Chapter 581: A Solution for the Unsolvable

"Meeting, meeting!"

Fan Dao roared, his voice hoarse, for the umpteenth time.

His eyes flashed with light, his voice was raspy, and his whole body exuded the scent of Epinephrine and dopamine.

The hormone concentration was extremely high, his muscles bulged, and even the clothes on Fan Dao were stretched tight.

Yet the production crew members all wore complex expressions; they lacked the pride and excitement that should come with a show whose reputation was exploding, having surpassed all current variety shows, and which was destined to become a phenomenal work after it concluded.

Champagne at halftime? That didn't exist.

Just the daily struggle of figuring out what content to film for the next episode had left everyone exhausted; there was no time to think about celebrating.

Every episode required working overtime, burning the midnight oil, and even relying on a bit of luck.

Fortunately, "luck" had been decent so far, and the ratings for each episode were climbing steadily.

The overall content was even more satisfying, with various ratings reaching peak values for variety shows in recent years.

Now, at the end of every episode, Fan Dao would call everyone for a brainstorm; all the production staff had grown accustomed to this and would immediately enter a state of post-coital clarity.

In an unfamiliar industry, it was nearly impossible to get this group of young staff members to come up with any new tricks.

But Fan Dao had no choice; he sat in the chair in the middle, looking sternly at everyone who was wasting time.

His gaze was like a whip, mercilessly lashing everyone.

Yet the staff were not medical practitioners; even if the whip were snapped in two, not a shred of creativity could be extracted.

"Let's hear your thoughts." Fan Dao said in a deep voice before everyone had even settled into their seats.

The room was silent.

Everyone stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Lu Zhuren, what is your opinion?" Fan Dao shifted his attention to the annoying Lu Gang.

"Opinion? I already said it, didn't you all disagree?" Lu Gang smoothed that single remaining strand of precious hair and said with disdain, "Competition between medical teams is the real gimmick. No matter which hospital, no matter if it was decades ago or now, competition is the theme."

Medical team...

Fan Dao knew what Lu Gang meant: let the young people compete first, then introduce the medical team.

When Lu Gang first joined the crew to slack off in the previous episodes, this suggestion seemed quite unreliable, but now it seemed... a bit interesting.

This variety show had already deviated from its original core content.

It had been led astray by Ji Xiang.

The tone had been set too high, and no one knew how to continue.

"Lu Zhuren." Fan Dao asked after deep thought, "Do you have a suitable medical team on your end?"

The disgusting expression appeared on Lu Gang's face again; his scalp was oily and shiny, reflecting the lights as if he were wearing a large lightbulb on his head.

"Ji Xiang Doctor's ability is right there, awesome VERY MUCH; where do you expect me to find someone at his level? You're daydreaming." Lu Gang scolded.

Fan Dao really wanted to stuff Lu Gang into a sewer and flush him away.

What is it to talk while standing and not feel back pain?

Lu Gang is it!

If you can't find someone similar, what the hell are you blathering about!

"Fan Dao." The producer suddenly spoke.

He was hesitant, frowning, and stuttering.

"What?"

"A friend of mine in Shanghai helped contact a young doctor."

When mentioning the young doctor, the disdainful smile on Lu Gang's face grew even more pronounced, making him even more detestable.

Fan Dao extremely loathed Lu Gang's expression, but because he was a member of Ji Xiang's medical team, he could only pretend not to see it.

To beat a dog, one must consider its master.

"Which school did they graduate from, and which hospital are they at now? Is it a prefecture-level hospital or a large hospital in Shanghai?" Fan Dao asked a string of questions impatiently.

"They graduated from Harvard Medical School and are currently employed at Massachusetts General Hospital." The producer said.

Lu Gang's expression turned a bit more serious.

"Oh?! How old are they?" Fan Dao asked with great interest.

"27."

"Not bad! Is it just them alone?"

"Just one, and they are back on vacation; they only have 20 days at most."

"20 days, that's enough!"

Fan Dao slapped his thigh in excitement.

"Tch."

Without a doubt, the impolite, annoying sound of derision appeared; it was Lu Gang.

"Lu Zhuren." Fan Dao still carefully sought Lu Gang's opinion, "As far as I know, Harvard Medical School is a top-tier medical school worldwide."

"Heh." Lu Gang said, "Let me give you an example."

"???"

"???"

Everyone on the production team had question marks over their heads as they looked at Lu Gang, not knowing what kind of trouble he was going to stir up now.

"I have a friend."

Lu Gang's opening was very ordinary.

"He works in nightclubs; I rarely go to those places, the music is too loud, it makes my heart feel uncomfortable."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

"Nightclubs, you all know better than I do, they need an atmosphere crew. Let me ask you, Fan Dao, for 50,000 yuan a month, how many weekend atmosphere crews can you find?"

An atmosphere crew is a group of young girls with looks and figures above a 7/10 who go to nightclubs to hang out. Whether they spend money or not isn't important; without them, the nightclub's business would be very poor.

Those who know, know.

"You want to find an atmosphere crew for 50,000? Your friend's nightclub probably isn't very big; is it in a prefecture-level city or a county town?" Fan Dao retorted with a smile.

"No wonder your show can only ever reach a mediocre level; these tactics are all very simple, yet the famous Fan Dao doesn't even know them?" Lu Gang's mouth was always sharp; regardless of whether Fan Dao was intentional or unintentional, he retorted immediately.

"My friend sets his target on young girls on short-video platforms."

"Hahaha."

"Impossible, are you dreaming?"

"50,000 a month, to find one or two small internet celebrities?"

The show's staff members spoke up one after another.

"What do you all know? You cooperate via Star Map and haggle with small internet celebrities. It's roughly 1,000 to 3,000 per video for an advertisement. After haggling, it can reach about 1,500, and you start by talking about long-term cooperation."

"Would they actually do it?" Fan Dao rarely dealt with such "small" business.

"You think all those internet celebrities make big money? They'd be thrilled to make ten or eight thousand a month," Lu Gang said. "After adding them on WeChat, you introduce yourself as being from the brand department of such-and-such nightclub, say you think their account's tone is excellent, and hope to place ads with them."

"To record the video, they have to come to the club, right? My friend just tells the small internet celebrity to come on the weekend to get a feel for the place."

"And then, for less than 2,000 yuan a month, you can find a pretty good atmosphere crew plus a short-video collaboration ad from someone with 100,000 to 200,000 followers."

"..." Fan Dao was stunned for a moment.

"The principle of 'three in the morning and four in the evening' is about the same as this. What kind of bullshit Harvard Medical School, they just saw the show became popular and want to come back to find some fame," Lu Gang's tone grew increasingly disdainful. "Look, doesn't that little Doctor from Massachusetts act just like my friend? They're just an atmosphere crew for a nightclub."

(End of this chapter)