Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

After hanging up the phone, President Wang looked at Zheng Hui and said, "It's settled. Send the materials over tomorrow, and the approval should be issued the day after. As for the copying plant, I've told them to start preparing the materials tonight, so the machines will be running as soon as the approval arrives."

Zheng Hui stood up and bowed slightly to President Wang: "Then thank you very much, President Wang."

"No need to thank me, we've helped each other succeed." President Wang waved his hand and stood up as well.

"However, President Wang, besides the order, I have another personal matter I'd like to trouble you with."

"Tell me, as long as I can do it." President Wang is finding Zheng Hui more and more pleasing to the eye these days.

Zheng Hui pointed to Chen Jianguo, who had been standing silently to the side.

"This is my employee, Chen Jianguo. He's honest and good at accounting, but he's never had any formal experience with company finances."

I'd like to ask for your help in introducing me to an experienced accountant at a publishing house who is familiar with the procedures. It doesn't have to be full-time; just someone who can mentor him in their spare time and teach him the rules.

President Wang initially agreed, but then questioned, "What's so difficult about this? There are retired accountants in the finance department of the company, they're just sitting around doing nothing anyway."

"But your business is just starting out, do you really need to be so formal?"

Zheng Hui then recounted what had happened the day before when he collected the money.

"Yesterday, when we collected money from those stall owners, Jian Guo was ready to issue receipts. He took the receipt book, picked up his pen, and wrote, 'Received payment from Mr. Liu today…'"

"Luckily, I have sharp eyes and saw it first. I immediately went over, put my arm around Fatty Liu's shoulder and chatted with him, changing the subject to talk about their stall's business strategy."

"When they weren't looking, I took the receipt book from Jianguo and rewrote it myself."

Zheng Hui took out a copy of a receipt stub from his briefcase and handed it to President Wang.

President Wang took it and looked at it; it read:

"Received RMB 510,000 today for audio-visual products."

Person in charge: Zheng Hui.

Date: January 1998, 9.

Below it was a bright red company financial seal.

Most importantly, the payer field is empty.

President Wang understood instantly. He looked up at Zheng Hui, his eyes filled with approval.

"Those stall owners are used to doing business in cash and don't want to leave any written records or pay taxes. If you put their names on the receipt, it's like putting them on the spot. If the tax bureau audits your accounts later, they can easily find them."

Zheng Hui nodded: "That's right. My receipts need to be kept on file as proof of the company's income, and they will be subject to taxes in the future, but I can't drag them down with me."

"Jianguo doesn't understand these things. He thinks that whoever's money you take should be put on the deed. This time I was in charge, and nothing went wrong. But as the company's business grows and the turnover increases, I can't keep an eye on things every time."

"So, I want to find an experienced accountant to mentor him, to teach him the tricks of the trade in accounting, what can be written and what cannot be written, and how to do accounting in a way that complies with regulations without offending anyone."

This will help me make fewer mistakes or no mistakes when handling company matters in the future.

After listening, President Wang exclaimed, "You're quite something! You noticed even such a small thing; you're very observant!"

He returned the receipt stub to Zheng Hui: "That's right, I should have thought of that earlier. The company you were dealing with before, it was registered in Zhuhai specifically, wasn't it?"

Zheng Hui nodded. When he entrusted the publishing house with obtaining the publishing license, he also registered a company to act as the main entity for liaising with the publishing house. The remittance of over one million Hong Kong dollars also needed to be received through a corporate account.

Zhuhai is a special economic zone, and registering a company there allows you to enjoy tax benefits. The corporate income tax rate there is a full 15 percent lower than in Guangzhou. This alone can save Zheng Hui at least hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan a year.

"Okay, I'll take care of it!"

President Wang readily agreed, "We have a senior accountant in our finance department who has worked his whole life as an accountant and is retiring next month. I'll talk to him and ask him to come back and train some apprentices for you for a few months. You can name your salary, and I'll bring the trainees to you."

"Master Qian is very familiar with those people at the tax bureau. If you're unsure about anything when your company is doing accounting and filing taxes, you can ask him. With him around, you'll be guaranteed to avoid any mistakes."

"I'll talk to him later and let him work part-time for you. You can negotiate the salary with him yourself."

"Thank you very much, President." Zheng Hui stood up and expressed his gratitude. "I will pay the master craftsman double the market rate. I will never let him suffer a loss."

After finishing their business, Zheng Hui gestured for Lin Dashan and Chen Jianguo to pack up and prepare to leave.

The two million yuan in cash has been handed over to the publishing house's finance staff in exchange for a receipt stamped with the publishing house's official seal.

Zheng Hui picked up his briefcase, walked to the door, and just as his hand touched the doorknob.

"Wait a moment."

President Wang suddenly called out to him.

Zheng Hui stopped and turned around: "Is there anything else, President?"

President Wang walked around from behind his desk and patted his head: "I was so focused on talking about the tapes that I almost forgot about this."

President Wang walked up to Zheng Hui: "The tapes sold well, and I also helped you get in touch with the radio station. But, after all, this is the age of television. Sound alone isn't enough; you also need a picture."

"Friends at the TV station have mentioned to me several times that they want to play your songs on their song request program, but they only have cassette tapes, not videotapes. We can't just have your black-and-white cassette tape cover picture hanging on the TV screen the whole time we're playing your songs, can we?"

"You need to shoot a few music videos as soon as possible."

President Wang said earnestly, "We don't need to film all ten songs. Just pick the most popular ones: 'Stubborn,' 'I Believe,' and 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.' With music videos, we can get on provincial TV variety shows and even CCTV's music videos. That kind of exposure is much greater than radio."

"Besides, KTVs are booming right now. If you have a music video, those karaoke bars will buy your DVDs."

Just imagine, every day, people in KTV rooms throughout Guangzhou and Guangdong are singing your songs and seeing your face. That kind of publicity is something money can't buy.

Zheng Hui was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

Indeed, 1998 was the year VCDs and karaoke became wildly popular. Restaurants and hair salons on every street corner were playing VCDs.

We were so focused on selling cassette tapes before that we neglected this aspect.

"Okay, I understand."

Zheng Hui nodded: "I'll go back and think about it, and get this done as soon as possible."

President Wang patted Zheng Hui on the shoulder: "Hurry up and take advantage of this momentum. If you need equipment or a venue, the club can help coordinate."

Thanks.

Zheng Hui pushed open the door and went out. He needed to go back and think about how to shoot the music video. Of course, he didn't need to find someone to shoot it; he could direct it himself.