A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 8 Of course
Lin Jianlu had actually prepared a bag of cassette tapes in advance.

The courtyard house, named Bing, has three courtyards and houses 19 families of varying sizes. He prepared a total of 25 boxes, and thoughtfully signed each one with his own handwriting: "Respectfully presented to the neighbors of Bing Courtyard - Lin Jianlu".

In just over ten minutes, they all dispersed.

He also thoughtfully instructed, "Keep everything safe, especially the signature, don't damage it. Someone will definitely offer a high price for it online later! Absolutely a high price!"

The most he can let his neighbors benefit from is this much.

Oh, have you seen "Full House of Love"? There were so many neighborhood conflicts in that show...

It's only thanks to the Lin family having such formidable figures in both generations that they were able to avoid being bullied.

Lin's mother's mouth was no joke; almost no one could withstand her barrage of words. Anyone who went up against her would be left speechless. As Lin Jianlu grew up, it was even more so. He was incredibly mischievous from a young age, with a huge appetite and great strength. He was bold, resourceful, and a rascal. When he was in the second year of junior high, he went to a high school to get into a fight. He brought a stool into the house and started punching people, eventually landing himself in the police station. In the end, he still had to pay the other party more than 300 yuan in medical expenses.

None of the young people in the Nanluoguxiang area are not afraid of him!
Relying on Lin's father won't work; he's an intellectual, he can't speak or use his hands...

"Jianlu, are you going to be a big star in the future?"

"Not yet, just a minor celebrity."

"Tch, don't give me that crap. Hey, are celebrities extra rich?"

"Not much, only 120 a month!"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Gao, who had chased after her from the corridor, immediately blushed, then slowly darkened. It was fine when she was a child, but when she was in junior high school, Er Yatou liked to pester Lin Jianlu, which worried him a lot. Fortunately, Lin Jianlu was not willing to play with a girl like her, otherwise, she would not have been able to get into university.

"Er Ya, come back! You haven't finished eating yet! All you do all day is listen to music. Don't you know that's decadent bourgeois music? It'll corrupt you! Studying hard is what you should be doing at your age. If you don't study hard, you won't even be able to find a decent job after graduation. You'll only be able to do some low-class things..."

Before Comrade Gao could finish speaking, Lin Ma burst out of the west wing, startling Comrade Gao so much that he didn't dare continue. He simply yelled at his daughter, "Come on, let's go home!"

…………

The album was released just like that.

Aside from the time the music video aired on the Capital TV station early in the morning, which caused a commotion in the courtyard, Lin Jianlu didn't notice anything unusual.

However, in the afternoon, Xue Zhongding suddenly called the convenience store and asked Lin Jianlu to go to the Xindadu Hotel immediately. When she arrived, she learned that before the morning's "Music TV" on the Capital TV station had even finished airing, a hotline had already been called, requesting a rebroadcast of the "Cold to the End" music video. The program was scheduled and the timing was calculated, so it was impossible to rebroadcast it immediately. However, the Capital TV station decided to add an extra round of broadcasting in the afternoon and evening.

Do not care.

These days, every TV station, big or small, has a shortage of programs.

There were almost no variety shows, and the production capacity of TV dramas was severely insufficient. As long as a new one was produced and the quality was good, it would immediately become a hit across the country. This situation should have been noticed by many people, because according to Lin Jianlu's memories from her previous life, around 2000, various TV dramas and variety shows began to increase.

But at least for now, no.

What if you don't have enough episodes to air? Just rebroadcast them!
Old TV dramas are played over and over again, a few old crosstalk segments and old skits are put together and called "Happy Moments," a few music videos are put together and called "Music TV," and that's what variety shows are like now.

Play it repeatedly.

The problem is that in China, if a song isn't popular, there's no money to make a music video. Music videos are only made when the song becomes popular, so there aren't many music videos. And frankly, the visuals are quite outdated and tacky.

There are plenty of music videos from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their technology is advanced, and the visuals are beautiful. At least compared to other regions of the same era, the visuals and quality absolutely crush the mainland. But the problem is, no matter how popular Jacky Cheung or Emil Chau are there, pirated cassette tapes can be sold like crazy, but music videos can't be broadcast. In a legitimate country, state-run television stations wouldn't dare let anything that hasn't been censored and officially imported air for even a second.

If you can't control piracy, how can you not control it?

If they dare to broadcast it, then that's a major political issue.

So it's obvious that for a music video like "Cold to the End," Lin Jianlu meticulously wrote the script, specially invited Gu Changwei to be the cinematographer, shot it on film, and then specifically followed Lin Jianlu's requirements for post-production lighting, color grading, and editing. The effect...

No exaggeration, the high-quality music videos from Hong Kong and Taiwan far surpass those from mainland China at the same time, but the visual quality of "Cold to the End" absolutely crushes them!

The music video became an instant hit, which was only natural. In fact, this is also the key reason why Lin Jianlu, despite having a recording budget of over 20 yuan, insisted on a quick recording session to save money for the music video – promotion, promotion!

How can you sell goods without promoting them?
Now it seems that the music video can be considered a success. From the excitement on Xue Zhongding and Zhang Peiren's faces, Lin Jianlu knows that the money was well spent.

It turns out that Lin Jianlu was to go to the radio station tonight.

As soon as the music video was released, countless calls poured in. The outside world naturally didn't know, but anyone in this industry has their own judgment, and sure enough, the radio station took action first.

This is not simply a matter of broadcasting being more flexible.

The problem remains the same: these days, even if you're willing to spend money on promotion when your new album is released, there's nowhere for it to go—from local TV stations to CCTV, there are practically no variety shows available, so how are you going to get on?
On the contrary, radio has many music programs, live broadcasts, and chat programs, and you can go on anytime!

So we had been in contact beforehand, but the time for the show wasn't set in stone.

Go for it!

Although Hong Kong and Taiwan were Lin Jianlu's most anticipated main markets, he was clearly too far away to reach or manage them. On the other hand, although his expectations for sales in the mainland were far lower than in Hong Kong and Taiwan, he was still happy to do anything that would help sell tapes.

Two shows invited him, one at 8 pm and the other at 12:30 am.

If you don't get paid, go promote the album; they'll just have more guests to fill out the show.

It's currently the promotional period for the album's title track. He'll go on TV shows, chat, sing a few lines a cappella, and that's it. After the show, he'll chat with the people from the Capital Radio Station for a while before finally leaving. It's the middle of the night, and unlike thirty years later, the streets are deserted. He'll cycle home by himself.

When he got back to the courtyard, he locked his car under the eaves. Instead of going inside, he stood on the porch and looked around at the dark courtyard, feeling vaguely that something was missing.

Today doesn't seem to be quite perfect.

Half a minute later, he realized what was missing.

So he quickly walked to the window of Old Gao's house in the east wing and knocked on the glass.

Three knocks woke the people inside. They could hear Grandma Gao's soft reminder and Grandpa Gao's slight grogginess as he woke up. Then he asked, "Who? Who's knocking on the window?"

"Uncle Gao, let's go watch the flag-raising ceremony!"

Grandpa Gao was still a little confused. "Huh? Raise... what flag?"

"Tsk, raising the national flag! Grandpa Gao, how can you be like this! Even if you're living a good life, you can't forget the correct leadership of the Party and the country! We need to be constantly influenced by it!"

There was no sound from inside the house.

"Uncle Gao! Uncle Gao? Hurry up, or you'll miss it! Let me tell you, you can't afford to be lazy! You can't forget your original aspirations once you have a job, or you'll be laid off sooner or later, and then you'll only be able to do some low-class jobs!"

"Hey……"

A strange, complex sigh came from inside. From a deeper cubicle, it seemed as if a girl was faintly laughing under the covers. Grandpa Gao snapped out of his daze and woke up, furious. "Lin Jianlu! It must be you, you brat!"

"What the hell am I watching, the flag-raising ceremony in the middle of the night?! How mean are you?!"

"Get out of here right now! See if I don't call your parents tomorrow!"

He was about to speak again when Aunt Gao next to him tugged at his sleeve. At this point, he listened carefully, but there was no echo outside. Then he heard the sound of the door opening and closing from the west wing.

Clearly, Lin Jianlu has successfully made his exit and has left.

Comrade Lao Gao was stunned for several seconds, then said, "Hey..."

"That kid is fucking wicked!"

(End of this chapter)