Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 110 Wherever there is well water to drink, there are songs of Liu Yong.

May 2nd afternoon, Universal Music Asia Pacific headquarters, president's office.

Zheng Hui sat on the sofa, holding a cup of tea, watching Zheng Donghan and Manager Chen across from him checking the revised itinerary.

"We can't go to Taiwan, so we can't waste these four days."

With a cigar between his fingers, Zheng Donghan drew two lines on the itinerary with a pen: "Manager Chen, arrange two days of intensive radio promotion for Hui Zai in Hong Kong."

Commercial Radio, Metro Radio, RTHK—I want his audio to cover every taxi and tea restaurant in Hong Kong for the next 48 hours!

Manager Chen nodded, then asked hesitantly, "What about the TV station? The original plan was to record 'Jade Solid Gold' at TVB on Wednesday, but we should already be in Southeast Asia by then. Should we postpone it to next week?"

"Push? Universal spent 50 million to sign someone, do we need to cater to their timetable?"

He picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number directly.

"Hey? Old Ho, this is Zheng Donghan. Yes, Hui's schedule has changed, he won't be in Hong Kong on Wednesday—duh, of course I know TVB only does filming on Wednesdays, but I need you to make an exception!"

"At 3 PM, clear out your Studio One for me. The band, lighting, and cameramen—everything must be in place! I'll have Hui-zai go there now for a private recording session!"

The TVB executive on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback by this domineering request, but given the current size of Universal Music and Zheng Hui's explosive popularity, he only hesitated for three seconds before agreeing.

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Donghan looked at Zheng Hui: "It's all settled. Go to TVB this afternoon, and do appearances on three radio stations tonight."

Remember, in Hong Kong, if you have enough power, the rules are made for you!

"In this restless age, there is an unnamed masterpiece that has crossed the strait. It makes us understand that regret is the norm in life."

Friends, go buy that CD. You'll find your lost half-life in it.

For a time, it was everywhere, from Hong Kong's tea restaurants and taxis in Taiwan to Singapore's Chinese communities, as well as university campuses and street-side hair salons in mainland China.

Wherever there are people, there will be Zheng Hui's singing!

Some people hum "A Person Like Me" on the street; some people scream "Nameless" in a karaoke bar; some people listen to "Sorrow" silently and shed tears in the dead of night.

Even a professor of Chinese literature at the University of Hong Kong couldn't help but exclaim in class: "Back then, Liu Yong, a lyricist of the Northern Song Dynasty, was known as: wherever there is well water to drink, Liu's lyrics can be sung."

Today, Zheng Hui's "Half a Lifetime" gave me the same feeling. Wherever Mandarin is spoken, no one can escape the influence of these eleven songs!

May 10th, 10:00 AM, Universal Music conference room.

Zheng Donghan sat in the main seat, with Zheng Hui to his right. All the senior executives and department directors of Universal Music were present in the conference room.

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All eyes were on the sales director, who stood at the end of the conference table with a fax paper in his hand.

Sales Director Lao Liu announced: "As of midnight today! The sales data for the physical album 'Half a Lifetime' across Asia in the past 48 hours has been compiled!"

"Through local channels in Hong Kong, including record stores, 38 large chain supermarkets, and 50 pilot convenience store counters, we sold a whopping 120,000 copies!!"

A slight commotion arose in the conference room.

Two days! Just two days! In Hong Kong, a tiny place with a total population of only six or seven million, 120,000 physical CDs were sold! That's the total sales of many second-tier singers in six months!

"Continue," Zheng Donghan said.

"In Taiwan, due to the explosive growth of convenience store channels, coupled with the aggressive promotion by major radio stations, although Mr. Zheng Hui did not personally go to Taiwan for promotion—"

"Taiwan region's 48-hour shipment and sales data - 350,000 units!"

"Hiss!"

The entire audience gasped in unison.

350,000 copies?! No one even went there, not even a press conference was held in Taiwan, and they sold 350,000 copies in just two days just by distributing the products and bombarding convenience stores with loudspeakers?!

What does this mean? Last year, Jacky Cheung released a phenomenal Mandarin album, and it only sold this many copies in Taiwan in its first week! And this is only in two days!

Singapore and Malaysia!

Due to the widespread outpouring of homesickness, "Drifting North" and "Father" sparked a social phenomenon in the local area, leading to complete stockouts in record stores in both cities! Current sales figures are—300,000 copies!

"There are also some scattered markets, in Macau, Thailand, and Chinese communities in Indonesia, totaling—70,000 tickets!"

After all the data was read out, Lao Liu summarized the figures: "Half a Lifetime" premiered in all of Asia for 48 hours! Total sales reached 840,000 copies!"

Zheng Donghan stood up and led the applause.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A burst of applause erupted as all the executives and directors stood up and clapped.

840,000 tickets! In just two days!

This can no longer be described as a miracle; it's a divine intervention!

Zheng Hui knew the album would be a good hit, but he didn't expect it to be this good. In just two days, it sold over 800,000 copies. According to his contract, with royalties and a share of the lyrics and music, he earned over 20 million Hong Kong dollars in those two days.

At this moment of glory, the first thing that came to Zheng Hui's mind was the charming and alluring little devil Fan Binbin, who was filming in Wuxi.

And then there's Gao Yuanyuan, who lives far away in the capital. She's clearly older than him, but in front of him she acts like a little girl.

Having not seen them for so long, he really wanted to sprout wings and share this joy with them immediately.

Thinking of this, Zheng Hui's mind had already flown over to Hong Kong. He suppressed his smile, stood up, and walked to Zheng Donghan's side: "Mr. Zheng."

"Huh? Hui! Well done! Tonight I've booked the entire top floor of the Peninsula Hotel. We're having the most luxurious celebration banquet in all of Asia!" Zheng Donghan, beaming, patted Zheng Hui on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Mr. Zheng. I will definitely toast everyone at the celebration banquet tonight."

Zheng Hui smiled and agreed, then changed the subject: "However, since everyone is here, I must say goodbye in advance."

2

"Saying goodbye? Where are you going?" Zheng Donghan was stunned, his brows immediately furrowing. At the height of his fame and popularity, this kid is actually leaving?

"Now that the album has achieved its intended effect, the subsequent promotion and restocking can be handled by you, Mr. Zheng. Whether I'm in Hong Kong or not is no longer important."

"you--"

Before Zheng Donghan could stop him, Zheng Hui continued, "I have to go to Wuxi to visit an old friend on set. Then I'll go back to Beijing to accompany another friend to a peony-themed event."

We'll buy a few more houses or plots of land, let them air out, and prepare to move in later this year.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's drink until we drop at the celebration banquet tonight! As for tomorrow and beyond, I'll leave things in Hong Kong to you all."

Seeing Zheng Hui's eager yet restless state, Zheng Donghan, with his experience, could easily understand why Zheng Hui wanted to leave.

He sighed helplessly, but finally nodded in agreement.