Meng Wenxiang frowned immediately. "Not involving a ticketing company? That's quite a bold move."
While a concert could still be held without a ticketing company, setting such a precedent would inevitably offend them. In the future, they might be reluctant to cooperate again.
However, ticketing companies wouldn't hold it against them, the concert organizers. Any resentment would be directed at Da Fei. Therefore, this didn't pose a problem for Meng Wenxiang.
"Da Fei, I'm confident in your popularity," Lin Chudong said, "but the cost..."
"If it's just the two of us collaborating, that would be manageable. We could split the costs and profits fifty-fifty."
Lin Chudong was very confident in his concert. Even in a first-tier city, a budget of around ten million yuan for venue rental and staffing would suffice. Splitting this equally would mean five million yuan each, which was acceptable.
Moreover, he didn't necessarily need to hold the concert in a first-tier city. If they chose a location outside of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, the costs might be lower.
Hearing this, Meng Wenxiang felt much reassured.
"Given that, I don't see any reason to refuse. Let's find an opportunity to meet and discuss it further."
"Agreed, Mr. Meng. We'll meet tomorrow to discuss the details."
***
After hanging up, Meng Wenxiang flipped through his phone book and dialed a number.
"President Chu, I have a new project I'd like to propose. Are you interested in sponsoring it?"
President Chu was Chu Haojie, the CEO of Haojie Foods, a company specializing in children's snacks. Haojie Foods was a substantial enterprise, and Meng Wenxiang had collaborated with them several times before.
Chu Haojie chuckled. "It's an honor to receive a call from you personally, President Meng. I'd be happy to give it my full attention."
"Where would you like to hold the music festival this time?"
"We're not planning a music festival this time," Meng Wenxiang replied. "It's going to be a concert—Da Fei's concert..."
Meng Wenxiang chatted with him for a while, carefully omitting any mention of Da Fei's desire to bypass the ticketing company. After all, Chu Haojie was merely a sponsor; his role was to provide funding, and the amount would depend primarily on Da Fei's popularity. The consequences of cutting out the ticketing company would ultimately fall solely on Da Fei.
As they were talking, Chu Haojie's daughter emerged from a lecture hall at the Capital Exhibition Center. Seeing her, Chu Haojie quickly said, "President Meng, I must cut our conversation short. My daughter is here, and she's about to prepare for her postgraduate entrance exams. She just enrolled in Gu Family Education's cram course yesterday. I need to take her home."
After hanging up, a graceful young woman settled into the car.
"Dad, why did you come to pick me up yourself? Couldn't you have sent the driver?"
Chu Haojie smiled. "I rarely have time to pick you up. What's up? What's that hanging from your backpack?"
The girl fiddled with a pink and a blue Peppa Pig figurine. "It's Peppa Pig, a really popular cartoon. Da Fei made it himself, did you know?"
Chu Haojie said with a hint of exasperation, "You're twenty years old and still watching cartoons? When will you grow up?"
"What do you know? This cartoon is a huge hit! 'Peppa Pig on your arm, applause for the socialite!'"
"You know, you should be studying properly at cram school. I might sponsor Da Fei's concert soon. Interested? I can get you a ticket."
The girl's eyes lit up. "Really, Dad? Da Fei's having a concert?"
"I need four tickets! All four of us in the dorm want to go!"
Chu Haojie nodded. "Alright, alright. Who can resist my precious daughter?"
"Yay! Dad, I love you to death!"
Chu Haojie pursed his lips. "I'll never understand how a celebrity can have you all so obsessed."
Chu Yingying's face was full of adoration. "You just don't get it. Da Fei's not like other celebrities. He's the most talented man in the world!"
"His concert will be absolutely extraordinary!"
Chu Yingying quickly pulled out her phone and sent a message to the dorm group chat.
"Da Fei is having a concert soon, and my dad can get me a few tickets!"
The three girls in the dorm instantly got excited.
"Holy shit, really? When is Da Fei's concert? I haven't seen any promotion!"
"Of course it's true! My dad is sponsoring the concert. It's an inside tip, nobody else knows yet."
"Yingying, your uncle is the coolest! I'm begging for an inner-circle ticket!"
"Me too, me too! Let's go to Da Fei's concert as a group! Seeing this in my lifetime would be the highlight of my life!"
Chu Yingying tagged Xiaoting. "Xiaoting, are you going? You've been listening to a lot of Da Fei's stuff lately, right?"
Xiaoting: "That's so awkward... tickets are over a thousand each. Maybe I should just buy my own?"
Chu Yingying: "Don't be silly! You liking Da Fei is doing me a favor. I'm the number one Da Fei fan in our dorm, and I got you all into him, right?"
"Right, right, right! Thank God for Yingying, or we'd never get tickets!"
"Yingying's the number one fan, I'm a close second!"
Since Yingying could get them concert tickets, they had to shower her with praise.
Only Xiaoting felt awkward. "Thank you so much! I'll give you a signed copy of Da Fei's *The Three-Body Problem* later."
Chu Yingying: "You have a signed copy of Da Fei's book?!"
***
Six o'clock in the evening.
The "Chip Trio"—Liang Yin, Jia Lu, and Su Yulin—were once again gathered on the sofa, intently watching *Peppa Pig*.
Wang Zhi asked, "Jia, you watch cartoons too?"
Following Brother Fei's other works, like *Bright Sword* or variety shows, was normal.
But watching cartoons? That seemed a bit out of their age range, didn't it?
Jia Lu rolled her eyes. "How could I pass up such a perfect opportunity to slack off? From now on, this time slot will be our paid TV time. I'll watch anything, no matter what."
"Yulin, when you join our company, we'll take over this task."
Liang Yin's mouth twitched. Only Jia Lu, her close friend, would openly talk about slacking off in front of her.
Su Yulin nodded, thinking this job was fantastic—much better than watching them eat hotpot downstairs.
Though *Peppa Pig* was a children's cartoon, the three of them found it surprisingly engaging and amusing.
After finishing a bag of chips, Jia Lu picked up an apple.
"Let's watch the drama tomorrow. I'll prepare a fruit platter. It's too dry just eating chips."
Su Yulin gave a thumbs-up in agreement.
Jia Lu seemed to remember something and said, "Last time Brother Fei and I were in Jilin, I heard that KTV fruit platters are way better than regular ones. Too bad Brother Fei didn't let me go then."
Su Yulin asked, "How so? Aren't fruit platters all the same?"
Jia Lu replied, "I don't know either. General Huang, who owns a KTV in Jilin, told me. He's in the business, so he must know better. He said KTV fruit platters are completely different from the ones we're used to."
Su Yulin nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe the fruit at KTVs is just better."
Hearing their discussion, Wang Zhi's mouth twitched.
*Next time we go to Jilin, I'll make Brother Fei take me.*
Becoming vice president had its perks, but it also had its drawbacks. He no longer got to travel with Brother Fei, and he didn't even get the KTV fruit platter treatment anymore.
Seeing Wang Zhi's eager expression, Jia Lu and Su Yulin became even more convinced that KTV fruit platters must be extraordinary. They resolved to go and try one someday!
***
Qiao Liwei was having tea with Chen Deming at CCTV's Eighth Channel.
His visit to have tea with Chen Deming was merely a pretext; he had primarily come to see Huang Wei.
Unfortunately, Huang Wei was a workaholic and had no particular interest in Qiao Liwei.
Chen Deming was currently in high spirits. Aside from the First Channel, the Eighth Channel was the most successful on the entire network.
The annual hit drama *Bright Sword* had propelled the Eighth Channel's ratings to second place nationwide, with its highest rating even topping the national charts.
With a viewership rating of nearly 16%, the success of *Bright Sword* was practically unbreakable.
"Old Qiao, how were the ratings tonight? I heard you acquired the rights to *Peppa Pig*?"
Qiao Liwei nodded. "The animated series didn't cost much, and it's not exclusive. You can buy it too if you want."
"Huangshan Art Company poached another one of my staff. Their constant switching is really disgusting."
Chen Deming snorted. "That Liu Huangshan is a scumbag. He has no business integrity. We won't work with him again at the Eighth Channel."
"We should tell Lao Ding about this so he can watch out," Qiao Liwei said. "Anyway, I've got to get back to checking the data. Talk later."
With that, Qiao Liwei rose and returned to his office.
Huang Wei was too busy with work to chat, so there was no point in him staying.
*Peppa Pig* had its premiere today, and he wondered how it would perform. The animated series had a significant online presence, and its memes had been popularized by college students.
But whether it could bring any surprises to their ratings remained to be seen.
***
Jade Garden Residential Community.
Inside an ordinary apartment.
A four-year-old girl, just picked up from kindergarten by Ms. Zheng, was sitting in front of the television watching cartoons.
"Watch for a bit while Mom goes to work. I'll be back to keep you company soon."
Ms. Zheng was a kindergarten teacher, both a professional and a mother, so she placed great importance on her child's education.
She picked up the remote and switched to CCTV-1. Watching Animation City at this time was their family's daily ritual.
*Big Dog and Two Dogs* began playing on the screen. Ms. Zheng took her teaching materials and went to prepare her lessons.
The four-year-old girl watched *Big Dog and Two Dogs* for a few seconds before growing bored. She secretly reached for the remote on the coffee table.
Operating the remote was still difficult for someone her age, but she knew how to change channels.
After a few presses, *Peppa Pig* suddenly appeared on the screen.
Her face lit up with a smile, and she settled back on the sofa, watching intently.
"Peppa and her family are visiting Grandpa Pig and Grandma Pig..."
"We got a new pet today! Guess what it is?"
George: "Is it a dinosaur?"
Grandpa Pig: "No, it's not a dinosaur. It's our new pet parrot, Polly."
"..."
Hearing the voice sounded a bit off, Ms. Zheng frowned slightly and came out.
She was immediately displeased to see her daughter had changed the channel herself to watch *Peppa Pig*.
"Who told you to change the channel?"
She snatched the remote and switched back to the Animation City block on CCTV-1.
On the screen, Big Dog and Two Dogs were scaring a worker who was diligently chopping down a tree.
The worker was terrified and dazed, while Big Dog and Two Dogs laughed uncontrollably.
Ms. Zheng's brow furrowed. "What kind of cartoon is this? The values are completely messed up!"
She was speechless. She hadn't expected Animation City to air such a show.
She had seen *Big Dog and Two Dogs* before when it was on the Children's Channel, and even then, the plotlines had been a bit morally questionable for the sake of comedy.
Now, to boost ratings, Animation City was actually airing it?
It seemed she'd have to make a complaint call tomorrow.
Picking up the remote, she switched back to the Children's Channel and watched two minutes of *Peppa Pig*. Ms. Zheng nodded slightly.
This cartoon wasn't bad. While the plot was a bit childish, it at least didn't expose children to harmful influences.
"Mom, I want a parrot too," her daughter said.
Ms. Zheng smiled helplessly. "You can get a pet when you're older."
Children are highly imitative. Even if they copy behaviors from cartoons, *Peppa Pig* doesn't contain any morally questionable scenes.
So, even if children imitated it, parents wouldn't find anything wrong.
But if they copied the plot of *Big Dog and Two Dogs*, that would be disastrous.
*Big Dog and Two Dogs* features a lot of chasing, roughhousing, pranks, and scaring others.
If children imitated this and started scaring their peers, the consequences would be terrible.
"See? We'll stick to this channel from now on. No more *Animation City*."
***
CCTV Channel 1.
Ding Junming stared at the cliff-like drop in viewership, his brow furrowed.
*What's going on today? Big Dog and Two Dogs was doing reasonably well on the Children's Channel.*
*Why is it performing so poorly after being moved to our Animation City slot?*
*And I didn't even start from the beginning—I started with episode ten. That should have picked up right where the Children's Channel left off. Viewers should have followed, and with Animation City's regular audience, viewership should have improved.*
*But instead of meeting expectations, the results are far worse.*
*Yesterday was already bad, and even with Big Dog and Two Dogs, today is just as bad.*
*Could I have been wrong?*
*Is the decline in Animation City's viewership unrelated to the show I chose?*
*Have other channels siphoned off our audience?*
Ding Junming's brow tightened. He picked up his phone and sent Qiao Liwei a WeChat message.
"Lao Qiao, what are your channel's ratings today?"
Qiao Liwei: "1.3"
Qiao Liwei replied with a cold, stark number.
Staring at the number, Ding Junming rubbed his eyes fiercely, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
"Lao Qiao, you're not kidding me, are you?"
Up to this point, Animation City's ratings had held steady at 1.3. Even with their recent decline, they still held the top spot on the children's programming chart.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Since when has the Children's Channel been able to match their ratings?
And Big Dog and Two Dogs just terminated their contract with the Children's Channel. How can they possibly compete with Animation City now?
He quickly turned on the TV to check the Children's Channel and was stunned to find they were airing *Peppa Pig*.
He'd heard of the show, of course—it was popular on SouTu Video, and its memes were everywhere.
But since *Peppa Pig* was a serialized show, he hadn't taken it seriously.
Now, the Children's Channel had beaten them to it, and it had actually tied with Animation City?
Qiao Liwei: Lao Ding, Liu Huangshan must have screwed you over.
Ding Junming: What do you mean?
Qiao Liwei: When your ratings plummeted, our station's ratings also dropped. I suspect it's because SouTu Video launched *Peppa Pig* at 6 PM. So, even switching shows wouldn't have helped.
Ding Junming's expression darkened completely.
He had originally thought that switching to a different cartoon would salvage their ratings, but now it seemed the ratings were even worse.
Qiao Liwei: "I suggest you also air *Peppa Pig*. If you broadcast it on Animation City, I'll air it during prime time to avoid overlap."
Ding Junming: "I just signed a contract for *Big Dog and Two Dogs*..."
Qiao Liwei: "Did you sign electronically or with a paper contract?"
Ding Junming: "A paper contract. I've already mailed it out."
Qiao Liwei: "Intercept it immediately! Pay them for the episodes you've already aired today, then terminate the contract to cut your losses."
Ding Junming: "That's a good idea. I'll give it a try."
Ding Junming quickly called the courier company and intercepted the contract.
No sooner had he hung up than a content editor approached him.
"Boss, we've received over fifty complaint calls tonight."
"They're all about the problematic content in *Big Dog and Two Dogs*."
One of the reasons Animation City's ratings were so high was that parents trusted the quality of their cartoons.
This group of parents had very strict requirements for the content of animated shows.
Many parents couldn't accept shows like *Big Dog and Two Dogs*.
The content of *Big Dog and Two Dogs* was already somewhat at odds with *Animation City*'s usual programming. Ding Junming had signed it solely to boost ratings.
Instead, not only did the ratings fail to improve, but complaints surged.
He checked his phone and saw that the delivery had been successfully intercepted.
Ding Junming immediately felt relieved and called Liu Huangshan.
"Mr. Liu, we've encountered an unexpected situation. I'm truly sorry, but we're canceling the contract for *Big Dog and Two Dogs*."
Liu Huangshan was stunned. "Sir, you're joking, right? We already mailed the contract, and two episodes have already aired..."
Ding Junming said coldly, "I intercepted the contract mid-shipment. We'll pay you the standard rate for the two episodes that aired; the finance department will transfer the funds by the end of the month."
"That's all. I'm hanging up now."
After hanging up, Ding Junming suddenly felt a sense of relief.
Before *Peppa Pig* came out, *Big Dog and Two Dogs* had been considered a decent animated series. But once *Peppa Pig* arrived, *Big Dog and Two Dogs* couldn't even compare to it, neither in educational value nor viewership.
Ding Junming suddenly felt that Liu Huangshan was in for trouble. The three episodes of *Big Fei and Little Fei* he had produced earlier had thoroughly offended Big Fei.
Big Fei hadn't even responded to him directly, instead releasing *Peppa Pig*. Hadn't that dealt a fatal blow to Liu Huangshan?
-----------------------
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