Chapter 247: One Deck of Cards, Two Trump Cards

Clearly, Run Jie had left the backstage interview room after taking that call earlier; she had gone out to meet someone.

The identity of someone who could make a General Director like her personally go to the entrance to welcome them must certainly be extraordinary.

The three men who arrived at the backstage interview room—the two who were relatively younger looked to be over forty—were there to assist with this program, and they came from... CCTV.

As for the old man in the lead, he was the Lao Liu that He Ping'an had spoken of, named Liu Zhongshan, and he was the top leader of CCTV.

Under normal circumstances, there would certainly be no need for Liu Zhongshan to personally come over to take a look at a variety show.

From this, one can see the importance CCTV places on "Dialogue Between Past and Present".

This world had only just entered the era of grand variety shows not long ago.

It was somewhat similar to the market conditions on Earth some years back.

In various regional stations, hit variety shows were springing up like bamboo shoots after rain, one after another.

Their level of popularity could allow the resident guests within them to leap into becoming national-level figures, and some web variety shows could even cultivate a new generation of Top Traffic stars.

Looking at the overall situation, it could be understood as the second year after programs like "Keep Running" on Earth had just become popular.

CCTV had also begun to rearrange its strategy, and its emphasis on variety shows had strengthened significantly.

The CCTV of this world still placed great importance on what the common people liked to watch.

If everyone loves to watch it, we will find a way to make it.

It was just that, since it was CCTV, they couldn't only consider entertainment value and highlights; it was best to also have a core and a philosophy.

This had worried CCTV to no end.

It had to be entertaining, yet also rise to a higher level; how could a variety show with such a grand structure be so easy to create?

"Dialogue Between Past and Present" was recommended directly to Liu Zhongshan by He Ping'an, like throwing a "bomb" into CCTV.

—It detonated immediately.

This "Evil" behavior of Luo Mo, who threw out a trump card right at the start, undoubtedly had an effect.

Because of his connection with He Ping'an, and because Luo Mo himself was a very maverick star in the entertainment industry, Liu Zhongshan was full of curiosity about him, so he came over together to take a look.

Who would have thought that just as he arrived at the backstage interview room with Ning Dan, he would hear the earth-shattering "Four Sentences of Hengqu".

The vast majority of people's perception of these four sentences by Zhang Zai is: stunning at first sight, blood-boiling.

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of past sages, to open up eternal peace for all generations!"

The intent, the spirit, the structure within these... truly make one's heart shake!

The so-called "Backstage Interview", as mentioned before, is to record some interviews in advance and then intersperse them into appropriate places in the program's flow for broadcast.

If these "Four Sentences of Hengqu" were inserted in a suitable place with sufficient foreshadowing, the audience's hearts would be greatly shocked!

Just like now, even without any foreshadowing, Liu Zhongshan, Ning Dan, and the others just listened, and they also felt an indescribable sensation.

The short four sentences made Liu Zhongshan immediately have a great fondness for the young man before him.

"No wonder he could put together a program like 'Dialogue Between Past and Present'," Liu Zhongshan said in his heart.

For Luo Mo personally, he naturally loved these "Four Sentences of Hengqu" immensely.

He felt that these four sentences appearing in this program could not be more appropriate.

Because the "ancients" conversed with and the "Classics" recounted in this program were truly extraordinary.

Kongzi, Laozi, and others would all appear in this variety show.

The tone that this variety show itself was positioned at was extremely high.

It was just that, this was indeed a bit like cheating.

The variety show itself was already at the level of a trump card, and it was added to with the equally trump-card-level "Four Sentences of Hengqu".

I have one deck of cards with two trump cards; didn't expect that, did you?

Speaking of which, Luo Mo first saw the "Four Sentences of Hengqu" when he was roughly in middle school.

At that time, he was still young, but for some reason, he felt greatly shocked.

There was another sentence that had also brought him a similar shock.

It was just that, upon first seeing that sentence, he was unimpressed, and only after he gradually understood a bit more did he realize how extraordinary it was.

That sentence had only five characters—"Serve the People".

At this moment, the girl in charge of the backstage interview already had her mouth slightly agape, somewhat unable to speak.

She had originally thought that Luo Mo would give a long-winded answer to this question, answering what a "Reader" is.

But she never expected that the words he spoke would leave her mind dazed.

"Are there any more questions to record?" Luo Mo reminded her.

The girl looked down at the paper in her hand and blankly shook her head.

"Then let's stop here for now, thank you all for your hard work," Luo Mo stood up and said to the staff.

Then, he looked toward Ning Dan and walked over with long strides.

"Sister Dan, who are these people?" Luo Mo asked.

Ning Dan hurriedly made introductions.

Luo Mo looked at this old man who was slightly hunched over, with his head of silver hair combed meticulously, and felt a slight shock in his heart.

He could imagine that CCTV would definitely treat "Dialogue Between Past and Present" as a treasure, but he didn't expect them to treat it as a supreme treasure right from the start.

After all, it was still in the early preparation stage, and both the process and the results were still unpredictable.

Liu Zhongshan shook hands with Luo Mo, and the two held their hands tightly.

The old man looked at him, smiled, and said, "These four sentences of yours have truly taught me a lesson."

Luo Mo was about to respond, but the old man said, "No need to be modest."

He continued on his own: "This old man here, perhaps because I am old, didn't quite understand at first why you insisted on the 'Dialogue Between Past and Present' format. I originally thought your idea was to rely on these trendy things to attract young audiences and unite the young demographic."

"But after hearing your definition of a 'Reader' today, I roughly understand why this segment is necessary."

"To continue the lost teachings of the ancient sages—good, very good." He sighed with emotion, a rich smile on his face, his eyes filled with undisguised appreciation.

"I am now even more convinced that you can all create a good program together, a meaningful program!" Liu Zhongshan said.

After chatting briefly with Luo Mo again, the old man turned back to look at the two middle-aged men and said, "Zheng, Yu, in terms of work, you two should cooperate fully with Luo Mo from now on."

A simple sentence was equivalent to cementing Luo Mo's status as the Backbone.

Do not rely on being from CCTV to point fingers or mess things up.

Follow his ideas and do a good job of cooperating, that is all.

The two middle-aged men, addressed as Zheng and Yu, nodded hurriedly in agreement.

For some reason, just listening to those four sentences earlier, they felt that "being able to participate in this program is my honor."

……..

……..

Liu Zhongshan did not stay long at the recording site; he knew his status was special, and staying here would bring immense pressure to everyone, adding extra burdens to their work.

He felt his trip was worth it, and he held an appreciation for Luo Mo that came from the bottom of his heart.

"This is the kind of positive public figure we at CCTV long to see," he said in his heart.

After getting into the car, he made a phone call to He Ping'an.

"Hello, old He." Liu Zhongshan and He Ping'an were old friends of many years, and due to the nature of their work, they interacted often.

On the phone, he spoke directly of his undisguised appreciation for Luo Mo.

He Ping'an listened with great joy; it was strange, he felt a bit like a senior relative hearing their junior being praised, even though he and Luo Mo hadn't met many times.

He Ping'an said with an Ox-like air: "Would I, old He, recommend just anyone to you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, everything old He says is right now," Liu Zhongshan said with a smile.

He said on the phone: "When I went to the recording site today, Luo Mo happened to be recording a Backstage Interview, and the interview question was: What is a Reader?"

"Do you know how he answered?" Liu Zhongshan said.

"How would I know that!" He Ping'an was annoyed that he was being kept in suspense.

But he did know that in *Classics in China*, a role for a contemporary Reader was arranged, responsible for conversing with the ancients and acting as a guide.

Since Luo Mo was to play this role in this variety show, portraying this contemporary Reader, then what he actually thought was indeed very important.

Liu Zhongshan said: "His answer was—to establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a life for the people, to continue the lost teachings of the ancient sages, and to open up peace for all generations!"

On the other end of the phone, hearing these short four sentences, He Ping'an felt his heart surging with excitement, his blood boiling.

"Well said, well said!" He Ping'an said with full vigor.

Liu Zhongshan smiled and said: "Didn't you hint to me before that you thought he was the most suitable person to serve as the National Reading Promotion Ambassador?"

This is an activity that covers the whole country, and this identity is no ordinary matter.

When selecting, it must be carefully chosen and checked at every level.

At the same time, the honor and uniqueness of this naturally go without saying.

He Ping'an said: "You know it was a hint, yet you still say it out loud?"

The two old men were like old urchins, even starting to bicker.

Liu Zhongshan did not mind, saying: "Since I am willing to say it out loud, you should be able to understand my thoughts, right?"

Upon hearing this, He Ping'an was overjoyed.

With the two of them, he and Liu Zhongshan, strongly recommending him, Luo Mo had at least an eighty percent chance of obtaining this identity as the National Reading Promotion Ambassador.

By then, it would be Afraid to drop a group of people's jaws.

The entertainment industry would surely have a massive earthquake, because this identity is something other celebrities wouldn't even dare to hope for.

Perhaps by then, the cultural circle would also be greatly shaken.

………

………

Luo Mo, who was in a meeting, had no idea about this matter of the National Reading Promotion Ambassador.

This identity is highly valued in the cultural circle, but in the entertainment industry, almost no one puts their energy into it.

There is no way around it; everyone knows clearly—we are not worthy!

During the meeting, because Liu Zhongshan had given instructions in advance, the two people from CCTV were very cooperative and had a very good attitude.

The whole process went very smoothly, and everyone clarified the upcoming work content and their respective parts of responsibility.

The Classic chosen for the first episode was the *Book of Documents*.

In the next few days, the stage actors would also come over to audition and finalize some of the work content.

And the work on *Celestial Sword 5* certainly could not be left behind.

After Guan Fei took on the role of Producer, Luo Mo effectively had an extremely powerful assistant, so it was time to announce this project to the public, which would also facilitate casting.

Xinyu and Luo Mo Studio announced this news to the public at seven o'clock in the evening.

And they indicated within the circle: Casting is in progress.

This made the night instantly no longer peaceful.

Simply because those few lines of text were too shocking.

Project: *Celestial Sword 5 Qixia Zhuan*.

Director: Luo Mo.

Screenwriter: Luo Mo.

Producer: Guan Fei.

Male Lead: Luo Mo.

The first thought that popped into many people's minds was: "Are they crazy?"

(PS: First update, requesting monthly tickets!)

(End of chapter)