Huayu 1995

Chapter 120 I only care about money, not people (Seeking monthly votes)

Gao Xiaosong had just returned from drinking with Zheng Jun and a few others.

At the dinner table, everyone started talking about the Red Star Production Cooperative.

They unanimously criticized Chen Jiantian for being incompetent in commanding troops.

For the past ten years or so, he had been a competent capitalist, and he never showed any mercy when exploiting Beyond.

Finally, they even went to court against Beyond.

After arriving in mainland China, he suddenly became mentally unstable and started creating some kind of musical utopia.

It seems like it's good for everyone.

In fact, those who should enjoy preferential treatment have lost the benefits they were entitled to.

Absolute fairness is unfair.

Looking at the global record industry, which record company doesn't exploit lower-level singers to support the company and top singers?

When top singers thrive, the middle and lower-level singers will also benefit.

This is called "letting the rich get rich first and then helping the poor get rich later".

One of the reasons Zheng Jun terminated his contract was his dissatisfaction with it, and under the encouragement of several friends, he contacted PolyGram.

Now he's just waiting for the court's verdict, and he can officially sign a contract with PolyGram after the New Year.

As they chatted, the topic turned to Su Chao, a newcomer.

Zheng Jun had never met Su Chao, but he had been hearing Su Chao's name in the capital's music scene for the past few days.

It's hard to ignore!
At first, I heard that he replaced Wu Xiubo as Casablanca's top star.

I later heard that he earned tens of thousands of yuan in one night on Qixi Festival.

When Su Chao premiered "The Moon Caused the Trouble" in a nightclub, it made this newcomer even more legendary.

Gradually, everyone learned that Su Chao had signed with Red Star Production Cooperative.

Some people even called Zheng Jun to ask about his junior brother.

He knows nothing.

Of all his friends, only Gao Xiaosong had actually met Su Chao.

However, Gao Xiaosong has a very poor impression of Su Chao.

According to his description, Su Chao is a pretty boy (or something similar).

With the right packaging and a good song, this pretty boy could definitely become a hit in the music scene.

Unfortunately, this pretty boy likes to cause trouble.

They have no real talent, yet they insist on creating their own works.

At the dinner table, someone mentioned that a friend of his had joined the production team and praised Su Chao's entire album as full of great songs.

This argument was immediately ridiculed by everyone.

People believe in good songs, and it's said that "The Moon Caused the Trouble" is quite good. It received many flowers from customers when it premiered at the karaoke bar.

But is the entire album full of good songs?

How much money did they take from you to help them hype things up like this?
However, when Gao Xiaosong recalled Su Chao's humming song from that day, "Life is not just about the present hardships, but also about poetry and distant fields," he still felt uneasy.

So after he finished drinking, he drove to the Red Star Production Cooperative.

Then he heard the news that devastated him:
Su Chao sold a song to the princess for a total of 120,000 yuan.

boast?

This kind of thing is easy to verify, so what's the point of bragging about it?

How should this end?

Hype?

The princess was proud and arrogant, and looked down on everyone.

Furthermore, because he was once sold by Chan Kin-tim to Lo Ta-yu, his relationship with Chan Kin-tim was not good.

How could they possibly be colluding with Su Chao to create hype?

Be puzzled.

He refused to leave, wanting to hear for himself whether the song was good or not.

Su Chao ignored him.

We took everyone to the recording studio to record.

Gao Xiaosong is ultimately a respectable person and wouldn't do anything destructive.

If he is not respectable, you can help him to be respectable.

Moreover, the songs have already been registered for copyright.

Hongxing Production Company is a Hong Kong-funded company, so the process is very fast for them.

"But sometimes I'd rather choose to linger and not let go, until I've seen all the scenery, maybe then you'll stay with me and watch the gentle flow of water..."

Such lyrics, such a melody.

No matter how stubborn Gao Xiaosong is, he can't say anything derogatory.

Red beans grow in the south; in spring, how many branches will sprout? I wish you would gather many, for this is the most cherished token of love and longing.

The song is called "Red Bean".

Gao Xiaosong's favorite line is, "We haven't even had a chance to truly experience the weather when snowflakes bloom. If we tremble together, we'll understand even more what gentleness is."

He couldn't help but wonder what kind of state of mind Su Chao was in that led him to write such lyrics.

Against the backdrop of snowflakes blooming, the film depicts two people huddled together in a shivering embrace in the cold.

Just by listening to the lyrics, you can imagine the scene.

Embracing each other in the snow.

Warm and gentle.

This tenderness is a precious experience that cannot be replaced in love.

Su Chao's vocal recording for the sample was very skillful.

It's obvious that he hums this song often, so it's undoubtedly his own creation.

"Holy crap...holy crap...the princess is here!"

I don't know who shouted.

Those who were recording the demo saw the princess appear in the recording studio.

She rushed over after receiving a call from Zhang Yadong.

Zhang Yadong only said two simple sentences.

Hurry up, your song is being recorded as a demo, and the quality is beyond your expectations!
Yes, it's no worse than Lin Xi's!
To avoid any unforeseen problems, bring money! After all, a long night doesn't necessarily mean more problems; it could just mean more frequent urination...

The princess rushed to the Red Star Production Company as fast as she could to urinate, and appeared outside the recording studio.

She walked in, passing by Gao Xiaosong.

Gao Xiaosong roused himself and extended his hand to the princess.

Su Chao can write songs for the princess, and he charges 120,000 yuan for each song.

Isn't he also a creator?
Fifty thousand is fine too!
However, the princess didn't even notice him.

Entering the recording studio, the diva, slightly out of breath, asked:

"Can I try?"

"The Mandarin version is almost finished recording, it's just a sample, please bear with it. The Cantonese version hasn't been recorded yet..."

Su Chao was not surprised to see the princess here.

He only cared whether the princess's bag contained cash.

I only care about money, not people.

Give me money, and I'll do things for you. If you lose even a penny, I'll never let you off the hook.

"Okay, here's the final payment. Just click on it. I can record the demo myself. Can you listen to it for me later and see if there are any problems?"

The princess put the bag in Su Chao's hand, then pushed Su Chao aside and stood in the recording position.

Sheet music and lyrics are all on the shelf.

Su Chao carried the bag to the side, opened it, and found it was full of banknotes.

Eighty thousand!

It cost 20,000 more than originally agreed.

What does it mean?
"As for the cover fees for 'Only Love Strangers' and 'Bored,' she'll include these two songs in your new album after it's released, and she'll pay a little more than the market price. What do you think?"

Zhang Yadong offered a brief explanation from the side.

"Okay!"

Su Chao nodded and agreed without hesitation.

You can buy a decent original song for 10,000 yuan; even the best cover song copyrights won't cost more than that.

Yes, first blood is more expensive.

That 80,000 yuan is enough for Su Chao to buy "My Sassy Girl".

His way of buying things is different from other people's.

For example, whether someone can become a hit after spending 100,000 yuan to buy a song can only be judged based on so-called professional expertise.

There are countless examples of people buying songs at high prices, only to find them unpopular after singing them.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be this story of something not being popular at the time, but later becoming popular because of someone else singing it.

Lin Xi is known as Hong Kong's top lyricist. He has written thousands of songs, but only a few dozen have become hits.

But Su Chao is different.

He was a reincarnated individual, and he knew better than anyone the effects of the songs and scripts he bought from the system.

He knew "Red Bean" would be a hit.

"My Sassy Girl" is sure to be a hit.

The reason is simple: the biggest impact this movie had on audiences at the time was that it subverted the romantic movie formula of the past two or three decades.

Whether it's released a few years earlier or a few years later has little impact.

It's not like we're using movies from 2010 onwards, like "Lost in Thailand," to entertain audiences from the 1990s.

You could even say that they would have been more successful a few years earlier.

Because of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, provinces such as Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand were severely affected.

At least across Asia outside of mainland China, people in 2001 were far less willing to spend money on entertainment than people in 1995.

As for the original cast...

It's really not that important to the story.

The Infernal Affairs film was a huge hit, but the American version was also critically acclaimed and commercially successful, with many people even feeling that The New World was more interesting than Infernal Affairs.

According to Wong Jing, actors are not that important; often, the choice of an actor is not based on how suitable they are.

For example, Zhang Min, Wong Jing cast her purely because of the Heung family.

Who can say that Zhang Min's performance in "The Kung Fu Cult Master" was bad?

Therefore, Su Chao would definitely not let go of a movie like "My Sassy Girl," which he knew would be a box office hit and could be made with very little budget.

If he can get this movie made.

In the future, when we come up with new scripts, we won't have to worry about finding investors.

Moreover, this thing doesn't affect his ability to release albums.

Preparing for a film is a very complicated process; it takes at least three to five months to complete.

Once everything is ready, filming can begin, and then the film will be released.

By then, his second album might already be released.

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

Su Chao needs to consider his future path after releasing his album.

"Brother Chao, come here!"

Su Chao, who was resting, was called out by someone.

It was discovered that the princess was already familiar with the song and was eager to record a demo.

Since it was a song written by Su Chao, it was natural to invite him to listen to it.

No one understands "Red Bean" better than Su Chao.

"Keep an eye on this money for me."

Su Chao couldn't fit that much money in his pocket—he had acquired a new 220-gram mobile phone.

So he entrusted it to the person he trusted most.

Are you planning to pay me back?

Lin Zhimeng glanced at the stacks of cash and put them all into her bag.

"Sister, I'll pay you back later," Su Chao said pitifully.

"This is for paying taxes, sis. You don't want me to get arrested, do you?"

(End of this chapter)