After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 274 Promoting Distinctive Ethnic Culture to the Outside World: You call that low-class? Don't you want to work here anymore?

"Is our orchestra some kind of low-class troupe?"

"When did we fall to the point where we take anyone's job?"

"So does that mean that any popular celebrity or young idol can just ask us to be supporting characters, and if they want any work from them, we have to willingly play the role of a foil?"

"You may be willing to go, but I'm not. I'm not used to playing second fiddle to others!"

In the conference room.

The core members of the orchestra gathered here for a simple meeting on the night before the end of the performance. The meeting was simple: to vote on whether to participate in the "Silk Road Blossoms" troupe's event on CCTV, to go to Da Piao Liang, and to perform a choral piece together with the well-known "red song spokesperson" Shen Ming'en.

Clearly, as the deputy head of the troupe and also the deputy director of the theater, Jiang Xu had strong opinions...

He never really thought highly of artists like Shen Mingen who were associated with "traffic" (online popularity). In his eyes, Shen Mingen was at best an "actor," while they were all associated with "art" and would eventually become "artists." Compared to them, the actors in the entertainment industry were worlds apart.

What's more...

Just now in the rehearsal room, Shen Ming'en was loudly "cricketing" at him in front of everyone.

Although Jiang Xu pretended not to hear and turned to run away, he knew best whether he actually heard it or not.

Therefore, when Dean Chen Ning brought up this matter at the meeting, Jiang Xu immediately took the lead in rejecting the proposal.

"..."

The other core members of the band in the room looked at each other in bewilderment, but none of them spoke.

Actually, they already knew about the collaboration with Shen Mingen, and some of them were quite excited, looking forward to working with Shen Mingen and even more so to his works...

After all, no matter how much some self-proclaimed "noble" people belittle Shen Ming'en, they cannot deny that Shen Ming'en's works are truly good.

He's acting all high and mighty. If you're so capable, why don't you write something like "My People, My Country," a piece that's universally acclaimed in the industry and praised by veteran writers?

Are you sure you can do it?

If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Xu was the vice dean and deputy head of the delegation, these people would definitely have said something to him.

Others might give Jiang Xu some face, but Chen Ning, as the dean and also the head of the orchestra, had no need to consider his feelings. While everyone tacitly refrained from expressing their opinions, Chen Ning spoke frankly with a smile:
"If Vice Dean Jiang can call this kind of international exchange and promotion of our country's unique ethnic culture 'low-class work,' then I'm curious, what kind of work would Vice Dean Jiang consider a noble job?"

As soon as these words came out...

"I……"

Jiang Xu was speechless for a moment.

He choked on his words.

To be frank, Jiang Xu only looked down on Shen Ming'en as a person, not on the activities of CCTV. Unless he wanted to quit the business and be blacklisted, he would never dare to say anything bad about CCTV's activities.

There's no one in the Chinese entertainment industry who dares to publicly speak ill of CCTV. This meeting room is full of people and eyes, do you think Jiang Xu would dare to take on this topic?

This guy was shrewd. After a brief moment of speechlessness, his eyes darted around as if he had thought of a solution. Turning to Chen Ning, he put on a helpless expression and said in a "as quiet as possible" tone, "Dean Chen, you can't just bring up a collaboration with someone else because of your personal relationship. It's easy for others to misunderstand..."

His tone was quite interesting; it sounded like he was whispering. The meeting room was tiny, and everyone was watching them. How could anyone not hear what he was saying?
Although these people didn't say anything, the way they looked at Dean Chen Ning became somewhat strange...

To be frank, Jiang Xu was quite adept at changing the subject, directly targeting Chen Ning with a single sentence, as if Chen Ning's agreement to collaborate with the orchestra and Shen Ming'en was simply a matter of "using connections."

Chen Ning remained unfazed and smiled as she said:

"I don't mind if people think too much, but in order to give everyone an explanation, I still plan to let everyone see the work that Ming En handed over first."

Dean Chen Ning's attitude is already very clear: let the works speak for themselves!
Don't discriminate against others. The quality of a work is what matters, and this is true everywhere!

As she spoke, Chen Ning nodded to a staff member beside her, who then brought over a thick stack of paper documents.

They distributed the portions one by one to each of the slender members of the band present.

At that time, everyone's face was actually showing a bit of "expectation". After all, it was the work of Shen Ming'en, the famous spokesperson for red songs. His name was "thunderous". Everyone was really curious whether he could sing this kind of choral piece or not.

Therefore, after receiving a photocopy of Shen Ming'en's "Yellow River Cantata: Defend the Yellow River" from the staff, they immediately began to look at it.

It was fine if they hadn't looked, but once they did, the expressions on their faces could only be described as "their eyes lit up again and again!"

"Deputy Commander..."

The staff handed out copies of the work to Jiang Xu before finally handing it to him. At first, Jiang Xu didn't want to accept it, since he didn't think that Shen Mingen, a popular celebrity, could create any good choral works.

Seeing the expressions of the band members present, each one more shocked and amazed than the last, he couldn't help but become curious as well.

With a smirk, Jiang Xu took the photocopy of the artwork from the staff member and quickly flipped through it.

It's okay if you don't watch it...

Upon closer inspection, his expression grew increasingly strange.

Let's set aside the lyrics and core themes of "The Yellow River Cantata: Defend the Yellow River" and evaluate it from a "technical" perspective.

The document that Shen Ming'en handed over not only contained the complete lyrics and music of this movement, but also listed the music for each part separately. In terms of arrangement, he even composed the complete symphony!

That's a bit exaggerated, a bit outrageous!

Everyone present was a professional and could read sheet music. It was precisely because they could read it that the cold notes on the paper seemed to begin playing in their minds at that moment!
A powerful and inspiring image of a performance filled with national righteousness naturally came to mind!

At that moment, they were truly shocked!
"Personally, I don't think such a work would tarnish our orchestra's reputation too much..."

The reactions were clearly within Chen Ning's expectations, and she said with a smile:

"Let's vote. Those who agree to collaborate with Ming En on 'The Yellow River Cantata: Defend the Yellow River', please raise your hands."

After saying that, she raised the timer without any hesitation. As the dean, she took the lead and stood up for everyone who was willing to cooperate with Shen Ming'en!
next moment!
One hand, two hands, three hands...

Every single one of the core members of the band raised their hands in unison.

Except for Jiang Xu and a very few others, almost everyone raised their hands and voted in favor.

"..."

Jiang Xu didn't speak, and his expression wasn't exactly pleasant.

To be honest, he didn't really expect Shen Ming'en to be able to produce good choral works at first, and he didn't even plan to accept his work materials at first...

But after watching it, he couldn't deny that this was definitely a classic song that could be passed down through generations!

With the dean's backing and everyone agreeing to cooperate, if he were to disagree again, he would have to look for the reasons within himself.

In the end, Jiang Xu's face turned ugly. Without saying a word, he turned to leave...

But just then, Chen Ning suddenly called out to him, "Vice Dean Jiang, wait a moment."

"...Is there anything else?" Jiang Xu asked casually without turning his head, pausing slightly.

He probably felt that Chen Ning was going to humiliate him. Now that the situation was settled, there was nothing he could do to change it. What else could he do but humiliate him if he stayed behind?
And indeed, that's the case...

"There's something I need to tell you..."

In front of everyone, Chen Ning smiled and said:
“We have to look at other people’s work, and they also have to look at our level. Ming’en suggested that he wanted to see our troupe’s next performance, which you happen to be choreographing. So I hope you can put in some effort later and not embarrass our troupe.”

Jiang Xu was taken aback upon hearing this...

Then, with wide eyes, a slight tilt of the head, and gritting her teeth, she said, "He... he's testing us now?!"

This guy is interesting...

He seems to be a bit... arrogant.

She felt that she was an artist, while Shen Mingen was a popular celebrity, and therefore inherently inferior to her.

But the two sides had a "cooperative" relationship from the beginning. They wanted to see Shen Ming'en's work and couldn't let mediocre work ruin their reputation. Shen Ming'en felt the same way...

People may not know your reputation in the industry, but Teacher Ming'en is highly regarded in the industry... no, throughout the country.

Such a high-quality work shouldn't be performed by just any band. What if you ruin it for them?

"What?" Chen Ning asked with a smile, "Is there a problem?"

Dean Chen Ning has always given people the feeling of being "as warm as a spring breeze". When she talks to Jiang Xu now, it is as if she is discussing with him. However, as soon as you make eye contact with her, you will know that she is not discussing with you, but simply "informing you" unilaterally.

"I……"

Jiang Xu hesitated briefly, but finally gritted his teeth and said:

"No, no problem."

The next show was indeed his performance.

The thought of him performing on stage while Shen Ming'en sat there watching like a king in the audience made him feel a little uncomfortable...

And this is exactly the effect that Shen Ming'en wanted to see!
This is exactly the effect I wanted!
Don't you think highly of yourself?
Can't you be patient?

Don't you like pretending?

I'll give you a chance, show me what you've got!

At this moment, Jiang Xu looked as helpless as a child.

"puff……"

Nearby, several key members of the band almost burst out laughing.

This also made Jiang Xu's face extremely ugly.

To be honest, Chen Ning had no reason to make things difficult for Jiang Xu, who worked with her every day, because of Shen Ming'en, someone she had some connection with but was not familiar with.

But then again…

At the time, Chen Ning was communicating with Shen Ming'en, and when she saw Jiang Xu coming over, she took the initiative to introduce him. Did Jiang Xu give Chen Ning face with his attitude towards Shen Ming'en?

He said to Chen Ning's face that cooperating with Shen Ming'en was a waste of time, which made things difficult for Chen Ning.

So Chen Ning is helping Shen Ming'en?
How can it be……

She was simply venting her anger.

And so, Shen Ming'en watched a performance by the Morning Light Orchestra at the theater, made a rather unbiased assessment of the deputy leader Jiang Xu's skill level, and then left the theater with a flourish.

It's worth mentioning that Jiang Xu had a dark expression throughout the performance, and he even missed a beat at one point. In a chorus, it's very noticeable when someone misses a beat, especially since he was the "leader," which almost made many people in the audience burst out laughing.

After the performance, it was already dark when Shen Mingen came out of the theater. When he got back to the car, Yao Shuli was leaning against the car window, seemingly asleep...

Seeing this, Shen Mingen carefully got into the car. He didn't want to wake her, but the sound of him getting in still reached Yao Shuli's ears. She groggily opened her sleepy eyes, and seeing Shen Mingen get into the car, the corners of her mouth slightly turned up, a few smiles appearing on her lips. She asked:

"How about it?"

“It went very smoothly,” Shen Ming’en said without telling her about Jiang Xu, afraid that she would worry. “Start rehearsals tomorrow, and they will help with the arrangements.”

"That's good." Hearing this, Yao Shuli seemed to finally relax and nodded with a smile.

"Shall we go eat?" he asked Yao Shuli. "What would you like to eat?"

“Either is fine,” Yao Shuli nodded and said, “Eat whatever you like.”

"What I like to eat?"

Shen Ming'en scratched his head, then looked at Yao Shuli with a mischievous grin...

Yao Shuli: "?"

At first, Yao Shuli didn't understand what Shen Mingen meant, until she saw the malicious look in his eyes...

In a short while, as if thinking of something, Yao Shuli's fair and delicate face began to visibly turn rosy.

"Go away!" She couldn't help but give Shen Ming'en a quick pinch, then whispered in his ear, "Can't you be serious? There are outsiders here!"

"Ouch..." Shen Ming'en, wincing from being pinched, quickly protested, "Ber, I didn't say anything! How am I being indecent?"

"You still dare to talk back!" Yao Shuli pinched him a few more times in anger.

The assistants in the front seat were barely holding back their laughter when Yao Shuli hurriedly shouted, "What are you laughing at? Hurry up and drive!"

"Oh……"

Nan Nan nodded and drove off. This assistant was really sensible, much better than that BYD Luo Luo. He didn't even ask them what they wanted to eat that night, and just "packed" them up and sent them to the hotel.

"Click."

Upon arriving at the hotel, Shen Ming'en's first reaction was to lock the door.

My second reaction was to hug and kiss Yao Shuli!
"Don't... um..."

Poor Yao Shuli had no resistance at all and was pushed onto the bed.

……

(End of this chapter)