After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 393 The True Singer

Zhou Haoran was driving when he received a call from an unknown number.

"Hello. Who is this?"

"Uncle, I am Lu Ming."

"Huh?" Zhou Haoran's tone softened. "Oh, Lu Ming!"

Tang Shiyi fell silent on the other end of the line.

Zhou Haoran instantly realized that someone must have complained. He smiled and said, "Lu Ming, you don't need to worry about anything. I'm here for you. Just focus on your studies in the capital."

“My dad is here too.”

Tang Shiyi finally spoke.

Zhou Haoran said, "Take it easy. I'm here at work. Don't worry."

"I'm not in a hurry." Tang Shiyi's tone was calm, but she still felt very close to him. "Uncle, I knew you were on my side."

Zhou Haoran knew what she meant and laughed, "Of course! What kind of relationship do we have? Editor-in-Chief Lin and I are just colleagues, nothing more. Of course I'll support you."

“I told you long ago, you were all fooled by her hypocritical appearance.”

Tang Shiyi was somewhat angry.

Zhou Haoran said casually, "Editor Lin's approach is definitely not going to work. I reckon... it'll be soon, a reversal will happen very quickly."

"Huh?" Tang Shiyi didn't quite understand. "What reversal?"

Zhou Haoran said calmly, "Editor-in-Chief Lin's approach is just about chasing ratings. She's completely wrong; that's not how you compete for ratings. Eating vegetables every day and occasionally having a braised pork knuckle is delicious. But eating braised pork knuckle every day would get boring for everyone."

"You don't approve of her?"

Tang Shiyi became happy.

Zhou Haoran said, "I don't agree. The ratings boom during this period is based on the style of the program you established over the past two years. Occasionally eating pork knuckle can boost the ratings. But if she eats pork knuckle every day, she'll soon suffer the consequences."

"Yes, different regions have different recipes."

Tang Shiyi felt that she had a lot in common with him.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "That's exactly what I mean. Northern cuisine is heavy on oil and salt, and lots of meat and fat. We've been used to it since we were little. But it's different in the harbor. The food here is all light. If we eat braised pork knuckle for so many days in a row, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later!"

Excellent television programs have very distinct regional characteristics.

Some shows can maintain high ratings for a long time even though the characters are constantly arguing and acting out.

Those were often television stations in the north targeting the rural market.

The harbor area values ​​a refined lifestyle, and Editor-in-Chief Lin's approach is completely blinded by ratings and detached from local reality.

Oranges grown north of the Huai River become trifoliate oranges.

Even Zhao Benshan's sketches are met with a cold reception in southern regions.

Tang Shiyi sighed softly, "She's going to ruin my program."

Zhou Haoran pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Lu Ming, the ratings for 'Family Matters' are continuing to decline. Having Editor-in-Chief Lin cause such a stir might not be a bad thing. Anyway, I'm here; no one can bully you!"

"Uncle..."

"Ok?"

"I want to become an apprentice."

“Uh…” Zhou Haoran cleared his throat. “I don’t have anything to teach you.”

Tang Shiyi seemed to have lost her emotional intelligence. "Then you should talk to my dad. He wants me to be with you. As for the specifics, you can decide for yourselves. I can accept anything."

“Um…” Zhou Haoran was at a loss and didn’t take the bait. “Lu Ming, I’ve analyzed the situation with the station’s leadership, and they don’t really want you to continue as the producer of ‘Family Matters.’ The overall ratings are declining, and the show needs to change.”

Tang Shiyi gave a soft "hmm," and said, "I know. Sending me to the capital for further studies is just a way of exiling me. It's to make room for Lin Guiyan to showcase her talents."

Zhou Haoran sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. After Director Shan stayed on, he started sweeping reforms. For television programs, viewership ratings became the most important indicator."

"I understand."

"So I've decided, I'm going to apply to start a new segment!"

"what?"

Tang Shiyi's tone changed slightly, surprised by this statement.

Zhou Haoran analyzed, "I've worked on 'Family Matters' for the past few months and I've felt that the show's vitality is declining and it's a bit out of touch with the times. So I think letting Editor-in-Chief Lin mess around for a while might not be a bad thing."

Tang Shiyi said gracefully, "You must take me away from 'Family Matters'!"

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Yes, you, Xiao Chen, my sister, and a few other close friends. Let's start from scratch and not cooperate with those who have different values."

"Uncle, I'll do as you say."

Tang Shiyi's reaction wasn't out of obedience, but rather a genuine belief that her uncle was capable and could handle the matter well.

Zhou Haoran asked, "Lu Ming, what is your understanding of media? Explain it in one sentence, and then I will develop a column that aligns with the spirit of the times based on your understanding."

Tang Shiyi was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I will not sing praises; I must live with my conscience."

"Ah."

Zhou Haoran sighed inwardly, thinking that if Lu Ming had such persistence, her days at the TV station would only become more and more difficult.

Tang Shiyi continued, "I won't sing war songs either; I don't want to fight against anything."

"it is good."

Zhou Haoran breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Shiyi said calmly, "I just want to sing out the silence in the hearts of ordinary people."

"They don't sing hymns of praise, nor hymns of war. True singers sing out the silence in people's hearts."

Zhou Haoran pondered her words. With just one sentence, she rejected all scripted programs, pursuing only authentic expression.

……

Under Jiang Feibiao's arrangement, Zhou Haoran met the real owner of "Haoran Mansion".

Since we can't call it Zhou Mansion, let's call it Haoran Mansion then.

The person in question is Canadian.

The foreigner wasn't eligible to claim his family's old house, so he had to renounce his citizenship first, then become a citizen again. After selling the house, he would then change back to his foreign citizenship.

This house is quite valuable, making it worth the trouble he went through.

There is a reaction in the market.

Recently, an old villa in Xuhui District, only one-third the size of this one, was sold for $100 million. The price alone—$100 million—tells you the story…and the buyer is a foreigner.

These days, wealthy people in China don't buy these old-style houses.

After meeting, the other party quoted $260 million.

Jiang Feibiao threatened, "I'll give you 500 million yuan! Take it or leave it! If you don't sell, you'll never get the property rights back!"

It almost made the other person vomit blood.

Zhou Haoran was more friendly, saying, "My budget for this house is $150 million. I can pay in foreign currency, so you won't need to apply for foreign exchange or transfer assets."

The other party tried to negotiate for a while longer.

The final transaction price was set at US$155 million.

This secretly alarmed Jiang Feibiao.

This kid is incredibly rich!
Once the price was agreed upon, the next step was to go through the procedures. First, obtain citizenship, and then apply to the country to claim the family property.

Zhou Haoran went to the school and met Dongfang Lang.

"School is about to start, and the student council members are all back."

Dongfang Lang cursed and swore.

Zhou Haoran chuckled and said, "What? Do you have a grudge against the student council? Didn't you take back the coffee shop? The student council is coming back early to welcome the new students."

"That's what I said..."

Dongfang Lang drew out a long note.

Zhou Haoran glanced at him, "There's a hidden meaning in your words!"

Dongfang Lang smiled and said, "I've secured the school's order; it's for a total of 1022 computers."

"Ah."

Zhou Haoran acted as if he hadn't heard, and walked straight toward the library. The library card system there had already been installed, so he went to check out how it worked.

Dongfang Lang quickly followed him and said, "The school will discard more than 200 computers."

"Discarded computers?" A thought flashed through Zhou Haoran's mind. "Did the student council apply for these computers?"

Dongfang Lang said in a deep voice, "Yes, we applied."

"What are they planning to do? Sell them to students?"

Zhou Haoran was not surprised by this.

Selling used computers to students is a routine practice on campus.

However, there are too many scams and deceptions here.

"If we let them do this, countless college students will be scammed! They can refurbish a computer a little and sell it as a new one, and the average student won't be able to tell the difference."

Dongfang Lang looked worried.

Zhou Haoran chuckled and said, "I'm afraid it will affect your business."

Dongfang Lang said solemnly, "This isn't about business; it's about justice."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I'll pay for it and buy those old computers!"

"Huh?" Zhou Haoran's eyes widened. "You're pulling this on me? You buy all those old computers, repackage them, and sell them as new machines under the Lenovo brand?"

Dongfang Lang's eyes widened. "Am I that kind of unscrupulous businessman?"

"Then what do you want to do?"

Zhou Haoran knew that Dongfang Lang wouldn't do such a thing; it would be more likely if it were Yangyang.

Dongfang Lang pondered for a moment and said, "Some of the computers the school is going to discard are still quite good. Especially since they all have monitors, and monitors aren't obsolete. There are many internet cafes now. If we collect these computers, replace some parts, and modify them, we can put them in internet cafes..."

"You want to open an internet cafe?" Zhou Haoran was speechless. "Is that all you've got?"

Opening an internet cafe is no different from opening a game arcade, mahjong parlor, or massage parlor.

The lowest of the low.

I have to deal with those street thugs all day long.

If Dongfang Lang were to actually do such a thing, he would be letting down Zhou Haoran for all the hard work he had put into nurturing him.

"I think it's great..." Dongfang Lang said excitedly, having his own calculations. "We have computers, so we can get them from the main distributor at the lowest price. We also have computers that have been phased out by various universities. This means that we can keep our costs to a minimum when we open an internet cafe!"

Zhou Haoran said firmly, "No way!"

Dongfang Lang argued, "It's really feasible! If we set up a chain of internet cafes with hundreds or even thousands of machines, we'd have a huge margin for error. A lot of discarded spare parts would then have some value. Internet access outside is expensive these days, over 20 yuan an hour, and it's always packed. With a bit of luck, we could recoup the cost of one computer in a week!"

"Is that all you've got?" Zhou Haoran was too lazy to argue with him. "In short, no way!"

(End of this chapter)