Chapter 2041: Tenderness in the Palm

Gu Minglan's mouth twitched slightly as she looked at Gu Bing: "Your mother called me a few days ago, talking about your relationship. She asked me to persuade you."

"My relationship with Huilin is very good. No one should even think about breaking us up," Gu Bing snorted. "Big Aunt, don't say I'm not giving you face, but this matter is not up for discussion."

Gu Minglan smiled: "Your mother meant that when you have time, you should bring the girl home to visit."

"Huh?" Gu Bing was instantly stunned: "Bring Huilin home?"

"The achievements you've made over the past two years are obvious to all," Gu Minglan said, organizing her words. "Your father hasn't said anything, which clearly shows he has tacitly accepted your current relationship. That's why your mother wants you to bring the girl home."

Hearing Gu Minglan say that his achievements were obvious to all, he immediately puffed out his chest and raised his proud head.

"Ha, as for my relationship, they want to oppose it, so they oppose it; they want to support it, so they support it. Who do they think I, Gu Bing, am? Do I not have a temper?"

"Sigh!" Zhou Andong sighed and patted Gu Bing on the shoulder: "A while ago, I even told Huilin that when Qiuqiu and I go to visit Grandpa and Grandma, I would help put in a good word for you."

"Now, since the family has given you a step down, you should take it quickly. As the saying goes, those who understand the times are heroes, and those who listen to advice get fed. Don't be stubborn."

Jian Zhengxue said with a smile: "Dongzi is right. Those who understand the times are heroes. Your mother has set up a ladder for you, so hurry down. Don't wait until your father gets angry and pulls the ladder away, leaving you hanging in mid-air, unable to get down even if you want to."

"Hello everyone, my name is Luo Lin!"

Brother Dao stood on the stage with a guitar on his back and a microphone in his hand, looking a bit nervous.

Usually, when singing at bars, even if invited by a company, there would be at most a few hundred people.

When had he ever seen such a big scene? Before him was a sea of heads, giving him a feeling that it stretched on forever.

He wanted to say a few more words, but didn't know what to say, so he clipped the microphone onto the stand and then hugged his guitar.

"I'll start with 'Love Song 1990' for everyone."

"The dark, glistening eyes and your smiling face, how can I ever forget the changes in your appearance? The light, drifting old times just slipped away like this. Turning my head to look back, years have already hurried by..."

Zhou Andong patted Gu Bing on the shoulder: "Chairman Gu, the task of receiving the city leaders is handed over to you."

Gu Bing's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

"Don't think that just because you don't make a sound, I don't know you're cursing me," Zhou Andong rolled his eyes at him. "My parents are here today, and I'm in a good mood, so I won't lower myself to your level."

"Dad, Mom!" Zhou Andong greeted Jian Zhengxue and Gu Minglan: "Let's go, let's go over and take a look."

The perimeter of the stage was cordoned off with warning tape, and many people were busy inside the inner circle. The Yugong Group TV station had already begun recording.

In addition, there were reporters from city and provincial TV stations, as well as major print media.

Zhou Andong, Jian Zhengxue, and Gu Minglan arrived at the north side of the stage, inside the cordon, and then said to a security guard.

"Find your President Yao and get me two umbrellas."

"Yes!" The security guard turned and left.

It was truly too hot today. It didn't matter if the men got a bit of sun, but women, regardless of whether they were pretty or not, were all afraid of getting tanned.

Didn't you see? Among the nearly 20,000 people at the scene, many girls were holding umbrellas. If viewed from the air, it was quite spectacular to see all the colorful shades.

Within a few minutes, Yao Jun arrived, holding two umbrellas in his hands.

"Brother Dong!"

Zhou Andong took the umbrellas, opened them, and handed them to Gu Minglan and Jian Zhengxue.

Seeing such a thoughtful son-in-law, the smile on Gu Minglan's face never faded.

"Dajun, these are my father-in-law and mother-in-law."

"Hello Uncle, hello Auntie."

"Dad, Mom!" Zhou Andong introduced them again to Jian Zhengxue and Gu Minglan: "Yao Jun, my childhood friend, is now the Minister of the Security Department of Yugong Group and the General Manager of Jin Dun Security Company."

"Little Yao, hello!"

Jian Zhengxue shook hands with Yao Jun and said with great appreciation: "I know Jin Dun Security. You've already arranged for over two thousand retired soldiers, and even the company's top management is almost entirely retired soldiers. Very good."

"Uncle, you flatter me," Yao Jun said very modestly. "If it weren't for Brother Dong's support, how could Jin Dun Security be where it is today? Moreover, he often says that we should be a socially responsible enterprise."

"Especially since security is a special type of enterprise, the security personnel must be reliable. That's why we thought of retired soldiers; there are no people more trustworthy or reliable than them."

After chatting for a bit, Zhou Andong said: "Dad, Mom, I'm going to the backstage area to take a look. If you need anything here, just send someone to call me."

Gu Minglan waved her hand: "Go ahead and get busy."

Zhou Andong and Yao Jun arrived backstage, where Ma Xiaotong and many singers from Future Culture were standing there watching the stage.

"What do you think of this person? Is his voice very distinctive?"

Zhou Andong walked over and asked, standing beside Ma Xiaotong.

"His voice is highly recognizable," Ma Xiaotong nodded. "But he sang this song in a conventional way; it wasn't that stunning."

At this moment, they heard Brother Dao on stage say: "Next, I'd like to dedicate a song I wrote myself, 'Tenderness in the Palm', to everyone."

"Hmm?"

Zhou Andong raised an eyebrow. Was this song written so early?

He knew that this song was created in the nineties, but he didn't expect it to be this early.

"Standing beside me, speechless, silently making a wish for our attachment to love. The smoke from the pasture decorates the grassland, love embracing the young shepherd returning with the herd..."

Once Zhou Andong heard it, it was indeed this song, but the lyrics and melody that followed were a bit different from the version in later generations.

"Dou Xian'er, what do you think of this song?"

"It's quite good," Dou Xian'er nodded. "His voice is also very distinctive. If there's a song suitable for him, he will definitely become a hit."

Zhou Andong asked again: "Then, if we promote this song he sang, could it become a hit?"

Dou Xian'er hesitated for a moment: "I like this song of his very much, but I feel it's not quite complete yet. If it's polished well, we can try promoting it, but whether it can become a hit is hard to say."

Ma Xiaotong asked with a smile: "Do you want to sign him?"

Zhou Andong thought for a moment and said: "I agree with Dou Xian'er. This person's voice is too distinctive. As long as there is a song suitable for him, he will definitely become a hit. So, we can sign him."

In fact, Zhou Andong was still a bit hesitant about whether to sign Brother Dao.

Because those popular songs of later generations were all created after he went to the Xinjiang region.

If he signed him and he couldn't go to Xinjiang, would those songs still appear?

"Okay!"

Ma Xiaotong didn't hesitate at all because she trusted the professionalism of Zhou Andong and Dou Xian'er.

"When he comes down, I'll talk to him."

The song ended, and applause broke out. It was very enthusiastic; he didn't know if it was because of this song or because of the infection of the atmosphere at the scene.

Brother Dao bowed and left the stage, and then another young man walked onto the stage. After introducing his name, Zhou Andong shook his head imperceptibly because he had never heard of this person's name.

Zhou Andong looked up at the registration desk to the south. There were still people registering, but the number was not large. He guessed they were all just trying their luck.

Ma Xiaotong had someone bring Brother Dao and Zhu Mei over: "Mr. Luo, hello, I am Ma Xiaotong, General Manager of Future Culture."

"Hello, President Ma." Brother Dao shook hands with Ma Xiaotong very humbly.

"Mr. Luo!" Ma Xiaotong asked: "Do you have a contract with any company now?"

Brother Dao's body clearly shook, and he forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart: "Not yet."

Ma Xiaotong smiled: "Are you interested in signing with Future Culture?"

"Yes!" Before Brother Dao could speak, Zhu Mei agreed impatiently.

Ma Xiaotong introduced the company system in detail, as well as the commission ratio for records and commercial performances.

These insiders almost all knew this; otherwise, so many people wouldn't want to sign with Future Culture.

This allowed Future Culture to have its current scale in just two years, and it even caught the attention of the Kong brothers.

"Do you have any requirements?" Ma Xiaotong continued to ask: "You can bring them up now."

"No requirements."

Brother Dao was truly excited. He had been in the industry for so many years, not because he didn't want to sign with a company, but because no one wanted to sign him, saying his voice wasn't suitable for singing.

Therefore, he formed a band, but only served as a keyboardist. He had never even thought about trying out for Future Culture.

"Then that's it." Ma Xiaotong was also very happy: "After the music festival, come to Future Culture in Jingcheng to find me. You guys have a good time in Jiangzhou these few days."

"Thank you, President Ma, for the opportunity." Zhu Mei shook hands with Ma Xiaotong: "After the music festival, we will definitely go on time."

Watching the two leave, Zhou Andong took out a cigarette and handed one to Dou Xian'er: "Luo Lin needs to be cultivated well. I always have a feeling that he will definitely become a big hit in the future."

"Click!"

Dou Xian'er took the lighter and lit Zhou Andong's cigarette first: "The melody of 'Tenderness in the Palm' is well done, which proves that he has a certain talent himself."

"The company is currently short of people. We can let him work behind the scenes first. If he has his own songs and we feel they are suitable, we can try promoting him."

Zhou Andong smoked silently. He was truly a bit troubled about the arrangements for Brother Dao.

Now he could only wait and see, because Brother Dao's works had a very obvious personal style and regional characteristics.

If he didn't create any works in Jingcheng, he could only let him return to the Xinjiang region.

Or establish his own studio, affiliated with Future Culture, or have Future Culture open a branch in Xinjiang for Brother Dao to be in charge of.

As for Brother Dao being squeezed out or slandered, in this life, let's see who the hell dares.

What "Top Ten Golden Hits", what this award or that award—if it's fair and just, everyone can play together.

If they dare to play cliques and do disgusting, dirty things behind the scenes,

then don't blame me, Zhou Andong, for flipping the table. I'll just create my own ranking and golden hit awards.

I'll invite all the singers from Future Culture, including those under Sony Records, and award whoever I want.

No, if I acquire Sony Records, I definitely have to change the name. As for what name to change it to, Zhou Andong has a huge headache. I ask all the readers to help me come up with a name. ===== CHAPTER 2042 =====