Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Zhou Jianjun looked at the young man in front of him.

He is indeed too young; he looks only a few years older than his son.

He was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, looking as clean as a college student who hadn't graduated yet.

Zhou Jianjun saw not a trace of nervousness or flattery in his eyes.

"You're Gu Ming?"

Gu Ming didn't answer, but pulled out a chair opposite his desk and sat down.

Then, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and lit it.

Zhou Jianjun's brows furrowed into a knot.

He has been in charge of Longquan Winery for over twenty years, and in Hegang, no one has ever dared to be so presumptuous in front of him.

"I don't care who you are or what your background is."

"If you're here to laugh at me, you can get lost now."

Gu Ming flicked his cigarette ash and finally spoke.

"Jay Chou, the PR firm you hired has probably already taken the money and run?"

Zhou Jianjun's expression changed.

"Those dealers are probably all urging you to give them a refund, right?"

"And you've been getting a lot of loan collection calls from banks lately, haven't you?"

Zhou Jianjun slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing his finger at Gu Ming's nose.

"Who are you? Why are you investigating me?"

No investigation is needed.

That's how business is. When you're on the decline, more people will try to take advantage of you.

Gu Ming stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at the vast factory area of ​​Longquan Winery.

"Are you currently considering selling your ancestral home to fill this hole?"

Zhou Jianjun was completely stunned; the other party had actually foreseen his final fate.

"it's useless."

"Your problem is too big. Selling your ancestral home will only prolong your life for a few more days; it won't change anything."

Zhou Jianjun stared intently at him and asked:

"What exactly... do you want?"

Gu Ming smiled.

He stubbed out his cigarette and replied:

"I came to tell you that I can save you. In fact, I am the only one who can save you."

After saying that, he didn't explain further and turned to walk towards the door.

"stop!"

"Make yourself clear! What are your conditions?"

Gu Ming's hand was already on the doorknob.

"I don't want your conditions."

Give me a week.

"A week from now, you will come to the company with your terms and beg me."

After saying that, he opened the door and strode away, leaving Zhou Jianjun and his secretary in shock.

Zhou Jianjun stared blankly at the closed door for a full minute. Then, a surge of anger welled up inside him, making his face flush red.

He grabbed the ashtray from the table and slammed it against the door.

"Arrogant! You brat! Even if I, Zhou Jianjun, go bankrupt and beg for food, I will never beg you!"

……

8 PM, Star Media.

The company was brightly lit, and no one had left work.

Gu Ming returned to the company, took off his coat, and went straight into the post-production server room.

"Old Xu, is the final version rendered yet?"

"Boss, the output was just completed five minutes ago! Every shot, every frame's color grading, has been adjusted to your specifications!"

"it is good."

Gu Ming copied the final version of the MV file and returned to his office.

Wang Min, Qi Hong, and others immediately surrounded them.

"Boss, shall we send it now?" Wang Min asked nervously.

"hair."

"Wang Min, you are in charge of all the company's media accounts, including Bilibili, Weibo, and Douyin, and will release content at the same time."

"Liu Liu, Zhang Hong, contact the group of online trolls you prepared beforehand. Within ten minutes of the video being released, the first wave of comments and reposts must follow, and get the hashtag #HegangSky# trending."

"Old Qi, contact your friends in the photography circle, especially those who do aerial photography, and forward the video to them so they can interpret it from a professional perspective."

"Old Xu, you're in charge of keeping a close eye on Bilibili. Once the video goes viral, immediately contact your classmates who make video commentaries and have them create derivative works based on it."

It was exactly 8 p.m.

The music video for "The Sky Over Hegang" was released simultaneously on the entire internet.

The video opens with a powerful aerial long shot.

The drone swept across the city's rooftops, passed through the rusty corridors of factories, and finally landed above an abandoned primary school.

A melancholic guitar intro begins.

The scene shifts to Xiao Tong, who is wearing an old school uniform and sitting in a dusty classroom, staring blankly out the window.

"Gray buildings, expressionless walls..."

Gu Ming's slightly hoarse voice rang out, paired with Xiao Tong's clean yet story-filled face, instantly captivating the audience.

Ten minutes after the video was released.

The first batch of data is out.

It received over 10,000 likes on Douyin, 30,000 views on Bilibili, and over 1,000 reposts on Weibo.

"The data is good, keep heating it up!" Gu Ming said calmly, staring at the computer screen.

Half an hour later.

The video has surpassed 100,000 views on Bilibili, and the barrage of comments has started to flood the screen.

"Holy crap! This aerial photography is amazing! Is this Hegang?"

"This song made me, a grown man, want to cry. It reminded me of my small county town that I can never go back to."

"This girl is so beautiful! That look in her eyes is amazing! I feel so sorry for her!"

One hour later.

The hashtag #HegangSky# climbed to the bottom of Weibo's trending topics list, ranking 49th.

Two hours later, it ranked 23rd on the trending topics list.

More and more influential bloggers are starting to share this, including music bloggers, photography bloggers, and even some social news bloggers.

This song began to break out of its niche at an astonishing speed.

It's 11 p.m.

Gu Ming was staring at the soaring data in his office when his personal phone vibrated.

It was a WeChat message from Zhao Na.

"Mr. Gu, are you asleep?"

Gu Ming frowned but ignored him.

A few minutes later, another message came in.

It's a photograph.

In the photo, Zhao Na is lying on her side on the bed, her black lace dress accentuating her curves, holding a glass of red wine in her hand, her eyes fixed on something.

The photo was captioned: "Drinking alone, so boring."

Gu Ming remained expressionless, preparing to delete it directly.

Immediately afterwards, the third and fourth photos were sent.

Each one is larger than the last.

Zhao Na was determined to use this method to change her chances.

She saw the explosive numbers for "The Sky of Hegang" and felt extremely resentful. Why wasn't she the one who became popular?

She felt that if Xiao Tong could get it, she could too. As long as she could get close to Gu Ming, she would do anything.

Gu Ming looked at the photos, curled his lip, and showed no interest in replying.

He pressed the button without hesitation.

You have blacklisted "Nana".

There are too many people in this world who want to take shortcuts.

But his resources are not something just anyone can access.

Two o'clock in the morning.

A cheer erupted in the Star Media office.

"Boss! We're trending at number one! We're trending at number one!"

Wang Min's face flushed with excitement as she pointed at the computer screen and shouted.

On Weibo's trending topics list, the hashtag #HegangSky#, followed by a glaring "Explosive" label, firmly suppressed all celebrity gossip and climbed to the top!

What shocked everyone even more was that just five minutes earlier, the official Weibo account of the state media outlet People's Entertainment reposted their music video.

And it was accompanied by a very weighty comment:

"A song allows us to see a city again. We see its glory and its decline, and we also see its people's perseverance and hope amidst the changing times."

"Boss... Xiao Tong's Douyin followers... have... have surpassed one million!"

Another employee in charge of data reported in a trembling voice.

Gu Ming looked out the window at the still deserted city in the dead of night and gently exhaled a puff of smoke.

A week?

It seems that it won't take that long at all.

The time to close the net has come.