Chapter 2742: Spring Festival Gala Invitation

Zhou Andong walked with his hands behind his back, strolling slowly. Wang Wentian carried his briefcase and followed at a moderate distance with Yu Zhan and the others, his eyes alertly observing the surroundings.

As soon as Zhou Andong entered the courtyard of the Future Culture office area, he saw several girls who looked familiar, standing in the shaded part of the courtyard chatting, their faces beaming with joy, as if something happy had happened.

"Hello, Zhou Dong!"

"Hello, Zhou Dong!"

"Hello, Zhou Dong!"

"..."

When the few girls saw Zhou Andong enter the courtyard, they hastily stood up straight, their faces showing the nervousness of being caught slacking by the boss.

Zhou Andong smiled and asked, "You all looked so happy just now—what good news do you have to tell me?"

Seeing Zhou Andong smile, the girls' tense expressions relaxed. One who looked younger secretly stuck out her tongue and then said:

"The Spring Festival Gala preparations have begun, and thirteen people from our Future Culture have received invitations."

"Is that so?" Zhou Andong laughed: "This is indeed something worth being happy about."

Seeing that Zhou Andong was really not angry, another girl said: "Zhou Dong, the leaders have gone to the meeting room for a meeting, and General Manager Jiang has also gone."

"They've all gone to the meeting room." Zhou Andong nodded: "You keep chatting, as long as you don't delay work, coming out to breathe some fresh air and relax is fine."

After Zhou Andong left, one girl patted her chest, somewhat frightened, and said: "I was scared to death."

The younger girl nodded in agreement, then giggled and said: "I've only been working for three months; this is my first time seeing Zhou Dong. Just now when you all shouted 'Zhou Dong,' it scared me half to death. But I didn't expect Zhou Dong to be so easygoing."

The few girls chattered on, this time their conversation continually revolving around Zhou Andong.

The meeting room and recording studio of Future Culture are adjacent, forming a single courtyard. The entire main house has been opened up, covering over a hundred square meters. In the center is a large oval conference table that can seat sixty people.

The east wing is also a meeting room, though much smaller, accommodating twenty-four or twenty-five people. As for the west wing, it is a storage room and rest area for logistics staff. After all, the meeting room also needs cleaning, and when there are meetings, someone must adjust the equipment and pour tea and water.

Today's meeting is being held in the large conference room. Attendees include not only Jiang Huyue and Ma Xiaotong, the two actual bosses, but also department heads from Finance, Artist Management, Film and Television, Human Resources, Planning and Production, Performance Affairs, Marketing, Procurement, Customer Service, Service, Protocol, and Administration, plus over twenty singers who are currently relatively famous.

"Everyone!" Ma Xiaotong sat in the main seat, her eyes scanning the room below, a smile on her face: "I think everyone has heard that the Spring Festival Gala preparations have begun, and our Future Culture has thirteen singers who have received invitations."

Sitting below, Aunt Tian couldn't help but say: "Ma Zong, we heard this when we came this morning, but we still don't know who was selected. Don't keep us in suspense—just tell us quickly."

"Ma Zong!" Tu Honggang followed up, saying: "Aunt Tian is right—I heard about it early this morning, I asked around who it might be, but no one knows, and my heart has been pounding until now. Please just tell us—if it's not me, I'll just give up."

Ma Xiaotong turned her head to look at Huang Jiamin, who had already been promoted to Vice General Manager of Future Culture and Head of the Artist Management Department: "As for who exactly is on the list, let Huang Zong say."

"Whoever is on the Spring Festival Gala invitation list—even if I don't say it, you should be able to guess a bit in your hearts." Huang Jiamin glanced at everyone, then continued: "Wanjiang, Guoyou, Buwang Chuxin, Hongqi Piaopiao, Jingzhong Baoguo, Cunxin, Ruanyuan, Shanhe Xingguang, Guangliang, and Cuowei Shikong."

These ten songs were all released on July 1st this year. By now, two months have passed, cassette sales have reached 350,000 boxes, and record sales 58,000 copies. Without the impact of piracy, sales increasing four or fivefold would absolutely not be a problem. Of course, Future Culture has also been cracking down on piracy; otherwise, cassette sales over two months would absolutely not have reached 350,000 boxes.

The Chinese music scene of the 1990s was a time of rising stars and surging tides—a grand carnival party, hailed as the golden age when immortals battled. And this wave peaked in 1994, that is, this year, pushing the entire Chinese-language music world to an unprecedented peak, worthy of being called a carnival feast of pop songs.

Numerous classic songs from both sides of the strait and three regions sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, concentrated in this year's outbreak. First came Hua Zai's "Ben Xiao Hai," Hua Jian's "Pengyou," Wang Tianhou's "Wo Yuan Yi," Langzi Yingxiong Lei, and so on.

As for the domestic pop music scene, it is equally colorful and diverse, with a hundred flowers blooming. Songs like "Tongzhuo de Ni," "Aiqing Niao," "Quan Guan Ni de Ren shi Wo," "Xinyu," "Jimo Rang Wo Ruci Meili Hen Hen Duo," and many others—just walk down the street and you can hear street-side audio-visual stores, barber shops, clothing stores, and some shops playing them.

And the ten red songs like "Wanjiang," "Jingzhong Baoguo," and "Cuowei Shikong"—once released on July 1st, they spread like wildfire across the domestic pop music market. They quickly seized the request charts of various radio stations, and are even played daily on various television stations, including CCTV.

Especially "Wanjiang" and "Cuowei Shikong" are even more popular—radio request counts and television broadcast frequencies remain consistently high. And the explosion of these ten songs, combined with their politically correct and red nature, made being invited to perform at the Spring Festival Gala entirely expected.

Upon hearing Huang Jiamin's words, Tu Honggang laughed, and Aunt Tian sighed: "Not me!"

"Aunt Tian!" the Sweet Song Queen comforted: "Thirteen people have received invitations, and General Manager Jiang will sing two songs, so there are still four spots—don't rush."

At this moment, Huang Jiamin's voice rang out again: "Every year General Manager Jiang performs two songs at the Spring Festival Gala, but this year she can only sing one—that is 'Wanjiang.' The other song, 'Ruanyuan,' will be given to someone else to sing, and as for who is suitable to sing it, we will study that later."

Huang Jiamin paused, then continued: "Besides, the other three people invited to the Spring Festival Gala are Mao Ning and Yu Ying, who will sing 'Xinyu.' Lastly, it's Aunt Tian, who is required to sing 'Zhuizhe.'"

The song "Zhuizhe" was originally intended to be promoted on CCTV's rotating grand stage, but due to a conflict with Zhongbao, CCTV banned Future Culture. Later, Aunt Tian premiered it at the Yu Gong Music Festival, then released it as a single, and as expected, it became an instant hit.

Aunt Tian laughed, patting her chest and said: "My heart has finally settled into my stomach."

"Those who weren't invited shouldn't lose heart either." Ma Xiaotong Ma Xiaotong said with a smile: "The company has sent several good songs to the Spring Festival Gala directing team—though none will definitely pass, being selected for one or two is absolutely no problem, so everyone has a chance."

As soon as her words fell, the meeting room door was knocked on, and everyone turned sharply toward the door. In their hearts, they wondered: we're in the middle of a meeting here—what urgent matter could prompt someone to knock at this time?