Chapter 709: Competing for the Spring Festival Gala

Just like that, with Ji Huawen accompanying him, Director Chen watched the sketch "Catering to Preferences" from beginning to end.

In the sketch, Ma Jingjing introduces the leader's preferences.

"This one likes fishing, so I dive into the water and put fish on his hook."

"This one likes mahjong, so I break my own hand to feed him a winning tile."

As Chen listened to this content, his heart sank deeper and deeper to the bottom.

He knew this was a warning directed at him.

And when the line "This one, likes me" appeared, Chen felt a chill run through his entire body in an instant, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Ji Huawen looked at him and even said, "Look at their sketch, how funny it is."

After speaking, he glanced at the stiff-faced Chen and asked, "Isn't it funny?"

——It was too painful, the whole process was just too painful!

In the end, Chen didn't even know how he left the office.

From beginning to end, Ji Huawen never told him how this matter would be handled, nor how this problem would be dealt with.

The more this was the case, the colder Chen's heart became.

Because this meant that the disciplinary action against him would not take place in this office, but in other settings.

……..

……..

Since the viewership data and the online Live Broadcast data had already been released, it must have caused a sensation across the entire internet.

Octopus TV was full of praise.

"It's worth it! It's worth it!"

"I couldn't help it; I just happened to switch channels, and then I couldn't leave Octopus TV."

"There are too many impressive programs, and too many meaningful programs."

"Luo Mo and Ning Dan are truly Ox!"

If you look at it from an entertainment perspective, Octopus TV was truly very good to watch.

But if you say it lacked substance, I would be the first to disagree!

Even in terms of vision, it left CCTV's New Year's Eve Gala this year far behind.

While you were still thinking about how to make the fireworks look better during the New Year's Eve countdown.

They had already combined the act of 【New Year's Eve】 with 【our generation must be Pioneering a new era】 amidst the singing of "As You Wish".

The song they sang was: 【The mountains and rivers are safe, the fireworks are ordinary】.

Hmm, your fireworks are indeed quite ordinary.

As for CCTV's various data points this year, they can be described with the same sentence—"It's worth it! It's worth it!"

"Why hasn't Director Li's public relations team started crisis management yet?"

"The fifth of the Four Great Directors?"

"The Four Great Directors: Bad luck! Damn it, what bad luck!"

"It was indeed hard to watch, well-deserved."

"Is this witnessing history? Octopus TV actually won in the Live Broadcast data!"

"I even watched Director Li's interviews from the past two years; he even said his new career goal was to direct the Spring Festival Gala."

"Spring Festival Gala: Don't come over here!"

Honestly, Li Dongliang and Chen were actually quite speechless.

They had originally thought that, at most, because of Ning Dan, they would just lose the Singer Luo Mo.

But they didn't expect that it wasn't just the Singer Luo Mo that they lost.

What they lost was the choreographer, the sketch screenwriter, the Music Director, and even the gala's Chief Planner!

Unlike Chen, whose pressure came from CCTV, Director Li's pressure, besides coming from CCTV, also came from netizens across the entire internet.

After all, when everyone bashes a gala, they definitely bash the director first.

As for who was in charge at CCTV, the netizens almost didn't know either.

This made Li Dongliang feel that his career was suddenly facing a weight that his professional life could not bear!

A 12% drop in viewership compared to last year might still be survivable.

Losing the online data to Octopus TV, however, could be called an extremely serious problem.

This sense of the unknown is very tormenting.

I reckon only Octopus TV is feeling grateful to Director Li.

Thank you, Director Li, for all the efforts you made for this.

To have such a result, Luo Mo definitely deserves the most credit.

Director Ning Dan deserves the second most credit.

As for you, if anyone says you don't rank third, I'll get into a fight with them!

Even our station head, Xu Guan, has to rank behind you.

And looking at the timeline, the New Year's Eve Gala has already concluded; next up is the grandest event of the year, the Spring Festival Gala.

On Blue Star, the overall preparation time for the Spring Festival Gala is slightly shorter than on Earth.

But it is still necessary to hurry up and finalize the main people in charge.

Remember that Director Li's original grand dream was to first get the New Year's Eve Gala done well, and then naturally take on the heavy burden of the Spring Festival Gala.

I'm so awesome, so of course, with great power comes great responsibility!

But now, Li Dongliang doesn't even have the heart to participate in the competition.

You must never let your name appear under the eyes of those people at CCTV again!

Compete to be the director of the Spring Festival Gala?

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.

Li is slipping away first.

On the other side, Chen, who is waiting for "judgment," cannot slip away.

Director Chen still has to clean up the mess left behind by the New Year's Eve Gala himself.

You created the trash, you can't expect others to clean it up, right?

Others will only be responsible for cleaning up you, the trash.

But precisely because of this, Director Chen can still see the list of candidates for this year's Spring Festival Gala General Director for the time being.

Registration closes on January 3rd, and the results will be given on January 5th.

Director Chen took a glance at the list.

Then, he saw a name.

——【Ning Dan】!

In an instant, he felt his right palm cramp up a little.

Ning Dan has returned.

She has killed her way back!

Carrying the terrifying results of the Octopus TV gala she directed, she is participating in the competition again!

And after this battle, everyone knows clearly that while it seems only Ning Dan signed up, she is not an individual.

Luo Mo is the man backing her up.

He was so angry he cursed out loud in his heart, but he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Chen, do you think you still have the qualifications to decide anyone's fate?

As for Luo Mo and Ning Dan...

Hehe, after rebelling, I have learned from the pain and decided to proactively seek amnesty.

……..

……..

On Luo Mo's side, he has already returned to the *Let the Bullets Fly* film crew.

In this movie, many characters have already wrapped up filming.

Now it has reached the stage of finishing touches and reshoots.

That is to say, Xu Gangsheng will soon be able to report to the *Peerless* film crew.

Not to mention, before New Year's Day, Hua Jiaqun finally led his crime gang to produce fake US dollars that were realistic enough to pass for the real thing.

They very recklessly called the Hong Kong police over again, asking the experts inside to "inspect the goods."

After the experts finished looking, they all fell into a long, deep contemplation.

"Should we arrest them all?"

The last time they asked me to inspect the goods, it was still a pile of trash that could be taken to a restaurant to be used as fancy napkins.

This time, it's so real that I even want to take some back to use as a prop when giving lectures.

With such talent, it's really a bit worrying not to have them locked up in prison.

With Hong Kong films being so desolate now, how could filming movies be as profitable as making counterfeit money!

Hua Jiaqun informed Luo Mo over the phone that the final result was that the entire *Peerless* film crew was "invited" away, and then, several Hong Kong police officers and experts took turns going on stage to lecture them for a full three hours.

They were only a step away from taking them to visit the prisons in Hong Kong.

For this, Hua Jiaqun indicated it wasn't necessary.

I've filmed plenty of prison movies; I'm familiar with that place!

Good fellow, you've already adapted to the environment in advance, haven't you?

Nowadays, Hua Jiaqun can recite the sentencing guidelines for producing counterfeit money by heart.

After hearing all this, Luo Mo didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Why is his tone so full of a sense of accomplishment?" Luo Mo thought to himself.

He always felt that Hua Jiaqun was secretly very proud!

Hey, you, the president, are so unreliable; do the people in your 【Hong Kong Film Workers Association】 know about this?

"No wonder, no wonder so many people don't like calling him President in private and all call him Boss." Luo Mo felt the truth had come to light.

Over the past two days, the various programs from the Octopus TV gala have continued to explode in popularity across the entire internet.

After all, many people don't watch the live broadcast of the gala; they simply can't muster any interest.

But if there are a few programs that everyone says are good and they even hit the Hot Search on various platforms, then many people will still click in to watch.

In fact, like Henan Satellite TV on Earth, it didn't soar to the sky all at once either, because the audience base was too weak; it also became popular on the internet later based on word-of-mouth.

Octopus TV here on Blue Star is different, after all, Luo Mo and the people under him bring their own traffic.

The station head of Octopus TV, Xu Guan, is a very clear-headed person.

He knows in his heart that Octopus TV being able to have Ning Dan direct this time and Luo Mo serve as the Chief Planner is truly a huge bargain.

It is not very realistic to want them to be permanent fixtures at Octopus TV and continue to organize galas for Octopus TV.

As a myth among variety show directors, Ning Dan being willing to cooperate with Octopus TV on one or two variety programs is already enough for Octopus TV to benefit greatly.

As for Luo Mo, he very directly told Xu Guan that in the future, the Singers from his studio, as well as the Singers from Xinyu, would provide some support within their capabilities regarding galas.

Speaking of which, wasn't the original General Director of the Octopus TV gala always held by Xu Guan's brother-in-law?

For this New Year's Eve Gala, the brother-in-law was at his beck and call, and when taking care of Luo Mo, he was even more attentive than when taking care of his own brother-in-law.

After the gala concluded, Xu Guan also asked him: "You've been playing second fiddle to Luo Mo and Ning Dan for so long, have you learned anything?"

"That's an understatement!" the brother-in-law exclaimed with a sigh.

I am truly so capable now!

He felt that he had not only broadened his horizons but also opened up his train of thought.

Of course, the gala directors of various satellite TV stations actually all thought this way.

The only difference was that outsiders only saw the finished product and did not see everything behind the scenes.

Before the actual operation, Xu Guan was also unsure whether his brother-in-law was boasting, lacked self-awareness, or had truly made rapid progress.

This heartless brother-in-law even thought: "Actually, the current situation is excellent; I can still find good gala directors to join from the outside!"

No wonder they say that is why he can be a station head.

This train of thought opened up all at once.

January 5th arrived very quickly.

The Spring Festival Gala is different from the New Year's Eve Gala; candidates for positions like General Director and Chief Planner must be decided through meetings.

The entire meeting would also be presided over by Ji Huawen himself to oversee the big picture.

The current situation is very grim; CCTV must get this year's Spring Festival Gala right.

Not only must the data look good, but the reputation must also be good enough.

In the meeting, Ji Huawen even named Chen, asking him to state his own best candidate.

In front of everyone, Chen finally gritted his teeth and said the name: Ning Dan.

"Oh? Is that so?" Ji Huawen nodded and said, "Director Ning Dan is indeed a good candidate."

It was just missing the line: "Who is in favor? Who is against?"

The final result of the entire meeting was that Ning Dan was the choice of the people.

As for whether some people were sincere or insincere, that was not important at all.

After this matter was discussed, Ji Huawen began to publicly handle the relevant issues of Director Chen in the meeting, in front of everyone.

………

………

January 5th, 4:00 PM.

Multiple media outlets with special characteristics began to report one after another, announcing the General Director candidate for the new Spring Festival Gala to the public.

When Ning Dan's name appeared, it could be said that some cheered and some were shocked.

"Ah, it's Sister Dan!"

"Awesome! It should be whoever has the ability who gets the job!"

"Wow, I didn't want to watch the Spring Festival Gala, but this time I want to watch!"

"By the way, can Luo Mo still come to be the 【Chief Planner】?"

"I have to say, CCTV still has a lot of vision and grace!"

"Not bad, CCTV!"

"I support it! Strongly support it!"

However, in the industry, especially in the variety show circle, the sensation caused was huge!

Variety show directors have always stood on the lower end of the contempt chain.

In the competition for Spring Festival Gala directors, those like film directors have a natural advantage.

To date, no variety show director has ever directed the Spring Festival Gala!

To be precise, before Ning Dan, no variety show director had ever directed a large-scale holiday gala for CCTV at all!

Honestly, these days, the Spring Festival Gala is indeed a hot potato.

However, it also has its symbolic significance.

"A variety show director directing the Spring Festival Gala, this is truly unprecedented!"

"And yet, only industry insiders are sour about it, while netizens are all looking forward to it!"

"Director Ning has truly created a miracle this time."

"We variety show people have finally stood up, damn it!"

Now, the industry and the entire internet are waiting for the specific list of personnel for the Spring Festival Gala team led by Ning Dan, which will be announced tomorrow.

To be precise, they want to see if... that name will appear in the entire Spring Festival Gala team!

If it does, then with the precedent of the "double sword combination" from Octopus TV, I think this year's Spring Festival Gala will definitely be worth watching.

January 6th, 4:00 PM sharp.

The member list of the Spring Festival Gala team was announced to the public.

The gossip-loving masses had been waiting for a long time.

I can miss the knowledge points in the classroom.

But I am determined to eat every single melon in the melon field!

And in the announced list, a few words were prominently written: 【Chief Planner: Luo Mo】!

The youngest Chief Planner in the history of the Spring Festival Gala was thus born!

In an instant, the entire internet was boiling!

……..

……..

Zhejiang Province, inside the apartment where the Disabled Persons Art Troupe resides.

Lead dancer Chen Lili sat on the sofa, holding her phone, watching the stage of "Palace Night Banquet" for the Nth time.

Every time she watched it, she could discover some details she hadn't noticed before.

As a professional dancer, she could see how hard it was for these girls, who were actually slender, to create a sense of voluptuousness.

However, this stage was truly something to be proud of for a lifetime.

It was so beautiful, truly so beautiful!

Its popularity was ridiculously high; on the short video platform Doule, there were many videos related to this dance with over a million likes.

Chen Lili envied them very much.

She envied them not only for leaving behind such a stage that netizens hailed as legendary, but also for being able to collaborate with Luo Mo.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but think of Luo Mo serving as the Chief Planner for this Spring Festival Gala.

For this Spring Festival Gala, their Disabled Persons Art Troupe would definitely be applying.

Therefore, she would work twice as hard, striving to participate in the competition in the best possible state.

Just at this moment, her phone vibrated, and she received a WeChat message.

The deaf-mute girl Chen Lili immediately opened WeChat and saw that in the Disabled Persons Art Troupe group chat, the troupe leader Xu Cong was @ing everyone.

He only sent a few words, but followed them with a full three exclamation marks.

"Ning Dao and Luo Mo have invited us to participate in this year's Spring Festival Gala!!!"

This meant they had been added to the Special Invitation List.

For a moment, Chen Lili stared at the message, stunned on the spot.

Xu Cong continued in the group chat: "I have already sent our dance video over, just waiting for the reply from the Spring Festival Gala team!"

In the Disabled Persons Art Troupe, they were all positive and optimistic girls.

Therefore, many people in the group chat were sending cute stickers, expressing their great joy or high expectations.

After about half an hour, Xu Cong spoke in the group again.

"Didn't expect the reply to be so fast."

"One piece of good news and one piece of bad news, which one does everyone want to hear first?" Xu Cong asked.

"The good news!"

"The good news!"

Another deaf-mute girl sent a sticker: Not listening, not listening, turtle chanting scriptures.

Xu Cong was between laughter and tears, typing: "I insist on saying the bad news first."

"The dance I sent over has been rejected," Xu Cong said.

In an instant, a sticker of someone being struck by lightning began to flood the group chat.

"But the good news is, Ning Dao said they will have Luo Mo come help us modify the dance!"

Boom—!

The entire group chat exploded at once!

(End of this chapter)