Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

After Lu Jiuge said that, Wu Ziming stared at him for a few seconds, his expression turning serious:

"Xiao Lu, don't mess around, kid. I'm helping you out of the mood, so don't go around telling everyone and ruining my life!"

"Of course not, Director Wu, don't worry. I'll also tell the people on set not to distribute it!"

Wu Ziming nodded and began to carefully guide Wang Guangjun on professional issues such as camera setup and screen layout, leaving Wang Guangjun stunned.

After looking around, Wu Ziming called out to Lu Jiuge:

"Xiao Lu, you're only using one DV camera for your live stream. One camera angle definitely won't be enough. I'll call the production crew right away and have them send two cameras over!"

Wu Ziming was about to make a phone call when Lu Jiuge stopped him:

"Director Wu, this is just a live stream, nothing more. I don't have high expectations!"

"That won't do; if you're going to do it, you have to do it well!"

Wu Ziming rejected his suggestion and started making phone calls to call for more people.

More than ten minutes later, a dozen or so members of the Zhenguan Song production team arrived, which excited Lu Jiuge, the contestants, and the onlookers.

"Xiao Lu, you tell me the shooting angles and framing requirements, and I'll handle the rest!"

After thinking for a while, Lu Jiuge didn't make any requests, but only emphasized one point:

"Director Wu, my requirements for the live stream are very simple: just make sure that this 'GG' sign is captured in every shot!"

Lu Jiuge took a KT board with a ringtone download function and handed it to Wu Ziming.

"Download ringback tone?"

After taking the GG card and glancing at it a few times, Wu Ziming looked at Lu Jiuge in surprise:

"Are you trying to use this competition to promote your song ringtone downloads?"

"Hehe, I invested over a thousand yuan in this match, so I have to find a way to recoup my costs!"

After a long pause, Wu Ziming praised him admiringly:

"Xiao Lu, I never knew you were so talented in screenwriting, and your marketing skills are absolutely top-notch!"

"By not releasing the audio on music websites to avoid piracy, but by spreading the word through video, we can increase the song's popularity and focus everyone's attention on ringtone downloads!"

"Excellent tactic!"

Wu Ziming was lavish in his praise.

Lu Jiuge did not belittle herself, but answered confidently:

"Director Wu is only half right. Regarding uploading to music websites and records, once this first wave of ringtone downloads has passed, I will release the copyright for free. Anyone who wants to use it is welcome, as long as they don't use it for pranks!"

Wu Ziming understood Lu Jiuge's line of thinking and raised a question:

"You've staked everything on ringtone downloads as your only way to monetize, aren't you afraid of failure?"

"Director Wu, we'll find out soon enough whether it will fail!"

Seeing Lu Jiuge's confidence, Wu Ziming was even more anxious than he was, urging her to start the competition as soon as possible.

……

Half an hour later, everything was ready. Wang Guangjun, along with Ban Kaiwen and two other key members of the "Funeral Love Family," were ready for the live broadcast.

"Old Wang, start sending messages in the QQ group to attract viewers, monitor the number of viewers in the live stream, and let me know when it reaches 200!"

After giving her instructions, Lu Jiuge opened the 12530 ringtone download backend.

Ten minutes later, after Wang Guangjun announced that the number of viewers in the live stream had reached two hundred, Lu Jiuge looked at Wu Ziming:

"Director Wu, the live stream can begin!"

Wu Ziming nodded and, holding the walkie-talkie, gave the order to start filming.

Instantly, the camera focused on young people with dyed hair of various colors, holding up a KT board for downloading ringtones.

Wang Guangjun squatted in the corner and shouted into the microphone:

"Brothers and sisters, the Walking In The Sun ringtone promotion competition has begun at Hengdian Qingfeng Ice Rink. This is a battle for honor for our non-mainstream family!"

Everyone, please spread the word and go to the live stream to show your support! Let those who look down on us see the unity of the Funeral Love Family!

After a pause, Wang Guangjun continued, following Lu Jiuge's instructions:

"Today we not only have a dance competition, but also a ringtone download challenge! For every 10,000 downloads of 'Walking In The Sun,' we will randomly select one viewer in the live stream to receive a cash prize of 500 yuan!"

"Rewards will be distributed in real time and monitored via live stream to ensure there is no manipulation!"

Staring at the live stream and listening to Wang Guangjun's announcement, Wu Ziming looked at Lu Jiuge with admiration:

"Little Lu, that's a really unconventional move of yours, aren't you afraid of losing out?"

"Director Wu, if the ringtone is downloaded 10,000 times, I'll earn 4,000 yuan. I'll put 500 yuan into a lottery; it's a sure thing!"

Wu Ziming nodded:

"It's definitely a business that's guaranteed to make money! But I remember that the revenue sharing for ringback tone operators isn't settled in real time!"

If downloads increase too quickly later, will you have the money to pay? Will you really be making payments live on stream?

Lu Jiuge switched computer desktops and pointed to the background:

"Payment on the spot, of course! I previously asked Teacher Liu Sixi for 20,000 yuan in working capital by mortgaging the copyright of a song. Whether it works out or not depends on today!"

"I never imagined someone so young could do something so crazy!"

Looking at Lu Jiuge's determined eyes, Wu Ziming couldn't help but admire her.

Liu Yifei, who was sitting to the side listening to their conversation, had a significant change in her attitude towards him.

Ignoring their gazes, Lu Jiuge stared at the live stream on her laptop, keeping track of the number of viewers online.

As the number of people flooding into the live stream continued to increase, system notifications also appeared frequently in his mind.

[Positive Faith Value +5, from contestant Zang Ai Leng Shao]

[Positive Faith Value +3, from a viewer in the live stream, Light Dance Flying]

……

[Negative Faith Value +1, from user "Neighbor Old Wang" in the live stream]

[Negative Faith Value +1 +1 +2...]

Seeing the two camps arguing in the live stream, Lu Jiuge not only didn't stop them, but instead had Wang Guangjun control the online troll accounts and actively stir up trouble by criticizing and boycotting them.

Although he didn't know the reason, Wang Guangjun still did as instructed.

Unexpectedly, this move caused the number of viewers in the live stream to surge.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Guangjun exclaimed in surprise:

"Ninth Brother! It's broken! 10300 people online!"

Lu Jiuge's pupils contracted as she looked at the ringtone download backend, where the download count had also surpassed 10,000.

Clenching his fist, Lu Jiuge suppressed his excitement and said in a low voice:

"Get the raffle ready! Old Wang, keep the momentum going, don't stop!"

"Director Wu, please switch to the live stream now, I'm about to start the prize draw!"

Lu Jiuge gave Wu Ziming a reminder and handed a notebook to Wang Guangjun, instructing him to create the right atmosphere and read the prepared remarks.

After being reminded, Wang Guangjun adjusted his mindset, gave a passionate three-minute presentation, and then randomly selected a winner from among the users participating in the discussion on the live stream.

Then add me on QQ, send me your bank card number, and I'll transfer the money.

Once all of this was broadcast live, the number of viewers in the live stream exploded again, exceeding 20,000 in just ten minutes.

In the ringback tone download backend, the data is increasing every second, and the base number is getting bigger and bigger!

Liu Yifei stood behind Lu Jiuge, watching the constantly changing numbers on the screen, her thoughts becoming increasingly chaotic.

When she saw that Lu Jiuge had caused the number of viewers and downloads in the live stream to increase several times over with just a small giveaway, she was completely stunned.

"Precise, effective, and directly addresses the audience's pain points!"

After the first round of the lottery ended, seeing the screen filled with comments from people who had downloaded the app and were hoping to win, even though she hated it, she had to admire Lu Jiuge's precise understanding of human nature.

……

At 3 p.m., the live stream ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

But Wu Ziming, Liu Yifei, and the others didn't leave. They were all waiting for the final ringback tone download data.

Under the anxious gazes of the others, Lu Jiuge refreshed the background page for ringtone downloads.

The download count has been updated to 405000.

"Four hundred thousand downloads?"

Staring at Lu Jiuge, Wu Ziming muttered to himself in a daze:

"How much money will that make?"

Lu Jiuge calmly did the calculations:

"At 40 cents per download, you could earn about 160,000!"

Liu Yifei gasped:

"160,000 a day, that's more than what I make filming a whole TV series!"

Wu Ziming's reaction was no better; he was also speechless, stunned by Lu Jiuge's earning power.

Wang Guangjun's eyes were filled with admiration, and his determination to follow Lu Jiuge became even stronger.

Ignoring the three, Lu Jiuge looked at the system screen in her mind.

[Negative Faith Value: 10501]

Positive Faith Value: 22347

Pulling herself back to reality, Lu Jiuge murmured to herself with satisfaction:

"This song is a huge hit; it's time to prepare for the next one!"