Chapter 211: This Bite of Meat Smells So Good

The fact that Wu Tong, Zhou Xiaou, and Qin Yong had all come over to lend their faces as hosts meant that Wang Xiaojing's fear of Zhou Yi refusing was practically written all over his face.

In fact, the three of Wu Tong, Zhou Xiaou, and Qin Yong didn't know whether Zhou Yi would agree either; they just figured that since they had been rehearsing every few days this month, their relationship with Zhou Yi wasn't exactly great, but at the very least, it could be called decent.

After all, since Zhou Yi's debut, the musicians who had gotten relatively close to him were mostly young musicians from Taiwan, such as Elva Hsiao, Angela Chang, and Jay Chou.

In the mainland entertainment circle, the only people who could actually chat with Zhou Yi were a handful like Zhou Xun, Fan Bingbin, Chen Hao, and Lu Yi, and they were all in the acting ranks; as for the singer Na Ying, who was in the same company as Zhou Yi, she couldn't even find him if she tried.

By all rights, Warner also had Wang Feng, who came out of Baojia Street, but according to reports, Wang Feng had only met Zhou Yi once since joining Warner and felt too awkward to bring it up.

Therefore, owing to Wang Xiaojing's status and reputation in the domestic rock scene and even the music scene as a whole, they still decided to help out if they could.

Especially Wu Tong.

As a top graduate from the Chinese Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, although he now played rock and had formed the band Lunhui, he still held a sincere affection for Chinese folk music deep in his heart.

This was because the thing Wang Xiaojing was currently doing was exactly the kind of thing that would bring new life to Chinese folk music.

"The Twelve Girls Band? I heard Chen Hao mention it before; she said there was a new folk music group called that, and they had even gone to the People's Art Theater to discuss a performance venue, but they didn't reach an agreement?"

After thinking briefly, Zhou Yi still accepted the business card and, after agreeing to the invitation, joked, "Mr. Wang, you wouldn't be trying to use me as a backdoor route to schedule a slot at the People's Art Theater, would you? I don't have that kind of clout."

"That shouldn't be possible; as far as I know, Old Wang has already found a theater venue for the next round of performances."

Seeing that Zhou Yi was so accommodating, Wu Tong breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he replied, "Mainly, I feel that your musical concepts might align very well; he probably feels he's found a kindred spirit."

He had seen the rehearsal of "Yellow People" and had bought two of Zhou Yi's albums and one EP; Zhou Yi's idea of introducing Chinese elements into his albums and Wang Xiaojing's concept for creating the Twelve Girls Band were different in approach but identical in purpose, a perfect match.

Zhou Yi's "Flower Field Mistake," "Susan Says," "East Wind Breaks," "At the Plum Edge," and "West Chamber" were essentially using the foreign to serve the Chinese, basing themselves on Western R&B, Hip-hop, and other genres, supplemented with traditional Chinese elements to create a fresh feeling, while simultaneously promoting traditional Chinese elements that served as the finishing touch.

Meanwhile, the creative philosophy behind the Twelve Girls Band founded by Wang Xiaojing was to base themselves on Chinese folk music, using Western musical elements as embellishment, fusing traditional folk instruments with Western music to bring new life to traditional Chinese folk music.

In terms of the essence of music, Wang Xiaojing's philosophy was even above that of new-generation musicians like Tao Zhe, Wang Lihong, and Jay Chou.

"What is national is also global"; this saying is not just empty talk.

To be honest, the fact that this person would actually use his connections to seek him out left Zhou Yi genuinely surprised from the bottom of his heart.

Zhou Yi didn't know much about Wang Xiaojing's past experiences, only that he was very senior and held an extremely high status in the domestic music scene.

Chen Lin, Luo Qi, and Jiangshan were all brought out by him, and even Cui Jian was promoted and made famous by his own hand.

He was an old-school musician with advanced music production concepts, acknowledged even by Japan.

If he remembered correctly, the Twelve Girls Band led by Wang Xiaojing would, in the future, first dominate the Japanese music scene by revitalizing Chinese folk music, with their debut album entering the million-sales club of the Japanese music industry.

Later, they would truly break into the European and American markets, attracting a group of foreigners, rather than holding a concert where 100% of the audience were ethnic Chinese or Chinese nationals just to fill the numbers, claiming it was a world tour.

In terms of honors, although the Grammy Awards level only had two nominations, that was enough to crush a bunch of people who kept predicting failure, and they were the only pure Chinese artists to actually enter the top one hundred of the US Billboard chart.

Although many people would say that Wang Xiaojing could make the Twelve Girls Band so successful because there were people pushing hard behind the scenes from the very beginning, it was undeniable that the Twelve Girls Band could hold their own during their peak and successfully break out; that was strength.

After the first batch of Twelve Girls Band members quit one after another for various reasons, the second-generation group, which lacked follow-through, caused a group of parasites in the cultural sector and sycophants in the civilian news sector to perk up again, starting to criticize and suppress them on a large scale.

If Zhou Yi hadn't learned about the history of folk music development when his ex-girlfriend was following the trend of learning the guzheng in his past life, he really wouldn't have known that such a true god-tier group actually existed in the mainland at the turn of the millennium.

And now, such a big shot was actually going to such great lengths to seek him out.

After the press conference for the China-Korea Song Festival ended, Zhou Yi, having said a word to Qian Jiang, followed Wu Tong and the other three into a genuine old Beijing hutong, where he met Wang Xiaojing in a private chef's room with a slightly old-fashioned sign but a world of difference inside.

His eyes were a bit small, he wore glasses, his hair was very thick and a bit long; just looking at his appearance, he somewhat resembled Zheng Qiang, whom Zhou Yi had seen giving a lecture at school in his past life.

Of course, Zheng Qiang didn't have as much hair, wasn't as long-haired, and wasn't as lush as him.

"Hello, Zhou Yi, nice to meet you for the first time; I am Wang Xiaojing."

Seeing the person arrive, Zheng—Wang Xiaojing stood up, smiled, and extended his hand to greet him.

"Hello, Brother Wang, no need to be so polite."

As soon as Zhou Yi sat down after the handshake, an obviously very excited waiter rushed over to hand him a menu, serve tea and water, and even asked for an autograph.

"The waiters here have even seen Liu Huan and Mao Ning; it's been a long time since a star came by that could make them so excited about signing autographs."

Wang Xiaojing happily handed Zhou Yi a cigarette: "Do you smoke?"

"No, I don't smoke."

"Not smoking is good; protecting your physical functions is the right thing to do." Wang Xiaojing, who might have been hinting at someone, looked at Zhou Yi with eyes full of appreciation.

Wu Tong let out a chuckle, said his goodbyes first, and slipped away; seeing this, Zhou Xiaou and Qin Yong also hurriedly took their leave.

Zhou Yi took a sip of tea, put down his cup, and chuckled lightly: "Brother Wang, you seem to have scared everyone away?"

"They are quite self-aware."

Seeing that Zhou Yi didn't seem as hard to approach as the rumors in the circle suggested, the smile stacked in the wrinkles at the corners of Wang Xiaojing's eyes deepened: "What would you like to eat? Shall we chat while we eat?"

"No need for politeness, Brother Wang; I am the junior, so you just order; I'm fine with any taste." Zhou Yi acted very humble, kicking the ball back to him.

"Is that so..." Wang Xiaojing narrowed his eyes slightly, ordered a few dishes without changing his expression, and then handed the menu to Zhou Yi: "Come, take a look and see if there are any other dishes you want to add."

Braised pork, chili stir-fried pork, and mutton soup; a glance revealed it was all meat.

Zhou Yi's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, and he chuckled: "Brother Wang, there are only two of us; there's no need to order so much, right?"

"The meat here is very delicious; the weather is just turning cool, so eating some meat to replenish is good; the mutton soup here is absolutely first-rate."

"... Is that so? If you say so, then I really must taste it to see how good it is, since someone like you, an old hand, recommends it so highly."

Zhou Yi casually picked out some spinach, cabbage, and sweet potato leaves with his pen and handed the menu back to Wang Xiaojing with a smile; the smile on the latter's face immediately relaxed and spread out.

After handing the menu to the waiter who arrived after ringing the bell, Wang Xiaojing finally started making small talk: "I heard long ago that a genius capable of dominating the Asian music scene had emerged in the mainland, one who could sell like crazy in the Japanese music scene, with popularity even surpassing the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong..."

Zhou Yi, drinking tea, chatted with Wang Xiaojing intermittently; after waiting for all the dishes to be served and seeing Zhou Yi pick up a chopstick of sweet potato leaves to eat with rice, Wang Xiaojing finally got to the main topic.

"Brother Zhou Yi, to be honest, over these many years I have played quite a few music genres, but after playing them all, I found that regardless of whether it's rock or R&B, the musical form I like most and feel most nostalgic for is the one with our own characteristics.

"For this, I spent a full four years finding people and training people, then formed them into a folk music group, intending to use our folk music as a foundation, blending Western musical elements to bring new life to folk music.

"But now, I have encountered a problem.

"I know many people, but many people do not look favorably on my project; they think my idea is nonsense and even a desecration of folk music.

"I originally thought my path might be wrong, until I heard your music. Although your path is different from mine, I feel that we should ultimately reach the same destination; I feel you should understand me..."

Seeing that Zhou Yi hadn't touched a single piece of meat, Wang Xiaojing took a deep breath and explained everything in detail.

In a word: lacking money, lacking channels.

Don't think that Wang Xiaojing lacks money; that's only relative to an individual, but launching a multi-person group requires a company's vast funds.

Even if the person behind him has great influence, at best they can only help his newly formed folk music group get on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

With the outside world generally pessimistic, and his capital chain too tight, he had approached the People's Art Theatre for better performance effects and ticket sales promotion, but no one there had much faith in the project either.

He was originally gritting his teeth and holding on, until he heard Zhou Yi's album and, during the rehearsal walk-through for the Women's Twelve Music Workshop's Spring Festival Gala, heard "Yellow Race."

The melodious flute solo captured him almost instantly, after all, he specializes in folk music. Shortly after, he saw Zhou Yi singing "Yellow Race" in the rehearsal area of the China-Korea Song Festival.

Combining this with Zhou Yi's past albums, he felt Zhou Yi should understand his intentions.

We are both contributing to promoting Chinese elements in music; we should be able to get along.

Zhou Yi has money, the connections he needs, and channels in Japan.

Now, before the Women's Twelve Music Workshop has officially started its trial run, no one wants to find a patron to help lead his team more than Wang Xiaojing.

"There is no pure music market domestically; my target is Japan.

"Reason one: Japan's music market is large, much larger than the domestic one; reason two: Japan's cultural market was once part of the sphere ruled by Chinese culture, so I believe pure music-style folk instruments will be more popular there than in the domestic market.

"But the problem is, I couldn't find anyone in the Japanese music scene to help lead me until your sudden emergence."

Wang Xiaojing was very honest, laying everything out point by point.

Zhou Yi's popularity in Japan has been rising with time, so high that even though Utada Hikaru's fans keep cursing him for riding on her coattails and cursing Warner Music Japan for being inhumane, Zhou Yi is getting even more popular.

If this continues, Warner will absolutely hold a fan meeting, or even a concert, for Zhou Yi in Japan next year.

His idea was simple: at that time, ask Zhou Yi to help lead the Women's Twelve Music Workshop in Japan to build face in advance, introduce them, sing together, and accumulate popularity.

He was even willing to give up a portion of his company's investment dividends for the Women's Twelve Music Workshop, giving Zhou Yi a tangible hope within reach.

If possible, it would be best to sign with Warner Music Japan through the introduction of Zhou Yi, the Crown Prince of the domestic region, so there wouldn't be no one to shield them.

Of course, there is one more important point—

"Zhou Yi, your Spring Festival Gala this year—oh, no, judging by the time, it should be next year's Spring Festival Gala. You are rehearsing for next year's Spring Festival Gala, right?"

Looking at Zhou Yi, who still hadn't taken a bite of meat, Wang Xiaojing gritted his teeth: "I have a duet slot here, a slot to sing a duet with a female singer at the Spring Festival Gala.

"I won't hide it from you; the Women's Twelve Music Workshop's rehearsal this year is just a walk-through; they will genuinely sing a duet with that female singer.

"If you are willing, we can make an exchange; I can swap the Women's Twelve Music Workshop's slot for you."

"Duet?"

"Yes, the song is 'Friends,' not the one by Wakin Chau."

"……?"

Zhou Yi, who had just taken a bite of cabbage, froze.

"Friends"?

Holy crap?! Awesome!

Zhou Yi, who never expected Wang Xiaojing to hand over this opportunity, was truly shocked this time.

But then again, currently, only he can see the future.

"Brother Wang, with my singing skills, throwing me next to the category of singers is a bit embarrassing for me."

With his heart surging but his face remaining expressionless, Zhou Yi gave a bitter smile: "To be honest, at first I thought if it were a duet, the worst case would be singing with Sun Yanzi; at least the gap in our singing skills wouldn't be obvious to the ear."

"Singing skills can be trained. In the future, if you encounter any trouble in the Imperial Capital, come find me directly; if I'm not in the country, you can find Cui Jian directly."

Seeing that Zhou Yi was showing signs of softening, Wang Xiaojing immediately intensified his assault and made another promise.

"How can I accept this, Brother Wang..."

Between pushing and pulling, Zhou Yi even directly used his chopsticks to pick up meat from the plate of chili stir-fried pork, and after taking a bite, he highly praised Wang Xiaojing's eye as an old hand.

Both people, whose hearts were laughing wildly, wore satisfied smiles after eating meat.

Meanwhile, at the People's Art Theatre.

Chen Hao, who was preparing to go to the cafeteria to eat, received a call from Zhou Yi—

"Chen Hao, work's here. I've secured an investment for you, the general manager. Come quickly."

PS: I never expected my business trip to end like this.

Good heavens, the small hospital and small clinic had run out of medicine; I packed up with my colleagues and went straight back to Guangzhou, each returning to their own home and finding their own mothers to start lying flat.

PS2: Just looking for the biggest patron; everyone, don't say anything above the red line in the comment section; I don't want to get taken down.

From now on, knowing there is such a patron is okay; I won't write or say anything more about it.

(End of Chapter)