Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

The animation ended quickly, and the screen froze on the words "Mice Love Rice" in large, colorful letters.

Song Mo nodded in satisfaction. The quality had exceeded his expectations, proving that Luo Hongming hadn't been sloppy.

He then watched the rest of the animations, which were mostly fine. In some places, Luo Hongming even added his own little touches, showing that he really wanted to make these Flash animations good.

Seeing Song Mo nodding repeatedly, Luo Hongming breathed a sigh of relief. These past few days, he had been trying to make sure Song Mo was worthy of the money he had given him.

He hasn't even spent much time with his girlfriend anymore; he's devoted almost all his time to this.

Anming, who was standing to the other side, watched all the animations and listened to all the songs. He was also full of doubts.

He turned to look at Song Mo: "Is this what you've been working on lately?"

"Yes." Song Mo nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He put a lot of effort into creating these things.

An Ming paused for two seconds, then posed the probing question: "So... what's the use of this thing?"

He certainly didn't think Song Mo intended to release these songs on an album; he simply couldn't understand what the point was.

He had listened to Song Mo's three demos a while ago. Those three songs had sophisticated melodies and excellent lyrics; they were clearly high-quality.

He understood then why Ocean Butterflies insisted on signing Song Mo.

But now this "Mice Love Rice"...

An Ming frowned. Although this thing was somewhat magical, it was completely different from songs that were officially released on record.

If he hadn't heard those three demos before, just listening to this now would make him doubt whether he made the wrong decision to become Song Mo's manager.

"Don't underestimate this kind of song," Song Mo said calmly, looking at him.

He leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "Songs are for people to listen to. To paraphrase a saying, the masses at this stage like to listen to songs with simple melodies and straightforward lyrics. If we insist on going against the grain, then we'll only get one answer."

"Even if the public likes them, what's the use? You can't expect to become famous with these songs, can you?" An Ming frowned. If that were the case, he definitely couldn't agree to it.

In his opinion, Song Mo is talented and has now signed with Ocean Butterflies Music, so there is absolutely no need for him to do these things.

Song Mo answered firmly, "These songs have nothing to do with me, and I have no intention of using them for publicity."

"Then what do you mean?" Anming was even more puzzled.

Instead of answering directly, Song Mo asked, "Brother An, are you aware of the ringback tone service launched by SK Telecom in South Korea earlier this year?"

An Ming paused for a moment, then shook his head somewhat blankly.

Despite his family background and his studies in the United States, it's impossible for him to pay attention to what's happening in South Korea.

Luo Hongming, who was standing to the side, also looked up at Song Mo, puzzled, wondering why he brought this up.

Song Mo sighed.

This is because, amidst the torrent of the times, those caught in its current are often unaware of the opportunities presented by the era.

Many people say, "Why didn't my parents seize any of the many opportunities that came with the times?"

But only when you're actually there will you realize that only a very small number of people can discover and seize these opportunities.

Song Mo continued, "Right now, when we make a phone call, all we hear before the call connects is that silent dial tone. But earlier this year, SK Telecom in South Korea launched a new value-added service that replaces that dial tone with music. When you call someone, instead of the monotonous dial tone, you hear a song when the call connects. That's called a ringback tone."

He paused, then continued, "This value-added service became an instant hit in South Korea as soon as it was launched. In just over six months, the penetration rate of ringback tones has exceeded 30%. Even neighboring Japan has been greatly affected, and the ringback tone business has begun to surge."

An Ming frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

Song Mo continued, "Our country's emphasis on telecommunications development is arguably the highest in the world. Do you think we wouldn't see this enormous opportunity?"

He pointed to the table with his finger: "I dare say that by the middle of next year at the latest, the ringback tone service will take off in China."

Anming fell silent.

Song Mo looked at him, her tone becoming serious: "At that time, it will be very important what kind of songs the people across the country like to listen to."

"If China were like South Korea, with more than 30% of people using ringback tone services within six months, then things would be very scary."

Do you know how many mobile phone users there are in China right now?

An Ming shook his head.

"2.066 million households," Song Mo said. "And it's still growing rapidly, already very close to the number of landline telephones."

He had actually looked up this data a couple of days ago, just so he could use it today to convince Anming.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over An Ming and Luo Hongming: "If 30% of these 200 million people use ringback tone services, and even if a ringback tone only sells for three to five yuan, Brother An, you do the math, how big is the market?"

An Ming was stunned. As the son of a high-ranking official, he certainly understood the government's support for the telecommunications industry.

If this ringtone is really that popular in South Korea and Japan, then it's almost inevitable that China will follow suit.

The debt that Song Mo just mentioned, even without calculating it, would be an astronomical figure.

He looked up at Song Mo, his expression changing.

Luo Hongming, who was standing to the side, was also stunned. His mind was in a mess. He never expected that the little gadget he made would be associated with "ringtones".

He made this Flash animation simply to earn some money.

Now, after hearing what Song Mo said, he suddenly felt as if he had been involved in something extraordinary.

Song Mo remained calm despite observing their reactions.

If not now, when? Judging from their reactions, the pie in the sky was clearly tempting enough.

He dared to say these things to Luo Hongming's face, so naturally he wasn't afraid that Luo would spread them around, even if he did, no one would believe him anyway.

A few years later, a famous debate took place on Tianya Forum.

A netizen named "Snowy Military Knife" said that China's GDP could surpass Japan's by 2030.

And what happened? This prediction was seen as extremely arrogant and unrealistic daydreaming.

The vast majority of netizens ridiculed, insulted, and attacked Xue Liangjundao, believing that he lacked common sense and was indulging in wishful thinking.

As a result, just five years later, in 2010, China's GDP officially surpassed Japan's, making it the world's second-largest economy.

People in this era have very limited imagination about the future.

They are not that sensitive to new things.

Besides, in the era of ringback tones, the most important thing was still the song.

He has already basically monopolized all the songs that will become hits across the country in the future.

Even if someone wanted to eat this cake, they were already several steps too late.

An Ming remained silent for a long while before speaking: "So you created this Flash animation to..."

"Promotion," Song Mo said. "The only way to make these songs popular as quickly as possible is through the internet. These Flash animations were created to promote the songs. Animations are needed to attract netizens' attention, so that they can watch, listen, and spread the word themselves."

He looked at the colorful text "Mice Love Rice" on the screen and smiled: "Once the ringtones are available, these songs will be ready-made money-printing machines."

An Ming fell completely silent.

Looking at Song Mo, he suddenly realized that this young man, whom he had known for two months, seemed even more extraordinary than he had imagined.