I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 62: Talk Show "The Top Scholar Talks"

The "top scorer fever" was reignited by Zhang Da'an's outrageous remarks on the provincial education channel of Jiangkou Province. College entrance examination results were released across the country one after another. During this period, Zhang Da'an was interviewed by more than 30 media outlets, including television stations from major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, which produced programs for him.

Seeing that Zhang Da'an was indeed a hot topic, the provincial TV station made several inquiries and found that even if Zhang Da'an's total score was not the top scorer, it was still at the level of a top scorer.

So, without hesitation, a program producer who had also been transferred from Shazhou City applied to the station for a summer talk show called "Top Scholar Talks".

The entire process of planning and approval for the program "Top Scholar's Talk" took only one day. The reason was simple: the program's producer, Zhang Dangyang, secured a sponsorship of only 500,000 yuan.

However, this amount of sponsorship is enough for just one summer talk show.

Anyway, not many people watch the education channel. Kids only watch Ultraman fighting monsters around 5 or 6 pm. Parents don't watch anything else, like parenting advice, let alone the kids.

Furthermore, Zhang Dangyang's organizational affiliation is not with the provincial TV station; he is essentially a liaison officer in a more economically developed county-level city. Therefore, strictly speaking, Zhang Dangyang is still affiliated with the propaganda unit of Shazhou City.

He's only able to launch a project because of the money; it has nothing to do with his personal abilities.

So Zhang Dangyang quickly called a car to go back to his hometown and toasted Qiu Jianmin, Zhang Zhengdong and other leaders of the Education Bureau.

Snapped.

At the dinner table, a project proposal was tossed onto the table. Zhang Da'an smiled and said to Zhang Dangyang, "Director Zhang, we all share the same surname, Zhang. We were one family five hundred years ago. Please take care of me in the future."

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang, I'm hardly a director, just a lowly clerk. A tiny, insignificant figure..."

Zhang Dangyang's expression and tone were quite humble. He was just a nobody at the provincial TV station; to put it bluntly, he was a temporary worker, a human-shaped rice-eating machine.

There were many others like him, all from major industrial county-level cities. They were just struggling together, when Zhang Dangyang suddenly changed his ways, which really caught everyone off guard.

"As long as the packaging for this program is strictly implemented, I can guarantee you this amount for the subsequent advertising investment for a year."

Holding up three fingers, Zhang Da'an's smile carried a hint of malice. Qiu Jianmin, standing to the side, thought to himself, "This is unbelievable." Glancing at the completely calm Zhang Zhengdong, he could only admit: "Their offspring are superior."

"Three million?! This, this..."

"What?! Three million?!"

Zhang Da'an suddenly laughed, "Thirty million. As long as your show gets off the ground, I'll fully package you to become a top-notch host, and I'll continuously get you featured on the top five satellite TV channels. This thirty million will go wherever you go."

"..."

Zhang Dangyang, whose brain had momentarily shut down, looked completely bewildered; he felt like he was hallucinating.

Not three million?
thirty million?
I?
What right do I have?!

Am I worthy?!

Zhang Dangyang, who was questioning his life, wondered why he wasn't a woman, wasn't handsome, and didn't have any powerful connections.

This...this isn't right, is it?!

"You might be skeptical, or find it incomprehensible. But that's not important. What matters is your choice: do you choose the current 500,000 advertising fee, or the 30 million packaging fee?"

"I...I'd definitely choose the 30 million!"

"clever."

Zhang Da'an raised his hand and clapped, slowly but firmly. "I like smart people. So starting tomorrow, your personal image design will be fully handled by 'Zhang An Health,' and we will also fully market your program planning abilities. During this process, your personal professional skills will also receive further training and improvement. I will specially invite professionals from Huzhou, including broadcasting, etiquette, stage design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, and so on. The purpose of your image-building is only one: to highlight the professionalism of me and 'Zhang An Education.' Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand, I get it."

"Our relationship is not bound by any contract. On the surface, we are just fellow townsmen from Shazhou City. Nothing more. Understand?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Zhang, please rest assured. I may not have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run. I know a thing or two about this kind of thing. Please rest assured, please rest assured..." "Then, cheers! I'll have juice, you can drink whatever you like."

"Please, Mr. Zhang, please..."

Without wasting a word, Zhang Dangyang downed a large glass of Wuliangye liquor.

Actually, there is no "drinking culture" here, and Zhang Da'an did not conduct any "compliance tests," but Zhang Dangyang probably mingled in this kind of circle too much, so it became a habit.

After he recovered, Zhang Da'an said, "In the future, except for high-level social occasions, you should not drink excessively in order to protect your voice."

"Yes, yes... I'll be more careful next time, I'll be more careful next time!"

Zhang Dangyang nodded repeatedly and breathed a sigh of relief, now he had a reason not to drink at social events.

When the party ended, Zhang Da'an called a school driver to take Zhang Dangyang home, and then the three of them continued eating and drinking.

“His father is from the same brigade as me, so we're practically relatives. A couple of years ago, he asked me for help to see if I could get him back from Jiangning City. But I really don't have any connections in the propaganda department. This time, after going through all sorts of twists and turns, it was you who helped me. I'm almost retired, so I'm not of much use anymore. I won't go into any more nonsense. Thank you.”

Qiu Jianmin picked up his wine glass and toasted Zhang Da'an.

"Uncle, why are you being so polite with me? You're my uncle's former company commander. It wouldn't be right for you not to show some courtesy. Also, don't worry about my retirement. The city is holding a meeting these days and they've asked me to go."

"Entrepreneurs Conference?"

"Correct."

"From what you're saying... it has something to do with me?"

"That's somewhat related."

With a smile, Zhang Da'an got up and poured Qiu Jianmin a glass of "Biluochun". None of the three of them actually drank much. Zhang Zhengdong's favorite drink was beer, but he wasn't greedy. In this situation, they were just chatting like family.

"What do you mean?"

"Here's the thing, the education investment company might be changing its name, and the process involves asking me for advice on who would be suitable to be the company's CEO. After all, my opinion is just for reference."

"That must be due east."

"Do not."

Zhang Da'an raised his hand to interrupt, "Uncle's current rank is too low. It's easy for people to hold a grudge if he's promoted three ranks in a row."

"Promoted three ranks in a row? How could that be consecutive promotions... Oh dear, where did the new plaque go?"

"It's directly under the city's jurisdiction, but the sign is in Wudu City."

"Does it work?"

“An asset management company must have multiple investments, right? This falls under the scope of education-specific investment. I didn’t mention my uncle, but I mentioned you, sir. Otherwise, based on your age, you would definitely have to step down next year. But for a company CEO, the theoretical age is sixty, but in practice it doesn’t matter.”

"What's the purpose?"

"My uncle is the vice president."

"Damn it, you old bastard."

Now I understand.

Qiu Jianmin was immediately convinced and gave Zhang Da'an a thumbs up.

(End of this chapter)