After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 513 Asking Commander Zhou for Help
Zhou Haoran has now been promoted.

He became the deputy head of the arts troupe.

Although it was only a temporary post, he also served as the assistant to the chairman of Red Star Media.

That's a really big deal.

On the day of his appointment, he was introduced by the vice president of Red Star Media.

Furthermore, the organizational discussion was skipped, and the superior unit directly made arrangements for Zhou Haoran's work content and responsibilities. The troupe leaders all expressed their firm commitment to implementing and fully supporting the arrangements, and pledged to cooperate with Director Zhou to do the job well.

Zhou Haoran was parachuted in.

When a stranger first arrives, their attitude is very important for the smooth progress of their work.

After the meeting, I went to the office of Xie Hong, the head of the arts troupe.

"Commander Xie, I'm here to report to you."

Zhou Haoran first showed goodwill.

Xie Hong dared not challenge him. This kid was so young, yet he had so much power after being parachuted in, and he even had the title of "assistant." It was obvious that he had a powerful background and was the kind of person that no one could afford to offend.

He quickly became humble.

Leaders of cultural troupes like this often have limited power, and those actively involved in cultural development are usually professionals. For example, this troupe leader, Xie, is a playwright.

The second-in-command, deputy head Gu Dandan, is a dancer.

This also shows that although this arts troupe has eight subordinate art troupes, its core consists of the drama troupe and the song and dance troupe.

The evaluation criteria are also simple.

Let's see who can sell tickets.

Domestic art troupes are divided into two categories: one is affiliated with the military, which provides allowances and military benefits; the other is local art troupes, which are subject to market changes and often employ staff with permanent positions or commercial contracts (temporary workers).

The arts troupes of Red Star Media are all local art troupes.

It needs to be market-oriented.

The harbor area is rich in culture, has people who are wealthy and have a pursuit of civilization, and has a market for offline theater troupes. Among them, drama troupes and song and dance troupes are the most popular and sell the most tickets.

Other acrobatic troupes, comedy troupes, and the like cannot even be self-sufficient, and their bonuses are meager, so they can only rely on government subsidies from their work units.

Upon meeting the important figure who had been parachuted in, the first thing Commander Xie Hong did was to plead poverty.

She was really crying.

Tears streamed down my face.

They said that many of the young actors in the troupe were having a very tough time.

The average income per capita in the port has now reached 1000 yuan. However, many young actors in the troupe can only earn the minimum wage of 300 yuan each, and even many veterans who have worked for twenty years only have a basic salary of 1000 yuan.

Local theater troupes are too poor!
A short while later, Ms. Gu Dandan, the deputy head of the delegation, also arrived.

She cried along with them.

The actors in the troupe have to get up at five or six in the morning to stretch and train, and they also have to rehearse hard during the day. They work hard every day, but in the end, they can only earn a few hundred yuan a month.

With red eyes, Gu Dandan wiped away her tears and said, "Commander Zhou, we have a young man in our troupe, Xiao Wan, who just graduated from school last year. He's only 19 years old. We don't pay him enough, and his family is poor. He works on construction sites whenever he has free time. His leg was crushed. He studied ballet, and with this comminuted fracture, he can never dance again."

Zhou Haoran was soft-hearted and moved after hearing this. "Director Xie, Director Gu, I'm new here and don't know much about things. Don't worry, if there are any problems with the troupe, we'll find a way to solve them together."

"I'm short of money!"

Xie Hong was pounding his chest and stamping his feet; he didn't look like a leader at all.

She was crying and sobbing like a woman.

Gu Dandan bit her lip and said, "Commander Zhou, you are familiar with the leaders. If you could get the unit to approve the next funding, that would be great."

"Should you go to your employer if you want money?"

Zhou Haoran also realized that there was really no money to be made in this troupe, so much so that the two troupe leaders didn't have any internal strife.

Gu Dandan said bitterly, "We can only turn to higher authorities."

Zhou Haoran asked, "Our troupe usually performs in theaters, right? The income from the market should be decent, right?"

"It's not enough," Xie Hong, the troupe leader, sighed. "There are eight troupes in total, with more than 1200 people. The monthly salary expenses alone amount to 1 million. Our total performance income is only about 1 million."

Zhou Haoran raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this enough?"

Xie Hong said bitterly, "That's not enough. We need to split it 50/50. Half of the ticket sales revenue should go to the theater."

"Can a theater really be divided into so many parts?"

Zhou Haoran was somewhat surprised. Normally, a theater getting 15%-20% of the revenue would be considered quite high. Theaters aren't cinemas, and they don't need to spend huge sums of money constantly introducing exorbitantly priced equipment.

"The theater is having a tough time too," sighed Xie Hong, the troupe leader. "It's also an arrangement by the leadership."

Zhou Haoran suddenly realized.

On this side of the harbor, the troupe and the theater both belong to Red Star Media.

All are family.

Transfer from left hand to right hand.

Zhou Haoran asked, "Leaders, just tell me the truth, how much funding shortfall does the troupe have each month?"

"10."

"20."

The two group leaders, Xie Hong and Gu Dandan, gave different explanations, leading to an somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Gu Dandan, who said "20," was clearly exaggerating and trying to use Zhou Haoran's relationship to get more benefits for the troupe.

Zhou Haoran didn't expose him, and said with a smile, "Sometimes the shortfall is 100,000, sometimes it's 200,000. In short, every month, in addition to the subsidies and the theater's income, the troupe is short of more than 100,000 in funding."

"Yes, that's it."

Gu Dandan nodded repeatedly.

Seeing that he was easy to talk to, Xie Hong, the troupe leader, breathed a sigh of relief and said with difficulty, "Every month, the troupe is like begging for alms. Sometimes we have to apply to the group, sometimes to the Department of Culture, sometimes to the Bureau of Veteran Cadres... In short, my main job as the troupe leader every month is to beg for food."

"No, not really."

Zhou Haoran sensed the financial difficulties the troupe was facing.

Xie Hongdao said, "It's true, it's like begging. If we can't get money, we won't be able to pay everyone's wages."

"Ah."

Zhou Haoran nodded.

Even if they get the money and pay the wages, the young actors at the bottom only earn a few hundred yuan a month, and some who have just started only earn 300 yuan... This amount of money is simply not enough to live a decent life in the harbor.

Seeing that he did not refuse, Xie Hong, the troupe leader, felt as if he had seen a ray of light in his heart. "Tour leader Zhou, the domestic economy seems to be not very good these past few months. Many units are short of money. The troupe here is in deficit every month. Except for the two months of the Spring Festival, when the funds are stable, it is very troublesome at other times. Those of us in charge have to set an example. I have been able to receive only half a month's salary for five consecutive months."

"so serious?"

Zhou Haoran's expression changed slightly.

He thought to himself, "This Shan Wendong, he arranged for me to come here under the pretext of selecting actors to perform on TV, but actually wants me to come and help solve his urgent financial crisis?"

Gu Dandan said, "The troupe is currently in arrears of more than 90 yuan in employee wages alone."

"Wage arrears are absolutely unacceptable!"

Zhou Haoran immediately had an idea.

He just started working there.

Taking this opportunity to solve thorny issues and distribute money to everyone is the most effective and tangible way to generate personal influence.

Xie Hong became even more enthusiastic, "Commander Zhou, I really have no other choice, I'm counting on you!"

"I want to go down and take a look first."

Zhou Haoran couldn't just listen to their side of the story; he needed to go to the grassroots level first.

"Sure, where to? Let Commander Dandan arrange it for you!"

Xie Hong was absolutely clear-headed.

Zhou Haoran glanced at Gu Dandan and said with a smile, "Director Gu, you're a dancer, right? I think I've seen you on the Spring Festival Gala before!"

"Sigh!" Gu Dandan sighed softly. "What I'm thinking about now is making sure everyone has enough to eat. The economy has been down these past few months, and even fewer people are going to the theater. If we can't sell tickets, no amount of explanation will help."

"Then let's go check out the song and dance troupe first."

Zhou Haoran had already made up his mind to solve the funding problem first.

It's only a few hundred thousand.

Is it really that difficult?
……

"Brother, why are you here?"

Li Shen is a singer in a song and dance troupe. I didn't expect to see him at my workplace.

"Huh? It's you?" Zhou Haoran was also pleasantly surprised. "I came to see you."

Li Shen was very enthusiastic, smiling as she said, "What do you want to see? I'll show you!"

"Is there a rehearsal here?" Zhou Haoran asked casually. "I'm just taking a look. It's my first time here, and I'm quite curious."

Li Shen pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at him, "You didn't sneak over to see the little girl, did you?"

Zhou Haoran winked. "Are there many beautiful women around here?"

“There are so many! This is a song and dance troupe.” Li Shen was very proud of this. “Among the eight troupes, our song and dance troupe has the most handsome men and beautiful women. Pei Hui and Tan Yuanyuan used to be in the song and dance troupe too.”

Zhou Haoran gave a thumbs up, "They're all beauties!"

"They're choreographing over there. They're all young girls who just joined the troupe, around eighteen or nineteen years old, and they're all wearing dance costumes. They look so beautiful..."

Li Shen, like a thief, led him on a tour with a grin.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and became serious: "It might not be possible today."

Zhou Haoran asked: "What's wrong?"

Li Shen said in a low voice, "Our superiors are here to inspect today."

"Is the leadership inspecting?"

Zhou Haoran suddenly realized, could it be himself?
“Hmm.” Li Shen curled his lips, looking quite disdainful. “We have a lot of pretty girls here, and the leaders inspect us frequently. Sometimes when the troupe runs out of money and can’t pay salaries, Director Xie invites some leader from who-knows-what department to come and inspect our troupe. When we go out to dinner at night, he even brings along the actresses from our troupe.”

Zhou Haoran's expression changed slightly. "You went too?"

"Me?" Li Shen snorted, quite arrogantly. "I did make arrangements, but I'm not going! I don't need that bonus, and I don't want to have any personal relationships with those leaders."

Zhou Haoran asked, "Won't you be punished for disobeying orders?"

"That's all the salary I'm owed," Li Shen said dismissively, then added with disdain, "Our troupe is short of money again. We haven't been able to pay salaries properly for several months. This time, the market manager came and made such a big show of it. He's obviously just another womanizer! I don't want to do this job anymore, it's pointless!"

(End of this chapter)