Huayu: Starting from an Unemployed Male Model

Wei Jun locked himself in his office, determined to "create" a Chinese-style song. He chose "Visiting Beijing," a song that later became quite popular on Douyin (TikTok).

The song "Touring Beijing" was written and originally sung by Helen. It is a successful fusion of "Chinese style" and popular online songs.

The lyrics are realistic, such as "I smelled the aroma of the cakes and came to the middle of the street. I saw that there were peddlers on the street and I looked for a lucky pair," which depicts the local customs and culture.

For example, the line "People are in a chaotic mess, clowns are playing, and the yellow leaves fade into the long autumn" points out the coolness of autumn and the myriad aspects of life. The second half of the song incorporates the tender feelings of "longing for my lover to lift the veil".

The melody is catchy and the arrangement is simple. The melody is mainly in 4/4 time and the tempo is stable at about 92-94 BPM. This tempo is close to the natural rhythm of the human body, which can make people sway along unconsciously and increase the sense of immersion.

The harmonic framework is very simple, based on the easy-to-play and sing key of C major, with simple chord progressions, which greatly reduces the difficulty of singing.

Moreover, the most catchy part of this song is the chorus, "I walk down the long street, listening to the actors sing about the capital." You can sing it after just one listen and then listen to it on repeat.

The song is not difficult, with no exaggerated high notes and a relatively stable melody. It has a low barrier to entry for singing and is easy to spread online and for netizens to create derivative works.

Wei Jun had considered "creating" a patriotic song directly, which would definitely be a hit if it were played on October 1st, such as "As You Wish" or "Dragon Scales of Heaven and Earth".

However, these mainstream songs are too grand in scope, too grand for Wei Jun, a non-musical professional who became famous by covering songs, to handle.

For him, creating something now would do more harm than good, and he would have to wait another year or two.

He cleverly used "original" Chinese-style songs to create a persona similar to a talented musician in Chinese-style music, and then smoothly transitioned to mainstream songs, which didn't feel abrupt.

Just as Rene Liu was able to create Chinese-style songs in his twenties, so can Wei Jun.

Moreover, who would play a royal flush at the very beginning of a game? They would definitely lay the groundwork first, and after the transition was complete, they would create a main theme song every year, using the royal flush to build a golden image.

Wei Jun pretended to spend most of the day "creating" "Touring Beijing," and then went downstairs to Mao Yucheng's studio to complete the arrangement, where the equipment was complete.

When they arrived downstairs, Wei Jun winked at the receptionist at Mao Yucheng's studio, and she obediently opened the door to let him in, offering him tea and snacks.

When Wei Jun first came to Mao Yucheng's studio, it was this receptionist who opened the door for him, so the two had a brief encounter.

Wei Jun was getting hungry while writing songs, so he sat on the sofa, ate some snacks, drank a cup of tea, and took a photo and got an autograph from the receptionist.

Upon entering the innermost part of the studio, Wei Jun found Mao Yucheng scratching his head in frustration. A demo with a Chinese style was playing in the studio, but the melody, lyrics, and sound were all mediocre, indicating that his talent lay in electronic music and that he was not quite up to par with Chinese style music.

Wei Jun knocked gently on the door, waking Mao Yucheng inside.

Mao Yucheng immediately turned off the music and pretended to be nonchalant.

Wei Jun looked at him with a half-smile, "So you've got to pretend now, huh? I've caught you red-handed."

"Mr. Wei, what brings you here?" Mao Yucheng feigned surprise. "I've already made arrangements for the choir. You can use them whenever you need them."

Wei Jun pulled a silver USB drive out of his pocket and waved it: "Come over here and compose the music."

"Let me help you." Mao Yucheng stood up to take the USB drive, but Wei Jun pulled his hand back to avoid it.

"I'll try it myself this time," Wei Jun said with a smile.

"Alright," Mao Yucheng hesitated for a few seconds, "then let me learn from here?"

Wei Jun nodded in agreement.

Wei Jun plugged in the USB drive, exported the audio file, and started playing the demo.

An expert's skill is immediately apparent. After listening for a while, Mao Yucheng murmured to himself, "C major, 85-100 BPM, 4/4 time..."

Mao Yucheng tilted his head, looking hesitantly at Wei Jun: "President Wei, your piece is a bit..."

"It's pretty simple, isn't it?" Wei Jun chuckled lightly. "You'll see in a bit."

Wei Jun ignored him and directly used music production software to complete the song's structure, with guitar, bass, string ensemble, harmonica, etc. forming the bass part, and percussion embellishing the rhythm...

Wei Jun plans to make two versions: one is a solo version, and the other is a version sung with a choir. He will see how they sound when they are finished.

Wei Jun worked quickly, completing the arrangement in just over an hour. He had already rehearsed the entire song in his mind, and now he was simply reciting it.

"Keep an eye on it for me, I'm going in to record it." Wei Jun got up and walked to the recording studio, putting on his black headphones.

Wei Jun opened his mouth and moved it back and forth and left and right a few times, then looked up and shouted a few times. After he finished speaking, he directly made an "OK" gesture.

The song begins with an a cappella verse: "I smelled the aroma of bread and came to the middle of the street. I saw that there were many peddlers on the street and I looked for a lucky pair."

Then the percussion instruments entered, "Where do I hear the sounds of the zither..."

Then comes the chorus, "I walk down the long street, listening to the actors sing about the capital..."

With numerous lyrics already written on his resume and in good spirits, Wei Jun recorded the entire song in one go.

When he walked out of the recording studio, Mao Yucheng was dumbfounded, his voice trembling slightly: "Is this a Chinese-style song?"

Wei Jun nodded: "Yes, what do you think?"

"So you make Chinese-style songs," Mao Yucheng said with a complicated expression. His own painstakingly crafted "Chinese-style" songs were no match for even a hair of someone else's.

Mao Yucheng was not a jealous person, and he quickly adjusted his mindset and began to seriously analyze the song: "The melody is simple but catchy, the lyrics are very vivid, the short opening instantly grabs the listener's ears, and the climax is exhilarating... It's a damn good song."

"Touring Beijing" is indeed a good hit song, but it's not quite a blockbuster. However, it's enough for Wei Jun at this stage.

"Did you really create this song single-handedly?" Mao Yucheng asked, his mouth agape in disbelief.

Wei Jun, thick-skinned as ever, nodded and admitted, "Didn't you see this pile of project documents just now?"

Mao Yucheng cupped his hands in greeting: "If you do not despise me, I am willing to become your disciple..."

Wei Jun quickly stopped him; he didn't want another adopted son who would kill his father in the future.

Mao Yucheng, thick-skinned and not embarrassed at all, said: "You can send this song to Zhang Yimou for a look. He might just use it directly."

Wei Jun looked at him like he was an idiot: "This song is completely unsuitable for 'The Great Wall'."

"Yeah, that's true," Mao Yucheng chuckled a few times. "By the way, is the choir you wanted also for this song?"

"Yes, arrange it for me tomorrow."

"OK."

Wei Jun stayed for a while before leaving and returning to his studio. He saw Yang Chaoyue dozing off at the front desk. He wondered what she was doing in her dream. She seemed to be eating something, smacking her lips, and drool was dripping from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her fair forearm.

Wei Jun picked up a feather duster from the side, took out a feather, and placed it on Yang Chaoyue's face, gently brushing it a few times.

"Stop messing around, I'm eating a grilled sausage." Yang Chaoyue, still half asleep, felt an itch on her face and reached out to brush it away.

Wei Jun dodged away, and after she calmed down, he continued to tease her.

"Oh no, my sausage is gone! Who stole it?" Yang Chaoyue suddenly woke up, opened her eyes and saw Wei Jun smiling at her. She immediately got up, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and mumbled sleepily, "Boss, are we off work?"

Wei Jun glared at her, annoyed: "Sleeping during work hours, and then you want to leave work after you've had your fill of sleep? What kind of job is so comfortable? Introduce it to me."

Yang Chaoyue blushed, looking slightly embarrassed: "Sorry, boss, it was just too boring."

Wei Jun immediately put on a stern face: "It seems you're not getting enough work. I'll have to assign you more tasks."

Yang Chaoyue looked miserable upon hearing this.

"Then buy me a few grilled sausages."

"Huh?" Yang Chaoyue scratched her head like a confused person.

"Hurry up and go, or I won't leave you a single one."

"Thank you, boss." Yang Chaoyue ran off in a flash.