My wife is in my arms

Chapter 1581 Night Diner Part 3

Later, when he realized that Huang Qi himself had also invested, he stopped mentioning the matter.

Anyway, Liu Ling really thought her idea was good. When filming the cooking scenes in the TV series, she would find top chefs to create some dishes that were suitable for making at home, without having to make them taste amazing.

It just needs to be simple, easy to learn, easy to make, and taste pretty good.

This would have generated buzz for "Night Diner," making the drama more like a food show, but unfortunately Huang Qi wouldn't listen.

Instead, we should talk about human relationships.

This isn't some idol drama; everyone's just here to eat. What's there to talk about? Everyone's starving, coming here in the middle of the night. And feelings... well, you should at least consider the time.

The business hours are from midnight to 7 a.m.

During this time of year, nobody talks about feelings.

really.

When the guests on TV started talking, Liu Ling felt that the plot was too empty and lacked any sense of reality. She also felt that the expressions of the guest actors were too exaggerated. At this point in time... they were all full of energy, even the older people.

As Du Hai said, there is a significant flaw in the show's operating hours, which makes the entire show feel unrealistic. It would be better if it were shown between 7 pm and 2 am.

"It's really all for nothing."

After the episode finished airing, Du Hai suddenly said this.

Liu Ling wanted to say that it was only the first episode, but she didn't say it because the first episode had already shown many possibilities. Perhaps, as Zhang You said, "Night Diner" would be best set up in a street food stall or barbecue restaurant.

That's where the everyday life and spirit of the Chinese people truly converge.

Then, while the owner is cooking, he listens to the customers talking about their own stories and offers a few words of comfort when they mention something sad. This is real emotion, unlike in this drama where a glamorous white-collar businesswoman goes to a late-night diner at 11 a.m. to eat this kind of food.

This is the character setting established in the script.

In reality... it might be just as Du Hai said: dressing like that at this time of day and still maintaining such high energy levels, this person is clearly not a white-collar worker, but someone who sleeps during the day and works at night.

There was also a man in a suit who appeared in the store wearing sunglasses in the early hours of the morning... No matter how handsome he is, he can't be handsome enough to wear sunglasses in the early hours of the morning! Moreover, he was in good spirits, and Liu Ling felt that he was a worker at a nighttime entertainment club.

After watching the two episodes, Du Hai and Liu Ling finished their canned beer and sat on the sofa without saying a word for a long time.

"It's all for nothing."

finally.

Du Hai was the first to speak.

"almost"

Liu Ling replied with a wry smile.

Only two episodes have aired tonight, and the two have already noticed several major flaws. Generally, no matter how weak the later episodes of a TV series are, the quality of the first few episodes will be well controlled. However, after watching "Night Diner," they had no desire to continue watching and even felt that it was a complete waste of time.

"Zhang You certainly has a unique perspective."

Du Hai commented.

"I never imagined it would be this out of touch with reality."

Liu Ling also made a cameo appearance, but only for a few minutes. She didn't know how good the film was. She was worried because of Zhang You's previous comments on the subject matter. But later she felt that... on the one hand, the investment was relatively small, and on the other hand, Liu Ling heard that Huang Qi had used his connections.

They invited many actors to make cameo appearances.

During this period, many people didn't come because they knew more or less about Zhang You's opinion of the show, but Huang Qi still managed to attract quite a few. Especially after two or three investors withdrew their funding, he became even more aggressive, basically using all the connections he could. This resulted in "Night Diner" boasting a luxurious guest cast that claimed to include half of the entertainment industry. Liu Ling guessed that Huang Qi wanted to use these celebrity cameos to raise the audience's expectations for the show.

The result... those two episodes already explained the problem.

The first episode featured a cameo by Du Hai's co-star Wu Xi, along with a veteran actor. The second episode featured a well-known actress who is close to Huang Qi, but they still couldn't carry the plot.
"Let's ask about the ratings!"

Du Hai said, unwilling to give up.

"Let me ask."

talking.

Liu Ling took out her phone and called a friend at the TV station that had bought the broadcasting rights to "Night Diner." When she heard her friend mention the premiere ratings, Liu Ling completely gave up hope.

"How many!?"

Seeing that Teacher Liu had hung up the phone, Du Hai couldn't wait to ask.

"The average viewership rating was 0.17, and the highest rating never exceeded 1."

Faced with such ratings, even Liu Ling didn't know how to evaluate it. He thought it might flop, but he never expected it to flop right from the start. It was only because Huang Qi had put in so many favors to bring in so many celebrity cameos that it had no effect at all... Well, it wasn't that it had no effect; it did have an effect.

The first episode had a 0.7 rating when it first aired, and then... it started to decline. Viewers didn't hesitate at all, which led to the second season ending with such low ratings that it was unwatchable.

"..."

Du Hai was taken aback, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Zhang You has excellent taste."

"really"

Liu Ling expressed her agreement.

With such low ratings, "Night Diner" could only sell its first-run broadcast rights, with no chance of selling them for a second run. And the first run didn't generate much revenue; Huang Qi was hoping to recoup his investment in the second run after the first run ended! Now it's completely over. Unless a miracle occurs, Huang Qi will face huge losses.

The cost of modifying the game that Nikko bought was not low.

Production costs, plus publicity and favors involved, just for this one film... will at least deter Huang Qi from investing in film and television for at least ten years.

The two chatted for a few more minutes. When Du Hai saw that the designated driver he had hired had arrived, he got up to say goodbye. He had come here tonight to check with Teacher Liu on the quality and ratings of "Night Diner," a show they had both invested in.

Nobody wants their investment to go down the drain.

Even though Zhang You said he wasn't optimistic, the two of them were mentally prepared. But being mentally prepared didn't mean they were willing to give up. Now, it's hopeless to make money. They'll be lucky if they can get back a third of the money they invested.

On the other side of the city.

In a high-end residential complex, Huang Qi was listening to a conversation on the phone. With each sentence he heard, his face grew paler until the other person finished speaking, leaving him completely bloodless.

I hung up the phone.

Huang Qi slumped onto the sofa and didn't move for a long time.

Despite his hard work in investing in and participating in the adaptation of "Night Diner," and despite spending so much effort and money on promotion, the show failed to make a splash even after its premiere.

After a while.

Huang Qi's unwilling voice came through.

"Yes, this is the first broadcast. As long as we increase the promotional efforts, there will be more opportunities later."

(End of this chapter)