relevant statistics, by the end of 2008, the number of Chinese netizens was nearly 300 million, and the number of microblog users exceeded 100 million, which means that one-third of netizens used microblogs.

Of course, this is just a figure of speech. There are definitely some fake and duplicate registrations among these 1 million users. The actual number of users depends on the monthly active users.

Regardless, this scale gives Weibo a significant advantage over its competitors and will also bring many benefits to its upcoming round of financing.

Speaking of the second Weibo Goddess, Yan Li glanced at Fan Xiaopang.

This woman was eliminated in the finals last year, and her fans were filled with resentment, determined to win the championship.

However, their journey was not easy, and even somewhat bumpy, because the fans of the other four actresses and two singers showed a rare unity.

Even when the main target doesn't need the vote, they cast their votes for Fan Xiaopang's opponent.

In the quarterfinals, Fan Xiaopang almost suffered an upset against Gao Yuanyuan.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year after the Spring Festival, the semi-finals will begin. Fan Xiaopang has a good chance of winning, but it is not a sure thing.

After all, her opponents—Little Swallow, Zhou Xun, and Li Yuchun—are no pushovers.

That's right, Chun Ge made it to the semi-finals.

Yan Li didn't know if there was any explanation for the top four contestants of the Weibo Goddess competition.

Last year, Cecilia Cheung, who was embroiled in a photo scandal, made a strong showing in the nominations, and this year, Chris Lee has also been nominated.

To be fair, although Chun Ge is not known for her beauty, her popularity and the fighting spirit of her fans are undeniable.

Moreover, the fans' campaign this time was based on breaking through traditional aesthetics and showcasing the individuality of the new era, which to some extent made up for the disadvantage of not having a charming appearance.

Add to that a bunch of bored netizens who had nothing better to do, and in the end, Chun Ge won one battle after another, even defeating last year's Weibo goddess, Liu Tianxian.

The latter may have already won the Weibo Goddess title once, and given her current career setbacks, she is keeping a low profile. Therefore, neither she nor her fans are as enthusiastic this time, and she has given up after making it into the top 32.

This really infuriated Fan Xiaopang, who still wanted to defeat Liu Tianxian and avenge her previous defeat.

Similar to Zhang Baizhi before, Weibo is unlikely to let Chun Ge make it to the finals; the top four are the limit.

Forget about new-era individuality and androgynous beauty; Weibo goddesses are chosen by the public and must conform to public perception.

Beauty is an important scoring factor, and the winner must be a female celebrity who is recognized by everyone as both beautiful and popular. If Li Yuchun wins the top spot, there might be some buzz, but the whole event is essentially wasted.

Therefore, in the semi-finals, Fan Xiaopang will compete, working with Weibo to block Chun Ge, while Zhou Gongzi and Xiao Yanzi will compete for the other spot in the finals.

As for who will win the final?

This is the second time, and Yan Li didn't mind letting Fan Xiaopang be modest, but he also couldn't help her cheat. Whether she could win or not depended on Fan Xiaopang's own ability.

"Don't worry, I will definitely take back the title of Weibo Goddess."

After midnight, Grandma Yan had already rested, and Zhang Hong was also tired. Yan Li then took his mahjong set, prepared some wine and dishes, and went back to the neighboring courtyard to eat, drink, and have fun.

Fan Xiaopang was having a blast at mahjong, and in high spirits, he drank a few extra cups, his face flushed. He spoke with great confidence about the Weibo goddess.

“Young Master Zhou is nothing to worry about. If I, Zhao, can destroy her once, I can destroy her a second time.”

As she spoke, she looked at Chairman Qin and his companion and said, "We two are unlikely to ever get close to becoming the Weibo goddess in our lifetime. Call her 'sister,' and I'll let you touch the trophy when the time comes."

"Touch your grandpa."

Qin Lan retorted, but Yan Li stopped her and filled her glass: "Don't argue with her, she's had too much to drink. Come on, let's drink."

Dong Xuan covered her wine glass, her eyes slightly wary: "You were subtly urging us to drink during dinner, were you planning something bad?"

"Look at you, why do you always think so badly of me?"

Yan Li shook his head: "My parents are asleep. What's the point of us just staying up all night? Let's have some drinks so you won't argue."

"Then you guys drink, I won't drink."

Dong Xuan, who had the lowest alcohol tolerance, was afraid of getting drunk, so she shook her head and refused. Yan Li didn't try to persuade her further and started drinking with Fan Xiaopang and Qin Lan.

Fan Xiaopang had the best alcohol tolerance among them, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to keep up with the drinking. He was clearly getting excited and started pointing and gesturing at Chairman Qin.

Yan Li pretended to coax and persuade him from the side, but actually fanned the flames, making Fan Xiaopang more and more arrogant, while Qin Dong felt more and more aggrieved.

Dong Xuan finally couldn't hold back any longer, Qin Lan was also indignant, and even Yan Li was filled with righteous indignation.

"That's too much! If you don't discipline her for three days, she'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. You two, hold her down and I'll deal with her."

Chairman Qin wasn't stupid; upon hearing this, he immediately realized something. Seeing this, Yan Li added quietly.

“If you can’t bear it, I can understand. Anyway, if you miss this opportunity, you might not get another chance.”

Dong Xuan was still hesitating, but Qin Lan had already gone ahead. Anyway, it wasn't like she hadn't been taken down before, so what difference would it make?

"mean."

Dong Xuan cursed Yan Li, but still followed in Qin Lan's footsteps.

　(7000/213000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)