Even after such an introduction, others might still express admiration and show you a certain degree of respect.
But tracing back to the root, if you think carefully, is the object of their respect and awe truly you?
No, what they truly revere deep down are merely the towering figures who stand behind you...
As a third-generation heir, he was just a tool for others to climb the social ladder.
Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng immediately recalled the person he had met last time at the entrance of the military camp.
Although that person wore the dazzling halo of "the youngest Major General in Huaxia history," what did that matter?
Maybe, in the end, even Chen Ping's actual power could surpass his.
Of course, the crucial prerequisite for all this to be realized was that Great-Grandfather must be safe and sound.
If both Great-Grandfather and Second Grandfather had passed away, then the situation would be completely different.
Even his own father might genuinely become just the boss of an ordinary construction company.
Therefore, no matter how impressive his family background was, before the inheritance was completed, the wisest course of action was still to honestly rely on himself to make his way in the world.
But then again, if he could safely rely on his family's influence to choose to lie flat and enjoy life, that would naturally be the best possible outcome.
Thinking this, Jiang Cheng once again felt he needed to find an opportunity to properly persuade his father.
As the saying goes, first-class talents are in politics, and second-class talents are in business.
And for people like himself, who yearned for freedom and unrestraint.
If he wanted to completely break free from all constraints, the best way was undoubtedly to have his father step forward and bravely venture into officialdom.
After all, for the sake of family honor, someone must be willing to make a certain degree of sacrifice, right??
That statement was completely correct.
Seeing Jiang Cheng lost in thought, Yu Xiaoxiao felt a little confused but still spoke up again to inquire.
"Chairman Jiang, do you not have any specific ideas about the mentor candidates yet? If you really don't, then I will have the Planning Department prepare a relevant list for your reference and selection."
"What popular Girl groups are there in the Stick Nation right now?"
Hearing Jiang Cheng's words, Yu Xiaoxiao looked toward Zhao Ling, who was standing beside her.
Zhao Ling was the professional in the company specifically responsible for Girl group training and development, so she was naturally quite familiar with this area.
Sensing Yu Xiaoxiao's gaze, Zhao Ling immediately understood and quickly replied
"Chairman Jiang, the most popular Girl group right now is Girls' Generation. Although they debuted many years ago, their popularity is still very high, and they are known as the 'Empresses.' There is also the group Twice, which has had many comebacks and achieved impressive results, and another highly potential group launched last year called Blackpink."
"Blackpink?"
Besides the super-popular Girl group Girls' Generation, which was currently at its peak, the only other Girl group he knew of was probably Blackpink.
In fact, for a talent show composed of completely unknown ordinary people, the initial source of traffic fundamentally relies entirely on the influence and appeal of the mentors themselves.
Seeing Jiang Cheng's interested expression, Zhao Ling quickly replied, "Blackpink is a newly emerging Girl group that just debuted last year! But they quickly became popular upon their debut, causing a huge sensation! Furthermore, their single achieved an astonishing one billion views on the famous video website YouTube and even successfully topped the World Digital Song Sales Chart—they are extremely hot."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng instantly thought of the Crazy Horse Show.
Among so many Girl groups from the Stick Nation, Blackpink was indeed the only one highly active and highly anticipated in Europe and America.
Moreover, the popularity of this group within China was also beyond imagination, possessing a massive fan base and extremely high trending topics.
Although, there is opposition to cultural importation.
If one wanted to find local Chinese music groups whose singing and dancing abilities could rival those of Stick Nation artists, it would be harder than reaching the heavens.
While it is undeniable that there are indeed some master-level figures among the older generation of singers whose vocal skills are first-rate.
But the times are, after all, constantly moving forward.
This current era is no longer limited to mere singing ability.
Instead, it requires comprehensive talents who are well-rounded, capable of both singing and dancing.
Unfortunately, in the current Chinese Music Scene.
There are actually no well-rounded singer-dancers who can truly compete.
Professional matters should still be handled by professionals.
The Stick Nation is undoubtedly the most professional incubator for Girl groups globally.
Rather than blindly opposing and resisting the importation of foreign culture.
It is better to learn from the painful experience and strive to cultivate and create Girl group members belonging to our own country.
To successfully gain a share and seize the Girl group market in the fiercely competitive environment.
Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng spoke directly: "Then contact Blackpink and invite them to serve as the mentors and coaches for this season's talent show."
However, upon hearing this, Zhao Ling, who was sitting nearby, instantly froze, widening her eyes as she asked in disbelief.
"Chairman Jiang, are you saying you want to invite the entire Blackpink group, all four members? If that's the case, their appearance fee..." Zhao Ling clearly struggled to maintain her composure upon hearing this.
Even Yu Xiaoxiao, who was usually calm and collected, could not remain composed at this moment.
You should know that for this kind of Girl group, the appearance fee for just singing one song can reach millions.
If we calculate the cost of inviting all four people to be mentors based on the number of episodes recorded, the final estimated cost would start at a minimum of fifty million.
If we require them to serve as training coaches in addition to being mentors, the cost will certainly be even higher.
Is it overkill to spend so much money inviting an entire group to mentor these trainees??
Thinking this, Yu Xiaoxiao said with a twinge of pain: "Chairman Jiang, aren't four people a bit much? We could actually just select one. For practice coaches, we can simply hire experienced domestic choreographers to teach..."
Jiang Cheng waved his hand and said to Yu Xiaoxiao: "What we need to learn is not just dancing, but also Stage Presence. The Girl groups in their country already have their own system, which is very mature not only in terms of movements and expressions but also in Stage Presence. I don't want the resulting Girl group to still have a hint of 'Rustic Flavor' or even slack off."
Jiang Cheng nodded. He remembered that one of the Girls had indeed come to Huaxia to be a talent show mentor when they were hugely popular.
It was precisely because of her soaring reputation that this talent show quickly became popular upon its launch, becoming the focus of public attention.
"What is the approximate cost of hosting such a talent show?"
Yu Xiaoxiao spoke after a moment of thought.
"The cost required to host such a talent show... the specific amount depends on the actual situation. But generally speaking, the largest expenses are mainly concentrated on mentor salaries and music production.
Furthermore, costumes, props, post-production promotion, and social media advertising are also significant expenses. If we don't seek any sponsorship, a conservative estimate would be at least five hundred million Chinese Yuan."
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Cheng immediately waved his hand decisively and responded clearly.
"I will have Xingchen Investment allocate one billion over. Go ahead and invite them as I just said, and also invite a few powerful domestic singers... We must ensure this talent show generates buzz."
As soon as Jiang Cheng's bold statement was uttered, the dozens of young and beautiful Girls standing quietly below instantly erupted, collectively drawing a sharp breath, followed by waves of astonished gasps.
At this moment, their gazes toward Jiang Cheng were as blazing hot as burning flames.
The year 2017 was precisely the era when major Girl groups from the Stick Nation dominated the screens in Huaxia.
The Girls present were naturally very familiar with Blackpink.
No one had expected Jiang Cheng's move to be so grand.
Directly inviting such a hugely popular Girl group to be their mentors.
Even the Internet Celebrities accompanying Wang Congcong couldn't help but widen their eyes and secretly look toward Jiang Cheng.
When they saw these Girls just now, they were already faintly envious.
Although, as Internet Celebrities, their income might be significantly higher than that of the ordinary Girls present.
But from a long-term perspective, whether it's career prospects or social attention, celebrities clearly hold the advantage.
Moreover, for most Girls, being able to stand under the spotlight and become the center of attention is undoubtedly one of their deepest dreams.
Therefore, these Internet Celebrities originally felt it was quite fortunate to be able to follow Wang Congcong and seize the opportunity to gain some publicity and traffic.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Cheng immediately dropped one billion on these Girls.
If it weren't for Wang Congcong being present, they would all want to step forward and grovel, asking Jiang Cheng if he could give them a chance.
As soon as this was said, Wang Congcong could no longer suppress his surprise and doubt and quickly interjected.
"Are you really going to invite a Girl group from the Stick Nation? Spending so many hundreds of millions? Can you earn it back?"
Based on Jiang Cheng's understanding of this type of talent show, although he didn't know exactly how much money they would make, losing money was absolutely impossible.
Seeing so many Girls on the scene who looked eager to open their legs to him.
Jiang Cheng said casually with a nonchalant expression: "Money? It's just a number, what's the big deal? I can afford to spend this much."
Although Xingchen Entertainment has gradually built up its reputation over the past six months since its establishment.
But compared to veteran entertainment agencies, Xingchen currently only has one newcomer Starlet, Su Wan.
As for those A-list celebrities who hold pivotal positions in the Entertainment Industry and possess extremely high value, they have not yet been brought under the banner of Xingchen Entertainment.
If, through this grand talent show, they successfully create a brand new, high-quality domestic Girl group.
And use this opportunity to widely spread the brand influence and official image of Xingchen Entertainment, then any amount of money spent would be worth it.
Seeing Jiang Cheng start showing off, Wang Congcong immediately felt like cursing.
But because it was Jiang Cheng, the words about to burst out of his mouth were forcibly swallowed back down.
"Damn it, are you even speaking human language?? How about giving the exclusive naming rights for this event to our Fierce Cat?"
Although he also held shares in Fierce Cat, Jiang Cheng still asked: "Didn't you just find out how much money I'm spending on this event?"
Wang Congcong quickly nodded, indicating that he knew the score.
"Of course, I know! It's precisely because you're willing to spend so much this time and invited such a huge group to participate that I'm particularly coveting the naming rights for this variety show! Think about it, if we can secure these rights and brand the show with Fierce Cat's name, wouldn't Fierce Cat's visibility skyrocket?"
"I know, but Fierce Cat doesn't only have me as a boss."
After speaking, Jiang Cheng looked at Yu Xiaoxiao: "How much is the naming fee for this kind of variety show?"
Yu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said: "It is said that last year's *Tomorrow's Son* naming rights were over fifty million, but for the show *The Rap of Huaxia*, Nongfu Spring secured the naming rights for 120 million Yuan."
Jiang Cheng then asked: "Is their investment cost as high as ours?"
Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head: "The production cost for *The Rap of Huaxia* seems to be 250 million Yuan, which is already the highest production cost for a variety show produced by iQiyi."
Hearing this, Wang Congcong immediately couldn't help but stand up.
"Investing 250 million, and Nongfu Spring only paid 120 million for the naming rights? Are they stupid?"
After speaking, Wang Congcong frowned slightly, turned his gaze to Jiang Cheng, and spoke with a hint of excitement.
"You have no idea. Although the SARFT issued a ban, the group you mentioned is extremely popular in Huaxia, especially that Thai Girl. Many Internet Celebrities in our country are imitating them, and even the dances they perform are wildly popular on the TikTok platform."
Jiang Cheng stared expressionlessly at Wang Congcong and slowly said: "Alright, alright, stop talking about useless things. I put 1.5 billion into Fierce Cat for financing, and not a single cent of that money has been earned back yet; we are currently still in the stage of constantly burning cash. As for the naming rights, wait until you hold a meeting later and discuss it properly..."
Actually, Jiang Cheng wasn't entirely unwilling to give the naming rights to Fierce Cat.
But he couldn't be a sucker, could he??
He only holds thirty-two percent of the shares in Fierce Cat.
But he holds seventy percent of the shares in Xingchen Entertainment, and Xingchen Investment Company holds thirty percent.
And Xingchen Investment is a company solely owned by Jiang Cheng.
So ultimately, all the shares of Xingchen Entertainment belong to Jiang Cheng.
He couldn't just hand over the naming rights to Fierce Cat without getting any benefits himself...