lovenovelstory Chapter 58 Becoming One of Our Own
Chapter 58 Becoming One of Our Own
The car drove smoothly toward the hotel.
Ren Pingsheng watched the neon lights flashing past the window, but his mind was racing, calculating another grand strategy.
The plan for "China's Got Talent" had already been set up, but the disdain shown towards Da Peng by the people at Dragon TV still left him somewhat uneasy.
Unorthodox internet celebrities lower the overall standard.
This is the arrogance that the mainstream circles have towards the Internet.
In the extremely rigid hierarchy of contempt within the Chinese entertainment industry, no amount of traffic from a web series can help break through this arrogance.
They need a powerful figurehead that can intimidate all traditional media professionals.
Ren Pingsheng's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out a line of text:
"Let's talk about it back at the hotel, and I'll get you a safe haven."
Sending complete.
Ren Pingsheng tossed his phone back into his pocket and closed his eyes.
In the end, this world still depends on strength and background.
As far as he could remember, Da Peng did indeed join Ben San Media, but he couldn't recall the exact time and details. He only knew that the process wasn't smooth sailing.
Back in his hotel room, Ren Pingsheng took off his coat and dialed Dapeng's number.
"Pingsheng, what do you mean by the golden body you mentioned in your text message? Also, why are you asking Teacher Ben San?" Da Peng's urgent voice came through as soon as the call connected.
"Brother Peng, give me a heads-up, what's the progress between you and Teacher Ben San right now?" Ren Pingsheng walked to the window and lit a cigarette.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Dapeng sighed.
"Actually, it was last year when I was doing 'Celebrity Online' that I interviewed Teacher Ben San. We had a pretty good chat at the time. He thought I looked good and praised me, saying, 'Why don't you become my apprentice?'"
"You didn't agree?"
"I chickened out!" Da Peng laughed self-deprecatingly. "I thought he was just being polite. Besides, I'm from a small town in Jilin, and I can't even sing Errenzhuan. If I really used his apprentice title to swindle people, I would feel ashamed. So I said that I was not good enough to be his apprentice and politely declined the offer."
Da Peng's tone revealed a hint of helplessness and regret.
"Brother Peng, it's not that you're not worthy of being his apprentice, it's that in the eyes of Dragon TV, you're not worthy of being at their card table."
Ren Pingsheng did not comfort him, but instead repeated verbatim how Chen Tai and the producers on Dragon TV had looked down on him for being "from humble backgrounds and lowering his standards."
On the other end of the phone, Dapeng remained silent for a long time after listening.
After a long pause, a bitter laugh came: "That's normal. In the eyes of those big shots in Shanghai's entertainment circle, I'm just a charlatan who acts crazy online, not someone who can be considered respectable."
"But they insist on the northern market, they want down-to-earth, grassroots elements," Ren Pingsheng flicked his cigarette ash. "In China, who can avoid Zhao Bensan when it comes to grassroots comedy and Northeastern elements?"
"Since you and Teacher Ben San have this unfinished teacher-student relationship, now is the best time to continue it."
"Go now?" Da Peng hesitated. "I rejected them back then, and now that they've made Xiao Shenyang famous through the Spring Festival Gala, I'm facing a bottleneck and I'm going to become their apprentice. That's too mercenary. Why should they accept me?"
"What if we prepare a gift that he can't refuse when he becomes an apprentice?"
"A formal apprenticeship ceremony? What kind of ceremony is that?"
"Do you remember the big news that Ben San Media made in Beijing last Tuesday?"
Reminded by Ren Pingsheng, Da Peng suddenly remembered: "You mean that top Chinese idol group?"
"right."
Ren Pingsheng took a drag of his cigarette, and the overwhelming news he had seen online a few days ago flashed through his mind.
On December 22, Zhao Bensan, together with industry giants such as Taiwan's Dongfeng Media and Warner Music, announced his high-profile entry into the idol industry.
Outsiders might see it as just a spectacle, but Ren Pingsheng saw it very clearly.
In 2009, the mainland idol market was shattered by the second-generation peninsula groups Super Junior-M, TVXQ, and Girls' Generation. Domestic groups BOBO and Top Combine were powerless against them.
Why is Ben San Media suddenly venturing into idol production?
Because of the Spring Festival Gala performance of "Not Short of Money" this year, Xiao Shenyang became an instant sensation, earning a staggering 200 million yuan in revenue in a single year. Zhao Benshan saw the terrifying money potential of "star-making".
He wanted to replicate this success and break the stereotype that Ben San Media only produced "two-person comedy, lowbrow and vulgar" content.
He wanted to use an international idol group to capture the youth market.
"Pingsheng, you must be joking," Dapeng said with a wry smile on the phone. "Those are Warner Music and Dongfeng Media, global giants. What help can a newly established company like Shengping Vision possibly offer to this huge project? Wouldn't that just be making a fool of ourselves?"
Da Peng was very clear about his own limitations.
"Warner Music can produce records for them, and Dongfeng Media can provide them with training, but can they provide Mr. Ben San's students with a super stage that boasts the highest national viewership and international reach?"
Ren Pingsheng spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice carrying a powerful seductive quality.
"Brother Peng, don't you think 'China's Got Talent' is exactly the international stage your future mentor longs for?"
Dapeng was stunned.
"If you become a disciple of Zhao Benshan's troupe and also become a dream observer on Dragon TV's 'China's Got Talent,' then when those new generation artists from Benshan Media and grassroots performers from Northeast China go to compete, you, as one of their own, will be there to chime in, create jokes, and provide support on stage..."
"This will not only help you get into mainstream TV stations, but it's also the best stepping stone for you to give back to your mentor and help Ben San Media transform across industries!"
On the other end of the phone, I could hear Dapeng's heavy breathing.
"I understand!" He slapped his thigh, his voice trembling. "Pingsheng, when are we going?"
"Wait for me to return to Yanjing."
The phone hangs up.
The core of this plan can be summed up in four words: "borrowing the tiger's power."
In his essay "The Beijing School and the Shanghai School," Lu Xun wrote: "The Beijing School is the hanger-on of officials, while the Shanghai School is the helper of merchants."
If the core of the Beijing circle is the intricate web of power and bloodlines, then the soul of the Shanghai circle is pure commerce and contracts.
The reason why Dragon TV rejected Dapeng is essentially because they could not offer Shanghai-based entertainment circles satisfactory commercial terms in this deal.
But what if Dapeng has the "King of Northeast China" standing behind him?
As for Uncle Bensan's side, Ren Pingsheng's calculations were even more precise.
Zhao Benshan is now eager to transform into an idol, not only because he wants to make more money from young people, but also because he is facing great policy and public opinion risks.
In the current domestic comedy scene, Zhao Benshan and Guo Degang are at the peak of their careers.
However, their success has attracted criticism, and both of them have been caught in a vortex of criticism for their "vulgarity."
Faced with the same crisis, the two made drastically different choices.
Guo Degang chose to confront the mainstream, fighting to the bitter end. Zhao Benshan, on the other hand, chose to integrate into the mainstream, attempting to shed his peasant label and curry favor with the authorities by creating an "international and high-class" idol group.
Ren Pingsheng himself was certainly not doing charity work.
Helping Yang Yuancao land a spot on "China's Got Talent" was to secure resources from top-tier variety shows.
The reason for facilitating Dapeng's apprenticeship was to find a powerful backer for Shengping Shi.
And when Uncle Ben's Chinese idol project, due to cultural incompatibility and a lack of idol management expertise, faced the inevitable crisis of being shelved...
All these events will naturally converge!
Variety shows are the breeding ground for idols, and idols are the source of viewership for variety shows.
These two will dominate half of the Chinese entertainment industry in the next decade.
Now that Ren Pingsheng has been reborn at the starting point of this golden age, there's no reason for him not to get involved.
He even wants to be the dealer!
"What if Teacher Yi doesn't agree?"
Ren Pingsheng looked at his reflection in the glass window and chuckled to himself.
You won't agree?
It's just the same old trick of trying to sow discord between the two circles again.
If this old man knew that these Shanghai TV elites secretly looked down on Northeastern grassroots culture and thought they lowered the World Expo's prestige...
I wonder if that uncle, with his protective and strong-willed nature, will just flip the table and forcefully push Dapeng up there?